Hey guys and welcome back to another update from Brighton & Hove Albion. My last post finished in December after Brighton had racked up 30 EPL points and lye in 8th position. The season was going well and I even reintroduced the Manchelona, the great start left me craving a mid-table finish but there was still a long way to go. Today I will reveal how the 2012/13 season finished, did Brighton finish around mid-table or did we crumble into a relegation battle?
FA Cup results
Before I reveal the EPL results, let’s talk about my secondary focus, the FA Cup. This competition was used to rest key players and remained in the back of my mind. Despite my negativity, the third round went extremely well as a weak Manchester United lost 3-2 at Old Trafford. Brighton then beat Swansea 4-0 in the fourth round and walked past West Ham in the fifth round. Our journey came to an end as Newcastle forced a replay in the sixth round and my second string XI just couldn’t cope.
Premier League results — January to February
Just four months remaining and 18 games to secure a respectable finish in the Premier League. January was almost perfection as Brighton beat Everton 3-1, Newcastle 1-0, Aston Villa 3-1, West Ham 3-2 and eventually drew to Blackburn 1-1. During this amazing run Bakambu was on fire scoring 5 goals from 5 games. February wasn’t as good though, Manchester United beat us 2-1 before Tottenham thrashed my boys 3-0. We then finished the month with a 3-2 victory over Wolves but the wheels were already in motion and the squads morale had taken a turn for the worse.
Premier League results — March to May
After two top teams taught my boys a lesson, I hoped and prayed for a positive reaction. What I received was far from that as Brighton were lacklustre when drawing 1-1 at home to Fulham. Then a thrilling match at Anfield ended in a 3-2 defeat before we thrashed Stoke 3-0. We did then beat Nottm Forest 2-1, but the performance was far from convincing and Brighton then struggled to draw 0-0 at home to Burnley. This led me to make some changes and I decided to adjust my starting strategy based on the opponent and squad morale. The first test came against Blackpool as I swayed away from the usual attacking strategy and selected ‘control’, due to the players backing off a little we found more space and won the match 3-0. I then chose a counter strategy against Man City but that backfired and Brighton were thrashed 4-1. I chose a standard strategy against Bolton as we won 3-0, but the old counter didn’t work well against Arsenal as the London club eased past us 2-0. Brighton then finished the season with a standard strategy against West Brom and were rewarded with a 2-0 victory.
Premier League table
After a shaky start we managed some solid form before failing to impress at the seasons end…but how did this relay in the league table. Brighton were predicted to fight against relegation, but I was hoping for a mid-table finish. Well we actually performed above everyone’s expectations and finished the season in 7th. A great position and one I hope to build on next season, we were just 4 points away from European football :(
With the seasons conclusion comes my final squad stats. We have Galeano to thank not only for clean sheets but also 10 goals. Bakambu was my top striker, finishing the season with 16 goals and 6 assists while Erick Torres came off the boil and finished with just 10 goals. McDermott was my shock of the season, the winger joined Brighton when we were at League One level and has scored 10 goals and added 8 assists in the EPL. Charlie Adam also played a key role from set pieces with 5 goals and 11 assist.
Player of the season: Cedric Bakambu
After such a great season my board were obviously filled with ambition and announced a stadium expansion of 4500 seats. This will increase the capacity to around 27000.
After December I showed you a rather shocking bank balance. Brighton were more than £14 million in red and this stadium expansion had set us back a further £5.5 million. So how did this leave us come the seasons end, well not as bad as you might think. My bank balance now reads £2.5 million, not too much but we are finally out of the red.
Well that concludes the update guys, thanks for reading and I hope you’ll return for my second pre-season in the EPL. Until then please feel free to ask any questions below and I look forward to reading your comments. Please also show your support and vote below for who I should manage in FM 2012.
Darren Smith: "Which team should I be managing in FM 2012?"
- Norwich (EPL) (27%, 80 Votes)
- QPR (EPL) (23%, 68 Votes)
- Leicester (CH) (16%, 46 Votes)
- Stoke (EPL) (15%, 44 Votes)
- Derby (CH) (14%, 42 Votes)
- Bolton (EPL) (5%, 15 Votes)
Total Voters: 295
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Johnny Karp
15 сентября, 2011 at 13:05
Great season Darren, finishing 7th is a superb achievement. However, I’m not so sure that you will not be playing in the Europa League next season… There should be at least 3 teams in there and Brighton should be the third one after Spurs and Chelsea (depending on who wins the FA Cup).
rolando
15 сентября, 2011 at 13:14
there might an unlucky FA Cup winner from the lower league/relegated EPL team. It happened once to me, when I won the FA Cup in Championship and played in Europa League the following year.
