Brighton & Hove Albion

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton & Hove Albion have already made progress towards their sustainability ambitions but now want to continue to "drive positive change".

The impact of climate change is being felt in many different ways and football is not immune to these.

Previous research, external has suggested one in four professional football pitches will be at risk from flooding in 25 years.

While so much of the focus is what is happening on the pitch, there is an increasing expectation from supporters that clubs should be doing more to reduce their impact off it.

In the second part of our Earth Day chat with Tom Harris, the club's sustainability manager highlighted how important fans and the impacts of climate change have been in shaping their MyAlbion, MyPlanet sustainability strategy.

"One of the most important drivers is what fans expect of us," Harris said. "In our end of season survey last year, around 72% of fans think that it is important that the club is committed to environmental sustainability.

"Climate change is with us now and the world is already experiencing the effects. We are seeing the impacts of climate change, not just in other countries, but in this country as well.

"Those impacts are affecting sport and forcing clubs and associations to make changes to the game that we love, whether that is installing additional pitch drainage, rescheduling fixtures that have been postponed due to extreme weather or introducing water breaks for players during periods of high temperatures.

"Ultimately, if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, everyone needs to play their part."

By publishing their sustainability strategy last year and signing up to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) Sports for Climate Action Framework, which commits the club to halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero by 2040, they have been able to set out a clear direction of travel.

Lots of positive work is already taking place and with plans to take these initiatives further, Harris knows they cannot stop now.

"The strategy is not an end point, but a marker of our ambition and commitment. The whole club recognises there is more to do," he added.

"With the work that has been done already, the club are in a strong position to drive positive change and progress their sustainability objectives."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton & Hove Albion's values are a key driver in them wanting to lead "by example" when it comes to sustainability.

The Seagulls have been taking action to reduce their environmental impact and drive positive change, both locally and on a larger scale, for a number of years.

This was brought together into one focused strategy last year when they introduced MyAlbion, MyPlanet and signed up to the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework - an initiative that aims at supporting and guiding sports bodies and organisations in achieving global climate change goals.

"We set out how we would achieve our vision of becoming one of the most sustainable clubs in world football and achieving our emissions reductions targets," the club's sustainability manager, Tom Harris, told BBC Sport.

"It sets out our two key missions - one, to reduce the environmental impacts from the club, and two, to inspire others, whether that is fans, our communities or our commercial partners and suppliers, to make their own positive changes as well.

"We are looking at both the environmental impacts from the club's facilities, operations and supply chain, as well as the positive impacts the club has made, particularly around biodiversity, culture and community.

"We wanted a strategy that supports the work across all areas of the club as sustainability touches on every department."

Brighton's sustainability strategy has six focus areas - energy and water, travel and transport, waste, supply chain, biodiversity and culture and community.

Some of the initiatives the club have implemented include solar panels at the training ground and their new fan zone The Terrace, free transport options for fans, use of local food suppliers, environmental education in the academy and with the foundation, upcycling unusable shirts into new products and, going forwards, calculating the club's carbon footprint.

"We have got a strong set of values and these values are the foundation of everything we do, including our sustainability work," Harris added.

"One of our key values is treating people well and, for me, that necessitates treating the planet well too.

"Even before I joined, the club had implemented a range of sustainability initiatives, primarily because they were the right thing to do. We've got very forward-thinking and progressive leadership who have always recognised the importance of environmental and social issues.

"This is coming down from the top of the club. We are committed to acting as a responsible business and leading by example in this in this area."

Come back later on Wednesday for more on Brighton's sustainability journey

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Sussex's Brighton reporter Johnny Cantor is wondering whether fans need to keep perspective when reflecting upon this season.

After taking only two points from their past five league games, Brighton have dropped to 10th, nine points behind Aston Villa in seventh.

Speaking on the podcast, Cantor said: "I know it's been a really difficult period, fans are frustrated, but at the same time they have four more points than last season, seven fewer than the year before.

"Do we need a little bit of perspective here? With a fully changed squad and a new head coach who is inexperienced in the Premier League, is eighth or 10th place actually not a bad season?

"Are we maybe getting a bit more frustrated then we should bearing in mind all those things? Also, dare I mention the injury list which has been long and extensive.

"It's what you make the comparison against. If you compare to last season or the season before when qualifying for Europe, but you could go back to when we first came to the league.

