Always The Bridesmaid, Never The Bride - Brighton & Hove Albion

[Sam91]

Really like this one mate.
One question, havr you been playing with the same tactic all seasons?

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Pretty much mate, have slightly tinkered it as I was getting waaay too many cards. But I have 3 tactics trained but the main one I use is the 4-1-2-3 one.

Great work qualifying from your group stage mate and still maintaining a strong league position too

Thanks mate, played very well so far this season just hope we can maintain it. Liverpool are snooping around Will Hughes though and he'd be a huge loss to us if I'm forced to sell him

 

[Sam91]

December 2018

Results

Our first loss.. and once again another lead blown. Danny Sturridge clearly trying to impress the England boss and force his way into my plans!!

Back to winning ways. Brace from Kenedy and a late poachers effort from Pinamonti.

Finally we are the ones making a come back!! Gave the lads a right dressing down at halftime and they reacted perfectly. We top our group.

Was a battle after Byram got himself sent off but Chalobah slotted in nicely at full back and we held on nicely.

A real back and forth battle here. Could have gone either way and after nearly having a heart attack multiple times I was happy to walk away with a point.

We took an early lead thanks to Hughes but after that Newcastle rallied. Luckily Cerny came off the bench to catch them short at the back and score a couple of goals to make the scoreline pretty.

Ahhh a great game against the title holders and league leaders.. we could have got something here but we probably wouldn't have deserved it really.

We didn't deserve to lose this one though that I know. A late goal from Iheanacho had me fuming at our missed chances.


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Player of the Month


Vaclav Cerny

Done well and scored some important goals for us. Just a constant threat all the time and always impressing.


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Table

United and Chelsea still well off the pace.. United have been linked with Dybala though and have also agreed a deal to sign Griezmann!! Surely Rashford wont be too happy with that... I'll keep my eyes peeled. Southampton are having a great season too which is good for us south coast clubs!!

Finished top without a loss. Those two draws coming away from home to the two big clubs from our group

We got Young Boys in the draw which is good. Some tasty ties our there and I'm hoping some of the big boys knock each other out so we can go far.​

 

[dani3w]

Superb draw for you that is. Should progress

 

[Sam91]

January 2019

Transfers


Outs

I couldn't hold on to him lads.. I'm sorry. I was batting back offers all window and it eventually upset him. I negotiated a huge offer with Liverpool and it will 100% end up costinf them £58m which is huge money. Dale Stephens also left.


Ins

The first 5 are regens. Most exciting probably being Pablo Garrido. Kai Havertz was Will Hughes replacement and I'm hoping big things from him.

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Results

We were all over them till they scored!! But they've done so well this season so fair play to them.

They didn't even have a shot on target. Shame we couldn't score more though!

Solid win. Pinamonti scored a solid brace after coming off the bench! Good stuff from the loanee youngster.

What a win!!! Rajkovic was unreal but we also hit the woodwork 3 times! We deserved this win.

Another 3-0 win. West Brom weren't in this game at all. Nice to see Sam Byram score too.

When you give away two penalties in a game you can't expect to get much out of it really can you. Shame as we were the better team but lack of discipline cost us.

WOW!! Probably our best win to date. Sanabria was too hot to handle for them netting a stunning 4 goals. Incredible stuff.


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Player of the Month

Vaclav Cerny

Scored regularly throughout the month and won BPL YPOTM and runner up in POTM.


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Table

Still top 4 but City have 5 games in hand somehow!! United sacked Jose this month too.
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[naterr]

If I hadn't said already - really enjoying this story! Good layout and just the right amount of detail!

 

[Sam91]

If I hadn't said already - really enjoying this story! Good layout and just the right amount of detail!

Thank you mate means a lot to hear you're enjoying it!! I'd love to write a bit more word wise but just tight for time a lot so like they say a picture paints a thousand words

 

[Sam91]

February 2019

Results

Solid enough win here. Good to see us progress a bit further in the FA Cup this year. Chelsea in the next round though will be a stern test.

We just couldn't handle with their wingers Martial and Griezmann.. we got caught on the counter too many times but another close game with a top side.

The A23 Derby again and we notch another win over our big rivals. That front 3 of Ince, Sanabria and Cerny netting.

Uh-oh.. that wasn't in the script!! Was close until they grabbed their first goal. We pressed and pressed in the second half but they caught us late on the break leaving us a lot to do in Brighton.

Another lead thrown away against Chelsea!! We needed to wrap this up in our home but now we have to go to Stamford Bridge and beat them to continue our FA Cup journey.

Boom!!! We needed a big win and that's exactly what we got. We progress which is great for us, money wise and rep.


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Player of the Month


Antonio Sanarabia

Could have easily been Cerny again but felt like we needed to give it to someone else. Besides Sanarabia has netted 6 times in the last 5 games!


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Table

I mean... just look at Southampton!!! What a season they're having! Seems like as long as Liverpool win that game in hand its those three at the top for the title.​

 

[Sam91]

March 2019

Results

Straight forward win. We could have got more but a wins a win.

