At the start of the 2009-2010 campaign, Brighton were predicted to come 16th by many media sources, and today unknown, unproved and very inexperienced manager Kieran Tidy has done the unimaginable, and landed the Seagulls top of the League One table, with a much needed 3-points on the last day of the season beating Yeovil Town 2-0 at the Withdean Stadium.
The start of the season brought a new manager to Brighton and Hove Albion, with Russell Slade managing to just about keep the Seagulls up the previous season, with the arrival of new chairman Tony Bloom, Slade mutually terminated his contract with the club as he had been told by Bloom that he was looking for different options.
Hoping a high profile name would be taking the seat at the Albion, local youngster Kieran Tidy, from Worthing, West Sussex, agreed a 1-and-a-half year contract with the club, stunning many media and famous fans of the club, dubbing it a ridiculous move for the club, even some supporters saying that they now expected the team to drop down the divisions quicker.
But Tidy ignored the media, and got straight down to business making 2 new signings within a week of his new job, ex-Coventry striker Michael Mifsud and 26-year old Moroccan midfielder Aderrahman Kabous, fans soon started to turn to Tidy, praising him for his "bargain" signings that he had made.
Signings continued to be welcomed through the gates at the Withdean, including Max Gradel from Leicester, Enoch Showumni from Leeds, and again diving into the free transfer market to pick up 29-year old centre back Daouda Jabi. Tidy also dived into the loan market, picking up Everton's Seamus Coleman, Arsenal's Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Swansea's Andrea Orlandi all on 6-month loan deals. A deal taking Jose Baxter from Everton to Brighton was almost complete, but complcations between Baxter and the Seagulls meant the transfer did not go through.
A positive pre-season saw Brighton pick up 6 wins, most notably a 4-0 victory over Bognor Regis Town, and then a similar score line against Eastwood. The only disappointment of Albion's pre-season came at the hands of Shrewsbury Town (3-0 loss) and Peterbrough United (4-2 loss).
A shaky start to the season saw Brighton pick up 7 points from their first 5 games, with one win and 4 draws, the Seagulls were unable to hold onto their leads and could not bury a game in the early stages of the season. This continued until Brighton picked up their first loss of the season to Bristol Rovers, a 2-1 outcome at the Memorial Stadium seemed to give Tidy and Brighton a kick up the rear and the Seagulls finally came into action, with the Seagulls starting to pick up more results, however the drawing frenzy soon continued, and again Brighton found themselves in need of a light to change their season.
But a high-scoring FA Cup tie against Aldershot seemed to bring Brighton some of that lost confidence, and the Seagulls began picking up some cracking results against league favourites Leeds United (3-0 win) and Charlton Athletic (2-1 win). Albion kept their winning streak until Brighton's second and final loss of the season to Norwich, then two draws caused a slight slip down the table, but two wins before the end of the year pushed Brighton right back up, putting themselves 5th going into the new year.
January brought some more faces to the Albion's squad including Iclandic midfielder Baldur Bett, ex-Man City and Charlton keeper Nicky Weaver, Slovenian defensive-midfielder Aleksander Radosavljevic, Norweigan young keeper Lars Stubhaug, ex-Derby defender Jermaine Johnson, young Burnley striker Wes Fletcher, and out-of-favour Cardiff striker Warren Feeney. January also saw a few more loan deals taking place, with Andrea Orlandi leaving the club, and Manchester United winger Tom Cleverley took the Spaniard's place as the resident left-winger. Seamus Coleman and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas also agreed a loan extension until the end of the season.
The new look Albion side began the new year in perfect style, picking up 4 wins and a single draw in the month, picking up two vital wins over fellow promotion challenging rivals Huddersfield and Millwall. Brighton also exited the FA Cup in January, forcing a replay from Blackburn Rovers, but the Albion fell to a 3-1 scoreline at Ewood Park.
February was a similar month to January, with the Albion picking up more solid results including high-profile draws against Leeds and Charlton, Albion were thankful that teams lower in the division were picking up great results against the teams around them, thus boosting the Seagulls up the table.
And after that very draw against Charlton, Tidy came out to the press saying that the Albion will be going for no less than the top 2 promotion spots, and he promised the fans that they will be in the Coca-Cola Championship in the 10/11 season. And his players seemed to respond in a brilliant way, winning their next 8 consecutive matches, uncluding setting a new League One record for goals scored in a match in a highly entertaining 6-4 victory over Oldham.
The Seagulls fans were more than ecstatic with Tidy's first season in charge, some fans claiming he is the best manager to pass through the Albion in recent times, and many fans made an online pledge to Tony Bloom to give the local star a longer contract to keep him at the club for years to come, as they believed that he can turn the team into what they believe is impossible, Premiership status.
The Albion now sat in 3rd place with 5 games to go, only a handful of points behind 2nd place Charlton, but still a mountain to climb to reach that all important 1st position spot which Tidy had promised to the fans.
