Is it time for solid Albion to change their style?
A solid foundation is always the best place to start when preparing a team for Premier League football. Knowing how to go to the Etihad, Anfield and the Emirates and not lose by five or six can be crucial when it comes to survival, especially when goal difference is taken into account at the end of the season.
Clubs under the stewardship of experienced coaches like Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce become perennial survivors in the top flight. However, these are coaches that don’t seem to last long in the job. Is this style enough to take a Premier League survivor to the next level?
Brighton & Hove Albion coach Chris Hughton has been widely (and rightly) lauded for his solid, defensive setup and for inspiring his defenders to perform great feats of endurance. He took the Seagulls from the Championship to the Premier League for the first time ever and set out his stall to defend with a siege mentality against sides with far greater resources. This was enough to comfortably ensure their continued top-flight status.
Source: PixaBay
But at what point does it stop being all about survival and start becoming about growth, development and the establishment of a playing style that does more to inspire and entertain the next generation of fans? As heroic as performances of the likes of Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy have been in defence, we all really want to see goals; lots of goals, as well as speed, skill, cunning and intelligence. When do Brighton have to stop looking over their shoulders and start showing us their aspirations?
It could be that the time is now. The club’s struggles in the 2018/19 season can probably be put down to the fact that very little has changed, and opponents know exactly what to expect when facing the Albion in the league, home or away.
Grinding out results can only get you so far and a lack of goals is becoming a problem for Hughton, whose over-reliance on veteran Glenn Murray is starting to tell. Coupled with this have been some cracks in the once impenetrable defensive armour of the Brighton rearguard, with weaknesses defending set-pieces being exposed.
Source: PixaBay
That said, reaching an FA Cup Semi-Final is an impressive achievement for the Sussex side, which may have distracted them from the league and lost them points. Cup success would be a great treat for the fans, who have only ever seen the club reach the final once before.
This may not be their year, though. They are unlikely to be popular with football betting fans after drawing League Champions Manchester City in the penultimate round, with 12/1 odds on them overcoming City and 16/1 on them actually lifting the trophy.
A fresh, attacking approach next year could pay dividends in the long run, as it has for Brighton’s more established competitors AFC Bournemouth, Watford and of course Leicester City. They could even learn a thing or two from the lightning attacking breaks of deadly rivals Crystal Palace.
Some of the signs that Hughton may be considering an alternative approach have been new signings Florin Andone and Yves Bissouma, who have brought with them a more direct, attacking approach in fits and bursts.
One thing’s for sure; the Albion will not be able to rely on their defending to bail them out forever.
