Relive The Seagulls Best Ever Season… with Volume 2
Tony Noble picked a good time to become a Brighton season ticket holder. A Seagulls supporter since first attending the Goldstone Ground as a boy in the 1960s, a busy life had got in the way and meant that he could never own one of those precious tickets (which then became smartcards and are now loaded onto phones, somewhat controversially if you ask certain Albion fans) until he was 66-years-old and the 2021-22 campaign was upon us.
Watching from his new permanent perch in the East Stand Upper at the Amex, Tony documented every game as Graham Potter led Brighton to a ninth place finish. This in turn became his first book, The Seagulls Best Ever Season. It sold out both online and at the Amex Stadium Albion Superstore.
Turns out calling in The Seagulls Best Ever Season was a bold move. What if Brighton enjoyed an even better campaign in 2022-23? What would Tony do then?
The answer is The Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2. The Albion moved up three places in the Premier League standings to crack the top six, qualified for European football for the first ever time and went all the way to the semi finals of the FA Cup at Wembley.
Tony had never been to the home of football to watch Brighton before. He recalls the wild-eyed wonder of seeing the Albion at Wembley, the brave performance against Manchester United, the heartbreak of Solly March missing the crucial penalty and the fact his overpriced chips did not even come with a little salt.
It is anecdotes like the Wembley food situation which make The Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 so much fun. Tony not only captures the highs and lows on the pitch – from hammering Chelsea to being thrashed by Everton – but what it is like to be a fan of Brighton in these heady days.
What happens when the trains don’t work at a stadium which relies on public transport? How does one cope when they twist their ankle walking the dog and are ruled out of Amex action for a month? Is there a conspiracy against the Albion challenging the big clubs when VAR gets so much wrong?
There are the conflicting emotions Tony experienced when Graham Potter and his entire coaching team walked out on the Albion for Chelsea with the campaign only five games old.
Nobody could blame Potter for taking a job offering him £12 million a year for five years. But on the other hand, the timing was Brighton seemingly on the verge of something special was not great. How would the Albion cope without him?
The answer to that question of course was spectacularly well. Roberto De Zerbi arrived and after a bit of a stuttering start, there was no stopping the Albion.
Attacking football, goals galore, lots of entertainment and all delivered by a charismatic head coach who produced golden quotes every time he spoke to the media.
And talking of the media, Tony even managed to find his way into joining the BBC Radio Sussex commentary team of Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall for the game against Aston Villa at the Amex.
That is a story of tangled wires, chicken curry, former Brighton striker Warren serenading Tony with a rendition of Perry Como’s 1950s hit “What Did Delaware, Boys” and becoming overwhelmed in the presence of greatness otherwise known as Glenn Murray. Johnny has since provided the foreword for Tony’s latest book.
These are proving to be the greatest times to support Brighton and The Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 captures it all in perfect detail.
Fingers crossed for Volume 3 next year detailing Lewis Dunk lifting the Premier League trophy and a big party in Dublin at the Europa League final. No pressure or anything, Mister De Zerbi
The Seagulls Best Ever Season Volume 2 is available from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon Bookstore and all good bookshops as well as the Albion Superstore at the Amex and via this link.
