Hey guys and welcome back to the seaside where I’ am attempting to turn Brighton from L1 mediocrity into a household name. During the last post I outlined how August to December went, Brighton were top of the table and maintained some self respect in all competitions. But with Winter approaching it was time to push on and secure top spot as well as strengthen for the clubs biggest challenge. We’ll start today’s post in the transfer market and then move swiftly through my end of season results.
With the half way point comes a change in expectations and a much anticipated budget adjustment. I raised the bar a little in saying we’d win the league, after pre-season I was left with no wage budget and needed some to negotiate free signings for next season. The £425K transfer budget was still hanging from the summer so don’t think my board were been generous. In fact……
During January I felt a sharp blade pierce my back, this was of course the board screwing me over :) They accepted an offer for my star right back, Calderon. The offer came from Burnley and my best defender wound up leaving for £925K, a reasonable amount but I couldn’t find someone of the same quality that wanted to join us. I also offloaded one or two backup players and found myself raising £1.1 million.
Now lets see what I did with the extra cash, first of all I found a replacement right back. Not as good as Calderon but Frank Simek is an ample replacement for just £400K.
I also decided to bid for Donal McDermott, the Man City player could be good for any side in the Championship and should be my best left winger for the next couple of years. He cost £250K and I believe this could prove a real coup.
So two good signings and a total of £650K spent, we brought in almost double what we spent but this wasn’t reflected in the finances which were quite worrying. I will go into more detail later, but lets just say I am desperate to move into our new stadium next season. Now the transfers have been explained, let me go through some cup competitions and then finally reveal our end of season League One results.
FA Cup results
After progressing through the early rounds Brighton also beat Brentford to reach the fourth round of England’s proudest cup competition. Championship side Norwich awaited us and unfortunately taught my side a lesson in Football, we were thrashed 3-0 which left me to concentrate on our league form.
St Johnstones Paint Trophy
Brighton struggled through this competitions early stages, after relying on penalties we finally faced Colchester in our sections final. The first leg was an utter disaster and embarrassment as League One’s second placed side thrashed my boys 4-0. We then took a 2-0 lead in the second leg but could only finish with a 3-3 draw.
League One results — January to February
With no other competitions to worry about, I could focus on League One and trying to secure top spot. We had a ten point lead and this should have proven difficult to lose, but January threw up some surprises. After beating Yeovil 3-1 we could only draw against Leyton Orient and Colchester. My form seemed to take a turn when we beat Swindon 4-2 before Charlton held us to a 1-1 draw. I’m not sure what went right from there, but we won 6 matches in a row and looked unstoppable while finishing off the February fixture list.
League One results — March
After that brilliant run of form we travelled to Exeter and scraped through 2-1 victors, then were held at home by Peterborough 1-1. This left me concerned before playing Plymouth who we beat 3-0, before the inconsistent form continued with a draw to Huddersfield and 5-1 thrashing of Hartlepool.
League One results — April to May
With the seasons end closing in fast, I had to pick up speed or risk a major dip in form. So you can imagine my mood when Brentford beat us 2-1. I then thought we’d turned a corner after victory over Southampton away, but my boys finished the season with four consecutive draws. A terrible end to the season, but the big question is what did this do to our league standings?
League One table — final standings
That bad run could have cost us the the title or even promotion, but it all fell on other clubs results so what did the league look like….well we finished the season on more points than Brighton managed in real life, a total of 100 points gained top spot, promotion and the title! :)
This season brought about many different challenges and I had to reinstate our form on many different occasions. I put this down to a slow defence and the fact that none of my forward thinking players hit consistent shots on target (bar Brandy.) To be honest these are all concerns for next season, but I was delighted with some of the ratings for this year. Greer managed a 7.5 including 16 goals, while Brandy scored 25 goals despite being injured for two months. Noone was my best midfielder and managed 19 assists before falling out of favour following McDermott’s arrival.
Financially things are very poor though, we started the season with almost £3 million and also gained £450K on transfers. Yet my balance is almost in the red and will definitely drop well below that black line come pre-season. With such bad finances I am sure to have the facility upgrades cancelled and the board will probably be reluctant to offer a transfer budget.
