Given Brighton & Hove Albion's rapid ascent since Tony Bloom took ownership in the May of 2009, following his successful quest to secure funding for the then-new Falmer Stadium (known as the Amex since a sponsorship agreement with American Express), it can't be much of a surprise that other clubs cast their eyes upon the Seagulls' particular corner of Sussex with more than a little envy. Chelsea's experiment with Graham Potter and his subsequent raid on his old club for staff and a few choice additions to his squad is perhaps the most radical example, even if ultimately that backfired on the Blues!
Bloom's system has paid off handsomely for his boyhood heroes since the momentous first match at the new stadium against Doncaster- on the opening day of the 2011/12 season. Rovers were also, coincidentally, the last opposition Albion faced at the old Goldstone Ground back in the 1996/97 campaign. This was pre-exile at Gillingham and amid fan protests and when one of their number, Dick Knight, took control having led the campaign to oust the previous board after the sale of the ground to property developers...
The turmoil of which was perhaps reflected in struggles on the pitch, though the battle to stay in the Football League was won thanks to Robbie Reinelt, whose late late show spared team- mate Kerry Mayo's blushes and sent Hereford down instead. There followed two seasons playing “home” games at the Priestfield before an agreement was reached with the local council to return home properly and host home games at the Withdean. Somewhat fittingly, given its status as a converted athletics track, a revitalised Brighton hit the ground running in 2000/01 and secured promotion to Division Two under Micky Adams, prior to his leaving for Leicester to become assistant to Dave Bassett.
It would seem the memo to all staff the following season was “keep on running”, as former Foxes boss Peter Taylor was drafted in and would lead them to a second successive leap up the leagues, all within just five years of nearly dropping out entirely! The subsequent drop back into what is now League One was the sole blot in the copybook, though the final season at the Withdean in 2010/11 brought with it the title and another crack at what is now the Championship under the stewardship of Gus Poyet. This culminated in a positive 2012/13 season that secured 4th place, though it would all end in something of a farce after the gaffer was suspended following controversy in the aftermath of a play-off defeat to Crystal Palace...
The play-offs would also spell the end for his successor, Óscar García, with his resignation following a loss to Derby. Sami Hyypiä's four months in the dugout were something of a misfire before the arrival of Chris Hughton, who was able to lead them only to a third play-off loss in four years, this time against Sheffield Wednesday. If all this feels like something of a preamble, we're now getting to the apex at the Amex, as 2016/17 got them over the line to the previously unthinkable, as they reached the Premier League, a run of eighteen games unbeaten underpinning the push.
Their first taste of the big time ended in a respectable 15th place finish, wins over Arsenal and Manchester United the first signs of the sort of bloodied nose now semi-regularly dished out in front of the Amex crowds! Seventeenth the following season spelt the end for Hughton, though he would at least lead the Seagulls on a swoop to the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Manchester City put paid to any hopes of a repeat of possibly their finest hour to date, against their rivals in the 1983 final, when they held United to a 2-2 draw before losing 4-0 in the replay just five days later.
The Brighton Approach to Player Recruitment
Enter Potter, tempted down south from Swansea, to helm something of a revolution in player recruitment- Jamestown Analytics, an offshoot of Starlizard, and its methods helping to unearth more than a few gems polished and integrated into the team under the new manager. The January and summer transfer windows done differently at Falmer, traditional scouting no longer necessarily the done thing- Jobs In Football were evidently paying attention-
“The nature of player recruitment in professional football has shifted dramatically in recent years. Gone are the days of old-school managers and first-team coaches driving all over the country watching different games each night to try and scout out the best unearthed talent they can find.
These days, most top clubs have dedicated teams of analysts and scouts whose job involves a huge amount of data and video analysis, supplemented by in-person player observations to help flesh out a broader picture of a player's strengths and weaknesses.
Over the last few years certain clubs have shown themselves to be ahead of the game when it comes to identifying and unlocking talent.
While clubs like Manchester United have splashed big on high-profile players and struggled to get consistent returns from them on the pitch, clubs with smaller budgets, who are forced to scout more innovatively and buy in different markets, have plucked players from relative obscurity and developed them into world-class stars.
The obvious example here is Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, whose outside-the-box recruitment strategy has helped them unearth gems like Moisés Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Kaoru Mitoma, who have in turn allowed them to consistently challenge at the top end of the Premier League, and in 2022/23 qualify for European football for the first time ever.“
At the root of the Jamestown model is Bloom's extensive betting experience, honed as a poker player and with his use of similar methods to spot discrepancies in gambling markets, which has been adapted, honed and put to use by Brighton and Union-Saint Gilloise, the Belgian side he took a minority stake in back in 2018 and quickly led back to the top flight- helped by loanees via the Seagulls, including Mitoma, Simon Adingra and Deniz Undav.
The latter was signed from Les Unionistes for seven million Euros and subsequently loaned back to the Joseph Marien Stadium, after an initial thirty-five goals from fifty-one appearances over two seasons brought him to the attention of Jamestown and by extension the Albion. Another eight goals from fourteen games back on loan enhanced his reputation in Belgium, though he, unlike Mitoma and Adingra, was unable to break into the first team back at his parent club. He departed again, initially on loan, to VfB Stuttgart after just five goals in twenty-two games in the blue and white.
Speaking to the Times, Starlizard's owner Johan Sten Mahmoud Moazed, set out their basic framework without actually giving too much away...
"It's our own bespoke data… the algorithms and how they come to form, I can't talk about… But once it gets to us, we refine it and tailor it really carefully for every single club so, in theory, it should only be useful to them. And we're very selective about the clubs we want to work with."
In light of which, the announcement of a partnership with Hearts and another minority stake for Bloom could be one to watch alongside the fruits of his investments in Brighton and USG.