Liverpool Here We Come!

Liverpool vs Brighton & Hove Albion
FA Cup 5th Round
Anfield, Sunday 19th February 2012

6,000 Albion fans will be heading north towards Liverpool this Sunday as Brighton & Hove Albion take on the might of Premiership side Liverpool in the 5th round of the FA Cup. It's a dream tie for the Seagulls and their followers who are hoping for a repeat of the 1983 cup run that saw Albion reach the final itself.

With a near fully fit squad plus two recent new loan signings from Manchester City (Abdul Razak & Gui Assulin) to choose from it will be very interesting to see which eleven players manager Gus Poyet picks for his starting team. Fortunately FA Cup rules allow seven substitutes rather then the usual five that are allowed for normal league games so Gus will be able to have some decent players sitting on the bench. I cannot predict his team selection, even the ever present Craig Mackail Smith has lost out in the last couple of games. Liam Bridcutt and captain Gordon Greer will surely start and the prolific Will Buckley must be considered but after that it's anyone's guess. The manager has such strength in depth now that it makes his team selection a double edged sword. He has an abundance of choice but some players will no doubt feel very disappointed and unhappy at missing out on such a big match, especially if it's scousers Alan Navarro and Craig Noone.

This is probably the biggest cup game in years for Albion and the fans cannot wait to get up there. It's going to be a massive day with brilliant atmosphere and all the Brighton fans will be decked out in their favourite Blue & White colours for a terrific afternoon. I only hope that the team play as well as they can and put up a decent performance, if they do play at their best then who knows what can happen. That's the magic of the FA Cup. 

I'll be travelling up on the North West Sussex Seagulls coach with my usual coach buddies and we are so looking forward to a big day out. My Albion scarf, shirt and lucky pants have all been washed and are laid out ready for the big day, match ticket has been purchased and the coach seat booked. Yep, I'm definitely ready. Anfield here we come.

I Know That Voice

Paul Carrack In Concert

Theatre Royal
Brighton

Tuesday 31st January, 2012

Only I could manage to buy a ticket for a concert on the same day that Albion play away at arch rivals Crystal Palace. That match ended in a 1-1 bore draw but this concert was far more entertaining. A well packed Theatre Royal welcomed Paul Carrack and his band of musicians to Brighton.

Whilst Paul Carrack may not yet be a household name his voice and songs are instantly recognisable. Whilst he is a solo artist he has also had spells in bands such as Ace, Squeeze and more recently as lead singer in the excellent Mike & The Mechanics. He's written and collaborated for artists such as the Eagles and been a session musician for many bands including The Smiths and The Pretenders. He has a voice that is distinctly unique, its so rich, soulful and expressive. 

Paul Carrack is an extraordinarily talented songwriter and a gifted musician, a real find for those that haven't seen or heard him before. It doesn't matter if he is singing up tempo soulful dance music with saxophone sitting beautifully in the background or performing a heartbreaking ballad, he sings with such consummate ease and plays keyboard and guitars in the same exemplary fashion. 

During this concert we heard some classic songs such as The Living Years, How Long, Tempted, Another Cup Of Coffee, Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying, an achingly beautiful Eyes Of Blue, Love Will Keep Us Alive, Looking Back Over My Shoulder and What's Going On. All great songs, really well played and sung.

If you haven't got any Paul Carrack in your music collection you should be ashamed. Go out and borrow a CD from your local library or buy some of his music from your online store right now. Believe me, you won't regret it.

Set list:
It Ain’t Over

Just A Little Lie

Another Cup Of Coffee

I Don’t Want To Hear Anymore

Tempted

Better Than Nothing

Long Ago

Love Will Keep Us Alive

I’m Gonna Make It Right For You

Without You

Eyes Of Blue

Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying

The Living Years

Every Time That You Walk In The Room

That Girl Of Mine

Time To Move On

How Long

Encore:

Looking Back Over My Shoulder

What’s Going On

Albion Sizzle Against Brizzle

Albion 2, Bristol City 0: Amex Stadium
Saturday 14th January 2012

Inigo Claderon celebrates his stunning goal for Albion

Albion’s recent run of good form continues, after beating the league leaders Southampton 3-0 last time out they secured yet another valuable 3 points against a very predictable and rather disappointing Bristol City side at the Amex today. The Brighton first team squad is looking very thin on numbers at present due to suspensions and injuries which was a bit of a concern with many Albion supporters before the match. There are currently four players out with hamstring injuries when last season we had none. The club are investigating this and there is some suggestion that the Amex pitch may possibly be responsible for these injuries but nobody really knows if this is the case. However the returning Lewis Dunk to centre half alongside the ever reliable Adam El Abd with Inigo Calderon and Romain Vincelot as full backs gave Albion a solid looking back line. As it turned out they were never put under any real test from a very weak looking City side.

