With Brighton and Hove Albion edging ever closer to the big kick off for the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, as pre season preparations continue, fans themselves have now had plenty of time to plan out their own approach to the season ahead with the fixture lists having been long released.
The Seagulls have largely been on an upward curve in more recent years and for fans who like a flutter and want to bet on the very best football matches, they will be applauding owner Tony Bloom's running of the club given the first team, and managerial, changes that have often been forced on us as other clubs came sniffing, but we have certainly maximised the financial aspects of those deals to improve the overall health of the club very well indeed.
Having had a first taste of European competition following our sixth finish in the top flight back in the 2022/23 campaign, our run out in the Europa League last term did bring with it some expected complications that we had to deal with, but as new manager Fabian Hurzeler looks forward to his first season in charge of the club, it should be of help to him that he does not need to juggle a European calendar as well, so fans will again be looking for an improved league finish given the 11th spot we attained last year.
Without European distractions, fans can still look forward to some very key games at the Amex Stadium, and there will be the odd oddity or two as the year progresses, as the travelling faithful could well be making their final trip to Everton's Goodison Park on the opening day of the campaign, as despite the issues the Toffees are currently facing, it is expected that they will still be making the move to their new Bramley Moore Dock Stadium ahead of the 2025/26 season.
It is a busy start to the campaign as well, although certain fixtures remain open to change for broadcast purposes, our new youngest ever Premier League gaffer will face off against six of last season's top eight clubs in our opening eleven matches. FA Cup winners Manchester United are up for our first home game of the year, and we then have Arsenal and Chelsea in quick succession. Followed by Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
As Hurzeler gets to grips with life in England, that start will prove to be tricky and our away trips will be tests of their own, but the Amex based encounters with the fans behind the team could well return some very favourable results that help him bed in more quickly.
As we head into December, we will certainly have a far better impression on how Hurzeler has adjusted to the division, and whether or not, once again, Bloom and his team have pulled off another slightly unexpected, but absolute masterclass of a managerial appointment that not only stabilises us again, but gives real hope of taking another significant step forward in our continued growth and development.
In many ways, depending on how we perform and what kind of points return we get from that opening group of tough challenges, will have a major effect on how we view what will then remain of the campaign and just how high our optimism levels should be placed.
Individual fans will have their own favourite fixtures that they are looking to - whether on home soil or on their travels - and having not faced them since the 2016/17 season, a reunion with Ipswich Town and a visit to Portman Road is likely to be a popular choice for many, albeit it will be a dreaded midweek slot.
Heading towards the end of the campaign though, that run in, in some ways, is everything to play for if our new gaffer seriously impresses and proves himself to be Roberto De Zerbi's natural successor.
Naturally, this is the position we all hope we will be in by the time we hit the final month of the campaign, and we have made some big money captures so far during the transfer window to try and ensure that we can do just that once again.
With just over a week now until the big kick off, fans will be watching the rumour mill closely, as having done our business early so far, Bloom may have another trick of two left up his sleeve as we head towards deadline day.
The Seagulls have largely been on an upward curve in more recent years and for fans who like a flutter and want to bet on the very best football matches, they will be applauding owner Tony Bloom's running of the club given the first team, and managerial, changes that have often been forced on us as other clubs came sniffing, but we have certainly maximised the financial aspects of those deals to improve the overall health of the club very well indeed.
Having had a first taste of European competition following our sixth finish in the top flight back in the 2022/23 campaign, our run out in the Europa League last term did bring with it some expected complications that we had to deal with, but as new manager Fabian Hurzeler looks forward to his first season in charge of the club, it should be of help to him that he does not need to juggle a European calendar as well, so fans will again be looking for an improved league finish given the 11th spot we attained last year.
Without European distractions, fans can still look forward to some very key games at the Amex Stadium, and there will be the odd oddity or two as the year progresses, as the travelling faithful could well be making their final trip to Everton's Goodison Park on the opening day of the campaign, as despite the issues the Toffees are currently facing, it is expected that they will still be making the move to their new Bramley Moore Dock Stadium ahead of the 2025/26 season.
It is a busy start to the campaign as well, although certain fixtures remain open to change for broadcast purposes, our new youngest ever Premier League gaffer will face off against six of last season's top eight clubs in our opening eleven matches. FA Cup winners Manchester United are up for our first home game of the year, and we then have Arsenal and Chelsea in quick succession. Followed by Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
As Hurzeler gets to grips with life in England, that start will prove to be tricky and our away trips will be tests of their own, but the Amex based encounters with the fans behind the team could well return some very favourable results that help him bed in more quickly.
As we head into December, we will certainly have a far better impression on how Hurzeler has adjusted to the division, and whether or not, once again, Bloom and his team have pulled off another slightly unexpected, but absolute masterclass of a managerial appointment that not only stabilises us again, but gives real hope of taking another significant step forward in our continued growth and development.
In many ways, depending on how we perform and what kind of points return we get from that opening group of tough challenges, will have a major effect on how we view what will then remain of the campaign and just how high our optimism levels should be placed.
Individual fans will have their own favourite fixtures that they are looking to - whether on home soil or on their travels - and having not faced them since the 2016/17 season, a reunion with Ipswich Town and a visit to Portman Road is likely to be a popular choice for many, albeit it will be a dreaded midweek slot.
Heading towards the end of the campaign though, that run in, in some ways, is everything to play for if our new gaffer seriously impresses and proves himself to be Roberto De Zerbi's natural successor.
Naturally, this is the position we all hope we will be in by the time we hit the final month of the campaign, and we have made some big money captures so far during the transfer window to try and ensure that we can do just that once again.
With just over a week now until the big kick off, fans will be watching the rumour mill closely, as having done our business early so far, Bloom may have another trick of two left up his sleeve as we head towards deadline day.