Why Brighton were wrong to sack Chris Hughton

Alireza Jahanbakhsh was Brighton and Hove Albion’s club-record signing when he joined last summer for £17million from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.

In all likelihood, you had never heard of the Iranian forward before he moved to the Premier League, even though he has won 47 caps for his country and played in the Russia World Cup last summer. Equally, you may well still not have heard of him until reading this. He managed to score one goal in 26 appearances last season. And that was for Iran.

An example of some more of Brighton’s recent signings that Chris Hughton has had to work with: Yves Bissouma, Percy Tau, Jan Mlakar, Tudor Baluta. They – and others – arrived from clubs including Viitorul Constanta, from the Romanian Liga I; NK Maribor of the Slovenia PrvaLiga; and South African top-flight side Mamelodi Sundowns.

Mission accomplished

Staying in the Premier League was always going to be a tough task for Brighton but one which Hughton succeeded in completing, with a game to spare.

It was not spectacular, it was not always certain and it was hairy towards the end, especially with Arsenal and Manchester City their final two fixtures, but Hughton secured a third successive season in the top flight, having taken them from close to relegation from the Championship to a debut in the Premier League.

What more, exactly, do Brighton want? What, realistically, do they expect? Owner Tony Bloom is a boyhood supporter but if they have ambitions of climbing the league and competing for Europe, then it will take a far greater investment in players than he is currently making, however sad that prospect may be.

Ruthless from a lovely club

If transfers are the issue and Hughton is held responsible for them not working out, then surely the softer, less disruptive option would be to give that responsibility to someone else? An approach that has already been adopted or is being rolled out across much of the league.

Bloom cited their poor run of three wins in 23 Premier League games putting their “status at significant risk”, yet flip that on its head and doesn’t it simply demonstrate how well they did in the first 15 games of the season? And is there any reason that cannot be done again?

Brighton are a lovely club and a credit to the Premier League, but this decision is as ruthless as they come, and, for an owner renowned for his poker playing and betting expertise, one of the biggest gambles he has made.