Another season has come to an end. This is the period where you will see managers come and go and players come in and depart clubs.
The 2018/19 has now come to and end and Brighton finished in 17th place. I believe that if you had offered that to them most Brighton fans would have accepted a third successive season of Premier League football. Add onto that, The Seagulls also made the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Chris Hughton has paid the price for Brighton's poor form in 2019. This decision however, seems extremely harsh. Here is his overall record in charge of the club.
Games: 215
Wins: 88
Draws: 57
Defeats: 70
That works out to a win percentage of around 40% that is not bad for a team that's budget is pennies compared to some in the Premier League. Brighton staying in the top flight is an achievement in its self and something that should not be looked over.
Hughton took over at Brighton back in 2014 when the club was struggling at the bottom of the Championship. It was a struggle but he kept the club up that season finishing in 20th place. The following season would see a massive improvement. Hughton's men would not lose until late December and end the season in third place, losing out to Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off semi-finals.
There would be no such heartbreak the following season as Brighton would finish 2nd in the table behind Newcastle and win promotion to the Premier League for the first time.
Last season saw Brighton compete in the Premier League for the first ever time, they achieved 40 points and finished in a respectable 15th position. Not bad for a newly promoted club, look at what happened to two of the three promoted clubs this time around.
This would have been a decision based purely on ambition, Brighton will not find a better manager than Chris Hughton. Let's be honest the job is a tough one. It's a squad that is ageing and there will be interest in the likes of Duffy and Dunk. Lose them and next season could be a lot worse for Brighton regardless of who is in charge.
I believe this to be an awful decision. Football fans have such short memories. the Four and half years that Chris Hughton was at Brighton were successful years. An FA Cup Semi-Final this year followed on from a Quarter-Final appearance last season.
Looking forward at the possible replacements, at this moment in time Graham Potter of Swansea is the favourite. That would be a risk. Potter done a very good job in Sweden but did it over an eight year period. A period of time that he will not likely get in the Premier League.
Success when given time has been proved by Eddie Howe at Bournemouth and Sean Dyche at Burnley, both have been in charge for over 6 years and both have shown why they are so highly rated.
The most noticeable one of course is Maurico Pochettino at Tottenham. In five years, you have seen how far Tottenham have come reaching a Champions League final. Patience in football can be rewarded.
What else do you need to do to keep a job in football management?
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