Sussex Sport Weekly podcast - episode 36 - Brighton prepare for Marseille

Name: Sussex Sport Weekly podcast - episode 36 - Brighton prepare for Marseille
Uploaded: 2023-10-05T09:17:47+00:00
Duration: 27 min 52 s
Channel: SussexWorld

00:00 Welcome to another episode of the Sussex Sport Weekly podcast.

00:05 I'm Matt Powell and I'm joined by Brighton and Hove Albion writers,

00:07 Darren Howard and Frankie Elliott, and Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford.

00:11 Brighton experienced a sobering afternoon at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime as

00:14 they were thrashed 6-1 by a rampant Aston Villa.

00:17 Ollie Watkins grabbed a hat trick as Unai Emery's side put the Seagulls to the sword.

00:21 We'll pick over the bones of Brighton's heavy defeat at Villa and

00:23 look ahead to this evening's Europa League fixture in Marseille.

00:27 Meanwhile, Crawley Town experiencing an up and down week.

00:30 The Reds ooze confidence in Saturday's win over Sutton United, but

00:32 were brought back down to earth in a disappointing defeat at Doncaster Roads on

00:36 Tuesday.

00:36 We'll reflect on Crawley's week and

00:38 look ahead to Saturday's blockbusting game against Wrexham.

00:41 You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and

00:44 pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport.

00:48 But we'll start with Brighton's 6-1 defeat at Villa.

00:51 Darren, I don't think many of us predicted that scoreline at the start of

00:53 weekend.

00:54 Sum that up for us.

00:56 Yeah, well, I'd want to forget, I think, in summary.

01:00 Yeah, it was just a very poor performance at the office and yeah,

01:04 the way Brighton were taking charge at Brighton, really.

01:10 They actually started off okay.

01:11 They were sort of making some good ground down the left.

01:15 Estupinan and Matoma were linking quite well in the early stage.

01:19 As soon as they went behind 1-0, it was a very good goal from Aston Villa,

01:22 actually, well worked goal.

01:25 And Ollie Watkins, who always seems to play well against Brighton,

01:29 was there to finish it off.

01:31 He had a really, really strong game.

01:32 Watkins obviously got the hat trick, but alongside that, he caused Lewis Dunk and

01:38 Adam Webster quite a few problems.

01:40 Lewis Dunk didn't look very good, to be honest.

01:42 He was off the pace, which is very rare for Dunk.

01:46 And Webster is still yet to sort of find his form, really, this season.

01:51 So, yeah, the combination of that.

01:53 And then at 1-0 down, Brighton were then hit with...

01:57 There was a couple of dodgy VAR calls, which could have gone their way.

02:02 The first one, there was a player in an offside position in Jason Steele's

02:08 eyeline when Watkins slotted home the second.

02:11 And then with Estupinan's own goal, there was a foul on Soli March in the build-up,

02:15 which could have easily been given as a foul.

02:18 But they didn't go their way.

02:20 And then that was 3-0.

02:21 Brighton did pull one back briefly, but they were off the pace, to be honest,

02:26 for all told.

02:27 So, two dodgy VAR calls, potentially, but it wasn't really the reason they lost.

02:33 It was that midfield area, which, again, Deserbe's wrestling with that at the moment.

02:38 He can't find the right combination in that midfield.

02:40 And it was always going to be a problem with Caicedo and McAllister leaving.

02:45 And that area of the pitch is still, you know, against the likes of the Luton

02:49 Towns, the Bournemouths and, you know, even Man United.

02:52 There you say it at the moment, you can get away with it.

02:54 But when a team is really on to you, like Aston Villa are, that is when the likes of,

03:00 that is why these teams pay such huge sums of money for these players like Caicedo.

03:06 Because they just mop up so much trouble.

03:09 They spot danger before it actually happens.

03:12 And they protect that back line.

03:13 That's why Liverpool wanted him.

03:14 That's why Chelsea paid 115 million for him.

