WILL A LACK OF FIREPOWER COST THEM DEARLY THIS TERM?
There are few phrases that strike fear into the heart of Graham Potter like ‘ expected goals’. Brighton’s inability to finish enough of the myriad opportunities they created last season became something of a running joke on social media, but with relegation a real possibility until early May, it’s unlikely that those in the corridors of power at the Amex found it very funny.
The former Swansea and Ostersund boss couldn’t have done much more himself to propel the Seagulls towards their long- term aim of being a top- 10 club. Even without his first- choice wing- backs of Tariq
Lamptey and Solly March for nearly half the season, Potter’s misfiring team could have been playing European football this year if they had scored the number of goals the underlying metrics say they should have. They left a whopping 20 points out on the pitch, which would have tied them for 7th
( or even as high as 4th in some calculations).
The south- coast side would have been in much deeper trouble were it not for their rookie Spanish keeper Robert Sanchez and all- English defensive trio Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster and Ben White ( with honourable mentions for Joel Veltman and Dan Burn). Only Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester clubs leaked fewer goals.
This combination of solid foundations and flowing creativity should give Brighton supporters plenty to look forward to, but the fact the Seagulls’ profligacy lasted all season suggests it’s not simply a case of regressing towards the mean.
Extending Danny Welbeck’s stay is a smart bit of business, even if he’s only part of the puzzle. You just have to look at the effect Ollie Watkins had on Aston Villa’s league position to see what a few more goals could do for the Albion’s fortunes – Neal Maupay top scored with a mere eight. Brighton can’t compete financially with clubs like Villa and West Ham, but it is their season- to- season improvement that Potter’s youthful outfit will try to emulate.
Of course, every team wants a 20- goal- a- season finisher, which makes them rather hard to come by, particularly on a COVID- constrained budget as tight as Brighton’s. But from the progressive playing style to the state- of- the- art training ground, everything else on the Sussex coast seems in good shape. With a bit more luck and some better finishing, the Seagulls might start looking more up than down.