fat old seagull
New member
Maybe, but at least he's seen the error of his ways and corrected it. Would have been easy to have just kept his head down.
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
Brighton in the Guardian
- Thread starter SULLY COULDNT SHOOT
- Start date
Maybe, but at least he's seen the error of his ways and corrected it. Would have been easy to have just kept his head down.
Marty___Mcfly
I see your wicked plan - I’m a junglist.
- Sep 14, 2011
- 2,251
Yes I'm going, have been to a couple of them in London and they are very entertaining #banter
Dick Swiveller
Well-known member
- Sep 9, 2011
- 9,163
Ah, but that journo was paid in cash of the realm. You would have asked for 30 pieces of silver and shoehorned in a reference to Pende.
Psychobilly freakout
HellBilly
Here is the article in full
Maybe Brighton & Hove Albion had to go backwards in order to go forward. The dust had barely settled on their heavy defeat by Derby County in their Championship play-off semi-final last year when news emerged that Óscar García was planning to resign, the Spaniard’s unease over the club’s transfer strategy pushed beyond the point of no repair by that humiliation.
His exit was confirmed a day later. García’s relationship with the board deteriorated after Ashley Barnes and Liam Bridcutt were sold midway through the season and there was a sense that the Seagulls had clipped their own wings in the transfer market. Cracks were visible.
Brighton now top the Championship but at the time it was difficult not to conclude that they were scaling back their ambitions. The evidence against them mounted. They finished fourth under Gus Poyet in 2013 but, a year later, García squeezed them into the top six on the final day of the season and losing against Derby was not a surprise.
The need to cut back on costs and fall in line with financial fair play regulations was heightened by the expenditure on a £29m training ground which should prove to be a sound long-term investment and Sami Hyypia, García’s replacement, began last season by acknowledging his side were not ready to challenge for promotion after losing Will Buckley, Leonardo Ulloa and Matthew Upson during the summer.
When Hyypia resigned in December, Brighton had won only three matches and were languishing in22nd place in the Championship, four points below Millwall in 21st place. They had been on an upward curve since moving into the Amex Stadium in 2011 but their progress was stalling.
All of which explains why it is so remarkable that Brighton are dreaming of the Premier League again. Their turnaround in such a short space of time has been stunning. When Chris Hughton replaced Hyypia, his remit was to preserve their Championship status and his calm approach to management ensured that Brighton stayed up.
Advertisement
They finished 20th, six points above the relegation zone, and the manner of their escape did not suggest that they would be a force this season.
Yet no league is more unpredictable than the Championship and Brighton are a point above Middlesbrough and unbeaten after nine matches, brimming with confidence before the visit of Cardiff City on Saturday. Cardiff are seventh but Brighton have already claimed a couple of impressive scalps this season, winning 3-2 at Ipswich Town and beating Hull City 1-0 at home.
Joining Brighton offered Hughton, who has brought in Colin Calderwood as his assistant, a chance to rebuild his reputation after his disappointing spell at Norwich City, where the supporters ran out of patience with his cautious tactics and he was sacked with five games left in the 2013-14 season. Norwich were relegated from the Premier League without Hughton in the dugout but with his image imprinted on the squad.
However, with four clean sheets and seven goals conceded in nine games, Brighton have benefited from Hughton’s organisational qualities. The challenge is to show more attacking intent. They drew 0-0 with Wolverhampton Wanderers despite playing much of the second half against 10 men and squandered a 2-0 lead against Bolton Wanderers last weekend, although they felt they would have held on if Jamie Murphy had not been sent off in the 75th minute.
Brighton are about to be tested. They will be without their electric winger Kazenga LuaLua for a few weeks because of injury, although their attack held its own without his surges against Bolton. Bobby Zamora, back at the club where he first made his name, is still improving his match fitness but the veteran striker made his first start against Bolton and set up the opening goal for Dale Stephens.
Tomer Hemed, signed from Almería in the summer, was another notable absentee against Bolton and could return against Cardiff after struggling with tightness in a hamstring. The Israeli striker has scored five goals, including the winners against Ipswich and Hull, and his successful start to life in England suggests the decision by Brighton’s owner, Tony Bloom, to tweak the club’s recruitment structure is working.
