ALBION REVIEW 2022/23 - A SEASON TO REMEMBER
Following their ninth-placed finish in Season 2021/2022 - their best-ever finish in the top-flight, Brighton & Hove Albion and their supporters were looking forward to another progressive season in 2022/2023.
Here is a resumae of what transpired in Season 2022/2023:
In the summer of 2022 outgoings included midfielder Yves Bissouma joining Tottenham Hotspur for £25 million plus add-ons, defender Leo Ostigard joining Serie-A side Napoli. Midfielder Jayson Molumby departing for West Bromwich Albion, defender Marc Cucurella leaving for Chelsea for a fee of £62 million, defender Matt Clarke transferring to Middlesbrough, forward Neal Maupay joining Everton for £15 million and forward Florin Andone having his contract terminated and joining La Liga 2 side Las Palmas.
Incomings included forward Julio Enciso (18) from Libertad Asuncion (Paraguay), forward Simon Adingra (20) from FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark) who, within days left for a season-long loan with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, defender Pervis Estupinan (24) from Villarreal (Spain) and midfielder Billy Gilmour (21) from Chelsea.
At the end of May 2022, Albion announced that former Scotland and Everton defender David Weir (52) had been appointed as Technical Director in place of Dan Ashworth, who had left the club to join Newcastle United.
In July 2022, the Amex hosted two of England Women's matches in the UEFA Euros tournament, on the 11 July when England demolished Norway 8-0 before an attendance of 28,847 and on the 20 July when England edged out Spain 2-1 after extra time in a quarter-final tie in front of 28,994 spectators. England eventually went on to reach the final at Wembley Stadium on the 31 July, where England beat Germany 2-1 after extra time to lift the trophy in front of a crowd of 87,192.
Season 2022/2023 developed as follows:-
2022
August Opening-day on the 7 August, the Albion visited Old Trafford where they recorded a superb 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Premier, with two Pascal Gross goals and their first-ever win at Old Trafford.
First home game at the Amex saw Newcastle United escape with a 0-0 draw on the 13 August. Next came a visit to happy hunting ground London Stadium on the 21 August where the Seagulls overcame West Ham 2-0, with goals from Alexis Mac Allister (pen) and Leandro Trossard.
Three days later, a trip to the West Country in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup ended with Forest Green Rovers defeated 3-0 at The Bolt New Lawn. Leeds United were beaten 1-0 at the Amex by virtue of a Pascal Gross goal on the 27 August. The month ended with a disappointing 1-2 defeat at Premier League newcomers Fulham on the 30 August.
September The month started with an excellent 5-2 win at home to Leicester City on the 4 September, the first time Albion had scored five goals in a top-flight game but on the 8 September the nation was stunned to learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Subsequently, on a less important note, the Albion announced that Head Coach Graham Potter and five of his backroom staff, Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg, Bruno, Ben Roberts and Kyle Macaulay had left the club to join the American project at Chelsea on 5-year contracts. It was reported that the Albion would receive in excess of £21 million by way of compensation from Chelsea.
Premier League matches against AFC Bournemouth (away) and Crystal Palace (home) were postponed prior to the State Funeral of the late Queen on the 19 September.
On the 20 September the Albion announced that the new Head Coach in succession to Graham Potter would be former Sassuolo (Italy) and Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) Head Coach Roberto De Zerbi (43) on a 4-year contract.
On 23 September the Albion announced a raft of backroom staff appointments:-
Andrea Maldera (Assistant Head Coach), Vincenzo Teresa, Marcattilio Marcattilii & Andrew Crofts (First Team Coaches), Nick Stanley (Set-Play Coach), Jack Stern (Assistant Goalkeeping Coach), Shannon Ruth (Under-21 Head Coach) and Gary Dicker (Assistant Under-21 Head Coach).
The first game for the new Head Coach would be a tough one, Liverpool at Anfield on the 1 October.
October Roberto De Zerbi's first game in charge of the Albion was a 3-3 thriller at Liverpool on the 1 October with Roberto Firmino (2) and an Adam Webster own goal netting for the Reds and Leandro Trossard notching a hat-trick for the Seagulls.
