TOTTENHAM - Away, Falmer Years: 17/18 - 20/21 Prem, seasons 7 - 10 . '14 EFL Cup, season4.
Manager: tha, previously Jose Mourinho (2019-21) - Wins = 45.7% @ Aug '20.
Hotspur Stad gate; 60k . (ave 31.6K, cap 32K @ White Hart Lane . 83K versus Arsenal @ Wembley) . Nickname: Spurs . Shirt: white.
Prem record from 11/12 to 20/21; 4, 5, 6, 5, 3, 2 / 3, 4, 6, 7 @ 20/4/21 . . . . Best finish = 2nd '17, Worst finish = 6th '15 & '20.
C21; Runner-up - '17, top four - 5 times, top six - 7 times, top ten - 5 times.
Podiums; 17/18 - Man City, Man Utd, Spurs . 16/17 - Chelsea, Spurs, City . 15/16 - Leicester, Arsenal, Spurs.
Points last decade: 62, 69, 72, 69, 64, 70, 86, 77, 71, 59, (50).
Recent managers; Mauricio Pochettino (2014-19), Tim Sherwood (2014), Andre Villas Boas (2012-14), Harry Redknapp (2008-12).

20/21 odds at start: title 50/1, top four 3/1, bottom half 9-2 . Sack Mourinho 16/1.
Run in from 2/4/21: Newcastle 2-2 (A), Man Utd 1-3 (H), Everton 2-2 (A), Fulham (A), Sheff Utd (H), Leeds (A), Wolves (H), Villa (H), Leicester (A).
Run in *forecast @ 2/4/21: 48 > *63pts, Max = 75 . Actual = 50 . Po = 6th, Best poss = 3rd . Actual po = 7th

SPURS @ home; Hotspur Stad (also Wembley & White Hart Lane)
Seasn . W D L . F A GD . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L%
20/21 - 07 3 5 . 26 17 09 . 24 7 = 1.60 48.0 . 46.6 33.3 - J Mourinho.
19/20 - 12 3 4 . 36 17 19 . 39 6 = 2.05 66.1 . 63.1 21.0 - J Mourinho, finish 27/7/20.
18/19 - 12 2 5 . 34 16 18 . 38 4 = 2.00 53.5 . 63.1 26.3 - Mauricio Pochettino.
17/18 - 13 4 2 . 40 16 24 . 43 3 = 2.26 55.8 . 68.4 10.5 - Mauricio Pochettino.
16/17 - 17 2 0 . 47 09 38 . 53 2 = 2.78 61.6 . 89.4 00.0 - Mauricio Pochettino.
15/16 - 10 6 3 . 35 15 20 . 36 3 = 1.89 51.4 . 52.6 15.7 - Mauricio Pochettino.
14/15 - 10 3 6 . 31 24 07 . 33 5 = 1.73 51.5 . 52.6 31.5 - Mauricio Pochettino.
13/14 - 11 3 5 . 30 23 07 . 36 6 = 1.89 52.1 . 57.8 26.3 - Andre Villas-Boas & Tim Sherwood.

Spurs v Albion (A) from 17/18: 2-0, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1 . . W = 0 D = 0 L = 4

