Alireza Jahanbakhsh @ Brighton & Hove Albion | 2019-2020

[Medzdidz]

Quickly everyone go to the BBC Sport website and vote for Alireza as goal of the season.

[BHAFC]

Your original post didn’t come off with this sentiment, but I still disagree with the logic behind this. Brighton’s tactics may not have fit ARJ (we may never know with how little of opportunities he received this year), but to make a blanket statement about the whole EPL is disingenuous. If he played for Leicester in Mahrez’ prior role, we don’t know what would happen. That was an option for him, and he should have taken it. We all saw the Brighton move as a boneheaded one. Playing for a team that is constantly trying to survive makes most players look weak. Did anyone look strong on Brighton this year? Maybe Maupay?
Each league has teams with varying tactics and styles. Atlético plays a much different style than Real or Barcelona, leagues aren’t as uniform in style as you are stating, but I get the basic premise.
I think the flaw in the reasoning is that you’re saying if a player couldn’t find a place at Eibar or Real Betis in la liga he isn’t suited for La Liga, while if that player was on Valencia or Villarreal, they might perfectly fit into those teams.
My point is, nobody really shines on a team that is never really much stronger than any teams in the league. There are not many games where Brighton is clearly better than their opponents.
Not many players on Brighton really fit the EPL being honest. That’s the problem. It’s a championship team with a handful of PL players. That’s never a recipe for success. Leicester would have provided Ali a better chance to shine.

I get what you’re saying but I’m not claiming that every team in a league play the same, but rather there are traits or abilities that work better in certain leagues than in others. In fact the big 3 in Spain are a good example. As you say, all 3 of them play different brands of football, but none of them rely particularly on blistering pace or a big battering ram up front. Despite them all having different styles they all rely on technical ability over physical ability. Compare that to the Prem where Liverpool have Mane & Salah, Man.U have Rashford, Greenwood, Martial etc. Players who are obviously good technically but have pace as one of their key assets, something that can’t be said about a lot of the key La Liga strike forces. Now obviously not every team in every league fits in to this pattern but if you look through every Prem team and then look through every La Liga team you’ll start to notice a fairly consistent physical/technical split.

As for players who’ve done well for us this season? Maupay got double figures, so I’d say him. Trossard had a bad middle of the season but has overall been excellent. Bissouma has been our best player since the restart & I think Dunk has been our POTS whilst Burn has had a solid first campaign with us. Okay, none of them are going to sign for Man Coty this summer but for a club of our size they’ve done okay.

[Afat11]

I take it from the fact you completely ignored points 1, 2 & 3 that you don’t have an answer for them? It seems hypocritical of you to go on the attack and demand answers from me when you’re willing to ignore large chunks of my post because they don’t fit in to the narrative you’re trying to push.

But using a player who doesn’t play the same position as him clearly defeats the point you’re trying to make. If Potter wants his players to do well to make himself look better then surely he plays his ‘best’ winger who can then set up lots of chances for Maupay who scores more goals and makes Potter look better. You’re literally arguing against your own point now.Your post is a bit all over the place so sorry if I miss any parts of it, not that you can really moan if that happens.

Potter was riding Ali’s jock all year saying “well, he’s just unlucky not to be in the starting 11”, then he wouldn’t even be in the match day squad. - Firstly I’ve seen 1 interview where Potter has said he’s unlucky not be starting and then he hasn’t been in the next squad. Maybe I’ve missed them but this seems like a huge exaggeration. But even so, what do you want Potter to do here? He doesn’t pick the questions he’s asked during interviews. So when he’s asked about Ali J do you want to turn around and slag him off? Even if we ignore the emotional impact that would have on Ali J it would put the club in a weaker position as it means our next opponents don’t have to consider him tactically and if we make it clear he isn’t wanted he’d lose value if we tried to sell him.

If you agree that he is a good player and professional, why was he used so sparingly all season when available? A concoction of numerous different reasons. We often haven’t played with wingers this season, either playing with wing backs or a 4-2-2-2. Neither of which suit Ali J. We’ve also got a selection of wingers who play on the right who have different strengths to Ali J. March is better defensively, Connolly has played there for his pace, Gross/Mooy offer more tactical flexibility if we want to change formation and have arguably better set piece delivery etc.

The facts surrounding this are why there are conspiracy theories as you say. It begs for them with the disconnect between Potter’s words and actions. There is 100% something more going on, and I don’t think any reasonable person would deny it. - Have you ever played or coached football at any sort of serious level? Do you have detailed reports from all of Brighton’s training sessions over the last 12 months? I ask these questions because a lot of how you seem to view football is inline with the current plague of ‘FIFA Managers’ where somebody plays FIFA and then views football management as basically the same thing, so I just want to know what sort of standing I’m on here.