Yet another 20,000 plus attendance saw an absolutely brilliant goal from skipper Inigo Calderon in the first half from fully 25 yards. At first I thought that the forward thinking defender was intending to cross the ball into the box but it was clear from television replays later that he fully meant to shoot at goal, it was a simply stunning strike that gave the experienced David James in the City goal no chance.  Matt Sparrow and man of the match Liam Bridcutt were outstanding in the midfield areas with the lively Will Buckley looking a threat out wide. The Seagulls dominated for most of the game and it was no real surprise when the quick paced Buckley sneaked in late on to get Albion a second goal which killed off the game. City had only one shot on target that I can remember and that was literally the last kick of the game from a set piece which Albion keep Peter Brezovan comfortably saved.

The Seagulls now move up to 12th in the Championship table but are only four points away from the sixth place play off place, this is proving to be a really tight league where anyone can beat anyone. The only sour note for the Albion was on the injury front, yet again. This time it was Craig Mackail-Smith who went off with a really nasty looking eye injury in the first half followed a few minutes later by the ever improving young midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey who suffered a dead leg. We await news on both as Albion visit Wrexham on Tuesday for the 3rd Round FA Cup replay. It looks like some of the young development squad players may well be involved for that game. If victorious against Conference league leaders Wrexham then Albion face a fascinating and mouth-watering 4th round tie at the Amex on 28th January against Premiership side Newcastle. The Seagulls also face arch rivals Crystal Palace in the league at Selhurst Park on 31st January so it could be an interesting few weeks coming up.

Blimey, what a shiner CMS has!

The Magnificent Nine

Albion 0, Burnley 1: Amex Stadium
Saturday 17th December

Did Barnes go over the top?

Well blimey, that was an eventful match yesterday. I don’t think I’ve heard quite so much noise from the Albion fans since the opening match at the Amex against Doncaster, the fans were simply brilliant.

After a recent resurgence in form with three wins out of the last four Albion were back up to the fringes of the play off zone and looking to push on. Brighton got off to a bright start against Burnley and seemed intent on winning a game that on paper looked like it might be a pretty even match. However, an even match is exactly what it wasn't going to be. After six minutes the referee Craig Pawson stopped play whilst he consulted with the fourth official, he then marched with purpose across the pitch and inexplicably showed a straight red card to Albion midfielder Romain Vincelot. The Albion players and fans were incensed as no one seemed to have a clue as to why a red card was shown. This early on in a game most refs would have perhaps given a verbal warning or shown a  yellow card, but oh no, not this ref. Albion down to ten men but worse was to come.

If the Albion players and fans were angry then four minutes later they were positively raging with fury as the ref again showed yet another red card, this time to Ashely Barnes for what was, to be honest, a fairly rash challenge. Having seen the tackle for a second time on TV I have to say that it did look a little ‘over the top’, however the Burnley player was all over Barnes and grabbing him viciously around the throat, most referees would have seen that as retaliation and booked him as well. But oh no, not this ref. Mr Pawson certainly seemed to lose control of the match from the moment he spoke with the fourth official in the sixth minute when he sent Vincelot off and his refereeing just went from bad to worse. A clear foul on Albion winger Craig Noone in the penalty area went unpunished, a slap around the face to Albion's Adam El Abd was also ignored and just to rub salt into the wound Albion full back Tarrico was booked for justifiably complaining to the ref. So Albion down to nine men after ten minutes, let battle commence.

Burnley finally made their numeric advantage count when Kieran Trippier scored a cracking goal from 20 yards out. However, the Albion fans were now really starting to make themselves heard and were quickly becoming the team's tenth and eleventh man. When the teams appeared for the start of the second half the Seagulls fans were just brilliant, especially when singing ‘The Great Escape’ for most of the half. It was now a very exciting match and even though Albion played most of the match with nine men their defence was outstanding, in particular the returning Adam El Abd who epitomised the strength and mentality of the whole team.

As much as Burnley tried they just couldn't find a way through and I thought that they looked pretty weak up front, if Brighton had a full compliment of players I'm convinced they would have dominated play and easily beaten a poor Burnley side. Brighton had a late goal disallowed (no surprise there I suppose) and in fact Albion very nearly sneaked a winner right at the death when Craig Mackail-Smith was through on goal and only a goal line clearance prevented a well deserved equaliser. The final whistle eventually blew and the fans chanted that it was 1-0 to the referee, and they weren't wrong.