Season10, 4th Premier League (A) Sun 1/11/20 - L 2-1 ~ Lamptey.
Match played behind closed doors under coronavirus restrictions.
Going up to Spurs had literally been a varied venue experience for Brighton fans, both with recent Prem fixtures and in previous decades during two Cup competitions. Not least also due to visiting their other temporary home, as per Wembley, on route to our fourth season in the elite. Getting anything from each ongoing encounter had proved difficult to say very little but with Albion's pre-season ambitions aiming towards midtable, perhaps times would now reflect positive change. Graham Potter was tasked with obtaining improvement in results here and at least raising Seagulls away game to compete, wherever they landed this term. The squad had been overhauled since last term but Potter's modus operandi was essentially possession based and that wasn't going to change. Brighton fans were hoping he could mould a mixed group of young and experienced players to advantage.
Albion lost again and were becoming part of the bottom six as per previous seasons of struggle, toil, blood, tears & sweat. VAR had a big influence on the contest, although it's fair to say Ref and his advisor watching on tv both had a mare tonight. Spurs opened the scoring via a disputed penalty, which needed reference to the rule book to fathom (13m). In similar circumstances Albion were denied a pen when Trossard got held back. Lamptey equalised after turnaround and this was only confirmed when Ref studied his monitor for many minutes (56min). Hosts won the game with a free header and BHA went home with nowt once more (73min). Potter brought off both wingbacks suffering injuries but left influential Lallana on for the full 90+ game time. It wasn't that Albion played badly, merely about turning possession into chances and then scoring from on targets. Potter had left two strikers at home and went with a false no.9. Later Welbeck came on and looked the part for remaining minutes until final whistle. Spurs had mugged us as they knew too much about gamesmanship, conning officials and bending rules & regs to boot. Seagulls had to wise up, not be so soft and stop trying so hard to score the perfect goal. In a numbers game, playing percentages would only provide a positive result if plenty of attempts were made to put the ball in the proverbial onion bag. We didn't have the quality like locals to show individual brilliance. Everything else was just filling for a 90 minute match.
Stats: ht 1-0, goals 13,73-56, poss 44%-56%, on target 3-2, off target 6-4, o/s 0-4, corners 4-5, fouls 14-13, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3 . Weather: wet.
Team: 26 Sanchez, 2 Lamptey (10 Mac Allister 79), 4 Webster, 34 Veltman, 33 Burn Y, 20 March (30 Bernardo 65), 8 Bissouma, 3 White,
14 Lallana, 13 Gross, 11 Trossard (18 Welbeck 74) . Bench: 1 Ryan, 24 Propper, 17 Alzate, 29 Zeqiri.
Squad: 7 Connolly, 9 Maupay, 23 Steele, 19 Izquierdo . Ban: 5 Dunk . Injured: 16 Jahanbakhsh, 21 Andone, 32 Walton . MoM: Lamptey.
Prem: P7 . W0 D1 L2 . F4 A7 . W1 D1 L2 . F7 A7 . Pt5 Po16 = 0.71pt/gm. Wins = 14.2%, Loss = 57.1%

Spurs:
Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 32 . 14 08 10 . 54 37 17 . 50 7 = 1.56 . 43.7 31.2
3qtrs: 29 . 14 06 09 . 49 30 19 . 48 6 = 1.65 . 48.2 31.0
Hfwy: 19 . 09 06 04 . 34 20 14 . 33 6 = 1.73 . 47.3 21.0
Start: 10 . 06 03 01 . 21 09 12 . 21 1 = 2.10 . 60.0 10.0 - J Mourinho.
Europa League: 16 - D Zagreb 2-0 (H) 3-0 (A) . 32 - Wolfsburg 1-4 (A) 4-0 (H) . group - Ludogorets 1-3 (A) 4-0 (H), LASK 3-0 (H) 3-3 (A), R Antwerp 1-0 (A) 2-0 (H). qual - Maccabi 7-2 (H), Shkendija 1-3 (A), Plovdiv 1-2 (A).
EFL Cup: Man City final, Brentford 2-0 (H) s-f, Stoke 1-3 (A) q-f, Chelsea 5pen4 (1-1) (H) R4, Leyton Orient bye (A) R3.
FA Cup: Everton 5-4 aet (A) R5, Wycombe 1-4 (A) R4, Marine 0-5 (A) R3.
Nov: after finish of the first quarter, Spurs briefly led the Prem table.
Jan: at the halfway stage Spurs were 6th posn and 4pts adrift of top four.
Mar: threequarters completed and still 6th but 3pts behind 4th place.
May: Mourinho went in mid April...