It’s just a bit frustrating that you seem to expect me to know the inner workings of Potters mind when you can’t even explain to me why you think Potter would think that not playing ARJ would make him look better than using him and him becoming a massive hit.

A response to all your points (which I said I would hypothetically accept, but you didn’t seem to read that part), so you feel gratified in the response.

Point 1 about the comments about ARJ from Potter: I definitely read more than just one, especially around the time of his 2 starts, there were several comments from Potter revolving around Ali. I’m not going to dig through the whole thread, but saying it was just one comment is a lie. Also, your conjecture and speculation is just as much speculation as us. He did enough to destroy Ali’s value by not playing him all season, he could explain that we don’t use a RW in the squad often, but otherwise Ali is amazing or something like that. His “he’s close, but I’m going to exclude him from 90% of the games did enough to tank Ali’s value, don’t worry about that. Again, your speculation is just that, no more than ours, and I still don’t think your logic answers the question. Potter’s actions did worse to Ali than some words could have done to boost his value, even if he chose not to use him.

On the tactical decision: anyone who watched March all year knew he’s a headless chicken who runs around aimlessly. If you watch/play/know football, trying to justify his piss poor quality with “he can defend better” is the reason the team is Where it’s at. March is the definition of not belonging in the premiere league, and to argue that Potter rationally chose him time and time again is either an indictment on Potter’s capacity as a coach, or its something more. Again, the point of football is to win, if Potter is picking the guy as useless as March or the others and not choosing a player that can get goals and isn’t a headless chicken, that’s the sort of anti-football nonsense that made Brighton a damn chore to watch.

Last point: you don’t need to play professionally or have detailed reports to see the shitshow at Brighton and the misuse of Ali. You are biased towards your team’s horrible decision-making, and we are biased towards Ali. All of your points involve the same amount of speculation and jumping to conclusions to justify Potter’s decisions as ours. You’re not in his head either and if you’re going to try to justify repeatedly picking a low-quality, low football IQ player like March over and over and over again over Ali, you deserve to continue watching paint dry, I mean Brighton play football. Again, I’ve watched plenty of football at all levels, I don’t need to have a personal relationship with a coach or be him to understand certain decisions are boneheaded and stubborn.

Solly March in the EPL is the definition of bashing your head against a wall multiple times hoping for a different result.

If you thought this season reflected good decision-making and tactics overall by Potter as a manager, I feel sorry that your standards are so low. The team mostly sucked, I’m sorry. Even though Ali didn’t play much, it was nice to not have to tune in when he wasn’t in the squad because Brighton’s play isn’t good at all. I know it’s your team, but bias aside, if you want us to believe Brighton is a team that belongs in the PL, we all just know that isn’t true. Potter isn’t a great coach, his “accolades” have been posted here a few times. If he were Bulgarian, he wouldn’t be coaching an EPL team with his resume.

[BHAFC]

I will accuse you of saying that Jahanbakhsh isn't good enough because you contradicted yourself by saying that you don't say he isn't good enough but in the very same sentence add that you're sure that if he leaves to a league that suits his strengths, he will return to the player he once was.
You are basically admitting that he doesn't have the strengths to succeed in the premier league and your whole judgement is based on your support of the manager which makes you biased as a club fan.
Just because he is a premier league manager or the coach in your beloved Brighton doesn't mean that he makes professional decisions.
The shameful thing is that you believe that Potter had a logical and tactical reason for his decision to exclude Jahanbakhsh.
It's shameful because you don't know how he actually treats him behind the scenes and how he views him, yet you are certain of it being reasonable.
Can you guarantee that Potter isn't hateful, discriminatory, political, etc?

I’m not sure if there’s a language barrier but I’m not sure how you’ve read what I put and came to the complete opposite conclusion, but okay. I’ve literally just wrote a massive paragraph explaining what I meant but if you don’t want to read it and understand it there isn’t much I can do.

When you say can I guarantee Potter isn’t hateful, discriminatory or political are you trying to insinuate that Potter doesn’t like him because he’s Iranian? I’m not sure what else you could be implying there but I thought I’d ask rather than assuming.

[Medzdidz]

I will post it again in case people missed it looking through 395 pages of the same arguments.

BBC Sport website, 20 mins left to vote for Alireza as goal of the season.

