Gandhi, Brandy, and a Waldorf Salad

Nobes on why Brighton & Hove Albion's title success is not only good news for the Seagulls but for the lower leagues in general.

Under Gus Poyet, Brighton have achieved success with a stylish brand of football

The match was a 1-1 draw in October against South Coast rivals Bournemouth, and some Brighton fans had expressed their unhappiness from the stands about their team's patient style of play.

After the game, Seagulls boss Gus Poyet said he wouldn't be listening to supporters calling for balls to be launched forward more quickly, and warned any player doing so that they'd be out of his starting line-up.

Some criticised his stubbornness but, in the end, the Uruguayan has been vindicated in his approach, with Brighton's weekend win at Walsall clinching them the League One title as convincing winners of the third tier with games to spare.

For Albion, a club moving forward both on and off the field of play, it's an achievement which will be celebrated and cherished, especially in the manner it has been achieved.

Brighton's taking of top spot should also be a cause for celebration for all purists and advocates of playing the beautiful game the right way though.

For too long the myth that you must fight and scrap your way out of the lower divisions has been perpetuated by the media. The publicity Poyet's men have attracted this season has now put paid to that.

However, they are by no means the first side to do so, following in a line of managers who encourage their side to play the ball on the deck, rather than hitting it long and playing percentages.

True, not all of them have played in such a patient style as Albion, but they also haven't relied on brute force and physicality to get them out of the lower leagues and into the Championship.

Surely Brighton's success now must herald the start of a new approach. It's time to boot the idea of having to play direct, rather than the ball itself, into touch.

When our own Turls criticised Sheffield Wednesday for the appointment of Gary Megson, he was bombarded by Owls fans with some telling him that playing Megson's long ball style was the only way they were going to get out of League One.

Nonsense. True, Paul Sturrock may have led Wednesday to promotion in 2005 playing that way, but since then a new breed of team have found success at that level.

Indeed, the likes of Southend, Scunthorpe, Swansea and Norwich were all good footballing sides who won League One. Particularly the Swans who, under the guidance of Spaniard Roberto Martinez, played a sublime passing game to sweep to glory in 2008.

Likewise when Sean O'Driscoll took Doncaster into the Championship playing a slow paced, passing game which has subsequently seen the South Yorkshire side compared to Arsenal.

The likes of Bristol City, Blackpool, Barnsley, Peterborough, and Leeds were all preached to pass the ball by their respective bosses and achieved success in the the third tier.

Roberto Martinez's Swansea were attractive League One winners in 2008

All of this season's top six under Brighton are footballing teams too, with Nigel Adkins at Southampton having played his way out of League One with Scunthorpe in the past.

Darren Ferguson, too, advocated such a style winning back-to-back promotions with Peterborough between 2007 and 2009 and is now back at London Road looking to make it a hat-trick of elevations.

Karl Robinson has enjoyed a dream debut in charge of Milton Keynes Dons, and the rookie boss was in no doubt that a passing style would, despite with a reduced deficit, see him improve on Paul Ince's record last term.

One of the surprise packages, Rochdale, are a club transformed under Keith Hill too. When the Boltonian took over at Spotland in 2006 the club were struggling towards the foot of League Two.

Now they're enjoying some of the finest years in their history - and it's made all the sweeter by their approach to the game. Hill's ability to produce attractive and winning football to a budget marks him out as one of England's most promising young managers.

Exeter City too, a club with some of the most meagre resources in their division, are comfortably holding down a spot in mid table and sticking true to the principled slick passing play laid down by boss Paul Tisdale.

It makes a mockery of Wednesday supporters, or fans of any lower league club, who claim that only by playing direct can they achieve success. Even more so given the huge resources on offer at places like Hillsborough.

The story is echoed in the lower leagues where the front runners for promotion are all footballing sides. John Sheridan's Chesterfield, like Brighton, have been head and shoulders above the competition.

Along the way they've entertained fans at the new b2net Stadium with their attractive, attacking approach. Alan Knill had instilled similar virtues in his Bury team before leaving to take control at Championship Scunthorpe.