03:18 And Brighton are still wrestling with that position and trying to get the best,

03:22 the best combination that they have.

03:25 - Deron mentioned there, Frankie, the VAR decisions.

03:28 Nicola Zaniolo was in an offside position for 2-0.

03:31 And then, as you mentioned, Soli March was fouled in the build-up, third goal.

03:34 They have every right to feel aggrieved and we'll come on to it in a minute.

03:38 But VAR, what's the point?

03:41 - Yeah, I mean, on a weekend where, obviously, VAR was under immense spot,

03:45 well, the biggest spotlight it's probably ever had in the Premier League.

03:47 I actually think Brighton don't really have a case, to be honest,

03:50 especially for the second goal.

03:53 I'm never too convinced about the offside rule with the player getting in the way of the goalkeeper.

03:58 I know it's very, very difficult to adjudicate, I think, that one.

04:01 But even so, I just think it's poor goalkeeper from Jason Steele, if I'm honest.

04:05 I don't think he's helped in that case either by the strength of the shot.

04:09 I think if Ollie Watkins had maybe hit that with a bit more power,

04:12 then there's more of an argument that Steele's side has been taking.

04:15 It's a split-second decision.

04:18 I think he's got plenty of time to get across his goal,

04:20 regardless of where the player is standing.

04:21 I think it's just poor goalkeeping, simply put.

04:24 And for the third goal, I can see why some people would say that is a foul.

04:28 But again, I wouldn't say it's as clear-cut as, say,

04:31 some of the decisions going on in other Premier League games this weekend.

04:34 So, you know, there's always a slight grievance and argument with decisions like that,

04:41 but they're not as black-and-white a decision, as I say, as the other ones that were clearly wrong.

04:47 So I think it's more down to Brighton's poor play for both of those goals,

04:51 rather than any refereeing decisions that cost them.

04:54 Would you agree with that, Darren?

04:57 I thought Brighton had a case in the Soli March build-up.

05:01 Yeah, I kind of agree with Frankie with the Jason Steele one.

05:04 It wasn't a great effort from Watkins.

05:07 It was kind of a scuffed effort, which still sort of tried to scramble across at the last minute.

05:12 But I think in the build-up to the Estu Piniello and goal, Soli March was fouled there.

05:18 And I know it happened a little way back in the process,

05:21 but it was still a key moment in that move, which led to the goal.

05:25 Brighton perhaps had a couple of chances to clear in the meantime.

05:30 So, yeah, they could have gone Brighton's way.

05:33 They have done in the past, but on this occasion it didn't.

05:37 But like we said, Louis Stonk said afterwards as well,

05:41 VAR wasn't the reason they lost that match.

05:44 But yeah, it's been a tough week for VAR in general, really.

05:49 It has. And as Frankie mentioned, we had the whole Liverpool-Spurs debacle,

05:52 but I'm kind of... I'll be loathe to talk about it a little bit.

05:55 I just hate talking about VAR. I don't know about you chaps, but...

06:00 It is boring. It is boring.

06:02 And I think the most important thing to stress about it rather than anything

06:05 is that there's no intention for VAR to be used incorrectly, I think,

06:10 in the midst of all this. It's been a poor week, don't get me wrong,

06:13 but the most important thing to remember in all of this is that

06:16 no one is attempting to do it on purpose.

06:18 No one is... They're trying to give a goal,

06:20 to take a goal away from Liverpool because they hate Liverpool.

06:22 It's... What I saw from when they released that audio,

06:27 the main thing I saw, other than the sort of lack of leadership

06:30 and that it was a bit chaotic, is it's so, so quick.

06:33 It's so all over... It's so much is going on that they have to deal with

06:37 on top of dealing with an offside.

06:39 There's no wonder they make a mistake because it is...

06:41 You forget how big a decision these are and how quickly they have to make it.

06:45 Things like this are always going to happen.

06:47 And as you could tell by his reaction after he realised he made the mistake,

06:51 you could hear the stress in his voice and it's all panic stations from there.

06:56 I imagine that's what it's like for every single decision.

