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Season Review 07-08	Posted by David Snowball at Monday, May 05, 2008
Brighton's nearly-but-not-quite seventh place finish to the 2007-08 season was, if we're all brutally honest, higher than most of us expected when the action got under way last August. Considering the overall quality of the squad, it was a highly commendable place and, if there had been a bit more calmness and, at times, a more positive approach, a place in the play-offs could have been achieved. A telling comment from Argus football reporter Andy Naylor in an article comparing the records of recent Albion managers summed up this first full season under Wilkins: "A little less caution and worrying about the opposition and he could emulate the achievements of Adams and Taylor." All too often we would hear in match previews how it was going to be difficult against so-and-so because they've got quality in x, y and z areas. Surely psychologically it would be better for those things to go unsaid, and for the focus to be on how well Brighton players are performing and developing. In hard facts, Brighton were two wins and a draw shy of a play-off place and it isn't difficult to look at certain games where the points went begging to see how the situation could have been reversed. Two points were dropped as far back as November when Albion were all over Walsall at Withdean but only got a draw. The Boxing Day battering at Millwall was nothing short of a disgrace when there was clearly turmoil off the field. Only taking a point from Huddersfield at home was another disappointment. And defeat to relegation-bound Port Vale was inexcusable. Where Wilkins does emerge with credit, though, is in achieving such a high finish considering that he had to re-build the side midway through the season. The loss of four key players - Bas Savage, George O'Callaghan, Dean Hammond and Matt Richards - was unsettling at a time when the side was progressing well. Richards eventually came back but it took time for Steve Thomson to bed in and Hammond wasn't really properly replaced until the later arrival of Therry Racon on loan from Charlton. Adam El-Abd proved his versatility with impressive performances in a number of positions but he doesn't have the flair of Hammond, Racon or O'Callaghan. Tommy Fraser can't be faulted for effort but his decision-making and lack of guile found the central midfield wanting when he was selected. The injury-plagued Paul Reid seemed to blow the limited chances he got to step into the breach. The major positives of the season were the performances at the back of Tommy Elphick and Joel Lynch and up front of Nicky Forster, particularly as the partnership with Glenn Murray began to evolve. Dean Cox had bright moments but needs to be more consistent. After too long seeing Albion trying to fill the full back positions with central defenders, it was good to see specialist players in those places and the side were at their best when they had Andrew Whing on the right and Richards on the left. The best addition to the team by a country mile was Ian Westlake, who, apart from a couple of below-par performances, showed why he has played at a higher level before now. As it turned out, I think Brighton did well to get a £150,000 fee for Alex Revell: Murray has shown he is a better player and promises to score plenty of goals whereas Revell was only a sporadic contributor whose touch and movement was suspect. Savage had a curious knack of doing well for Brighton but I would doubt most people ever thought he was a genuine long-term solution up front. Michel Kuipers is to be congratulated for being ever-present but, like several managers before him, one senses that Wilkins would like to have another quality option for the number one shirt. As has been detailed and debated elsewhere, there are clearly a number of squad players who are likely to be bidding farewell and, if Brighton want to move up to the next level next season, they will need to offload those average or below-average performers in order to afford better quality players. If Richards can be persuaded to sign permanently, I believe the addition of a goalkeeper and right, central and left-sided midfielders will improve the squad sufficiently to make a decent challenge in 2008-09. The main downside to making this happen is that one or two of the promising youngsters might have to be sold to fund such additions. It would seem the likeliest departure could be Elphick, and possibly Cox. By Nick Turrell Labels: League One, News 08-09, Nick Turrell