[YeCheesi Tala]

Thanks Medzdidz! I just voted. VOTE GUYS!! Lets get ARJ a W

https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/53533387

[Preezy]

I’m not sure if there’s a language barrier but I’m not sure how you’ve read what I put and came to the complete opposite conclusion, but okay. I’ve literally just wrote a massive paragraph explaining what I meant but if you don’t want to read it and understand it there isn’t much I can do.

When you say can I guarantee Potter isn’t hateful, discriminatory or political are you trying to insinuate that Potter doesn’t like him because he’s Iranian? I’m not sure what else you could be implying there but I thought I’d ask rather than assuming.

You are racially discriminating me now because you view me as an Iranian and therefore think you are superior in the English language without any factual reasoning behind it, considering my post you replied to was stated on an intellectual and literate English level.

I pointed out your own words which gives you no reason to blame me for misunderstanding you. You clearly said that he doesn't have the strengths to perform on an acceptable level in the premier league.

You conclude that I didn't read your post but how can you be certain? This is the same logic you use when you justify Potter's decision making. Shameful.

You gave your explanations to why you believe the way you do and think that just because you explained it, gives you a factual right to state that he isn't good enough without being questioned.

[Afat11]

You are racially discriminating me now because you view me as an Iranian and therefore think you are superior in the English language without any factual reasoning behind it, considering my post you replied to was stated on an intellectual and literate English level.

I pointed out your own words which gives you no reason to blame me for misunderstanding you. You clearly said that he doesn't have the strengths to perform on an acceptable level in the premier league.

You conclude that I didn't read your post but how can you be certain? This is the same logic you use when you justify Potter's decision making. Shameful.

You gave your explanations to why you believe the way you do and think that just because you explained it, gives you a factual right to state that he isn't good enough without being questioned.

Hey man, cool it, he played semi-pro football. Obviously his opinions and speculation are more valid than us uncultured Iranians lol.

[inarsenewetrust]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/53533387
everybody vote!!!! vote again on incognito mode too, this guy deserve something decent personal achievement out of this whole ordeal that totalled his career.

[inarsenewetrust]

For what it’s worth my footballing background is, a season ticket holder at Brighton on and off since I was 6; so just over 20 years. Following local non league teams when Brighton are away from home and I can’t make it to the Away game, as well as sporadically watching other clubs due to family/friends being season ticket holders. (Chelsea, Swindon, Tottenham). I played to a decent level; not professional but I was getting paid to play at one point. I also have some of my coaching badges and have captained teams at a more recreational level (Sunday league and 6-a-side).

well damn thats an impressive resume. With that info its hard to argue against you. Also this totally negates the perception of british fans being snobbish, clueless, and arrogant.

Sunday league and 6 aside is really something, do you also play with dog and grannie in the yard? Are you captain of the dog team or elderlies? I reckon if you are able to captain team granny to victory over team dog, you probably could go far in the sport, especially if granny has alzheimers or dog is paralysed.


Not sure how this makes you more qualified than posters here... You know football is played and watched in other parts of the world too right? At higher levels then local brighton non league teams as well. believe me, such things exist.

[BHAFC]

