THOSE who recall the saviour that was Robbie Reinelt had further reason to celebrate Brighton & Hove Albion’s astonishing rise still further this week.
With Christmas on the horizon, a bitterly cold evening on the south coast proffered its own presents to joyous Seagulls supporters when 22-year-old Brazilian Joao Pedro grabbed an 88th minute winner against iconic French powerhouse Olympique de Marseille.
The goal – which saw Pedro joyously engulfed by ecstatic fans during wild celebrations – was enough to ensure Roberto De Zerbi’s praiseworthy side sealed top spot in Europa League Group B. In their first ever season competing in continental competition, Brighton qualified for the knock-out stages of this storied tournament.
The last-gasp winner that sent the crowd wild also highlighted the unassuming Pedro as the competition’s top scorer with six goals from the six matches played so far.
It was a fitting climax to the club’s group stage adventure – while once again underlining the Brighton success story, as the club moves still further from its Great Escape to European escapades.
No wonder Perdo said afterwards: “I’m very happy, these are the best moments of my life.
“Thank you to my team-mates, they always support me.
“I’m very happy to be top scorer in the Europa League. To be top of the table, in the league or top scorer, you need to keep going through hard work.”
Magic Carpet Ride
Hard work is certainly part of De Zerbi’s magic, with his side able to park the enticing prospect of further Europa League football until the spring, and will now gear up for an intriguing trip to north London to take on Arsenal on Sunday.
It was no surprise England boss Gareth Southgate was even spotted in the stands on Thursday, presumably to monitor the form of Euro 2024 hopeful and Brighton stalwart Lewis Dunk.
Going into this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures, remarkably, Brighton are level with the sovereign wealth billions powering Newcastle, and a mere point behind the aristocrats of Manchester United.
In response to those who say De Zerbi is on the list to replace the struggling Erik ten Hag from the Old Trafford hotseat – not least after his side outclassed the Red Devils 3-1 in September, which featured a memorable 30-pass move that culminated in Pascal Gross scoring — many from the south coast would simply ask “why would he leave Brighton?”
Not when you compare the aligned structures of Brighton to the dysfunctional chaos of Old Trafford.
For who in their right mind would swap the intelligent leadership of Brighton owner, and passionate life-long supporter, Tony Bloom for the Glaziers et al?
Bloom might be a gambling mogul but, unlike the Glaziers, he takes no risks with poor leadership.
Bloom runs the club with the help of his loyal consigliere, enforcer and chief executive, the hugely respected Paul Barber. Tom Hagen to Don Vito Corleone, if you like.
Right Here, Right Now
Brighton aren’t re-inventing the wheel, yet, given the appalling financial profligacy undertaken by some teams, big and small, who waste tens of millions on the wrong player with the wrong fit at the wrong club, the Seagulls are certainly at the vanguard of talent identification.
In other words, succession planning is imperative to the model that is essential to Brighton’s accomplishments on the pitch, and on the balance sheets.
Keeping the club evolving is vital. Its ability to forecast what is required in the future – at management level and in terms of the playing squad – is critical.
Take a look at the Return on Investment as the bankers at, say Chelsea, would call it.
Alexis MacAllister – who, don’t forget won a World Cup while still a Seagull – was bought for £3.4m in 2018 and sold to Liverpool for £34m in the summer: An ROI of 900 per cent.
Marc Cucurella, purchased for £15m two seasons ago, and bought by Todd Boehly at Chelsea for £55m. Boehly presumably still believing the player could top the 260 per cent ROI Cucurella brought Brighton.
Or how about big Dan Burn? The tall centre-back arrived for a fee of £3m five years ago, prior to sealing his dream move back to his Geordie homeland for £13m. (ROI 330 per cent). And why not ask Arsenal fans about Ben White. The former academy defender was loaned to Leeds to forge his career in the white heat of Elland Road, before the Gunners willingly paid Brighton £50m for his services.
That’s without mentioning the staggering revenues Moises Caicedo (Chelsea paid £115m) Yves Bissouma (Spurs paid £35m) and Leandro Trossard (Arsenal paid around £27m) brought in over the last year.
One look at this season’s squad suggests a thriving dressing room bursting with talent.
