In the 32nd round of Premier League play-offs, Brighton drew 1-1 at home to Manchester City, and after 37 rounds, 62 points were accumulated to secure a place in the Europa League next season - this is also the first time Brighton have participated in a European competition in their 122-year history.
From the loss of previous players, the poaching of the manager, to the current dark horse posture to create the highest ranking in the Premier League in the history of the team, what does the Seagulls rely on to ride the wind and waves this season?
Text / Yang Yumeng
Edited / Li Luyuan
On May 28, the 2022-2023 Premier League season came to an end, and Brighton, nicknamed "The Seagulls", locked up the sixth place in the league table and entered the Europa League for the first time in the team's history!
Double beat Manchester United, blow Liverpool, away to Chelsea... This small team from the coastal city of southern England, led by manager De Zelby, has played a distinctive style of football and has become the biggest dark horse in the Premier League this season.
And behind all this, team owner Tony Bloom has contributed a lot.
Cold-blooded "lizard" gambling god
Born in 1970 in Brighton, Bloom, like most children, became a Seagull fan from an early age and joined the club's youth team. But his talent did not show up at the football level, but made a deep impression in mathematics and business.
Bloom has been frequenting arcades since he was eight years old, and at a young age he was already calculating how to make money with small broads. The two hobbies of football and gambling continued throughout his teenage years, and some people commented that he was a natural gambler with a problem gambling factor in his blood.
After graduating from high school, Bloom, who was both interested and talented in mathematics, was successfully admitted to the mathematics department of the University of Manchester. After receiving an education in advanced mathematics, he suddenly realized how stupid and ignorant his previous blind betting behavior was.
He told himself that if he wanted to succeed in this field, he must have a well-developed strategic game system.
Bloom, who lacked funds, worked as an accountant for two years after graduating from university, while at the same time he has been perfecting his strategy game system, and then through this system, he has accumulated his assets to 500,000 pounds in just a few years.
Bloom's brilliant numeracy helped him attract the attention of British betting mogul Victor Chandler, who invited Bloom to join his company as a market analyst and help develop the Asian market.
Under Chandler's leadership, Bloom was able to reach a higher level and larger market. He has used his data analysis and market insights to achieve amazing results in various major competitions.
The most famous example is the 1998 World Cup final in France, when the world was optimistic about Brazil, Bloom believed that France could win, and persuaded Chandler to "stud" on France, which finally beat Brazil 3-0, making the two a lot of money.
In addition to this, Bloom has another identity - a professional poker player.
During his tenure under Chandler, the busy Bloom reached two World Poker Tour finals and even won the Poker Nations Cup for the British team. As of 2008, the total prize money of Bloom's poker career has exceeded $1.5 million.
The calmness at the poker table and the courage to bet earned him the title of "Lizard", and based on this name, he registered his own football betting consulting company, Starlizard.
With a team of analysts, statisticians, expert club informants, and researchers, the company delivers reliable, in-depth team news and data faster than anyone else. They use sophisticated statistical models and extensive data analysis to provide high-end customers with more accurate odds than professional bookmakers.
All employees of the company have strict confidentiality clauses after joining the company, and Bloom himself does not like to be interviewed by the media, so he is also called "invisible man" by the media.
But according to departing personnel, the company only accepts investors of more than 2 million pounds, bets hundreds of millions of pounds a year, generates about 100 million pounds in revenue, and is known as one of the largest betting trading teams in the UK.
Halfway through his two teenage dreams, Bloom set his sights on his football dreams – in 2009, he used the wealth he earned to buy his hometown side Brighton and become its president.
"King of Seagulls"
Brighton's full name is "Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.", a name that has an extraordinary meaning for Bloom: "My feelings for Brighton cannot be expressed in words, it is a part of my life."
But before 2009, "Seagull" didn't bring much joy to Bloom.
At that time, Brighton were in a difficult situation - the team had no home stadium and was forced to rent stadiums in nearby cities; The results have slipped all the way, and they even came close to being relegated to League Two in 2006; Fans were upset with the club's former owner, Dick Knight, for not providing enough support and commitment to the team.
Bloom was very sad to see all this. He felt he had a responsibility and an obligation to save his beloved team and bring it back to glory. He once told The Times, "I want to do something to make this city proud."
So, in May 2009, that acquisition happened.
Former Brighton boss Dick Knight
Founded in 1901, Brighton did not have many glorious achievements in history, and his best result was only reaching the FA Cup final in 1983, losing 4-2 to Manchester United.
Over the past few decades, Brighton have endured ups and downs, even on the verge of bankruptcy in 1996 due to a financial crisis, and at one point fell to the fourth division of the third division. Knight took over the club in 1997, which helped stabilize the team.
But with such a seemingly unknown team, Bloom's acquisition journey was not easy – Knight was not only Brighton's savior, but also a family friend of Bloom's, and it took Bloom more than a year to convince Knight to sell him 75% of the club in exchange for an investment in the new stadium.
Immediately after the acquisition, Bloom embarked on a series of reforms and investments that brought about a seismic change for the team.
He first solved the team's most pressing problem - the home stadium. Bloom provided a £93 million interest-free loan for the new home project and was personally involved in the design and construction process. "I want to give the fans and players the best home possible, a place where they can be proud and happy," he said.