Well that concludes my first season in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion. It was a success but I have fresh concerns over the clubs future. Our financial state could stall any growth and I will be left with the decision to stick or twist…I can either go for broke and promotion again next season, or trust in my current squad to keep the club stable but this will result in a mid-table finish at best. All the answers will be revealed soon my friends, but until then please feel free to comment and thanks for reading.
Alex
28 августа, 2011 at 10:12
Well done, brilliant performance in the league and short cup runs surely helped too, keeping your players fit for your most important target — promotion. Brandy did very well, I just started a Stevenage game and got him, seeing this means he will rip up league 2 :D.
Finances don’t look good, but once you get into the Premier League that will change with huge TV revenue :). Good luck in the championship!
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 11:01
Thanks Alex, it was a long season but we earned some late victories that made a difference and I think the players extra fitness was to thank there. As you say its all about hanging in there until we reach the EPL and some more money.
Kevin
28 августа, 2011 at 10:17
Hi Darren
That unbeaten run in February really was the turning point for you so congratualtions on winning the league and hitting the 100 point mark.Great acquisition in McDermot and he should really help your Championship aspirations. Your finances though look a bit «iffy» .There’s aother word I haven’t used in a long time :)
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 11:02
Thanks Kevin, that unbeaten run was very important considering our late collapse. The finances are ‘iffy’ as you’d say, but I am hoping the new stadium will provide enough revenue to keep us going.
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 10:39
Congrats on a great season, 100 points is an amazing record. The financial side doesn’t look too appealing but I think you will be able to bring in two or three quality players, maybe on free transfers or loans to keep the club moving forward towards the Premier League. Good luck!
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 11:07
Thanks Johnny, despite a few bad results the points total is what matters and we did win the league with relative ease. I hope to find at least three good players and just try to get some depth. But the transfer window didn’t go to plan if I’m honest.
Laxeyman
28 августа, 2011 at 11:06
Great season Darren, you racked up a high number of points, and with just 2 losses, you were obviously the best team in the League 1, so well done! The Fianances are worrying, and I’d be surprised if you get more than £500k to spend in pre season, which may mean you’ll have to just consolidate. Anyway, we’ll see, and I’m looking forward to finding out :)
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 15:29
Thanks mate, the season went well and my only concern came with a slow defence. The finances aren’t good but if I can get through next season we should be able to build and start making money in the near future.
Birdy
28 августа, 2011 at 11:55
Well Done Darren and good luck for your next season, I hope you can take the championship by storm and hopefully do the back to back promotion. Fabian Brandy has been great so has Greer who has been scoring a tonne of goals
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 12:19
Thanks Birdy, I will need some luck in the transfer market next season but with that we may be able to challenge.
vaibhavc
28 августа, 2011 at 12:37
Hey Darren
Well done winning the title, even with that hopeless run of form towards the end. Short cup runs must have helped you so much. Your finances are hopeless, though. Much different to your Newcastle finances.
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 15:24
Thanks Vaibhav, the finances are bad but you’ve got to speculate to accumulate and that’s my moto for this save. I did the same with Newcastle in doing what was necessary to make them great (which took us into £20 mill of debt) then used that reputation to make them rich so we’ll see how it goes with Brighton if I have time to get that far.
Lye
28 августа, 2011 at 13:41
Hi Darren,
Congrats on the promotion. The team has a good foundation. You just have to bring a couple of additions and it will be another successful season. Looking forward to see weave your magic once again in the championship.
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 15:25
Thanks Lye, I hope we can continue to grow and I reckon four great signings would see us challenge.
Dave Triggs
28 августа, 2011 at 20:06
Hi Darren,
Congrats on promotion, I’ve just got Brighton promoted to the Premier League after 2 seasons in The Championship. So there’s your benchmark.
Gordon Greer gets the odd goal for me, but 16?!?! That’s lethal! Well done!