From Julio Enciso – nominated this week for Fifa’s Puskas Award in recognition of his 30-yard wondergoal against treble winners Manchester City late last season (that this correspondent had the fortune to witness from the Brighton press box), to Pervis Estupina and Facundo Buonanotte, through to Evan Ferguson and Kaoru Mitoma – the fact is that these are young players who are not only delivering on the pitch for Brighton, but will bring in considerable revenues as and when they are eventually sold.
Plenty more potential transfers that will rake in further funds to be reinvested in youthful prospects. And so the virtuous circle continues.
(Incidentally, Mitoma is an interesting case. A strong character who opted to continue his university studies rather than embark on a career as a professional footballer while a teenager in his native Japan, prior to being identified as a player with enough potential to fit the Brighton model.)
Buy, Develop, Sell, Repeat
Simon Adringa is a case in point. The Seagulls identified the exciting left winger — who featured in the victory over Marseille on Thursday evening — from the Cote d 'Ivoire when he was in Denmark with Nordsjaelland.
Having seen what they liked — in other words, a young, vibrant footballer with a natural intelligence who was keen to learn, with a capacity and burning desire to improve his own gifts, and by consequence boost the team, they signed him.
Perversely, a player’s development and team progress is a notion that should be aligned, but is often mutually exclusive — at great financial cost to their clubs.
Brighton signed Adringa for the princely sum of £1.5m in the summer of 2022, before promptly loaning him to Union SG in Belgium.
Having matured and progressed — he posted an impressive 15 goals and 15 assists in 51 appearances — they called for him on the south coast.
The wise De Zerbi showing him trust, that has already been rewarded with five goals and three assists in the 21-year-old’s 20 appearances this term.
Of course, Adringra is not the only one. You could reel off case studies that could practically stretch from Brighton pier to Hove — not least Jeremy Sarimento who signed a new deal to 2027, with the option of another year — all of which underline the point that this tremendous iteration of the Seagulls means they are a club to be admired. On so many levels, for so many reasons.
Praise You
Quite simply Brighton under the enlightened triptych of Bloom, Barber and De Zerbi are flourishing at all levels.
Take Brighton women’s Bethany Kaluya, who was recently called up for the Uganda national U20 team. Young talent is ubiquitous at Brighton.
Never mind the state-of-the-art Falmer Stadium — which was proud to host matches during the Women’s European Championships, including the memorable 8-0 rout of Norway and the nerve-shredding 2-1 victory over a Spain side that was to beat the Lionesses two years later in the World Cup final — Brighton are planning the revolutionary act of constructing a sustainable, purpose-built stadium for their women’s team rather than continue at nearby Crawley.
No wonder the club recently advertised for an Academy Recruitment Administrator – the role responsible for all aspects of academy recruitment administration. Not to mention an Academy Player Care Officer.
It’s all in the detail. For example, the club steadfastly refuses to rest on its laurels with an already immaculate pitch by appointing Tom Bacon to the ground staff – an experienced groundsman previously with the team along the coast at Devonshire Park, home of the Eastbourne International Tennis Tournament.
Hearteningly, the bond between the club and its players and its fans is as strong as anywhere in the land.
It was hard not to smile when Jack Hinshelwood celebrated his first Premier League goal in front of loyal fans in the North Stand earlier this month, while also becoming the youngest scorer in the Premier League this term.
An early Christmas present for those who recall his family tree and dad Adam who wore the distinctive blue and white shirt with pride when making 100 appearances during their wilderness years.
While the club’s community schemes delve deep into the area, underscoring Brighton’s genuine commitment to LGBT rights in support that is as passionate as it is notable.
The club offer a raft of worthy schemes — from hosting a blind Brighton side — who played the Royal National College of the Blind at St George’s Park over the summer as part of FA Cup Disabilities Day — to helping the homeless, to foodbanks to Grassroots to Greatness days for kids.
Brighton has never forgotten its roots.
Even Gully the Mascot looks more like Beaker from the Muppets than the fearsome seagulls that patrol the city’s promenade, eagerly-swooping down on unsuspecting visitors’ beachside fish and chips.
Aping a few cheeky commercial ideas from far bigger clubs, Brighton have also introduced a Tunnel Club.
No wonder the club’s economic contribution to the city and local economy as a whole has been valued at £212m, while also growing to become one of the area’s top employers. Unsurprisingly they even have an “official cask ale supplier.”
And is it any surprise the local zoo named ten of its penguins after Brighton players.