Graham Turner at Shrewsbury took Hereford up playing football in 2008, and is looking to do the same with Salop this term. Gary Waddock even achieved promotion from the Conference with Aldershot Town by passing their way to success.

The likes of Waddock, Hill, Tisdale, and Poyet are the new breed of lower league manager in a landscape which has changed almost beyond recognition.

When sides in the past scaled the ladder and dared to take on the big boys it was usually achieved by sides like Watford, Wimbledon, and Cambridge United - bullying their way to the top.

True, they could point to poorer pitches - although anyone who has been to Accrington's Crown Ground this season may disagree - but the fact is that lower league teams need no longer take Route One for success.

With any luck, Brighton's title triumph provides the final nail in the coffin for this myth. We should thank Poyet for his stubbornness.

Tired Of Hanging Around

With Leeds and Norwich in the Championship, Bournemouth in League One, and League Two Oxford all vying for back-to-back promotions, Nobes looks back on other sides who've done the same in recent years - and what happened next.

Up from League One last year, Leeds and Norwich are fighting for successive promotions

Promotion for one, or both, of Leeds and Norwich at the end of this season would cap an incredible turnaround in fortunes at both Elland and Carrow Roads in the past two years.

The pair both won promotion from League One last term and have continued their momentum this term in challenging at the top end of the Championship. Successive elevations aren't out of the question.

League One Bournemouth, too, are also gunning for successive promotions after their against-all-odds promotion last season. Oxford, after their exile in the Conference, have also returned stronger and are mounting a play off push.

While continued success may sound like a dream scenario though, is there an argument for rising too far too soon? Here's my look at some of the other sides who've won back-to-back promotions and how they fared afterwards.


Watford 1997-1999

Graham Taylor, in his second spell in charge at Vicarage Road, guided the Hornets to the third tier title in 1997/8.

Twelve months later, and they had completed a return to the top flight for the first time in more than a decade - beating Bolton in the play off final.

However, after their quick ascent, they found themselves well short in the Premier League. Watford finished bottom, a full 12 points adrift of safety.

Relegated back down to the Championship, it took them another six years before they returned to the top tier for another single year.


Rotherham United 1999-2001

The Millers made it two promotions on the spin during the first managerial spell of current boss Ronnie Moore.

They finished runners-up in both the basement division and then, to everyone's surprise, in the third tier, too, as they returned to the Championship for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Despite small crowds and limited resources, there they remained for four seasons before tumbling back down the ladder due to financial problems.


Brighton & Hove Albion 2000-2002

Not since the mid-1980s during Oxford's rise up the footballing ladder had a team won successive championships.

That changed at the beginning of the new Millennium when Brighton went from the basement division to the Championship - winning both divisions along the way.

Firstly, Micky Adams took Albion to the 1999/2000 League Two title and then, when he left mid-way through the next campaign to join Leicester, replacement Peter Taylor kept the Seagulls on course for consecutive titles and promotions.

Their sudden rise, allied with cramped facilities at the Withdean, ensured Brighton were instantly relegated - although they did manage to bounce back at the first time of asking under Mark McGhee's stewardship.

Currently top of League One - dreaming of a return to the Championship ready for playing in their brand new ground at Falmer.


Doncaster Rovers 2002-2004

Rovers spent five years in the Conference after falling out of the Football League in 1998.

However, they became the first ever Conference play off winners in 2003.

In unknown waters, people predicted the second team to come up to struggle, but Donny shocked everyone by romping away with the League Two crown.

Dave Penney's side comfortably held their own in the third tier before winning promotion to their current position in the Championship in 2008 under his successor, Sean O'Driscoll.


Hull City 2003-2005

The year Doncaster won the basement division title, many people's favourites had been big spending Hull City.

With the experienced Peter Taylor at the helm, and playing in the brand new KC Stadium, the Tigers had to settle for second spot and promotion though.

Twelve months later, and they had made it successive promotions - as runners-up in League One to Luton. Taylor ensured City stabilised in the second tier before Phil Brown led them into the top flight in 2008 for the first time in their history.

