Brighton and Hove Albion have qualified for a European competition for only the second time in their history.
This was, of course, done in the typical Brighton fashion of not making it easy for ourselves, after an admittedly dismal 3-0 loss to Manchester United.
The less said about the game, the better, but in layman’s terms, the lineup and setup were completely wrong, with changes and adjustments needed made too little and too late, but here’s hoping this was a lesson learned for Fab, and it doesn’t happen again.
Thankfully for us, Brentford’s failure to pick up a win at Anfield confirmed a spot in the final qualifying round in UEFA’s newest club competition.
This comes to the likely relief and ‘told-you-so’ of Fabian Hurzeler, who, after our terrible run in December and January, to the outrage of many, said this:
“We are all confident that we’ll reach our goals by the end of the season. I can promise by the end of the season we will be where we want to be.”
Despite the elation of another European adventure, there is the issue of preparation for next season, mainly that a lot of squad-bolstering in the summer is needed. We currently have a significant number of players who could be leaving in the summer, mainly:
-Bart Verbruggen
-Adam Webster
-Jan Paul van Hecke
-Igor
-Joël Veltman
-Carlos Baleba
-Solly March
-Yankuba Minteh
Ideally, a new Centre Back and Right Back is needed, and it’s looking like we’re already looking to address that, with us close to confirming the signing of Portuguese Right Back Costinha from Olympiacos, for a reported £9.5m fee. We’ve also retained interest in English Centre Half Charlie Cresswell from Toulusse, after a reported failed January bid of around £20m.
Another central midfielder akin to Baleba will also be needed, with the likes of Celta Vigo’s Ilaix Moriba and Sporting’s Hidemasa Morita being thrown around. Some more winger depth is also needed because it’s caught us out a lot this season, with the club reportedly interested in Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré.
But it’s time we looked on the bright side. With the right backing and appropriate tweaks, we could have a real shot at a European trophy. While it is frustrating that we missed out on higher competitions by a small margin, there’s no better chance than now to push towards the latter stages of a competition and give us our first taste of silverware.
Mark your calendars, as the Playoff Draw takes place on the 3rd of August, with the 2 legs being played on the 20th and 27th of the same month, with the league stage draw commencing on the following day.
The league games start on the 15th of October, and if we get there, the final will be played on the 2nd of June 2027 at Beşiktaş’s Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul.
We’ve come to the end of what’s been a funny season to say the least, with all eyes now focused on the summer and the European season that awaits us for just the second time.
