May 25, 2021
Brighton’s 6th consecutive season in the Premier League ultimately concluded in their best ever finish in the top flight in English football, beating the 13th place achieved in 1981/82, to make the current squad arguably the best ever to represent the club. At times though, it appeared as if it would be a mirror of that season, when Albion, having been in the top 10 virtually all season, were in 8th place in early March having just won at Liverpool to harbour realistic ambitions of European football. With no fear of relegation, and the supporters complaining about the defensive football that had been so successful, manager Mike Bailey opted for a more expansive approach in the closing stages of the season, which unfortunately led to a run of 8 losses in the final 10 matches, and saw Albion slip down to a 13th.
With the benefit of a relatively easy run of fixtures at the start of the season, the match at arch-rivals Crystal Palace at the end of September gave Albion the opportunity of going top of the highest division in England for the first time ever if they had won, but ultimately they were lucky to escape with a draw against the forces of darkness, thanks to a goal in added on time by Neil Maupay.
Albion continued to lurk around the upper side of mid-table, but a shocking run of 6 consecutive defeats with only one goal scored dragged the Seagulls into the fringes of a potential relegation battle in mid-March. However, a closing run of 5 wins, two draws and one loss saw the Seagulls soar to a record best finish.
Albion’s season though had many similar parallels to the 2020/21 season. They continued to receive the TV pundit’s acclaim for the quality of their football whilst contriving to miss a glut of chances, and the suspicion remained that had Harry Kane been playing in Blue and White strips, Albion would have been a top 6 side.
Albion remarkably, were very poor at the Amex, failing to win at home after beating Brentford at the end of December until humiliating Manchester United in early May. On the other hand, with 29 points and just 4 losses they had the 5th best away record in the Premiership.
Under Chris Hughton, Albion had been very successful at beating the less lights in the Premiership but meekly folded against the top sides. The reverse has been the case under Graham Potter, and this season was no exception. Consecutive away wins were registered at Tottenham and Arsenal in April, two draws were played out with Chelsea, an impressive draw was claimed at Liverpool after trailing 0-2 early in the first half, with some Liverpool fans stating it was the best performance at Anfield by a visiting team in the league all year, and Albion’s best ever top flight victory was achieved with a comprehensive 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United,which could easily have been much greater.
On the other hand, just like in 2020/21, Albion’s record against the bottom sides was pretty dismal, and against the bottom 7, only Watford were beaten at the Amex, and they slumped to home losses to Aston Villa, Everton and Burnley. Two matches against wooden-spoonists Norwich ended in dire 0-0 draws.
Much has been spoken about how much Brighton have improved under Graham Potter, and whilst this season saw the most wins, the most goals, the least goals conceded, it was only the huge improvement on the road that led to these record statistics, and the Amex was no longer the fortress it was when Albion were first promoted to the Premier League
Season Pos Wins GS GA Pts H Pts A Pts
2017/18 15th 9 34 54 40 29 11
2018/19 17th 9 35 60 36 23 13
2019/20 15th 9 39 54 41 22 19
2020/21 16th 9 40 46 41 21 20
2021/22 9th 12 42 44 51 22 29
Player Performances ( League appearances/goals )
Goalkeepers
Robert Sanchez ( 37/11 clean sheets ) – 8 : Continued the good impression after becoming first choice last season. Made the occasional blunder eg the red card at home to Newcastle, but remained strong in dealing with corners and crosses. Towards the end of the season Sky mentioned he led the statistics in most completed passes by a goal-keeper in the Premier League, but his willingness to launch the occasional long ball keeps opposition defences on their toes. Finally made his Spanish debut in September ( 1 cap ).
Defenders
Lewis Dunk ( 29/1 ) – 7 : Didn’t quite hit the standards of the previous season, perhaps rushed back from injury too soon, but again was typically solid and dependable. Not as dangerous at the other end of the field as in previous years, with only one goal to his name ( at Newcastle ). Played a few minutes in goal after Sanchez was sent off against Newcastle. ( 1 cap )
Adam Webster ( 22/2 ) – 6 : The transfers of White and Burn gave Webster the opportunity to become a permanent fixture in the starting line-up but injuries meant he only became first choice in the closing stages of the season. Again, couldn’t be faulted for effort and commitment.
Tariq Lamptey ( 30/0 ) – 6 : Failed to recapture his sparkling form of 2020/21 prior to his injury. Fitness was obviously a concern and his workload was carefully managed, completing 90 minutes only 9 times in the whole season. Hopefully, he will back to full fitness next season.
Joel Veltman ( 34/1 ) – 8 : After an indifferent first season, now looks like a player who was first choice at Ajax and, for a while, the Netherlands ( 28 caps )
Marc Cucurella ( 35/1 ) – 7 : Spanish International ( 1 cap, plus one appearance for Catalonia ) signed from Getafe, who made an instant impression with supporters with lung busting surges forward down the left wing, which ultimately saw him win the Player of the Season of the award. Not always so convincing at defending, and his crosses seldom found an Albion forward. Scored his only goal in the 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United.
Shane Duffy ( 18/1 ) – 6 : His Albion career looked over after being loaned to Glasgow Celtic for 2020/21 where he didn’t particular impress. Perceived to not being able to fit in with Potter’s style of playing out from the back, but after injuries gave him a way back into the starting XI, he turned in several solid performances, and at times looked to be main goal threat during the goal droughts. ( 52 caps for the Republic of Ireland )
Midfielders
Yves Bissouma ( 26/1 ) - 9 : Another outstanding season, and only fails to get top marks due to again scoring once all season and should find the net more often. Albion didn’t win a league match whilst he was on Africa Cup of Nations duty for Mali. With continued interest from Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham, Albion will do well to hang on to him for another season, but it would be disappointing if he left to join Newcastle……….( 25 caps for Mali )
Solly March ( 31/0 ) – 5 : Continues to flatter to deceive. Looks an exceptional player until the final third, but he should score more often but seems to lack confidence in front of goal. No goals and only 2 assists all season.
