If one manager’s future is settled, the other’s hangs in the balance. Roberto De Zerbi’s departure from Brighton appears a case of parting as friends before a relationship turns sour when the two parties desire different things. He received a full-time guard of honour, a video montage celebrating “Il Capo” and the warmest applause.
“This morning, I went walking in the city thinking what we have done together and I think we gave our best, I gave my best, my players gave their best,” he told the crowd. “I’m sad but I know what I would like to do in my life.” He leaves a club where backroom continuity allows the loss of a manager to be only a glancing blow and his first nod was to Tony Bloom: “you are a great owner, do not forget that”.
