Did Fabian Hurzeler's double substitution cost Brighton victory against Wolves? - Opinion

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Ian Hart’s take on Brighton’s costly collapse against Wolves

“So Harty,” began the long standing Albion fan, “Am I the only one who’s not convinced about this bloke (Fabian Hurzeler)?

Obviously, having snatched a 2-2 draw from the jaws of victory. 2-0 up against Wolves on 87 minutes, emotions were always going to be running very high around the bars and lounges of the Amex in the wake of the nature of the sharing of the points with Wolves on Saturday.

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To be frank, after watching the Seagulls for more than half a century, expecting the unexpected is almost par for the course but Saturday’s experience was extremely surreal.

Fabian Hurzeler, Manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, interacts with Mats Wieffer after the Premier League draw against WolvesFabian Hurzeler, Manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, interacts with Mats Wieffer after the Premier League draw against Wolves
Fabian Hurzeler, Manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, interacts with Mats Wieffer after the Premier League draw against Wolves

With the greatest respect, prior to their first goal on 88 minutes, Wolves offered very little. I’d actually go as far as saying that they were one of the most limited sides to play at the Amex in the EPL since we came up in 2017. Probably the ‘worst’ title would be a toss up between them and the Sheffield United side who played in front of the COVID induced limited capacity in December 2020.

Returning to the original question at the top our the page, it’s instigator, is a knowledgeable and respected Albion fan. Unfortunately due to the current social media culture, it wouldn’t be fair to name him, but 24 hours on, he doesn’t deem his comment as the ultimate knee jerk reaction but instead a legitimate question.

Another adjective being bandied around the Amex lounge I was in, was naivety, allegedly in light of Hurzeler substitutions, the specific mentioned was the withdrawal of Carlos Baleba, the best Albion player on the day by a country mile on 80 mins to be replaced by Mats Weiffer, along with another influential Brighton player Georginio Rutter replaced at the same time by Tariq Lamptey.

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And this is perhaps the crux of the whole argument. However much it appeared the game against the apparently hapless Wolves was won, does taking off your two best players on the day, in one hit, almost smack of naivety?

It was compounded in the fact that even after Wolves first goal with less than 90 seconds left Wieffer found himself carrying the ball up field supported by three teammates.

With a lone Wolves defender, 4 on 1, Albion looking set to restore their two goal cushion. Wieffer’s ‘game defining’ pass then find the Wolves defender, the action switches and the visitors equalise and effectively steal a point.

At that point I was struggling to recall a more dramatic end to an Albion game in recent years. So was it naivety or all part of Hurzeler’s learning curve?

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And if it is a learning curve, do the Albion fans have to accept that there will be mistakes made, but, cliche alert, every day is a school day.

Unfortunately there isn’t really a lot of wriggle room when competing for European qualification in the greatest league on the planet, and that level of jeopardy is heightened with Albion’s next two EPL matches, Liverpool away and then Manchester City at home.

Redemption really doesn’t come much more daunting than that. It’s those very fine margins, a win against Wolves would have put Albion fourth for at least 24 hours, now potential back to back defeats against two of the best club sides in the world would, despite almost being expected, be a huge dent in the Albion’s European ambitions.

Having seen the reaction on both social media and having spoken to numerous Albion fans face to face (like we all used to the old days) in answer to the original question, it’s regrettably at this point at least, ‘No’.

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But working on the expect the unexpected mantra with the Albion could we yet see Hurzeler bucking the trend and putting out a strong team against Liverpool in the League Cup at the Amex on Wednesday?

That could go a long way to answering a number of ongoing questions about Hurzeler, and almost providing in part the aforementioned redemption to the loyal Albion support.

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