It's High Fives at the Amex

Albion 5, Barnsley 1
Championship, Amex Stadium
Saturday 25th August

Three games into the new season and Albion finally hit form as they smashed five goals past an inept Barnsley side. It's true that Barnsley had many first team regulars missing so they were fielding a weakened side but you still have to beat whatever is put in front of you and Albion certainly did that this afternoon in front of a 25,000 crowd at the newly expanded Amex.

It became apparent as early as the third minute when Ashley Barnes capitalised on a horrendous bit of ball fumbling by the Barnsley keeper Gonzalez that there was only going to be one outcome in this game, it was just a case of how many goals the Seagulls were going to score. For once Albion went for the jugular and didn't let up for the entire 90 minutes. Goals from the very impressive Wayne Bridge (another bit of poor goalkeeping), a rewarding brace from the hard working man of the match Craig Mackail-Smith and finally another from Ashley Barnes in the 81st minute capped off a wonderful and powerful footballing display by the Albion.

Albion seem to have found a formula that works with the new defensive back line particularly impressive. Albion now have a decent goalkeeper at long last in Kuszczak and for me the best player on the pitch was once again Wayne Bridge who oozed class at left back. The skillful adventurous right back Bruno seemed to be absolutely everywhere, except right back. Mind you, he didn't need to be defending too deeply as the reds offered very little threat. The 35th penalty awarded to Barnsley for a trip by Andrew Crofts on Jacob Mellis was fair and temporarily bought the visitors back into the game at 2-1. This proved to be just a minor blip however as Albion immediately cruised straight down the other end for Mackail-Smith to score a third to make it 3-1.

The second half started as the first ended with Albion being absolutely dominant and threatening to score more goals. When the lively Craig Noone was replaced by the speedy Kasenga Lua Lua the afternoon did not get any easier for the Barnsley defence, he tore the left back to shreds on more than one occasion  The midfield and attack were rampant and believe me when I tell you that the final scoreline did not flatter them. Albion could have had seven or eight goals on an afternoon when everything went right for them. I wondered if Brighton would miss the creativity in midfield of the absent and somewhat injury prone Vicente, but they did not.

It's always best to keep things in perspective and let's be honest this was a poor and weakened Barnsley side, there will no doubt be teams in this division who pose much more of a threat. Sadly I think the Yorkshire side will struggle this season unless they can get their first eleven fully fit soon and buy some much needed additions to a squad that, on this showing, desperately needs it. Things are looking much better for the Albion though and if they continue to show this kind of form then they will be looking to challenge for a play off place at the end of what is a very long season. As they say, it's a marathon not a sprint and there will no  doubt be twists and turns along the way but one thing's for sure, life is never dull with Gus Poyet around.

A full and comprehensive match report can be found on the Seagulls official website here.

Michel Kuipers...The Former Dutch Marine

Photo courtesy of www.seagulls.co.uk

Albion 1, Reading 1

Michel Kuipers Testimonial

Amex Stadium, 7th August

The Amex finally welcomed former Albion goalkeeping legend Michel Kuipers into the Brighton goal one last time for his testimonial match. He served the club for over 10 years at the Withdean Stadium before moving on to Crawley Town in 2011 where he is now goalkeeping coach. The big former Dutch marine has long been a favourite with the Albion fans and wearing number 287 on his back, the number of appearances he made for the Seagulls, he strode onto the Amex pitch for the first time with son Duke through a guard of honour to rapturous applause and a standing ovation from the Albion faithful.

Both Albion and Reading had strong line ups for this encounter and although a friendly it proved to be a hard fought contest between the Championship side and the Premiership new boys. Kuipers was in goal for the first 15 minutes of the match and every time he touched the ball it was greeted with cheers. He made at least one outstanding save to cries of “Sign him up, sign him up, sign him up” from the North Stand fans. In a pre-planned substitution Albion’s recent signing Tomasz Kuszczak took over in goal for the remainder of the match and as Michel Kuipers walked away from the Brighton goalmouth for one last final time the crowd were up on their feet yet again to applaud him off in what must have been quite an emotional moment for him.

