Matt Poleis joined by Sam Morton, who covers both Brighton and Crawley Town, Albion writer Henry Bryant, and Reds expert Mark Dunford.
Brighton endured a week to forget as they suffered on their travels in the Premier League
We bring you all the reaction from Albion’s games at Fulham and Leicester, as well as a look ahead to Sunday’s huge game against Crystal Palace, plus we’ll bring you all the latest from Crawley Town.
Brighton endured a week to forget as they suffered on their travels in the Premier League
We bring you all the reaction from Albion’s games at Fulham and Leicester, as well as a look ahead to Sunday’s huge game against Crystal Palace, plus we’ll bring you all the latest from Crawley Town.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all
00:04the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove, Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Polk and this week
00:08I'm joined by Sam Morton, who covers both Brighton and Crawley Town, Albion writer Henry
00:12Bryan and Reds expert Mark Dunford. Brighton endured a week to forget as they suffered
00:17on their travels in the Premier League. We'll bring you all the reaction from Albion's games
00:20at Fulham and Leicester respectively, as well as look ahead to Sunday's huge game against
00:25Brighton's bitter rivals, Crystal Palace, and we'll also bring you all the latest from
00:29Crawley Town. You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures
00:32online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport. And you can check out other great videos
00:37on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. You may also be watching on latest TV. So thank
00:42you very much for tuning in. But we will start at Craven Cottage, where Brighton's long wait
00:47for a Premier League win at Fulham continues. The Seagulls have beaten 3-1 by the Cottagers
00:51last Thursday amid horrendous conditions. Henry, you were at that game. Sum that game
00:56up for us, please. It does seem like another night to forget at Craven Cottage for the
01:00Seagulls.
01:01Oh, definitely. It was so poor from the Albion to start with. And Hazela went for that back
01:10three. And at the start, a lot of journalists were thinking, oh, that's interesting doing
01:15that against a side that haven't beaten in the Premier League, sort of in the history
01:19of Brighton. And Alex Iwobi in that fourth minute already pushing the defence and forced
01:25a mistake from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and straight away a goal down. And it caused
01:33a lot of issues for the Albion. Defence seemed really shaky in this one. But it was luckily
01:39Carlos Bolivar in the 56th minute to get a goal back for the Albion after some really
01:44good passer move play with Jal Pedro linking up with Carlos Bolivar and a really nice goal
01:49and a somersault to finish. And Albion fans in that corner of the Craven Cottage stadium
01:54was really going for it. They thought that this was where their luck changes. And then
01:58there's a really strange goal where there was a corner that came in and bounced off
02:03of Matt O'Reilly. He was just the hero a few games ago when that game was played against
02:09Manchester City to allow Albion to win 2-1 against Man City. But he was the man that
02:15fought for that own goal. It was sort of a debate on whether Bart Verbruggen should have
02:19come for it because it was sort of in the middle of that box where he could have claimed
02:22it. And after that, Brighton heads dropped. And it was Alex Oebi again in the 87th minute
02:28who was able to score from just outside the edge of the box with a really lovely finish.
02:33And Brighton just gave him too much time. And he looks like a real good player for the
02:37Fulham fans. The guys I had behind me who were sort of the fans of the Fulham team were
02:44saying that he's really on fine form at the moment. And you can see he's really enjoying
02:48his football here.
02:49Fulham have got a really good set-up, but Brighton were so poor on the night. I think
02:53the way that Hazela set up for that one wasn't right at all and showed a little bit of naivety
02:58to be honest with you.
02:59I was going to ask you about that. Post-match Hazela said there would be no change to Albion's
03:04playing style and you said it just didn't quite work. What do you make of that? Is it
03:07admirable that Hazela is sticking to his principles or does it just smack of pure stubbornness?
