Graphic showing top six table when conceding first:

Pos Team              P     GD  PTS
1	Brighton	17	-11	20
2	Liverpool	13	6	19
3	Man City	14	-4	19
4	Newcastle	20	-15	19
5	Fulham	        16	-5	18
6	Aston Villa	14	-12	18

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

"We never do it the easy way."

Something muttered by many a football fan as they watch their side go 1-0 down again.

As frustrating as it can be watching from the stands or on the TV, it is a position some teams thrive in.

Luring the opposition into a false sense of security, it is almost as though they do not get going until they have given the other team a chance.

And if the league was measured on how well a team bounces back after conceding the first goal, then this season would have seen Brighton coming away with a Premier League title.

There were 17 occasions in 2024-25 when the Seagulls conceded the first goal, but from those they came back to win five and draw five - rescuing 20 points in the process.

It will not have made for comfortable watching for the fans, but it does show the tenacity of Fabian Hurzeler's side to turn a match around.

The sign of champions is to win when you are not at your best and that is what Liverpool did this campaign. They may not have have conceded first as often as Brighton, but they still came back to win four times and draw seven.

It will not have always helped the cause of those chasing European spots, but Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa all showed the resilience that they could go one-goal down and still get much-needed points from a game.

At the other end of the scale, while some teams thrive in this situation, others flounder.

Nottingham Forest surprised many onlookers going from relegation candidates to battling for a Champions League spot in less than 12 months.

But key to that was their defence. There were not many occasions where they went 1-0 down - however, when they did, their ability to turn it around was in relegation territory.

The silver-lining for Reds fans, though, is that they really did make it difficult for the opposition to get in front and this is a strength they will hope to build on going forwards.

Graphic showing bottom six table when conceding first:

Pos Team                              P     GD  PTS
15	Wolves	                        23	-27	11
16	Leicester City	        30	-49	11
17	West Ham	                21	-30	6
18	Nottingham Forest	12	-17	5
19	Ipswich Town	        22	-44	3
20	Southampton	        25	-51	2
  • Knoop and Stern to exit as part of backroom reshufflepublished at 18:55 3 June

    Marco Knoop and Jack Stern

    Goalkeeper coaches Marco Knoop and Jack Stern will leave Brighton this summer as head coach Fabian Hurzeler shakes up his backroom team.

    The club have also confirmed the Seagulls boss will appoint a replacement goalkeeping coach and recruit a new set-piece specialist, with Knoop also responsible for defensive set-pieces in his one season at the Amex.

    Stern ed the club in 2022 and had signed a new deal last summer.

    "On behalf of everyone at the club, I take this opportunity to thank Marco and Jack for their efforts here," said Hurzeler.

    "Marco is returning to and goes with our thanks and best wishes. He made a lot of sacrifices to me in England, and I will always be grateful to him for that.

    "Jack and Marco have helped us to achieve a successful season in my first campaign at Brighton and I wish both well for the future."

    Technical director David Weir added: "It's never an easy decision when people leave the club and I echo Fabian's sentiments.

    "Jack has been part of a very successful period for club, working under Graham Potter, Roberto de Zerbi and Fabian.

    "We thank both for their service, professionalism and hard work and wish them well for the future."

  • 'Two big-money sales the maximum Albion should consider'published at 12:57 3 June

    Scott McCarthy
    Fan writer

    Brighton fan's voice banner
    Karou Mitoma and Fabian HurzelerImage source, Getty Images

    The past two summers have been one of considerable change at the Amex.

    In 2024, Brighton signed nine players for £193m and appointed a new head coach. Yet 12 months earlier it was outgoings that dominated the Albion news cycle.

    The midfield pairing which had taken Brighton into the Europa League were sold, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister bringing in a cool £150m combined.

    Everyone knows the Albion have a model. Buy young players. Develop them into stars. Sell if a buying club offers more than Brighton value said player at.

    The model means any of Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba, Bart Verbruggen and Jan Paul van Hecke could depart this summer, depending on who or what you believe.

    But there is a growing feeling among some Seagulls ers that the model might need to change slightly. And much of it comes from decision-makers at the club publicly describing 2024-25 as a transitional season.

