Sussex World reporters Sam Morton and Henry Bryant join Derren Howard to discuss Roberto De Zerbi's exit from Brighton
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00:00 It has been an interesting couple of days to say the least. We got the news last Saturday
00:19 that Roberto Di Serbi was going to be leaving and it was his final game against Man United
00:24 which was a 2-0 defeat yesterday at the Amex Stadium. Quite emotional scenes at the Amex
00:30 as the fans were singing to Di Serbi that they wanted him to stay. Sam, what was your
00:37 initial reaction when you heard the news? Were you surprised?
00:41 Yeah, hugely surprised there and it was a big shock actually. I was out and about in
00:47 Eastbourne at the time, my phone vibrated and it was actually the Athletics article
00:53 announcing that he was leaving after the Man United game. I couldn't believe it. It was
01:01 a huge surprise because as we were just saying before, I'd come to terms with the fact that
01:07 he probably would move on a few weeks ago, or even in the last recent months and everything,
01:13 with talk of him potentially going to Liverpool, with Jürgen Klopp leaving, with talk of Man
01:17 United, Bayern Munich and just the calibre and nature of these jobs that he's been linked
01:23 with. I just feel like that could be the reason why he would go. When it didn't happen, and
01:28 obviously when Liverpool went for Arnaud Slot, we obviously heard that Bayern Munich are
01:33 not going for Di Serbi and obviously Man United's job is still undecided, I felt like he'd stay
01:39 and it did seem like that was going to be the case. When you heard him speaking in his
01:44 press conferences, it seemed like he was committed to staying at Brighton, he was talking about
01:48 his plans for next season, and Dab was discussed as potentially coming back. His whole turn
01:55 of phrase and the way he was talking did seem like he definitely was still committed to
01:58 the job. I was very surprised indeed that he's departing. It doesn't seem like he's
02:06 got another job lined up immediately, so it's all very strange in how this has come about.
02:11 It seems obviously it's a mutual decision between the club and himself. We have seen
02:16 throughout there has been a little bit of tension between him and the ownership in various
02:21 stages of the season, where he's obviously called them out on a couple of occasions and
02:26 it does seem like he's wanted, especially in that January transfer window. It does seem
02:33 like there may be a little bit of a breakdown in the relationship there, they just decided
02:37 that it wasn't sustainable going forward, which is a huge shame because he's done an
02:41 incredible job with Brighton and he'll be hugely missed. Obviously, Brighton are experts
02:46 at finding replacements for managers as they did so brilliantly with Graham Potter, so
02:50 hopefully they can do it again.
02:53 Hopefully they can do it again, yeah. There was obviously a disagreement, wasn't there?
02:56 They were talking both sides, Paul Barber was in the press conference yesterday after
03:00 Man United and De Serby. I asked him what could they explain the nature of the disagreement
03:07 and where this thing was. They refused to go into it basically, they just said it's
03:12 enough to say that there was disagreement. Where do you think that, where they couldn't
03:17 reach any middle ground, Henry? What do you think was the crux behind that?