A response to all your points (which I said I would hypothetically accept, but you didn’t seem to read that part), so you feel gratified in the response.
Point 1 about the comments about ARJ from Potter: I definitely read more than just one, especially around the time of his 2 starts, there were several comments from Potter revolving around Ali. I’m not going to dig through the whole thread, but saying it was just one comment is a lie. Also, your conjecture and speculation is just as much speculation as us. He did enough to destroy Ali’s value by not playing him all season, he could explain that we don’t use a RW in the squad often, but otherwise Ali is amazing or something like that. His “he’s close, but I’m going to exclude him from 90% of the games did enough to tank Ali’s value, don’t worry about that. Again, your speculation is just that, no more than ours, and I still don’t think your logic answers the question. Potter’s actions did worse to Ali than some words could have done to boost his value, even if he chose not to use him.
On the tactical decision: anyone who watched March all year knew he’s a headless chicken who runs around aimlessly. If you watch/play/know football, trying to justify his piss poor quality with “he can defend better” is the reason the team is Where it’s at. March is the definition of not belonging in the premiere league, and to argue that Potter rationally chose him time and time again is either an indictment on Potter’s capacity as a coach, or its something more. Again, the point of football is to win, if Potter is picking the guy as useless as March or the others and not choosing a player that can get goals and isn’t a headless chicken, that’s the sort of anti-football nonsense that made Brighton a damn chore to watch.
Last point: you don’t need to play professionally or have detailed reports to see the shitshow at Brighton and the misuse of Ali. You are biased towards your team’s horrible decision-making, and we are biased towards Ali. All of your points involve the same amount of speculation and jumping to conclusions to justify Potter’s decisions as ours. You’re not in his head either and if you’re going to try to justify repeatedly picking a low-quality, low football IQ player like March over and over and over again over Ali, you deserve to continue watching paint dry, I mean Brighton play football. Again, I’ve watched plenty of football at all levels, I don’t need to have a personal relationship with a coach or be him to understand certain decisions are boneheaded and stubborn.
Solly March in the EPL is the definition of bashing your head against a wall multiple times hoping for a different result.
If you thought this season reflected good decision-making and tactics overall by Potter as a manager, I feel sorry that your standards are so low. The team mostly sucked, I’m sorry. Even though Ali didn’t play much, it was nice to not have to tune in when he wasn’t in the squad because Brighton’s play isn’t good at all. I know it’s your team, but bias aside, if you want us to believe Brighton is a team that belongs in the PL, we all just know that isn’t true. Potter isn’t a great coach, his “accolades” have been posted here a few times. If he were Bulgarian, he wouldn’t be coaching an EPL team with his resume.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but when you try to discredit my original post by saying I must not have watched much football so I don’t understand you look a bit foolish back tracking and getting butthurt when I just point out that I am much more involved in football than you probably are.

I didn’t lie, I clearly stated I only remember one but I might have missed them. Football interviews are of very little interest to me because they’re the same boring string of cliches in a different order every week. I don’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Potters interviews for the same reason I haven’t memorised the local bus timetable.

Wait, you actually want a professional manager to come out and say “we don’t use a right winger often but he’s really good, honest?” Yep, FIFA manager syndrome in full effect here. “If I say nice things in the press conference it’ll boost his morale to good”

I’ve said on this thread I don’t rate March as a winger, however he’s started 11 times this season, he’s not first choice either and almost of those games have been when he’s been used in a relatively defensive role. Now you can do your armchair review of him, but watching a game on TB gives you an incredibly limited view of the game, if you’ve been to a match live then I’m sure you’ll agree. So whilst March is useless going forward he is very good at tracking back, doing the dirty work & supporting his fullback etc. Do I think he needs replacing? Yes. Do I think ARJ is better technically? Yes. Do I think March is better suited to some games? Also yes. When you’re watching the game on TV you only see what is happening around the ball, you don’t see the covering runs or the pressing. You are allowed to think that things are partly good and partly bad, it’s not a binary option.

Your last post is weird. What Potter achieved in Sweden is impressive coaching whether you like him or not. And yeah, our team mostly sucks if you compare it to Liverpool, Arsenal or Man City but we’re not a big club so our expectations aren’t as high as theirs. I’d look like a bit of a dick if I took the piss out of the Iran national team for being shit compared to England, but that is extensively what you’re doing with Brighton. Who do you support?

[BHAFC]

You are racially discriminating me now because you view me as an Iranian and therefore think you are superior in the English language without any factual reasoning behind it, considering my post you replied to was stated on an intellectual and literate English level.
I pointed out your own words which gives you no reason to blame me for misunderstanding you. You clearly said that he doesn't have the strengths to perform on an acceptable level in the premier league.
You conclude that I didn't read your post but how can you be certain? This is the same logic you use when you justify Potter's decision making. Shameful.
You gave your explanations to why you believe the way you do and think that just because you explained it, gives you a factual right to state that he isn't good enough without being questioned.

My ‘factual reasoning’ was the fact that I wrote quite a long post where I explained I think he’s a talented player but the Premier League doesn’t suit his strengths. I asked if there was a language barrier because I would try and reword it if there was; if English is your second language then you’re better at writing in it than most native English speakers, but things can still get lost in translation.
As for the last paragraph, you’re putting words in my mouth. I explained my views so people would be able to debate them. Instead I’ve got the usual “lol Brighton rubbish potter bad ARJ the best” responses. The point of a forum is to discuss isn’t it? Sadly that seems beyond most people on here. I do wonder if posters like The. get embarrassed with this thread. It’s a train wreck.
Also, do you think Potter discriminates against ARJ because he’s Iranian?

well damn thats an impressive resume. With that info its hard to argue against you. Also this totally negates the perception of british fans being snobbish, clueless, and arrogant.

