displaced_seagull

Stirring words. They never felt hollow, even in this situation. He knew that the club had been through far worse than this - he was there - but as the fans trickled away, the players sat in silence, and the floodlights dipped, the lone figure in his club tracksuit stood, staring, out of the window of the portakabin-come-changing room that passed for facilities here.

displaced_seagull

On any normal evening, a 1-0 win against a side only three places below you in the League would be considered a good result. This time though, it hurt. And not for the first time. Instead of the usual joy and optimism that follows such a result, there was only despondency, disapointment and depression.

A goal from Bas Savage in the opening 10 minutes - his 27th of the season - gave Brighton & Hove Albion the victory, but it wasn't enough. It was academic really - the 5-2 defeat at Burnley's Turf Moor on Saturday had been a crushing blow, and one that Brighton were never likely to recover from.

In this situation - defeat in the playoffs - you look back over the course of the season and try to find out where it went wrong. It was obvious - after finishing two points behind rivals Leyton Orient in the league that the supporters - not to mention the players, management and board - would look to the past to work out where it went wrong. Results like the 3-2 reverse at then bottom club Shrewsbury in early April, the Bank Holiday Monday defeat against Yeovil a couple of weeks later, a missed penalty against Luton in December - they all add up.

What hurt the most though for Brighton manager Stuart Fairway was that it wasn't the first time he found himself in this situation. Last season, Brighton were woeful in the first leg of the Playoff Semi against Swansea City , who went on to gain promotion - they recovered in the second leg to win 3-0 at the Withdean, but it wasn't enough after a 4-0 defeat in the first leg.

The usual questions after defeat boiled down to just one. Why? - Fairway had built a squad at Brighton that could compete - he knew that. With players such as the aformentioned Savage, Iranian playmaker Hamed Kavianpour , the prodigiously talented young Finn Laurie Della Valle , fullback Sam Rents , possessor of a left foot - and the ability to net free kicks - reminiscent of a young Denis Irwin - and many more.

Brighton needed promotion - the board had demanded it - and Fairway was now in a situation where he was back to the soul searching. It would be a difficult summer - one playoff faliure perhaps acceptable, a second not so - and several questions were flying around his head. Would the board want him to try again for a third year in a row? Did he want to try and make it third time lucky? - would his players be able to pick themselves up from this and go again? - Would some of them even want to stay? There were rumours last season that young defender Joel Lynch was angling for a move away from the club - he wouldn't be the only one should Albion continue to find themselves in the third tier.

BobBev

Great to see you back in action D_S :thup:

displaced_seagull

Cheers Bob

A bit of admin - the game is being played on the Beta Patched version of Football Manager 2008, a game I am really, really loving so far. My usual plethora of leagues -

Everything in (deep breath); England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Belarus, Austria, Holland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Iceland, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia.

Italy (To Serie B), Spain (To 2a Division), France (To National), Sweden (To Superrettan), Germany (To 2. Bundesliga), Turkey (To 2.League).

Top divisions in; USA, Mexico, China, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, South Africa and Uruguay.

Retained Players from another 35-odd (a few more, a few less possibly, can't remember) nations as well. I like a world game .

Good to be back - but don't expect this one to be rushing through seasons, I now work in London and as such, have limited time to play the game as well as have a life .

Finally, I hope you enjoy it

displaced_seagull

The inveitable began just two days after the second leg - the enquiries for the players who had elevated Brighton to this stage. Championship clubs were known to be looking at the likes of Delle Valle , Kavianpour , Spillane , Robinson and Lynch - key, vital, players for Brighton. Fairway's answer to all was non commital - no interest in selling at the moment. In fact, he didn't know if he would have much of a choice in the matter - he would meet with the board after the playoff final, the official end to the League One season, not entirely knowing his own future. On the other hand, there were certainly positive signs for Brighton - the long awaited new Community Stadium at Falmer , first mooted back in the mid 90's - was well under construction, with Brighton moving in a year from now, at the end of the forthcoming 2009/2010 season. There was also the small matter of Fairway's own contract as manager - that took him up to the end of the 2011/12 season.

The week passed in something of a blur - the usual round of interviews, with Fairway's stock statements coming out almost daily - "We're disapointed", "We owe the fans", "We're not chokers", "We need to look to next season and put this behind us" and "We need to keep our best players and look to improve the squad" - quite what the journalists of the Argus wanted to hear, asking for interviews every day, the manager didn't really know. He was keeping his cards close to his chest, until the end of May at least, when he would know what the future was likely to bring.

Post season administrative - and rewards - continued, however, despite the manager's somewhat uncertain future - Sam Rents and Bas Savage picking up deserved mentions in the League One Team of the Year, whilst the pro-rata £250,000 bonus was shared amongst the playing staff for their final league position. And what of Playoff victors Burnley ? - they did get their day out at Wembley, losing 3-1 to Hull City , who won promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking. They would again be there or thereabouts next season as well as Yeovil and Sheffield Wednesday - whilst the relegated Stoke, Cardiff and last season's villans of the piece Swansea would surely challenge. It would surely be a challenge to reach the Playoffs for a third season in succession.

All season, Fairway found himself playing down speculation of a move for Lynch, but this time, he knew that the youngster would probably be off before the start of the new campaign. The 'vultures' of the Championship had been circling for a long time, and the news that the defender had made his own decision saw them swoop - Sheffield United , Coventry and Southampton all making their interest known. Fortunatley for the manager, Lynch wasn't too peturbed regarding his decision to reject outright interest from Crystal Palace - a local lad, born in Eastbourne, he knew that it would perhaps not be his wisest move should he wish to continue the good relationship he had built up with the Albion faithful.