03:22 Well I think when De Serby got Brighton into the Europa League, I think that De Serby wanted
03:30 that to be the standard that was set in place and he wanted, just like we've seen from how
03:35 Brighton have gone through and up the English Football League and into the Premier League,
03:41 to advance again and spend a bit more money, be a bit more ambitious and take a risk. As
03:47 we know, Tony Bloom is an experienced poker player, so maybe De Serby thought he'd be
03:53 able to change the gear yet again and get us into maybe being one of those sides that
03:59 is almost expected to be in Europe in any way, shape or form. I think that that was
04:05 sort of where the ownership and the manager had disagreements on how much should be spent,
04:11 especially during the January transfer window. I think that De Serby was upset and probably
04:16 not very happy with the fact that not much was spent on outgoings there, especially with
04:23 the likes of the injuries that we did have. I think that if we wanted to compete in a
04:28 different way, De Serby liked to use that phrase, competing in a different way, which
04:32 he says we haven't. I think we would have had to have spent a little bit of money in
04:36 that January transfer window, which notoriously Tony Bloom and Paul Barber don't like doing,
04:43 and maybe switch things up and maybe we would have been looking at this season in a completely
04:47 different light. I think that's where they had disagreements and I think that maybe they've
04:53 assessed how they would like their summer planning to go in terms of transfer wishlist
04:57 targets and so on. I think they've maybe had a meeting, sat down and discussed and
05:03 just thought this isn't right for either of us. We've both got different ideas on how
05:08 the club should be run. I think for the fans it's a really difficult one because you've
05:12 got a manager like De Serby that wants Brighton to be the best they possibly can be and obviously
05:17 owners that want to do that as well, but in the bracket of financial stability. I think
05:24 that's a big part of it and it's a really hard situation for Brighton fans because they
05:29 love De Serby and they want us to do the best we can, but they also have a lot of backing
05:34 for Tony Bloom and I just know that as a personal Brighton fan myself, that they will end up
05:40 finding the right man to replace De Serby, but it will be a big ask and there's definitely
05:45 some big boots to fill there.
05:47 Yeah, yeah, no, exactly. Yeah, that's what I was thinking really. Sam, you're at the
05:52 Roma game. Do you think it all started to unravel a bit after that result?
05:58 Yeah, it did seem that way because obviously it was one of those where the form in Europe
06:05 was very good, but they couldn't seem to replicate that in the league and that was the trend
06:12 at the time and you expected the best performances in Europe and that was the first time it completely
06:18 unraveled in Europe, wasn't it? I think they got heavily beaten, but I think there was
06:22 the argument that due to the number of injuries they had, obviously no more so than Jao Pedro
06:28 being out for that game, you felt like they maybe had to set up a little bit differently
06:32 to try and at least get a point or keep the score down and then bring it back to the Amex
06:38 a week later and can try and get something there, which obviously proved to be the case
06:43 and they actually won that second leg, but the damage was already done in the first leg
06:47 and you felt like you had to tweak something and there was a little bit of discontent there
06:52 with the manner in which they got beaten quite easily on the day. So yeah, there definitely
06:59 is the argument that Nassaubi was maybe a little bit too stubborn in certain situations
07:02 and he was very set to his ways and how he wanted to play and he didn't want to change
07:07 that regardless of injuries, the opponent, anything like that, which I do admire and
07:12 respect that. Obviously, he had his ways of doing it and that's it, that's final. But
07:17 yeah, I think in football you've got to be a little bit pragmatic and just change the
07:22 ideas sometimes I think and I think he wasn't always able to do that. But yeah, I think
07:28 it's been a really tough end to the season with some really huge games. I mean, obviously
07:33 they've played pretty much all of the top teams in the last kind of stretch of the season,
07:38 including Man City and Arsenal, obviously both going for the title and even Liverpool
07:43 as well. So they've had some huge games with so many injuries as well. Karim Atoma has
07:47 been out for long periods of time, Solih March has been out since November, Jack Hinshaw
07:52 has been out for a long time, Pedro's missed big parts of the season and just so many more
07:57 and that just sums it up really, the problems that the Serbians had to contend with this
08:02 season and yeah, it's a shame that he doesn't get another year to see what he can do, obviously
08:08 as he did last year with a full-fit team really. I think he so easily could have taken
08:13 this squad further with a few more signings. We're already starting to see more from the
08:17 players that have come in. I think Carlos Belib is really starting to show signs.
08:21 He looked really good, yeah, I thought he looked really good yesterday and Barco looks
08:25 promising. He still makes the odd mistake, Barco, but he looks a real talent.
08:30 He's so raw, isn't he? I think, yeah, he just looks such a talent that he did against
08:35 Man City and yeah, it's a real shame that the Serb is off and I think that Roma game
08:41 is one where you can look back on as a bit of a start of a breakdown, I think.