The match itself was reasonably competitive considering it was a pre-season friendly and Albion acquitted themselves very well against new Premiership opposition. They dominated for periods of the first half and yet again it was the creative and talented Vicente who shone. When Ashley Barnes was tripped in the area it was Vicente who buried the ball in the bottom left hand corner to send Albion ahead just after the half hour mark. Albion’s new Spanish right back Bruno was outstanding and although under pressure at times the Brighton defence looked pretty solid. The second half saw Vicente leave the pitch and so went the creativity with him. Reading capitalised on this, gained more possession and Robson-Kanu scored an 89th minute headed equaliser.  A draw was probably just about the right result but the match was almost of secondary importance on a night that was a well deserved tribute and thank you to Michel Kuipers, a faithful servant to the club who has earned the respect and admiration of Seagulls fans everywhere.

For a full match report go to the official Seagulls web site here.

Michel Kuipers and son Duke
Photo courtesy of www.seagulls.co.uk

Are Seagulls The New European Champions?

Albion 3, Chelsea 1 
4th August 2012, Amex Stadium
Pre-season friendly

Well, who would have thought that Albion would beat the European Champions 3-1? Certainly not the Chelsea fan sitting next to me on the NWSS coach to the Amex today (apologies to my brother Steve). Albion fielded three recent new signings including Andrew Crofts who brought extra bite to the midfield and yet another Spanish recruit, Bruno, who showed real class at right back. Vicente was majestic in the Brighton midfield and clearly deserved his player of the match award while Ashley Barnes worked his socks off as usual up front. 

The whole team played their usual passing game against a full strength Chelsea side and whilst under pressure for long periods Albion always looked in control and played well defensively. England midfielder Lampard scored a classy opener for Chelsea after a sloppy pass from Albion centre half Lewis Dunk but superb counter attacking from Brighton produced three excellent goals from Vicente, Barnes and the returning Crofts. Although only a pre-season friendly Albion produced an impressive footballing display on the field of play against a top Premiership side and European champions to boot, if that desire and form is maintained then we could have quite an interesting season ahead of us in the Championship. An unbelievable result that now makes Brighton & Hove Albion the kings of Europe I assume?

The camera never lies

BBC South Today Drop Albion Coverage

An astonishing BBC email has been leaked that outlines proposed changes to Albion's football coverage on BBC television. It transpires that plans are in place to exclude all of Brighton & Hove Albion's football and news coverage from the prime time BBC regional local news programme BBC South Today. By all means let's have additional Albion coverage on BBC South East Today, but not at the expense of losing coverage on BBC South Today. If anything we want more Albion TV coverage in Sussex, not less. North West Sussex Seagulls, the Horsham based Albion supporters club, have responded by writing the following letter of complaint to the BBC.

Dear BBC South Today,

As a Horsham based Brighton & Hove Albion supporters club (North West Sussex Seagulls) with over 200 members we are appalled at the recent leaked document outlining the BBC’s intention to suddenly stop giving any television coverage on BBC South Today of the Albion. We understand that there will be no Albion match reports or previews shown on sports bulletins in West Sussex from August. Instead, viewers in towns including Worthing, Crawley, Horsham and Haywards Heath will only see highlights from games involving Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Aldershot. Historically BBC South Today has always shown coverage of Brighton & Hove Albion games but now it is to cease, this is truly astonishing.

The reason given for this decision (or is it simply a cutback?) is that after the digital switchover in March, households in Brighton and Hove and east of the River Adur will now watch BBC South East Today, which will continue to show Albion highlights. You may be interested to know that many Albion fans from West and East Sussex watch BBC South Today from satellite broadcaster Sky and many also watch from terrestrial TV on the Midhurst transmitter, both of which offer BBC South as the default BBC station. We like BBC South Today, we like Sally Taylor and we like the football coverage previously offered. We don’t want to watch BBC South East Today as that tends to have more of a Kent bias in our view rather than Sussex, indeed many of us in Sussex are unable to get the BBC South East Today regional programme anyway due to the TV transmitter we are picking up from.  We expect to see the BBC provide us with coverage of our local football team on our local BBC television channel, and that channel in many cases is BBC South Today, not BBC South East Today.

