WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month - August 2016

Both Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United were comfortably seen off 3-0 at The Amex with Glenn Murray marking his return to the club with a brace in each while Anthony Knockaert continued to torment opposition defenders.

On the road, there was a creditable 0-0 draw at Derby despite having just one fit senior centre back in Lewis Dunk as well as a 2-2 draw at Reading which was followed by a 2-0 defeat away at title favourites Newcastle United in front of one of the biggest crowds the Albion have played a regular season game in front of in years.

Chris Hughton made wholesale changes for the EFL Cup with comfortable victories over Colchester United and Oxford United ensuring a rare place in the third round.

August 2016 Player of the Month -  Anthony Knockaert (56% of the vote)
	Want to know how important Anthony Knockaert is to Brighton's chances of promotion this season? The fact he grabbed over 50% of the vote after a month in which there were some excellent individual performances says it all. Three goals in five games from the wing have proven to be particularly important and, just like last season, he already looks pretty much unplayable, particularly at home. Those goals came in the convincing home wins over Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United with one away at Reading to show Newcastle exactly what they have missed out on. Played 5 (5 starts). Scored 3.
	Second: Lewis Dunk (21.33% of the vote) With no other fit senior defender for the majority of the month, there was a lot of pressure on Lewis Dunk's shoulders but he rose to the challenge impecably, being an absolute rock at the back alongside Bruno. And just for good measure, he signed a new contract as well.
	Third: Glenn Murray (12% of the vote) There were a fair few doubters who questioned why Glenn Murray had been bought back to the Albion but he has already begun his attempts to silence them, scoring three times in five games including a brace on his second home debut against Forest.

The contenders:
	Bruno - Starting the season with the newly appointed captain at centre half - a position he had never played before - looked like it was a cock up waiting to happen. But the right back was superb alongside Lewis Dunk, picking up exactly where he left off last season.
	Lewis Dunk - As the only fit senior centre back for all but one of our August games, there was a lot of pressure on his shoulders but he rose to the occasion with a colossus set of performances in which he didn't put a foot wrong.
	Beram Kayal - Quite how we received just one half-arsed offer during the transfer window for the midfielder remains a mystery. He was his effective best throughout August and, unlike last season, even when he was rested we still got a victory.
	Anthony Knockaert - The decision to turn down a big money bid from Newcastle United was richly rewarded with a flying start to the season in which the winger tore Nottingham Forest and Rotherham apart at home, ending the month with four goals from five games.
	Glenn Murray - Has already gone some way to silencing the doubters who questioned his return, scoring a brace on his second home debut against Forest and then adding another two four days later for the visit of Rotherham United.
	Liam Rosenior - Was cruelly struck down with another long term injury in the away draw at Reading, since when we've taken just one league point. Up until then, was having a fine month covering for Bruno at right back.