Alireza Jahanbakhsh @ Brighton & Hove Albion 2020/21

[ehsan_REAL1]

Nail on the head. Iranian genetics are what's holding him back and Potter is an astute man for spotting this.

He's still adjusting from coming from another Country 3 years later.

[Prowess]

2 cup games: 2 goals + 1 assist
27 PL minutes: 1 assist

I had no doubt ARJ had this in him. People that say the coach 100% has no racial bias, are wrong. He’s human—not an immaculate being. Unfortunately, being iranian can have a negative connotation.

If he was brazilian, german, or spanish would he have more playing time by now? Maybe. Of course game tactics will influence a coach’s preference for certain players. But his race may have a subtle influence on not only the coach’s judgement, but preconceived notion on his potential.

In any case, as long as ARJ continues to perform like this, the coach will have no choice to play him more.

[Adesor Vafaseya]

lol. You definitely are not Iranian, maybe a Farsi speaker but not Iranian for such thoughts would never cross an Iranian mind even as a sarcasm.

NO LABELING PLEASE!

[rizz]

2 cup games: 2 goals + 1 assist
27 PL minutes: 1 assist
I had no doubt ARJ had this in him. People that say the coach 100% has no racial bias, are wrong. He’s human—not an immaculate being. Unfortunately, being iranian can have a negative connotation.
If he was brazilian, german, or spanish would he have more playing time by now? Maybe. Of course game tactics will influence a coach’s preference for certain players. But his race may have a subtle influence on not only the coach’s judgement, but preconceived notion on his potential.
In any case, as long as ARJ continues to perform like this, the coach will have no choice to play him more.

As much as I love to see JB succeed in this club (what he is actually doing with the few minutes he is getting last season plus this season), we have to admit that the reason he is not yet playing in the starting XI is rather his speed and pressing ability rather than Potter being racist. It is hard to believe that Potter has objective reasons not playing him ( considering JB’s stats ), but if we look back in time and take Saman Ghoddos into consideration, than it is hard to play the racism card. Now, probably you are going to say, that Ghoddos was way above other players in terms of his qualities and it is not comparable to the difference in quality between JB and his team’s competitors. Nevertheless, I reckon that although JB is lacking these fundamentals in todays football game, he will create so much offensively that it will be impossible for Potter not playing him in the starting XI in a few games. The only problem is, that the achievement of being in the starting XI and STAYING in there will cost JB much more energy, because as soon as he is not assisting or scoring, he will quickly be losing his position, because he cannot compensate for at times lacking offensively with speed and defensive skills.

[Lorestani]

The reason Potter is reluctant to use ARJ is the same reason CQ was reluctant to use ARJ. ARJ is great going forward, but weak when his team does not have possession. For teams playing against nominally stronger opponents, be it Brighton or Team Melli, ARJ's weakness is a risk both coaches were/are reluctant to take.

[Kiarash]

The reason Potter is reluctant to use ARJ is the same reason CQ was reluctant to use ARJ. ARJ is great going forward, but weak when his team does not have possession. For teams playing against nominally stronger opponents, be it Brighton or Team Melli, ARJ's weakness is a risk both coaches were/are reluctant to take.

Please elaborate further? If anything, CQ kept playing Jahanbakhsh as a starter throughout most WC qualifiers and also played him from the start in the Morocco and Spain game. He is fantastic in tracking back and doing defensive work actually, which translates to not being able to be offensively lively in TM and Brighton with CH, in contrast to AZ where his main job was to create chances and attack.

[The]

Please elaborate further? If anything, CQ kept playing Jahanbakhsh as a starter throughout most WC qualifiers and also played him from the start in the Morocco and Spain game. He is fantastic in tracking back and doing defensive work actually, which translates to not being able to be offensively lively in TM and Brighton with CH, in contrast to AZ where his main job was to create chances and attack.

I actually think he has a point.
This season in particular Alireza seems to not be putting in any real effort on defense compared to his previous seasons in Brighton. Slow to get back, doesn't press, and doesn't fight for the ball when he loses it.

I think it's because of the pressure to score and assist more, which is sub-consciously causing him to want to stay up front more and not get involved on defense as much.

[perspolis#1]

Is it sustainable for Brighton to look for penalties for the first 75 minutes of the other 35 games of the season or actually have a player who can cross the ball?

[Salar]

I actually think he has a point.
This season in particular Alireza seems to not be putting in any real effort on defense compared to his previous seasons in Brighton. Slow to get back, doesn't press, and doesn't fight for the ball when he loses it.

