# 2015–16 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season

The 2015–16 season is Brighton & Hove Albion 114th year in existence and fifth consecutive season in the Championship. Along with competing in the Championship, the club will also participate in the FA Cup and League Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.
Brighton enjoyed a much improved season after narrowly avoiding relegation the season prior, finishing an impressive 3rd place in the Championship table below Middlesbrough only on an inferior goal difference of two goals. Brighton only lost five games throughout the entire season, a feat matched by champions Burnley who only finished with four more points than Brighton.
The season began in spectacular fashion for Brighton, where they embarked on a 21 game unbeaten run that saw them occupy an automatic promotion place for much of the first half of the season. However, they would then lose four out of their five following games, dropping out of the top two and only sporadically occupying second place throughout the season, fighting a fierce contest with promotion rivals Hull City, Derby County, Middlesbrough and Burnley. After this mid-season dip in form, Brighton would only lose one more game throughout the rest of the season, and went into the final game of the Championship season away at second-placed Middlesbrough level on points with them but behind them on goal difference, knowing only a win would secure automatic promotion. The two teams drew 1–1, and Brighton finished the season in a play-off position instead.
A third play-off campaign for the Seagulls in four seasons ensued, however it would again end in defeat at the semi-final stage for a third time, as Brighton lost 3–1 on aggregate over two legs against Sheffield Wednesday.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FIN | Niki Mäenpää |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Bruno |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Gordon Greer (captain) |
| 4 | DF | GER | Uwe Hünemeier |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Lewis Dunk |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Dale Stephens |
| 7 | MF | ISR | Beram Kayal |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Andrew Crofts |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Sam Baldock |
| 10 | FW | ISR | Tomer Hemed |
| 12 | DF | CMR | Gaëtan Bong |
| 13 | GK | ENG | David Stockdale |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Iñigo Calderón (vice captain) |
| 15 | MF | SCO | Jamie Murphy |
| 16 | GK | DEN | Casper Ankergren |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Connor Goldson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | NED | Elvis Manu |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Solly March |
| 21 | FW | ENG | James Wilson |
| 22 | MF | NED | Danny Holla |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Liam Rosenior |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Rohan Ince |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Bobby Zamora |
| 26 | DF | IRL | Glen Rea |
| 27 | MF | FRA | Anthony Knockaert |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Adam Chicksen |
| 29 | MF | IRL | Richie Towell |
| 30 | MF | COD | Kazenga LuaLua |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Liam Ridgewell |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Steve Sidwell |
| 38 | MF | CZE | Jiri Skalak |

### Development squad and youth team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Christian Walton |
| — | GK | IRL | Harry Doherty |
| — | GK | ESP | Robert Sanchez |
| — | GK | ENG | Josh Smith |
| — | DF | ENG | Ben Barclay |
| — | DF | ENG | Dylan Barnett |
| — | DF | ENG | Tom Dallison |
| — | DF | ENG | Rob Hunt |
| — | MF | ENG | Will Collar |
| — | MF | IRL | Dessie Hutchinson |
| — | MF | ENG | Connor Pring |
| — | MF | ENG | Jesse Starkey |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | WAL | Connor Tighe |
| — | MF | ENG | Joe Ward |
| — | FW | ENG | Daniel Akindayini |
| — | FW | ENG | Jason Davis |
| — | FW | SCO | Jack Harper |
| — | FW | FIN | Vahid Hambo |
| — | FW | WAL | Chike Kandi |
| — | FW | ENG | James Tilley |
| — | FW | ENG | Robin Deen |
| — | FW | ISL | Ragnar Mar Larusson |
| — | FW | NOR | Henrik Bjørdal |
| — | FW | ENG | Jonah Ayunga |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Chris O'Grady (on loan at Nottingham Forest) |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Jake Forster-Caskey (on loan at Milton Keynes Dons) |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Tomer Hemed | Almería | £1,000,000 |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Liam Rosenior | Hull City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | LW | Joe Ward | Chelmsford City | Undisclosed |
| 2 July 2015 | CF | Daniel Akindayini | Tottenham Hotspur | Free transfer |
| 2 July 2015 | LB | Gaëtan Bong | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 6 July 2015 | GK | Niki Mäenpää | VVV-Venlo | Free transfer |
| 22 July 2015 | CF | Vahid Hambo | Inter Turku | Undisclosed |
| 23 July 2015 | CF | Jack Harper | Real Madrid | Undisclosed |
| 3 August 2015 | CF | Bobby Zamora | Queens Park Rangers | Free transfer |
| 12 August 2015 | CB | Uwe Hünemeier | SC Paderborn | £1,750,000 |
| 14 August 2015 | LW | Jamie Murphy | Sheffield United | £1,500,000 |
| 19 August 2015 | RB | Connor Goldson | Shrewsbury Town | Undisclosed |
| 29 August 2015 | LW | Elvis Manu | Feyenoord | £1,500,000 |
| 2 January 2016 | AM | Richie Towell | Dundalk | Undisclosed |
| 11 January 2016 | RW | Anthony Knockaert | Standard Liège | Undisclosed |
| 27 January 2016 | RW | Henrik Bjørdal | Aalesund | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2016 | CF | Jonah Ayunga | Dorchester Town | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2016 | CF | Jiří Skalák | Mladá Boleslav | Undisclosed |
Total outgoing: £5,750,000

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Bradley Barry | Swindon Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | AM | George Cole | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Shamir Fenelon | Crawley Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | LW | Paddy McCourt | Luton Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Jimmy Muitt | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Daniel Pappoe | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Cameron Wiltshire | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 August 2015 | CF | Craig Mackail-Smith | Luton Town | Free transfer |
| 19 January 2016 | RM | Jeffrey Monakana | FC Voluntari | Free transfer |
* ↑ Following Fenelon's release he joined Crawley Town.

