Buckley At The Double On An Historic Day

Albion 2, Doncaster Rovers 1 - 6th August 2011:

Brighton's historic opening Championship match at the new Amex Stadium was a real barnstormer of a game that had just about everything. And the flags, my God the flags, thousands of 'em, just brilliant. What a Saturday afternoon this turned out to be. It was an emotional start to our Championship season with all the Albion fans waving their flags like crazy and singing their hearts out. As the teams came out I'm not too proud to say that it brought a tear to the eye of this Albion fan. It was an exciting start to The Seagulls campaign with a great atmosphere and lots of noise coming from every stand. The Albion fans were just fantastic throughout, the place was rocking!.

The game was to be something of a roller coaster ride for Albion with Doncaster Rovers the better team in the first half and the prolific Billy Sharp getting the opening goal for the visitors after Gary Dicker carelessly lost possession in midfield. Probably well deserved if I'm honest. It wasn't a particularly physical game but three Doncaster players managed to get themselves booked by the referee in the first half. Kasenga Lua Lua for the Albion was brought crashing down on a couple of occasions early on but the third time he was also booked by the ref for diving. This incensed manager Gus Poyet who rightly felt that Lua Lua's tumble was not self inflicted but a result of a fair but hard challenge from Rovers James Hayter. As a result of his complaints to the officials Poyet was ordered from the dug out for the duration and ended up watching the rest of the match from the press box.

The second half saw Craig Noone replace Lua Lua and there was a definite improvement. As the game wore on Albion put more of their passing game together as they started to press Rovers. Billy Sharp was stretchered off after a tough tackle from Lewis Dunk and Rovers started to suddenly look vulnerable. Gus Poyet then made a second substitution and replaced the industrious but rather ineffective Matt Sparrow with new million pound signing Will Buckley. This proved to be an inspirational move. Now Albion stepped up a gear, kept possession and really started to dominate the game and went looking for the equaliser with real conviction. Finally the pressure brought a result and it was Buckley with a fierce low drive from just outside the penalty area that found the bottom right hand corner of goalkeeper Gary Woods net. The place erupted with noise as the fans went wild and asked themselves if  Albion could possibly get a winner. The answer was yes. With Rovers down to ten men after an 89th minute injury to Hayter the referee signalled seven minutes stoppage time and it was in the very last minute that Noone laid on a dream pass to Buckley, who squared up and slotted the ball beautifully past the despairing Rovers keeper. The crowd went wild yet again and even more flag waving followed, it was an unbelievable end to a thoroughly entertaining game. Although Doncaster Rovers made the brighter start it was Brighton & Hove Albion who took all three points in a real thriller of a match.

To be fair to Doncaster Rovers they played their part and may count themselves a touch unlucky not to come away with a point. They play their football in a similar attractive fashion to Albion, keeping the ball on the ground and playing a good passing game. Sadly the injuries to Billy Sharp and James Hayter look serious as they both left the ground on crutches after this encounter and it would appear that they will be out of action for some time. Hopefully their absence won't affect Rovers too much as the team seem to have a bit of quality and are good to watch.  

Opening Day Spurs On The Albion

Saturday 30th July 2011: Albion 2, Spurs 3
It was a perfect summer's day and 18,000 eager football fans turned up to witness the official grand opening of the brand new and magnificent American Express Community Stadium in Falmer (the Amex to you and me). Nestling into the Sussex countryside the stadium is a real gem, beautifully designed and just great to look at - especially if you're a long suffering Brighton fan who's only seen football played at the dreadful and roofless Withdean Stadium.

The afternoon got underway at 1.30pm with a marching band, opera singer Martin Toal singing his heart out and former Albion players and managers also putting in an appearance. The highlight for me was seeing the best Albion player ever to wear the number 8 shirt, the magical Peter Ward. Coming out onto the Amex pitch to thunderous applause he did what each and every one of us Brighton fans wanted to do...he kissed the turf. What a legend!

The friendly match itself was almost secondary but the Albion played some really good football against a very strong Spurs first team. The Seagulls were particularly strong in the opening thirty minutes. A well crafted pass from the hard working and impressive Craig Mackail-Smith was finished off clinically in the eleventh minute by the prolific Ashely Barnes. The crowd went wild and the noise was incredible. Brighton began to play their passing game and were definitely looking the better side, until two defensive errors late on in the first half gifted Spurs two soft goals.

When Albion came out for the second half they pressed early on and Kasenga Lua Lua does what he does best, scored a 20 yard scorcher then followed it up with his trademark celebration somersault tumble. Brighton fans (and possibly Gus) had their hearts in their mouths at that moment fearing he might damage his recently mended ankle, they needn't have worried as Lua Lua was in sparkling form all afternoon. Sadly for Brighton there was a terrible goalkeeping gaff by Albion substitute goalkeeper Peter Brezovan a few minutes later that meant Spurs took a 3-2 lead.

