Ian Hart: Neutrals want Brighton and Hove Albion to beat Arsenal and Manchester City to the Premier League title

I wasn’t at the Etihad on Saturday, although if the grandchildren ever ask me where I was on the day of this landmark win, I can tell them I watched every exciting, and at times nail-biting, 90 or so minutes at Muddy’s Irish Bar in the basement of the Orchard Hotel, Singapore!

And it was while I enjoyed Albion’s landmark win that another facet of this perhaps never-to-be-forgotten season hit me. Watching football abroad can sometimes be an experience in itself. More often than not you watch it in the company of football fans who follow other teams, and Saturday was no exception.

With league leaders Arsenal almost becoming ‘The Unwatchables’ and their nearest challengers Manchester City effectively sitting on domestic football’s ‘death row’, it’s Brighton in third place who are attracting the attention of many neutrals in the EPL.

While we, as an Albion fanbase, have to clearly temper our expectations, I sat with a Villa and Forest fan in Muddy’s – both not only want Brighton to win the league, but hope with City knocked out of the equation with their eventual punishment and an Arsenal dip in form, the Seagulls can emulate Leicester City and actually lift the title.

Late night Guinness Goggles? Almost certainly, but with the top two attracting almost nationwide disdain among many football fans, and the apparent popularity of the Albion among the wider football community, it’s clearly going to be an ongoing trait.

I did see the Villa fan at the airport a day later, and although now stone cold sober he reiterated his belief in the Albion and their potential ambitions.

But not for the first time, nor for the last, for me it’s all about managing expectation. Cliche alert, but every game truly is a cup final – and this week is no different with a Conference fixture in Madrid against Getafe on Thursday before the Amex visit of another EPL surprise package Brentford on Sunday.

Back to back victories would enhance Albion’s progress in both competitions, yet on the flip side negative results in either would hamper the aforementioned progress and aid the harbingers of doom with their ‘Thursday-Sunday’ theories.

Joni Mitchell famously sang ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone’ and so for the Albion faithful let’s just enjoy the ride. There will obviously be blips but Fabian seems to be consistently getting a tune we are all currently enjoying in the main with his squad.

And with Kaoru Mitoma back in the first team mix very soon, that will be like a mid-season marquee signing.

Never forget there’s always someone worse off, be it in life or in football. This could yet prove to be a groundbreaking season for the Seagulls, with a long-awaited major trophy, or even, daring to dream, Champions League qualification.

But with events at the other end of the table, we could end up losing our much coveted ‘M23 Derby’ as Crystal Palace seem destined for a long hard winter with the distinct possibility of relegation next May.

And given the competitive nature of the Championship that may mean us missing out on the much anticipated fixture for at least a couple of years.