Premier League Rewind: 13th May 2018

Results: Burnley 1-2 AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace 2-0 West Bromwich Albion, Huddersfield Town 0-1 Arsenal, Liverpool FC 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United 1-0 Watford, Newcastle United 3-0 Chelsea, Southampton 0-1 Manchester City, Swansea City 1-2 Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur 5-4 Leicester City, West Ham United 3-1 Everton

For once, there was little to play for on the final day of a Premier League season. With Swansea City relegated barring a mathematical set of bizarre circumstances, the main issue still to be resolved was who would play in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Liverpool FC held the advantage, with a two-point cushion over Chelsea. The Reds knew that because of their superior goal difference, a draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion would be enough to ensure another season of premier European club football at Anfield.

In the end, the Champions League finalists didn’t need to worry. They breezed to a 4-0 victory over the Seagulls, with Dominic Solanke and Andrew Robertson scoring their first goals for the club. However, it was Mohamed Salah who claimed the limelight once again. The Egyptian opened the scoring to break the record for most goals in a 38-game season. He finished with a tally of 32, surpassing the mark previously held jointly by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. That meant Salah would claim the Golden Boot, to add to his PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers’ awards.

Harry Kane put up a stern defence of the Golden Boot but he narrowly missed out on achieving three in a row, despite scoring twice on the final day in a nine-goal thriller between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City. Despite trailing 3-1 early in the second half, Tottenham won the game 5-4 to guarantee third place in the table.

Liverpool’s victory meant Chelsea’s result away at St James’ Park was academic but they collapsed spectacularly on Tyneside. Ayoze Perez continued his rich vein of form to finish his season with two goals in Newcastle’s excellent 3-0 victory. Despite winning the FA Cup a week later, Antonio Conte would pay for Chelsea’s failure to qualify for the Champions League. He was sacked in July.

Down on the south coast and Manchester City were attempting to achieve another historic landmark. It looked like they might miss out on achieving 100 points until Gabriel Jesus scored the winning goal in stoppage-time away at Southampton. The 1-0 victory took City to the three-figure total for points, ensuring they finished with a winning margin of 19 points over second-placed Manchester United – another PL record.

Despite the defeat, Southampton’s safety was officially confirmed. Swansea lost anyway 2-1 to Stoke City as both clubs said goodbye to the Premier League for at least a season. Darren Moore tasted defeat for the first time as caretaker manager of West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies lost 2-0 at Selhurst Park to Crystal Palace but he had done enough to become full-time manager of the club. The game also marked John Motson’s final commentary broadcast for the BBC. However, he has shelved his retirement plans and is working for talkSPORT during the 2018-2019 season.

Another legend like Motson bowing out of his long-time position on the final day was Arsene Wenger. After 22 years at the helm as Arsenal manager, Wenger stepped down after the final day of the campaign. He left on a winning note as Arsenal won 1-0 at Huddersfield Town, courtesy of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first half goal. Incredibly, this was Arsenal’s first away league victory of the calendar year.

What else happened in May 2018?

• An estimated global audience of 1.9 billion watch the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor.
• The residents of Manchester mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on Manchester Arena with a memorial service at Manchester cathedral.
• Following the data privacy scandal involving social media giant Facebook, Cambridge Analytica files for bankruptcy.
• Gareth Southgate announces his squad for the 2018 World Cup finals and there’s no place in the party for goalkeeper Joe Hart or midfielder Jack Wilshere.
• Israel win The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest which is held in Lisbon, Portugal.
• Following pressure from campaigners, Theresa May agrees to appoint a panel to help oversee the enquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.
• Mark Williams defeats John Higgins 18-16 to win the World Snooker Championship at The Crucible in Sheffield.

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Shock Results: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Manchester United (May 2018)

Goalscorer: Pascal Gross 57

Teams:

Brighton & Hove Albion: Mat Ryan, Gaetan Bong, Bruno, Shane Duffy, Lewis Dunk, Davy Propper, Dale Stephens, Pascal Gross (Beram Kayal 84), Anthony Knockaert, Jose Izquierdo (Solly March 88), Glenn Murray (Leonardo Ulloa 90)

Manchester United: David de Gea, Matteo Darmian (Luke Shaw 68), Ashley Young, Marcos Rojo (Scott McTominay 76), Chris Smalling, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini (Jesse Lingard 68), Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford

Referee: Craig Pawson, Attendance: 30,611

After beating Arsenal in March 2018, Brighton & Hove Albion had climbed to 10^th in the Premier League table but seven games without a win meant the Seagulls went into the penultimate weekend still needing a victory to be certain of a second successive season in the Premier League.

