Enter: Hürzeler

A new era begins, and if this German (or American, or Swiss) can be half as good as another German we have in the squad, we could be onto something grossly good.

I’ll be honest, I had no clue who Hürzeler was. Truth be told I still don’t. And that’s why this appointment is exciting. I’m sure 99% of people were like, “who’s this guy”, when Roberto hopped off the plane at Biggin Hill, and that didn’t turn out too bad, did it?

I’ve done some binge watching on YouTube and some googling to try and find out a bit more about our new coach. I particularly liked a line about the midfield in his tactical setup often not being there… I thought that sounds similar to a lot of last season.

In all seriousness though, having a coach that uses players in a fluid style is exciting. Hopefully it also means there is variation and some innovation in how to break teams down and score. We can also be excited at the return of “guess what position they’re playing” when the lineup is announced on matchday. Maybe this is when we find out if Pedro can indeed play left back?

Everything about this appointment feels very us. 

Someone people haven’t heard of? Check. From a relatively unknown league (in another country), tactically astute? Check check. Someone that has an aura about them? Double check.

On that last point, the personality can’t be understated. The videos of him on people’s shoulders, slinging a questionable beer down his gullet, screams aura. His players clearly loved him, the fans even more so.

RDZ is a tough act to follow because of this exact thing, so bringing in a guy that can match Roberto’s passion, as well as challenge his yellow card and sideline ban records, is a smart move. Can you imagine if we brought in another P****r that had the aura of a lettuce? Fuck that. We need someone that will fire up the crowd, not just offer history lessons.

This managerial appointment is a personal milestone for me. Hürzeler becomes the first Albion manager younger than me, and that makes me feel a bit shit. But, maybe we’ll challenge the old adage that “you can’t win anything with youth”? Well, Fabian, now’s your chance to take our club forward and hopefully get us a cheeky trophy. 

So, roll on 17 August. A new man in the dugout. New ballers in the team, and hopefully a fired up crowd to get our new man off to a winning start. 

Whatever happens, this is our history and I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.