03:12A mix of both, I'd say, without trying to be a cop out there. I spoke to Hazela about
03:20it at the end and it took him a little while to think about what he wants to say to the
03:25question of three at the back. Do you think that adds too much pressure to the defenders
03:29and the style of play that we're trying to play in this game? Does that allow the other
03:35team to attack, put pressure on Brighton and then it's an uphill battle when that goal
03:39does go in? He thinks that Brighton play better with three at the back, which I personally
03:46disagree with. I think that you do need four at the back, as we saw with that Leicester
03:50game. He did change his style of play a little bit because he did go back to that four at
03:55the back, not three at the back, maybe thought as a precaution and although that game didn't
04:00quite work out for Albion fans as they had hoped at one stage of the game, I think that
04:05Hazela has still got that little note of naivety. As Darren Howard, another Albion
04:11writer for Sussex World mentioned, Brighton haven't had a full 90 minutes yet and this
04:16is still a real cause for concern because it's in that last 15, 10-15 minutes that we
04:22are seeing Albion crumble when they are getting these leads. It's their second time now, once
04:26against Wolves and also in terms of the way they played against Leicester, but it does
04:32seem like Hazela is sticking to his guns, even if that is adding an extra man at the
04:37back for a little bit of cushion in there. It will be interesting to see how things work
04:43out for the rest of the season because obviously Albion are playing some really nice football.
04:48They've signed over £200m worth of players, but it's just sort of mixing that and putting
04:54that into a consistent season and you're not going to have a consistent season if you're
04:58able to go a few goals ahead or you're able to concede early and not able to have that
05:03full 90 minutes that Albion fans are looking for to obviously get back into Europe for
05:07a second time.
05:08You mentioned Albion chucking away leads. No more perfectly encapsulated on Sunday when
05:14they contrived a throwaway two-goal lead in the last four minutes of struggling Leicester.
05:18The Seagulls look to be cruising at 2-0 thanks to goals from Tarek Lamptey and Yankouba Minte,
05:22but Jamie Vardy and Bobby Decord over Reid struck at the death to complete a stunning
05:25comeback for Ruud van Nistelrooy's side. Sam, where did it all go wrong for Brighton?
05:31Yeah, another really poor result after they were in such control. As you mentioned,
05:37Tarek Lamptey scored a cracking goal from a stupid hand across the field right to Lamptey
05:43on the other wing and he curled one right to the top corner. It was a fantastic goal
05:48and then that 1-0 lead they managed to keep for quite a long time actually,
05:52right up until the 79th minute of the game when, as you mentioned, Minte put a defender
05:56on the floor with some really brilliant composure to wait for the exact right time to shoot
06:01and he managed to make it 2-0 with just 10 minutes of the game remaining. So you think
06:06at that point, just as a case of just seeing it without being professional, but as we know,
06:10we've seen a lot of times this season that it's never game over, even if you're tuning
06:15up with a short amount of time in the game. We saw it against Wolves where Brighton managed
06:19to throw away a two-goal lead and we nearly saw it at Bournemouth. I know they had 10 men,
06:25but very nearly they almost let that lead slip there as well, but they did manage to hold on
06:30on that one. But this time they weren't made to pay and it was Jamie Vardy that did the damage.
06:33It was a great goal from him to half a deficit and then really, really good composure to be
06:40unselfish and to play in Bobby de Koover-Reid as well, to Cordova-Reid to put in the equalising
06:45goal in the first minute of injury time. So a really poor result for Brighton. The fans were
06:50absolutely furious from what I saw on social media that they managed to let the lead slip again.
06:55Obviously, it's three games without a win now after that poor draw at Southampton,
06:58defeat at Fulham and now this draw at Leicester. It is a bit of a concern, I think, for it to
07:03keep happening in this manner. There definitely needs to be something addressed and it's just a
07:07question of whether it's mentality or the setup and obviously it probably could be a bit of both.
07:12I think I read an article from Andy Naylor at The Athletic and he's saying it could be down
07:16to a lack of experience in the team now. You've obviously got Jadon Neal who's been out for a long
07:21time. Lewis Duncan, who just returned, he is part of this defence that this did happen to. So you
07:25can't really point to that too much. But obviously we've got Brian Loss, Pascal Gross and Andrew
07:31Lallana in the summer and there's some really experienced players that they're missing at the
07:34moment. So it could be part of the reason why they're just unable to see out these games,
07:40the needs that they managed to build in the games.