A disappointing draw against Gillingham seemed to halt the Seagulls terrific form, but it wasn't long before the were back to winning ways, rebounding instantly with a crushing victory over Southend. The close of the season seemed to cause a wobble for Leeds and Charlton, who both started losing games that they really should have been winning, and soon Brighton found themselves 1 point off top-of-the-table Leeds with two games to go, and it was almost certain that Leeds and Brighton would be the two teams gaining automatic promotion to the Championship, unless Brighton caused an unlikely slip up and fell to Charlton Atheltic.
A convincing and unlikely 5-3 victory over play-off contenders MK Dons set-up a highly anticipated last day of the season drame, with the Albion on 97 points, a win or draw was needed for the Seagulls to become champions of League One, but with Leeds snapping at their ankles with 95 points, it was a winner takes all philosophy on that fateful day.
The day came and Brighton had the easier tie as they faced 23rd placed Yeovil Town, and Leeds had a tough home tie against Bristol Rovers, who were pushing to reach the play-offs on the last day too, however it was Leeds who started the day better as Jonathan Howson got on the score sheet and worry began to travel through the Seagulls fans minds, but that worry was soon turned into delight as Michael Mifsud fired his 25th Albion goal and sent Albion onto a century of points, with Leeds following closely behind on 98 points.
Pundits and fans knew that Yeovil did not have much of a chance of getting a goal past Brighton, but they certainly put up a challenge and troubled the Brighton defence on a few occasions but centre backs Jabi and Tunnicliffe were like a brick wall and Brighton managed to hold on to their lead going into the second half.
At the other end of the country Leeds were wobbling at Elland Road, as Rovers began to dominate play, but could not turn the play in the final third into goals, and Leeds were lucky to still be in the lead. Back on the south coast Brighton continued to dominate the game and the game as seen to be dead and buried on 76 minutes when Iclandic midfielder Baldur Bett fired a 20 yard volley to secure the game for the Seagulls, and almost certainly garunteed the top spot, only a freak comeback would damage the Seagulls chance of winning the League One trophy now.
Leeds were happy with the work that they had done, a team that did not deserve to be in this league, completely outclassed the rest, yet Brighton were strong all season and they will have to accept the fact that they were knocked off the top by a better team. Simon Grayson told his boys to run the game out and keep up the good work, but the brilliant work of Bristol Rovers led to a Darryl Duffy goal on 88 minutes, and now the trophy was all but Brighton.
Tidy was pacing in his managerial box, largely anticipating that final whistle, the Brighton faithful in the South Stand sang nothing but praise for Tidy, everyone was in a party mood and it wasn;t expected to stop for many weeks to come. The referee put the whistle to his lips and blew the final 3 blows of the 2009-2010 League One season, with Brighton and Hove Albion, the most unlikely team to top the table, did so winning the league by a comfortable 4 point margain.
Messages of praise piled through the Brighton letterbox, with many legends dubbing Tidy "The Greatest Brighton Manager of Modern Times" and Tidy himself was in a much better place than he was at the start of the season. After the Yeovil game he said, "At the start of the season I told Tony [Bloom] that we would be champions of League One, he laughed at what I had said and I did indeed have doubts in my mind, I sat at home thinking 'What have I done! Why did I say that! This really is going to be a challenge' and a small minority predicted I was too big for my boots and that I was too over ambitious, and to be honest I believed every word, but I listened to what my dad had told me when I was younger, and I took all the aspects of the game into consideration every time we faced a new team. I wanted different players to do different jobs on the field, and they certainly did me proud, and I could not be more happier than I am now, all the lads deserve praise for what they have done this season, and they deserve this upcoming break."
When asked how pleased he was with the signings he had made, Tidy said, "Well, what can you say thats bad about these players? I know some fans will be disappointed I have come in and completely changed the team, with basically a whole new set of players, but if the team are to progress that is what is needed. I am most pleased with Michaelm Mifsud, Aderrahman Kabous, Max Gradel, Warren Feeney and Baldur Bett, these guys have given 110% in every game they have played, and the final outcome is visible, our coaching staff have furthered these players careers and made them into quality players that have all contributed to the teams unimaginable."
Player of the Season - "Well, this is too difficult to chose, but I guess it has to be between Aderrahman [Kabous, Michael [Mifsud] and Tunnicliffe. These 2 guys have been essential to each stage of players on the pitch, the height and physicality of Tunnicliffe at the back has helped in us not conceeding many, Kabou's constant power both in defence and attack have brilliantly contributed to our championship victory, and finally Mifsud, this guy has been one of the best players in the League this season and I'm not suprised if he grabs attention from some higher tiered clubs, but we will almost certainly not sell him. He is a big part of my plans and I hope to keep him here for years to come. I could also include Baldur Bett in this list, as in the time he has been here he was been abseloutely superb and the fans love him, he has made himself and instant fan favourite and is sure to feature heavily in next years plans."
So, Brighton fans all around the country and piling praise onto Kieran Tidy's plate, but many are concerned that the new season will be a real test for the Albion and hope that Tidy has the confidence to bring his A-game to every match, and keep the Seagulls in the League that they rightly deserve to be in.
2009-2010 League One Champions
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By the way I will be starting this from the 2010-2011 season...if you didn't already know