    The implication is that a young squad and young manager will be better in 2025-26 for the experience gained in the campaign just finished.

    But if Brighton were then to sell off the family silver this summer, the risk is that 2025-26 becomes a transitional season again.

    Young and inexperienced replacements take over from Verbruggen in goal, Van Hecke in defence, Baleba in midfield and Mitoma out wide.

    Meanwhile, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea or whoever else benefit from the work the Albion put into developing those players in that transitional 2024-25 campaign.

    Mitoma seems most likely to go. He is 28 years old and deserves to achieve his long-stated dream of playing Champions League football. Pedro's off-field issues may also ease the way for his exit.

    Two big-money sales is arguably the maximum the Albion should consider.

    What cannot happen is selling in one summer the entire spine of a team who have shown they have the potential to challenge for the top five. No matter how good the money might look on a balance sheet.

    Otherwise, when does the transitional season end?

    Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

  • Ask our pundit - send in your questionspublished at 19:51 2 June

    BBC Sport columnist Nedum Onuoha

    BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has given us his insight and opinion every fortnight on your Premier League club throughout this season.

    But this week, he's in the hotseat for your questions.

    Maybe ask him who should be on your club's radar this summer, or where a rumoured target or new g might fit into the team.

    Perhaps see what he thinks about how successful a new recruit might be, who it is vital to keep, or what is needed to make next season a success.

    Send in your questions here and we'll put a selection to him

  • What can Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton spend this summer?published at 14:03 2 June

    Steve Sutcliffe
    BBC Sport journalist

    Graphic showing club's Premier League matchday revenues with Manchester United top and Bournemouth bottomImage source, Getty Images

    Bournemouth have the lowest matchday revenue in the Premier League, with a 11,379 capacity at the Vitality Stadium.

    Yet they have recruited shrewdly and the big-money sales of Dominic Solanke and Dean Huijsen during 2024-25 means they could easily part with £100m to bring in new gs.

    Brentford are among the best run businesses in the league and their approach of "spotting players that other clubs have not considered, such as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, is likely to pay further dividends as they are attracting attention from clubs with big budgets", said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

    "The Bees have no PSR concerns and could spend up to £200m, but are unlikely to break the bank for the sake of it as this is not the way that owner Matthew Benham conducts affairs at the club."

    Meanwhile, another club on the south coast, Brighton, are also in rude health heading into the next transfer window.

    The Seagulls have earned £200m in profit over the previous two seasons and could repeat last summer's heavy spend of more than £200m if necessary.

    However, chief executive Paul Barber has already indicated they will more likely return to their tried and tested model of bringing in relatively unheard of players from unfamiliar markets.

    Brighton's biggest challenge is more likely to be keeping hold of the likes of Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba and Kaoru Mitoma, who are all attracting iring glances from clubs with bigger budgets.

    Read more about the early transfer window and what each Premier League club can spend this summer

  • What if... the season came down to improvement?published at 11:40 2 June

    Graphic showing most improved teams from 2023-24 to 2024-25:

Pos Team                          23-24 24-25 PTS
1	Nottingham Forest	36	65	+29
2	Brentford	                39	56	+17
3	Brighton	                48	61	+13
4	Bournemouth	        48	56	+8
5	Fulham	                        47	54	+7
6	Chelsea	                        63	69	+6

    As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

    Many of us will have been there in school.

    It was not always about being the best, but about being better. Not trying to beat the others' scores or times, but about beating your own.

    In sport too, it is why personal bests exist. It is a way of measuring your own improvement against what has gone before - we can't all be Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner.

    So if the Premier League season was all about how you compared to the campaign before, who would have come out on top?

    Well, there is one clear winner.

    With 29 points more than they had in 2023-24, Nottingham Forest would have been lifting that trophy.

    They may not have finished the season quite as they hoped having spent so much time in the Champions League spots, but having narrowly avoided relegation a year ago, this shows the sheer scale of the improvement this term.

    Their nearest challenger on this basis would have been Brentford.

