Brighton & Hove Albion – Alternative History, Club Records & Information

The season the club were relegated from Division One, they reached the FA Cup final where they met Manchester United. Under the leadership of white-disco shoed Jimmy Melia, the side were underdogs to the Red Devils, but arrived in style for the final having travelled to the match by helicopter. The game itself was a nail-biter and Brighton almost pulled off an amazing win, with the now infamous “And Smith Must Score” quote going down in history as Gordon Smith failed to beat Gary Bailey in the dying minutes of extra-time. The South Coast side’s hopes also died there and then, as, despite having their inspirational captain, Steve Foster, back after missing the first game through suspension, United ran out 4-0 winners in the replay.Major honours have tended to pass Brighton by, but they did win the Charity Shield in 1910, 3rd Division (South) in 1958 and the Fourth Division in 1965. Recently their biggest achievement has been struggling to survive against a board who have been more interested in selling the soul of the club, than keeping it alive. The constant battle against relegation to the Conference came to a head in the final game of the 1996-7 season when they gained a point from their final game at Hereford United, to send the Bulls down in their place. The place where the ground used to be has been replaced by a DIY superstore (that was one hell of a DIY project!!) and the team are currently playing their home games at Gillingham.  The club’s return to Withdean in 1999 was a great success and the fans are happy to be back in their home town, albeit laying in an athletics stadium with only two stands along the sides of the pitch.

Other notoriety for the club came via shirt sponsors “NOBO” and the Tesco carrier bag style shirt the advertising was plastered over.

Under young manager Micky Adams, Brighton prospered in season 2000-2001 and helped by Bobby Zamora’s goals, they swept to the Third Division Championship, leading to renewed hope that with a side on the up and with a new stadium in the planning, they could be going places.  Seven years on, they were still stuck at the Withdean athletics track and are still waiting their move to their new ground as they try to get out of League One in the right direction.

However, a move to Falmer coincided with a promotion to the Championship and under the management of Gus Poyet, things all looked rosy at the Amex, only losing narrowly to Crystal Palace in the play-off semi-final.  That was until a falling out with the board and then his successor, Garcia left after a year and then Sami Hyppia took over, but his reign saw him struggle to keep the Seagulls above relegation water.  It was left to Chris Hughton to take Brighton into the Premier League for the first time and give the Seagulls a taste of the big time (rather than some stolen chips), although he was sacked when the team were safe, as the board decided it was better to Potter around the relegation zone.  He soon de-camped to Chelsea and Roberto de Zerbi came in from the cold of the Ukraine to qualify the Seagulls for their first European flight.

FAMOUS PLAYERS : – Steve Foster, Mark Lawrenson, Andy Ritchie, Howard Wilkinson, E.S. Breezy, Gary Stevens, Ernie Wilson, Peter Ward, Tommy Cook, Ernest “Barney” Barnacle, Perry Digweed.

FAMOUS FANS : – Des Lynam (TV Sports Presenter), Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fat Boy Slim – Musician & DJ), Jamie Theakston (TV Presenter)

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