I’ve gone on record to say that I felt Melissa Phillips should have been given more time before Brighton parted company with her. However, all signs point to some sort of breakdown between the two parties following her press conference on Thursday. The situation clearly advanced at pace and by the same evening she was out of a job. Evidence suggests that the club had not planned to make this move, certainly not imminently, so to state that poor performance led to her demise likely doesn’t tell the entire story.

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Let’s examine that assertion though – was there evidence of a growing divide between the way the team was being coached, performances on the field and how the club wants the women’s team to play? First a reminder of the quote from Brighton & Hove Albion Technical Director David Weir:

“We have invested heavily in the women’s squad and infrastructure going into this season, and results and performances have not been at the level we had expected, given that investment.”

Another manager who has faced criticism at times this season, Manchester United’s Marc Skinner spoke on board and executive-level expectations:

“What I’d say is that there are many metrics that an ownership group will look at and I think they are different for each team.

“I think it depends on each individual model and I think the coaches know that when they go into it. If you stray against it, you will know exactly where you’re at.

“From my perspective, you can try and win games of football but you have to fall in-line with what the club want from you.”

So there you have a manager of a top four team acknowledging that there will be a philosophy that a club are looking for the head coach to instil in their team. It’s not win at all costs, but if you don’t win and you don’t play the brand of football they require – all bets are off.

In his first press conference as women’s team interim manager Mikey Harris said when asked about his style of play:

“It would just align to the football club’s, really.

“We want to dominate the ball, we want to have more of the ball than the opposition.

“We want to play exciting football, when we have got the ball we want to get it back as quickly as we possibly can.

“And then, in terms of set-pieces and things like that, be really robust in both boxes, be a threat from set-pieces attacking-wise and really solid defensively.

“In a nutshell, pretty simplistic but that would be the foundations on which we work.”

These principles are key to the footballing ideology of Brighton & Hove Albion and are prerequisite for any coach or player joining the club. So how well was the women’s team performing in these areas? What do the cold hard statistics actually say?

In terms of dominating the ball and having more of it than the opposition, this clearly alludes to possession. Brighton’s average possession per game sits at just 41.7%, second worst in the league. Even in possession they have the second worst amount of carries (3270), and the third worst amount of take-ons (133). To hold on to the ball you need to pass accurately and limit your losses. Brighton’s pass completion is once again second worst in the league at an average of 70.1% per game and they have been dispossessed 155 times, third most overall.

Exciting football is an interesting one, several of the stats above allude to aspects of the game that could be determined as exciting. You can see that we don’t dribble the ball well or drive forward anywhere near enough. If you look at shots and goals – which I find exciting – Brighton have the third worst amount of shots (113), third worst amount of shots on target (43), and are joint-second worst in goals scored (13). Getting the ball back is a more difficult characteristic to measure, however, the aforementioned possession stats suggest that even if we do get the ball back, the cycle of not retaining it simply begins again.

I think everyone knows the set piece play need improving, particularly in defence. Brighton top the table as it stands, in a bad way, with 5 dead-ball goals conceded. I actually think there may have been a couple more that were flicked on or rebounded which may not officially have gone down as set-piece goals. At the opposite end of the pitch, Albion sit squarely mid-table with 2 dead-ball goals scored, by no means shabby, but certainly an area that can still be improved. Perhaps equally as concerning is that, for a team that is not considered lacking in height, they are third worst in percentage of aerial duels won at just 44.9%.

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The remaining stats equally vary between average and poor, but sticking to what Mikey Harris, and indeed the club, have extolled as key principles – the team has not lived up to expectations. Whether you put that responsibility squarely on Phillips’ shoulders, on the players, or shared between them, things had to improve or change, and quickly.

I will say again that I personally think Phillips should have stayed until at least the Liverpool game, and arguably the season. However, if the board had reason to question her position, and they even glanced at the metrics, they would not have painted her reign in a positive light.

I wrote this after the Leicester game:

At the moment one of three things is true, or a combination of them. Either we’re a possession and passing team who routinely have less of the ball than the opposition and a low pass accuracy rate, we’re a counter attacking team with almost no raw pace and outstanding transitional ball-carriers, or we don’t know what we are. I’m not sure which one frightens me more.

Quite honestly I still don’t know the answer and perhaps that lack of identity, particularly when the organisation has such clear parameters, contributed to the situation that transpired on Thursday.

So whether you think Phillips should have been given more time, and whether you believe there was an instigating incident, it would be hard to argue that her performance was acceptable from a club perspective. Could she have pulled it round, maybe, but in reality (and perhaps sadly) – we’ll never get to find out.

NB: SheGulls wishes only the best for Melissa Phillips in whatever comes next and we thank her for her time and dedication as Brighton & Hove Albion Head Coach. Go well Mel!