Yeah, thank the Lord we aren’t snobby, clueless and arrogant. If we were we might sit in our bedrooms thinking we know better than Premier League managers

[inarsenewetrust]

My ‘factual reasoning’ was the fact that I wrote quite a long post where I explained I think he’s a talented player but the Premier League doesn’t suit his strengths. I asked if there was a language barrier because we would try and reword it if there was; if English is your second language then you’re better at writing in it than most native English speakers, but things can still get lost in translation.
As for the last paragraph, you’re putting words in my mouth. I explained my views so people would be able to debate them. Instead I’ve got the usual “lol Brighton rubbish potter bad ARJ the best” responses. The point of a forum is to discuss isn’t it? Sadly that seems beyond most people on here. I do wonder if posters like The. get embarrassed with this thread. It’s a train wreck.
Also, do you think Potter discriminates against ARJ because he’s Iranian?
Yeah, thank the Lord we aren’t snobby, clueless and arrogant. If we were we might sit in our bedrooms thinking we know better than Premier League managers

so nobody has a right to ask questions about a managers decision bc they are a manager. Do you mean to tell me the entire english public doesnt question the decision of their managers?

Or only if they have captained their local 6 v 6 team are the allowed to complain? what if they captained 4v4, could they question or complain then? Also how did u get picked for captain role in local 6 v 6? Was it unanimous vote, did you pay for lunch, get the most hammered the night before?

[Preezy]

My ‘factual reasoning’ was the fact that I wrote quite a long post where I explained I think he’s a talented player but the Premier League doesn’t suit his strengths. I asked if there was a language barrier because I would try and reword it if there was; if English is your second language then you’re better at writing in it than most native English speakers, but things can still get lost in translation.
As for the last paragraph, you’re putting words in my mouth. I explained my views so people would be able to debate them. Instead I’ve got the usual “lol Brighton rubbish potter bad ARJ the best” responses. The point of a forum is to discuss isn’t it? Sadly that seems beyond most people on here. I do wonder if posters like The. get embarrassed with this thread. It’s a train wreck.
Also, do you think Potter discriminates against ARJ because he’s Iranian?

English is my fourth language but it's completely irrelevant for you to even mention it because I gave you no reasons to question it. You constantly contradict yourself. First you question my understanding of the English language and now you praise it as if my first post was illiterate.

Jahanbakhsh hasn't been given a single consistent chance to demonstrate his contributions. It's not logical to judge his playing level as below the premier league. You are simply stating that he lacks required strengths because the coach excluded him.

Regarding what I think about Potter; I can only speak about facts. Jahanbakhsh was recently interviewed and he stated that he was being excluded without being informed about the circumstances. Despite this, he remained professional. He even said that it got to a point where Brighton players approached him and told him that they don't understand why he's being treated this way and that they consider him worthy of playing. They basically woke him up and made him realize that it's not just in his own head. That's when he had a verbal fight with Potter and most likely caused Potter to despise him and clearly his situation didn't improve after this interview.

However, Potter was already treating him this way before their fight which means that the whole situation remains a mystery to the whole team, including Jahanbakhsh.

Jahanbakhsh has showed his character and professionalism which makes it unlikely for him to be lying about the case.

The fact that Jahanbakhsh has stayed also makes it believable since he thought he was in Potter's plans. Even Potter admitted that Jahanbakhsh is in his plans during press conferences.

For the above-mentioned reasons, it's reasonable to believe that Potter could be discriminating Jahanbakhsh. He even subbed him in for time wasting today which is extremely disrespectful considering the circumstances and the price tag the player was purchased for recently.


As far as you go, you're a racist individual who's abusing his freedom of speech. You speak with full confidence and defend all your statements, which means that you're completely aware of your actions as well as what you said and meant when you racially discriminated me.

It's people like you that believe African players are superior because of race when there are no studies that prove this. You probably think that Lamptey is a pacey player because of his ethnicity. Individuals like you celebrate when African players score for England and you view them as talented because of being African.

They are never acknowledged for their hard work which led to their skills as a player, and yes I can accuse you of these things because you've showed that you judge individuals based on race just like you did moments ago to me.

[Medzdidz]

I really hope that Alireza doesn’t keep up to date with this thread, we know from previous that he knows a member on this forum and gladly conducted a brilliant interview for us.
Let’s stop this now, whatever we think about Brighton and Potter and I know we all have differing opinions which is brilliant as this is a forum. But there are some comments being made that now shouldn’t be and I think before it goes too far we should move on.

Let’s get behind Alireza and I hope that he is a great break away from Brighton to refresh his mind and that he finds somewhere he gets back to doing what he does best.