Pep Potter? The Brighton Bielsa? However we characterise what is going on at Brighton, the football aesthetic evolving at the Amex Stadium under Graham Potter is deserving of the lofty, some might say cerebral associations aforementioned.
Brighton’s win over Spurs, their first at home in 15 games, put seven points between them and the bottom-three. You might wonder what the fuss is about if Burnley can harvest a point more from one game less?
Potter would say that since winning is the objective, any method that gets a team across the line is legitimate. He is right, of course, but if we broaden the discussion to include the fan experience it is not much of a leap to suggest that Brighton supporters are the happier.
For all their aggression and industry, there is something deeply unappealing for the neutral watching Burnley spoil and disrupt their way about the pitch compared to the upbeat rhythms created by the more fluid movements of Brighton. This is my claim, not Potter’s.
As an enlightened coach he would not permit his elevation above another. But from the fan perspective it is reasonable to argue that should a win be possible you would take it playing the beautiful game over the percentage slog variety.
Equally his educational attainment does not make Potter a better person or a superior coach to other ex-players who rely entirely on their experience of the game and their coaching badges.
What we might argue is that the initiative required to pursue a social science degree via the Open University and a subsequent masters in Leadership and Professional Development is perhaps an indication of an inquiring mind and a willingness to test new ideas.
If we link this with the way his Brighton team plays we begin to understand why Potter is so highly regarded. As he claims, the result against Spurs was closer to 2-0 than 1-1, and in his view the best display since he arrived at the Amex from Swansea in 2019 . “We didn’t park the bus,” he said. “It was a well-executed performance.” Indeed so.
Potter’s analysis was also peppered with words like quality, personality, courage, character and intelligence, an argot with which disciples of Guardiola and Bielsa will be familiar.
Potter is 11 years into the leap of faith that saw him trade a coaching post with Leeds Metropolitan University for fourth tier Ostersunds in Sweden. Potter took them into the top flight for the first time and into the Europa League, again unprecedented.
Potter’s next big test: Liverpool
The progression to Swansea after seven years in Sweden proved a short transition but long enough to establish the Liberty Stadium as the passing capital of the Championship.
His attachment to the methods of Guardiola and Bielsa were obvious in the dismissal of a Spurs team anchored to an opposing philosophy that proved unable to cope. The case against Jose Mourinho’s Spurs vision was made just as forcibly if not as emphatically by Brighton as it was by Liverpool, who, as fate would have it, are Potter’s next challenge.
Leandro Trossard’s goal was a celebration of the rapid feet and darting runs that typify the Potter template. Ever alert to the need to shift the ball forward at pace, Brighton are just as nimble out of possession, quick to deny space and aggressive in defending the box.
Having stopped the bleeding with powerful wins at Spurs and West Ham, Liverpool might see Brighton as ideal preparation for Sunday’s seismic meeting with Manchester City. Similarly, Guardiola, an avowed admirer of Potter’s, might just find Brighton’s Anfield endeavour useful for plotting a triumph that could define the season.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2LeFIVi
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