I think it's because of the pressure to score and assist more, which is sub-consciously causing him to want to stay up front more and not get involved on defense as much.

I think this is what Potter is asking him to do therefore using his strengths. Potter plays attacking football anyway and they are not afraid to give it a go against the bigger teams as we saw yesterday. He can't make the squad every match if Potter wasn't genuinely pleased with him whether he likes or dislikes him. McAlister who has had senior caps for Argentina and looks like a very gifted player does not even make the bench in the EPL matches and neither did Propper yesterday who's a Dutch International. There's healthy competition in the team, Ali is in good form and surely doing what Potter is asking him to do. As much as I dislike Potter for his treatment of Ali, his team is playing good football, 1 point in 3 matches says otherwise but even against Chelsea on their opening match they did well, they destroyed Newcastle away which is not easy and they completely deserved the 3 points against United yesterday. Ali is a fighter, he's getting chances and he's taking them and he will soon be in the XI, have no doubt.

[Lorestani]

Please elaborate further? If anything, CQ kept playing Jahanbakhsh as a starter throughout most WC qualifiers and also played him from the start in the Morocco and Spain game. He is fantastic in tracking back and doing defensive work actually, which translates to not being able to be offensively lively in TM and Brighton with CH, in contrast to AZ where his main job was to create chances and attack.

The first part of your statement is factually inaccurate, the second part proves my point.

As for the first part, ARJ was no fixed starter with CQ. True, CQ played him quite a bit and he was a trusted member of his squad, but he got less playing time than players like Taremi or Amiri, who at that time weren't even legionnaires. What CQ appreciated in those two other players, which many members on this board who now praise Taremi to the skies did not get, was their ability to contribute to both offense and defense, running up and down the pitch without any signs of exhaustion. ARJ is not this type of player.

As for the second part of your statement, it is exactly ARJ's lack of doing both -- offense and defense -- in the same game that I am talking about.

[Nokhodi]

ARJ used to track back alot in Brighton - especially under Huhgton, but it was killing his game. He's not a defender and when he's on now it seems like he's almost playing as forward with less defensive responsibility.

[Lorestani]

ARJ used to track back alot in Brighton - especially under Huhgton, but it was killing his game. He's not a defender and when he's on now it seems like he's almost playing as forward with less defensive responsibility.

If that's what his coach wants from him, great. But as soon as his coach wants a more balanced game, with him tracking back but also staying involved in attacks, he struggles. Hence CQ's and Potter's (hopefully fading) reluctance to field him.

[KasraKhan]

The first part of your statement is factually inaccurate, the second part proves my point.

As for the first part, ARJ was no fixed starter with CQ.

Really? From my memory, JB was absolutely a fixed member of CQ's squad, barring injury. I just looked back at the WCQ, WC, and AC teams and he started in most matches. The only match he didn't start in was Spain, but he was on a yellow card and apparently dealing with a minor injury.

[Nokhodi]

Really? From my memory, JB was absolutely a fixed member of CQ's squad, barring injury. I just looked back at the WCQ, WC, and AC teams and he started in most matches. The only match he didn't start in was Spain, but he was on a yellow card and apparently dealing with a minor injury.

Agreed.

[Ghermez Agha]

I think this is what Potter is asking him to do therefore using his strengths. Potter plays attacking football anyway and they are not afraid to give it a go against the bigger teams as we saw yesterday. He can't make the squad every match if Potter wasn't genuinely pleased with him whether he likes or dislikes him. McAlister who has had senior caps for Argentina and looks like a very gifted player does not even make the bench in the EPL matches and neither did Propper yesterday who's a Dutch International. There's healthy competition in the team, Ali is in good form and surely doing what Potter is asking him to do. As much as I dislike Potter for his treatment of Ali, his team is playing good football, 1 point in 3 matches says otherwise but even against Chelsea on their opening match they did well, they destroyed Newcastle away which is not easy and they completely deserved the 3 points against United yesterday. Ali is a fighter, he's getting chances and he's taking them and he will soon be in the XI, have no doubt.

Thanks Salar jaan this is exactly what me and The have been saying to everyone in this thread for some time so it’s good to hear it coming from you. Of course we all dislike potter for how he has treated Ali. But we can’t ignore the reality of him being a decent coach - I really hope the “potter is a shitty coach” and “potter is no different than hughton they will relegate/battle relegation” nonsense comes to an end.