Season9, 3rd Premier League (A) Thur 26/12/19 - L 2-1 ~ Webster.
Our habitual Xmas hols bash this year in the festive-footy southeast was versus Spurs, at lunchtime in their new metroplitan super-stad up the Lane. It also marked BHA's first reciprocal match and near completion of first half of the 3rd PL campaign. Pre-kickoff Albion were part of the lower order mid-table mix, with an average of 1.11pt/gm. Things could be worse but in truth overall improvement compared to 2018 points in this period had not materialised. At the Amex back in October, blue & white had justly prevailed against misfiring Hotspur but today we didn't really want to end carved up like cold turkeys. Graham Potter had established a new method of play from day1 but other sides were up to speed on us now and also knew all too obvious flaws in this expansive, fluid & open system. Safety first defence tactics from Chris Hughton's first two Prem campaigns may not have apppeared very entertaining but at end of each season we remained ok to go again next time. How would Potter react on his next visit to a big six outfit? Albion could field any manner of shape and change seamlessly during play according to circumstances. But whether the current match-day squad was thought strong enough should be revealed by New Year and opening of the January transfer window.
Albion crashed to yet another defeat having led at ht from a set piece goal by Webster (37min). After the break Spurs got going and showed their quality to level (53min) and go ahead (76min). They were too good for Seagulls, who lacked Prem players with a touch of real class. BHA tried hard but all for nothing in the event, failing to keep a clean sheet and never quite developing their amount of possession into taking chances. Brighton fans went home feeling disappointed following a mobile display of intent that lacked the superior levels of skills shown by world-class players of Spurs squad. Such is life in lower reaches of the Premier League. It is easy to make excuses for a team easy on the eye but at end of the season such sentiment counts for zilch when measuring final placing, facts, figs and comparing to the last two PLcampaigns.
Stats: shape 433-433, ht 0-1, goals 37-53,72, poss 54%-46%, on target 5-5, off target 2-5, blocks 4-1, o/s 5-0, corners 9-2,
fouls 10-9, yellows 4-2, subs 3-3 . MoM - Webster . Gate - 56,308, away 3k . Weather - rain.
1 Ryan, 21 Schelotto (8 Bissouma 83), 4 Duffy, 15 Webster, 33 Burn Y, 46 Alzate, 6 Stephens, 30 Bernardo (11 Trossard 76), 13 Gross Y,
44 Connolly (7 Maupay 68), 18 Mooy . Subs - 27 Button, 22 Montoya, 24 Propper, 17 Murray.
Squad - 3 Bong, 14 Balogun, 16 Jahanbakhsh . Injured - 5 Dunk, 19 Izquierdo, 20 March.
Prem: P19 . W3 D3 L3 . F12 A11 . W2 D2 L6 . F10 A17 . Pt20 Po15 = 1.05pt/gm. Wins = 26.3%, Loss = 47.3%

Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total: 38 . 16 11 11 . 61 47 14 . 59 06 = 1.55 . 42.1 28.9 - J Mourinho, finish 27/7/20
3qtrs: 29 . 11 08 10 . 47 40 07 . 41 08 = 1.41 . 37.9 34.4 - J Mourinho. PREM SUSPENDED
Hfwy: 19 . 08 05 06 . 34 27 07 . 29 06 = 1.52 . 42.1 31.5 - M Pochettino.
Start: 10 . 03 03 04 . 16 15 01 . 12 11 = 1.10 . 30.0 30.0
Champions League: 16 - Leipzig 3-0 (A) 0-1 (H). Group - B Munich 2-7 (H) 3-1 (A), Olympiakos 4-2 (H) 2-2 (A), RS Belgrade 5-0 (H) 0-4 (A).
EFL Cup: 3rd rnd - Colchester 4pen3 0-0 (A)
FA Cup: Norwich 2pen3 1-1 aet (H) R5, Southampton 3-2 (H) 1-1 (A) R4, Middlesbro 2-1 (H) 1-1 (A) R3.
Aug: adrift of top four and even top six at this very early stage.
Oct: outside of top ten and results show mid table mediocrity by end of start Q1.
New Year: change of manager sees them up to 6th. Qual for last 16 of Ch Lg and in FAC4 draw via a replay.
March: in 8th spot when PL suspended. Out of Chmp Lg last 16.
July: struggling to make 5th place but qualified for Europa League.

Season8 2nd Premier League (A) - Tue 23/4/19 - L 1-0.
Once again Sky Sports had selected Albion for tv coverage and so moved the original fixture date from Saturday Apr6 to Sunday the 7th. But next, as Spurs progressed in the Champions League and Seagulls reached FA Cup semis, it got rescheduled a second time. And by this juncture the north London giants brand spanking new stad was coming into regular use. It was thus a PL game in hand for Albion on nearly all other rivals in the wider danger zone but hardly one we could count on as a source of points. Seagulls had stopped the rot with a goalless draw on the road last weekend but knew this was a more difficult task. There were four fixtures left and three were against top six sides. So a clean sheet here would be regarded as almost priceless in the immediate challenge to beat the dreaded drop.
Albion hung in there for majority of this miss-match but conceded at the death from a pot shot (88min). Seagulls never looked like scoring and the goalless run was in excess of 10 hours now. Andone got booked for rough stuff and hooked after the hour mark. He did not seem too pleased but hardly had a good game. March & Kayal also joined the defensive display but it turned sour just prior to the ninety. Hughton said, 'I can't fault the effort and what we tried to do. We defended well. In regards to clear cut chances I thought they were minimal. If we manage the game better in the last period we come awy with a result. Saturday noe becomes our biggest game. What we need to do is win in whichever way possible.' Brighton fans knew that meant scoring at least one goal and at this moment couldn't quite guess where it would come from. Set pieces, open play and even opposition mistakes had all drawn a blank lately. BHA had merely netted 32 in the league, which was less than a goal a game on average. Spurs had got 65, so perhaps we were lucky to keep them to just one after all.
Stats; ht 0-0, goal 88, shape 433-451, poss 78%-22%, on target 5-1, off target 12-4, corners 6-3, fouls 7-13, yellows 1-2, subs 3-3.
Gate 56,251, away 2992 . Weather - mild . MoM - Dunk, outstanding in defence.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 30 Bernardo Y, 13 Gross, 6 Stephens, 8 Bissouma (7 Kayal 86), 16 Jahanbakhsh (20 March 73),
10 Andone Y (17 Murray 64), 9 Locadia . Subs - 27 Button, 3 Bong, 33 Burn, 14 Balogun.
Prem P35 . W6 D4 L7 F17 A23 . W3 D3 L12 F15 A31 . Pt34 Po17 = 0.97pt/gm. Wins = 25.7%, Loss = 54.2%

Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total; 38 . 23 02 13 . 67 39 28 . 71 4 = 1.86 . 60.5 34.2
3qtrs; 29 . 20 01 08 . 56 30 26 . 61 3 = 2.10 . 68.9 27.5
Hfwy; 19 . 15 00 04 . 42 18 24 . 45 2 = 2.36 . 78.9 21.0
Start; 10 . 07 00 03 . 16 08 08 . 21 5 = 2.10 . 70.0 20.0 - M Pochettino.
Champions League; final - lost to Liverpool 0-2, s-f - Ajax 0-1 (H) 2-3 (A), q-f - Man City 1-0 (H) 4-3 (A), 16 - B Dortmund 3-0 (H) 0-1 (A).
Group B - Barcelona 2-4 (H) 1-1 (A), PSV Eindhoven 2-2 (A) 2-1 (H), Inter Milan 2-1 (A) 1-0 (H).
EFL Cup; s-f - Chelsea 1-0 (H) 4-2 pens 2-1 (A), q-f - Arsenal 0-2 (A), 4th rnd - West Ham 1-3 (A),
3rd rnd - Watford 2-2 4-2 pens (H - @ MK Dons)
FA Cup; 4th rnd - Palace 2-0 (A), 3rd rnd - Tranmere 0-7 (A)
Aug; will they come to a peak eventually at their new stadium, or over the top after three previous podiums? And that notorious 'wait & see' recruitment policy hasn't exactly moved with the times.
October; challenging in top six and getting it done away from Wembley. Still in EFL Cup.
New Year; making a fist of it in the top three and within striking distance of 2nd place. FA Cup progress.
March; Still at Wembley but move to new stad in April. In a four way fight for 3rd place. Champs Lg q-f.

Season7 1st Premier League (A) Wednesday 13/12/17 - WEMBLEY - L 2-0.
The PL season was mid-way thru December and in a busy month, now approached the halfway stage just prior to Xmas. Albion were on schedule of a point per game average but there was concern over lack of goals scored recently, while those conceded were racking up. And nobody expected anything much from this next visit to top-six outfit Spurs at their temporary international home. Brighton had been found wanting since their last win at beginning of November, so it was time to stand up and be counted. PL managers knew what Chris Hughton's game plan tended to follow and that we didn't offer too much going forward. In the last few matches Seagulls went behind and were then left chasing the game, often with a mountain to climb. Hughton relied on his settled eleven week in & week out but the team appeared jaded presently. On the night Hughton made wholesale changes, by utilising the 25 man squad for the match-day 18. Somehow a way had to be found to take pressure off defence and create goalscoring opportunities. But was this current match-day squad capable of cutting the Premiership mustard before the transfer window opened?
Albion crashed to defeat again and for all their defending couldn't prevent fickle finger of fate setting a trend. It appeared visitors might keep a clean sheet until the interval but somehow it wasn't to be. A deep cross went all the way to the far post and found the top corner (40min). In the second period Hughton sent on March after an hour and later Murray & Gross but nothing changed. Spurs wrapped it up at the death with a second stroke of fortune. From a set piece the ball struck the back of a diving player and deflected into the net (87min). Hughton said, 'we conceded two poor goals. I thought we grew in confidence. We were always going to be up against it but defended well and restricted them to minimal chances. There were no clear ones and that is all you can do.' Brighton fans had an evening out but could see Seagulls were far from ruling the roost home or away this month so far.
Stats; shape 4231-4141, ht 1-0, goals 40,87, poss 75%-25%, on target 8-4, off target 17-3, corners 10-2, o/s 3-1, fouls 5-10, yellow 1-1, subs 3-3. Gate 46,438 (away 3126)
1 Ryan, 21 Schelotto, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk (capt), 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens, 7 Kayal (13 Gross), 24 Propper, 19 Izquierdo (20 March),
17 Murray (10 Hemed).
Prem P17 . W4 D5 L8. F14 A23 . Pt17 Po13 = 1.00pt/gm . Wins = 23.5%, Loss = 47.0%