Albion brought on substitutes Will Buckley, the lively Craig Noone and Roland Bergkamp to try and get the goal back but in truth the game rather fizzled out as it wore on late into the second half. Spurs became a bit stronger and consolidated with the energetic Aaron Lennon being a constant thorn in Albion's defensive side. Nonetheless it was an extremely enjoyable and attractive game of football to watch, a very good performance by newly promoted Brighton against a top flight Premiership side. Albion looked particularly good going forward and at times were the better team on the pitch, if it wasn't for the three defensive errors then Albion would have come out winners. It bodes well for the future if they continue to play like this, as long as they cut out the mistakes at the back. There's a full write up here at the Seagulls website for anyone that wants to read a more detailed match report. 

Dick's Bar at the Amex


I decided that it was time for the darling wife to see what all the fuss is about at the Amex so yesterday we took a drive over to Falmer so she could view the stadium for herself and see what I'm getting for my season ticket money. Whilst there we paid a visit to the newly opened Dick's Bar. Named after former chairman, and now life president, Dick Knight it offers an enjoyable and pleasant drinking and eating experience. The menu on offer was varied and reasonably priced with a good choice of decent beers. Their were lots of wall mounted TV screens to keep up to date with Sky Sports News and the seating was very comfortable.

It was great to see Dick himself sitting in there enjoying a sandwich and also see other Albion 'faces' like Martin Perry, Richard Hebbard and Paul Camilin in there as well. It just made us realise that the people that run our club do not sit in ivory towers, are in touch at 'ground level' and not afraid to mix and chat with us 'ordinary' fans (and not a prawn sandwich in sight). So well done to them for being there and actually using the facilty. The whole ambience of the place is wonderful, a relaxed atmosphere with well presented and attentive bar staff.

The decor is superb with Albion Legends etched into a large glass window. It was also terrific to see the magnificent Albion Fans Mosaic mounted on the far wall. This is a huge mosaic made up of thousands of photo's submitted by Brighton fans. I eventually found my ten photos after a fifteen minute hunt! 

I finally found me on the back of Wardy's shirt

The magnificent giant Albion Fans Mosaic

I understand that the bar is open to the public on non-match days between 8am-7pm and open to Albion ticket holders only from 1pm on matchdays, closing two hours after the final whistle. Be warned though, the capacity is limited to 200 people so do get there early on match days. The bar is located under the North Stand and entry is via a grey signed door between the club shop and the North side reception entrance to the right of the shop. If the grey door is closed just wander up through the North side reception area and up the first flight of stairs. It's well worth a visit.

Brighton 'Til I Die



Theatre Royal, Brighton - Wed 27th July 2011:

I went to see ‘Brighton Til I Die’ at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. Tony Bloom and Martin Perry were there along with a few other familiar Withdean faces (hello Tim, Merv, Penny and Chris) plus a packed house of Albion fans. We were sat behind Albion’s poet in residence John Baine (aka Attila The Stockbroker) and the voice of Withdean, Paul Samrah. The show tells the history and story of the Albion including the fans long fourteen year battle to get new ownership of the club and a new home.

A fantastic, entertaining show with lots of humour and audience participation, it was so great to see loads of Brighton fans in Albion colours chanting ‘Seeeeagulls’ at the end as blue and white balloons came down from up above. Everyone had a great time and the show has been brought right up to date with reference to the new Amex Stadium at the beginning and end of the performance. A technical glitch right at the very end of the show meant that the time lapse slide show showing the building of the Amex on the stage backdrop wasn’t seen but it didn’t matter as we all know it’s there, we’ve seen it, believe it and love it.



Albion Fans Forum - Amex Stadium, Tuesday 26th July



Ken Brown, Gus Poyet, Jonny Cantor, Tony Bloom & Martin Perry

Albion held their annual Fans Forum tonight in the plush new surroundings of the BUPA lounge at the Amex Stadium. Broadcast live on BBC Radio Sussex the event was well attended with over 400 invited fans along with players, directors & staff from the club. On the panel were chairman Tony Bloom, manager Gus Poyet and directors Martin Perry & Ken Brown.

Amongst topics discussed were new players, the forthcoming friendly with Spurs, the manager's expectations for the new season at Championship level, the issue of reduced numbers on the subs bench and the consequences that follow as a direct result of that rule change (Gus was particularly vocal about this subject and not at all happy with having his substitutes being reduced from seven to five players), away ticket allocation and parking places for disabled fans.

This last issue surprisingly raised some fairly heated discussion at times. It appears that some disabled fans are unhappy at the amount of allocated parking spaces for them and implied that they were being treated somewhat unfairly. Martin Perry responded to the questions regarding the points raised explaining that the club have acted in a fair and proper way, and that they had 78 allocated disabled parking spaces and that was considered to be sufficient. Unfortunately the issue seemed to get a little laboured and threatened to dominate proceedings until host Jonny Cantor moved things along.

