Flight of the Gulls

Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2017, Brighton remain the neutral’s favorite. They are a fun team run by a modern front office looking to revolutionize the sport.

While they continue to win off the field, they may have begun to plateau. 

Every transfer window, a new Brighton player headlines another massive move. To no one’s surprise, the club finds ways to stay relevant with this change of players.

Judging the Gulls just by their off-the-court strategy puts the club near the top of the Premier League. No club matches their excellent scouting or transfer dealings. Every player sold is replaced by another who may reach higher levels.

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However, after the Graham Potter years, the club has been stagnating recently. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the club lags behind another club at its level, Aston Villa. Rather than the issue being with the players, a big part of this plateauing lies with the managers.

Brighton reached a level most recently promoted clubs can only dream of.

Consistent success paired with excellent payer development, but the results are starting to slow down.

After Potter lifted the club to new heights, it seemed reasonable to replace him with Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian promised to be the next manager to carry the club forward.

Having cut his teeth across Italy and Ukraine, De Zerbi attracted suitors for his style. A loud manager willing to go to bat for his players, he is seemingly the perfect culture builder. With such a young team, the manager offered the team the needed captain.

Not only does De Zerbi hold a close clubhouse together, but he also plays fun football. Prioritizing a fast attacking style with his team cutting in to pressure the backline. Wingers, especially, thrive in his system, allowing his style to just ooze fun.

If one only looks at his first season, De Zerbi succeeded in all aspects by earning the club their first European appearance. However, the second season is more indicative of the issues caused by the manager.

Once the rest of the league caught up to the system, the Italian failed to react to his side lagging. Additionally, the lack of growth from some players stemmed from the lack of changes within his system. The goals dried up, as not a single player scored more than ten in the league.

Then, there were issues with the front office that stemmed from the manager’s alleged insistence on certain players. Reports surfaced that the club refused to make a move for Mason Greenwood, and from there, the deterioration grew between the manager and front office. While Brighton made the morally correct decision, De Zerbi’s next club, Marseille, willingly gave him the player he wanted.

By the end of the De Zerbi era, the club’s on-field production had failed to truly evolve beyond Potter’s time.

The Italian did help push the club forward, but his issues also ruined the vibes he brought.

While Brighton floundered last season, their positional rivals, Aston Villa specifically, shot past them. With Southampton as a clear cautionary tale, Brighton needs to make sure these managerial appointments don’t sink them.

A world exists where the De Zerbi era continues to hit high note after high note, but last season’s issues showed cracks in the team. For a front office so forward-thinking, last season’s failures leave a bad taste. Both Brighton and Villa made big gambles with their managerial appointments, but only Villa saw theirs succeed.

Perhaps what haunts fans the most is just that comparison. With a stable and consistent manager, Villa achieved more with a somewhat weaker squad. For such a forward thinking front office to miss on managers is a bit shocking.

This summer saw the Gulls take another gamble with their managerial appointment. Fabian Hürzeler is a fascinating choice, given his lack of top-flight managerial experience.

Hürzeler led FC St. Pauli to promotion to the Bundesliga with a squad full of veteran players. Unlike some of the previous managers, Hürzeler sets his teams up well defensively. Last season, St. Pauli finished with the best defense in the league.

The challenge for the American-born German remains with how to elevate Brighton. With clubs around them getting stronger, he needs to figure out how to build the offense properly. This is a different challenge from St. Pauli, given that Brighton needs to be competing for Europe this season.

By betting on Hürzeler, Brighton hopes that this is the manager who will take them to Villa’s level. At some point, the front office must start hitting on these managers again.

For a few years now, Brighton has revolutionized the way clubs scout and develop players. No club matches them in Europe, but on the pitch, things are coming apart.

Using Southampton as a cautionary case, Brighton is at a crossroads and needs to start finding consistency on the pitch.

PHOTO: Premier League/Facebook