sport news Brighton: Embracing change is key as Roberto De Zerbi's boys mix it up at the ... trends now
It's 2am at a Hove bar on a Monday morning, which might seem an odd time for a party. Yet here Brighton's first team squad, manager and the entire staff were crammed into a drinking establishment celebrating their season.
They had finished ninth last May and before the fun police pronounce disapprovingly on excessive revelry for top-ten finishes, this is a club who were within a game of going out of the league in 1997, who were evicted from their own ground in Brighton, forced to play at Gillingham in Kent for two seasons and when they finally got back to Brighton, played at an athletics stadium, where the shot-putt circle obstructed fans' views.
And the celebration was a genuine all-club affair. Staff from marketing, media, sales were there with star players and coaches, partly because that's the kind of culture they have. But also because the club bonus structure extends to all staff, from the car park attendant to Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana.
Roberto De Zerbi's side are mixing it with the Big Six in the Premier League this season
The difference between finishing ninth and 12th, which is where they might have ended up but for 3-1 win over West Ham on that last day of the season, was £6m, shared among all the staff. So everyone had a reason to celebrate that night.
Brighton are the poster club of the Premier League. Everyone wants their staff and players. They spotted World Cup winning Alexis Mac Allister when he was a raw 19-year-old at Argentinos Juniors, signed Leandro Trossard at Genk, brought Ben White through the ranks and gave Graham Potter his Premier League chance.
Today their latest prodigy, Moises Caicedo is at the centre of a transfer struggle with Arsenal. And yet even if does leave after a strong plea to go on Instagram, you feel Brighton may survive and thrive.
They've survived worse. Newcastle took their technical director and best defender, Chelsea took their manager, most of his staff and their world-class left-back.
Moises Caicedo is the latest in a string of prodigies to emerge as a star talent at Brighton
Arsenal took White and Trossard and now want Caicedo, yet Brighton keep getting better. Currently sixth in the Premier League and preparing to host Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday having beaten them 3-0 two weeks ago, one journalistic wit dubbed them football's Sugababes: it doesn't matter how much you change the line-up, they keep delivering hit records!
Brighton won't roll over on Caicedo. If he goes, it will be on their terms. However, they will also have a replacement in mind and the ship will keep steady on it course.
'We identified years ago that if we want to be successful we have to accept change is a permanent state,' said chief executive Paul Barber, who has worked previously for the FA, Spurs and in American with the MLS. 'It's about having a plan to replace people. And how far do you take that? Is it about the manager, the technical director, the chief executive?'
Brighton not only have a plan to replace every player should they go, they also have identified the next best person for the job in 25 key executive positions.
Arsenal have already signed both Ben White (second left) and Leandro Trossard (far left)
Hence, when Potter left in September, they knew Roberto De Zerbi was their preferred replacement and were confident he would continue and evolve the style Potter has put in place.
David Weir, who replaced Dan Ashworth as technical director says it's a little like the swan analogy, serene to the outside world while, unseen, paddling like crazy.
'We've lost a lot of senior