Johnny Karp
15 сентября, 2011 at 13:17
Yeah, could be. Darren will surely clarify that for us eager Brighton fans :)
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 19:08
Well there is still a chance of Europe…Chelsea won the League Cup and FA Cup and as you say there should be a third club from England. But there has been no mention of Brighton making the Europa League, although we should do after looking through other comps.
Johnny Karp
15 сентября, 2011 at 19:56
Who played in the FA Cup final? If it’s one of the top five then you should get a place in the Europa League, if not I think it’s the FA Cup finalist that goes.
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 20:18
Chelsea and Arsenal made both finals and both clubs finished in the top four also. Therefore the Europa League should be mine ;) I’m a pessimist and won’t get too excited until the draw is made but as you say we should be in Europe!!
Lye Kuek Hin
15 сентября, 2011 at 13:36
Hi Darren,
You just missed 6th position by few points. 7th is a great result. Next season will definitely see you improve by big leap. With a couple of additions in, i foresee you can break into the top four next season. Good luck.
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 19:00
Thanks Lye, I reckon we can push on next season but further reinforcements are needed. Even the top four is doable but we’ll see what budget I get.
Dan
15 сентября, 2011 at 13:57
Hey Darren,
Unlucky about Europe but at least it gives you something to aim for next season. Everything is looking good and with a couple of additions Brighton will become a real power house next season.
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:57
Thanks Dan, I certainly have the youth in place but need to find some stronger players next year…
Excessive
15 сентября, 2011 at 15:13
Well done Darren, that was an immense achievement for Brighton. Although Europe was in reach, you can be very proud of the foundations you have laid in the Premier League.
Roll on next season!
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:53
Thanks Jake, we really did overachieve this season and I take my hat off to the board…if not for their ambitious budget we’d have been mid-table at the very best.
George Dobson
15 сентября, 2011 at 16:53
well done Darren still doing very well I voted for norwich as your fm 12 team
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:50
Thanks George, hopefully we can continue the same rate of progression.
Sears
15 сентября, 2011 at 17:19
Superb season mate, finishing 7th was wonderful and helped the financial situation loads. Looking forward to seeing your transfers, you always seem to pull a few bargains ;)
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:46
Thanks sears, I’ll certainly be hunting down one or two bargain buys :)
Ross Davies
15 сентября, 2011 at 17:26
Hi darren, really enjoying the brighton file at the moment. Hopefully you may bring in some up and coming regens in during the transfer window. Hopefully you will be doing a Norwich city file on fm12. Being a mad canaries fan it would be good to see someone else playing as them, also i will be starting with them so it will be cool to see how we both do!
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:46
Glad you’re enjoying the story Ross, I was pessimistic before starting but find myself following Brighton’s results in real life too. :)
I’m hoping for some regens and if not, maybe some more wonderkids. Would be cool to compare notes for sure, but we’ll see what the final outcome is.
Jay
15 сентября, 2011 at 17:36
great stuff man, 7th for a new team, lets see if you can build on it :D
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:44
Thanks Jay, I really hope to build and start challenging for honours in the next two to three years.
Laxeyman
15 сентября, 2011 at 17:47
Fantastic season Darren, well done! Brilliant achievement mate, and I’m sure it won’t be long before Brighton are a major European force :) Looking forward to your pre season.
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 18:43
Thanks Laxeyman, the first season went better than I could have hoped. We’ll see what the future brings but my transfer budget could be the decider next season.
riggsy
15 сентября, 2011 at 19:52
Well done Darren that was a fantastic season and to finish 7th is a great achievement. Its a shame you didn’t manage to qualify for Europe this season, but you never know, next season you could be battling for a top 4 finish! Well done mate and I’m looking forward to next season :)
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 20:16
Thanks Riggsy, I am delighted with the teams efforts and hope to carry this forward to the next level during pre-season.
Nicholas Phipps
15 сентября, 2011 at 20:35
Ann incredible start for your first season and you came so close to Europe :). It will be interesting to see you push for the Europa or dare I say it, the Champions League next season, so good luck with that :)
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 21:19
Thanks Nick, it certainly was a great first season. While I first thought we’d missed out on Europe, Johnny brought to my attention a few rules that would indicate Brighton may be in the Europa League. :)
Birdy
15 сентября, 2011 at 21:09
Very nice Darren. It was so close to Europe but I don’t think the squad would be ready for it so soon. I think with some big transfers you will easily make it to Europe, Good luck
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 21:20
Thanks Birdy, as I mentioned to Nick Brighton may have made the Europa League. I don’t know for sure but Johnny has pointed a few things out that may insist otherwise so fingers crossed. :)
Kevin
15 сентября, 2011 at 21:22
How ironic to go out against Newcastle in the cup! Anyway that’s a marvellous first season and so unlucky to miss out on Europe by such a small margain. Well done though!!
