# 2014–15 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season

The 2014–15 season was Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club's 4th consecutive season in the Championship.
Brighton entered this season having finished in a play-off position in both seasons prior, twice going out in the semi-finals. A new manager, Sami Hyypiä, had been appointed following Óscar Garcia's resignation in the previous season after bowing out of the play-offs to Derby County. A sense of optimism presided the beginning of the season, however it would have a drastically different outcome than was anticipated, as Brighton languished towards the bottom of the Championship table for much of the campaign. A very poor first half of the season, in which Brighton had only won three out of their first 23 games and at one point had gone on an 11-game winless run, culminated in manager Hyypia's demise by December, with the Seagulls in the relegation zone at the time of his dismissal. Chris Hughton was swiftly appointed as the new manager, and he was able to steady the ship in the second half of the season, guiding Brighton to 20th position in the league and, as such, safety for the forthcoming campaign. The Seagulls went on another winless run of seven games towards the end of the season, however previous results proved enough to keep them six points above relegated Millwall in 22nd.

## Statistics

    As of 2 May 2015
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | OMA | Al-Habsi (on loan from Wigan Athletic) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Bruno | 37 | 3 | 33+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Gordon Greer | 40 | 2 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes | 13 | 0 | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Lewis Dunk | 44 | 7 | 38 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Dale Stephens | 16 | 2 | 10+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ESP | Adrián Colunga | 21 | 4 | 11+6 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Andrew Crofts | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Sam Baldock | 22 | 4 | 19+1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | NED | Kemy Agustien | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Chris O'Grady | 33 | 3 | 15+13 | 1 | 1+1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | SCO | Craig Mackail-Smith | 34 | 3 | 15+15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 2 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | David Stockdale | 46 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Iñigo Calderón | 41 | 4 | 30+5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Adam Chicksen | 10 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 16 | GK | DEN | Casper Ankergren | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | POR | João Carlos Teixeira (on loan from Liverpool) | 35 | 6 | 27+5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Jake Forster-Caskey | 33 | 3 | 28+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 19 | FW | IRL | Leon Best (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) | 13 | 0 | 6+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Gary Gardner (on loan from Aston Villa) | 20 | 2 | 14+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | NIR | Paddy McCourt | 13 | 0 | 0+10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | LVA | Vitālijs Maksimenko | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NED | Danny Holla | 27 | 1 | 23+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Shamir Fenelon | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Rohan Ince | 38 | 3 | 23+9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 25 | MF | COD | Kazenga LuaLua | 38 | 4 | 15+19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Solomon March | 13 | 1 | 6+5 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | COD | Nzuzi Toko | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ISR | Beram Kayal | 18 | 1 | 17+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Joe Bennett (on loan from Aston Villa) | 42 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Christian Walton | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Rob Hunt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ENG | James Tilley | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Elliott Bennett (on loan from Norwich City) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ARG | Emmanuel Ledesma (on loan from Middlesbrough) | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | GAM | Mustapha Carayol (on loan from Middlesbrough) | 5 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Greg Halford (on loan from Nottingham Forest) | 20 | 0 | 14+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Glen Rea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | ENG | George Cole | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | ENG | Bradley Barry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Darren Bent (on loan from Aston Villa) | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | ENG | Charlie Harris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players currently out on loan: ||||||||||||
| 22 | MF | ENG | Jeffrey Monakana (at Aberdeen) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left the club during the season: ||||||||||||
| 30 | MF | ENG | Will Buckley | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

    As of 2 May 2015
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 5 | DF | Lewis Dunk | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | 17 | MF | João Carlos Teixeira | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | 9 | FW | Sam Baldock | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 14 | DF | Iñigo Calderón | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 7 | FW | Adrián Colunga | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | 25 | MF | Kazenga LuaLua | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | 2 | DF | Bruno | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 23 | MF | Jake Forster-Caskey | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | 21 | MF | Rohan Ince | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | 18 | FW | Craig Mackail-Smith | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | 11 | FW | Chris O'Grady | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | 39 | FW | Darren Bent | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 19 | MF | Gary Gardner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 3 | DF | Gordon Greer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 6 | MF | Dale Stephens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | 30 | DF | Joe Bennett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | 22 | MF | Danny Holla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | 28 | MF | Beram Kayal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | 27 | MF | Solomon March | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 44 | 4 | 9 | 57 |

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 8 | MF | Andrew Crofts | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | DF | Bruno | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Jake Forster-Caskey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Kazenga LuaLua | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 51 | |
| 19 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 48 | 69 | −21 | 50 | |
| 20 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 10 | 17 | 19 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 47 | |
| 21 | Rotherham United | 46 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 46 | 67 | −21 | 46 | |
| 22 | Millwall (R) | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 42 | 76 | −34 | 41 | Relegation to Football League One |
* ↑ Rotherham United were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player.

#### Result 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 | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | L | W | W | D | L | L | D | D | D | D | L | D | D | L | W | D | D | L | L | L | D | D | W | W | L | W | L | L | D | D | W | W | L | W | L | D | D | W | L | L | L | D | L | L | D |
| Position | 18 | 22 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 |

#### Matches

The fixtures for the 2014–15 season were announced on 18 June 2014 at 9am.

### League Cup

The draw for the first round was made on 17 June 2014 at 10am. Brighton & Hove Albion were drawn at home to Cheltenham Town.

