It feels like only yesterday the world was turning their attention to the South Coast of England, where Manchester City claimed their second successive league title. After a packed summer of international football, the domestic game is back upon us many of us already making a Premier League prediction on who will take the title this season.
After a busy summer transfer window most fans are eager to see how their new signings will fare in the big league. Fans of Brighton, Chelsea and Newcastle are also excited/terrified (sorry Newcastle fans) at how their new managers will perform.
So what can we expect from Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and Steve Bruce? Read on to find out.
Brighton – Graham Potter
Chris Hughton was a fan favourite in Sussex after guiding Brighton to the promised land of the Premier League and twice securing their status in the division. Despite those achievements, it was time for a change at the AMEX and no-one outside of Brighton was overly surprised when the club parted company with Hughton.
For much of the last two season’s Brighton’s football could be described as ‘pragmatic’ at best, with Hughton favouring a safety-first approach, relying on the solidity of centre-backs Dunk and Duffy.
New manager Graham Potter has a vastly different outlook to how the game should be played, as he has demonstrated at his previous two clubs – Swansea City and Ostersund. Despite preferring a possession based style of football, Potter is not averse to mixing things up in-game either.
YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afcSpScPTpU
(Graham Potter guided regional Swedish strugglers Ostersund from rank obscurity to this stunning victory over Arsenal in the Europa League.)
Chelsea – Frank Lampard
If the Premier League is your bread and butter, you might think that Frank Lampard did an exceptional job at Derby County last season – steering the club to the Play-Off Final. Fans of the Championship will have a vastly different opinion however.
For half a decade Derby have been one of the highest spending clubs in the division, with a playing squad more than capable of promotion. A series of poor managerial choices have impeded their ability to escape the division, coupled with a scatter-gun transfer policy.
To be fair to Frank Lampard, he brought Derby as close to promotion as they have been since Steve Mclaren’s side lost to QPR in the 2014 Play-Off Final. It’s worth noting that Lampard did that by cherry picking some of the best young Premier League talents on season-long loans.
With a transfer ban to contend with, and no major competitive edge Lampard could struggle at Stamford Bridge. His tactics left a lot to be desired at times last season, and the Premier League may not be as unforgiving as the Championship was.
Newcastle – Steve Bruce
The North-East melodrama shows no signs of slowing down with hugely unpopular owner Mike Ashley replacing Champions League winning manager Rafa Benitez with Championship has been Steve Bruce.
What can be said about Steve Bruce? Well he’s a football manager with absolutely no loyalty, having managed Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and now Newcastle.
He’s also a manager with very little credit left in the bank, after failing to achieve anything of note since leaving Hull City in 2016. During his 2 year stint as Villa manager he failed to gain promotion despite being heavily bankrolled by the club.
YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDByvkBoFKQ
(Newcastle may have been better off appointing football impersonator Darren Farley than the actual Steve Bruce.)
At Sheffield Wednesday he won a few games, made noises about pushing for promotion in his first full season in charge and then promptly jumped ship to Newcastle. In footballing terms he’s a softer, cuddlier version of Alan Pardew – another English manager whose best days are in the past.
What can Newcastle fans expect? Turgid, dull football from Mike Ashley’s new and improved yes man.