06:58 So, I... You know, things will happen, basically.

07:02 Yeah, you've got to have a bit of sympathy for like Darren England as well,

07:05 because can you imagine you're in the middle...

07:07 I mean, if I was doing it, um, umpiring and I had a third umpire, for example,

07:12 and you get told after a decision's happened or that,

07:15 "Oh, yeah, there's a mistake there."

07:16 It's just got to play on your mind, isn't it?

07:18 - Of course. - And like the next...

07:19 The next five, 10 minutes, you're going to be like,

07:21 "Oh, God, what have I done?" sort of thing.

07:23 And you're going to... You could miss something else and then it just gets...

07:26 It's like a snowball. But, yeah, no, it's...

07:28 Yeah, I agree with Frankie.

07:30 Yeah, there's no intention on getting anything wrong,

07:32 but it does need looking at and it just needs sorting out,

07:36 because you can't have this every week.

07:38 But, I mean, all the idiots going on about,

07:40 "Oh, they must replay the game and that."

07:41 - Oh, yeah. - Move on.

07:43 - This stuff happens. - Yeah, I think you have to accept,

07:45 yeah, the replays is out of the question, isn't it, really?

07:49 They talk about fix your pile-ups, as it is at the moment,

07:51 and then they'd always be looking for another...

07:54 Every time, they would be saying, "Oh, we've got to replay this.

07:56 We've got to re..." So where do you draw the line on that?

07:58 It's...

08:00 But one of the points I thought was quite good,

08:03 when they were talking about the language that the referees use to each other,

08:05 they're sort of quite matey when they're talking with each other,

08:09 and it was more sort of cool for it to be more concise

08:13 and more sort of like the rugby guys do it.

08:15 It's very more official, business-like, rather than sort of matey.

08:20 - So I thought that... - The way I talk to you, like, normally, yeah.

08:23 - It's... - But the major issue is,

08:26 which they can't... They have not yet to fix,

08:29 is the reason it works so well in rugby and cricket

08:31 is there is a natural pause after every... - Yeah, it's not start.

08:33 - In cricket, you know, there's obviously the stop after the ball.

08:37 Anyway, in rugby, a decision normally follows

08:40 either the ball's gone out of play or a try.

08:42 In football, they are quickly moving.

08:44 Like, so that free kick is taken less than five to ten seconds

08:48 after they've done the check, and they say they can't come back.

08:51 It's because football moves at such velocity.

08:53 Trying to get video refereeing into that was always going to be a struggle

08:56 because it's not got that staccato rhythm.

08:59 So it would take years to work out,

09:02 and it is taking years to work out,

09:03 to get video refereeing to work in a game like football.

09:06 And so errors like this are always going to occur,

09:09 but it's how you deal with it and how you make it better,

09:12 which is the most important part, so it doesn't really happen again.

09:15 - Yeah, it's just a shame it happened against Liverpool

09:17 because we're not going to hear about this for the next decade, are we?

09:20 - No. - No.

09:22 Anyway, moving swiftly on after we said we weren't going to talk about VAR.

09:26 Post-match after Aston Villa,

09:27 the Zerby said Albion just aren't used to playing so many games.

09:31 Deren, can the Zerby get away with using this as an excuse,

09:35 considering they've played just seven league games

09:37 and one League Cup game and Europa League game apiece?

09:39 It doesn't seem like they've played that much at the moment.

09:42 - No, that's right. I think he's managing it from...

09:44 because of last season as well.

09:46 There's still the hangover from there

09:48 where Louis Stunk was injured at the back end of last season.

09:51 Soli March was struggling as well.

09:53 Pascal Gros played so many games last season.

09:55 Then he got called up for the international team as well.

09:58 So now he hasn't been seen since the Athens game as well.

10:03 Plus he's been injured.

10:04 So he's trying to... he still doesn't trust his best team.

10:09 I don't think he's still working in the new players.

10:13 He wants to give them an opportunity to show what they can do.

