With the Championship season kicking off this weekend, Sports Mole weighs up how Brighton & Hove Albion will get on this campaign after a scruffy summer.
In:
Adam Chicksen (From MK Dons, Undisclosed), Matthew Upson (From Stoke, Free)
Out:
Stephen Dobbie (To Crystal Palace, £850,000), Gary Dicker (Released), Marcos Painter (Released), Vicente (Released), Anton Rodgers (To Oldham Athletic, Free), Ryan Harley (To Swindon Town, Free), Torbjorn Agdestein (To Inverness CT, Free)
Last Season: 4th
Manager: Oscar Garcia
Three key players:
© PA Photos
© Gareth Fuller / PA Photos
© PA Photos
First game: Leeds (A), Complete fixture list
Sports Mole says: The team with the best attendance numbers in the whole of the Football League were cruelly knocked out by rivals Crystal Palace in the playoff semi-finals last time out. It must have been even harder for Brighton fans to see the Eagles go on to defeat Watford in the final and reach the promised land of the Premier League. The playoff loss was a surprising one for the team that ended the season on the best form and since then Wilfried Zaha-inspired knockout it's been a nasty summer for the Seagulls. Manager Gus Poyet was suspended and he then found out that he has been sacked live on television when working as a pundit for BBC Sport at the Confederations Cup. Poyet appealed the decision but his removal was upheld. This hearing actually took place after new coach Garcia had been put in temporary charge, with the Spaniard penning a three-year contract soon after Poyet's confirmed dismissal. Garcia, 40, has only managed one other club - last season at Maccabi Tel Aviv, but he did lead the Israeli side to their first league title in 10 years. His job is certainly a tough one this season following in the footsteps of Poyet, and if results are not pretty from the start, then Albion supporters could get on his back. There's still plenty of quality in the squad, though, and a top-half finish is likely.
Predicted finish: 11th
