Many fans, both in the UK and around the world, firmly believe that the English Premier League is the highest quality and most attractive product in modern soccer.
At the same time, the vast majority of fans of this amazing game are genuinely worried about the most famous clubs that have achieved significant success both in the domestic championship and on the international stage.
It is almost impossible to hide from these countless fans of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc, so any average person constantly encounters them in stadiums, supermarkets and even in casinos rolletto, whose popularity has grown incredibly in the last few years.
At the same time, in England itself, there are hundreds of clubs with a rich history and the love of loyal fans who, for whatever reason, have failed to win big titles or become the dream of millions of ‘glory hunters’. And Brighton & Hove Albion is one of them.
Brighton & Hove Albion’s modest achievements
Brighton Football Club represents the eponymous city from the south coast of the country, home to just over 300,000 residents.
It was founded back in 1901 and in these 120-odd years has not managed to acquire any significant trophies. The only significant achievement is the victory in the Charity Shield of England, won in 1910 and a source of pride for local fans.
In addition, it is also worth mentioning the club’s appearance in the 1983 FA Cup final, where it faced Manchester United. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, and in the replay the Mancunians defeated the opponent 4-0.
Brighton and its thorny path to the EPL
For many years it seemed that the fate of Brighton & Hove Albion – a constant wandering of the club between the lower English divisions.
But in 1979 Brighton made its way to the English First Division (that was the name of the EPL in those years), where it spent the next four seasons until the departure to the Championship. Just on the last season in the elite came that lost FA Cup final.
In 2016, the last promotion took place when the team managed to make its way to the Premier League, where it is quite successful to this day.
In many ways, the success of the club in the top English division is due to the lack of financial problems and a thoughtful personnel policy of the team management, which selects quality coaches and decent players in the squad.
So fans of the club can currently be confident that Brighton will be able to play at a decent level in the EPL for years to come.
Brighton footballers who are remembered by the fans
For more than a hundred years of the club’s existence, thousands of players from all over the world have managed to play in it. But only a few managed to leave a mark not only in the hearts of local fans, but in all the diverse English soccer.
It is quite logical that the most quality players performed while the team was playing in the main soccer division of the country.
The first I would like to call the defender Gary Stevens, who played for Brighton from 1979 to 1983. During this period, he played 133 matches, in which he scored 2 goals.
Then he played for Tottenham for about 10 years, where he got the opportunity to play for the England national team. He did not become a base player there, but he still played seven matches.
Also worth mentioning and midfielder Jimmy Case, who played for Brighton & Hove Albion from 1981 to 1985. Although he became most famous as a Liverpool player, in which he twice won the English championship and won the European Champions Cup.
In the “troubled” time while Brighton was traveling between English divisions in the team sometimes appeared players who left a noticeable mark in the history of the club.
Among them stands out the figure of Bobby Zamora, who managed at the very beginning of the third millennium to score for some three seasons 76 goals in just 125 matches in different English leagues. In the future, the striker played for Tottenham and West Ham, where his successes were not so impressive.
It’s time to talk about the last, most successful years of the team, which has become a real regular in the Premier League.
Here we would like to mention Spanish midfielder Vicente Rodriguez, who played in only 30 matches for the club. His best years were spent playing for Spanish Valencia, who in the early 2000s were a true grandee of the Primera Division.
In addition, in his favour testify and 38 matches for the Spanish national team, which at the time was one of the best teams on the planet.
Modern fans sincerely love the captain Lewis Dunk, who went together with the team from the third division to a solid mid-table Premier League.
He has spent his entire career with Brighton & Hove Albion and in that time he has played nearly 400 matches in all competitions.
To all his fighting qualities necessary for a true captain should be attributed and the ability to finish attacks. During the game in his hometown club he managed to score 22 goals, which is pretty good for a defender.
Let’s hope that in the foreseeable future the team will have players whose names will remain in the memory of the fans for many years.