10:16 And the central midfield areas as well,

10:18 which we've previously spoken about.

10:20 So I think Deren is still not sure what quite to do

10:25 with this squad of players that he has at the moment.

10:27 And it's very much a work in progress as he tries to figure it out.

10:33 Ideally, you have a core of seven or eight players

10:36 and then make a few changes around that to freshen it up.

10:42 But at the moment, he hasn't been able to do that.

10:46 I think he's made too many changes.

10:49 The situation with Jason Steele and Bart van Bruggen as well,

10:53 it would drive me mad.

10:54 I think if I was a goalkeeper to be in that position and,

10:58 you know, you can play an absolute blinder one week

11:03 and you think you're in and then you're changed out the next.

11:07 And I think there's a lot of players now that could probably do

11:10 with a run of games and get into a bit of a rhythm

11:13 rather than being chopped and changed all the time.

11:15 But yes, it's a difficult balance.

11:17 I can see why he is making so many changes,

11:19 because he's worried that Soli March might pull up injured again

11:23 or that, you know, Lewis Dunk is not quite fit.

11:26 Adam Webster is not quite fit.

11:28 But in an ideal world that he would have a core group of seven or eight players.

11:32 But yeah, there's a number.

11:35 I think there's a number of reasons why he is doing it.

11:37 Fatigue and fitness is one of them.

11:38 But also, I don't think he quite trusts his line-up at the moment.

11:43 And he's not quite sure each game, how each player is going to deliver

11:47 and whether they're going to be a seven out of ten or four out of ten or eight out of ten.

11:51 It's very much, it's a bit, it's been a bit more inconsistent this year.

11:55 It's an interesting point you make there, Deren.

11:56 And before we move on to looking ahead to Marseille tonight,

11:58 Frankie and Deren, who is Brighton and Hove Abbey's best goalkeeper?

12:02 Wout Verbruggen or Jason Steele?

12:05 I think Jason Steele has the experience at the moment,

12:08 but I don't think it would be long before Wout Verbruggen is the number one.

12:13 I remember speaking about, earlier, Frankie was saying that you don't pay

12:18 16 million on the keeper to sit on a bench for Brighton.

12:21 That's a big outlay.

12:23 They don't pay those transfer fees lightly.

12:28 And I think in the future he will be the number one.

12:31 But Jason Steele is there at the moment.

12:35 He did well for Deserby last season.

12:38 And he said that, you know, I don't care.

12:40 I will do whatever Deserby wants me to do.

12:42 He changed my life last season.

12:44 He turned me into, you know, Bilsburg.

12:46 So, Steele will do whatever Deserby wants him to do.

12:49 But I think going forward, Verbruggen will be the number one.

12:54 Frankie, who do you see starting tonight against Marseille at the Turvin?

12:58 I would imagine Bart Verbruggen will start.

13:00 And I agree with Deren, he will eventually be, well,

13:04 should be Brighton's number one going forward,

13:06 obviously due to his age and the price tag.

13:08 And, you know, what we are meant to believe is he is one of the most exciting

13:13 young keepers in Europe.

13:14 But I think I agree completely with Deren.

13:16 When he said at the start of the season that he wanted to play with two number ones,

13:20 that's never, ever worked.

13:21 I don't know why it would work now.

13:24 I think it's shown on Saturday that it's not working.

13:26 I think Steele played his worst game for Brighton in that 6-1 defeat.

13:30 I think goalkeepers are confidence players more than any other position.

13:32 And not knowing if you're going to start every week doesn't really help that.

13:36 And on top of that, I think Deren's right,

13:38 I think the number of changes has been absolutely crazy.

13:40 I don't really question much of what De Serbia has done so far at Brighton,

13:44 but he's made nearly 39 changes in the last four or five games,

13:47 which is just ridiculous.

13:49 Like, it doesn't help.

13:50 No team works under that well.

13:52 And I know he's probably fearing how tired they got last year when he probably made

13:56 too little, too few, sorry, changes at the end of the season.