Chris Hughton’s side were playing their final home game of their maiden campaign in the Premier League and it was against Manchester United, who had already defeated the south coast side twice in 2017-2018, both in the league and FA Cup sixth round at Old Trafford. In fact, Brighton had only recorded one victory in their previous 18 outings against the Red Devils.

The AMEX Stadium faithful were looking forward to this contest and Hughton’s side delivered a productive performance full of confidence despite their recent run of results. However, they nearly went behind after just two minutes. After his matchwinning contribution against Arsenal on the previous weekend, Marouane Fellaini put the ball into the net, guiding in Marcus Rashford’s free-kick. However, the goal was correctly ruled out because the Belgian had strayed into an offside position.

It was David de Gea who was the busier goalkeeper in the first half. He made two brilliant saves to deny Glenn Murray from distance and also a rising hit from the impressive Jose Izquierdo. Jose Mourinho’s side were uniquely disappointing and didn’t have a shot on-target until the 49^th minute when Mat Ryan comfortably saved Paul Pogba’s effort. The Frenchman had another difficult evening and Mourinho clearly missed Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, who were both injured. Neither Rashford, nor Anthony Martial put in a performance that the boss was expecting. Both were severely criticised by Mourinho in his post-match comments.

The only goal of the game came 12 minutes into the second half. Izquierdo got to the by-line and his cross was flapped at by De Gea. Pascal Gross got enough power on his header for the ball to cross the goal-line, despite the best efforts of Marcos Rojo. It took a while but the beep on the watch of referee Craig Pawson confirmed that the ball had crossed the line by a matter of inches.

The star performer on the night for the home side was Anthony Knockaert. He caused United’s full-backs constant problems all evening with his movement and skill. With 57, he had more touches in the match than any other Albion player. There was a slight improvement from the visitors in the last 30 minutes but the best effort was from substitute Jesse Lingard who flashed a shot just wide of Ryan’s goal after a neat interchange between him and Rashford.

The final whistle confirmed Brighton’s place in the top-flight with two games left to play. It also completed an unhappy hat-trick for Manchester United. For the first time since 1990, they had lost to all three promoted clubs in a league campaign.

Memorable Matches: Crystal Palace 3-2 Brighton & Hove Albion (April 2018)

Goalscorers: Wilfried Zaha 5, 24, James Tomkins 14, Glenn Murray 18, Jose Izquierdo 34

Teams:

Crystal Palace: Wayne Hennessey, Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Patrick van Aanholt, Joel Ward, Yohan Cabaye (Christian Benteke 71), Luka Milivojevic, James McArthur, Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Jairo Riedewald 80), Andros Townsend, Wilfried Zaha

Brighton & Hove Albion: Mat Ryan, Gaetan Bong (Solly March 86), Shane Duffy, Lewis Dunk, Ezequiel Schelotto, Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal, Pascal Gross (Leonardo Ulloa 71), Jose Izquierdo, Jurgen Locadia (Anthony Knockaert 45), Glenn Murray

Referee: Andre Marriner, Attendance: 24,656

The rivalry between Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion is nicknamed as The M23 Derby. It’s nickname coming as the motorway between Sussex and London. Despite there being 45 miles between the clubs’ home grounds, its rivalry stemmed from the 1970s when young managers were appointed at the same time and they went up the league pyramid system together.

It was the third meeting already between the teams in 2017-2018. They’d played out a stale goalless draw at The AMEX Stadium in November whilst Brighton had progressed from an FA Cup third round tie two months later. This would turn out to be a much better game. Five goals were scored; all coming in the first 34 minutes where attacking instincts simply overpowered defensive maturity.

Crystal Palace started the game one place above the relegation zone but had received a boost earlier in the day after 18^th place Southampton threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at home to Chelsea. Buoyed by that result and the occasion of the game, they started at breakneck speed and scored twice in the opening 14 minutes.