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 28 | MF | Toko Nzuzi | 23 | EU | Grasshopper Club Zürich | Free Transfer | Summer | 2017 | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 4 | DF | Aaron Hughes | 34 | EU | Queens Park Rangers | Free Transfer | Summer | 2015 | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 11 | FW | Chris O'Grady | 28 | EU | Barnsley | Transfer | Summer | 2017 | Undisclosed | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 13 | GK | David Stockdale | 28 | EU | Fulham | Transfer | Summer | 2017 | Undisclosed | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 38 | MF | George Cole | 18 | EU | Chelsea | Free Transfer | Summer | 2015 | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| — | DF | Daniel Pappoe | 20 | EU | Chelsea | Free Transfer | Summer | 2015 | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 22 | MF | Danny Holla | 26 | EU | ADO Den Haag | Free Transfer | Summer | 2017 | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 20 | MF | Paddy McCourt | 30 | EU | Barnsley | Free Transfer | Summer | 2016 | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 7 | FW | Adrián Colunga | 29 | EU | Getafe | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | Undisclosed | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 9 | FW | Sam Baldock | 25 | EU | Bristol City | Transfer | Summer | 2018 | Undisclosed | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| — | MF | Beram Kayal | 26 | EU | Celtic | Transfer | Winter | 2017 | Undisclosed | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |

### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 1 | GK | Peter Brezovan | 34 | EU | Portsmouth | Released | Summer | Free | Football League BBC Sport |
| 7 | FW | Will Hoskins | 28 | EU | Oxford United | Released | Summer | Free | Football League SkySports |
| 29 | GK | Tomasz Kuszczak | 32 | EU | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Released | Summer | Free | Football League BBC Sport |
| 21 | MF | David López | 31 | EU | Lugo | Released | Summer | Free | Football League |
| 11 | MF | Andrea Orlandi | 29 | EU | Blackpool | Released | Summer | Free | Football League Team Talk |
| 9 | FW | David Rodríguez | 28 | EU | Alcorcón | Released | Summer | Free | Football League |
| 20 | DF | Matthew Upson | 35 | EU | Leicester City | Free transfer | Summer | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| — | FW | Ben Dickenson | 21 | EU | Gillingham | Free transfer | Summer | Free | BBC Sport |
| 19 | FW | Leonardo Ulloa | 28 | EU | Leicester City | Transfer | Summer | £8,000,000 | BBC Sport |
| 30 | MF | Will Buckley | 24 | EU | Sunderland | Transfer | Summer | £2,500,000 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 28 | MF | Nzuzi Toko | 24 | EU | Eskişehirspor | Released | Winter | Free | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.

### Loans in

| No. | P | Name | Age | Loan club | Started | Ended | Start source | End source |
| 17 | MF | João Carlos Teixeira | 21 | Liverpool | 15 August 2014 | 30 June 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 30 | DF | Joe Bennett | 24 | Aston Villa | 20 August 2014 | 30 June 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 19 | MF | Gary Gardner | 22 | Aston Villa | 26 August 2014 | 31 December 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | Vital Football |
| 1 | GK | Ali Al-Habsi | 32 | Wigan Athletic | 31 October 2014 | 30 November 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 32 | MF | Elliott Bennett | 25 | Norwich City | 1 November 2014 | 29 December 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 33 | DF | Greg Halford | 29 | Nottingham Forest | 4 November 2014 | 1 December 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 39 | FW | Darren Bent | 30 | Aston Villa | 26 November 2014 | 29 December 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 19 | FW | Leon Best | 28 | Blackburn Rovers | 20 January 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| — | MF | Emmanuel Ledesma | 26 | Middlesbrough | 19 February 2015 | 21 March 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| — | MF | Mustapha Carayol | 26 | Middlesbrough | 26 March 2015 | 30 June 3015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |

### Loans out

| No. | P | Name | Age | Loan club | Started | Ended | Start source | End source |
| 22 | MF | Jeffrey Monakana | 20 | Aberdeen | 21 July 2014 | 2 February 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 23 | FW | Shamir Fenelon | 21 | Rochdale | 29 August 2014 | 8 October 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | Rochdale A.F.C |
| 21 | DF | Vitālijs Maksimenko | 23 | VVV-Venlo | 1 September 2014 | 30 June 2015 | BBC Sport | |
| 15 | DF | Adam Chicksen | 23 | Gillingham | 14 November 2014 | 13 December 2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 23 | FW | Shamir Fenelon | 21 | Tranmere Rovers | 21 November 2014 | 1 January 2015 | BBC Sport | |
| 12 | FW | Craig Mackail-Smith | 30 | Peterborough United | 27 November 2014 | 23 December 2014 | BBC Sport | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C |
| 11 | FW | Chris O'Grady | 28 | Sheffield United | 27 November 2014 | 31 January 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 7 | FW | Adrián Colunga | 30 | Granada | 30 January 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| — | DF | Tom Dallison | 19 | Dartford | 13 February 2015 | 30 June 2015 | BBC Sport Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 22 | MF | Jeffrey Monakana | 21 | Mansfield Town | 20 February 2015 | 23 March 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 20 | MF | Paddy McCourt | 31 | Notts County | 21 February 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 15 | DF | Adam Chicksen | 23 | Fleetwood Town | 27 February 2015 | 29 March 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 23 | FW | Shamir Fenelon | 21 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 27 February 2015 | 28 March 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |
| 22 | MF | Jeffrey Monakana | 21 | Carlisle United | 26 March 2015 | 30 June 2015 | Brighton & Hove Albion F.C | |