There is no doubt that this ref spoiled the game with his one sided refereeing decisions and he seemed to have it in for Albion after the sixth minute sending off. The one good thing to come out of the game was the magnificent support from the Albion fans, it was truly remarkable. It must have lifted the players who gave absolutely everything and they came so close to getting something from this match. The debate can go on about the rights and wrongs of the early sendings off but the the referee must surely be even handed, this ref was not. Albion should have had a penalty at the very least and it could be argued that Burnley should also have had a player sent off. It wasn't to be and we move on.

The match was lost in the tenth minute went Barnes went off but Albion sure did give a good account of themselves after that, if they show that spirit and togetherness for the rest of the season then they will be fine. A full match report can be found on the official Seagulls website here.

A final word here for Gully's Girls who looked just great in their Santa outfits for their pre-match dance routine. At least the ref didn't send them off as well!

Seagulls Fall To Saints

Southampton 3, Albion 0
npower Championship, St Mary's, Saturday 19th November

Over 3,200 Seagulls fans made the relatively short trip along the A27 and M27 to Southampton to see if Albion could put a stop to table topping Saints impressive unbeaten home run. Manager Gus Poyet knew he had a tough task on his hands, especially as he had some of his first team squad out with injuries. His controversial interview the previous day on Talk Sport when he got himself involved in the current debate on racism in football probably didn't help make for a smooth start to the day and became something of a distraction as the press gathered in numbers around the dug out just prior to kick off.

Poyet decided to dispense with Inigo Calderon at full back and opted instead for his 38 year old assistant, the hugely experienced Mauricio Taricco. The first half was fairly even and relatively uneventful as Albion contained Saints and 0-0 at half time was probably a fair scoreline.

Saints started the second half far more brightly and pushed forward with conviction in the early stages. It was prolific striker Rikki Lambert who rose high above Noone and Taricco at the far post to head in an unstoppable header to give Saints the lead in the 49th minute.

However the game took a dramatic turn in the 58th minute as Saints were awarded a penalty when Lewis Dunk tangled with Jose Fonte on the edge of the area. Albion's players were incensed at the decision complaining that the offence was clearly committed outside the area, as TV coverage would later prove. The assistant running the line did not show that it was a penalty when he flagged, he just indicated a foul. After a lengthy discussion with his linesman (sorry, assistant referee) the referee pointed to the spot. Taricco, who really should have known better, showed clearly his outrage in a fairly blunt and direct manner to referee Peter Walton, who then showed the full back a straight red card for dissent. Taricco getting sent off was the last thing Albion needed. Lambert stepped up to despatch the penalty to make it 2-0 to the home side and the game was effectively over.

Some ten minutes later yet another debatable penalty decision was awarded to the home side. Lambert stepped up to score his hat trick giving Saints an unassailable three goal lead. The match moved towards it's predictable close as Saints ran out winners in a match where I can't remember Albion having more than one shot on target during the entire 90 minutes. The match was always going to be a tough one to win but going down to ten men made it an impossible task, no matter how much Albion tried they were never going to get anything out of this game. A full match report can be read here on the official Seagulls website.

So I and 3,236 fellow Seagull fans made our way home down the motorway back to Sussex. We were disappointed but perhaps not too surprised at the result given the strength of Southampton and the circumstances surrounding the penalty decisions and the subsequent sending off. I find it strange that someone with Taricco's vast experience should get himself sent off due to poor self discipline, hardly the example that the assistant manager should be setting to his players. Okay, the referee clearly made the wrong decision but Taricco getting himself sent off only made a bad situation even worse. I'm sorry to say that in my view he let himself and his team mates down, his behaviour in the heat of the moment was disappointing. No matter how bad or wrong the referee's decision is, players should try to keep their discipline and not give any referee an excuse to send them off.

Albion now need to bouce back this weekend when struggling Coventry City visit the Amex. Sadly manager Gus Poyet now has one less player that he can call upon as he tries to rally the troops.

Mauricio Taricco and Gus Poyet

NWSS Meeting

Head of NWSS Andy Stonestreet (left) & Albion coach Charlie Oatway

Thursday 17th November, 2011

Hare & Hounds, Cowfold

A well attended meeting was held by North West Sussex Seagulls at the Hare & Hounds in Cowfold last Thursday night. Fans got the opportunity to meet an Albion hero and exchange views whilst having a pint and some tasty pub grub.  The highlight of the evening was a question & answer session with Brighton & Hove Albion’s 1st team coach Charlie Oatway. The football club were also well represented by Richard Hebberd (Head of Operations), Paul Camillin (Press Officer) and Steve Gibbon (Player Liaison).

Andy Stonestreet from NWSS reported that there are now 150 members who have joined since the formation of the club in the summer, 48 of whom are coach season ticket holders. The primary aim of NWSS is to get Albion supporters to and from the new Amex Stadium by coach from the Horsham, Southwater, Cowfold and Henfield areas. Demand for seats is now at such a high level that a second coach is being considered to possibly run from the Billingshurst area and NWSS have also started running coaches to some Albion away matches.

