Brighton & Hove Albion continue to flourish under Chris Hughton - Scott McCarthy

Being a Premier League manager is a difficult job. The difference between success and failure can be £100m.
Brighton manager Chris Hughton. Picture by PW Sporting PhotographyBrighton manager Chris Hughton. Picture by PW Sporting Photography
Brighton manager Chris Hughton. Picture by PW Sporting Photography

Relegation can put the livelihoods of those working at clubs at risk as costs need to be cut. Triumph can bring huge economic benefits and prestige, not just to teams themselves but the entire town or city they represent.

There was a stark reminder of all this with David Wagner’s departure from Huddersfield Town earlier in the week. Despite the sensational job that the German had done at the John Smith’s Stadium, the Terriers were in a tailspin and Wagner felt drained by the pressures of the job.

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Managers leave their roles all the time, but Wagner leaving Huddersfield is of particular interest to Brighton followers as it highlights, for those still harbouring doubts, what an excellent job Chris Hughton is doing.

Brighton manager Chris Hughton. Picture by PW Sporting PhotographyBrighton manager Chris Hughton. Picture by PW Sporting Photography
Brighton manager Chris Hughton. Picture by PW Sporting Photography

The similarities between the rise of Huddersfield and Brighton, Wagner and Hughton, are there for all to see. Both managers took over when their respective clubs were battling relegation from the Championship, both sparked a spectacular turnaround to go from League One bound to Premier League bound and then both kept their sides in the top flight last season against the odds.

Wagner’s achievements were more impressive given that they came in a shorter time frame with far less money than Tony Bloom has gifted Hughton. But Hughton has shown his talents by avoiding the dreaded second season syndrome which has done for Wagner and could yet do for Newcastle United.

Of the three teams that came up from the Championship at the end of the 2016-17 season, the Albion are the only one to have progressed in their second top flight campaign.

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Hughton bought sensibly in the summer, has built a squad that is easily good enough to finish in the higher reaches of mid-table and most impressively, seems to be altering the way we play ever so slightly from a 4-4-1-1 to a bolder 4-3-3. That will make us more competitive, especially against sides around us in the table which in turn points to confidence that we can establish ourselves among the elite.

While Huddersfield have lost to Newcastle, Burnley, Southampton and Fulham in the last month and the Toon Army only have four wins to their name all season, we’ve been feeling hard done by in losing 1-0 to a penalty against the finest front three in the country, taking a point off Arsenal and beating our arch rivals 3-1 at home despite playing for over an hour with ten men.

According to the bookmakers, Sam Allardyce and David Moyes are the favourites to take over at the John Smith’s. Both have firefighting skills that put Fireman Sam and the bloke who Sean Blowers played in London’s Burning to shame, but is that enough to keep the Terriers up? Especially given that they have a squad very much built to Wagner’s style of football, which neither candidate would surely stick with.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that they look doomed, a real shame as Huddersfield is one of the best away days in the division for pubs.

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In contrast, the Albion continue to flourish. There’s no asking whether Allardyce, Moyes, Mark Hughes or - heaven forbid - Alan Pardew could come in and save our season.

That’s testament to the job Hughton is doing and proves that he is the right man to continue taking us forwards. If you’re having any doubts about that, just look at managerless Huddersfield.

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