To name the top 5 best Brighton managers has been a little bit of a challenging task, with a fair few honourable mentions coming to mind. Our current Gaffer, Fabian Hürzeler, was one of them, a clearly gifted manager with the potential platform to become one of the club’s greatest.
However, as of right now, his lack of achievements and the uncertainty of his longevity result in the German missing out on the Top Five.
Another top manager that fell just short of this list was Graham Potter. The wholesome new Sweden manager brought a new style of play to the Amex when he replaced Chris Hughton before our third Premier League season commenced and built an impressive Premier League quality team from very little.
Under Potter, Albion transformed from a defensive and inexperienced top-flight team into a top-quality beast capable of going toe to toe with the best.
Three consecutive best Premier League points tallies culminated with the ex-Swansea boss laying down the foundations for European qualification to be achieved. Potter is by no doubt partly responsible for Brighton’s greatest historical period as a club, but when Chelsea came knocking, he handed the reigns over to a new man.
Now we all know how well that turned out to be, but had Graham Potter seen the European project through, he may well have been occupying the top spot of this list. Graham was excellent for Brighton, but more poignant and impressive tenures have been endured by alternative candidates. Which leads me into 5th place…..
5. Steve Gritt
In 5th place, we have Steve Gritt, a Brighton hero through and through!
For a man who only permanently managed 3 clubs, Steve Gritt certainly made a lasting and memorable impact on Brighton and Hove Albion. Gritt took charge of the Seagulls in the late stages of 1996 with the Albion staring into oblivion, 11 points behind relegation rivals Hereford. At the time, the job that Steve Gritt took was dubbed the “worst job in football”, but that didn’t faze the Englishman one bit.
After taking charge, Steve took Brighton on a 12-game unbeaten run which, despite the poor away form, was enough to reignite survival hopes.
In a season filled with so much uncertainty and emotion, it needed a strong character to come in and gain control of the dressing room and get results. Gritt may not have been the most technical manager in Brighton’s history, but his sheer determination to keep the Seagulls alive has to be applauded and recognised.
In truth, there will be supporters who believe Gritt should be higher in the list, after all, without him, the club we all support every weekend wouldn’t be the same. However, after his heroics in the 96/97 season, Brighton saw no real improvement in Gritt’s second campaign.
The Seagulls recorded 12 fewer points than the season prior and were saved only by Doncaster’s troublesome times themselves. It’s also worth mentioning that we picked up fewer than 5 away wins under Steve Gritt’s entire tenure, but no matter how many negatives the statistics highlight, a man so pivotal in saving our club has to be considered a Brighton legend and a worthy name in Brighton’s top 5 Gaffers.
4 – Gus Poyet
In 4th place, we have charismatic and successful Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet or lovingly known as Gus.
Gus Poyet is completely deserving of a place upon this list thanks to Brighton’s success in the Withdean years, seeing the Albion to promotion to the Championship just in time for our first season at the Amex Stadium.
In addition to promotion in his first full season, 2 acceptable seasons in the Championship followed, with some great memories being achieved along the way. A 4th placed finish in Poyet’s 3rd season saw an exquisite campaign cut agonisingly short with defeat in the playoffs to bitter rivals Palace. However, despite the disappointment of the Playoff failure, it was undeniable that at the time it was the most exciting football that Brighton had enjoyed for years, if not ever.
We had an identity in a place we could call home and an ambitious and charming manager at the helm. It wasn’t just the good Football that was appealing, but also the players that Poyet began to attract down to the South Coast. All of a sudden, we’d gone from Matt Thornhill and Kevin McLeod on the wings to Spanish ballers such as Andrea Orlandi, Vicente and David Lopez donning the blue and White stripes.
Not to mention club hero, Leonardo Ulloa. Whilst the end of Gus Poyet’s reign was troublesome to say the least, with the Uruguayan being made aware of his sacking live on the BBC, but the time he gave the Seagulls was close to legendary.
3 – Alan Mullery
Pinching my 3rd place in the list of Brighton’s best managers is none other than Alan Mullery.
Considering that Alan Mullery’s only prior managerial experience before his poignant role with Brighton was at local club Southwick, it’s incredibly impressive to think that he is the man responsible for Brighton’s first promotion to the English top flight! What makes this feat even more astounding is he took the Seagulls to the top division, having taken over the club in Division Three.
He managed to instil a real sense of belief that, despite Brighton’s humble and modest history, the club had the right and ability to compete at the highest levels of English football. For the first time, Brighton had a manager who really excited fans!
A gaffer that felt full of quality, leadership and passion that had the potential to put Brighton on the map. A clear piece of evidence of just how superb Alan Mullery was for the Seagulls was how popular he was amongst the club chairman, Mike Bamber.
Bamber made it publicly known that he believed that Alan Mullery was the best manager in the country of his time, and did so on numerous occasions! It’s clear to me, and I would guess a large number of supporters, that Sir Alan Mullery is of legendary Brighton status, his excellency did not escape controversy.