Brighton's former home stadium was Goldstone Stadium before moving out at the end of the 1996/97 season
However, what Bloom did not expect was that the process of building the new stadium was opposed by local environmental groups and intervened by the government.
He held lengthy consultations with the government and environmental organizations, explained the necessity of the stadium, promised to use environmentally friendly materials and technologies in the construction process, protect the local ecosystem and cultural heritage, and finally proposed a series of compensation measures before it was approved.
Eventually, a new Farmer stadium was inaugurated, dubbed the American Express Community Stadium – a new stadium with a capacity of more than 30,000 people and one of the most modern courses in England.
American Express Community Stadium
Outside of his new home, Bloom also spent £32 million to build a state-of-the-art training base, Lancing, for the team. Spread over 67 acres, with 13 training grounds, as well as a variety of facilities and equipment, the base is considered one of the best in the UK.
The arrival of new stadiums and new training bases seems to mean a bright future, but the reality blow to Bloom is far from over.
In the 2013-14 season, Brighton finished sixth in the Championship, but suffered a six-goal defeat to Derby County in the promotion play-offs and missed the top flight; Two years later, the comeback Brighton shared points with Middlesbrough and were once again in the play-offs due to a lack of direct promotion due to goal difference.
Two consecutive overrun defeats tested Bloom's patience, but it could not dampen his confidence. In an interview with the BBC, Bloom said he was proud of the team's performance, would continue to support the club and believed the team was capable of challenging for promotion again.
That confidence finally brought back news of his success in 2017 when Brighton beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at home on 17 April, three rounds of promotion to the Premier League and return to the top flight for the first time since 1983.
The reborn Seagull Legion is thriving, but Tony Bloom is not satisfied with this, and still has bigger dreams in his heart.
The management of the "Seagull Legion"
Bloom's unique vision and extraordinary strength helped him make a fortune in his early years, and now he applies his vision to the management of Brighton - using Starlizard's rich data analysis capabilities, Bloom has established a mysterious "coach and player value evaluation system" for Brighton Club.
The Athletic previously revealed a small part of Brighton's signing: Brighton's scouts receive a scouting list and compile a list of players with the same stats based on factors such as age and playing time. Candidates are distinguished by different colors, green means they are very suitable, amber means they are close to meeting the criteria, and red means they are only examined.
And, unlike most clubs that source players based on region, Brighton was one of the first to find players based on their location on the pitch. They previously appointed former Everton scout John Doolan as head of centre-forward scouting, with one person responsible for only one centre-forward position.
To this day, the core content of the system remains a mystery, including Manchester City owner Mansour, Manchester United head Glazer and Chelsea investors Abu and Burley all wanted to learn the mystery at a high price, but Bloom has always kept his mouth shut.
From the first team to the executives, Brighton recruits people who don't just think for the present, but even think long-term. Through this system, Brighton has introduced excellent coaches and players, improved the competitiveness and attractiveness of the team, and also given Brighton a higher say in the transfer market.
Brighton's success this season shows that the departure of a player or coach will not affect their results.
'At the end of recent seasons, Brighton are at risk of the main squad being dismembered by the giants with a cheque, and their manager will even be poached halfway through the season, but this pair does not seem to affect the record. Premier League legends Carragher and Neville were full of envy when talking about the Seagulls, "It is not difficult for a club to have good coaches and players, but it is very difficult to establish the right system, especially the player evaluation system, from this point of view, Brighton now has a lot of wealth that the giants do not have."
Paul Barber, CEO of Brighton, said: "The great thing about Brighton is that we have been laying the groundwork slowly but steadily, including staff, policy, team lineup, coaches, youth and scouting system. Our owner loves the club, nurtures the club, doesn't have any other ideas, and all the things the team builds are about him."
The cold-blooded "lizard" avoids the influence of emotions, and Bloom has always been tough in transfer negotiations, establishing a tough diplomatic image.
This is evidenced by a hefty transfer fee, which they have received not only £20 million in liquidated damages from former boss Porter, not to mention the hefty transfer amounts from the likes of Cucurella, Bissouma, Ben White and Trossard, for a total of £192 million.
"Of course we don't want to sell them, but it also shows that the team has achieved something, so the biggest clubs in the world will be interested in our players, which is the law in football."
With such foresight at the top, the next wave of talent will naturally emerge, which Brighton is happy to see.
Bloom said: "The loss of elite players can also be a positive sign. We're not giants, and if our best players are really going to leave, we have to be prepared in advance, and when we're forced to sell, we've already invested in the academy or other young players, so be prepared."
In addition to high-quality external transfers, internal promotions are also a focus for Brighton.
The training base, which only opened in 2014, has received another £15 million in upgrade funding, including Brighton Women's team, which was promoted to the Premier League in 18 years, and will also move into a new training centre that cost £7 million.
After an almost perfect season, Brighton also plan to further improve the stadium's infrastructure over the next 18 months.
Outside the stadium, the club will also build a covered fan area with food and drink shops and a tunnel that will lead directly to the grandstand – the third club in the UK to build such a facility after Manchester City and Tottenham.
Brighton may never develop into a big club, but Seagulls fans are convinced that with Bloom's vision and management's strategy, the Seagulls will be able to fly higher and farther.
The sky may be the limit of the "seagull", the Europa League is not.