Adam Lallana ( 24/0 ) – 6 : Still capable of occasional glimpses of the ability that made him a regular for England but again continued to be injury prone and his fitness had to be carefully managed. ( 34 caps )
Alexis MacAllister ( 33/5 ) – 8 : Took his chance to become an automatic choice and became the highest scoring midfielder. Played in the Tokyo Olympics and was recalled to the Argentina squad in January ( 4 caps )
Enock Mwepu ( 18/2 ) – 6 : A solid first season after signing from RB Salzburg but suffered from a number of injuries. Scored at spectacular goal at Anfield to inspire the fight back to draw 2-2. ( 21 caps for Zambia )
Jakub Moder ( 28/0 ) – 6 : A decent season which unfortunately ended with a Cruciate Ligament injury which not only prematurely ended his season, but also put his presence at the Qatar World Cup in jeopardy ( 20 caps for Poland )
Pascal Gross ( 29/2 ) – 6 : A hit and miss season, partially redeemed with goals in the last two home games of the season against Manchester United and West Ham. Missed a penalty against Palace………..
Moises Caicedo ( 8/1 ) – 8 : After a spell on loan at Belgian strugglers Beerschot, the 20 year old Ecuadorian was recalled and finally given a chance in the last 8 games of the season, where he was sensational and scored his first goal for the club against Manchester United. Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing him, but hopefully he will be an Albion regular next season. ( 20 caps for Ecuador ).
Forwards
Danny Wellbeck ( 23/6 ) – 6 : Still looked an outstanding forward when free from injury but failed to improve on his 6 goals from last season.
Neal Maupay ( 32/8 ) – 6. Started the season strongly and scored injury time equalisers at Palace, West Ham and Southampton. However, he failed to find the net after scoring at Watford in mid-February and lost his place in the starting XI. The suspicion remains that he is essential a Championship forward.
Leandro Trossard ( 34/8 ) – 7. Despite his most prolific season in front of goal since joining Albion, the feeling was that it should have been so much better as again he seemed to lack confidence in front of goal until the last few weeks of the season, where he scored 4 times and had 2 assists in the last 7 matches. ( 15 caps for Belgium )
Others :
Jason Steele – made one league appearance, at Aston Villa, when Sanchez was suspended, and in all 3 EFL Cup matches. Likely to have a similar back-up role in 2022/23
Steven Alzate – only 9 appearances in a injury hit season ( 5 caps for Colombia )
Jeremy Sarmiento : Looked lively in his few cameo appearances, deserved more of a chance next season ( 5 caps for Ecuador )
Transfers Out/Loans
Mat Ryan – joined Real Sociedad and made 3 appearances in La Liga
Kjell Scherpen : loaned to KV Oostende at the end of January and made 7 appearances.
Ben White – joined Arsenal for a reported £50M and made 33 league appearances. After earning one England cap whilst at Albion, he now has 4 caps.
Dan Burn – surprisingly sold to Newcastle during the winter break for a reported £13M and helped to steer the Magpies out of relegation danger to 11th place.
Bernado – loan to RB Salzburg was made permanent, and he made 12 appearances in the regular Austrian Bundesliga season.
Davy Propper : Signed for PSV Eindhoven but retired mid-season after 9 appearances and one goal. ( 19 caps for the Netherlands )
Michal Karbownik : Loaned to Olympiakos for the season but made only 7 appearances during the season. ( 3 caps for Poland )
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – signed a 3 year contract with Feyenoord and made 27 appearance in the Eredivisie, scoring 4 times. ( 61 caps for Iran )
Jose Izquierdo : Joined Club Brugge but made just two appearances. ( 6 caps for Colombia )
Jurgen Locadia – sold to VFL Bochum in the winter transfer window, and scored twice in 11 appearances.
Percy Tau – sold to Egyptian side Al Ahly where he scored 5 times in 15 appearances. ( 32 caps for South Africa )
Aaron Connolly : A shadow of the player who impressed when coming into the side in 2019. Loaned out to Middlesborough during the winter transfer window, where he scored twice in 19 appearances. ( 8 caps for the Republic of Ireland )
Andi Zeqiri : sent on a season long loan to FC Augsburg and scored twice in 22 appearances as his side were relegated ( 7 caps for Switzerland ).
Florin Andone : loaned to Cadiz and made only 5 appearances ( 25 caps for Romania )
Jan Mlakar : joined Hajduk Split and scored 7 goals in 27 appearances. ( 5 caps for Slovenia )
Transfers In for 2022/23
Karou Mitoma – highly rated Japanese midfielder ( 3 caps ) was sent on loan to Union St Gilloise where he scored 7 times in 27 appearances.
Denis Undav – 26 goals in 39 appearance for Union St Gilloise to be the top scorer in the Belgian league. The German is hopefully the solution to Albion’s goal scoring problems.
Abdallah Sima – 20 year old striker was signed from Slavia Prague after some sensational performances in the 2020/21 Europa League, including wins over Leicester & Glasgow Rangers and a draw at Arsenal, but was loaned out to Stoke City but made only 2 appearances after suffering several injuries. ( 4 caps for Senegal )
Kacper Kozlowski – Polish midfielder signed from Pogon Szczecin in January but loaned out to Union St Gilloise where he made 6 appearances.
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