14:00 But he's gone completely the other way because, as Deren alluded to,

14:03 he doesn't know his best team.

14:05 But I don't think it's fatigue.

14:06 I mean, most football league clubs are playing three times a week at the moment.

14:09 We've only just started the season.

14:10 I don't think it's a good enough excuse to use fatigue at the moment for professional

14:13 footballers at the start before Christmas.

14:15 So, I think it's masking the fact, the fatigue thing of playing three times a week,

14:21 masking the fact that he doesn't know his best team at the moment.

14:23 Until he sorts that out, I think we will see results like this continually happening.

14:28 As mentioned, Marseille away tonight for Albion.

14:31 Marseille began the Europa League campaign with a thrilling 3-0 draw at

14:34 Temen IEX a fortnight ago.

14:37 How much of a special evening will this be, Frankie?

14:39 And how do you see this one going for Brighton?

14:42 Well, it's a huge moment.

14:45 It's a landmark achievement for Brighton to be playing their first ever European away

14:50 game against a very famous French team, one of the biggest teams in Europe.

14:55 It's an amazing stadium to play in.

14:57 But on the flip side of that, judging from the reaction to the Athens game,

15:01 I think it's only really a special moment when you pick up a result.

15:06 I think people very quickly forgot the landmark achievement thing because they

15:09 were disappointed that they lost to Athens in the performance.

15:12 And I think it's important Brighton remember that again tonight.

15:15 As much as this is a great moment to see Brighton playing on the continent,

15:19 they need a result.

15:20 They need a result to admit because you never know how many times you'll play in

15:24 Europe or if they will be in Europe again.

15:27 You want to make the most out of the opportunity you've got.

15:28 And if they don't win tonight, and it will be very, very difficult.

15:31 We know we've seen already this week how difficult European away games are,

15:35 especially in France for a team like Arsenal, who were expected to beat

15:39 Lens, who are near the bottom of the League One.

15:41 Marseille are a much better outfit on paper, not playing particularly brilliant

15:45 at the moment, but then neither are Brighton.

15:47 So it's a game that's really up in the air, a game that both sides really need to win.

15:52 Obviously, Koutsous has just been appointed manager there.

15:54 He'll be desperate to pick up a victory in the European League after drawing against

15:58 Ajax in the first game.

16:01 So it's a difficult one between playing the occasion and remembering what an amazing

16:06 achievement is for Brighton to get here, but not making it end too quickly.

16:10 Because if you go into the two Ajax games without any points, all of a sudden you're

16:14 looking down the barrel of ending bottom of the group.

16:16 So it's huge.

16:17 It's a big occasion and Brighton need a victory both for their group and also for

16:21 them to get their season back on track because the last four or five games, it's all gone

16:25 a bit haywire.

16:26 So it's a huge night, not just in Brighton's history, but in their season.

16:30 Lastly, Deron, how are they stacked tonight in terms of injuries?

16:34 They had a blow in the build-up as well.

16:37 It's confirmed that Pervez Estupiñan is going to be unavailable for this one.

16:41 He could be out for a month as well.

16:43 He really struggled in the first half against Villa and he was taken off at half-time.

16:48 He thought it may be tactical, but it turns out he was carrying an injury.

16:54 As always with Dezerby, he's quite coy on the manner of the injuries.

16:59 We've had a lot of muscular issues, sort of just been the only sort of diagnosis that

17:04 we're getting at the moment.

17:06 And Estupiñan's another one.

17:08 As Pascal Groves, James Milner, Adam Lallana, they all have muscular issues, which always

17:13 said to be not serious.

17:16 But with this one, he has actually said that he is going to be out for a while.

17:20 So that is a blow for Brighton.

17:21 He's the only natural left-back in the team.

17:25 Tarek Lamptey can play left-back and Igor Julio, who came in from Fiorentina, he's more

17:33 of a centre-back, a left-sided centre-back, but he can play that position.

17:37 So it'll be interesting to see who he selects to cover in that area.