WHAT A WIN!! I was worried about this but Chelsea were beaten by City in the EFL Cup final just days before and were clearly lacking confidence.

Another tight game we come out on top in.. and another game in which Vaclav Cerny was the difference.

A vital away goal in Italy!! We could have got more but I'll take it.

We nearly threw it away!! But two goals for Havertz and another for Cook saw us through to the semi's!!

One of the most nerve racking games this season but as Lazio threw men forward we hit them on the break twice and we are into the next round!!

Straight forward win here in another game that could have seen us drop points but we mantained our discipline and done what we need to do in order to keep chasing a top 4 spot!


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Player of the Month


Kai Havertz

Brought in to replace Will Hughes for big money and he's been a bit quiet until this month.



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Table and April Fixtures

I guess you could say we're still in the title race.. but I'm more focused on top 4 at the minute. With City and Arsenal still chasing us down and ourselves battling in 3 different competitions April is gonna be a killer month for us!!

Shalke in the quarters of the Europa League. Winnable.
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[Sam91]

April 2019

Results

Quality game of football and it was a goal of the season contender from Ruben who won us the game.

We shouldn't have got anything from this really. Liverpool were all over us, glad to walk away with something from this game.

Fantastic result here. Lewis Cook coming through in the big games once again. Gnabry getting his first goal for us. Kenedy giving us a bit of breathing room for when we go to Germany.

Wolves are all but relegated so I rested our big players here. Very nearly backfired as they put up a big fight but we got the all important 3 points.

Shalke didn't seem up for this, Jese grabbed them once back late on but this was simple enough for us and we're into the semi's!!


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Player of the Month


Lewis Cook

His performance against Shalke was magnificent.



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Table and May Fixtures

Man City's ridiculous run has seen them catch right up with the chasing pack. Looks like Spurs are gonna win back to back titles. The chasing 5 could end up finishing anywhere though its so tight!! Goal difference could play a huge part.

City in the semi final of the FA Cup. Leverkusen in the semi's of the Europa League. Spurs and City in the league will be tough also. Most interesting May I've ever had in all my years of playing FM!
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[higgsy03]

Cheers mate did you tweak it at any point for Brighton or did you leave it as it was?

 

[Sam91]

Cheers mate did you tweak it at any point for Brighton or did you leave it as it was?

I'm always tweaking it ever so slightly depending on how we're playing and who we're facing. Sometimes it backfires sometimes it comes up trumps. Only thing I'd say is be careful who you put at half back cause they basically end up playing like a centre back when your full backs attack. Ollie Norwood was awful but Chalobah and Matic have been incredible

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[Sam91]

Finished the season last night at work guys and actually played up till October 2019!! But I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I never expected to get this Brighton side this good so quick... I'm finding it too easy basically. And the whole point of it was to struggle a bit!! I wanted to struggle. But first season in the BPL we finish 6th, third season we done something ridiculous and I'll spoil it now we ended up winning 3 trophies for crying out loud... its a bit unrealistic tbh. i'm loving the team, the players I've signed and everything else but I can't help but feel like you guys aren't gonna enjoy it if I'm basically just another Chelsea/United/City this quickly. It doesn't feel earned. I'm gonna make a strawpoll on whether to continue this save, do the pentagon challenge, or the San Marino challenge. Please vote and let me know what you guys would like to see


https://strawpoll.com/s8frbzf

 

[higgsy03]

I'm always tweaking it ever so slightly depending on how we're playing and who we're facing. Sometimes it backfires sometimes it comes up trumps. Only thing I'd say is be careful who you put at half back cause they basically end up playing like a centre back when your full backs attack. Ollie Norwood was awful but Chalobah and Matic have been incredible

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Ive been wanting to try a Brighton save for months now, never got round to it, but Ye I'll take your advice on board with how your save has gone. Top work ??????

 

[Sam91]

Ive been wanting to try a Brighton save for months now, never got round to it, but Ye I'll take your advice on board with how your save has gone. Top work ������

Cheers mate. Hemed is class in the Championship. Make sure you pick up Cerney too, for £5m he's unreal

 

[Sam91]

Poll states you guys want me to carry on with Brighton so thats what ill do I'll post the season conclusion tomorrow and catch up from there as Im halfway through November atm!!

 

[dani3w]

What a huge final month of the season for you with potentially an FA Cup and Europa League final on the end of that to! Exciting run in thats for sure

 

[Sam91]

What a huge final month of the season for you with potentially an FA Cup and Europa League final on the end of that to! Exciting run in thats for sure

I know mate was a mad last month. Drama to the max, will all be in the update later cheers man

 

[Sam91]

End of Season 2018/19

So in my last post we were doing very well. Potential of winning 3 trophies!! Europa League, FA Cup and an outside chance of the league. Lets dive in and see how we finished in the league:

Very good finish, especially as Predrag Rajkovic go himself injured in training and missed the whole month!!

A huge win over Spurs gave us a real chance of lifting the title.. but dropping points to Stoke could have seen us throw it away... shall we have a look at the final league table?