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 26 November 2015 | RW | Rajiv van La Parra | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 January 2016 |
| 26 November 2015 | CF | James Wilson | Manchester United | End of season |
| 2 January 2016 | CB | Liam Ridgewell | Portland Timbers | 13 February 2016 |
| 25 January 2016 | CM | Steve Sidwell | Stoke City | End of season |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| 21 July 2015 | GK | Christian Walton | Bury | 1 September 2015 |
| 4 August 2015 | RM | Jeffrey Monakana | Bristol Rovers | 1 September 2015 |
| 19 August 2015 | CB | Tom Dallison | Braintree Town | 19 September 2015 |
| 28 August 2015 | MF | Charlie Harris | Aldershot Town | 26 September 2015 |
| 28 August 2015 | CB | Glen Rea | Southend United | 2 January 2016 |
| 1 September 2015 | CF | Chris O'Grady | Nottingham Forest | End of season |
| 22 September 2015 | CM | Jake Forster-Caskey | Milton Keynes Dons | 24 October 2015 |
| 24 September 2015 | CF | Robin Deen | Lewes | 22 October 2015 |
| 2 October 2015 | LB | Adam Chicksen | Leyton Orient | 6 November 2015 |
| 19 November 2015 | GK | Christian Walton | Plymouth Argyle | 3 January 2016 |
| 8 January 2016 | CM | Jake Forster-Caskey | Milton Keynes Dons | End of season |
| 27 January 2016 | LB | Adam Chicksen | Gillingham | 23 February 2016 |
| 1 February 2016 | DM | Rohan Ince | Fulham | End of season |
| 1 February 2016 | LW | Elvis Manu | Huddersfield Town | 2 May 2016 |
* ↑ On 1 September 2015, Walton returned from his loan spell due to injury.

## Pre-season
### Friendlies

On 5 May 2015, Brighton & Hove Albion announced four pre-season friendlies, Away to Lewes on 18 July 2015, Away to Crawley Town on 22 July 2015, Away to Aberdeen on 26 July 2015 and Away to Gillingham on 29 July 2015. On 25 May 2015, Brighton & Hove Albion announced they will face 2015 Europa League finalists Sevilla at home on 2 August 2015. On 23 June 2015, Brighton & Hove albion announced Swiss opposition for 11 July 2015.

## Competitions
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Burnley (C, P) | 46 | 26 | 15 | 5 | 72 | 35 | +37 | 93 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Middlesbrough (P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 89 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 24 | 17 | 5 | 72 | 42 | +30 | 89 | Qualification for the Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Hull City (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 83 | Qualification for the Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Derby County | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 78 | Qualification for the Championship play-offs |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the Premier League.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 May 2016. Source:

#### Results round by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | A |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | W | W | D | D | D | W | D | W | W | D | D | L | D | L | L | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | D | D |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

#### Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

##### Play-Offs
### FA Cup

Brighton & Hove Albion entered the FA Cup in the third round, which was drawn on 7 December 2015. Brighton were drawn away against Hull City.

### League Cup

On 16 June 2015, the first round draw was made, Brighton & Hove Albion were drawn away against Southend United. In the second round, Brighton were drawn away to Walsall.

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

    As of 7 May 2016
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 10 | FW | Tomer Hemed | 17 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | 25 | FW | Bobby Zamora | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 6 | MF | Dale Stephens | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | 15 | MF | Jamie Murphy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | 21 | FW | James Wilson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | 27 | MF | Anthony Knockaert | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | FW | Sam Baldock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | 30 | MF | Kazenga LuaLua | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 20 | MF | Solly March | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | DF | Lewis Dunk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | 7 | MF | Beram Kayal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 27 | MF | Rajiv van La Parra | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 38 | MF | Jiri Skalak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 17 | DF | Connor Goldson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | 36 | MF | Steve Sidwell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | 2 | DF | Bruno | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | 18 | MF | Jake Forster-Caskey | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 72 | 0 | 2 | 74 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 7 May 2016
| No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 6 | MF | Dale Stephens | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Beram Kayal | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Lewis Dunk | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 30 | MF | Kazenga LuaLua | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Bruno | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Gordon Greer | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | David Stockdale | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Solly March | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Gaëtan Bong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Tomer Hemed | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Liam Rosenior | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Iñigo Calderón | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Connor Goldson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Sam Baldock | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Bobby Zamora | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Anthony Knockaert | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | Jiri Skalak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Uwe Hünemeier | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Andrew Crofts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Liam Ridgewell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Jamie Murphy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | MF | Jake Forster-Caskey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Rohan Ince | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 77 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 84 | 4 |