Our new columnist says people can become obsessed with huge transfer fees and inflated wages but in his experience it is easier to play in the Premier League than in the ChampionshipDo you think the Premier League is the toughest in the world? That’s what many call it and understandably so given the quality of the top teams, the increasing size of transfer fees and wages, and the sheer exposure that it is subject to all over the globe.But does that make it true? I don’t think so. I’m about to return to the top tier with Brighton and for much of the summer I’ve been asked the following questions: Related: Liam Rosenior: Brighton have potential to become a top-10...
Chris Hughton and Tony Bloom have been made free men of Brighton but the manager and owner know their team begin as one of the relegation favouritesGuardian writers’ predicted position 20th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position 2nd (Championship) Related: Premier League 2017-18 preview No2: Bournemouth | Ben Fisher Continue reading...
Twenty years ago it looked all over but an unflappable manager, a sparkling French winger and special team spirit have taken them back to the promised landTwo days after an exhausted Brighton had lost to Sheffield Wednesday in last season’s play-off semi-final, the club announced that the manager, Chris Hughton, had signed a new four-year contract. In the afterglow of ostensible failure that sort of thing might have been regarded as inadvisable by some, but not Brighton. Hughton is part of a plan, one that has brought them to the Premier League.It has been a plan 20 years in the making. Year Zero for Brighton was 1997, when they eked out a draw on the final day of the season...
The prolific form of Chris Wood, the New Zealand centre-forward, could finally see Leeds United return to the Premier League after years of frustrationThere is still a temptation to think every day Leeds United spend outside the top flight is another day of underachievement. The club’s past as one of English football’s great powers still tricks you into the idea that their current status as Championship promotion contenders is the least you can expect.In reality Leeds are overachieving this season. Last summer Garry Monk took over a side with a few decent players but a recent history of mediocrity: this is a team who have finished between 13th and 15th in each of the past five dispiriting seasons and, quite...
Liverpool’s defence needs to find cohesion fast, Lincoln felt the force with Alan Power and Bastian Schweinsteiger is welcomed back by José MourinhoIt was an afternoon when the ball would not go in for Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The Chelsea attacking midfielder was twice denied by the Brentford goalkeeper, Daniel Bentley, and, when he clipped over him on 58 minutes, the effort came back off the crossbar. Loftus-Cheek had two other moments when he jinked inside the area but could not find a finish. It was, nonetheless, an eye-catching performance from the 21-year-old – in front of the watching England manager, Gareth Southgate – in which he advertised both his power and the deftness of his touch. Could it offer him a...