Two days after Hyypia’s departure, Brighton sacked their head of football operations, David Burke, a recognition that too many transfers were not working out. Paul Winstanley, the head of recruitment, is in charge of scouting and signing another Israeli, Beram Kayal, for £325,000 from Celtic in January was a coup given his influential performances in midfield. Brighton may not last the pace but, after briefly losing their way, they are heading in the right direction again.
Maybe Brighton & Hove Albion had to go backwards in order to go forward. The dust had barely settled on their heavy defeat by Derby County in their Championship play-off semi-final last year when news emerged that Óscar García was planning to resign, the Spaniard’s unease over the club’s transfer strategy pushed beyond the point of no repair by that humiliation.
His exit was confirmed a day later. García’s relationship with the board deteriorated after Ashley Barnes and Liam Bridcutt were sold midway through the season and there was a sense that the Seagulls had clipped their own wings in the transfer market. Cracks were visible.
Brighton now top the Championship but at the time it was difficult not to conclude that they were scaling back their ambitions. The evidence against them mounted. They finished fourth under Gus Poyet in 2013 but, a year later, García squeezed them into the top six on the final day of the season and losing against Derby was not a surprise.
The need to cut back on costs and fall in line with financial fair play regulations was heightened by the expenditure on a £29m training ground which should prove to be a sound long-term investment and Sami Hyypia, García’s replacement, began last season by acknowledging his side were not ready to challenge for promotion after losing Will Buckley, Leonardo Ulloa and Matthew Upson during the summer.
When Hyypia resigned in December, Brighton had won only three matches and were languishing in22nd place in the Championship, four points below Millwall in 21st place. They had been on an upward curve since moving into the Amex Stadium in 2011 but their progress was stalling.
All of which explains why it is so remarkable that Brighton are dreaming of the Premier League again. Their turnaround in such a short space of time has been stunning. When Chris Hughton replaced Hyypia, his remit was to preserve their Championship status and his calm approach to management ensured that Brighton stayed up.
Advertisement
They finished 20th, six points above the relegation zone, and the manner of their escape did not suggest that they would be a force this season.
Yet no league is more unpredictable than the Championship and Brighton are a point above Middlesbrough and unbeaten after nine matches, brimming with confidence before the visit of Cardiff City on Saturday. Cardiff are seventh but Brighton have already claimed a couple of impressive scalps this season, winning 3-2 at Ipswich Town and beating Hull City 1-0 at home.
Joining Brighton offered Hughton, who has brought in Colin Calderwood as his assistant, a chance to rebuild his reputation after his disappointing spell at Norwich City, where the supporters ran out of patience with his cautious tactics and he was sacked with five games left in the 2013-14 season. Norwich were relegated from the Premier League without Hughton in the dugout but with his image imprinted on the squad.
However, with four clean sheets and seven goals conceded in nine games, Brighton have benefited from Hughton’s organisational qualities. The challenge is to show more attacking intent. They drew 0-0 with Wolverhampton Wanderers despite playing much of the second half against 10 men and squandered a 2-0 lead against Bolton Wanderers last weekend, although they felt they would have held on if Jamie Murphy had not been sent off in the 75th minute.
Brighton are about to be tested. They will be without their electric winger Kazenga LuaLua for a few weeks because of injury, although their attack held its own without his surges against Bolton. Bobby Zamora, back at the club where he first made his name, is still improving his match fitness but the veteran striker made his first start against Bolton and set up the opening goal for Dale Stephens.
Tomer Hemed, signed from Almería in the summer, was another notable absentee against Bolton and could return against Cardiff after struggling with tightness in a hamstring. The Israeli striker has scored five goals, including the winners against Ipswich and Hull, and his successful start to life in England suggests the decision by Brighton’s owner, Tony Bloom, to tweak the club’s recruitment structure is working.
Two days after Hyypia’s departure, Brighton sacked their head of football operations, David Burke, a recognition that too many transfers were not working out. Paul Winstanley, the head of recruitment, is in charge of scouting and signing another Israeli, Beram Kayal, for £325,000 from Celtic in January was a coup given his influential performances in midfield. Brighton may not last the pace but, after briefly losing their way, they are heading in the right direction again.