All the reaction from Brighton’s vital away win at Brentford
Fabian Hurzeler will have a little more spring to his step this week.
Pressure had been mounting on the German head coach and the 2-0 win at Brentford last Saturday just allows him a little breathing space as they now turn their focus to Sunday's game against Nottingham Forest.
The Seagulls are now nine points above the relegation place and six points adrift of an European qualification spot.
Poor recent transfers
The win at Brentford was certainly welcome but also provided a stark reminder of just how poor Brighton's recent new signings have been.
Brentford away may seem a fairly routine fixture in the Premier League but this was absolutely vital for Hurzeler. Perhaps the most important of his career. A section of fans are already against him and defeat at the Gtech could have made his position impossible.
Hurzeler often receives stick as Brighton have spent almost £300m since he arrived but who did he turn to save the season and his job?... well, it wasn't many of the 'new arrivals.'
Mats Wieffer and Ferdi Kadioglu
In fact of the initial £200m spend only Ferdi Kadioglu and Mats Wieffer started.
£40m record arrival Georginio stayed on the bench as academy graduate Jack Hinshelwood was trusted with the advanced midfield role.
Yankuba Minteh, a £35m star signing from Newcastle, was also benched as £10m Paraguayan Diego Gomez played and opened the scoring from the right wing role. Both Minteh and Georginio have been hugely disappointing this term.
£25m man Matt O'Riley is back from loan at Marseille but for the second match running, he didn't make the matchday squad. Another £25m man Brajan Gruda was also missing as he was pushed out on loan last month.
James Milner in for Carlos Baleba
Carlos Baleba was just starting to emerge at Brighton before Hurzeler arrived. Baleba was excellent last season but has been terrible ever since Manchester United tried to sign him. Hurzeler simply couldn't trust him from the start at Brentford, hence why 40-year-old James Milner was in and broke the all-time Premier League appearance record in the process.
There were also starts for 35-year-old Danny Welbeck and 34-year-olds Pascal Gross and Lewis Dunk. The fact Gross returned for £1m last month - and played 90 minutes in every game since - just shows that O’Riley, Georginio and Gruda were nowhere near his level.
Also on the bench was the talented but vastly inexperienced £30m summer signing Charalampos Kostoulas. The Greek striker was brought in to help replace Joao Pedro but that was always going to be a tough ask given he was changing leagues, changing countries and adapting. Hence the over-reliance on Welbeck this term.
Belgian left back Maxim De Cuyper was also on the bench for this one as the player brought in to replace Pervis Estupinan this term has yet to really establish himself under Hurzeler.
Recruitment problems
The win has hugely welcome but clear problems remain with Brighton this season. The £300m spend is often used as a stick to beat Hurzeler with when things go south but only two of those players - Wieffer and Kadioglu - were used when it mattered the most.
That’s a massive issue for Hurzeler and also an ongoing headache for the recruitment department.
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