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#Post#: 102388--------------------------------------------------
“I will never be the kind of manager who tries to win in that wa
y”
By: TA_Ref Date: March 4, 2026, 5:01 pm
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The title of this thread is a quote from Fabian Hurzeler after
Brighton were defeated by Arsenal tonight by 1 goal to nil and
it’s a quote that I will never understand in a million years.
The role of a football manager is to win football games, whether
you win playing beautiful possession based football or whether
you win by scrapping out a win - and that’s what Arsenal have
been so good at this season.
People will have their opinions on Arsenal’s playing style.
People will say it’s boring. It’s tedious. They’re reliant on
set plays. It’s ugly to watch. Arsenal are 7 points clear at the
top of the table. If they are to go on and lift the premier
league title, all it will say in the record books is that they
finished top of the table and that’s all that matters.
I don’t know how many Brighton correspondents we have on here (I
think we have a few) but I would assume that grinding out more
wins by being harder to beat is better than trying to play nice
football and failing. If Brighton had done that this season,
then they might well have a lot more points.
It seems a ridiculous thing to say as a manager when you’re
employed by the club to win games of football. A manager who is
reluctant to change his ways and a manager who always wants to
have a moan when things aren’t going his way. Arsenal win games
ugly but when they turn on the style, they are a joy to watch
and they are deservedly top of the league so far. Winning ugly
is an art that Arsenal have mastered this season and they should
be praised, not ridiculed for that. The best teams in the league
win when they don’t play well - that’s what they do on a regular
basis.
I just simply cannot believe a manager has said that he refuses
to win in a certain style…
#Post#: 102397--------------------------------------------------
Re: “I will never be the kind of manager who tries to win
in that way”
By: gooner Date: March 5, 2026, 3:46 am
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hi,
exactly this [emoji106]
as an arsenal supporter since the late 60s, i've lost track of
the amount of times (especially in the last 15 or 20 years) that
the team has been criticised for being 'weak', 'too soft',
'can't deal with the physicality of the game', 'walk the ball
into the net', 'always looking for the perfect goal' etc. etc.
when missing out on winning trophies. teams would set up against
arsenal with a low block and play on the counter, often
snatching a win against the run of play with minimal possession.
now, in the last couple of seasons, their playing style has
adapted - the defence has improved, the players are more
physical and the value of the set play has been maximised. i
don't like arteta - never have and i've never made any secret
about it, but he has been backed by the owners and is currently
on the verge of winning a first trophy in 6 years.
hurzler has been moaning about 'time wasting' in this game two
days BEFORE it took place. it WAS a scappy game, it WASN'T great
viewing but not every game is a classic.
arsenal have played brighton 3 times this season and have won
all 3 - if hurzler wants to see an example of 'dark arts' and
'time wasting', i suggest he re-watches the premier league match
between the 2 clubs earlier this seaon at the emirates -
brighton started 'managing the clock' at kick-off.
of course, i would rather arsenal win 'nicely' but while teams
(including arsenal) can 'win ugly' they will.
perhaps fabian hurzler should use some of his excess energy on
developing some innovative tactics of his own. if brighton were
in a relegation battle next season, it would be interesting to
see if the board back the views he expressed post-match last
night.
regards,
gnr
#Post#: 102404--------------------------------------------------
Re: “I will never be the kind of manager who tries to win in tha
t way”
By: bmb Date: March 5, 2026, 7:28 am
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The pathetic man child could have stopped at I will never be the
kind of manager who tries to win or at least added to that I
prefer to spend the whole 90 mins whinging about nothing!
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