Brighton failed to clear a corner sufficiently and allowed Luka Milivojevic plenty of time to have a shot on-goal. The Serbian’s effort was kept out by Mat Ryan but Wilfried Zaha was in the right place to tap the ball into the net. The home side were infront after just five minutes. Only Burnley had been beaten in a Premier League match at Selhurst Park in 2018 before this game but the Seagulls looked like being added to that list when their Achilles heel struck again. This time, it was James Tomkins who pounced from close-range after more hesitation from Brighton defenders at a set-piece. They had the worst record for conceding goals from set-pieces during the 2017-2018 season.

One thing Brighton did have in their locker was Glenn Murray. Only three Englishman; Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Raheem Sterling scored more goals than Murray did in the season and he added another to his tally here, poking the ball into the net via the crossbar after Lewis Dunk had flicked the ball on from another set-piece. 24 minutes had been played when the scoreline moved to 3-1. Milivojevic floated a ball to the back post and the alert Zaha was left unchallenged by Ezequiel Schelotto to score a rare header and his seventh goal of the campaign.

Roy Hodgson could never relax though and Jose Izquierdo reduced the deficit again on 34 minutes, finishing across Wayne Hennessey’s bows and into the net. Understandably, both managers took a more cautious approach to the second half but it was Brighton who had the better chances after the interval and Murray missed a glorious chance in stoppage-time to save a point, volleying wide from three yards out.

Palace held on for a valuable win that moved them six points clear of the drop zone and they would overtake Brighton in the table in the closing weeks to finish a respectable 11^th.

Great Goals: Jose Izquierdo – BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION vs. West Ham United (February 2018)

Jose Izquierdo was enjoying his first season in Premier League football and making a decent impact at Brighton & Hove Albion. The Colombian scored one of the club’s best goals of their debut Premier League season against West Ham United in February 2018.

The game was evenly poised at 1-1 going into the 59^th minute. It looked like West Ham had cleared the danger from a Pascal Gross corner. Izquierdo had some space on the edge of the penalty area and he curled a beautiful shot with his right foot right into the top right-hand corner of the net. Adrian in the West Ham goal had no chance of saving the shot and honestly, no Premier League goalkeeper would have saved this effort.

Even Brighton goalkeeper Mat Ryan raced down the pitch to join in the celebrations. It was Izquierdo’s second strike in the campaign against the Hammers. He had also scored in Brighton’s impressive 3-0 victory earlier in the campaign at The London Stadium.  This was his best moment of an impressive debut season on these shores which ended with a place in Colombia’s squad for the 2018 World Cup finals.

Shock Results: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Arsenal (March 2018)

Goalscorers: Lewis Dunk 7, Glenn Murray 26, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 43

Teams:

Brighton & Hove Albion: Mat Ryan, Gaetan Bong, Lewis Dunk, Shane Duffy, Ezequiel Schelotto (Bruno 69), Dale Stephens, Davy Propper, Anthony Knockaert (Solly March 77), Pascal Gross (Beram Kayal 87, Jose Izquierdo, Glenn Murray

Arsenal: Petr Cech, Calum Chambers (Eddie Nketiah 83), Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere, Alex Iwobi (Danny Welbeck 74), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Hector Bellerin 83), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Referee: Stuart Attwell, Attendance: 30,620

Arsenal were in one of their annual late winter ruts when they travelled to The AMEX Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in March 2018. The Gunners had been beaten at home by Swedish outsiders Östersunds in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-32 tie and followed that with back-to-back 3-0 losses to Manchester City in the League Cup final and Premier League.

Arsene Wenger was a man under severe pressure with many supporters calling for the Frenchman to leave the club. Seven minutes gone and they went a goal down. From a Pascal Gross corner, Shane Duffy won the first header against Petr Cech and his centre-back partner Lewis Dunk slammed the ball into the back of the net from point-blank range. Dunk, who had an unfortunate habit of being credited with own goals in the season so far, now had his first goal for the Seagulls in the 2017-2018 season.

Brighton were hungrier and more motivated for the bulk of the first half. Cech had to be at full stretch to deny Gross and then blocked Anthony Knockaert’s tame shot in the penalty area after more fine work from Gross. The German playmaker was dominating the midfield battle and on 26 minutes, he had a major part to play in the second Brighton goal. After Laurent Koscielny squandered possession, Gross produced a delicious, deep cross into the penalty area. Glenn Murray won his aerial confrontation against Shkodran Mustafi and his header somehow evaded Cech’s grasp. The Czech goalkeeper admitted on social media after the game he should have kept out the attempt. Brighton were two-goals clear and richly deserved the advantage.