Quatr: Pl . W D L . . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
Total; 38 . 23 08 07 . 74 36 38 . 77 3 = 2.02 . 60.5 18.4 - Mauricio Pochettino.
3qtrs; 29 . 17 07 05 . 55 24 31 . 58 4 = 2.00 . 58.6 17.2
Hfwy; 19 . 10 04 05 . 34 18 16 . 34 5 = 1.78 . 52.6 26.3
Start; 10 . 06 02 02 . 19 07 12 . 20 3 = 2.00 . 60.0 20.0
Aug - failure to reach the top four will be seen as a slight setback during the dual-league Wembley experience.
New Year - in 5th place and in danger of being left behind top four.
March - challenging for runner-up slot. EFL Cup early exit. FA Cup S-F. Champions League last 16.

SPURS PREVIOUS PREM;
Seasn . W D L . . F A GD . . Pt Po pt/gm . W% L%
19/20 - 16 11 11 . 61 47 14 . 59 6 = 1.55 . 42.1 28.9 - J Mourinho. PL SUSPENDED, complete @ 27/7/20
Not what the special one wanted.
18/19 - 23 02 13 . 67 39 28 . 71 4 = 1.86 . 60.5 34.2 - M Pochettino.
Made fourth position in a close finish with usual top six candidates. Runners up in all English Champions League final confirmed strength of the Prem.
17/18 - 23 08 07 . 74 36 38 . 77 3 = 2.02 . 60.5 18.4 - Mauricio Pochettino.
Second best hardly defines this man from Argentina. In 4 seasons he has made Spurs a top-three outfit, bearing in mind the club is in transit to realistically become even bigger.
16/17 - 26 08 04 . 86 26 60 . 86 2 = 2.26 . 68.4 10.5 - Mauricio Pochettino.
Such was competition at the top that in an average year Spurs may well have won the league. European participation increased the burden away from The Lane.
15/16 - 19 09 10 . 69 35 34 . 70 3 = 1.84 . 50.0 26.3 - Mauricio Pochettino.
Being a metropolitan club, the term 'bottled it' would seem an apt description of this ultimately disappointing campaign. But the run-in can't be re-run and so it's all history now.
14/15 - 19 07 12 . 58 53 05 . 64 5 = 1.68 . 50.0 31.5 - Mauricio Pochettino.
They talk about glass ceilings and at White Hart Lane, Mauricio Pochettino was on the up, without quite managing to crack it in his first season.
13/14 - 21 06 11 . 55 51 04 . 69 6 = 1.81 . 55.2 28.9 - Andre Villas-Boas & Tim Sherwood.
It was the end of European name AVB and latterly novice coach TS but neither saw it out for too long, as 6th & 7th boss since the reign of legend Glenn Hoddle in 2003.

FA CUP from 13/14; 3rd rnd, 4th, 5th, s-f, s-f, 4th, 5th, 5th.
LEAGUE CUP; q-f, runners-up, 3rd rnd, 4th, 4th, s-f, 3rd, ?
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE; nq, nq, nq, group stage, last 16, finalists, last 16, nq.
EUROPA LEAGUE; last 16, last 32, last 16, last 32, nq, nq, nq, last 16.
* * * * * * * * * *

Tottenham - away, Falmer years.
Season4 (A) 29/10/14 Capital One (EFL) Cup r4 - L 2-0.
Going to White Hart Lane was very attractive to those Brighton fans who did attend away matches and the allocation of over 4k seats was sold out well in advance. Spurs had provided friendly Prem opposition for pre-season opening of the Amex in 2011 and there had been other footy connexions with the massive metropolitan outfit over previous decades - see Tottenham on the Withdean Era tab. By reaching the last sixteen in this League Cup competition, Albion had kinda got lucky with the draw on each occasion. In early August, Cheltenham were initially despatched at the Amex, then Swindon in Wiltshire a couple of weeks later but only aet. A useful confidence booster at Burton in September put Seagulls in with a squawk of getting the other Albion with WBA but as we drew Spurs, they went off to Bournemouth instead. On the night at White Hart Lane, travel problems in London delayed k-o until 8pm.
Sami Hyypia was forced to field his U20 keeper Chris Walton for debut, after Stockdale damaged a finger in training. Sami also made other changes from regular league line-up too but had left several first teamers on the bench.
Albion went into the interval having kept the home team at bay and Walton performed well to indicate he had a very good future ahead. Spurs had most of possession and chances but Seagulls defended resolutely. Then on start of the second period, the home unit subbed for a ball-playing attacker who soon got past defenders and beat CW (54min). Hyypia double subbed on 65min with direct m-f replacements in vain attempt to stay in the tie. But all to no avail as Spurs piled on pressure and got a second as CW went down to parry an effort but it fell to a striker (74min). BHA had a couple of pen shouts waved away, although Ref would have had to be in benevolent mood to give against 30k home crowd. CMS got on for a few moments at the death as Albion rallied and kept heads up. But in truth, stats showed we were well beat a long time before final whistle. At least the rain stopped and away fans went home in good voice after singing hearts out.
Walton, Calderon, Hughes, Dunk, Chicksen, McCourt (Teixeira), Ince, Holla, Forster-Caskey (Gardner), LuaLua (Mackail-Smith), Colunga.
* * * * *

Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - no league meetings.
Noughties last there - Season6 8/1/05 (A) - FA Cup R3.

Tottenham - Home, Falmer Years: 17/18 - 20/21 Prem, seasons 7 - 10.
SPURS away:
Seasn . W D L . F A GD . Pt Po pt/gm %Pt . . W% L%
20/21 - 07 5 5 . 28 20 08 . 26 07 = 1.52 52.0 . 41.1 29.4 - J Mourinho.
19/20 - 04 8 7 . 25 29 -4 .. 20 6 = 1.05 33.8 . 21.0 36.8 - Jose Mourinho, finish 27/7/20.
18/19 - 11 0 8 . 33 23 10 . 33 4 = 1.73 46.4 . 57.8 42.1 - Mauricio Pochettino.
17/18 - 10 4 5 . 34 20 14 . 34 3 = 1.78 44.1 . 52.6 26.3 - Mauricio Pochettino.
16/17 - 09 6 4 . 39 17 22 . 33 2 = 1.73 38.3 . 47.3 21.0 - Mauricio Pochettino.
15/16 - 09 7 3 . 34 20 14 . 34 3 = 1.78 48.5 . 47.3 15.7 - Mauricio Pochettino.
14/15 - 09 4 6 . 27 29 -2 .. 31 5 = 1.63 48.4 . 47.3 31.5 - Mauricio Pochettino.
13/14 - 10 3 6 . 25 28 -3 .. 33 6 = 1.73 47.8 . 52.6 31.5 - Andre Villas-Boas & Tim Sherwood.

Albion v Spurs (H) from 17/18: 1-1, 1-2, 3-0, 1-0 . . W = 2 D = 1 L = 1

Season10, 4th Premier League (H) Sun 31/1/21 - W 1-0 ~ Trossard.
Coronavirus attendance restrictions - lockdown 3, no fans (Tier 3/4/5 = 0, 2 = 2000, 1 = 4000). Match played behind closed doors.
Looking at last year's fixture here (see season9 below) a couple of things are apparent. First of all the timing of playing big-boys Spurs during an assumed testing season ahead and secondly, their match-day mental state, given that club's upheaval when replacing a successful manager. This psychological aspect can be applied to other big sides (eg. Arsenal) and may account for one-off positive results against top-six giants in campaigns of generally low returns of wins & points. Graham Potter now had to repeat such singular success and also attempt to replicate it against any Prem quality opposition arriving on our turf. Before kickoff Albion hadn't won at the Amex all season and those domestic failings of '20 were carrying into '21. Home form was: 1-3, 2-3, 1-1, 0-0, 1-1, 1-2, 1-1, 0-1, 3-3, 0-0. So frustrated Brighton fans could see today would be massive to actually get something versus mighty Spurs. Talking of which, BHA posted 67m losses on books from the previous term, given covid restrictions were a significant factor for both income and outgoings columns. But the thing that really made Seagulls supporters ears twitch was comments about latent player values. In other words whether we'd become a selling club going forward. It led to anoraks checking on line sources for purchase prices and transfer fees etc. and speculation as to icon Tony Bloom's continued financial benevolence. On this penultimate day of the January window, no full transfers in had taken place. BHA legend Glenn Murray joined Forest, again with boss Chris Hughton, on a free. Izquierdo was back on the bench following two seasons out with injury.
Albion won for the first time at home this season. It also ensured a 7pt gap above the d-z, off loaded heaps of pressure & unloaded lotsa frustration to boot. Seagulls were good value for the single goal victory and keeping a clean sheet against an under par Spurs unit on the night. Trossard netted from a Mac Allister to Gross interplay with a fluid move worthy of scoring (17min). After that chances came and went but visitors seldom troubled Sanchez between our sticks. Potter kept momentum going with two late subs, although the team ground it out ok. Brighton fans stuck at home could see a half decent eleven, match-day squad, etc given talent sat on the bench and also a couple out injured. What they had to do now was prove in future fixtures this was no one off but a side to be reckoned with versus quality opposition or not. Time would only tell.
Stats: ht 1-0, goal 17, poss 43%-57%, on target 5-4, off target 11-4, o/s 2-1, corners 9-2, fouls 11-11, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3, shape 3421-3421.
Weather: cold & wet.
Team: 26 Sanchez, 3 White, 5 Dunk, 4 Webster, 34 Veltman (33 Burn 72 Y), 13 Gross, 8 Bissouma, 20 March, 10 Mac Allister,
9 Maupay Y (14 Lallana 79), 11 Trossard (7 Connolly 79) . Bench: 31 Walton, 15 Moder, 19 Izquierdo, 17 Alzate, 22 Tau, 29 Zeqiri .
Squad: 16 Jahanbakhsh, 24 Propper . Injured: 2 Lamptey, 18 Welbeck . MoM: Mac Allister.
Prem: P21 . W1 D6 L4 . F11 A15 . W3 D3 L4 . F12 A14 . Pt21 Po17 = 1.00pt/gm. Wins = 19.0%, Loss = 38.0%