We actually won the league!! Tottenham choked it massively and we went into the last day knowing a win would get us the title. Luckily we were playing Newcastle who had a stinker of a season and were relegated with just 22 points. Also by comparison 79 points would have got us just 3rd last season so many of the big teams choked this year. Chelsea in 8th, United and Arsenal just in front of them. For all the money those teams had spent the top 4 looks very strange with none of the ''usual'' teams in there.


Europa League

Two goal filled games against Leverkusen saw us progress to the final. Lewis Cook really coming up trumps in both games. Lyon in the final..

This is how we lined up in the final. Delac still in net, I didn't fancy our chances of keeping them out..

We won on penalties!! Sanabria got himself sent off in extra time. The game was a real battle and we even missed two of our pens but Delac was a real hero in net!



FA Cup


Semi Final

Serge Gnabry take a bow son.. we hadn't beaten City in 3 previous ties before this but we picked them apart with ease.



Final

No disrespect to Swansea but they were a blessing in the final. Gave us a slight scare with Gylfi giving them a lead but that seemed to kick us into life.

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Best Eleven

Will Hughes still made it even though he left in January. Vaclav Cerny was by far our best player. Sanabria proved a decent enough signing but I'm still looking for that big striker who can knock in a silly amount of goals for us. Kenedy was immense in on loan and I wanna sign him properly.



So thats it lads, ridiculous end to the season in which even losing Rajkovic and having to play Matej Delac in goal for the month we ended up winning the league, Europa League and FA Cup... ridiculous really. Which is why I debated stopping this story, I'm loving the save but 3 seasons in and I've won the title... okay I probably wont win it again next season and there's the Champions League to look forward to. Also Brexit normally kicks in soon I think
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[Sam91]

First Half of 2019/20 Season

Transfers


Outs

Notable out goings are obviously Tom Ince, Bamford, Besic and Duffy. Most were in the last years of their contracts so I cashed in. Bamford asked to leave as he felt he wasn't good enough.


Ins

All regens apart from Kenedy and Kuki. Three notable regens I'd say are Leigh Jones who is a young striker, Tommy Miller a centre back and Leonidas Epoglou a Greek central midfielder. He's their screenshots:

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League Results

Strong first half of the season. Lewis Cook has been an absolute beast notching a whopping 10 goals in 17 BPL games so far!! Leigh Jones has also made a good start to life on the south coast. Just three league losses in games we could have won too. Good wins over Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.


Table

Third but a bit off the pace set by United this season. They spent a whopping £83m on Renato Sanches this summer too. City also spent big. Stoke seem like this seasons Southampton and if they win their game in hand they'll be on level points with us. At the other end Derby are having a shocker as are Palace and both look destined for the drop. Tottenham are this seasons strugglers after winning the title 2 seasons back.


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Champions League

Smashed our group with relative ease. Monaco boast a pretty decent side with Dybala up top but he done nothing against us. Salzburg actually giving us the two toughest games but I did rest players against them I suppose.

Monaco join us in the next round. We scored a great number of goals which is nice to see. Sporting drop into the Europa League and Salzburg crash out.

Benfica in the next round and that was probably the best tie we could have got!!



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League Cup

Into the semi's here. Beat City and Liverpool along the way too!! I'd like to win the league cup as its the only trophy along with the Champions League I haven't won yet.


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Squad

Lewis Cook has by far been our stand out player. Leigh Jones has also been superb along with Kenedy and the two full backs Robertson and Byram. Cerny has hit a horrible patch of form though and needs to up his game big time. Kuki has been a fantastic little signing notching 11 goals in just 8 starts but a lot off the bench. At the other end a lot of the younger lads have struggled a bit but the main part is them getting game time and improving.


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Brexit

We got Brexit finally and I got the easiest one I think? No changes at all to work permits. Shame would have loved to of seen the long term effects of a hard Brexit!!​

 

[Sam91]

January 2020 Transfers

Outs

Daniel Diallo is a regen I signed and agreed to loan straight back to the club I got them from. Martin Kelly leaves as he has 6 months left on his contract and he's 29 now. He's been a good player but with Byram nailing down that right back spot and I also signed a wonderkid in that position. Sanabria leaves, Leigh Jones is better anyway and only 19. Kuki has proven to be a class signing too. I also spent big and got in one of the best striker regens I've seen. Pedro Jose headed out on loan.



Ins

All regens. Diallo is an Ivorian central midfielder. Ze Serrao is a superb looking young right back and Dominik Bruckmann is an 18 year old superstar in the making. Lets have a look at them:


Daniel Diallo

Looks solid enough. Hoping he can improve and keep developing well. Sent back on loan to Nactional to carry on his good season he's had there.



Ze Serrao

Looks awesome doesn't he!! Will rotate with Byram at right back. His physical stats are insane already and he's only 19.



Dominik Bruckmann

Looks awesome for only 18!! Very high determination too means he should develop really well. I was chasing him for months, trying to unsettle him. They were standing firm on wanting £112m for him though!! Then BMG went in I pounced and got my man. Was worried he may have wanted to of staying in Germany though but all that public chasing of him!!
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