07:44Well, post-match after the Leicester game,
07:45Hurtzela came out and said everyone in the staging thought the game was done at 2-0.
07:50I would be furious if I was a Brighton fan if I heard that, Sam, because to me that seems to
07:54think as if the game was won. Does that again show a level of naivety a little bit from Hurtzela?
07:59Yeah, it's an unusual comment. It's not one you hear very often. Usually you hear the opposite.
08:03Like you think the manager will be telling the players the game's never done until the final
08:07whistle. And maybe that is what he's telling players. And it could just be the wrong choice
08:12of words, perhaps, in saying that maybe he's saying from the point of view that
08:16you tune it up, it should be game over is maybe what he's trying to say. But I think if he is
08:22saying that and it does, yeah, it could be a bit of a naive thing to say, because at the end of
08:27the day, it's football and anything can happen until that final whistle is blown. Yeah, we've
08:32seen countless times what can happen in football and it's very hard to predict. So I feel like,
08:37yeah, there is an element that needs to be improved there, whether it's the setup or
08:42the mentality or bringing in some more experienced players as the game gets into the closing stages.
08:47But yeah, there's definitely a problem in that sense. Hopefully it doesn't doesn't linger for
08:52too long, because without these results, they'd be well in the mix in the top four. That's probably
08:58the frustrating thing. Brighton have had some cracking results against the best teams in the
09:02league. They've had such a poor record against the supposedly weaker teams. And it seems to be
09:09this late goal that keeps coming up and hindering them. So if they can sort that out and see the
09:16goals they get early on, then I think there'll be no problems. But yeah, definitely unsure at the
09:21moment. Yes. And this Sunday is a small matter of Brighton v Crystal Palace at the Amex. Palace
09:27sits 17th in the Premier League, just four points clear of the drop zone. How do you see this one
09:32going, Henry? Normally when a team plays a team in 17th, you think, OK, we should win this. But
09:37considering Albion's form, they're cause for concern. I think so. I think that this is going
09:43to be a really big test for Herzler because we are coming under fire for losing these games that we
09:50really should be seeing out. Crystal Palace are winless in the last six league games against
09:56Brighton. And that's their longest run without a victory against the Seagulls since a run of 10
10:01between 1979 and 1986. So if Herzler is not able to get a result here and Crystal Palace are able
10:09to see a result, then I think there's a lot of question marks that will be raised over the way
10:14that he is setting up his team and this style of play. I think that it's a real big grudge match,
10:19a huge rivalry on the South Coast. But I do feel like in terms of this game, Brighton need to get
10:27something to build up momentum into this festive period to keep going because they've still got
10:32some really hard fixtures to go in this festive season. In terms of the way that Brighton are
10:38playing right now, they do seem really leggy and shaky. I mean, going back to that Leicester game,
10:462-0 up and with the likes of Eagle sort of near the end playing around at the back like he was
10:52in a Sunday league game and he was one of the best kids on the pitch and then getting tackled and
10:56then the goal coming, it is a level of naivety and a few comments from the manager are causing
11:04some concern for Albion fans because of the way they're playing right now. So it's all to play
11:08for, but I do feel like this is a huge game for Herzler and whether he is able to make this the
11:14best season possible for Albion. Well, fingers crossed for a good result on Sunday. We're going
11:18to take a quick break and when we come back, we will talk all things Crawley Town. Welcome back
11:23to part two and Crawley Town were due to welcome Stevenage to the Broadfield Stadium, but the game
11:28was postponed due to safety concerns. Tell us a little bit more about the safety concern, Mark.
