Brighton & Hove Albion - The Flight of the Gulls

I've attempted my fair share of stories on Football Manager 2014, with a select one or two being successful, but the majority have ended in a few days. I've never managed in the Sky Bet Championship before, but I am confident that with a team as strong as Brighton, I can make this save last. In real life, Brighton have just dropped out of the Playoffs, following a good season. I aim to beat this by securing them a top two finish in my first season. If it takes more, I am happy to stay with The Seagulls for as long as it takes to find success.

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So, what do I aim to achieve in this story?

Reach the Barclays Premier League within five seasons.

Upgrade capacity at The Amex to 65000. (Currently 30303)

Win the F.A. Cup

Win the Capital One Cup

Win a major European competition

Establish myself as a club legend at Brighton

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Who will be the manager that I choose to play as?

I will be using a made up manager as my persona, called Donald Vaughan. Vaughan was born in the London Borough of Hackney. Aged 27, Vaughan has been a lifelong fan of Arsenal, and currently holds a season ticket. His idol is Dennis Bergkamp, formerly of Arsenal, but he says that there is no reason why his passion for another club should hold him back from managing Brighton. This will be his first crack at football management, and he will want to impress expectant fans at Brighton.

Nice start, good luck with Brighton! They're very fun Lovely banner, by the way

Good luck!

Let's see you bring life to that sleepy old town

The arrival of unknown manager Donald Vaughan has confused many associated with Brighton and Hove Albion - including captain Gordon Greer.

Vaughan, 27, who was born and raised in the London Borough of Hackney, has recently told journalists that he will not let his passion for North London club Arsenal have any bearing on his managerial abilities. Vaughan has held a season ticket at Arsenal since 1998, when the team still played their home games at Highbury.

The new Brighton manager is not from a wealthy background, and says that once he was offered the job, he had to accept it for financial assistance to both himself and his family. He is the father of two children (Jamie, 4, and Ella, 9) and has been married to his childhood sweetheart Rebecca since 2006.

"I am thrilled to be here at Brighton. I have made it very clear since joining that I am a Gunner through and through, but this will have absolutely no effect on how I perform as a manager here at The Amex. I went to my first game at Highbury with my dad when I was 6, and instantly fell in love with not only the team, but also the game; football." began Vaughan.

"I heard that Óscar García had resigned from his post here, for whatever reason, and I sent my CV over to Tony Bloom, the chairman, thinking that I didn't have a chance of getting even a call back to tell me that I didn't get the job."

"I am delighted that Tony has seen some kind of potential in my abilities, and I hope to repay him and the fans very soon. I'm not from a family with heaps of money, and my wife has given birth to two beautiful children, and I need to provide. I am 100% committed to this job, and the money is just an extra perk of this fantastic opportunity."

Great update, I know you'll do great with Brighton

What a delightful post, i thoroughly enjoyed reading it and i will be followed, the unknown manager to premier league winner maybe?

I love Brighton! They are my favourite championship team! I'm really happy that you're taking up a story on them as your writing and presentational skills are exceptional!

Tom Pope To Sign For Seagulls?

Port Vale striker Tom Pope is the first name to be seriously linked with Brighton and Hove Albion following Donald Vaughan's appointment as Óscar García's replacement at The Amex.

The Seagulls had also been linked with a loan move for Celtic striker Georgios Samaras, but these rumours were quickly put to bed when the Greek moved to Turkish club Kasımpaşa S.K. on a permanent transfer.

The Sky Bet Championship side have also been linked with a move for Barcelona defender Carles Planas, but once again, a move to another club, this time Anzhi Makhachkala, puts any hopes of the rumours being true dead in the water.

But the move for Pope looks like it could have some substance behind the rumour, after Vaughan told the BBC that the club were in contract talks with the 27-year-old.

Last year, Pope's goalscoring efforts saw him land the Golden Boot award in the Npower League 2, now the Sky Bet League 2. He may only be a proven goalscorer at a lower level, but it shows that Vaughan is willing to take chances on players. If he were to join, he'd be arriving at a team with the likes of Leonardo Ulloa and David Rodríguez, both of whom are more than capable of turning in good performances at this level.

"Pope may be unproven at this level, but from what I've seen of him at League Two standard, I believe that he can be a good player for us. He's got a bit of time left in his career, and I hope that we won't have to move him on because he doesn't perform. We've agreed a £300,000 deal with Port Vale, who were very co-operative with us, and now the only thing we are waiting on to complete the move is Tom himself."

Pope would be a good signing for you, possible back-up for Ulloa maybe?

Good luck with the seagulls! Love them IRL and I hope you bring glory and success and don't leave after a season like the last two real managers

A great story to the story. Good luck.

Brighton and Hove Albion captain Gordon Greer has told BBC Sport that newly appointed manager Donald Vaughan brings something to The Amex that differs from what previous managers have been able to offer.

The 33-year-old joined Brighton from Swindon Town in 2010, and also has three Scottish caps to his name. Vaughan is the third manager that Greer has played under at Brighton, having previously played under the successful reign of Gus Poyet, in which Greer and Poyet worked together to guide the team from the depths of League One to the Championship Playoff Semi-Final. Poyet was sacked by Brighton in controversial circumstances, with the Uruguayan claiming that he had only been told of the news during live coverage of a Confederations Cup game between Spain and Nigeria. Poyet had been working as a pundit for BBC Three during the coverage. He is now in charge of Premier League side Sunderland, having taken over from the sacked Paolo Di Canio.

Óscar García, formerly a player at Barcelona, had also had a very brief spell with the club, but resigned last week, allowing inexperienced Vaughan to take over. But Greer has told the BBC that he feels something different under the Hackney-born manager's influence.

"One week in training with Donald, and I have to say I'm surprised." began Greer. "Nobody at the club had heard of him before he took over, and I was expecting some tame, child-like training. But this is the toughest week of training I've faced in my entire career. Vaughan really seems to know what he's doing, and all of the lads are working well together."

"He has been interacting with us and the coaching staff, and he is slowly easing into his role here. His age is what's different from the other managers. He's younger than some of the players here, and I think this makes a world of difference to a lot of players here. We feel like we can talk to him more openly than we could with Gus, and definitely Óscar."

Gordon speaks the truth! I'm confident you'll lead the Gulls to the Premier League!

solid gold update and this is going to be a very fun story