Gus Poyet always had a certain way with words when he was Albion boss. And now he is busy hailing Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi as one of the best teams in the world.
Poyet was speaking to SafeBettingSites.com about the way his former club have started the 2023-24 season, taking 15 points from a possible 18 to sit third in the Premier League table.
What has made the Seagulls’ lofty position so impressive in Poyet’s eyes is that it has been reached with De Zerbi heavily rotating his squad.
“There’s not many teams in the world now where you can change five players and the team will still perform at a similar level, but Brighton under De Zerbi are doing it,” said Poyet.
“We always say there’s a starting XI that’s your best team but when you can change half of that team and still perform at a very good level, it means you have something very strong going on.”
“That’s what’s been happening this season with Brighton – they’re combining cups, Europe and the league. The team that plays against Manchester United is totally different from the team that plays in Europe four days later and then again the next weekend (against Bournemouth).”
Poyet believes that De Zerbi deserves most of the credit for the success of the Albion’s rotation – something the Italian head coach was less inclined to do last season.
He made minimal changes throughout the 2022-23 campaign until the final two months, when a run of 15 games in eight weeks forced his hand.
De Zerbi told Brighton supporters to expect much more rotation after he led the club to Europa League football for the first time.
So far, he has been true to his world – and any fears about whether it would impact on performances and results as was the case at times in April and May (hello, 5-1 defeat to Everton) have been well and truly banised.
“If Roberto De Zerbi can continue to maintain that level of performance with so many changes, we’re talking about someone that’s a top, top-level coach,” said Poyet.
“Even when he’s been rotating players like he has been this season, apart from the game against AEK Athens, Brighton have been able to consistently perform at a strong level under him and that’s a very difficult thing to do.”
“The limit De Zerbi’s managerial talents can reach lies with himself, he’s been that good. It’ll be great to see if he can keep this up over the coming months.”
Poyet’s showering of praise came with words of warning, however, about the problems which can come with the extra workload of European football.
“This is the toughest season for Brighton because of playing in Europe for the first time,” added Poyet, who has experience of managing in European competitions with AEK Athens and Bordeaux.
“I said it when I was at Bordeaux and people were looking at me like I was crazy – there’s a group of players that are used to playing European football midweek and then the league and then internationals and then Europe again, non-stop, while still performing at the highest level.”
“And then there’s another group of players who can only play well every weekend. People think everybody can play two or three games a week through the season, but they can’t.”
“For Brighton, it’s a very important season to see if this group of players is going to be able to maintain that level across so many games and keep winning, because you don’t want to crash out of Europe in the group, you want to get through.”
“And you want to get through against Chelsea in the Cup, and maintain your position in the league. And for that you need to be playing at the highest level every game, so it will be interesting to see how Brighton cope.”
“Sometimes there’s a reality check for players to be able to perform Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday constantly. It’s not only physical, it’s mental, and the mental side is very important.”
“If Brighton have a big game in Europe against Ajax and the weekend before they are playing the bottom team in the league at home, mentally you’re going to start thinking ahead to the Ajax game and not the league game – it’s natural.”
“So Brighton need to be very strong mentally this season to ensure they are performing at the highest level in every game.”
Poyet was also asked about Evan Ferguson, saying the Irish teenager looks like a player destined for the top – either with Brighton or at another club willing to pay the many, many millions needed to make Tony Bloom to sell.
“When you have a young player like Evan Ferguson performing so well at that level and scoring goals, if he can maintain his mentality and keep learning, he can become a top, top player.”
“I think this season will be the confirmation of Ferguson’s talents. If he goes on and keeps scoring, performing and improving, then he’s another player that Brighton will get millions and millions and millions of pounds for if they choose to sell him – which we’ve seen them do previously through their transfer strategy that has been working very, very well for them.”
Having played for Chelsea and managed Brighton, it was to be expected that Poyet would have something to say about the sides meeting at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup.
Despite the Blues spending over a billion pounds in the past year, signing three players from Brighton and buying the entire Albion coaching team, Chelsea find themselves some 12 points and 11 places below the Seagulls in the table.
That means Brighton come into the clash favourites to progress to the fourth round of the competition – something which Poyet thinks could work in Chelsea’s favour.
“Brighton may be favourites for the Chelsea game on paper given both teams’ start to the season, but it’s a cup game so form can go out of the window,” Poyet said.
“With cup games, if you lose there’s nothing afterwards, so teams approach things differently than in the league.”
“That kind of urgency could give Chelsea that opportunity of bringing back some confidence, happiness and form ahead of returning to the league in the weekend.”
“It’s a good chance for Chelsea to get a win and really change the mood of the training ground for Mauricio Pochettino, so Brighton need to be careful.”
