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Neil Jones hasn’t questioned critics’ suggestions that Roberto De Zerbi wouldn’t be a good fit at Liverpool based on Brighton’s league positioning.
The Seagulls find themselves ninth in the Premier League table following a hard-fought 2-1 defeat at Anfield.
“I don’t think it’s fair to judge Roberto De Zerbi on Brighton’s league position. People talk about Brighton having an underwhelming season. They were eighth before the weekend and now find themselves ninth in the league table. Brighton & Hove Albion being eighth is still a very new phenomenon; I don’t think we should get blase about it!” the Covering Liverpool journalist shared in his latest exclusive column with Empire of the Kop.
“‘Oh, Brighton are only eighth in the table, that’s disappointing’ – are you kidding? Brighton weren’t even a Premier League club a few years back. Their progress is still to be admired. Just look at the way they play! Look at how nervous that game was on Sunday.
“They’ve got Arsenal next and I think a lot of people are thinking that’s a chance for Liverpool to make some ground on Arsenal if they don’t beat Brighton. That’s down to where they are as a club and the managers that have come before – but a lot of it is still down to the work De Zerbi has put in and how difficult they are to play against.”
The south coast-based outfit is set to next take on fellow mid-table outfit Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium this evening.
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Would De Zerbi be open to a move?
There have been suggestions that the Italian head coach is not entirely happy with Brighton’s current ambition levels.
However, how the club could have significantly improved on its league finish of sixth last term after losing both Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister in the summer is beyond us.
De Zerbi’s side have nine league games left to make up a 20-point deficit to last season’s points tally (62).
It’s worth further pointing out that Brighton are only nine points off matching their second-highest points total since their last promotion (51).
Regardless, when a vacancy of the Liverpool job’s calibre comes up, it’s always hard to say no, isn’t it?