08:46 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Henry, they've got so much faith, Paul Barber and Tony Bloom, in their
08:51 methods that they've had and it's hard to argue with the success that they've had,
08:55 isn't it? They've brought the club on so far. But is this, have they, I thought maybe
09:02 it may unravel with Potter and, but you know, De Serby then came in. Is getting rid of De
09:08 Serby a mistake, do you think? Or, because it's hard to go against what Bloom and Barber
09:15 have done, isn't it, in the past? Yeah, like I say, you raise such a good point
09:21 because Brighton fans have now got this sort of, why have we got rid of a manager that
09:28 has taken us, you know, and basically made us the best that we possibly can be? And the
09:34 way that I'm guessing that it can sound for Brighton fans when they do listen to post-match
09:40 press conferences and quotes that come out is that De Serby and Paul Barber and Tony
09:46 Bloom do have some disagreement, but ultimately De Serby wants us to go to the next level,
09:51 the next level and the next level. Where I think Tony Bloom and Paul Barber, you know,
09:56 might be criticised is that first few games of the season and especially the business
10:03 that we do in the summer, I think that if there was a lack of spending this summer,
10:09 especially with the record signing fee that we got for Caicedo, for example, even Sanchez
10:15 went for about £20 million to Chelsea amongst other players that we've been able to sell.
10:19 I think it would be quite peculiar to not see a few signings in the region of the same
10:25 fee that we paid for João Pedro, for example, around that £30 million mark. So I think
10:31 it's a big one at the moment, but I think as Brighton are quite a community driven club,
10:36 they'll always stick with Tony Bloom no matter what. He's always been that man to
10:42 guide us and sort us out and their ways are certainly working. I mean, no one really
10:47 expected Brighton to compete in Europe like they did this season in terms of getting out
10:53 of that group stage. It was called the group of death. We'd done it and we did it with
10:57 the players that we had. So I think if you look at the season through the injuries we've
11:01 had, through the fact that we've had to play extra games because of the Europa League
11:06 and also the position, it wasn't the best not finishing in that top half of the table.
11:10 But we did manage to end the season somewhat all right with that last few games. I mean,
11:19 we didn't get the points we needed, but I thought that Chelsea game in particular,
11:22 I thought Brighton had a really good game, maybe deserved a point out of that.
11:26 And overall, we just need to regroup and just stick with what we've got.
11:30 Yeah. So Sam, who's next? Then we've got Kieran McKenna on the list. I've seen Vincent
11:37 Company's name mentioned, Thomas Frank. Russell Martin is a name who I think could be perhaps
11:47 one in the running. What do you think? Have you seen any names or have you heard anything?
11:54 I think the only other name I've seen come up is Vincent Company. Obviously, going back down with
11:59 Burnley, I think that's probably an unlikely one because he hasn't done the best of jobs,
12:04 obviously, in the Premier League with the squad he had at Burnley. So obviously, he made the
12:08 championship look easy last year, but hasn't done the same, obviously, in the Premier League. So
12:12 it's a different beast, isn't it? But I think that one's very unlikely. But Kieran McKenna
12:16 is an interesting one. I think that he seems to be the type of manager who would be a good fit
12:22 for Brighton. Obviously, he came through the ranks at Man United and has done an absolutely
12:27 incredible job at Ipswich. So he's definitely one that I think Brighton could look to get through
12:37 the door and to be a good replacement for De Serby, really. But yeah, time will tell. Obviously,
12:44 as we've seen with Brighton, they don't usually go for the big names, the ones that we know about.
12:48 It's usually someone who's a little bit hidden, somewhere we haven't really heard too much about,
12:52 and that's what their experts are doing. And I'm sure De Serby and, sorry, Blue and Barbara have
12:58 got a plan in mind for who they want to bring in. I think on McKenna, it would be a surprise if he
13:04 did leave Ipswich, I think, because he's obviously brought them up to the Premier League and you
13:07 would think he'd want to complete the job almost and see how he gets on with them. But obviously,
13:12 in football, you just never know. And if he gets the right offer and the right kind of...
