Veteran star of Premier League new boys Brighton, Steve Sidwell is convinced that the team can stay up in the top flight when play resumes in August.

Sidwell says the team have the capability to defeat clubs in the top flight when games begin from later this year.

The midfielder recently agreed a new deal with the Seagulls. The former Gunner and Blues star says the team has a stronger mentality that would help them succeed this time.

“The season before last was a blessing in disguise. We were mentally stronger this year. It’s a nice feeling to be back in the Premier League. It’s going to be tough but it’s a challenge that we should all be looking forward to,” Sidwell said.

In the 2015/16 season, the club lost narrowly as Middlesbrough pipped them on goal difference to get promotion. However, the same Boro side have been relegated back to the Championship that Brighton just lifted from.

Sidwell said he has been holidaying with his family but that the team is set to get back in shape and do the needful when the times comes.

The manager Chris Hughton recently revealed that he would continue with the 4-4-2 system he used in the Championship but he adds that he sees himself using the 4-4-1-1 system as well.

Preparations are in top gear as they return to the Premier League for the first time since 1983. Brighton signed German playmaker Pascal Gross from Ingolstadt; Dale Stephens agreed a new four year deal, and Hughton has been working on his philosophy.

Sidwell has been in decent form, pushing 26-year old Northern Ireland star Oliver Norwood to the sidelines. However, with the influx of more midfielders, Sidwell would have to battle for game time despite his Premier League experience.

The top five goals to compete for the EFL goal of 2016 have been released.

Each EFL club was asked to select a standout goal for the past year. A shortlist of ten was made and now supporters can pick the eventual winner.

After a public vote for the ten outstanding goals, five made the final cut.

Adam Hammil’s effort when Barnsley played Mill wall may 29th made the list. Lee Tomlin’s effort for Bristol City against Huddersfield on 30th of April and Darren Bent’s goal for Derby Country against Wolves on the 5th day of November last year made the top five. Michael Doyle scored a stunner for Portsmouth when they hosted Accrington on the 8th of March. Steve Sidwell scored the same day as Bent for Brighton when they played Bristol City.

For Bristol City, they made the list twice. One entry would leave good memories and the other not so much. Tomlin’s cracker was important as the Robins sailed to a 4-0 triumph over the Terriers. While they would be quick to vote Tomlin’s wonder goal, they would remember painfully Sidwell’s goal at Ashton Gate.

Sidwell scored a wonder goal from almost the halfway line. His goal is a strong contender as he caught goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell off-guard. The 50-yard goal was already in the net before O’Donnell could force a save as he scrambled back. The goal was one of two Bristol conceded against the Seagulls that day, dropping them from sixth place to ninth.

Ian Holloway is a 53 year old manager who is currently in charge of Queens Park Rangers; this is his 2nd managerial spell in that same club as he had already coached the English club back from 1991 until 1996.

The experienced coach opted to make a return to Loftus Road Stadium on November of 2016 as he replaced Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who was sacked.

Even though Holloway has previously been in control of QPR, he is still struggling trying to secure consistent victories as winning game is a difficult task. Out of the 11 opening English League Championship matches, Holloway has only been able to win 3 matches and either lost or drew the other games.

This sudden drop of points has endangered Ian Holloway’s managerial career in Loftus Road and Steve Sidwell hopes it does not happen as he wants to see Holloway continue his stay in QPR, one of the reasons of why Sidwell is supporting and backing the 53 year old tactician is because the manager is a passionate person which is always good to have in the sport.

Sidwell said: “He’s a passionate person. You want these characters in football.I think it was a good appointment to get him in, somebody that knows the club well and the fans took to that. They are still in a transitional period from where they were a few years ago, but in this Championship you never know what can happen.

“They could start a run of form like Derby have had, or Villa. It’s fine lines in the Championship. Football now is slowly becoming a business. It’s not about a real love for the game, there’s no time or loyalty as such, it’s results driven.

Former Aston Villa player Steve Sidwell has commented on the move of Colin Calderwood from Brighton & Hove Albion to Aston Villa.

The ex-star told Sky News:

“Col was a very popular figure at the football club. He was a great go between. I think it’s hit the gaffer hard, but life goes on. I’m sure somebody else will come in and do just as good a job as Colin has done,” Sidwell said.
Calderwood, in a very surprising move, left Brighton to join Villa manager Steve Bruce as the club’s assistant manager.