The club's loyalty points scheme also came in for close scrutiny from fans who attend away games but do not hold hold season tickets. Ken Brown explained that season ticket holders got priority as they were the lifeblood of the club and needed to be rewarded for their loyalty to the club since the move away from the Goldstone.

Gus Poyet was as humorous as ever with some very witty comments. He also urged fans to be very vocal in their support of the team at the new Amex stadium for the full ninety minutes of every match. He said if the team played rubbish then by all means let the team know how you feel, but not until after the final whistle.

As always it was a fairly lively affair but everyone seemed to enjoy the occasion and certainly preferred the new venue compared to the portacabin previously used at the Withdean. There was lots of discussion between fans in the bar after the radio broadcast went off air, followed by what appeared to be a very appreciative nod of approval to the tasty pies and Harvey's ale on offer. An enjoyable evening with an opportunity to meet and chat with fellow Seagull fans in the glorious surroundings of the wonderful new American Express Community Stadium.

Good Lord, Tom's A Winner!



Lord Sugar & winner Tom Pellereau

So good guys do sometimes win then. In the Final of Sunday night's The Apprentice it was gentleman Tom Pellereau who beat clever Helen, smarmy Jim and elegant Susie to win the top prize of a £250,000 business partnership with Lord Sugar. Well deserved I say. Highlight of the programme? Oh that's easy, when Jim was asked to say something about himself that was not a cliche the Irishman's bright response was "I am what it says on the tin". Jeez, no wonder he didn't win. Tom's intelligence, polite manner, eccentric ideas and innovation are what saw him to victory. That and his charming habit of raising his arm like a schoolboy in class when he wanted to say something, just don't ask him what part of England Christopher Columbus came from.

Oh Gary Hart, Gary Gary Hart...

Sussex Senior Cup Final, Amex Stadium, 15th July 2011

Albion 2 - Eastbourne Borough 0

How fitting that the player to score the first ever goal at the new American Express Community Stadium should be Gary Hary. At 34 the man is a legend to Albion fans and although released at the end of last season he was made captain for the day in his last ever game in a Brighton shirt. Hart scored the first ever goal at the Withdean and is the only Albion player ever to have played at the temporary Priestfield home in Gillingham, Withdean and the Amex and the only one to have scored in all three stadiums. Gary Hart has created Albion history and no one deserves it more. The fans were absolutely delighted for him when he popped up in the 70th minute to score and give Albion a 1-0 lead. Up came the now familiar chorus of "Oh Gary Hart, Gary Gary Hart" for one last time. Thirteen minutes later the impressive Steve Cook heads in the winner and Brighton have won their first trophy of the season. This was effectively the Albion's reserve team/development squad playing to win the Sussex Senior Cup and although Eastbourne Borough put up a spirited defence I have to say that in my opinion the better team won.

The Amex - How Was It For You?

This was the first ever football match at the Amex and as such was a 'ramp up' event with the crowd limited to under 10,000 to see how effectively the people and traffic management systems that were in place were actually going to work. Generally quite good would be my opinion, particularly the traffic and rail management.

However, there were issues with the refreshment service from the food kiosks in the Upper West Stand and it wasn't long before huge queues were forming for the pies and pints (and I mean seriously long queues). I believe that these refreshment problems weren't just restricted to the Upper West Stand either.

Standing outside in a deluge of rain whilst waiting for the turnstiles to open meant that we probably got as wet as we ever did at Withdean before we could finally get inside the stadium and into the dry. I understand that there were ticketing issues with some fans not getting tickets in time and consequently large queues started forming outside the Amex club shop whilst people waited to get in to collect tickets, or perhaps just to get shelter from the pouring rain. Maybe signage around the ground and on roads leading up to it could be improved and surely a clock inside the stadium itself is a neccessity? I'm not moaning here you understand, they're just my observations.

So some lessons can be learnt from the day but that is what a ramp up event is for after all so we shouldn't get too concerned at this stage as I'm sure the club will iron out some of these issues for the next ramp up event, the friendly against Spurs in two weeks time. We look forward to that game when a near full house will test management systems to the max.

Albion Finally Get Their Man

Albion have finally landed their man with the six month loan signing of Kasenga Lua Lua. The club have an option to buy the player in January and subject to his fitness being proved will become a permanent Brighton player in 2012. This on/off transfer saga has gone on for weeks with lots of speculation and rumour about the player's fitness after breaking his ankle last season whilst on loan at Brighton. Seagulls fans and Gus Poyet will be delighted as the pacey winger was terrific for Albion last time out and if fully fit will be a real asset to the squad. His speed down the flanks can leave opposition defenders standing in his wake and he is a player that can get you goals, a real match winner (as long as he is fit). Another one of Gus's top targets signed up.

Romain Vincelot

The club have also signed highly rated Daggenham & Redbridge French defender/midfielder Romain Vincelot who Gus has been keeping an eye on for some time. Other clubs were reputedly interested in the player but Albion's bid of £100,000 and the attraction of a new stadium and ambitious manager appear to have secured the player's services for the next two years.