Arsenal barely produced anything of note from an attacking sense for 40 minutes but two minutes before half-time, they clawed their way back into the contest. The home defence failed to clear their lines and Granit Xhaka picked out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Aubameyang found the net to score his second goal for the club since joining from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee in the January transfer window. Moments later, it was almost 2-2 but the post denied Koscielny with his header.

The visitors dominated possession in the second half but still created little. Goalkeeper Mat Ryan parried a Mesut Ozil effort around the post and Aubameyang had a late chance to equalise but he could only shoot straight at Ryan.

Brighton held on for a famous victory and their first against Arsenal in any competition since 1982. It was the first time Arsenal had lost four matches in a row since October 2002 and Wenger would end his 22-year reign as manager at the end of the season, replaced for the 2018-2019 campaign by Unai Emery.

Iconic Moments: Brighton’s brilliant Friday night (October 2017)

Throughout every Premier League season, there are always some pivotal matches that can define a club’s season. Newcomers Brighton & Hove Albion turned up at The London Stadium on Friday 20^th October 2017 still looking for their first away win at this level.

Chris Hughton’s side had recorded seven points from their last three home matches but had already lost on their travels to Leicester City and Arsenal without scoring and conceded a lead to lose a South Coast Derby with AFC Bournemouth on a previous Friday night excursion.

Outsiders before kick-off, the Seagulls put in a devastating performance full of class, hunger and panache. From the moment Glenn Murray headed them infront after just 12 minutes from a free-kick, West Ham United looked a beaten team. Jose Izquierdo scored his first goal in English football with a curling shot that beat Joe Hart far too easily. West Ham’s players completely froze and Brighton took them apart with a performance that made them look like seasoned campaigners. Murray scored his second of the evening from the penalty spot to complete a resounding 3-0 victory.

For the embattled West Ham boss Slaven Bilic, the end was near. The popular Croatian was looking like a man on borrowed time with every passing week. Despite receiving a vote of confidence from the board before this match, opinions change quickly in this game. Two weeks later, Bilic was sacked by owners David Gold and David Sullivan and replaced on a short-term basis by David Moyes.

This performance from Brighton forced the Hammers hierarchy into a change of thinking and it would work out for them. They finished 13^th and two places above Brighton in the final table. However, the Seagulls did complete their first-ever Premier League double against the Hammers with a 3-1 home victory in February 2018.

 

The Clubs: Brighton & Hove Albion

All-Time Premier League Record

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded	Goal Difference	Points	No of Seasons
38	9	13	16	34	54	-20	40	1

 

Most Premier League Appearances

Player	Appearances Total
Lewis Dunk	38
Pascal Gross	38
Mathew Ryan	38
Shane Duffy	37
Solly March	36
Dale Stephens	36
Glenn Murray	35
Davy Propper	35
Anthony Knockaert	33
Jose Izquierdo	32

 

Most Premier League Goals

Player	Goals Total
Glenn Murray	12
Pascal Gross	7
Jose Izquierdo	5
Anthony Knockaert	3
Tomer Hemed	2
Lewis Dunk	1
Jurgen Locadia	1
Solly March	1
Leonardo Ulloa	1

 

Biggest Premier League Victories

Match	Date	Season
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1 Swansea City	24th February 2018	2017-2018
West Ham United 0-3 Brighton & Hove Albion	20th October 2017	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 West Bromwich Albion	9th September 2017	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 West Ham United	3rd February 2018	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Arsenal	4th March 2018	2017-2018

 

Worst Premier League Defeats

Match	Date	Season
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-5 Liverpool FC	2nd December 2017	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-4 Chelsea	20th January 2018	2017-2018
Liverpool FC 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion	13th May 2018	2017-2018
Manchester City 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion	9th May 2018	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Manchester City	12th August 2017	2017-2018

 

Managers

Manager	No of Seasons managed	Left the Club
Chris Hughton	4

 

Highest Home Attendances

Match	Date	Attendance Figure	Season
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-5 Liverpool FC	2nd December 2017	30,631	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Leicester City	31st March 2018	30,629	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Arsenal	4th March 2018	30,620	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Manchester United	4th May 2018	30,611	2017-2018
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-4 Chelsea	20th January 2018	30,600	2017-2018

 

Intro

Brighton & Hove Albion made a successful debut in the Premier League. Chris Hughton’s side secured their survival on the penultimate weekend of the season but in truth, they were relatively comfortable all campaign. The Seagulls produced some fine performances on home soil and aided by the goals of Glenn Murray and creativity from Pascal Gross, they can look forward to a second successive season in the top-flight.