Sidwell admits that Brighton would miss his expertise, adding that the players enjoyed a good relationship with the former coach. Calderwood decided he wanted a change for once, after teaming with Chris Hughton for a long time in their managerial career.

After the exit of Roberto di Matteo, Bruce seems to have gotten a hang of the role which has resulted in an improvement. Calderwood joins the side as the club remains focused on regaining top-flight English football status as soon as they can. Villa are yet to lose a game under Bruce and they are looking hopeful at making the play-offs.

In the English Championship, Villa are in 16th position but they are only five points from the top six in the standings. Calderwood is expected to join Bruce in the dugout when Villa play Cardiff next.

Newcastle are also fighting hard to regain Premier League status after they were relegated to the lower division at the end of last term. Rafael Benitez seems focused after he decided to remain with them despite joining late into the season. Norwich FC are the third side that exited the Premier League after the 2015/16 season.

Aston Villa went from competing in the Premier League during the season of 2015-16 to falling into the bottom spots of the English League Championship.

This is a huge step down for the English club and Steve Sidwell believes that the recent string of underwhelming performances from the players of Aston Villa is due to Roberto Di Matteo as he is the man to blame.

Steve Sidwell used to perform with Aston Villa from 2008-2011 and even though he is no longer part of the club, he still remains up to date with everything that is going on with his former club and the 33 year old English midfielder has recently voiced his thoughts concerning some of the things that are going on in with his former club.

“Steve Clarke, I’ve worked under him, the training would have been top draw. The lads would have enjoyed working under him. Di Matteo has fantastic pedigree, but there was obviously no connection there.” Steve Sidwell said.

Out of the 13 opening English League Championship matches of the season that Aston Villa has played so far, they have secured 2 triumphs, 8 draws and 3 defeats. After Aston Villa suffered relegation from the Premier League during the 2015-16 season, supporters of the club wanted and expected them to earn a promotion spot in the English League Championship and get back to the top tier English League but at this point in time, the question that is rising if they will even be able to escape from the bottom relegation zone.

Sidwell has also stated the importance of home games as the current player of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club said that in order to get back to the Premier League which is one of their main objectives, for this to happen they will have to earn a good form in their home matches.

‘’They are obviously going to want to go back to the Premier League as quickly as they can, but they are going to need to get to grips with the Championship as it’s relentless.” Steve Sidwell added on.

Midfielder Steve Sidwell says that his former club Aston Villa can think about promotion only if the excel in the home matches.

Villa were relegated into the Championship to bring an end to their long stay in the top division. They were one of the few clubs never to have been relegated from the Premier League. However, the decline was forecasted some time ago and Villa started the rebuilding process in the summer by appointing Roberto di Matteo. Results from the former Chelsea boss has not been spectacular and the club are struggling in the bottom half of the table even after nine matches.

After having secured just one victory all season long, Villa are in danger of dropping out of the promotion race even before it starts. Sidwell played at Villa Park for three years from 2008 to 2011. Many see this as the time when the club’s struggles started and which were largely unnoticed by former owner Randy Lerner. Now playing with Brighton, Sidwell to get back into the Premier League but with a different team. He has previously achieved promotion to the top division with Reading. The only victory for Villa so far has come in the league and it was a 3-0 success over Rotherham United. Interestingly, this victory came in the first couple of games and Villa have been unable to win since then.

Sidwell says that the club needs to build on this result.“We spoke last year that the players that they bring in have to have the right quality and mentality.The key will be their home form. They are leaking goals [currently]. They are obviously going to want to go back to the Premier League as quickly as they can, but they are going to need to get to grips with the Championship as it’s relentless,” said Sidwell.

At the age of 33, Steve Sidwell is reaching the last few stages of his career and the English midfielder is aware of this, it’s because of this reason that Sidwell is already preparing himself for life outside of the pitch and the English player is taking all the steps needed to start off his career as a manager.

Steve Sidwell has been playing football at a competitive level since he performed in the youth squad of Arsenal which was back in 2000.

From there on out, Sidwell has gone out to perform with a number of different clubs including: Brentford, Reading, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Fulham just to name a few of his former teams.

The experienced midfielder recently voiced details concerning his current situation as a player in Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club and Sidwell later went on to talk about his near future and revealed information in relation to his managerial career which still has not kicked off but he is working to making it happen.