    With 56 points, they were three points short of their best ever Premier League tally, but having flirted with relegation last time out, it made for a more enjoyable season this time around.

    Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham may have just missed out on European adventures in the real league, but they are also teams who can be happy with the improvements they are showing as now well-established top-flight sides.

    And despite the chaotic nature of Chelsea since the new ownership came in, they too can look to steady progress.

    At the other end of the scale (or table), it is a very different picture.

    Many question whether the traditional 'big six' teams is still relevant, given how others have broken that mould in recent years.

    But if the season was based on improvement, four of those six would have been at the bottom.

    Tottenham dropped-off in the league nearly as much as Forest improved. Manchester City had a high bar to reach, but a torrid spell proved costly. Manchester United have set multiple unwanted club records, while Arsenal struggled to maintain a real challenge for the title.

    They say beware the wounded tiger, and it is hard to see all these sides having the same difficulties next season, but they will not have it all their own way with those teams that are on the up.

    *All data from Opta and only teams who were in the league in 2023-24

    Graphic showing least improved teams from 2023-24 to 2024-25:

Pos  Team       23-24 24-25 PTS
12	Wolves	        46	42	-4
13	West Ham	52	43	-9
14	Arsenal	        89	74	-15
15	Man Utd	60	42	-18
16	Man City	91	71	-20
17	Tottenham	66	38	-28
  • gs and sales - your transfer window prioritiespublished at 09:46 31 May

    Your views banner
    Evan Ferguson and Bryan MbeumoImage source, Getty Images

    We asked for you to tell us what Brighton need to do in the summer transfer window.

    Here are some of your comments:

    Leon: Keeping players should be our goal this transfer window. We've built a fantastic squad with lots of depth and potential. We need to break the mentality of being a feeder club to ever see that potential fulfilled.

    Andy: Sadly, Danny Welbeck has more career behind him than in front so we desperately need a proven striker. The same could be said about Lewis Dunk so a replacement there would be pertinent.

    Tony: A lot depends on whether we lose anyone, but I think we need a striker and a right-back. I'd like us to sign Bryan Mbeumo and Kyle Walker-Peters. That should do the trick.

    Charlie: We had a huge spending spree last summer so I can't see a lot of incoming faces. If Tariq Lamptey is going to go this summer, we need a new right-back. Joel Veltman is in his twilight years (albeit still outstanding) and Mats Wieffer is a stop-gap rather than long term. We might need a striker if Joao Pedro goes, but I would love nothing more than for Evan Ferguson to come back and find his form again - he is a special talent.

    Matt: I would say Brighton need to get Pascal Gross back in the team. He was making assists for fun. If we could find a like-for-like replacement then I'd be very happy. Would be interesting to see if Ferguson comes back and gets his head down. He has the ability but does he have the mentality?

    Ian: Whatever it takes, we need to keep hold of Kaoru Mitoma.

  • Thank you for your published at 09:14 31 May

    Premier League club graphic

    Thank you for the you submitted on the Premier League club pages.

    Our aim is to contain all of the BBC's in-depth coverage of that team in one place, so it is helpful to hear from you - you are who the pages are for after all.

    We are going through all your responses and will take suggestions on board for next season.

  • What needs to happen in the transfer window?published at 12:49 30 May

    Have your say banner
    Brighton promotional image

    The transfer window opens on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.

    Are there certain players you are desperate for Brighton to sign, or an area of the squad that needs improving? Or maybe holding on to a key player is your biggest priority.

    And what about sales - who needs to go?

    So over to you... what names need bringing in and shipping out?

    Let us know here

  • What if... the season started in January?published at 11:32 30 May

    Nicola Pearson
    BBC Sport journalist

    Graphic showing 2025 calendar year table top six:

Pos Team              P     GD  PTS
1	Man City	19	22	40
2	Liverpool	20	17	39
3	Arsenal	        20	16	38
4	Aston Villa	19	10	37
5	Newcastle	19	10	34
6	Brighton	19	  6	34

    As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

    A Premier League season can sometimes be a tale of two halves.

    Some come flying out of the blocks, while others are more sluggish starters.

    The busy Christmas period can be a turning point with the arrival of the January transfer window feeling like a fresh start.

