SO, Brighton's latest flirtation
with the 2nd tier of English football is over.
Those older fans amongst us have, of
course, seen it all before. There will be some who say we're
back where we belong. But this time we all know why we weren't
quite able to cut it with the 'big boys' in the Championship.
The vociferous whingers can carp on
all they like about Mark McGhee but what else could he have done
with the resources at his disposal derived from playing in front
of crowds way smaller than most of our rivals.
To be fair to him, he has seldom
pointed the finger at individual players as reasons for failure,
but there have been plenty of instances of squandered chances
which have cost Albion dear this season.
A good many of them fell to Dean
Hammond who, with greater concentration and poise, might
single-handedly have preserved Championship status for another
season. To be positive, at least he got in the positions to miss
them!
But it's a team game, nay, a squad
game and Albion's this season has had too little depth in terms
of guile and quality.
The pre-season sales of Adam Virgo
and Dan Harding provided valuable coffers for the club but left
two sizeable holes in the squad. The admirable Paul McShane
filled the centre back slot with aplomb, but the centre forward
role wasn't filled until too late in the day.
Joel Lynch eventually came in to
fill Harding's boots at left back and looks a genuine prospect.
But, like Harding, he will probably be cashed in to prop up the
finances pre-Falmer.
Joe Gatting didn't manage to take
his Youth and Reserves' scoring exploits on to the next level,
but there are signs he might.
Can we hold on to McShane? He's got
a lot of competition ahead of him at Man U and it would be great
to think he could see a future with the Albion; how about make
him captain at 20? But the stadium delay and League One football
will probably work against us; I could see him doing a job for
someone like Stoke or Burnley.
The jury's still out on our new
goalkeeper. It's probably fair to say Wayne Henderson performed
better when on loan than since he signed permanently.
But he is still young, and with
Richard Martin and John Sullivan in reserve, Michel Kuipers'
days are surely numbered.
Other members of the 'old guard'
must surely be heading for the exit too - if only because there
will be a need to trim the playing budget.
Guy Butters has done a fantastic job
over the past two seasons, but with a surplus of defenders on
the books,his time may have come to an end.
Richard Carpenter has been a
lynchpin of many of Albion's best moments in recent seasons but
2005-06 was not one of his best, and younger players, like Reid,
Hammond and Nicolas, are ready to take over the central midfield
mantle.
Kerry Mayo's testimonial season has
seen him out of the team more than in and with the emergence of
Lynch, the writing must be on the wall.
Gary Hart might be the exception.
Probably a leading contender for player of the season, his
never-say-die attitude and play-anywhere commitment has probably
earned him an extension to his contract.
Jason Dodd's time at the Albion has
been a major disappointment and it is difficult to see him being
offered a new deal.
One assumes the players loaned out
at various times are also heading for the exit: Kuipers, Mark
McCammon, Albert Jarrett, Chris McPhee and Maheta Molango.
Can we realistically hang on to Seb Carole and Alex Frutos? I
would imagine we'd sell if offers came in for them.
Gifton Noel-Williams would be a
welcome addition, but there must be a question mark over whether
we can afford him.
Federico Turienzo may yet surprise
us. There have been no signs so far that he's going to make it
in English football, but perhaps he deserves a run in the side
to find out once and for all.
With so many of the youth squad
signed on professional terms, it looks likely there is going to
be a fairly big clear-out of the older pros. Maybe we can pick
up a couple of 28/29-year-olds dropping down from the
Championship to keep the ship steady, and then give League One a
right good go next season.
Getting back that winning feeling
will help breed confidence and I could see Colin Kazim-Richards
topping the scoring chart given the right support.