They hung around for a couple of seasons before falling back down last May.


Southend United 2004-2006

After years of mid-table mediocrity in League Two, local lad Steve Tilson engineered a dramatic turnaround in fortunes at Southend.

The Shrimpers were victorious in the 2005 play-off final against Lincoln to gain elevation into League One.

There, they shocked everyone by winning the title - pipping local rivals Colchester to boot - and gain a return to the Championship for the first time in a decade.

They only lasted a year there, and although they went close to returning, off-field financial troubles saw them relegated back down to League Two for this season.


Carlisle United 2004-2006

The masters of avoiding relegation from the Football League finally paid the price for previous close-calls in 2003 when a disastrous start cost the Cumbrians their League Two place.

They bounced back at the first time of asking - Paul Simpson's men beating Stevenage in the play off final.

United then followed in Doncaster's footsteps by winning the League Two title the very next season.

Now firmly consolidated in the third tier of English football - as well as performing their usual JPT heroics.


Peterborough United 2007-2009

Ambitious owner Darragh MacAnthony fuelled back-to-back promotions in the Fens as Posh made it from League Two to the Championship.

Darren Ferguson led the Cambridgeshire side to runners-up positions behind Milton Keynes and then Leicester in successive seasons to return United to the second tier for the first time since 1994.

However, Posh struggled badly last term, culminating in Ferguson getting the boot and three other managers failing to stave off relegation.

Now back in League One and back under Ferguson's control.


Exeter City 2007-2009

The Devon side were the first victims of two-up two-down between the Football League and Conference in 2003.

They remained there for five years, losing out in the 2007 play off final to Morecambe before 12 months later returning to Wembley and beating Cambridge to win promotion.

Paul Tisdale's Grecians then finished as runners-up in League Two behind Brentford as they secured a return to the third tier for the first time in 15 years.

They battled against the drop last term, eventually ensuring survival on the final day to secure another year in League One.


What do we learn from a look in the history books? Certainly for Norwich and Leeds, winning successive promotions into the Premier League is rare. Watford found the step-up too big, but then they are a much smaller club.

They would find it hard, like all promoted sides in the top flight do, but would stand a better chance than most of staying up.

For Bournemouth, clubs of similar stature like Peterborough and Rotherham have found the going tough after their rapid ascent into the Championship. With their financial limitations, the Cherries probably would too.

Oxford have cause to be optimistic though. Plenty of promoted Conference clubs have gone straight through the basement division and none of them have been relegated immediately.

With their resources, they should feel confident that a second successive promotion can be the platform for establishing themselves back in the third tier.

You Spin Me Right Round

With Brighton & Hove Albion riding high at the top of League One, Lakes observes how things are finally looking up for the Seagulls.

Gus Poyet is making a success of his first managerial role at Brighton

In the great washing machine of life, Brighton & Hove Albion have been put through a fair few cycles.

In 1997/8, some plonker washed them on too high a heat and they almost tumbled out of the Football League and into liquidation. Sad times for a club with definite potential.

Undeterred, Brighton fought on under new owners - eventually reaching the dizzy heights of the second tier of English football in 2002.

It was a breath of fresh air, and surely the start of great times to come. The shrunken Brighton underpants suddenly looking accommodating and roomy.

Football's a notorious game though. It picks you up, tosses you about, and spits you out.

In washing machine terms, the colours all ran and Brighton left a fiver in the pocket - setting a 12-match record streak for defeats before slumping to relegation - albeit with a bit of a fight at the end.

That sloppy fiver itself became a metaphor for Brighton's next few seasons.

It sat drying on the radiator, the Queen's face sagged and uncomfortably skewed, rendered with a twisted mouth making her look saddened by Brighton's toils. A single drop of water hung from her eye - a tear in the rain.

Off the pitch, things started to look up - only to then be viciously poked in the eye.

John Prescott gave two very chubby thumbs up to Brighton's plans for a new stadium, only for Lewes District Council to intervene - based on a minor error in the proposal outlining car parking jurisdictions. Prescott sagged into his beanbag, pork pie in hand.

