Heroes & Villains – Brighton & Hove Albion
Hero – Alan Mullery
In an illustrious playing career, Mullery won 35 caps for England as a central midfielder. He played in all of England’s matches in the 1970 World Cup squad, scoring England’s first goal in the Quarter Final defeat to West Germany.
Mullery cut his managerial teeth at Brighton, taking over at the Goldstone Ground in 1976. The club were in the Third Division at the time and he took over just before the start of the 1976/77 season.
Brighton finished runners-up in Division Three in Mullery’s first season in charge and were promoted to Division Two. They finished fourth in their first season in Division Two and the following season was even better.
The 1978/79 season was one of Brighton’s most successful as they finished second, gaining promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history. They also reached the Quarter Finals of the League Cup, the furthest that they have ever reached in that competition.
In the first two seasons in the First Division, Brighton finished 16th and 19th. Mullery then left to take over as manager of Crystal Palace, an unpopular move for Palace fans due to their rivalry with Brighton.
Mullery is still revered at Brighton, many fans having fond memories of his tenure.
Villains – Bill Archer and David Bellotti
Owner Bill Archer and Chief Executive David Bellotti were two very unpopular men back in the mid 1990’s in Brighton.
The two were instrumental in the sale of the Goldstone Ground, Brighton’s home for 95 years. Albion were made homeless and had to play their at Gillingham for two seasons.
After their stay at Gillingham, the club moved back to Brighton to the small Withdean Stadium. The capacity was only 8,850 and was built specifically for athletics with a running track around the pitch. Football was not the sport intended to be played there.
Albion would finally get their own stadium 14 years after they left the Goldstone when they moved into the plush Amex Stadium in 2011.
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