No superstars, just a super team: How Brighton scaled new heights
Graham Potter’s favourite formation this season had been 3-5-2 and all of its variants. Three defenders plus five midfielders plus two strikers plus a goalkeeper should give us 11 players, right?
Actually, according to a certain psychology school from the early 20th century, it shouldn’t. Gestalt Theory was introduced by three scientists in German and Austria and its main idea could be summarised with a simple phrase: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
So take Gestalt Theory into football, and we can conclude that teams are not defined by their individual units but by the way their units work as a team.
This has been one of the secrets behind Brighton’s record breaking season and one of the reasons it feels so special.
Seagulls fans have enjoyed themselves over the past year. 2021-22 has been exciting and fun but also hard at times.
Most importantly, it is officially the most successful season in the Albion’s history. Looking back at all the records broken and it feels surreal.
Brighton finished ninth in the Premier League, their highest ever placing. They combined that with the most points they have ever won in the top flight, winning the most matches at this level and losing the fewest, scoring the most goals and conceding the fewest.
All of these achievements by themselves are terrific, but the team have also done it playing some amazing football at times.
People will look back in years to come and wonder how Brighton did so well, with a budget nowhere near as much as any other team in the top 10 and lower than a lot of clubs who they finished above in the table.
It was not a case of a single outstanding player in the form of his life carrying the rest of the team to glory. We do not get many world-renowned, elite players kicking a ball around in blue and white stripes.
What we have witnessed this season instead is every player in the squad pulling in the same direction, turning Brighton into a team capable of competing in the most demanding league against some of the best sides in the world.
The Albion right now do not have a sole hero, one player who makes it all easy. The hero at Brighton is not a person, it is the spirit of the players, the teamwork, the bond and the togetherness.
It is no coincidence that every major result, every hard-fought win or draw against any team be they big six or strugglers, has never been delivered by one leading actor.
Brighton’s most impressive displays have come in the matches where every player has combined to play a part, provided their own push.
It was then that the concentrated force of each individual working together smothered opponents, even the likes of Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United. Liverpool and Chelsea could not beat Brighton at times, either.
During this process of the collective shining, every player involved feels important and actually gets better through the experience. They know that without their efforts for the cause, the result would have been different.
The Gestalt Theory argues that things are better together than in pieces. Graham Potter has found the magic clue to connect his pieces and create this Brighton side, one who plays like a star team but without superstars.
This is why the already wonderful 2021-22 season should feel even more wonderful, be even more appreciated. It is a special group of players doing special things for a special manager.
It is also why we should feel confident about the future. Individual players may leave this summer, but the spirit will not. Ninth place is not a ceiling for the Seagulls, but just the beginning.
Jason Therios @JasonTherios