"I don't think it's been a bad season. There are things to be worked on, but injuries have made a big difference."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Tell us what you make of Brighton's season - do you agree with Johnny or have Albion under-achieved?

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini says fans booing Brighton-bound Tommy Watson "seems a little bit brainless" after some supporters voiced their frustration with the winger over Easter weekend.

The Black Cats lost 2-1 away against Bristol City on Good Friday then suffered a 1-0 home defeat on Monday to Blackburn Rovers. Watson was booed off the pitch at Ashton Gate but received a more mixed reaction at the Stadium of Light.

Some supporters booed when the winger's name was announced as part of the starting line-up before the loss to Blackburn while others applauded as he took a corner in the first-half, and then there was a split reaction when he was substituted in the second.

It was announced at the start of April that Watson will leave Sunderland this summer in a £10m move to Brighton. Since then some fans have questioned whether he should feature in the remaining games this season.

Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle: "It seems a little bit brainless to me. It's modern football.

"We've got players, the top players in the country, who are coming to the end of their contracts and they're still playing for their teams but talking about where they're going to be next year and they might be leaving.

"You can't do that to players. It's just the business of football.

"He has agreed a deal in advance of the season finishing. The club are going to do well out of it. Hopefully in the future even better. He might even end up back here on loan in the summer.

"I'm glad that the majority of people did give him the support he deserves. You never know what might happen. He might have a fairy tale end to the season."

You can listen to more from Marco Gabbiadini on BBC Sounds.

The latest episode of BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast has landed.

Johnny Cantor and former Brighton striker Warren Aspinall discuss the upcoming fixture against Graham Potter's West Ham, plus Solly March gives an update on his fitness.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Tony Bloom famously does not go in the director's box at Brentford because of a falling out he had with Bees owner Matthew Benham 20 years ago.

Images of Bloom celebrating victories at Gtech Community Stadium have gone viral in the past because no other Premier League chairman joins supporters on the terraces.

It is brilliant when things are going well, but maybe not so much when the Albion sink - as was the case on Saturday, when Bloom found himself sat in the middle of an away end in which a lot of people could be clearly heard singing: "You don't know what you're doing" at manager Fabian Hurzeler.

Brighton value their reputation as the best run club in English football so much that when there has been dissent from the terraces before, they have gone out of their way to tell the media it was only a "small minority" of "doom and gloom" fans.

That spin will not work this time though.

Just 1,600 Albion fans could buy tickets for Brentford. Those inside the Gtech were at the top of the loyalty points scheme and the most dedicated Seagulls supporters around - and enough of them turned for it to warrant mentioning in every match report about the game.

It seems a bit mad because Brighton are10th in the Premier League. If they end the season there, it would be the third highest finish in the club's history. It is a position every fan would have bitten your arm off for... before 2023.

The problem is Roberto de Zerbi. He tore up the rule book and showed European qualification was possible for Brighton - and that was before a £200m spending spree.

No Albion supporter expects a top-six finish every season, but managers are now being judged against what De Zerbi did. The standards have been raised.

The question is can Hurzeler - or anyone else for that matter - meet them? And if they cannot, does that mean they don't know what they're doing?

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Jane: Great to see Bryan Mbeumo at his scintillating best. Although you can never say he has a poor performance, here he showed the class he is capable of. And the partnership with Yoane Wissa is just a joy to watch. Brentford fans are living the dream still.

Alastair: First, I hope both Konak and Van Hecke are both okay after their nasty clash of heads. Not often you can say Wissa missed a great chance but we should have been ahead very early. However, he certainly put things right with another sparkling showing alongside the maestro Mbeumo. Damsgaard and Norgaard ran our midfield throughout. Only concerns were our habit of switching off towards the end of first halves and our fears that Kayode may pick up a lot of cards. Although, he is a great talent going forward, he seemed a bit reckless in defence at times. Picking up a yellow card in that fashion was stupid. Overall very happy.

Coral: What an enthralling match that had us on the edge of our seats! Great to get quick goals to start both halves and finally we are getting players back from injury. What a partnership Mbeumo and Wissa are - 34 Premier League goals between them and more to come.

Brighton fans

Sarah: It's interesting that Fabian Hurzeler said he thinks we controlled the game - I wonder which game he was watching?! We had players out of position and it cost us the match. Although we have a lot of great players, the formation and strategy clearly isn't working. This needs sorting now!