17:42 As we mentioned, James Milner, I think it might come a bit too early for him.

17:45 Adam Lallana, maybe I don't think he's going to be involved as well.

17:49 But Pascal Groves, I'm hoping he'll come back into the central midfield.

17:53 They've missed him since Athens game.

17:55 And hopefully he'll be fit to start alongside Billy Gilmore as well.

18:00 Moving on to Crawley Town, Mark Dunford, they had a topsy-turvy week.

18:04 A good win over Sutton was followed by a very underwhelming defeat at Doncaster.

18:08 Sum that week up for us in Crawley Town.

18:10 Yeah, Saturday was really good.

18:13 I mean, it wasn't one of their better performances, but Sutton just looked like a team who just

18:19 lacked so much confidence.

18:21 Bottom of the league only won one game.

18:22 And that, weirdly, that game was 5-1 against Notts County, opening game of the season.

18:26 But since then, they haven't won a game.

18:29 But yeah, Crawley dominated for the first 20 minutes.

18:33 Then Sutton really came.

18:34 They let Sutton come back into it.

18:36 And a couple of disallowed goals for Sutton.

18:39 It could have been completely different.

18:40 But then in the second half, as soon as Crawley got their second goal, they dominated again,

18:43 like they have done this year.

18:45 And they went joint top on Saturday, which was amazing.

18:48 One more goal would have put them top.

18:51 And Raf beat Khalil, hit the post towards the end.

18:56 And Scott Lindsay said he was really cross because they could have been top and he had

18:59 a go at Raf.

19:00 I think it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but he said he had a go at Raf.

19:03 But yeah, Tuesday night, it was...

19:05 We're going to come on to the team selection for Tuesday night.

19:08 But it was, yeah, it seemed a little bit underwhelming and they just seemed to lack sort of penetration

19:14 or anything like they have done.

19:15 I mean, Doncaster, I think they are in a false position.

19:18 They struggled at the start of the season.

19:20 But I was chatting to Chris Holt, who is one of our colleagues up north, who knows that

19:26 area really well and the sort of League Two on another podcast.

19:29 And he said that the Doncaster fans, even though they were bottom for a couple of the

19:34 first few weeks of the season, they were not worried.

19:36 They knew they were going to come back and do well.

19:39 And yeah, I think Doncaster, they won't be in any kind of trouble this year.

19:42 They've already beaten Gillingham, now beating Crawley, who were top in that.

19:45 So yeah, it was an underwhelming defeat and an underwhelming performance, I think.

19:52 But there were a couple of decisions, Scott Lindsay said, in the penalty.

19:56 Will Wright was pushed before he actually fouled the player.

19:59 But yeah, those things happen, as we know.

20:03 Yeah, if only they had VAR, right?

20:06 Yeah, but they're still fifth and they're only three points off the top still.

20:11 So it's not, it wasn't, I don't think it's a disastrous defeat at Doncaster.

20:15 But yeah, I think, yeah, Lindsay will be disappointed by the result.

20:18 Well, yeah, Doncaster, as I said, after the win against Sutton was very disappointing.

20:22 As you mentioned, Scott Lindsay made the decision to drop Ben Gladwin, Danilo Orsi and Dion

20:27 Comroy for the game up in Yorkshire with the show not even travelling.

20:31 How surprised were you by Lindsay's decision?

20:34 And is it with the benefit of hindsight that we can probably say that that was a bit of

20:37 a mistake?

20:41 From the players' point of view, I bet they were delighted not having to go to Doncaster

20:44 on a Tuesday night.

20:47 But yeah, I was surprised when I saw it.

20:49 But now, sort of on reflection, Lindsay is a smart operator.

20:54 He knows what he's doing.

20:55 And they've got Wrexham at home on Saturday.

20:59 And he probably looked at the two fixtures.

21:01 They've got Saturday Tuesdays for the next few weeks now.

21:06 So he's got to manage his squad.

21:09 And he probably looked at that game and then looked at Wrexham.

21:12 Right.