However, a twinkle of light was shining at the end of the tunnel. A judicial review in favour of the stadium and Albion were back in business. The gloom lifted, the fans cheered, and Brighton were onwards and upwards.

Today, the Seagulls are a few months away from moving into their new, if boringly named, Falmer Stadium.

Work is well underway on Brighton's impressive new 22,500 stadium at Falmer

On the pitch, the team are performing way above expectations. Gus Poyet, the ex-Chelsea and Spurs midfielder, is showing an assuredness in charge that indicates he might have the makings of a good manager.

Brighton sit firmly at the top of the table - a large cushion protecting their healthy lead. In 2011/12, they will move into their new stadium - a real work of art and a million miles away from the misery of the Withdean.

The same could be said for Poyet's trendy scarfs - surely a sign that the good times are due to return to Brighton. Football is fashionable again down on the south coast.

It's a thought that was perhaps inconceivable when Brighton were on the slide. Fans get wound up in emotional turmoil and ever increasing cycles of misery when their team isn't doing well.

Perhaps Brighton will be the example to other clubs and other supporters though - you can go through the wash and come out the other side even brighter.

This season, they have punched above all expectations. Our own financial analyst, Enron Turlman, had them down for a "year of mediocrity." The lads predicted Brighton would finish between 9th and 7th in their pre season tables.

Last season, Nobes said he "worried" for Brighton under Poyet, but so far this season the signs look good that the club - and Poyet - will far exceed the relatively low predictions bestowed upon them.

None of us saw it coming and there's no question that the managerial rookie deserves a lot of credit for the club's success this season.

Perhaps it's an indication of his success, in fact, that Poyet has been repeatedly linked with the a return to Chelsea as assistant manager. That speculation, it seems, has died down, with Poyet focused on bringing the good times to Brighton.

There's no doubt that the Uruguayan has brought a touch of class to the club. A stunning 4-0 away win at Charlton perhaps the pinnacle of the season so far. Beating Woking on penalties in the FA Cup kept their season running in two competitions, too - although Poyet is adamant his focus is on the league.

If Albion continue their strong start to the season and win League One, there can be no doubting that they, and he will have had an incredible season. Then the real challenge will begin - keeping hold of the man in charge.

That's a problem for another day though. Right now, Brighton fans are just looking ahead to the end of the season - and at least the fiver's dried.

Big Match Review - Brighton 2 Exeter 0

League One

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Exeter City

Saturday February 27, Withdean Stadium, (Att: 6,952)

Brighton recorded back-to-back wins as victory over relegation rivals Exeter saw them move further away from the League One drop zone.

Tommy Elphick gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half as he rose highest to head Elliott Bennett's corner past Paul Jones in the City goal.

Gus Poyet's side were searching for their first home win since October and doubled their advantage shortly after the break.

After the Grecians only partially cleared a ball into the box, Gary Dicker was on hand to unleash an unstoppable volley high into the net from just outside the area.

The Devon side struggled for a route back into the game and remain entrenched in the relegation zone - now six points behind upwardly mobile Albion.

Big Match Preview

League One

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Exeter City

Saturday February 27, 15:00, Withdean Stadium

It promises to be a nervy afternoon for all involved at the Withdean Stadium this weekend as Brighton host fellow strugglers Exeter in a relegation six pointer.

The hosts moved out of the bottom four with their surprise 2-1 win at Charlton in midweek, however they remain just two points above the drop zone - in which the Grecians find themselves.

It was a welcome victory for Gus Poyet's side and came off the back of a creditable 1-1 draw at Leeds last weekend. Indeed, the Sussex outfit have the fourth most impressive away record in the division.

It's their form at their Withdean Stadium home which has really let them down this season however.

Just two wins and nine points have been garnered from on home soil so far this term - a record Poyet will be keen to improve upon against Exeter.

The Uruguayan took over as Albion manager in November after the departure of Russell Slade. However, he's been unable to steer the club away from a second successive fight against the drop to League Two.