 

2017-2018

Having been promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up, Brighton & Hove Albion couldn’t have asked for a tougher start as title favourites Manchester City were their opening opponents. Chris Hughton’s side performed admirably but eventually lost 2-0 at home to the would-be champions at The Amex Stadium. August saw just one point gained and no goals scored.

However, Brighton started going in the right direction in September. Summer signing Pascal Gross scored the club’s first Premier League goal in their 3-1 victory at home to West Bromwich Albion which was also Brighton’s first victory in their Premier League life. Forward Tomer Hemed also scored in the win over the Baggies and a fortnight later, it was Hemed’s diving header that ensured back-to-back home victories as Newcastle United were defeated 1-0.

Home form was excellent all season for the men from the south coast. Just Manchester City, Liverpool FC, Chelsea and Leicester City left with all three points and there were some notable scalps along the way. Lewis Dunk’s only goal of the season started Hughton’s side on their way to a famous 2-1 victory over struggling Arsenal in March; Brighton’s first victory over the Gunners since 1982. Gross, who was voted the club’s Player of the Season, then made major contributions in two other impressive results. His spot-kick earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in April and a month later, it was the ex-Ingolstadt player who produced the winning goal against Manchester United that ultimately secured Brighton’s safety.

Hughton’s deals in the transfer market were impressive too. Gross had been signed for a bargain amount and other astute deals included the signings of Davy Propper from PSV Eindhoven, Jose Izquierdo from Club Brugge and the January arrival of Jurgen Locadia, also from PSV. The highlight away from home was a stunning 3-0 triumph at The London Stadium over West Ham United in October. Glenn Murray scored twice and he was the top goalscorer with 12 goals in an excellent campaign for him personally.

Brighton finished the season in 15^th place and have already started to put the foundations in-place for a second campaign in the Premier League.

The Managers: Chris Hughton

Premier League Clubs Managed: Newcastle United (2010), Norwich City (2012-2014), Brighton & Hove Albion (2017-PRESENT)

Chris Hughton has had to work incredibly hard to make his mark in Premier League management. Having tasted the big time previously with Newcastle United and Norwich City, he has done fantastically well to not only guide Brighton & Hove Albion into the Premier League but to keep them closer to mid-table during their first campaign at this level.

Hughton has often gone under the radar but his loyalty towards players, simple tactics and resistance to make dozens of changes in rotation every week seem to be a key to his success. He got his chance after many years working as a coach for many managers at Tottenham Hotspur.

He made a mark in his playing days too. In 1979, he became the first mixed race player to represent the Republic of Ireland national team. The duration of his playing days were going to be with Tottenham and in fact, his whole career kicking footballs for a living were in the capital.

Cup success with Spurs

Hughton came through the youth system at Tottenham Hotspur and made his debut for the club in the 1979 League Cup against Manchester United. He made the left-back position his own during 13 years at White Hart Lane and is often considered by Spurs’ fans as one of their finest full-backs.

Although league championships would elude him, Chris would enjoy cup success with Spurs, triumphing in the FA Cup in both 1981 and 1982, plus the UEFA Cup in 1984. He nearly won the FA Cup three times but was on the losing side in 1987 when Tottenham lost 3-2 to Coventry City.

In all competitions, he played just two games short of 400 and scored 19 goals. In November 1990, he moved to West Ham United on a free transfer as cover for the injured Julian Dicks. He spent two seasons at ‘The Academy of Football’ before winding down his playing days with Brentford. Hughton hung up his boots at the end of the 1992-1993 season, aged 34.

For the Republic of Ireland, he won 53 caps between 1979 and 1991, starting all three group games of their first major tournament, the 1988 European Championships in West Germany. Hughton also went to the World Cup in 1990 but didn’t figure in the historic Irish run to the quarter-finals. By that stage, he was the back-up defender to Steve Staunton.

Learning the ropes

Just five months after his playing retirement, Chris was back in the game in a coaching capacity. Appointed by Ossie Ardiles in October 1993 to join his backroom team at Tottenham, Hughton remained with the club for 14 years and worked under seven permanent Premier League managers, including Gerry Francis, George Graham and Glenn Hoddle.