13:16 Yeah, if he gets what he would like to hear, I guess, from Blue and Barbara and they're giving
13:21 him everything that he wants as a manager, then it might be too good to turn down and
13:26 the opportunity to bring Brighton back up again to where they were and try and get to Europe again.
13:31 So it could be too good of an opportunity to pass up for McKenna. So time will tell.
13:36 But yeah, obviously, if you're going to trust anyone to make the right decision,
13:39 it is Blue and Barbara, and they've done it time and time again.
13:41 They've done it, yeah. They've had very few managers they've brought in have failed,
13:45 haven't they? Other than maybe Hippier, Sam Hippier. But other than that, I think all the
13:50 managers have done really well. I'm an Ipswich fan and I was speaking to a friend today and
13:56 apparently he was speaking to Kieran McKenna's uncle, which is not my gospel, but apparently
14:01 he's going nowhere this season. So, but yeah, you never know. There's so many rumours going around.
14:08 Russell Martin, Henry, what would you think of him?
14:11 It's a really interesting one, actually. I mean, they've, if I'm not mistaken,
14:17 they were in the playoff finals. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. They were in the playoff finals. I just
14:21 wanted to double check that. They were in the playoff finals. They did it quite convincingly
14:25 at the end of the game against West Brom. I think from what my friends told me, actually,
14:32 and this is another sort of weird one, but I was out and about. One of my friends told me,
14:37 actually, keep an eye on Russell Martin when the Zerby ends up leaving. And I didn't really
14:42 believe it, to be honest. I think in terms of the fit for Brighton, I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
14:48 He's one where I feel like we need a different calibre of manager potentially to maybe take us
14:56 to that next level. Maybe someone, but it is so difficult. I'm not entirely convinced about
15:02 Russell Martin, if I'm honest with you. I think he's done okay for Southampton and it'll be
15:07 interesting to see whether he is offered the role, especially if Southampton do end up going up
15:13 through the playoffs. It might be another one where he's in the Premier League, wants to give
15:21 it a go, wants to reshuffle his team. He might be given a good budget by Southampton. They're a
15:27 sizeable club in the Championship and if they go up to the Premier League, I think that they'll be
15:33 fairly confident that they can stay up and retain their position in the league.
15:37 But personally, I don't think that he would be the best fit for the club.
15:42 I think with Russell Martin, obviously he's got roots to Brighton, hasn't he? He was obviously
15:47 there as a youth footballer as well. So, if Brighton did decide to go for him, his head
15:53 could be turned from that. Obviously, they're probably a club at his heart and he's obviously
15:57 where he's from. So, it could be one that's right for him, even if it's a family decision as well.
16:04 Yeah, definitely an interesting one to look out for. I think that could be potentially one for us
16:08 to go for. Yeah, yeah. Now, I think he's a name to watch out for. Steve Cooper I've seen mentioned
16:14 as well, but again, I'm not 100% convinced on that one. You mentioned Thomas Frank, I think
16:21 that would be a great one. I think he's done a great job. Yeah, I agree. I think Man United
16:24 would do well to go for him as well. I think he's definitely underrated as a manager and if Brighton
16:30 can get hold of him, it'd be brilliant. I think, yeah, when you think having Brentford and not
16:35 having Ivan Toni for most of the season and how well they've done in circumstances. Yeah, he seems
16:40 a great guy as well, doesn't he? In his interviews and the way he comes across, he just seems as
16:44 though he would be a good fit at Brighton and the structure that they have in place, you could see
16:50 him being there. Obviously, with Matthew Benham and the Tony Bloom feud and rivalry between them,
16:57 I think Frank would have to leave first and be almost like a free agent before coming in. But,
17:05 yeah, lots of movement potentially to discuss. But what do you think on time frame, Henry? Do
17:12 you think a couple of weeks Brighton could have someone in place?