‘’Every year is tough but you only have to look at this year with the teams coming down like Aston Villa, Norwich and Newcastle. Then you have got teams like Derby and Sheffield Wednesday that are still there and spending.It's so different from being a player. You have to be able to stand up in front of a group and get your ideas across. So I am learning a lot’’

"I find myself watching games now and it feels completely different. I'm not watching the ball but I'm watching the winger to see why he hasn't tucked in or why someone else hasn't made that run. It's annoying in a way because I can't just enjoy the game like I used to." Steve Sidwell of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club said as he talked about his current situation in the Championship League club as well as his near future.

Steve Sidwell originally signed a loan contract with the Championship League club Brighton & Hove Albion back on January of the ongoing year, this deal lasted until the end of the 2015-16 season and the 33 year old English player managed to make 18 appearances.

The veteran player was later on released by Stoke City and Sidwell opted to sign a 1 year long contract with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Sidwell helped out Brighton in securing the 3rd spot of the Championship League and were defeated in the play-off semi-final after playing against Sheffield Wednesday.

Nonetheless, even with this defeat against Sheffield Wednesday, Steve Sidwell managed to make enough contributions as he stood out in the squad of Chris Brighton and this is why a new contract was offered to the experienced player who was pleased to keep on performing with the Championship League club at least for another year.

Chris Brighton voiced his joy and said why he offered Steve Sidwell a one year contract as the manager said: "He knows exactly what the Championship is all about and what it takes to get promoted. He was excellent for us in the run-in, and was a key figure on and off the pitch as one of the senior members of the squad."

Sidwell lost his chance to perform at a consistent basis for Stoke City after he tore a knee ligament which left him out of action for a significantly long period of time and he was eventually released by Stoke City and then Sidwell decided to sign a 1 year long contract with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Mark Brighton is hoping that Sidwell will be able to contribute once again to his squad and make another impressive season where they manage to secure a top spot and maybe even a promotion spot to the top tier Premier League.

There might be a chance to see Steven Gerrard play for Celtic one day according to their manager Brendan Rogers.

Indeed, the latter has managed Gerrard while he was at Liverpool and he might be interested in bringing his former player to Celtic.

Steven Gerrard is currently playing with Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS and will be free from any contract as from December 2016. If ever the deal will happen, it will most likely occur in the January transfer window.

Brendan Rogers has stated that the former Liverpool captain has been a fantastic player for him and that he will be interested in working again with him in the future. He said that if you want to be successful in football, you need to surround yourself with the best player. For him, Gerrard has been one of the best players that he has ever worked with and will be glad if ever he can bring him to Celtic.

Steven Gerrard is current 35 years old, and it seems that he can play at the top level for at least one season more. This will be a massive coup for Celtic if ever they can land a player of this stature. Indeed, a player as Gerrard will not only improve your midfield but also have a massive influence on the other young players around him. You cannot also forget the media coverage that a player such as Steven Gerrard will bring to Celtic.

Brendan Rogers, who has only recently taken charge of the team, is keen to bring new faces to the club. Obviously, his objective will be to win the title, but he might also be interested in going a bit further in the European competition where Celtic have been struggling recently.

Brighton has announced that they have signed former Stoke City midfielder Steve Sidwell on a permanent deal.

Indeed, Stoke have announced on Friday that Sidwell’s contract will not be renewed and that they have released the player.

Brighton’s manager Chris Hughton has announced the signing and said that they are pleased that the first player they have signed this season is Steve Sidwell. The latter who was on loan at Brighton since last season has impressed during his time at the club and Hughton said that it was a pleasure for him to sign a quality player.

This will be the third spell that Steve Sidwell will be having with the club since having played twice for Brighton on loan.

Chris Hughton said that Steve Sidwell is a quality player and that he will definitely improve the team. He said that Sidwell has been impressive since he joined the team on loan last season and he expects that he will keep on playing as he has done so far. According to the manager, Steve Sidwell already has some great experience of playing in the Championship, and this should be useful for Brighton as they hope to mount a serious challenge for promotion next season.

Chris Hughton believes that Sidwell has amassed experience of promotion from the Championship during his time at Reading and hope that this will be useful for Brighton. He believes that Steve Sidwell has some impressive leadership qualities.

Steve Sidwell has great experience of top level football with his 400 appearances in the Premier League. He has played for sides such as Aston Villa, Stoke City as well as Fulham and has managed to score 61 goals during the process. He has so far scored five goals for Brighton during his loan spell.