    So what might have happened if the league season only start on 1 January?

    Well, Pep Guardiola's title-winning machines would have picked up their fifth Premier League trophy in a row.

    Playing one game fewer than actual champions Liverpool - who secured the title with four games remaining - they would have finished one point clear of the Reds, not withstanding Arne Slot's side slowdown in form after sealing the title.

    City always seem to come good after January, but this time it was not enough to outweigh the torrid time they had from late autumn.

    The rest of the top six is not too dissimilar to the final placings, although in this case, Aston Villa would have secured Champions League football and Brighton a Europa League spot in the absence of Chelsea - whose form nose-dived at the very beginning of the year.

    And while the new year is a new start for some, it is less so for others.

    That was the case for many of those down the bottom of the league.

    The relegated trio would still have been relegated and Manchester United and Tottenham would still have ended up in the bottom six. West Ham find themselves one place lower after Wolves picked up form under Vitor Pereira.

    So what does this tell us? If you wan to achieve your Premier League ambitions, it is about making sure you are there for nine months and not just from January.

    *Table data from Football365

    2025 calendar year table bottom six graphic showing:

Pos Team             P     GD  PTS
15	West Ham	19	-4	20
16	Man Utd	19	-5	20
17	Tottenham	19	-14	14
18	Leicester 	19	-27	11
19	Ipswich   	19	-31	7
20   S'oton            19	-33	6
  • 'If everyone was fit, there is no telling where we would be'published at 12:31 29 May

    Your views banner
    Brighton fans celebrateImage source, Getty Images

    We asked for your views on our fan contributor Scott McCarthy's end of season scorecard (27 May, 12:42 BST).

    Here are some of your comments:

    Olly: With a young squad and manager in his first season in the Premier League, along with the injury list, it has been a successful season, although frustrating dropping points from winning positions and not doing well against sides that were relegated. The experience of this season bodes well for next.

    Noddy: Albion's biggest obstacle was the many injuries we suffered all season. If everyone was fit there is no telling where they would be now. Most probably in the Champions League.

    Adam: Many Brighton fans will be used to drama. There are not many seasons when we can say Brighton were average. However, there were times when we dropped crucial points in the latter stages of games when we were in complete control. So it's definitely a case of what could have been, rather than what it has been - and don't get me wrong, we are very grateful for our second-best finish. It just didn't quite hit the European bullseye we were all hoping for. Instead, we hit the middle of the board and bounced out again. Roll on next season!

    Brian: Overall a good season - we failed to reach the European places due to inconsistency and in particular losing points at the Amex to relegation candidates. A good experience, though, for a young squad for whom I'm sure greater things await. However, time to say goodbye to a great servant of the club, Lewis Dunk.

  • Hurzeler 'has been a revelation' published at 10:54 29 May

    Fabian Hurzeler for Brighton and Hove Albion Image source, Getty Images

    Former Brighton player Warren Aspinall believes head coach Fabian Hurzeler has ed his first Premier League season 'with flying colours'.

    The 32-year-old is the league's youngest permanent manager and behind Chelsea, named on average the second youngest squad in the division.

    "I think he's been a revelation, at the age he is to come to a different country and a different league," Aspinall told BBC Radio Sussex's 'Albion Unlimited' podcast.

    "First time in the Premier League - he doesn't know the pace of the league but he soon found out. He's come to a different country with a different culture. Lots of things going on and he didn't have many background staff with him to start off with.

    "We've had little dips and things and I think the big dip for me was losing in the FA Cup when we lost 4-3 on penalties [to Nottingham Forest in the quarter-final] and that deflated us quite a lot.

    "So it was a tough season for him but he's come out with flying colours."

    Listen to the full chat here

    BBC Sounds banner
  • When will the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures be released? published at 08:21 29 May

    The Premier League trophy with BBC's Ask Me Anything brandingImage source, Getty Images

    The BBC's Ask Me Anything team have done all of the research ahead of the announcement detailing next season's Premier League matches.

    The fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, 18 June 2025 and the release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.

    The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.

    The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.

    Read the full article here