David: Once again too ponderous on the ball, backward and sideways passes do not score goals. Our best part of the game was when we were down to 10 men. Beaten yet again by breakaway forwards who are faster than our defence.

Malcolm: Another inept defensive performance. Dunk is well past his best and his reappearance has coincided with our bad run. Joao Pedro looks like he doesn't care about the team, only himself, so the sooner we sell him the better. Team selection is down to the manager and there have been too many naive mistakes, so it is time to get someone in with experience if we want European football again. A very disappointing end to a season that promised so much. Time for change.

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, speaking to Premier League Productions: "I think we controlled the game. Played a good first half then we make too many mistakes. It goes back to 3-1 out of nowhere and we receive a red card. We show character and nearly make 3-3 but in the end not good enough."

On Jan Paul van Hecke: "Not a great feeling so we just wish him all the best and hopefully he's back on the pitch soon."

On the second half: "That was a bad start. We needed five or ten minutes to adapt and that can't happen."

On the defeat: "I have to analyse it then we will find solutions for it.

"When you saw the reaction in the first half that was good. It's not about confidence. When you win everything is easy. But in these moments we have to stick together."

On fan criticism: "Yeah, in the end we have to make the decisions that brings us the success. I tried to put some fast players like Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March, more midfielders on the pitch to control the game. In the end we didn't get the credit for the courage we showed.

"In the end it doesn't help when you lose a man but he said sorry to the team and he will learn from this."

Image source, Getty Images

Danny Welbeck scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season for Brighton and Hove Albion, his joint-best return in a campaign in the competition, along with 2011-12 and 2013-14.

Were you at the game or following elsewhere?

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Brentford v Brighton

• Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

• Everton v Manchester City

• West Ham v Southampton

• Aston Villa v Newcastle (17:30 BST)

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Brighton have had a bit of a dip in form and started conceding a few goals, so their hopes of breaking into the top five are probably gone now.

Even so, the 10th-placed Seagulls are one of those teams where just when you think about writing them off, they will come up with a performance and wallop someone.

I don't expect that to happen on Saturday, however. Brentford are only one place below them in the table and although they are not on a great run either, the Bees are always hard to beat.

The more I think about it, the more it smells of a draw. I am pretty sure the BBC readers are going to go for a draw too, so we all agree on this one.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Brentford (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Hurzeler provided a squad availability update: "The big word is 'positivity' - Karou [Mitoma] is back, JP [van Hecke] is back and we have a lot of injured players who are at the end of their rehab and will be back training next week."

• He added that James Milner and Ferdi Kadioglu "have a chance" to feature before the end of the season.

• On Eiran Cashin's lack of minutes so far at the Amex: "I just had a conversation with him this week. I always tell players what I demand for them to step into the team. He really integrates himself into the group and works quite hard. I'm sure he will get an opportunity when the time is right."

• On Saturday's opponents: "They are a very athletic team and fast in the frontline. I've heard it's a nice atmosphere there and it's against an opponent who are difficult to beat.

• On Albion owner Tony Bloom: "He is a big supporter of the club, and he proves it with his actions. It's not just about being a member of the club, it's about being a part of the community. He is a role model."

• The players see this season's remaining matches as "six finals": "We know every game will be a challenge but it's also an opportunity and that is how we will approach it."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler spoke to BBC Radio Sussex about turning round a recent run of poor form: "The bond between the fans and the team always has to be strong because they support us the whole season.

"It is about showing the right reactions and getting back to the things that make us strong. We have proved this season that we can [bounce back] and we have to do it another time.

"Game by game, it's not about talking too much on the end of the season and focusing on the development.

"If you get too distracted by the highs and the lows, you get too emotional and we don't make the right decisions."

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford have won just one of their seven Premier League games against Brighton and that was a 2-0 home victory in October 2022.

Manchester United have at least four potential goalkeeper targets in mind for this summer, including Brighton's Bart Verbruggen. (i paper - subscription required), external

Chelsea are closely monitoring the development of Albion forward Georginio Rutter. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

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Brighton was nothing more than a small fishing village until the 18th century, when people began flocking to the town for the medicinal benefits believed to come from drinking and bathing in its seawater.

Fast forward 300 years or so and it is football teams who head to Brighton to cure ailments.