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 20:41
Thanks mate, sounds like you have done well with Brighton…I’ll try and keep up with you but it’ll come down to luck in the transfer market I reckon. Greer has certainly earned himself a season in the Championship thats for sure :)
cak
28 августа, 2011 at 20:14
hey darren
congrats on winning the league and gaining promotion to the championship, despite the shaky run of form towards the latter stage of the season, some decent players already within the squad, with the addition of a few players, you could push again for a play-off place next season if not automatic promotion. look forward to reading the next post
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 20:42
Thanks Cak, I am hoping to get near the top six next season although I don’t expect promotion straight away. I would if the finances were better, but I may struggle to bring in quality.
picks
28 августа, 2011 at 21:14
go for broke lol
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 21:59
lol :) Pretty much the way I’m swaying to be honest.
footballfan2991
28 августа, 2011 at 21:17
Hi Darren,
Excellent season, though the last few matches were not that good but it doesn’t matter since you managed to win the league. May I ask two questions? 1) Are you using the 11.3 update? 2) Is it more difficult that the previous updates? Because in the 11.3 I tend to be horrible and this is not a first one for me, in FM 2010 and FM 2009 the same thing happens. And I am asking if you are using the latest update because you have started a new game, so it is almost certain that you are using the latest one. Have you noticed something like this?
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 22:03
Thanks mate, I am using the 11.3 patch whereas my Newcastle game was started with the older one. SI definitely don’t make the game harder with newer patches, but they do make changes and adjust how the game is played. When you first get the new game you have loads of patience and learn how the game works, you probably also pay a tonne of attention to the tiny details because you know they count. However, when a new patch comes out you shouldn’t expect to play the game exactly the same, if you get complacent and don’t accept that you may need to change your thinking then you will get stale and probably struggle a little. Approach a new patch the same way you would a completely new game, that what I do anyway. My Manchelona doesn’t work with Brighton but it did with Southampton and my side isn’t too far away from the the Southampton one, but I realised it wasn’t working and made the switch to a more cautious tactic. That’s just one example of many.
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 22:08
P.S. Have you ever noticed that the longer you play the game in one go the worse your form gets. In other words if you play 10 games in one session you start well but then lose the latter matches. However if you play those first 5 matches one night and the other 5 the next I bet your results would be better. That’s because you have more patience and focus, you are probably more inclined to make changes that you wouldn’t if doing all ten games in one go because you think the teams form is enough to win. It’s all about keeping a fresh outlook on the game and not becoming stale and thinking that one way of playing will win all the time. At the end of the day managers like Alex Fergusan are amazing because they can adjust their management style to different situations and as the modern game develops. I think the game works in a similar way.
Sears
28 августа, 2011 at 23:00
Congrats on promotion mate! Shame the Manchelona didn’t work out quite the way you wanted it too … Anyhow, good luck during pre season, hopefully you can bring in the required players to challenge for the Championship title next term ;)
Darren Smith
28 августа, 2011 at 23:40
Thanks Sears, I hope we can make a promotion challenge next season too.
Vineeth
29 августа, 2011 at 12:38
Congratulation!!! Though it was obvious you would be promoted…;)
Hope you can get someone to rotate with (or replace :D ) Brandy…though your finances might make it difficult, I am sure you will find a way to improve this team…
Well, All the best for the Premiership! :)
MRDNRA
29 августа, 2011 at 21:07
McDermott is an excellent signing for league 1 level. On my Leicester game I signed him straight from league 1 into the premier league and he went and did fine in PL for me, so I have no douts he’ll be a big success in the championship next season for you as well.
Congrats on the promotion anyway. Look forward to the next post.
Darren Smith
29 августа, 2011 at 21:25
Thanks mate, McDermott looks very good but has struggled to make an instant impact. Despite this he’ll start from the left wing and will hopefully grow into the season but we’ll see.
Nicholas Phipps
30 августа, 2011 at 09:10
Congratulations on promotion and your team played really well throughout the season, despite the slight dip at the end. Good luck for next season :)
Darren Smith
30 августа, 2011 at 11:57
Thanks Nick, hopefully we will have some success next year too.
Sibo
30 августа, 2011 at 16:21
Well done on a brilliant season Darren, 100 points! Incredible stuff, I hope you have just as good a season next time and «do a Norwich»! :D
Darren Smith
30 августа, 2011 at 18:47
Thanks Sibo, the pre-season post is about to be published.