The Club

The Seasiders are a rather interesting club, having enjoyed a stellar season last year that was the culmination of decades of work. From the old days at the Withdean to the disgraceful ownership of the club in the 80s and 90s, Brighton and Hove Albion finally look set for a return to the top tier.

With very little success in their existence, this is one of the highlights of the majority of their fanbases’ lives. It will be interesting to see what the future will hold.

16-17 – How Was It?

Amazing, in a single word. Despite being pipped to the Championship title, a runaway season that saw them never really look threatened to missing out was a dream. The likes of Anthony Knockaert set the tone for an incredible season, which seen the club finally reach the top tier after a few years of hard work in the Championship.

Under the stewardship of Chris Hughton, Brighton enjoyed a sensational season that seen them as one of the most dominant sides in the division. With not far off 1.7 goals per game, the club enjoyed a stellar run in the 2^nd tier.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

A fight, you would presume. While a very impressively run club, Brighton are far down the pecking. Seagulls fans won’t like the comparison, but they are reminiscent of the Crystal Palace side that came up in the past: solid, sturdy, not really cut out for top-flight football. It will take a lot of smart work in the window to try and build a team capable of succeeding.

So far, the summer has been a quiet one, with the main signing being Mat Ryan. We expect more to come, but at present, 17/18 will be a relegation battle for sure.

The Club

Arguably the smallest of the three South Coast clubs, Bournemouth – The Cherries – have been around since 1899 and in that time have yet to win a major trophy. They are a relatively well-liked club with a decent support and, with the investment put in by Maxim Demin in the last few years, has seen the club move forward in a rather impressive way.

While never a title challenger or even a second-tier club, their progress from the third tier to the top in a short space of time under player and manager Eddie Howe has been deeply impressive.

16-17 – How Was It?

Hit and miss. It started well, but a raft of the signings made – Jack Wilshere among them – failed to impress as expected and an expensive recruitment policy again looked flawed. Howe has been praised for his teams style time and time again, but not enough is made of his patchy record on the transfer market.

Signings such as Jordan Ibe and Brad Smith – not fair off £20m for the pair – were major flaws. The season was let down by a poor calibre of arrival, and a 9^th place finish perhaps looks a touch flattering.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

Trouble. The summer window has been slow and the names linked do not look too impressive. Another scattergun season with lots of money on lots of potentially good players seems to be the most likely outcome. Howe has struggled in a serious way to build a cohesive transfer policy at the club since promotion and the links so far do not appear to be much better.

The 9^th place finish was not expected nor, in many ways, deserved. Bournemouth could struggle next year if they don’t find a better balance to their squad and find more consistency on the field.

The Club

Founded in 1908, The Terriers are a club with more history than many might realize. Having won league titles and the FA Cup in the 1920s, including three titles in a row, Huddersfield are a fairly big club in the land of Yorkshire. Many hard years have fallen upon the town, but now they look like they might be back to where, for many, they should belong.

Under the tutelage of the impressive David Wagner, there is one thing for sure: that next season is going to be barking mad!

16-17 – How Was It?

Amazing, really. The club managed to gain promotion to the Premier League for the first time, winning the play-off to get promoted. They’d previously spend the best part of life since the 1970s in the second, third and even fourth tiers, so to get back to the top level is a huge boost for the club.

With some good signings that have come in recently, too, the club now stands in a far more impressive position than it has arguably since their golden period in the 1920s. To that end, the club can convincingly say it’s reached a zenith.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

So, what lies ahead for the club? That depends. Signings so far in the summer include the likes of Aaron Mooy and also Laurent Depoitre. The former was excellent for the club last year on loan from Manchester City, while Depoitre had a hard time in Portugal with FC Porto. Their signings look to be a bit of a scatter at present, but they are by no means in a bad position.

Another couple of smart signings could take the club a little bit closer to where they might have realistically expected to go – preferably staying up!