Even in the excellent match programmes for the Marseille and Ajax home games, the tone flits between wonderment, self-deprecation and no little pride.
In place of previous European matches, they simply unearthed long-forgotten summer friendlies on the continent, long-forgotten jaunts, with only a few lines from the local paper, caught in a sepia tinted snapshot to prove the game actually took place.
A far cry from the rolling sports news, numerous live broadcasts from matches, the incessant screening of press conferences — pre-and post — not to mention relentless social media outpourings from a club that can now boast nearly one million Twitter followers alone.
But it’s not just about social media and money. It shouldn’t be. And it can’t be.
Not for a club with a true soul. Not for a club that refused to die.
Robbie Reinelt and The Great Escape
If you don’t know the story of the club losing its beloved home, the Goldstone, you really should. The long-lost stadium, an evocative but charmingly venerable site that was one of the hosts of the 1948 Olympics was home to the Seagulls from 1902 to 1997. (As an aside, this correspondent once went to a raucous FA Cup tie at that much-missed ground in the 1980s and can certainly attest to the wonderful atmosphere it generated.)
Year Zero was 1996. At one stage the club were 11 points adrift at the bottom of the fourth tier. A toxicity prevailed due to uncaring, incompetent, craven leadership. In other words, mismanagement and bad ownership.
To their eternal shame, the then directors, the very custodians of the club founded in 1901, had agreed Goldstone was to be sold to property developers – with the very existence of the club at stake. At war with the board, fans handcuffed themselves to goalposts before games. Banners read: “Homeless and broke, the board’s a joke.”
Yet, under Steve Gritt, the team’s dramatic fight for survival was boosted by winning ten of their last 12 home games, including a vital 1-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers in the Goldstone’s last-ever fixture, to move off bottom spot for the first time in six months. They required a point at fellow strugglers Hereford.
On an emotionally charged afternoon at Edgar Street, with Brighton heading out of the Football League – with the very real prospect of oblivion through liquidation – Reinelt wrote his name in Brighton history with a 62nd minute equaliser.
A month away from Euro 96, Brighton drew the game 1-1 to condemn Hereford instead, as the Seagulls sealed what is still dubbed The Great Escape.
(With the city of Brighton being so ironically and vibrantly louche, later, of course, there was even a music festival called the Great Escape.)
Unsurprisingly, Reinelt’s strike is still considered by many to be the most important goal in Seagulls history, despite – or even because of – subsequent Premier League and Europa League achievements, not least Pedro’s late goal against L’OM.
Years of struggle ensued afterwards. But at least they were alive.
Homeless Brighton faced their wilderness years, flitting between 150-mile round trips to Gillingham over the “border” in Kent for “home” games, prior to an interminable sojourn at the Withdean — an athletics stadium hardly primed for rigours of professional football. To say Brighton were in a parlous and perilous position was an understatement.
Yet, this wonderful club refused to die.
Having been homeless and struggling badly, perhaps that is why Brighton have such an empathy and affinity.
No wonder the club’s Albion As One charity have raised nearly £400,000 for worthy causes based in Sussex, including charities covering hospices, sick children, domestic abuse victims, foodbanks, and of course, support for the homeless.
You’ve Come A Long Way Baby
It seemed fitting that during their wilderness years after The Great Escape, Brighton were sponsored by authentic long-time supporter Fat Boy Slim’s record label, Skint.
They’ve certainly come a long way from the immortal “And Smith Must Score Line” as Gordon Smith agonisingly missed a last-minute chance to score win the 1983 FA Cup final against Manchester United (they lost the replay 4-0) – via the Great Escape and the wilderness years, to the hugely impressive, modern-day Brighton.
A club that reached the FA Cup semi-final last term — only to lose on penalties when stalwart Dunk skied his effort (even if there thankfully haven’t been any “And Dunk Must Score” T-shirts produced) to appearing as one of the Premier League main draws during the summer’s pre-season Stateside tournament, attracting 65,000 for their July friendly against Chelsea in Philadelphia.
And now, to becoming one of the favourites to lift the Europa League following on from Pedro’s stirring late winner against Marseille this week.
Brighton may have travelled to the 1983 FA Cup final in a helicopter, but it has always been a club with its feet firmly on the ground – even if they learned to fly after their Great Escape. All in the space of 26 years.