Despite their woes though, in Glenn Murray and Nicky Forster, Brighton have two strikers who have got into doubled figures on the scoring charts.

With one of the leakiest defences in the division though, it's not hard to see where the Seagulls need to improve if they are to beat the drop once again.

Brighton's rookie manager Gus Poyet is in a relegation battle in League One

That ambition to stave off relegation is shared by their opponents this weekend. Exeter were promoted from League Two last May and have found the step-up in quality a difficult one.

Paul Tisdale's side have particularly struggled on the road with just two wins being gained from their 16 games away from St James Park.

After their midweek game against Bristol Rovers was postponed, City come into the game in poor form, still with only one win in 2010. Surprisingly though, this came against high-flying Leeds.

It's a sign that the Devon club do have the quality on their day to pull out results, but their surprise loss to rock-bottom Stockport is evidence of their inconsistency.

Goalscoring has been the Grecians's biggest problem this term with former Hereford man Adam Stansfield their top scorer with just eight goals.

Other threats going forward for Exeter include forwards Richard Logan and Barry Corr and midfielder Ryan Harley.

The visiting side will certainly be the fresher of two teams seeking to improve upon poor home and away records respectively.

However, their recent results will have given Brighton a huge boost in confidence and with the psychological advantage of being above their hosts, Albion can edge this six-pointer.

Nobes' Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Exeter City 1

Seagulls send Slade Far Far Away

Leaving a club in a better position than you found it is the aim for all football managers.

The fact Russell Slade, sacked as Brighton boss yesterday, has done just that despite the club being 20th in League One sums up his eight month tenure in charge at the Withdean.

The former school teacher took over the reins in March with the Seagulls struggling in the relegation zone.

A side who had been expected to challenge for promotion were fighting for their lives to avoid a return to the basement division.

Slade struggled to turn the tide for the South coast club who, at one stage, were eight points adrift from safety with just nine games remaining. However, a run of four wins and a draw in their last five games secured survival on the final day of the season.

It was a dramatic escape for the Sussex club who had appeared doomed as fans were cracking open their Easter eggs. Slade was rewarded with an 18-month extension to his contract.

With the club finally constructing their new stadium at Falmer, the brief was to take Albion back to Championship level - where they would have a greater chance of filling their new home. Quite simply, a repeat of last season's struggle has just not been good enough.

This weekend's 3-3 draw with Hartlepool, a game Brighton had led in, was typical of the side's struggles on home soil. It also left them only outside the relegation zone on goal difference a third of the way through the season.

Any loyalty towards the man who saved them from relegation last season had to have a breaking point, and Brighton reached theirs.

For the former Sheffield United boss, his departure brings an end to a period of his career which had been in permanent ascent. After dropping down to Non League with Scarborough and leading the club to the third round of the FA Cup, he moved down the East coast to Grimsby.

Slade saved Brighton from relegation last season, but they are struggling again

There, he took the Mariners to the League Two play-off final, where they were ultimately unsuccessful against Cheltenham, before League One Yeovil came calling. His first season in charge at Huish Park was a surprise success.

The Glovers, tipped for relegation by many, confounded the critics to make the play-off final. On the way they dumped out Slade's home town club, Nottingham Forest, with a remarkable 5-2 win at the City Ground.

Defeat to Blackpool at Wembley was the Somerset club's first appearance at the national stadium - Slade's stock had never been higher, and he was later linked with a move to Millwall.

The 49-year-old, with his family settled with life in the Westcountry, wished to remain at Yeovil though. However, a little over a year later, and his relationship with the Huish Park club's board had deteriorated, culminating in his departure in February despite a comfortable mid-table season.

Now he must start again. His unsuccessful stint with Brighton will have done little to diminish a record that suggests he can achieve results on a modest budget and League Two clubs should certainly be interested.

Critics will point to a style of football that you wouldn't want to watch if you were paid to, however, it's results which chairmen are most interested in. It's the reason why Slade is now on the managerial market, and why he probably won't be for long.

Nobes.