What is the secret to Brighton’s success?

While Brighton have achieved their aims of remaining in the topflight following promotion from the Championship at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, few would have predicted their stunning start to the new season.

After eight games of 2021-22, the Seagulls are holding on to a top four slot and the goal, from this point forward, must be to remain in the European qualifying places.

Flying Start
Those initial eight games produced four wins, three draws and just a solitary defeat against Everton back in August. Along the way, Brighton held a strong Arsenal team to a goalless draw but their most impressive performance came with a 2-1 home victory over Leicester City.

Leicester laid down the blueprint for shocks when they won the Premier League back in 2015/16 but they’ve become a consistently strong side under Brendan Rodgers. The Foxes won the FA Cup last season and any win over this side will have been hard-earned.

In week nine, Brighton were brought down to earth via a 4-1 defeat at home to Manchester City. Plenty of other teams will suffer the same fate but that game was something of a measurement of the Seagulls’ progress.

There is work still to be done but it’s still been a positive opening and one that the squad and coaching staff can use as a platform.

Master Potter
In Graham Potter, Brighton have one of the most promising young managers in the division and he was extensively linked with other coaching roles last summer. According to media reports, Potter was firmly in the frame for the top jobs at Spurs and Everton.

Having such a coveted manager suggests that this is one key to Brighton’s positive start to the new campaign. After a long playing career, Potter made an early impression in unlikely surroundings with Ostersund of Sweden.

After a brief stint in charge of Swansea City, Brighton gave him another opportunity and he’s been in the dugout at the Falmer Stadium since 2019.

Potter’s career has been likened to that of Eddie Howe, another young English manager who turned his Bournemouth team into Premier League regulars.

Brighton have that as a blueprint but, after that strong start, there will be inevitable talk of a finish inside the European qualifying places.

Challenges Ahead
Cynics will say that, with the exception of Leicester City and Arsenal, the fixture calendar had been a little kind to Brighton over the course of those first eight matches.

On the opening weekend of the new season, the Seagulls eased past relegation strugglers Burnley and they’ve subsequently beaten Watford and Brentford.

That cynical theory may also have been backed up by the defeat to Manchester City which was something of a reality check. If we look at the remaining Premier League matches today, there are much stiffer challenges in store for Graham Potter and his high flying Seagulls.

Before October comes to a close, Brighton will travel to Anfield to take on a Liverpool side who are buoyant, following their 5-0 victory over bitter rivals Manchester United.

November includes home matches against struggling Newcastle and Leeds United teams and Brighton will be targeting maximum points from those two fixtures.

In December, the toughest games for Potter and his men are a home clash with Tottenham Hotspur followed by a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. It’s a mixed schedule but, overall, it’s a tougher calendar than Brighton had faced in those opening eight encounters.

Sound Signings
A club of Brighton’s financial standing cannot compete with the richest sides when the transfer windows are open. That means that the manager, and anyone else involved with player acquisitions, must be especially shrewd when it comes to new signings.

One of the more settled players at the Falmer Stadium is French Under 21 International Neal Maupay. This is his third season with the South Coast club and he has a respectable return of 22 goals in 83 matches.

Maupay has been especially effective in the current campaign with four goals in nine league games to date. In central midfield, Alexis Mac Allister arrived at Brighton in 2018 but he’s only just settling into the team following loan spells at Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors.

Mac Allister has been pivotal at the heart of that midfield and scored Brighton’s consolation penalty in that defeat to Manchester City.

What can Seagulls’ Fans Realistically Expect?
Brighton and Hove Albion fans will be dreaming of a place in Europe next season but many will focus on a more realistic target. A season where the Seagulls finish in the top half, without experiencing a relegation battle, would be seen as a success.

Holding on to a sought after Graham Potter is the first step in laying the foundation for a long run in the English top flight.