Lost nine games in a row? Not scored a Premier League goal for 830 minutes? Amex Stadium is the place to go.

Leicester became the latest to benefit from seeing Doctor Albion about their issues, breaking both their long losing streak and three-month wait to put the ball in the back of the net in a Premier League game.

This season is going to end with a significant gap between the relegation zone and the rest of the division. It is therefore fair to suggest this is collectively the worst bottom three since the Premier League came into being back in 1992.

And the Seagulls have not beaten one of them at home. Ipswich and Southampton also left Sussex with draws.

An appointment with Doctor Albion helped the Tractor Boys keep their first clean sheet of the season and claim their first away point in September. Saints ended a run of nine consecutive away defeats at the Amex in November.

Had Brighton beaten all three soon-to-be-relegated sides at home, they would be one point off the Champions League spots currently. If the Albion miss out on Europe this season, it is this failure to beat struggling opponents at home which will be most costly.

And it is why the remainder of the season looks troublesome. An outsider might look and think Brighton are in a good position with Liverpool and Newcastle the only top-10 sides left to play.

But Albion fans know that means four of their final six matches are the sort of games Fabian Hurzeler is yet to find a way to win. Now would be a good time to change that...

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on the 2-2 draw between Brighton and Leicester in the Premier League.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Stuart: One of the worst performances I've seen at the Amex. Dunk was really poor, and I love Hinshelwood, but he's not a right-back - he is constantly out of position. Too many passes on the edge of the box, please just shoot. Leicester deserved the point.

Jas: As awful as it was predictable. There weren't many Brighton fans turning up expecting us to win. The squad is ravaged by injuries, Dunk very sadly no longer good enough for this level and a head coach that's just been given a role too big for him. Any talk of Europe has to stop as we should just hope we can finish in the top half. It's been a really underwhelming season. Need it to be over quickly!

Anton: See it so many times, great play and clever moves until it gets to the last strike, then it all goes wrong. We have missed a ton of goals season after season which should have been converted. Watching us move the ball with clever calculated passes, great intelligent game play and sometimes an almost second sight, just to be let down in front of goal.

Leicester fans

Brad: Who is this Leicester side?! Couldn't score if our lives depended on it! And yet on Saturday they played like a team that had something to fight for! Let's hope we can now end this season on a bit of a high.

Mick: Mavididi our best player - why hasn't the manager used him this season? There's a half decent team in there somewhere but Van Nistelrooy hasn't got a clue what his best team is, nor can he inspire them to fight for the club whose shirt they are wearing.

Dave: A much better performance from the lads and on another day with a different referee we may have won the game. Coady penalty was harsh, Mavididi not given a penalty when his opponent had his hands around the neck/throat and his face. Encouraging signs, but we had them against West Ham too just after Ruud arrived.

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Everton

• Arsenal 1-1 Brentford

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton's only appearance in Europe came during the 2023-24 season after Roberto de Zerbi guided them to the Europa League with a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League.

It was the first time in their 122-year history that the Seagulls had qualified for a European competition, which ended with them losing to Roma in the last 16 after topping a group that had AEK Athens, Ajax and Marseille.

On the back of a summer where Fabian Hurzeler spent around £200m on nine new signings and with England earning an extra fifth spot in the Champions League, this season was a great opportunity for Brighton to push for a European spot.

But their 2-2 draw against strugglers Leicester City, who had not won in eight games before Saturday, might have left them with a tall order in their bid to finish among the top seven places in the league.

The Seagulls have now lost two and drawn two of their past four league outings while also exiting the FA Cup after a cruel defeat by Nottingham Forest.

EFL Cup winners Newcastle United and leaders Liverpool are among the six opponents left to come for Hurzeler's side.

But Brighton will believe they are still in with a chance to reach Europe with the duo the only top-half opponents they will face between now and end of the season.

Image source, Getty Images

Fabian Hurzeler spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Brighton's draw against Leicester: "Very disappointed, very frustrating because it was not a mature performance, we were too naive. We didn't act like we should. We didn't deserve more.

"It's not about the chances, it's about defending and not conceding a goal and doing the basics right. Today we weren't able to do the basics right and we were not able to win the game. We weren't able to deal with the second goal we conceded and that's something we can't accept.

"We were not mature enough, were too naive and we have to move on. The season is not over yet, we have to show a reaction because this cannot continue."