If Potter and Brighton were in the Greek league, they would win it by Boxing Day
Graham Potter. Five years ago he was at Ostersunds FK and Brighton had just been promoted to the Premier League. Four years ago he was at Swansea City and Brighton just avoided relegation to the Championship.
By May 2019, Potter had impressed enough in Wales to be offered management of the Seagulls. Who expected that within three years, he would have achieved so much?
Potter has led Brighton to the best position in their history. Potter has made Ben White and Marc Cucurella into record expensive sales. Potter has won at stadiums and against teams Brighton have never beaten.
The Seagulls have done all this thanks to beautiful football and a constant upwards trend. If Potter was manager here in Greece or another league where the title is decided less by money, he would win the championship every year.
How do we know? Because his Brighton side compete with the best. Their dominance at Old Trafford when beating Manchester United 2-1 was just the latest richer club to lose out to Potter’s Albion.
It would not have surprised anyone if Brighton were in the relegation battle last season. They did not have a big budget and their inability to win at the Amex left a big question mark.
Potter defied the odds in the end not only by keeping Brighton in the division, but by taking a record-breaking ninth place. The reason they finished so high was because they managed to get points from all the big six, except Manchester City.
Everyone will remember the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, a match that Brighton were 2-0 down in after 20 minutes. A brilliant comeback.
Nobody can ever forget the 4-0 win over United at the Amex. Or the London double. Winning at the Emirates and Leandro Trossard in the last minute against Tottenham Hotspur.
There were two draws against Chelsea, one when Brighton were behind the score in the 90th minute. Thank you, Danny Welbeck.
Obviously, these are results that make a club stand out in every football fan’s consciousness. Brighton owe that success to Potter and his way of thinking.
The Seagulls looked frightened against the big six in their early Premier League days. At Swansea, Potter showed no fear of anyone.
He reached the FA Cup quarter finals and nearly knocked out Man City. That effectively marked his ticket to the top flight of English football.
Potter arrived at Brighton and signed players to fit his style. Agreements reached in the first season to sign Neal Maupay, Leandro Trossard, Adam Webster and Tariq Lamptey.
In other words, four players who to this day are core and a reason why Brighton have gone up a level. The impact was instant and the Albion beat Tottenham by a wide 3-0 margin and prevailed over Arsenal on two occasions in 2019-20.
Those results were huge for a club whose goal was primarily to stay in the Premier League. More impressive scores came in Potter’s second season on the bench.
A win at Anfield and a draw with Liverpool at the Amex. Brighton’s first point at Chelsea. Another win against Tottenham. The best of all, a stunning upset of Man City at the Amex despite trailing 2-0.
To understand the magnitude of that victory, City have not been defeated in the Premier League when taking a two goal lead since.
This summer has seen unexpected challenges arise in every direction. Yves Bissouma has left for Tottenham and Cucurella became the most expensive Seagulls sale in history. Both players have not yet been replaced by the club.
And where do we end up? Brighton go to Old Trafford in their first game of the season and achieves the first victory in their history away against United.
Two goals from Pascal Gross gives the Seagulls a start to the new season matching the finish to the last. It is an absurd result.
No one knows where this journey will end up, just that Brighton are a team that everyone is happy to watch. This is clearly down to Potter.
Measure his success in the Seagulls history he makes and you see how outstanding he is. If Brighton were in the Greek League, they would win it by Boxing Day and Potter would have trophies to match his talent. I assure you!
Dimitris Manakos @dimitris_manakos / England365.gr
