Up the Albion: A look at Seagulls managers, past & present

Having seen 18 managers come and go since the days of Brian Clough, (Gus is the 19th this columnist has witnessed in person, a gold star for those readers who can name all of them since then) then it may be time to evaluate this most mercurial of managers, Mr Gustavo Poyet. Arguably Alan Mullery was the best of the lot, an ex-England skipper, a motivator of his players par excellence and the bête noir of Crystal Palace (sadly undermined by his eventually managing them). The most interesting of the lot was Peter Taylor.

After Brian Clough left for Leeds United, his old pal, Taylor (the first of the two, for you younger readers) decided to branch out on his own. Taylor’s team was a fine side, arguably signing the finest player to wear the blue and white stripes since Tommy Cook. Taylor signed Peter Ward from Burton Albion and the rest was history. Mullery inherited this excellent team and was given significant funds to add the likes of Mark Lawrenson and Gary Williams to an already formidable side which would eventually reach the top division. The Cup Final side of ‘83 would not have been possible without this platform. Mark McGhee got Albion promoted in a play-off final, an immense achievement, an unloved Barry Lloyd got Albion promoted and Coppell nearly worked a miracle in the Championship. The top miracle worker though, has to be Steve Gritt, without whom Albion would arguably not even exist.

“The top miracle worker has to be Steve Gritt, without whom Albion would arguably not even exist”

That though, is all in the past, it is the here and now that matters and in Gus Poyet, have Albion got the best manager in their history? Potentially, if Poyet gets Albion to the Premier League it will rank as the greatest achievement by any Albion manager. What is the evidence? Given that Gus inherited a team fighting relegation, playing at an athletics track and with a mixed bag of journeymen players, it could be argued that Gus’ achievement so far is already worth the accolade as the finest manager Brighton and Hove Albion have ever had. His (very few) detractors may point out the obvious wealth advantage from having a new stadium and a chairman with money but this overlooks the Albion’s budget shortfall relative to the insane economics of this league. When Albion have half the budget of the league leaders (Cardiff City allegedly have a transfer budget of £25m compared to roughly half that for The Seagulls) then his achievement in keeping Albion in play-off contention is remarkable. Whilst it does get a tad wearisome to hear a manager bleating about the spending gap, it is a valid point.

What would elevate Poyet to the very top of the Albion manager’s hall of fame would undoubtedly be returning Albion to the top flight. In the current economic madhouse that is the top two divisions of English football, this would go down as the most impressive achievement second only to the miracle of the club’s survival after the theft of the Goldstone. If there is to be an Albion Hall of Fame, which would be great to have in the museum or around the stadium concourse, then arguably (I am sure you can add your own name to this list) these are the images we should see immortalised: Seward, Billy Lane, Cook, Taylor, Mullery, McGhee, Steve Gritt. The difference between the others and Gus Poyet? We have yet to discover and the journey is a wonder to behold. He may not be here for long, he is a progressive, characterful manager whose team plays the best football most of us have ever seen from an Albion side; it would be wise to appreciate him in the here and now, his like do not come along very often.

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Photos: copyright Paul Hazlewood/Club Photographer, BHAFC