Fabian Hurzeler in or out? - I watched Brighton suffer at Fulham and here's my verdict

One of Brighton's better away performances of the season unravelled alarmingly in the closing stages at Fulham last Saturday.

The Seagulls held a narrow 1-0 advantage thanks to Yasin Ayari's excellent first half strike and, for large parts, had Fulham pinned back in the second.

There seemed little danger when Joachim Andersen had possession deep inside his own half on 72 minutes and pinged a long pass forward.

But Brighton’s Olivier Boscagli, a centre back filling in at left back, was just one step too far forward and the ball sailed a centimetre or two above the Frenchman's head into the path of Samuel Chukwueze.

The Fulham substitute cut inside and finished well beyond Bart Verbruggen.

Striker Danny Welbeck then had an effort ruled out by VAR for offside, before young Greek substitute Charalampos Kostoulas clattered into Josh King 25 yards out.

Verbruggen got a hand on Harry Wilson 25-yard freekick but could not prevent a 92nd minute winner. Verbruggen should have saved it.

Fulham defeat was a stinger for Hurzeler

"The best team lost but sometimes football is brutal," said Fabian Hurzeler after the match. Usually the young German coach hides his emotions after defeats, but this time the frustration was clear to see. This one was a stinger.

For some vocal supporters, it was all Hurzeler's fault and my social media was soon full of "Hurzeler out," with some pining for the Roberto De Zerbi days.

Me? Well, I'm not so sure.

Brighton are four points behind seventh placed Fulham

It was a painful one to take and Brighton have been on the wrong side of a number of "small margins" this term as they slip down to 12th. They are however just four points behind seventh placed Fulham and six points adrift of Liverpool, who are sixth.

This season is perhaps the strongest and most competitive Premier League ever and most matches are a 50-50 for Brighton, who are a midtable club after all.

Wins, defeats and draws boil down to the finest of details - one VAR call here, one mis-placed pass there, or indeed, as was the case at the Cottage, an over-enthusiastic 18-year-old giving away a needless foul on the edge of the box in the last minute. Is that all really Hurzeler’s fault?

Brighton’s rivals have struggled too

Fulham have struggled in patches this term as have Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Everton and West Ham - all clubs with a similar or slightly higher spend level to Brighton. Even the bigger clubs - Tottenham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have been patchy.

Second placed Manchester City - a team Hurzeler took four points off this season - have battled both with their style of play and results. But when City are in trouble they buy the best defender in the Premier League, Marc Guéhi and one of the best attackers in Antoine Semenyo. Problem solved.

Brighton have a right back issue

Brighton do have a strong squad and they should be a few points better off but they also have glaring weaknesses.

Right back continues to be a headache for Hurzeler and was the reason why Boscagli was playing at left back, as Ferdi Kadioglu switched to the right. The 34-year-old Joel Veltman is the specialist and was deemed not ready to start at Fulham after playing six days ago against Fulham.

Gross return highlight transfer problems

Even the return of Pascal Gross has two sides to it. Great that he's he's back and making an impact but also an admission that Brighton's recent transfers since his exit have not been up to scratch.

Around £75m was invested in Matt O'Riley (now on loan at Marseille), Mats Wieffer (a part-time right back) and Brajan Gruda. All three have not made a regular contribution in the Premier League for Hurzeler.

Brighton’s team spirit remains strong

Hurzeler is not without blame for some of Albion's worries but as he rightly said after the Fulham loss, the team continues to stick together.

Yes, they will make mistakes but the bond between the players and the environment Hurzeler has helped create remains strong.

Recent results put extra pressure on this Saturday's clash against Everton but unless something has broken down badly behind the scenes that nobody is aware of, I really can't see the club remotely considering a change of manager at this moment. And nor should they in my opinion.

Hurzeler had a top eight finish in his first season and there's no reason why that cannot be achieved again. Top half in the Premier League for Brighton should not be taken for granted.

Hurzeler is a good coach and a good man. Give the German room to work - and perhaps a right back as well - and then reassess this summer.

Your next Albion read: 'Oh no!' - Brighton player ratings at Fulham as 5/10 fumble proves disastrous