11:34I knew that the weather wasn't particularly good for most of the country on Saturday, but what was
11:38deemed to be unsafe for the Broadfield Stadium? Yeah, it's a funny one because I think this was
11:42the furthest game west in like the top couple of divisions that was actually called off and they
11:48said in their statement that it was due to the severe high winds in the local area, but
11:53the difficult decision was made in the interest of support of safety because the forecast was only
11:58going to worsen as the hours led up before kickoff. But they said owing to the temporary
12:03nature of the east stand, which is due to hold close to a thousand spectators, the safety team
12:08at the club alongside the safety advisory group in the EFL decided that the risk of potential
12:12structural damage was too significant to ignore. And as they said, they were naturally disappointed
12:18that I had to call it off. But yeah, the east stand is a temporary structure. It's been there
12:21for about 12 to 10 years. I think I remember exactly when. And I mean, I sometimes call it
12:28like the big gazebo or whatever. And it's, yeah, and it was obviously they thought the winds
12:35could probably do some damage to it. And the last thing you want is a piece of that temporary stand
12:41falling on a supporter or hitting a support or anything. So I think it's a sensible decision,
12:46but it has really, really highlighted that obviously something needs to be done with
12:50that standards. How, how long is, can it still be called temporary when it's been there 12,
12:5510 years? So, uh, yeah, it was an interesting one. They called it off earlier. Decision was
12:59made early. So luckily it was only Stevenage. So fans hadn't left. Jack's is only a couple of
13:04hours away from Stevenage. So it was a sensible decision, the right decision and, and a timely
13:10decision as well. We all remember what happened. MK Don's first leg of the playoff semifinal last
13:15year where it was called off quite late. So yeah, a good decision, but I think it's highlighted a
13:20bigger problem. The Crawley Town Supporters Alliance, sorry, then released a statement
13:24calling for a permanent E-stand following the postponement. Sam Morton, who did the CTSA
13:30address in their statement and how likely do you think we are to see in a permanent E-stand at
13:34the Broadfield Stadium? Yeah. So in the statement, the Supporters Alliance said in light of the
13:39concerns about the stand, it is of the opinion that the E-stand does not reflect the standards
13:43reasonably expected of a professional football club competing in the third tier of the world's
13:47most prestigious football league system. As a result, the CTSA intends to initiate discussions
13:52with Crawley Borough Council in their capacity as the landlord of Broadfield Stadium to urge them
13:56to present proposals to Crawley Town Football Club for the construction of a permanent E-stand
14:00structure at the earliest opportunity. We will keep our members informed of any updates as this
14:04matter progresses. So yeah, so it's an interesting one. Obviously it's been one that's rumbling on
14:09for quite a long time, various issues with the finance side of it and the ownership issue has
14:13just been mentioned there. But in June, the Crawley Town co-owner Preston Johnson said
14:18Wagner United are not miles apart on the price on buying the Broadfield Stadium from
14:22Crawley Borough Council, which would solve a lot of the issues in terms of that ownership problem.
14:27And in an interview with The Athletic, Johnson revealed talks have been positive and amicable
14:31as they look to take control of the ground. He said at the time, we're not miles apart on the
14:35price and they understand the value of having a thriving football club in the town. Talks have
14:39been positive and we'll get something sorted. So that's that statement obviously from in June. So
14:46interesting to see what he's saying now in light of the statement from the supporters' alliance.
14:50But it's definitely a problem to solve in that sense. And obviously if Games will be able to
14:56postpone because of it, it's definitely going to frustrate fans. And I do agree that obviously
14:59for League One, there needs to be a solution to bring it up to standard.
15:03You spoke to Rob Elliott on Wednesday, I believe. Mark, what did he have to say about the situation?
15:09Yeah, he obviously, I think he just wants his side to play in front of a really good stadium.
15:14So he just said it would be another step to where the club wants to get in terms of being in a league
15:19like League One and then developing the club, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch. So I think
15:24he just wants to see the club generally improve on and off the pitch. So he obviously backs any
15:30call to do that. And he said as long as the mentality is there to try and improve, that's
15:36all he's looking for. So I think any moves going forward, we will back it. But going back to Preston
15:43Johnson, I think he said sort of at a fans forum or something, or an interview I did with him where
15:48he said about buying the stadium. And he said, there's lots of improvements that need to be
15:53made because fans always make suggestions to him, oh, we need to improve this. But I don't think
15:57they're going to spend the money on the ground unless they own it, because they're only enhancing
16:02it if Crawley Council own it. And then at some point they might sell it off. I mean,
16:06I'm not saying suggesting there's been any suggestion of that at all. But yeah, so yeah,
16:12I know I kind of agree with Preston Johnson on that. Why would you spend money on something you
16:16don't own? So yeah, it'd be interesting if they can, if they can buy it and really improve it.