He looked after the Under-21 and reserve teams before becoming more of a prominent first-team coach in 2001. He left the club alongside Martin Jol following the latter’s sacking after a UEFA Cup loss at home to Getafe in 2007.

In February 2008, he joined up with Newcastle United as a first-team coach, working primarily as a defensive coach. In his first match on the touchline alongside Kevin Keegan, his new club beat his old side 4-1.

When Keegan quit in September 2008, Hughton experienced some caretaker work with Newcastle alongside the appointments of Joe Kinnear as a permanent manager and Alan Shearer’s brief interim role at the end of the campaign.

With Newcastle down in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League in 2009, Hughton was appointed caretaker for a third time as owner Mike Ashley had put the club up for sale. Once the Magpies had made an excellent start to the season and Hughton won the first two Manager of the Month awards, he was reluctantly given the permanent role as Newcastle manager.

Ashley might never have been convinced but Hughton won over the home faithful which sometimes is difficult to do. They lost just four times in 46 games, winning promotion in record time and going through the campaign unbeaten at St James’ Park.

Utmost highs and crushing lows

Hughton brought Sol Campbell and Dan Gosling into the club on free transfers for Newcastle’s return to the Premier League in 2010 but the only arrival for a cash deal was Nottingham Forest full-back James Perch which suggested again that the owner was not totally happy with the manager he had in-charge.

If Ashley was looking for an excuse to sack Hughton, he had to bide his time. Newcastle had some utmost highs in their early weeks back in the top-flight. They included shock away wins at Everton and Arsenal, plus a 5-1 Tyne & Wear Derby humbling of Sunderland.

Around this time, rumblings had emerged that Hughton was being threatened with the sack with the club reluctant to give him a new contract. After a 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in early December, he became the first manager in the 2010-2011 Premier League season to lose his job, despite the club sitting 11^th in the table. The sacking was badly received by many Newcastle fans and the players who were desperate for Chris to keep his job.

Returning to top-flight level in Norfolk

Hughton returned to management in June 2011, taking the vacant position at relegated Birmingham City. As they’d won the League Cup in the previous season, he got the opportunity to manage in Europe and earned 10 points in the UEFA Europa League group stage although they were eliminated at this stage.

They reached the fifth round of the FA Cup before bowing out to eventual winners Chelsea and guided the Blues to a fourth-place finish in the Championship. Disappointment would follow in the play-offs with defeat in the semi-finals to Blackpool over two legs.

However, Chris had proved his Newcastle stint wasn’t a fluke and Norwich City showed considerable interest once it became clear they were going to lose their manager, Paul Lambert to Aston Villa.

He took over at Carrow Road in June 2012 and steered Norwich to famous home victories over Arsenal and eventual champions Manchester United, plus a 3-2 away win on the final day at Manchester City. There was also a 10-game undefeated run which took the Canaries as high as seventh in the table just before Christmas. Although there was a tricky run in the Spring, Norwich finished a respectable 11^th in the final standings, a place higher than the previous campaign under Lambert.

Plenty of money was spent that summer to improve the squad with the likes of Leroy Fer, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Nathan Redmond arriving in the summer of 2013. Results didn’t come though consistently enough and there were few high points. A 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in February 2014 was the main highlight. However, the fans had lost confidence in their manager and so had the board. Despite being five points clear of the drop zone in early April, Norwich elected to part company with Chris by mutual consent. Academy boss Neil Adams took over and the club ultimately were relegated due to a difficult fixture run-in which included defeats to Liverpool FC, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Rebuilding at Brighton

The 2013-2014 season was probably the first campaign where he’d underachieved as a manager but Hughton would be back before the year was out, succeeding Sami Hyypia as Brighton & Hove Albion boss.

Brighton were struggling near the foot of the Championship table but he managed to stabilise the Seagulls, keeping them in the second tier, then taking them to the play-offs in 2015-2016 and automatic promotion last season.

Home wins against West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Watford have shown Brighton are tough to beat at home in their debut Premier League campaign and they concluded the 2017 Christmas and New Year period in a positive 12th place – far beyond their expectations.

As a manager, Hughton has said previously: “As a manager, I’ve got to make sure they have the correct training sessions. That they are disciplined and that creates a good environment.”

He gets about his work quietly but impressively too and bigger jobs are likely to come his way in the future.