The next four matches failed to provide a win for the Albion, as Spurs won 1-0 at the Amex on the 8th, a 0-2 loss followed at Brentford on the 14th, Premier League newcomers Nottingham Forest grinded out a 0-0 at the Amex on the 18th and on the 22nd Seagulls suffered a 1-3 loss at Champions Manchester City.
Chelsea and Graham Potter pitched up at the Amex on the 29th, where a record Amex attendance of 31,746 saw a superb 4-1 win for the Albion. It was De Zerbi's first win and Albion's 100th win in the top-flight. Albion suffered a big blow in this month when it was announced that midfielder Enock Mwepu (24) had been forced to end his playing career due to a hereditary heart condition.
November The month started well for the Seagulls with a 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on the 5th, where the goals came from Adam Lallana (his first in 44 games), Kaoru MItoma (his first in the Premier) and Pascal Gross.
Next was a trip to Arsenal on the 9th for a Third Round Carabao up tie, where a fine display resulted in a 3-1 win for the Seagulls, with the goals coming from Danny Welbeck (penalty), Kaoru Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey. Last game prior to the World Cup intervention in Qatar, was a home game versus Aston Villa on the 13th when despite a goal from Alexis Mac Allister in the first minute, the Seagulls went on to lose 1-2.
December After Qatar, it was off to The Valley for a Fourth Round Carabao Cup game against Charlton Athletic of Sky Bet League One on the 21st. With over 6000 fans behind them, the Albion failed to convert their chances, it was 0-0 after 90 minutes, straight to penalties and the Seagulls managed to lose the shoot-out 3-4.
Next stop it was Southampton away on Boxing Day where the Seagulls won 3-1 with goals from Adam Lallana, Romain Perraud own goal and Solly March. New Year's Eve saw League leaders Arsenal visit the Amex and return to North London with a fine 4-2 win under their belt to enhance their title aspirations.
2023 January
Albion made a brilliant start to the year, winning 4-1 at Everton on the 3 January. Seagulls went one goal better on the 7th, winning 5-1 at Middlesbrough in the Third Round of the FA Cup. Better was follow on the 14th when Liverpool were beaten 3-0 at the Amex, the scorers being Solly March (2) and Danny Welbeck.
The winning streak ended at Leicester City on the 21st with a 2-2 draw. Normal service was resumed on the 29th with an exciting 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Amex in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, with goals from Lewis Dunk and Kaoru Mitoma. An excellent January for the Albion.
Transfer activity in the January transfer window saw midfielder Facundo Buonanotte (19) arrive from Rosario Central (Argentina) on a four-and-a-half year deal and another midfielder, Yasin Ayari (19) sign from AIK (Sweden) on a four-and-a-half year contract.
Outgoings saw Leandro Trossard (28) join Arsenal on a four-and-a-half year deal for a fee of £21 million plus add-ons and defender Shane Duffy (31) join Fulham, after converting his season-long loan into a permanent move.
February The month opened with a 1-0 home win over AFC Bournemouth on the 4th, with Kaoru Mitoma netting the decider. The M23 derby at Crystal Palace on the 11th finished 1-1, Solly March firing the Seagulls ahead on 63 minutes. Fulham staged a smash and grab 1-0 victory at the Amex on the 18th, with on-loan Israeli international Manor Solomon netting an 88th minute winner, with his team's first shot on goal.
A trip to the Potteries on the 28th in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup saw Albion beat Stoke City 1-0, with youngster Evan Ferguson scoring the all-important winner, which ensured a home quarter-final tie with Grimsby Town on the 19 March.
Evan Ferguson the 18 year old Irish International who made such a success of his first season
March A superb start to the month, with a 4-0 thumping of West Ham United at the Amex on the 4th, with Alexis Mac Allister, Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck on the scoresheet.
A 2-2 draw followed at Leeds United on the 11th and four days later on the 15th Crystal Palace were beaten 1-0 at the Amex, with Solly March netting the winner on 15 minutes. Sunday the 19th saw Grimsby Town arrive at the Amex for a quarter-final tie in the FA Cup and were despatched 5-0, which included a brace from Evan Ferguson. The prize for the Albion was a semi-final tie with Manchester United at Wembley on the 23 April.
