Looking out at the rain this morning, I was taken back to the grim back streets of Barnet just over a year ago. On the coach heading away from Wembley and another defeat in an FA Cup semi final, I inevitably wondered about what if that penalty had gone in, or another been saved, or that ball had fallen right in the box in the last 20 minutes of extra time.
I cannot help but feel the same about this season. What if Julio Enciso had not been injured in training two weeks into the season? What if that key signing that almost no-one knows about had come off?
What if Solly March hadn’t twisted his knee at the Etihad Stadium? What if Ansu Fati had found his form? What if things had gone differently that night in Rome?
What if Kaoru Mitoma had not done his back in? And what if, sat around the table, Tony Bloom and Roberto De Zerbi had found some common ground?
Of course, you could ask “what if my nan had wheels, would that make her a Ford Fiesta?” or some such nonsense to put all that speculation to rest.
We need to recognise that football is all about the what ifs. The bounce of the ball. The deflection. The VAR call. The timing of the challenge that led to the injury. It is all part of the game.
We all need to “process” – as our American friends in the MLS might say – what has happened. The second half slump. The injuries. The loss of De Zerbi. Finishing behind Palace on the last day of the season. It hurts.
Despite the post-season holidays for players, however, things will move on swiftly during June and July. Brighton have not tended to hang around when it comes to appointing new managers under Tony Bloom.
By the time you read this, Bloom and Paul Barber may already have appointed the next head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion.
I will not add to the speculation on runners and riders apart from saying I would be very happy with Reuben Amorim, Francesco Farioli or Kieran McKenna.
None have Premier League experience but if course neither did Graham Potter or De Zerbi. Whilst my heart says give Liam Rosenior a go, my head says it is too soon for him.
The transfer window opens in three weeks, by which time the rumour mill will be in full swing. For some, that helps fill the close season void. For others, it means nothing until a player is holding the shirt in front of the press at Lancing.
Four days after the window officially opens on June 18th, the provisional fixture list for 2024-25 is published.
That it will be our seventh consecutive season in the Premier League should not be lightly dismissed, given that this season’s three promoted sides all went straight back down to the Championship. We are becoming an established top flight side.
How many signings join Ibrahim Osman in the new player category remains to be seen. Clearly, there is unlikely to be a greater intake than previously given the apparent reasons for De Zerbi’s departure, despite the clubs healthy profits.
As a club, we cannot compete on wages and signings with those backed by vast amounts of US and Middle Eastern funds. Our financial situation and the new Profit and Sustainability Rules should though tilt things slightly back in our favour.
Of interest will be which of our loan stars are sold and which return; Deniz Undav and Jeremy Sarmiento in particular.
Whilst big name departures seems less likely than last year when we knew Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo were headed to the Big Six, I expect at least a couple will still be snapped up. Several have been linked with moves over recent months.
We will hopefully see a few Albion players – like Lewis Dunk and Pascal Gross – on duty at the European Championships before the squad reconvene for the rumoured trip to Japan.
At that point we will get a clearer picture of where some of the longer term injuries are, including those like Pervis Estupinan who may not be ready for the season opener on August 17th.
Japan will give us the first real clues as to how the new coach and his team will change things, if of course they do initially.
Then we begin again, a clean slate and a new chapter to be written under a new manager. Carlos Baleba and Valentin Barco look set to be the breakout stars of next season, in the way Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma have been in the past two.
Jack Hinshelwood too, and of course Julio Enciso and Facundo Buonanotte are on an upward trajectory based on what we have seen over the past 18 months.
Jan Paul Van Hecke and Billy Gilmore will start to become the backbone of the team in the same way Dunk and Gross have been. Estupinan is probably one of the top three left backs in the Premier League, providing he comes back the same player.
As down as many of us feel right now, the fundamentals of the club are sound and we have a young squad brimming with potential.
We could so easily have been in Dublin this week getting ready to play in the Europa League final or finishing in the top six again had things gone differently in terms of injuries suffered and chances missed.
There is everything to suggest the Albion will be back in contention when things begin again in 12 weeks time.
Warren Morgan @WarrenBHAFC