16:22But yeah, like Rob Elliott says, well, I think Wagby have got the best intentions with off the
16:26field improvements. They've done a lot. This will be a huge, huge, but a big cost as well,
16:32building a football stand, planning applications, et cetera, and all that is a big, big thing. So
16:38it will be a big cost, but I can't see anything happening until Wagby own it, to be honest.
16:45Well, results didn't go completely Crawley's way on Saturday, and unfortunately they now find
16:50themselves in the relegation zone again. But it's incredibly tight, isn't it, Sam? I think
16:55a win against Peterborough on Saturday could see them actually jump above their opponents, I think.
17:00Yeah, would do, would do. It'd be a big win, and it just shows how tight it is at the bottom.
17:04There's only five points below, Crawley are only five points below 10th place at the moment,
17:08so it is very tight. But actually, as you mentioned, they are back in the relegation zone
17:13because of wins from Northampton and Nathan Orian. So it's, yeah, it's a difficult one,
17:18isn't it? Obviously you don't like to see them in the relegation zone, and that would naturally be
17:21a concern. But when you look at the points and how close it is at the bottom, if you get a few wins,
17:26two, three wins, you're really, you're right back up there and you can be mid-table before you know
17:30it. So no root for concern. I think the forms are a reason to be positive for Crawley at the moment,
17:36some of the performances and results they've had of late, and the defence has been much improved,
17:41and they've been getting the goals to win games as well. So I think, yeah, no reason to panic in
17:46being back in the relegation zone. But obviously it's a bit frustrating they weren't able to play
17:50on Saturday. And because of that, they obviously now are behind on that game. So yeah, I think if
17:55you get, as I say, get a couple of wins and they'll be out of trouble.
18:00Well, the January transfer window is coming around very, very quickly. And do we expect
18:04much action from Crawley in this window, Mark? What's Rob Elliott had to say about his squad
18:09so far? Yeah, it's a funny, I can't see there being a lot of action because they've got quite
18:16a big squad. I know there's been a lot of injuries and that, but I think from what he was saying,
18:20there's a few, we'll get on to the injuries updates in a minute. But there's a couple of
18:24players who have been out for a while who should be coming back certainly for this Christmas period.
18:29So yeah, it's a difficult one. I think what he told me yesterday, I said, I think for everyone,
18:34you want to try and improve the squad and you want to try and help in areas where we are lacking,
18:38where the depth isn't as strong. But that comes with a balance as well with finances and where
18:43we're at the club in terms of what we need. So he's sort of playing cards close to his chest
18:50I think. Yeah. Has he got a lot of money? I mean, Ben Levin told us a few weeks back that
18:55they will back Rob in the transfer market, but they have got players to come back from injury.
19:03He still hasn't had the full squad to work with. So I don't think he fully knows
19:08what his best side is yet either. But the one person I did ask him about was Anthony Story.
19:13No, sorry, Louis Story. Louis Story, who is assistant manager. And he was actually a player
19:23coach under Rob Elliott Gateshead. And last week, Rob Elliott said to me that he's a defender and
19:28he was still one of the best defenders in the National League before he came to Crawley Town.
19:32So he's obviously got a bit of talent there. He's in his early thirties. So whether he's someone
19:38out to the squad, but Rob Elliott said, if we can, they will, I think, but it all depends on
19:43budgets and whether they've got room in the squad to do that. So I can't see a huge amount of action,
19:47but I think they certainly need to strengthen in a couple of areas, maybe up top. And although
19:52Tony Shawnee's doing well now, Will Swann's found a bit of form. So if they can keep them injury
19:57free, that might not need too much strengthening. So we'll see. We'll see. But I can't see a lot
20:02of action, but it'd be interesting to see how Anthony Story does. I keep saying Anthony Story,
20:06Louis Story does. Anthony Story, did he used to manage Horsham? Anthony Story?
