Brighton Show Man Untied And The Premier League How It’s Done

Brighton & Hove Albion continue to show the rest of the English Premier League how it is done.

A convincing 3-1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday gave the south coast club its fourth league win in a row against one of soccer’s biggest names.

Only Liverpool and Manchester City have achieved a similar winning run against United in the Premier League era.

As a result of its profile, United is also one of the richest clubs in the game, but the way it has been run under the ownership of the Glazer family is far from befitting such a soccer behemoth.

The contrast between United and Brighton could not be more stark. More worrying for followers of the Manchester club is that there is still no sign of improvement.

It was evident on the field in this latest encounter as Brighton eased to a three goal lead. To add to United’s misery, the opener was scored by Manchester-born former United striker Danny Welbeck.

Brighton, though not without its own riches, as is the case for any club that reaches English soccer’s lucrative top division, has in recent years been a model example of how to run a soccer club.

According to Transfermarkt, Brighton spent around $108 million on transfers this summer, but at the same time brought in over $200 million. The profit in simple terms from the 2023 summer transfer market, when looking at transfer fees received minus transfer fees paid, comes in at around $96 million.

The bulk of that income came from the sale of Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo to Chelsea. It brought in around $140 million for the club allowing it some leeway with its own spending, including the club-record signing of forward João Pedro from Watford for $36 million.

Some of the replacements for outgoing players come from within the club, as was the case when Karou Mitoma stepped up to become a first-team regular as part of the plan to replace Leandro Trossard who left for Arsenal in January.

There is an element of succession planning that means should one of their shrewd signings become a star of the league and attract big money offers from other clubs, replacements are already lined up.

This applies to managers as well as players, and indeed all other roles within the club. Brighton might have struggled following the departure of its successful manager Graham Potter to Chelsea in September 2022, but instead, improved even further under his replacement, Roberto De Zerbi.

Having such continuation and constant improvement can be difficult to maintain, and there will likely be bumps in the road as the turnover of players continues, but the plan is there and more often than not, it works.

Brighton is currently fourth in the Premier League and will also embark on a Europa League campaign starting next week. It does not look out of place at this level, and it is not a fluke it is there.

United, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to have much of a plan at all. Even if plans are put in place by certain members of staff in certain roles, they are often scuppered by problems with the overall club culture and structure.

These problems come from the top. United supporters have long campaigned for a change in ownership and for the Glazer family to sell the club to more competent operators. With each passing season, the supporters are proven right, and change obviously needs to happen.

A rotten culture has spread throughout the club, and no matter how much certain individuals try to alter it, whether they be managers, recruiters, or even players, issues continue to arise off the field as well as on it.

Even if there is a good run of results, or something positive like qualification for the Champions League, for which manager Erik ten Hag can take credit, there is always a distraction, a problem with the player, an issue with a potential sale, or dispiriting defeat such as Saturday’s, when they were booed off the field by some home fans, just around the corner.

As long as the existing ownership remains and the current state of affairs continues, you get the impression there always will be.

For Brighton, what’s around the corner is a first ever season in European continental football and, at least for now, a place in the Premier League’s top four.