Darren Smith
15 сентября, 2011 at 21:32
Yeah it was quite weird losing to Newcastle and I actually remember been happy when they scored until I realised I was in blue and not black/white. :) After reading Johnny’s comment it would appear as though Brighton have a chance of Europe. But we’ll wait for the draw to confirm that.
Martin - F.M.J.S
15 сентября, 2011 at 23:45
Well done Darren. I agree with what Johnny says in the comments above so fingers crossed on Europe. With some new players, I am sure you will push Brighton further.
Darren Smith
16 сентября, 2011 at 11:52
Thanks Martin, lets hope we did make Europe and can go even further next year.
CsAtlantis
16 сентября, 2011 at 04:00
You should know whether you qualified for Europa League soon enough, in the meantime a 7th place finish after returning to the Premier League is a very good achievement, and you can build on that next season with your improved finances and stadium :D
Darren Smith
16 сентября, 2011 at 11:51
I agree mate, we’ll see if Brighton are Europe bound very soon indeed. Hopefully we do qualify and push it to the next level next season.
Calin
16 сентября, 2011 at 07:22
Nice season, Darren, it was an achievement even though I think that you are upset that you didn’t manage to make it to the Europa League. But you have some great players (especially Bakambu) and I am sure that you’ll manage to do a lot better next season, probably qualify for Champions League!
Darren Smith
16 сентября, 2011 at 11:49
Thanks Calin, I was a little sad to miss out on Europe but it would seem as though there’s a chance. While I saw no indication of qualification, the rules show otherwise so we’ll see.
Martin
16 сентября, 2011 at 09:10
Fantastic first season in the Premiership! 7th is an awesome achievement…the Brighton fans will be happy! European football could definitely be on the cards next season. Cant wait to see who your Ins and Outs are. Good Luck bud.
Darren Smith
16 сентября, 2011 at 11:48
Thanks Martin, I am delighted with the position and we now have a great platform to build from.
vaibhavc
16 сентября, 2011 at 10:21
Hey Darren
Very close to getting Europa League football. It could be yours though, but we just have wait and see. Bakumbu scores a lot and Galeano was just superb this season. Are you implementing your Y2G with Brighton as well?
Darren Smith
16 сентября, 2011 at 11:47
Yeah we’ll soon find out about my Europa League chances. I have some excellent youngsters but as mentioned in the guide you can’t really implement the Y2G system before qualifying for the ECL. I am certainly preparing by signing youngsters but we’ll be a while before seeing any results.
Sibo373
17 сентября, 2011 at 09:34
Well done Darren, what a season and it would be heartbreaking not to get Europa League footie with that kind of form, but like Johnny said, you should get it, especially as Arsenal and Chelsea were in both finals! :D
Anyway, good luck with next season and I really hope the ‘Guls break into the top four, although it would be even better if you finish this story by winning the Premier League or, if you play like a man possessed, the CL! :D
Darren Smith
17 сентября, 2011 at 12:36
Thanks Sibo, I agree and think we will make the Europa League but don’t want to tempt fate until I see it in writing. :)
Malhar Bhadbhade
17 сентября, 2011 at 11:38
hey darren,
it’s quite incredible that you finished 7th in the premier league in your first season. congrats about that!! can’t wait to see you pre-season dealings..and how your next season goes…i just wanted to ask you, when you have two finals in the space of 4 days…Spanish Cup and Champions League for instance, is there anything special you do to try and make your players recover faster? I did manage to win both last season, but my players were exhausted in the champions league final and tbh, i was very lucky to scrape through….any pointers? also, can i pre-order fm2012 from here even though i’m living in sydney, australia?
Darren Smith
17 сентября, 2011 at 12:31
Thanks mate, hopefully we can build on this season and start challenging for the title within a few years.
As for the finals I guess you could change all the key players training to involve less workload, but I personally do nothing. I decide which players I want to use in both matches and pick my strongest team for the cup I really want to win. Alternatively I also substitute the key players after 60 mins so they’re rested for the next game.
Now with regards to the FM12 pre-order. I would suggest clicking our pre-order button and then try doing it to see what happens…amazon will soon tell you if you can’t pre-order it.Alternatively you could pre-order the game via steam to download.