21:13 Wrexham is the game we've got more chance of actually winning.

21:15 So if we can get a result at Doncaster with a slightly weakened side, great.

21:20 But I'd rather have my full side for Wrexham on Saturday, which is going to be an interesting

21:27 game.

21:28 I'll get you some stats of those in a minute.

21:32 And I saw a fan put this on social media, which I thought was very interesting.

21:37 Towards the end of last season, it was over the Easter weekend, they played Bradford on

21:40 the Friday, drew Neil Neal at home.

21:42 Then they had Barrow away.

21:44 And then they had Tranmere at home straight afterwards.

21:47 And I think at that time, he made loads of changes for the Barrow game and then had his

21:51 strongest side for Tranmere.

21:52 And it was a game thinking, we've got more chance of getting a really good result against

21:58 Tranmere than we have at Barrow.

21:59 So don't risk any of the more experienced, bigger players or looking at them like the

22:05 Gladwin and Conroy, who have had some injuries recently in Crawley Town.

22:10 I think he just thought, we've got a much better chance of beating Wrexham than we have

22:14 Doncaster away.

22:15 So let's focus it all on that.

22:18 Don't even risk them taking it.

22:19 I mean, I was surprised they weren't even there for the bench.

22:21 They could have made a difference in that second half when they were chasing the game

22:25 a little bit.

22:26 Yeah, so a little bit of it.

22:29 I wouldn't call it a mistake, but yeah, I thought it was odd.

22:33 But looking back at it now, you start to see how Scott Lindsay thinks when he's got games

22:39 on a Tuesday and a Saturday.

22:40 So it's quite interesting.

22:41 You mentioned an upcoming game this Saturday.

22:44 Of course, Crawley have got Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mapplehenny own Wrexham in front of

22:48 a sellout Broadfield Stadium crowd.

22:50 How excited are the fans for this one, Mark?

22:52 And how do you see this one going?

22:53 I think we both agreed that a nil-nil is probably highly unlikely in this one.

22:57 Yeah, it's got to be.

22:59 It is a sellout crowd.

23:01 The fans are really excited by it.

23:03 I've seen loads of people playing for tickets, but there are no tickets available.

23:07 I mean, the capacity of Crawley is 6,100 and something, I think.

23:12 And it's going to be mostly field Saturday.

23:14 Wrexham sold their quota quite quickly.

23:16 So it's going to be absolutely rocking on Saturday.

23:19 I mean, they had 3,500 there last week as well for the Sutton game.

23:22 So it was a great atmosphere.

23:24 So it's going to be great.

23:25 But yeah, like you say, it's weirdly Wrexham drew nil-nil on, I think it was the way it

23:31 was on Tuesday night.

23:32 But I had a quick look at the stats and between them.

23:38 So Crawley have scored in the games involving Crawley, there's been 39 goals in 11 games

23:43 and Wrexham 46 goals.

23:45 So in all games, there's an average of 3.8 goals a game in the involving Crawley and

23:51 Wrexham.

23:52 So it's got to be, I think there's going to be goals by both ends.

23:56 I mean, we say it now, it's going to be nil-nil in it.

24:00 But I mean, it's crazy.

24:01 Crawley are fifth and they've got a goal difference of plus one.

24:04 Wrexham are ninth and they've got a goal difference of zero.

24:06 It's just crazy.

24:07 So we've got two teams who can score and we've got two teams who can concede.

24:11 So it's going to be really good and really interesting.

24:15 Yeah, Wrexham, you've got the likes of Stephen Fletcher, Olly Palmer coming back to Crawley

24:19 and that.

24:20 I don't think the stars are going to be there, but I know the welcome to Wrexham cameras

24:24 are going to be at the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday.

24:27 So yeah, look out for Crawley in Series 3 of welcome to Wrexham.

24:32 Look out for Mark Dunford in Series 3.

24:35 I think that's what the fans want to see.

24:37 Moving swiftly over to Steve Bowne prediction corner.

24:40 Very quickly we'll rat through these.

