Brighton & Hove Albion
Author: Joe Kizlauskas
Last Updated: June 17, 2020
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club was founded in 1901 and play their matches in the English city of Brighton. Nicknamed ‘The Seagulls’, Brighton have traditionally played in Blue and White stripes for the majority of their history and have spent most of their time playing in between the second and fourth tier of English football. They share a strange rivalry with Premier League rivals Crystal Palace. Despite the clubs being situated 37 miles away from each other and Palace having many more local derbies within London, the two clubs disdain for each other began in the 1970s and has remained ever since.
Brighton & Hove Albion Honours
Brighton has been crowned league champions of the Second Division, Third Division and Fourth Division on seven separate occasions in their history, winning the Second Division twice, the Third Division three times and the Fourth Division twice. The club famously reached the FA Cup Final back in 1983, in what was the club’s first-ever appearance in a major cup final at Wembley.
Facing Manchester United, Brighton were heavy underdogs coming into the match but produced a performance that made the outcome far closer than anybody had anticipated. Brighton was relegated from the First Division that season but goals from Gordon Smith and Gary Stevens earned them a 2-2 draw and forced a replay. On that occasion, United picked up the win that most expected from the first meeting, winning 4-0 in front of 91,000 at Wembley Stadium.
Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium
Brighton spent 12 years between 1999 and 2011 playing at the begrudged Withdean Stadium, which became a point of misery for many Brighton fans during that period. Used predominantly for athletics, the Withdean Stadium held just 8,850 spectators and came without any cover for spectators. However, they then moved into the Amex Stadium in 2011 – which was also their first season back in the Championship following promotion from League One as champions – which hosts 30,750 supporters.
Brighton & Hove Albion Managerial History
Prior to this current period, Brighton’s best spell as a club came during the Mike Bamber years. Bamber was Brighton Chairman from 1972 to 1988 and oversaw the club’s rise from Division Three to Division One, winning promotion twice in three seasons to reach Division One for the first time in 1979. From there, they then spent four successive campaigns in the top flight, finishing 16th, 19th, 13th and 22nd, which saw them return to the Second Division in 1983.
Chris Hughton was appointed Brighton manager in December 2014 and after keeping them away from relegation, the Irishman then led the club to the Premier League in his second full season in charge. The hugely popular Hughton then kept Brighton in the Premier League in his first two seasons at the club, before being let go and replaced by Graham Potter following the club’s 17th-placed finish in the 2018/19 campaign.
Glenn Murray has been one of the club’s most important players over recent years, having scored 52 goals in his first three seasons back with the Seagulls, while academy product Lewis Dunk has been a mainstay in defence, missing just two games in the club’s first two seasons as a Premier League club.