| Nickname : | The Seagulls |
| Established : | 24 June 1901 |
| Ground : | The Amex |
| Manager : | Graham Potter |
| League : | Premier League |
Author : Joe | Created : 2021-11-16 11:07:00
Brighton and Hove Albion was founded on 24 June 1901 and, within 19 years, proceeded to third-tier English football, gaining a spot in the then-new Third Division. During this early era, the club won its only national title to date – the FA Charity Shield – by defeating the champions, Aston Villa in 1910.
The club remained in the third-tier of English football for many years, eventually winning the title during the 1957-58 season, allowing it to progress to the second division. Interestingly, this progression to the second division occurred the season before the southern and northern leagues de-regionalised in 1958-59.
The team’s success didn’t last long, though. Poor defense and goal-scoring during the 1962 season led to relegation to the third division, and a second atrocious season led to another relegation to the fourth division at the end of 1963.
During the intervening years, Brighton and Hove Albion was unable to return to the glory days of its Division Two success. In the 1980s, there was a brief revival. However, the team faced the real threat of being knocked out of professional football entirely, having to play in Conference leagues to reestablish their position.
Things began to improve, however, under the leadership of former Norwich manager, Christ Hughton who came to the club in 2014, following several years of regular manager changes. During the 2014-15 season, Brighton enjoyed a 22-game unbeaten streak, but missed out on a promotion to the Premier league because of a playoff loss to Sheffield Wednesday.
Brighton didn’t give up, though, and during the 2016-17 season, the club enjoyed a 17-game unbeaten streak that took it to the top of the Championship. In 2017, the club progressed to the premier league, where it remains to this day.
The current chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion is Tony Bloom. He is a professional sports bettor, entrepreneur, and poker player. He built his fortune by developing online gambling and sports betting websites.
The chief executive of the club is Paul Barber. Before coming to Brighton, Barber was a director and administrator at Tottenham Hotspur FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s current home ground is the 31,800-capacity Falmer Stadium, located northeast of the city close to the village of Falmer. The club was previously at the Goldstone Ground for home games, but was evicted at the end of the 1996-97 season. It then moved to Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium more than 50 miles away in Kent to play home games before securing a tenancy at the Withdean Stadium, allowing it to return to its home city.
By the end of the 1990s, it was clear that the Withdean lacked the capacity to accommodate the club’s growing fanbase. Consequently, the leadership began plotting a move to the Falmer site. Originally, they had hoped that the move would take place before the mid 2000s. However, planning issues meant that the team would have to wait until August 2011 to play its first home game there.
The first game at the new stadium was a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur where Brighton lost by a narrow margin 3-2. Brighton then achieved a new attendance record later than years, attracting a crowd of more than 21,897 for a game against Liverpool. The all-time record attendance for the stadium is 30,682 in another premier league match against Liverpool in January 2019, made possible by the addition of another 8,000-capacity stand.
Despite Brighton and Hove Albion’s recent success, the club has never been a big cup winner, particularly on a national level. Its only major victory is the FA Charity Shield, won in 1910. The club was FA Cup runner-up in 1983, losing to Manchester United after a rematch.
However, the club is a multiple winner of the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup, winning in:
1942–43
1987–88
1991–92
1993–94
1994–95
1999–00
2003–04
2006–07
2007–08
2009–10
2010–11
2012–13
2016–17
2017–18
The club is also a winner of the Sussex Royal Ulster Rifles Charity Cup in 1959-60 and 1960-61.
The club also has some division titles to its name:
Football League Second Division runners up in 1978-79 and 2016-17
Football League One champion in 1957-58, 2001-02, and 2010-11
Football League Third division champion in 1964-65 and 2000-01.
The current first team squad is:
GK: Robert Sánchez
DF: Tariq Lamptey
DF: Marc Cucurella
DF: Adam Webster (vice-captain)
DF: Lewis Dunk (captain)
DF: Michał Karbownik (on loan)
FW: Aaron Connolly
MF: Yves Bissouma
FW: Neal Maupay
MF: Alexis Mac Allister
MF: Leandro Trossard
MF: Enock Mwepu
MF: Pascal Groß
MF: Adam Lallana
MF: Jakub Moder
GK: Kjell Scherpen
MF: Steven Alzate
FW: Danny Welbeck
FW: Andi Zeqiri (on loan )
DF: Solly March
FW: Florin Andone (on loan)
None
GK: Jason Steele
DF: Shane Duffy
MF: Moisés Caicedo (on loan)
MF: Reda Khadra (on loan)
FW: Jürgen Locadia
DF: Haydon Roberts
DF: Jan Paul van Hecke (on loan)
MF: Taylor Richards
GK: Christian Walton (on loan)
None
DF: Dan Burn
DF: Joël Veltman
Brighton and Hove Albion’s highest transfer fee is believed to have been paid for the signing of Alireza Jahanbakhsh, reported to be £17 million.
The club also paid a fee of more than £13.5 million for the signing of Jose Izquierdo in 2017.
Tommy Cook is the official top goal scorer for Brighton and Hove Albion. Cook scored more than 123 goals across 209 appearances between 1922 and 1929. Another club legend, Burt Stephens, scored a total of 174 goals. However, the majority of those goals were not during competitive matches.
Here is a list of the top Brighton and Hove Albion goal scorers in competitive matches:
Tommy Cook: 123 (114 League, 9 FA Cup)
Glenn Murray: 111 (103 League, 6 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)
Kit Napier: 99 (84 League, 9 FA Cup, 6 League Cup)
Peter Ward: 95 (81 League, 4 FA Cup, 11 League Cup)
Bert Stephens: 94 (86 League, 8 FA Cup)
Albert Mundy: 90 (87 League, 3 FA Cup)
Bobby Zamora: 90 (83 League, 4 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 Other)