20:10I think he did a very long time ago. I think politely we'll say he didn't do a very good job.
20:17Anyway, moving swiftly on. In the here and now, Crawley travelled to Peterborough on Saturday,
20:22looking to build on that fabulous win at Charlton. No doubt the Reds will go there full of confidence,
20:27won't they Mark? And you mentioned it there. What's the latest in terms of injuries at the Reds?
20:32So obviously the likes of Josh Flynn is out, we think, for most of the season now with his
20:38MCL. But the good news is, Rob Elliott was saying yesterday that Junior Quaterna and Dion Conroy
20:45have both had a full week of training. So it might be a little bit too soon to get them involved in
20:49Saturday, but they might be. So that's really good news, especially with the Christmas period
20:53coming up. I think they've got five games in 12 days over Christmas. So anyone they can get in
21:00to help boost that squad, certainly in the defensive areas, because he said Toby Malarkey,
21:05Charlie Barker and Joy McKenna have all played far more minutes than he's wanted them to.
21:10So they've even had to play in the Bristol Street Rovers, Bristol Street Motors trophy.
21:16So sorry, God, it's that uninteresting. I don't even know how to say it.
21:22Yeah. So yeah, so that's really good. But the most interesting thing is that
21:26Peterborough's top scorer Kwame Poku is out for three months. He scored 10 goals this year. I
21:32think he's got loving five assists. So he's obviously a really good player.
21:36But he's out for three months. So that's a really little bit of a boost for Crawley. But as Rob
21:41Elliott says, they've got they've got quality all over the pitch in Peterborough. So he's
21:48didn't see it as a massive bonus for them. But obviously any club is going to miss their top
21:52scorer and most effective players. So hopefully Crawley can take advantage of that. But if we can
21:57see Conroy, who hasn't played since pre-season, I think he got injured against Palace in the
22:01pre-season friendly. If we can see him return, there'll be a real big boost for Crawley.
22:07Absolutely. And as ever with the podcast, we'll round up the score predictions,
22:10starting with the big one Brighton v Palace on Sunday. Sam Morton, how do you see that one going?
22:15Yeah, it's a tight game. I think it's going to be. I'll go positive. I'll say 2-1, 2-1 Brighton.
22:24How do you see this one going, Henry?
22:26I think it's going to be 1-1. Crystal Palace have drawn three of the last four games. So I see this
22:31one being a draw. 1-1. And Mark Dunford, score predictions and taking umbrage with the fact
22:36that this is a perceived big one? It's not even a derby. I'm going to go
22:42Crawley-Brighton's a closer derby. I'm going to go 1-1 as well.
22:481-1. And finally, Peterborough v Crawley. What do you reckon? I reckon that Crawley
22:53might get something there, Mark. Call me an optimist.
22:56Yeah, I think so. My heart is saying 2-3-1 Crawley, but I think my head is saying 1-1
23:04or 2-2. And I think that will be a good result as well if they can get any kind of thing at
23:08Peterborough. And it's a good time to play them, I think, as well.
23:12Absolutely. Sam, are we positive of a good result for Crawley?
23:15Yeah, I think 1-1, which would be a good result away from home.
23:19A very good result away from home. And finally, Henry, how do you see this one going?
23:22Well, I have to agree with Mark. Peterborough have lost three of their last,
23:26you know, three of their last recent games. So I'm going to say 1-0 to Crawley. I'm going to
23:30go all guns blazing. Come on, Henry. I take my comments back about Brighton-Crystal Palace.
23:35I knew you would. No good stuff.
23:40Brilliant stuff. Well, fingers crossed for good results of Brighton and Crawley this weekend.
23:43And you can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today
23:47at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport. And you can watch more excellent videos on shotstv.com
23:52and Freeview channel 262. Thank you very much for listening and or watching. And we will see
23:56you all next week. Thanks, guys.