Sussex

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Brighton chairman and owner Tony Bloom sat down for an exclusive interview with BBC Radio Sussex's Johnny Cantor. In this part, he discusses the long-term strategy for Albion.

On if it is becoming more difficult to compete with top clubs: "Everything about the Premier League every year becomes more difficult.

"Hence we have to always look to improve and innovate because if you stand still, and it is talked about a lot in many businesses, but particularly in the Premier League, our competitors are fiercely competitive. They are looking to overtake one another and get stronger all the time.

"We have to do likewise and ideally we are going ahead even faster than the other teams."

On others catching up with Brighton's analytics: "I don't know exactly what other clubs are doing. They don't necessarily talk about it, but you can assume they are spending a lot of money to try and improve in all areas - particularly the areas of analytics for their recruitment processes.

"We have to innovate and we just aim to get better every season, which we are."

On their 2030 vision: "This is going back 12-18 months ago because you need to energise the football club on a regular basis.

"It is about having a lot of goals and breaking them down in different areas. Over many months, Paul [Barber] and the management team are talking to all of our staff about how we can improve in their particular areas.

"On the football side, we have had our long-term vision for quite a while, in terms of our aim to be regularly competing for the top 10 in the Premier League and the top four in the Women's Super League. That stays. We have made the goal on the men's side to be pushing for Europe every season as well.

"We also talk about the fact that we are really pushing every season to bring a trophy to the football club. That would mean so much to our fans, to the club and to the city.

"It is just looking at each individual area to get to a level of improvement, and it is a gradual improvement because we are doing lots of things very, very well. But we must never stand still.

"An example is that we have brought in a chief technology officer for the first time and he has been a huge breath of fresh air, with lots of innovative ideas which can create efficiencies in many different departments."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

Find more from the interview on the Brighton page throughout Tuesday and Wednesday

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Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom says a new designated stadium for their women's team remains "vitally important" to the club and the city but he "can't put a time on it".

Brighton hope to build a new purpose-built stadium for the women's team by 2027-28, having had proposals approved by the council in October 2023.

The Seagulls currently host the majority of their WSL matches at Crawley Town's Broadfield Stadium, with some games being played at the club's main Amex Stadium.

"We are really committed to bringing the women's team back to Brighton full-time with the stadium," Bloom told BBC Radio Sussex.

"We don't have a stadium outside of the Amex in the Brighton and Hove area to be able to play the games and unfortunately the Amex - the wonderful stadium that it is - can't host all of the games because of conflicts with the Premier League schedule.

"And it is too big of a stadium. We do it sometimes because we want to have games in Brighton but having four, five or six thousand in a 36,000 stadium isn't great for atmosphere."

In January, the club said it had identified a site for the new stadium but Bloom said there had been "delays" in making an announcement because of "things outside of our control".

"A designated stadium for women players, for the fanbase which is a very different demographic to people watching our men's team, I think it's vitally important to this football club and this city," Bloom added.

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Brighton chairman and owner Tony Bloom sat down for an exclusive interview with BBC Radio Sussex's Johnny Cantor that included discussions around the squad, finances and the Seagulls' future.

Bloom on being a fan and the club's ninth season in the Premier League: "That excitement, that passion for the Albion hasn't dimmed at all. It's only grown and got bigger over the years.

"There's always big excitement for every game.

"I absolutely can't take it for granted [being in the top flight] but we have got to work really hard. Always number one is to make sure we have got the squad and to make sure we stay up each season.

"Things can go wrong during a season - it can go wrong very quickly - so we absolutely don't take anything for granted. We are always looking upwards, we are always looking to improve, but absolutely we want to be in the Premier League season after season if we possibly can."

On the summer transfer window: "The positive thing is we did a lot of business early. We always try to do [that] but normally it's not possible, .

"Every head coach wants that, so that was positive. We did get, early in pre-season, a few niggling injuries. A couple of players were injured and a couple of the boys were injured at the back end of last season so that was difficult.

"But we have just got a really good blend of young players in the squad who are going to be improving month on month, year on year, with some really good, solid pros and experience at the club too.

"I like the balance and I think that's really important."

On young signings: "Patience is required, absolutely. Every young player develops at a different rate and Fabian [Hurzeler] will know when to bring those players in [to the team].

"Obviously, it depends on the player's development, but even though we spend - sometimes significant sums for us - on young players, there is no pressure for them to be playing immediately. Absolutely not.

"The depth of the squad is superb and so that takes the pressure off. With some clubs, they buy a young player for a lot of money and the expectation and pressure is for them to get in the starting line-up quickly.

"As far as I'm concerned, at this football club, they will get into the first team when they are ready - when Fabian deems them to be ready and when the situation merits it."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

Find more from the interview on the Brighton page through Tuesday and Wednesday

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We asked for your views on if Jan Paul van Hecke should become captain, or if Brighton should cash in while his stock is high.

Here are some of your comments:

Steve: Give him the captaincy. Lewis Dunk is slowing down and Van Hecke is a natural replacement. We can't keep cashing in on players we take from obscurity and turn into superstars. The fans want to see some return in the form of trophies.

Kevin: Definitely keep him! He's clearly a future world-class defender. I would love to see him commit to stay and take over from our Brighton legend Dunk.

Luke: We should absolutely tie him down to a contract and make him Dunk's successor as captain. But realistically we are a selling club and he will likely be off next season to a club with European football every season.

Gezz: What I think does not matter, the policy is to cash in. Problem is that we have reached a glass ceiling with this policy.

V: Van Hecke is 100% a player we should be doing everything to keep hold of. He has become an everpresent rock at the back and definitely is superior to Dunk. Would be devastating if he was to leave!

Joe Sayers
Fan writer

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Jan Paul van Hecke is likely one of the most improved Albion players of the past four seasons. His rise has been incredible to watch, but of course, it comes with some uncertainty over his future as his contract nears expiry.

His introduction to the fans was certainly a memorable one, keeping Erling Haaland in his pocket during a 1-1 draw at Amex Stadium back in 2023. Since then, his rise has only continued.

He has become the best partner for Lewis Dunk and I think most would say has eclipsed our captain in terms of consistency and dominance.

Worries early on with Van Hecke were around his disciplinary record, though he seems to have matured well beyond his years.

He is also the first player in around three of four seasons to not leave the football club after winning the fan's player of the season award, a trend Albion fans were extremely happy to see the back of.

But the worry does not end there. There have been rumours that we could well be saying goodbye to our Dutch powerhouse soon even though in my opinion, he could be the ready-made captain should Lewis Dunk retire in the near future.

His fiery attitude on the pitch, along with the pure passion that flows out of him with every goal or important defensive action, makes him the perfect option to take over from our current ever-present leader.

That should be our selling point to him. Commit your future to us, become a Premier League captain.

Find more from Joe Sayers at Albion Obsessed, external

What do you think? Van Hecke as captain or cash in while his stock is high?

Let us know