Peter Taylor II: A brief but successful reign as Brighton boss

At a little over six months, Peter Taylor is the holder of the third shortest reign of any permanent Brighton manager. And yet in his fleeting time at the helm, he managed to become one of only four men to lead the Albion to a divisional title in the Football League.

The brevity of his spell at the Albion means that there is a wide spectrum of opinions about Taylor. To some, he simply inherited a Brighton team from Micky Adams that was always going to win Division Two, no matter who was in charge.

To others, it is the opposite. Taylor’s subtle changes in formation, tactics, and work on the training ground helped take Adams’ Division Three champions up another level, whereby they were good enough to win back-to-back titles.

Those people would argue that had Adams not jumped ship for the Leicester City assistant managers job in October 2001, then Brighton would not have ended up with more silverware for the Withdean trophy cabinet. To them, it was Taylor’s trophy and Taylor’s alone.

Then are those who cannot look past the accusation of Taylor being a bottle job. His work in winning a rare championship is tarnished by him resigning within nine days of the end of the 2001-02 season – only six months into a three year contract.

Taylor said he had been misled by Dick Knight about how soon the new stadium at Falmer would be completed. He also did not feel the Albion’s budget would be adequate to survive the second tier in 2002-03 and so he walked, rather than risk having a relegation on his CV.

In fairness, Taylor was proven correct on both counts. It ended up being nine years – and seven more managers – before the Amex opened.

As for progression on the pitch, Brighton duly went down a year after Taylor’s resignation. That though was solely down to the 10 game losing run at the start of 2002-03 overseen by his successor, Martin Hinshelwood.

Once Dick Knight belatedly appointed Steve Coppell, the Albion’s form was good enough to survive. Had Coppell been appointed that summer rather than in the middle of October, it is fair to assume Brighton would have stayed up.

Coppell was a better manager than Taylor, but there will always be that nagging ‘what if’ about that 2003-02 campaign had Taylor taken on the challenge rather than walking away because he did not fancy it.

Which of those opinions then is closest to the truth? Frankly, it is difficult to say as all carry merit. WAB are sitting on the fence for this one, even if our instinct says Taylor was a more astute and intelligent boss than Adams.

When Taylor arrived at Withdean Stadium in October 2001, Brighton were third in Division Two having won seven, drawn four and lost two of their 13 matches.

Adams’ sides were famous for being resolute, well-organised, determined and full of characters. His Brighton team was no different. You could not outfight them and they could play a bit too.

The Albion could also call upon a certain Bobby Zamora, a striker easily too good for the bottom two divisions. Brighton played 4-5-1 under Adams no matter if they were home or away, facing their title rivals or the side bottom of the league.

You did not need to do anything else when you had Zamora. Michel Kuipers and a rock solid defence kept goals out at one end.

Charlie Oatway, Paul Rogers and Richard Carpenter were a formidable midfield three. Out wide, you had Gary Hart down one flank and Nathan Jones or Paul Brooker (weather dependent) down the other to feed Zamora.

If it sounds basic, that is because it was basic. And it worked. 92 Division Three points in 2000-01 and the title won by a clear 10. Brighton obliterated the competition, including big-spending Cardiff City and fraudulently-spending Chesterfield.

The question for Brighton in 2001-02 was how far that approach would get them in the league above? Adams’ desire to become Dave Bassett’s number two at Leicester meant we never found out, Bassett and Adams the new management team replacing the sacked Taylor at Filbert Street.

Taylor was the overwhelming choice of quite literally everyone to replace Adams at the Albion. Rarely has a Brighton managerial appointment been greeted with unanimous approval from board, supporters and media as Peter Taylor, who arrived at Withdean within 17 days of his departure from Leicester.

It was quite a coup for Knight. Less than a year earlier, Taylor had managed England as caretaker between the resignation of Kevin Keegan and the arrival of Sven-Göran Eriksson.

In that 1-0 friendly defeat away in Italy, it was Taylor who first gave David Beckham the captain’s armband. And now he would be working amongst the portacabins of Withdean and for a club who found themselves having to train in Preston Park within a month of his arrival, leading Danny Cullip to hand in a transfer request.

Taylor though could see the benefits of Withdean. Speaking to Nick Szczepanik in 2020, he said: “I looked at Withdean and thought: We can use this to our advantage.”

“There were a lot of teams that didn’t want to play there or get changed in those portacabins. I know they improved them a bit later but the ones we had were not inviting, especially for the away team.”

“We made it a horrible place to come. We were not only a good team, but we had long throws and we were strong at set pieces and nobody who played us there went home thinking they’d had a nice day out at the seaside.”

So, what of those subtle changes that Taylor made? On the training ground, the new boss said he was shocked to see players flying into full blooded challenges and putting their bodies on the line in practice matches.