17:15 I think they'd want to get someone in for the start of the pre-season planning, especially
17:21 with the summer transfer window opening. I think the manager, the new manager, enough time to get
17:29 themselves familiarised with the squad, the training facilities that we've got here and
17:34 also just the ethos and the club overall. You obviously feel as a fan or a reporter, as a
17:43 pundit or as just a fan of anything to do with Brighton. But from looking in, I think a manager
17:48 will need to have those few weeks to come in, understand everything about the club and get to
17:54 work straight away really. So I wouldn't be surprised if within even the next week and a bit,
17:58 we see someone. Because as they always do, they always have something lined up. They've always
18:05 got a backlog even for themselves. As Paul Barbera said, they've got people that can replace him and
18:11 they've got all the stats and the data on that. So it'll be no surprise to see if this is a really
18:16 quick turnaround. They're going to Japan, aren't they, in pre-season. So hopefully they'll have
18:23 someone in place well before then so they can start preparing for the season. But Sam, just
18:28 finally, do you think Brighton are in a good position still? They've got a lot of injured
18:32 players who will be coming back for the new manager. Perhaps a couple of sign-ins as well.
18:38 No European football next season. It's quite nicely set up, isn't it, for a new manager to
18:43 come in there? When you look at the young talent returning into players from injury,
18:47 there's still lots of reason to be quite optimistic for Brighton, isn't there?
18:53 100 per cent. Yeah, absolutely. The players that Brighton have at their disposal,
18:57 I think lots of clubs would write your arm off for some of the players and the talent that Brighton
19:02 have. It's such a blend of talent as well. I think with the experience of players like Danny
19:08 Welbeck and obviously James Milner as well, staying on for another season. But you've got
19:12 these players like Barco and Bolivar and obviously Pedro is still young himself. Just players like
19:17 that who can improve as time goes on. De Serbi has obviously done an incredible job at getting
19:23 the best out of players that maybe we didn't see beforehand. Even like Soddy March, he was
19:27 like a man reborn, wasn't he? He really was, yeah.
19:30 Yeah, so I think these kind of players, I hope they can continue that. I hope that now De Serbi
19:35 has gone, it doesn't change anything in terms of those performances and they can come back
19:39 and perform as they were. De Serbi can leave a mark, not just in the history of the club, but
19:44 also in the players that he's left behind as well. They can really develop as they go forward with a
19:49 new man at the helm. But yeah, I'm confident that Brighton can continue from where they left off,
19:55 obviously. Definitely improved form at the end of the season, after a bit of a rough few weeks,
20:00 they start to pick things up. Even that defeat against Man Utd and Chelsea, there were really
20:04 good signs in the performance. I think with a few of those injured players in the team, we could be
20:09 talking about a different end to the season entirely. So yeah, plenty of reasons to be
20:15 optimistic really. I think it's important though that Brighton do make some good signings as well
20:18 in the summer and they do get this manager in early so he can have his say, bring in players
20:24 that suit what he needs. And obviously, if he wants to let any players go that don't suit his
20:28 needs as well. So yeah, the sooner they bring this new manager in, the better. As we've said,
20:32 I think that definitely will happen. I think the club know what they're doing. I think there's a
20:37 reason why they've announced now that De Serby's leaving and not left it until a few weeks after
20:41 the end of the season. Yeah, well no, fair enough. And it's, yeah, well keep up to date with
20:46 everything. The football's stopped for the season but I think it's going to be, there's going to be
20:51 plenty to report on in a busy summer. So yeah, it was a great two years under De Serby but I think
20:56 there's still quite a bit to look forward to. But keep up to date with everything from Sussex
21:02 World.co.uk. Thank you. Thanks, Henry. Thanks, Sam. Thanks, Darren. Cheers.