Season9, 3rd Premier League (H) Sat 5/10/19 - W 3-0 ~ Maupay, Connolly 2.
By vagaries of those PL fixture computer listings, Spurs were the only top-six giant that Albion would host prior to New Year - before follow-on domestic games during second half of the camaign. And they don't come much bigger than entertaining this huge north London outfit at best of times - remembering they were our big name opposition at opening of the Amex in July 2011 after all. All this apart, Albion had not won a Prem League match at ex-fortress Amex for six months... so no pressure then going into this clash.
Graham Potter had made various changes in formation, method of play and personnel from start of the season but results to date were much the same as during Chris Hughton's 'defence first' tenure. Over 20 players from the PL/PL2 pools were now sent out on loan, so Brighton fans assumed our first team group was best of that whole bunch anyhow. Today would show if they were up to current PL survival standard or not.
Albion notched a sensational victory to send Brighton fans home for tea very happy indeed. Potter set up the team as 442 with Connolly starting on debut alongside Maupay. In opening moments Spurs keeper dropped a cross on the goal-line and Maupay took advantage (3 min). There was then a long delay before their goalie got stretchered off. Seagulls went further ahead when Connolly opened his account, neatly finishing after his back heel flick rebounded off the sub custodian (32min). The teenage wonder striker went solo after the hour mark, smashing a low shot home across the goalmouth (65min). He duly got a standing ovation when replaced by Bissouma with the match already won. Spurs on the otherhand were disappointing, although Albion did what they had to do in keeping them at bay. All in all a very good BHA performance to finally break the Amex hoodoo. Potter said, 'I don't like to talk about individuals after such a strong team effort but Aaron gave us an extra dimension.' After getting a bit of luck from the get go, hosts built on their lead with attacking intent and a super display going forward from midfield, where Gross & Mooy ran the show. The side looked balanced and also created chances from fluid offensive moves. Both strikers were mobile, took their goals well and tested an under par away outfit to beyond previous limits on our turf. Brighton fans hoped this would prove to be a turning point for progress up the table before we met Spurs again on Boxing Day.
Stats; shape 442-4231, h-t 2-0, goals 3,32,65, poss 48%-52%, on target 6-3, off target 5-3, blocks 6-2, crosses 16-15, corners 4-4, o/s 1-1,
tackles 23-25, fouls 11-7, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3 . Gate 30,610, away 3028 . Weather - dry & mild . MoM - Connolly.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 15 Webster, 5 Dunk Y, 33 Burn, 13 Gross, 6 Stephens Y (17 Murray 90), 46 Alzate (3 Bong 88), 18 Mooy,
44 Connolly (8 Bissouma 80), 7 Maupay . Subs - 27 Button, 14 Balogun, 16 Jahanbakhsh, 20 March.
Squad - 21 Schelotto . Injured - 4 Duffy, 11 Trossard, 19 Izquierdo, 30 Bernardo.
Prem P8 . W1 D2 L1 . F5 A4 . W1 D1 L2 . F3 A6 . Pt9 Po13 = 1.12pt/gm. Wins = 25%, Loss = 37.5%