24:42 Marseille v Brighton tonight.

24:43 Darren, how do you see that one going?

24:46 I'm going to go optimistic 2-2.

24:51 I worry for Brighton a bit tonight.

24:53 I just don't think they're at it at the moment.

24:55 And I think a draw would be a very good result for them tonight.

24:59 Frankie, how do you see it going?

25:01 Yeah, like Darren, I'm quite worried for Brighton at the moment.

25:04 I also have realised there's no point predicting Brighton to lose by a small goal line because

25:08 if they lose, they lose quite dramatically.

25:10 So I'm going to go for 4-1 Marseille.

25:13 Cool, blimey.

25:14 Mark, do you see it going that well?

25:16 Yeah, I mean, Brighton could have done with playing Ajax right now, couldn't they?

25:21 Just a thought.

25:22 So Marseille's a tough one.

25:24 But I'm going to go with Darren.

25:26 I think Steve Bowne emailed me and you, Matt, as well to say that he thinks it's going to

25:29 be 2-2 as well.

25:30 So I'm going 2-2.

25:31 Not mention this, but this Saturday sees Brighton play Liverpool at the Amex.

25:37 Mark, how do you see that one going for the Seagulls?

25:40 I think if it was before the Europa League campaign, I think I would have predicted a

25:44 Brighton win.

25:45 But as we've seen how it's gone, I think I'm going to go for a draw again.

25:50 I'm going to go for a 2-2 draw in this one as well.

25:52 I think there'll be goals in it, but it'll be a tough one because Liverpool are looking

25:56 quite good at the moment.

25:57 Frankie, what about yourself?

25:58 How do you see that one going?

26:01 Yeah, so Brighton seem to be playing better against the big six teams at the moment.

26:06 So I'm still going to stick with that.

26:07 I also think playing at home will help them.

26:10 I don't think Liverpool, well, they had their worst performance at the Amex, both in the

26:13 FA Cup and in the Premier League last season.

26:16 So I'm going to go for a 1-1 draw in that game.

26:19 And Darren, what about yourself?

26:21 Yeah, I think again, I think Brighton are not in a good shape.

26:24 And I think this Thursday, and then they play Liverpool on the Sunday.

26:27 And I think it's going to be, I think Liverpool are going to, I think Liverpool are going

26:31 to turn them over, I think, 2-0 Liverpool.

26:34 Yeah.

26:35 Cool, Blarmy, should we be worried about Brighton then, chat?

26:38 I think they're in a wobbly moment at the moment.

26:41 Yeah, I think so.

26:43 I think they'll come through it, but I just think they're just not in a good place at

26:48 the moment.

26:49 Yeah.

26:50 As mentioned as well, Saturday, Crawley-Wrexham, Mark, are we sticking for a 4-1 draw?

26:54 No, I'm going to go 4-2 Crawley.

26:57 Darren, how do you see that one going?

27:01 I'm going to go 3-2 to Crawley for that one.

27:06 And finally, Frankie.

27:08 I'm going to be really boring and go for, and just, why not, I'm going to go for 0-0

27:12 to them as well.

27:13 Crawley Town also play Sutton United in the EFL trophy on Tuesday, but if you care about

27:20 that, you need your head checked.

27:22 You can catch up with all the latest sports news, everything we've had talked about today

27:25 at Sussexworld.co.uk/sport.

27:26 Thank you very much for joining us this week, chaps.

27:30 Frankie, I'm going to embarrass you a little bit, it's your last podcast with us today.

27:33 Thank you very much for all your contributions.

27:35 You've been a great asset to this podcast.

27:37 All the best in your future endeavours.

27:39 Thank you very much.

27:40 So yeah, you can catch up with me, Mark, and Darren next week.

27:44 Frankie will probably be enjoying a nice week off.

27:47 So yeah, thank you very much for listening, and we'll see you all soon.

27:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Sussex Sport Weekly podcast - episode 36 - Brighton prepare for Marseille

Category

Transcript

Recommended