Adams demanded such commitment. Taylor felt that to last the course in a Division Two promotion campaign, things had to be more relaxed.

Training intensity was instantly dialled down and the risk of injuries at the Albion’s University of Sussex base – or Preston Park – was reduced.

Peter Taylor also ditched Adams’ 4-5-1 when Brighton were at home. Doing so was a huge call for Taylor. To partner Zamora with either Lee Steel or Daniel Webb, it meant dropping one of Paul Rogers or Charlie Oatway, midfield stalwarts under Adams and huge personalities in the changing room

It was a decision that Taylor got right though. Brighton did not lose a game at Withdean under his management, winning 12 and drawing five of his 17 home matches in charge.

Needless to say, Taylor wasted no time in getting off to a winning start. Within 28 minutes of his first game in the Brighton dugout, Rogers had scored once and Steele twice to give the Albion in an unassailable 3-0 lead over Oldham Athletic.

It would be 12 league games and three months until Peter Taylor tasted defeat as Brighton boss, a 3-0 loss at Wigan Athletic when the Albion were without Kuipers. Simon Royce deputised.

Peter Taylor only lost four Division Two matches in charge of Brighton and each of those could be excused. Kuipers was again absent with Royce between the posts for a 4-0 defeat at Brentford.

Zamora was rested when the Albion lost 2-0 at Oldham as Taylor sought to manage a heavy fixture list caused by Withdean consistently flooding over a wet winter.

To compound a miserable day at Boundary Park, Zamora ended up being sent off 28 minutes after he was eventually introduced from the bench.

The Albion where therefore without their suspended talisman for their last defeat under Taylor, a 3-1 loss at Stoke City on a Friday night in early March in front of the ITV Digital cameras.

Taylor made very limited moves in the transfer market but virtually every one came off. Webb may have struggled for goals but he provided an underrated foil for Zamora.

When Zamora dislocated his shoulder at the business end of the season, Taylor brought in Wayne Gray on loan from Wimbledon to replace him. Gray needed only 27 minutes of his debut to prove that was a good decision, scoring in a 4-1 win at Colchester United.

And then there was Junior Lewis. Oatway, Carpenter and Rogers were already vying for two spots alongside Steve Melton, who Taylor rated highly.

That did not stop Taylor raiding Leicester for the services of Junior Lewis on loan. A two-footed holding midfield who glided effortlessly around the pitch, Lewis added a new dimension to the Albion from the moment he made his home debut in the most memorable win of the season, a 3-1 success against Reading at Withdean.

Lewis scored that evening and followed it up with the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win five days later over another promotion rival, Huddersfield Town.

He then then laid on two goals for Zamora in a 4-0 hammering of Wycombe Wanderers and scored the opener in a massive 2-1 victory over Bristol City on Easter Monday. Lewis was some signing.

The victory over Reading on a misty Monday in February was easily the best of Taylor’s reign. Alan Pardew’s Biscuitment arrived at the Theatre of Trees top of the table.

If Reading won, they would open up a 10 point lead over second placed Albion, extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches and confirm the opinion of pundits and bookies that they were the best side in the division and favourites for the title.

If Brighton won, it would continue the momentum that had been building since Taylor took over, inflict a psychological blow on Reading and make a real statement: The Albion are coming for you.

Reading ended up being utterly blown away. Zamora scored once himself and then set up both Lewis’ goal and Melton’s earlier effort.

The Biscuitment were meant to be the best Division Two had to offer and yet they were played off the park by one the all-time great Albion performances.

A little over two months after the victory over Reading, Brighton were crowned champions with two games still to play. They ended the campaign on 90 points, six clear of the Biscuitment and ready to look forward to a first season in the second tier for a decade.

Except Taylor would not be there. Some Brighton fans suspected that he had been lined up to take over at Crystal Palace, whom he had enjoyed a memorable spell with during his playing career.

Taylor knew better than to walk out on the Albion for Palace. His reasons for going were the reasons he said – and he actually ended up being out of work for six months until his appointment as manager of Division Three Hull City, who had what Taylor had been promised by Knight – a shiny new stadium.

It was a shame how Taylor’s time at the helm of Brighton ended. It also serves as a reminder of just what a millstone around the neck of the Albion the lack of stadium was.

In the space of less than a year, it caused Micky Adams to think that being assistant manager at Leicester was a better job and Peter Taylor to prefer six months on the dole to managing Brighton in the Championship.

And whilst a section of the Seagulls support may think that Taylor’s departure will forever taint what he achieved on the pitch, nobody can take away his place in the history books alongside Billy Lane, Adams and Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named as the only four managers to have won a Football League title for Brighton.

A short but ultimately successful reign.