When Charlie Oatway took to the floor to answer questions from fans it was a real delight. This Shepherds Bush lad has an openness and honesty that was so very refreshing to hear. He was also very funny. He gave lots of little anecdotes that had his audience roaring with laughter on occasions. He’s a real hero to Albion fans, a former player whose work rate and commitment to the cause could never be questioned. Hard as nails and tough as old boots, you crossed Charlie at your peril on the field of play. You never received less than 100% from him on the pitch and it was no different at the meeting. He didn’t duck a single question, be it about racism in football, poppies, the development squad, player injuries, North Stand Chat, the 5 sub rule or the prevalence of Twitter amongst footballers. He said that Gus Poyet was, without doubt, the best manager he had ever worked under. A very clever tactician and good motivator was his verdict. He was also very complimentary about club chairman Tony Bloom whom he said was always approachable and a genuine die hard Albion fan with a deep knowledge of the game and many of the players within it. He reassured the fans that their club is safe in the hands of Bloom and Poyet and with the arrival of the new stadium along with 18,000 season ticket holders the future looks bright.

NWSS are a non profit making organisation and any funds left over at the end of the season will be ploughed back into charitable causes such as the ‘Albion in the Community’ scheme (AITC). Charlie Oatway was very vocal in his support of such local charity schemes which are close to his heart and applauded the contribution that NWSS will be making. He spoke a little about his book ‘Tackling Life’ and was somewhat sombre for a brief period as he spoke about how difficult a personal journey it had been for him.  There were also many logistical and operational questions from the fans that Richard Hebberd answered. Transport seemed to be the topic of the night. Apparently the expectation from the club had been that around 18% of fans would use the railway network to get to the Amex but in fact it is nearer 46%. There are 47 park & ride buses and around 55 coaches in use on match days. This is highly commendable as the club aim to be as green as possible in their transport arrangements and encourage fans to use public transport wherever possible. Richard said that the club had received great support from Network Rail and all the local bus companies. He informed fans that a planning application was being made in December to bring the Amex seating capacity up to around 30,000 and hopefully most of this additional capacity will be in place within the next 18 months.

After a few photo opportunities and the inevitable raffle the evening drew to a close with discussion about a Christmas get together. Everyone agreed that the evening had been a huge success and thanked their guests from the Albion for taking the time to attend and answer all the questions thrown at them.  If you are an Albion fan and would be interested in joining NWSS then go to www.northwestsussexseagulls.co.uk for more information. NWSS can get you to & from the Amex from as little as £4.00 per game.

Andy gets himself a bite to eat after the meeting

Charlie Oatway (right) with a Horsham Seagull

Charlie's Gonna Get Ya...

Albion legend Charlie Oatway will be appearing at the next meeting of the North West Sussex Seagulls. The meeting is due to take place at the Hare & Hounds in Cowfold at 7.30pm on Thursday 17th November.

If you want to find out more about this North West Sussex based Brighton & Hove Albion supporters club why not come along, grab a pint and have a chat with like minded Albion fans and meet Charlie - all in one fun packed evening. NWSS arrange coach transport to all of Albion's home games at the Amex along with some away trips and 'specials' like the recent England under 19's international. Just turn up and ask for Andy or myself, you'll be made to feel very welcome.

The Theatre Of Screams?

England under 19's International
Amex Stadium, Thursday 10th November
England 1, Denmark 0

Well, it was quite an experience looking after a coach load of enthusiastic and very excited young football fans for last night's England under 19's match at the Amex. We packed the NWSS flags along with a few parents and lots of kids into our two coaches as we made our way to the first ever international to be held at the Amex Stadium, which is now fondly known as our theatre of screams after all the shouting and hollering from the footie mad youngsters. I ask you, how's a man supposed to get any sleep in row B of the west stand upper with all that racket going on for goodness sake.

Highlight of the evening? Well, it wasn't the half time streaker where coincidentally everyone suddenly seemed to have a mobile phone camera in their hand at just the right (or wrong) time! However, we did experience our first ever Mexican wave at the Amex, right on kids. A decent match with a classy England goal late on to give the England youngsters a 1-0 victory. We all went home happy. After negotiating the coach park a headcount took place just before the home bound coach trip which was a nightmare as some of the lovely little blighters took great delight in hiding under their seats, God bless 'em all. A really enjoyable trip and hopefully the first of many 'specials' that the NWSS supporters club will hold in the future. I've now managed to see a match at the Amex on every day of the week and it's not even December, that's got to be a first hasn't it?

Photo's of the NWSS flags can be found on the North West Sussex Seagulls Facebook page here.

The NWSS Flag makes it's debut in the West Stand Upper