Brighton and Hove Albion are one of the Premier League’s established teams. They might not be considered an elite club, but the Seagulls are perhaps better than what might be considered a mid-table team.
It is impressive, given how far they have come in such a short space of time. The south coast outfit have been in England’s top tier for seven years and are all but guaranteed to face an eighth next season. They are part of a special group of teams, too.
In the year in which they made the jump from the Championship in 2017, Brighton, along with Newcastle and Huddersfield, were the last three teams to be promoted and beat the drop that season.
This was the last time that all three promoted clubs stayed up and is something that looks extremely unlikely to happen this time around, with all three teams to have come up likely to go back down at the first time of asking.
Of course, Brighton are well out of trouble. In fact, they are looking at trying to build on last season’s success and become a European regular under Roberto De Zerbi.
Can Brighton become a frequent European flyer?
The Seagulls made history last season when they managed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League competition. They obtained qualification by finishing sixth in De Zerbi’s inaugural campaign at the AMEX Stadium.
It was with a squad he largely inherited, as he did not arrive until after the summer transfer window closed following Graham Potter’s ill-fated time at Chelsea.
It was an impressive season all around on the south coast, as the club also reached the FA Cup semi-finals. In fact, many were full of praise for the Italian manager’s influence at the club, so much so that he continues to enjoy it regarding being linked with managerial jobs elsewhere, in the Premier League and in his home country, Italy.
The club faces a difficult tie in Europe as they face Roma in the Round of 16 after finishing top of their group. However, there will be plenty of optimism about what they could potentially do.
Is this something that Brighton fans will come to expect soon? The Seagulls have certainly shown that they can hang with the biggest of clubs in whatever competition they play.
Should expectations be managed slightly?
While things do appear to be going rather well at the AMEX Stadium, it is perhaps wise to keep a lid on expectations and manage them a little.
As Brighton have become accustomed to, there typically feels like there are always major changes being made around the club in terms of personnel.
This perhaps only highlights the excellent recruitment that they have, with star players coming in, performing to incredible heights, and then being sold for big profits to so-called bigger clubs. The manager could be one of those in the imminent future, and that could be a big issue.
The club is also rather inconsistent at times when it comes to results and performances. They can struggle to put together a string of positive results, which reflects their current position in the Premier League table.
As we enter the final third of the season, they are midtable, and form has been all over the place. This makes it hard to see them as frequent flyers in European competitions.
Nonetheless, Brighton are certainly trending positively and has certainly gone beyond the expectations many would have had for them when they were first promoted in 2017.
They are an established Premier League side, and Europe looks more like the seasonal objective than staying up and beating the drop may have once been a few years ago.