April Following the final international break, the Premier season resumed at the Amex on the 1 April with a 3-3 thriller against Brentford, with Alexis Mac Allister converting a 90th minute penalty equaliser for the Seagulls. Away at AFC Bournemouth on the 4th, the Albion enjoyed a fine 2-0 win, with goals from young guns Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso, the latter's first in the Premier.
Then followed a controversial 1-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on the 8th when Albion suffered some extraordinary decisions by Referee Stuart Attwell and VAR Official Michael Salisbury. In addition there was a flare-up between the benches which resulted in red cards for Head Coaches Roberto De Zerbi and Cristian Stellini.
Seven days later on the 15th the Seagulls were back in the capital where they enjoyed a fine 2-1 win over a Graham Potter-less Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, including a cracking winning goal from Julio Enciso. It was also a league double for the Albion over the West London side. Back to London for the third weekend running, this time on the 23rd for the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley.
A keen encounter before a bumper crowd of 81,445 saw the teams fail to score a goal between them in 120 minutes, so it was on to penalties. The first twelve penalties were put away before number thirteen proved to be unlucky for Solly March, who blazed his kick over the bar. Sudden-death and Victor Lindelof converted his kick to send United through 7-6 on penalties for an all-Manchester final.
The general concensus was that Albion had been unlucky to exit the competition at this stage.
On the 25th it was announced by the Albion that young striker Evan Ferguson (18) had signed a new five-and-a-half year contract with the club, effective until June 2028.
Next stop for the Seagulls was a mid-week trip on the 26th to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest where they suffered a 1-3 reverse, where 18 year-old Argentinian midfielder Facundo Buonanotte notched his first Premier League goal for the Albion.
The last game in April on the 29th saw Albion thump Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-0 at the Amex with Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck scoring two goals a-piece. It was Undav's first goals for the Albion in the Premier and it was also Albion's best-ever win in the top-flight.
April had been an exciting month for Albion supporters.
May The first eight days of May saw contrasting results for the Albion. A night of drama at the Amex on the 4th saw Albion beat Manchester United 1-0, with the aid of a 99th minute penalty from Alexis Mac Allister. Four days later, relegation threatened Everton pitched up at the Amex on the 8th and inflict a 1-5 defeat on the Albion, in one of the shock results of the season. On the 14th the Seagulls travelled to North London to take on title-chasers Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and came away with an excellent 3-0 win, with the goals coming from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan (his first Premier League goal for the Albion).
Four days later on the 18th, the Seagulls suffered a 1-4 defeat at Newcastle United. The Seagulls returned to winning ways at the Amex on the 21st when already relegated Southampton were defeated 3-1, including a brace from Evan Ferguson and which result confirmed European football for Albion next season.
Champions Manchester City were at the Amex on the 24th and the teams played out an excellent 1-1 draw with Julio Enciso's superb equaliser subsequently being voted BBC's Match of the Day goal of the season and the Premier League's goal of the season.
This result confirmed a best-ever sixth-placed top-flight finish for the Albion and a place in next season's UEFA Europa League competition.
The final game of the season saw Albion lose 1-2 at Aston Villa, with Deniz Undav netting a 38th minute consolation.
SUMMARY - A superb season 2022-2023 for Brighton & Hove Albion. A highest ever finish in the top-flight, sixth in the Premier and highest number of points attained in the top-flight - 62 points from 38 games.
European football for the first time in the club's history - next season playing in the UEFA Europa League. Julio Enciso's wonder-strike against Manchester City on the 24 May 2023 won two major awards - BBC's Match of the Day goal of the season and the Premier League's goal of the season. The efforts of the coaching staff and players of Brighton & Hove Albion have been quite magnificent.
With their success the players have been in the forefront and Alexis Mac Allister has already been snapped up by Liverpool. The Albion have already been pro-active in the transfer market for next season 2023-2024 with forward Joao Pedro (21) arriving from Watford for a club-record fee of £30 million, free agent midfielder James Milner (37) coming from Liverpool and another free agent midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud (27) flying in from Borussia Dortmund, Albion fans cant wait for next season to start, commencing with Premier League newcomers Luton Town at the Amex on the 12 August 2023 and Thursday night Europa League football.
Jack Kaye.
28 June 2023.
Jack, on behalf of all your readers, thank you so much for your contributions this last season. With an added European competition, there is more work for you starting in 6 weeks time - Enjoy your rest!