A Project In Collapse

Almost ten years ago, Southampton became the darling of every Premier League neutral. It was a fun club led by an exciting manager and forward-thinking front office.

Now, its fall back to irrelevance remains a stark warning to all Premier League clubs aiming to replicate their success, especially Brighton.

Over the past few years, Brighton’s rise to the top of the hipster club rankings remains one of the most interesting stories in football. Using Southampton as a template, Brighton offered an oasis in a sport that’s become robotic.

In the mid-2010s, the Saints took the league by storm in various ways. By leaning on a fantastic scouting system, the team filled out their roster with exciting prospects such as Sadio Mané. They also struck gold with a certain managerial appointment that seemed like it was going to transform the league.

PHOTO: Sky Sports

If you’re looking at where Brighton compares to Southampton, they’re right at this moment. However, once clubs caught up to Southampton, the competitive edge disappeared. No longer could they find talents before their rivals, and they sank to the second division.

Football is a fast-changing sport.

Previous strategies can lose their advantage in the blink of an eye and can tank an entire club.

FIFA and Football Manager heads fondly remember Southampton’s 2015-2017 era. This era saw the Southern Club transform itself through a forward-thinking strategy regarding its structure.

Tapping into relatively underrepresented markets, Southampton found gems before their rivals. This involved finding players like Sadio Mané in Austria and Virgil van Dijk at Celtic. Both players eventually became keystones for a dominant Liverpool side but began their Prem adventures in the south.

Brighton, similar to those great Saints sides, bet on markets underexplored by the giants of the Prem. Moisés Caicedo remains the best example of this forward-thinking Brighton strategy, as they were willing to take a risk on a talented player. It’s rare to see a club willing to go digging like this across smaller leagues in South America, but it paid off.

Finding diamonds in the rough can only go so far. A proper captain at the helm is necessary to guide the ship towards the correct path.

PHOTO: Sky Sports

For the Saints, they found their captain in Pochettino, who would find himself near Europe’s elite coaches. The Argentine set up his team to play exciting football, reaching goals that most Saints fans may never have expected. That fun style with an overperforming club drew the eyes of Europe on both the club and the manager. 

Brighton’s rise can be centered around two managers: Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi. While Potter set up his side well, De Zerbi is more akin to Potch, given the styles they played with. The Italian never truly propelled Brighton to a new level but found himself linked to some of Europe’s elite.

A mid-table club looking to survive in this Premier League requires a sturdy foundation. Both Brighton and Southampton found that in their scouting and managerial decisions.

At this point, Brighton firmly finds themselves as an upper table side in the Prem.

Most expect the Seagulls to continue being a solid side, but as Southampton show, nothing is ever set in stone. 

Towards the end of the 2010s, the Saints’ luck began to run out. After selling off all their best prospects, they failed to find that next batch of gems that would propel them once more. Simply put, other clubs found players before them, and the club made bad bets.

Gone were the days of Mané; here were the days of Ibrahima Diallo. Even when they found interesting prospects like Mohammed Salisu, the club failed to develop them like stars of the past. The club found themselves behind the teams that they lapped in years past.

Even on the managerial side, they failed to keep up with their rivals. Leicester’s appointment of Enzo Maresca should have been Southampton’s. This is the point Brighton finds themselves in. Currently, they can’t afford to mess up on the next appointment.

PHOTO: Sky Sports

After losing De Zerbi, where do the Gulls go? Will they try to bring in experienced managers or interesting prospects? 

Once the Saints lost Potch, they opted to bring in more experienced managers aiming to reach the next level. However, these managers never found a way to bring fun to the club and opted to play more conservative football. Perhaps these managers teach clubs that innovation is the reason that they reach these levels.

Brighton is at risk of stagnation, just as Southampton was before their fall.

Their next managerial appointment may just determine whether this project will fail.

Very few leagues gave the football world the iconic sides that the Prem did in the mid-2010s. While they never won any trophies, Southampton remains a side that brought great vibes to fans.

Despite those positives, they symbolize the cutthroat pace that football moves at and remind clubs never to remain stagnant.

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