During a heated FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace in 1976, Alan Mullery found himself in the middle of a virulent encounter with Palace Boss Terry Venables. The encounter between the 2 Mangers was matched with a raucous response from both sets of fans, thus sparking the rivalry between the Seagulls and the Eagles.
The real controversy that relates to Alan Mullery and probably the only factor that degrades Mullery’s tenure slightly, is the fact that even after playing such a huge role in the start of the rivalry, he joined Palace as their manager in 1982. A legend of the game and a legendary coach for Brighton, perhaps even higher on the list if his ties with Palace didn’t exist.
2 – Chris Hughton
As we head into my top 2, these managers have to be out and out legends of the football club!
For me, football is all about enjoyment and being proud of the football that your team is playing, and that is exactly why Chris Hughton has to be named as one of Brighton’s top two managers.
When Brighton found themselves in the mire following an awful stint of management from Sami Hyypia, they required a cool-headed professional to come in and steady the ship! Hughton, however, had something else in mind. The primary job is to keep Brighton in the Championship. After that, dream on!
The transformation from the relegation-threatened side of 2014/15 to the promotion-chasing one of 2015/16 was nothing short of miraculous, and that was all down to Chris Hughton! Responsible for a record-breaking home unbeaten record in season two and ultimately a return to the promised land in season three, Hughton not only became a fan favourite but also quickly became an Albion legend.
Playing teams off the park had become a normality, and with dazzling quality of players like Solly March, Glenn Murray and Anothony Knockeart, the Hughton era was undoubtedly one of the best times to be a supporter of Brighton and Hove Albion.
I think what was so impressive about Chris Hughton was his ability to pick the players up from rock bottom, shake them off and get them in a fit shape again to be the very best in the EFL Championship. It was pure heartbreak at the end of the 2015/16 season when we missed out on promotion to Middlesbrough on goal difference and then to fall just short in the playoffs to Sheffield Wednesday, but Hughton ensured that he and the players were to put it right the following year!
A record-breaking 93 points were gained in the 16/17, enough to secure second place and a position in the Premier League for the very first time. It should’ve been 1st though! Not only did the Chris Hughton era have players delivering and fans smiling, but it also had two spirited Premier League seasons.
Brighton’s Premier League credentials were serially questioned upon promotion, and Hughton’s not-so-successful prior record had suggested that survival may have been a tough ask.
However, Brighton and Hughton defied the odds and finished comfortably away from relegation in the first season. Whilst the second campaign was a bit closer, Chris Hughton did enough to keep the Seagulls above the drop and even took the Albion back to Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final.
Hughton’s era may have come to a close following our risky second Premier League season, but the man could do no wrong! He had brought Brighton back to the big time and sustained their status for two whole campaigns. Countless memories and countless limbs, Hughton is a certified Brighton legend and a worthy name at second place in this list
1 – Roberto De Zerbi
Number one….. Roberto De Zerbi! A charismatic, energy-filled, blood-pumping type of manager who simply lit up the Amex.
The Italian was not just Brighton’s head coach, he was Albion’s messiah for two seasons.
It’s an interesting decision putting RDZ top of this list and one that will certainly raise a few eyebrows amongst supporters, I’m sure.
However, similar to my explanation for Chris Hughton’s greatness, football is all about enjoyment, but also it’s to do with the immense pride in your team and the tears of joy that come around very rarely in the world of football.
You know the tears of joy that poured when Gross scored the winner against Southampton to take us to Europe, or when João Pedro jumped in the East Stand after clinching top spot in the Europa League group of death against Marseille! That was De Zerbi!
That’s a feeling that I’m not convinced has ever been more apparent under any other Brighton Manager. I will have to admit that this opinion may be slightly biased on the sole reason that at the time that De Zerbi was our Manager, it was a tough time for the close ones around me and me.
Without going into details, whilst everything else around me was uncertain, football wasn’t! It was the only mainstay that kept morale somewhat high! I’m fully aware that there will be countless amounts of examples that resonate with other fans… because that’s the power that football has!
For me, Roberto was the head of a team that kept me going!
Now, of course, we all know how De Zerbi’s reign ended, and the form towards the end of his last season was evidence of a potentially sour atmosphere that was created! Unfortunately for us, De Zerbi wanted the next step for the club to be greater than Tony Bloom thought was feasible, and the short fuse of our Italian boss lit too soon for De Zerbi to take us to the very, very top!
Whilst we all condone his character towards the end, in my opinion, you have to see past those flaws!
He implemented the most effective and exciting style of Football that the club has ever seen, he improved players more than we ever thought capable (Solly March, Lewis Dunk, Billy Gilmour, just for some examples), but most importantly, he took us to Europe.
Roberto is the reason why we dream of getting back there again because he showed that the club is capable of greatness! My number one Brighton manager! Some may disagree, but hey, that’s football! RDZ’s Albion, now that’s an era we won’t forget!
