The South-Coast Seagulls

The managerial 'merry-go-round' has continued today after Gus Poyet has left Brighton. The ex-Chelsea player quit the south-coast club after a reported bust-up with the chairman and fellow staff members.

Brighton have reportedly already announced a new manager, with local boy Joe Dowley preparing to take over. It will be a big step up for Dowley, who had been managing Linfield Football Club in West Sussex, as well as running a hot-dog van.


Dowley on a drunken night out with friends.

It remains to be seen whether he can take his managerial success up a few levels.

It was an impressive place. The newly-built Amex stadium was a real sight to behold, looking like a small Wembley. I had already met the chairman, Tony Bloom, and had been shown to my new office, which overlooked the half-way line.



Laid out on my desk, was a report. My squad report had come through.



I was very impressed. We had a very strong team all around, with only striker looking for an improvement. I had looked straight at it and immediately decided that we would play a simple 4-4-2, with high wingers.



I was so excited. My local club had been the stepping stone onto Brighton & Hove Albion. I had already decided my aim. We are going up!

We can report today that Brighton, under new management, have signed the co-owned Libor Kozak from Inter and Lazio for free. It seems that Dowley may have pulled of a coup from the two Italian giants.



The tall presence is physically very strong and had a good record for Lazio. Brighton fans will be hoping that he can strut his stuff during his upcoming career at the club.



It is also reported that young Brazilian Doria has agreed a deal with the club, as well as Vicente and Liam Bridcutt set to head out of the club for a combined total of £6.5M.

Pre-Season Report

Brighton 1-4 Valenciennes

Vicente (14)

Rotherham 3-1 Brighton

Goodwin (77)

Brighton 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain

Havant & Waterlooville 0-5 Brighton

Masters O.G (3)
Kozak (21)
Kozak (40)
Painter (61)
Vicente (71)

Brighton 0-1 Aston Villa

Definitely a very disappointing pre-season, although we played after Kozak joined the club. We played good football but were very unlucky against PSG. We brightened up after that match, by beating Havant and unluckily losing to Villa.

Capital One Cup: 1st Round

Brighton vs Leyton Orient

Unlucky with the friendlies but don't be too disheartened as you faced three difficult teams. Perhaps you should have beaten Rotherham but the players will learn and improve. Looking forward to this! Good luck against Leyton Orient ps please tackle martin rowland very hard lol

2013-02-23 17:00#82340 patrick1 : Good luck against Leyton Orient ps please tackle martin rowland very hard lol

Funnily enough, he was sent off!

August

Capital One Cup 1st Round
Brighton 1-0 Leyton Orient

Dobbie pen. (76)

nPower Championship: Round 1
Brighton 4-0 Middlesbrough

Kozak (2)
Koazk (16)
El-Abd (25)
Hammond (30)

nPower Championship: Round 2
Watford 1-2 Brighton

Barnes (36)
Barnes (48)

nPower Championship: Round 3
Brighton 2-3 Blackpool


***Flanagan gave both away on his debut***

Capital One Cup 2nd Round
MK Dons 1-3 Brighton

Mackail-Smith (30)
Kozak (54)
Mackail-Smith (56)

A very good month where we played extremely good football. The team play with a determination to win the ball back, and Crofts does this constantly. He gives it to Hammond who plays our men through. That is one of our typical goals so far this season. We are sitting 4th in a very congested top 8, but we were very unlucky to lose to Blackpool.

Capital One Cup 3rd Round:

Brighton vs Sheffield United.

Transfer News

I bought in John Flanagan on loan (85k p/m) until the end of the season. In total I spent nothing, but sales of Liam Bridcutt and Vicente have bought in £6.8M. I am looking forward to continuing my start to this story!

Unlucky to be conceded two penalties, but otherwise it was a great performance. I am anxiously awaiting which players will fill the void for these two!

Brand new Brighton striker Libor Kozak has reportedly picked up a serious injury. It occurred during the match against Sheffield Wednesday, after a late tackle.

He has suffered damaged cruciate ligaments, and looks set to spend 9-11 months on the sideline. This will come as a major blow to Dowley, as he clearly saw him as a key part of his promotion-chasing side.

Ouch! Man, that hurts! :'(

huge blow on the kozak front. he has always been a good player at all levels for me. Some good results, what are your aims for this season?

Good results so far, bad luck with the injury

I'm looking for promotion and a cup run really, and I have to say that I look good on both at the moment.

Thanks Blue!

September

nPower Championship: Round 4

Brighton 1-3 Derby

Mackail-Smith (90+1)

nPower Championship: Round 5

Leeds 0-2 Brighton

Buckley (44)
Barnes (61)

nPower Championship: Round 6

Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Brighton

Barnes (55)
Kozak (61)
Kozak (9-11 months)

nPower Championship: Round 7

Brighton 3-0 Millwall

Mackail-Smith (49)
Barnes (58) Forde O.G (60)

Capital One Cup 3rd Round

Brighton 2-0 Sheffield United

Barnes (37)
Mackail-Smith (84)

nPower Championship: Round 8

Brighton 0-1 Ipswich

A pretty decent month again. Playing some great football with the Seagulls and I look on target for my aims (Promotion and a cup run). Kozak's injury will be a massive blow to the club, and I will need to replace him in January.

Capital One Cup 4th Round:

West Ham vs Brighton