Season8 2nd Premier League (H) Sat 22/9/18 - L 1-2 ~ Knockaert.
When is the best time to play a top six side? Well, Spurs were third visitors to the Amex this term and we'd already hosted Man Utd here for our first domestic fixture. Ironically those two sides had been our last two games at the Amex back in the spring (see season7 below). And both previous outcomes were posititve in that first campaign. And the north London outfit hadn't exactly been in form lately, suffering both a PL & Champions League defeat this week. On the night (5:30 k-o for pay tv coverage) Hughton named his regular eleven to start and the bench appeared strong. From word go it rained continually.
Hotspur certainly rained on Albion's parade, showering hapless hosts with superior possession and stats. BHA were architects of their own fortress collapse as they wasted what chances were created to score during 90 mins normal time. Stephens got injured early on, to be replaced by Kayal. A dour first half appeared to be goalless but just prior to the break lively visitors then drew blood. From a f-k Murray handled in the wall and so Ref gave a pen, duly converted (42min). During the 2nd 45 Seagulls were better but couldn't make efforts count to level it. Kayal & Bissouma got booked. Hughton put on Jahanbakhsh as locals pushed up with a good spell. But it went tits up again at a fast counter attack (76min). Locadia arrived and hosts reshaped, chasing the game in frantic closing moments. Hughton was not happy with turn of events but in truth Albion came up short and could only blame themselves for defeat to half decent but below par opposition. Brighton fans got wet and felt disappointed the team couldn't take a lead at home, or at least manage the game a tad better from k-o and not just the final half hour when chips were down.
Stats; shape 4411-442, h-t 0-1, goals 93-42,76, poss 28%-72%, on target 4-7, off target 3-5, blocks 1-4, crosses 14-15, corners 5-7, o/s 2-0, tackles 13-18, fouls 15-9, yellows 2-1, subs 3-2 . Gate 30,531, away 2954 . Weather - rain.
1 Ryan, 22 Montoya, 4 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens (7 Kayal 21 Y61), 24 Propper, 20 March (16 Jahanbakhsh 73),
8 Bissouma Y74 (9 Locadia 79), 17 Murray . Subs - 27 Button, 30 Bernardo, 14 Balogun, 10 Andone.
Prem P6 . W1 D1 L1 . F6 A6 . W0 D1 L2 . F2 A5 . Pt5 Po13 = 0.83pt/gm. Wins = 16%, Loss = 50%

Season7 1st Premier League (H) Tuesday 17/4/18 - 1-1 ~ Gross.
Sky tv turned up to add extra bucks to gate money on the night. This game was also re-scheduled as it clashed with FAC S-F ties the following weekend. There were four further fixtures left to play after this and all were also against sides in the top seven. To date Albion's home record versus big-six clubs was: Man City 0-2, Liverpool 1-5, Chelsea 0-4 & Arsenal 2-1. And versus 7th Burnley 0-0 & 8th Leicester 0-2. So on the face of it Seagulls had it all to do and some, to get any kind of result tonight. It was critical BHA didn't drop below a pt/gm average overall, which stood at 1.06 and could drop to 1.03 with defeat. On the night Chris Hughton named his most influencial side to take on the north London giants.
Albion came from behind to snatch a dramatic point and relieve supporters fears of possible meltdown during the crucial run in. Visitors dominated the match as expected but hosts were always in the game despite quality of opposition threats & forays. After a goalless first half Spurs went ahead moments into the second period. A mix up in defence presented an easy chance to the Hotspur striker (48min). But locals hit back immediately when Izquierdo got tripped in the box. Gross stepped up to smash home the spot kick (50min). Hughton sent on Ulloa & March to freshen up attack and the defence held out to the death. Hughton said, 'against these sides you've got to give everything. It's about concentration - not allowing the quality they've got to have really good opportunities. We had some good spells and that's what you have to do because that eats up the time as well.' Brighton fans were overjoyed at the final whistle and many felt this vital point gained would be enough to get Seagulls over the cut off line as of now.
Stats; shape 4411-4231, ht 0-0, goals 50-48, poss 36%-64%, on target 5-6, off target 2-5, corners 3-4, fouls 6-5, yellows1-0, subs 2-3.
Gate 30,440.
1 Ryan, 2 Bruno, 22 Duffy, 5 Dunk, 3 Bong, 11 Knockaert, 6 Stephens, 7 Kayal, 19 Izquierdo (20 March 77), 13 Gross, 17 Murray (16 Ulloa 74).
Prem P34 . W8 D12 L14 . F32 A47 . Pt36 Po13 = 1.05pt/gm . Wins = 23.5%, Loss = 41.1%
* * * * *
Falmer years: from 2011 to 2017, no home meetings.

Withdean Era: no home meetings.