Championship so far: Brighton

After emerging in the Championship last term, many were not sure what to expect from Brighton this year. While the Seagulls were very impressive last season, there was a worry that they could suffer from the dreaded second-season syndrome this time around.

Following the opening couple of months of the campaign, the jury is certainly still out on Gus Poyet’s men, and as the team currently sit in 10th position, coincidentally the same place they finished last term, it remains to be seen if they will launch any sort of improvement over the next few months.

The Results

It would be fair to say that Brighton started the opening few games of the season in very indifferent fashion, although it didn’t take long for the club to find their feet. They started an excellent run of form with a 5-1 win over Barnsley, and proceeded to win their next five games, which put them right up there with the top teams in the division.

Unfortunately, their form has drifted somewhat over the last few weeks, and the Seagulls are currently on a win-less run of six games.
While three of these results have been draws, it has still halted their play-off push significantly, and supporters will be hoping for an upturn in fortunes in the very near future.

It has to be said that they are only three points adrift from 6th place, but considering the competitive nature of the Championship this term, it could still take some very good form to re-establish themselves amongst the top cluster of sides again.

The Summer Buys

There’s no doubt that Brighton signed two exceptionally high-profile players in the summer in the form of Wayne Bridge and Tomasz Kuszczak.

In the case of the former, Bridge has performed admirably, and not only has he been an ever-present in the Seagulls team, he has also managed a couple of goals which is something he has struggled to do throughout his career. Kuszczak has also played in every league game and is starting to show the form that caused Manchester United to sign him all those years ago.

Kuszczak has been a terrific acquisition for the Seagulls.

However, while the above two may have performed well, others have struggled to break into Gus Poyet’s starting eleven – mainly due to form and fitness concerns. The likes of Andrea Orlandi, David Lopez, Stephen Dobbie and Andrew Crofts have all struggled to be regulars for various reasons, so it’ll be interesting to see how their careers at the Falmer Stadium turn out.

Spanish defender Bruno has made a slightly better impact, and after managing eleven appearances, the full back already looks to be a decent acquisition for Poyet.

The Verdict

In comparison with a lot of teams in the Championship, Brighton brought plenty of players to the club, although at the time of writing, a lot of these men are still trying to acclimatize to life with the Seagulls. Nevertheless, Gus Poyet had a very good squad from last term, and after starting the season so well, it’s clear their team has potential.

Therefore, we don’t think it will be long before the club shake off this string of poor form and start to make a serious push for the top six places.