With the players departing a day later for their summer break, the transfer talk continued unabated - Laurie Dalla Valle the target of interest from Blackpool , whilst Lynch's suitors now included SPL side Hibernian , who finished in Fourth Place and would be in European action next season, and playoff victors Hull . On the international front, England's march to South Africa 2010 continued with a 3-0 win over Isreal at Wembley - a game which included England's record international goalscorer Micheal Owen adding another couple to his tally and putting the nation in the mood for Wednesday visit of [b] Estonia [b] .

Peacemaker7

Yay the prodigal returns \o/

sherm

Nice on d_s, good to see you back in action

Amaroq

Excellent. So glad to have you back, d_s!

displaced_seagull

Cheers boys :thup: - much appreciated


Back on the home front, June began with offers flying in for Lynch - bids from Walsall , Hull , Southampton and Coventry all having offers accepted. There would also be one piece of seasonal administration which Fairway never looked forward to - shattering dreams.

One by one, the young players who, a couple of months ago, had been told that their contracts wouldn't be renewed, entered the small manager's office to recieve final words of condolence from their now former manager - Defenders Zac Beda , Andrew Pearson , Lee Bryant and Oliver Rowe , midfielders Lewis Ide , Matt Hodges and Kane Louis , and striker Peter Martin all leaving the club. Of the eight, Fairway told - and he meant it - Beda, Pearson, Bryant and Louis that they could still make it as professionals. Of the rest, the non league game, should they decide to stay involved, would no doubt beckon. There would be one further release that Fairway was dreading more than most - one club man Kerry Mayo had struggled to break into the team since the emergence of Sam Rents at left back, and despite a wonderful relationship with the Albion support, initially indicated that he too would be putting up the 'Have Boots, Will Travel' sign.

With Mayo's contract not due to expire for another month however, Fairway laid his cards on the table to the 31 year old. There would be an offer - a fairly significant reduction in wages, but a two year deal could give Mayo the opportunity to take the Coaching badges that would clearly suit, with Fairway knowing that he had a reliable, loyal figure in the Reserves to call upon should he be needed.

England would also continue their - by now looking unstoppable - march towards the World Cup - not only a 4-0 win over a poor Estonia side at Wembley, but second placed Sweden held by Israel. Also on the International scene, Fairway was pleased to see Hamed Kavianpour named in the Iran squad for two vital qualifiers against Japan and group whipping boys Oman - Iran currently topping their group.

Thursday saw a decision from Joel Lynch - he would stay on the South Coast, with a move agreed, to take place at the opening of the transfer window on the 1st of July, to Southampton of the Championship. The fee? A criminally low, in Fairway's opinion, £140,000 , with a 10% future sell on fee. It was, however, a decision that had to be taken - a 'bad apple' in the squad could cause more problems than it was worth, even when the 'it' was a player loved by the Brighton support who had been a rock at the back since Fairway's arrival. Lynch would leave with Fairway's best wishes - he had always been an honest player, and although the manager desperatley hoped that he would stay, the final confirmation meant that the search for a replacement could begin in earnest.

With Kerry Mayo putting pen to paper on that deal that made Fairway realise that loyalty did still exist in football on Friday morning, the manager finally began to close the book on last season - stopping the running through of games in his head, the fruitless searching of statistics that, deep down, he knew would offer very little in the way of comfort. In 3 short weeks, the players would be back from their holidays, and would be seeking inspiration, instruction and, perhaps crucially, the knowledge that their manager believed that they could once again fight it out at the top - and this time, go one better.

Holidays were a luxury that not all of Fairway's players were enjoying - as well as Kavinapour , Micheal Spillane was with the Ireland Under 21 squad, Laurie Dalla Valle was with the Finnish equivalent, and Demar Phillips found himself, frustratingly, unused throughout Jamaica's run to the Final of the CONACAF Gold Cup , which the Reggae Boyz fought bravely, but would eventually be beaten 3-1 by the USA.

displaced_seagull

On Wednesday there would be a shock - and disapointment for Hamed Kavianpour - his Iran side suffered a shock defeat away to Oman , only remaining top by virtue of Japan being held at home by Saudi Arabia . There would be yet more transfer speculation to boot - Colchester and Blackpool making enquiries regarding Laurie Dalla Valle and Micheal Spillane respectivley.

As the week trickled by, Sunday saw an official bid from Blackpool for Irish Under 21 international Micheal Spillane . The Defensive Midfielder became one of Fairway's first signings at Brighton on transfer deadline day in August 2007, arriving from Norwich City for a fee of £65,000. After a shaky start, Spillane became a regular in the midfield holding role, frequently covering a lot of ground. At just 20, he would only get better, and Fairway considered the offer of £120,000 one that, in an ideal world, he would refuse.

Modern football, however, is far from an ideal world, and when news leaked out that Blackpool had been sniffing around, Spillane's agent made it very clear to Fairway that his young client wanted to speak to the Seasiders, with the Argus on Tuesday morning suggesting that Spillane had told the press that he wanted the move, Fairway's hand was forced, with the offer accepted by midday. Fairway refused to comment to the media again in the afternoon - this time regarding Preston North End's enquiry for Finnish starlet Laurie Dalla Valle . His immediate post season fears appeared to be coming true - that his squad could well be torn apart by a combination of financial need and very understandable player ambition to move on.

Suprise - and joy - followed then, on Friday morning - amongst the messages from the Football League asking if Brighton wished to continue Reserve and Under 18 team football in a competitive League - they did - was a recorded message from Micheal Spillane's agent - his client had been unable to agree terms with Blackpool , and, for the moment, would remain at Brighton. It was the first really good news of the summer - and just in time, for on Monday morning, the players would return to preseason training. There would be one last piece of fun - the traditional Supporters Club Awards evening, which saw Bas Savage earn the accolade of Player of the Season after a tremendous year for the big striker.