It may come as a shock to you but most Brighton fans live outside of the city of Brighton with the majority of Albion fans coming from a wider Sussex based area, both in the west and east of the county. By restricting coverage of Albion’s matches to solely BBC South East Today you are depriving many licence fee paying Albion fans from seeing their Sussex team on a local BBC television channel. We are assuming that BBC South Today will still cover news events and cricket in Sussex, if so, then why not Sussex football news, including the Albion?

This decision to cut coverage of the Albion is outrageous and as a consequence there will be many thousands of Albion fans who will be deprived of seeing their team on a regional BBC television programme. By all means have additional coverage on BBC South East Today but not at the expense of losing coverage on BBC South Today. If anything we want more Albion TV coverage, not less. Whoever was responsible for making this ill judged decision should have a rethink and listen to what your viewers are saying. Please reconsider this proposed change to BBC South Today’s football coverage; it is not a good or popular idea. We’re not sure who gains from this but it’s certainly not us Seagulls fans.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Stonestreet (Chairman)
Mike Wilson (Secretary)
Ian Morris (Treasurer)
NORTH WEST SUSSEX SEAGULLS

Albion To Play Champions League Winners

Brighton & Hove Albion have announced that they are to play a pre-season friendly match at the Amex against European Cup holders Chelsea on Saturday 4th August. Tickets go on sale to season ticket holders with 1050 loyalty points or more on 1st July at a cost of £30. Over 65's pay £20 and under 16's pay £15. More details can be found on the Albion website here.

Champions League winners Chelsea to visit the Amex

Albion Get New Chief Executive

Albion's new Chief Executive Paul Barber

North West Sussex Seagulls chairman Andy Stonestreet and I attended a very good meeting at the Amex tonight where we were introduced to Albion's new Chief Executive Paul Barber. Executive Director Martin Perry and Head of Media & Communications Paul Camillin were also in attendance along with Alan Wares from Albion Roar, Paul Samrah, various other supporters groups and members from fellow Albion supporters clubs Mid Sussex Seagulls & Seagulls Over Burwash. It was a most informative and useful meeting and we were very pleased to be given the opportunity to meet and chat with Paul Barber who had only been in the job a couple of days. I was impressed that he wanted to meet up with some of the fans and supporters groups so early in his tenure.

Paul Barber and Martin Perry gave us all a very warm and friendly welcome and they both mingled with fans and supporters groups beforehand, chatting and getting feedback on a range of issues. Paul Barber then introduced himself and gave a talk on what he sees as his role within the club and the direction it's moving in, along with his aims for the future. An interesting Q&A session followed where fans got the opportunity to ask Paul some questions and express their views.

I do hope more of these supporters club meetings are planned for the future as it's a really good way for the football club and the CEO to keep in direct touch with its fans and for the local supporters clubs to give feedback to the Albion. It's also a useful way for the Albion's directors to communicate their ideas and possible future plans to the fans. These meetings just serve to reinforce the already strong ties that exist between the fans and the Albion board and will hopefully enable everyone to move along together in the same direction. Long may it continue. 

Seagulls Flock To Support Sparrows

Champions! Sparrows Under 12's Girls

Horsham based North West Sussex Seagulls a Brighton & Hove Albion supporters club last Sunday handed over a cheque for £400 to Karl Pople, Chairman of Horsham Sparrows football club for kit sponsorship of the under 12s girls team.

Formed last summer, the North West Sussex Seagulls is run by fans for fans and offers a convenient way for Albion supporters to get from Horsham, Southwater, Billingshurst, Partridge Green, Cowfold and Henfield to the American Express Community stadium at Falmer and they have run more than 40 coaches to home games as well as several to away games. The club which holds regular club meetings and events is run as a ‘not for profit’ organisation and is keen to assist local sporting groups, particularly one’s that offer children the opportunity to play sports.

NWSS co-founder Andy Stonestreet together with other club members were present at the Holbrook Club in Horsham to watch league champions  Horsham Sparrows under 12 girls also pick up the league challenge cup after beating Mile Oak Wanderers 3 -1 in a thrilling final. As he handed over the sponsorship cheque Andy said “We have a couple of Horsham Sparrows players who regularly travel with us on our coaches and it’s great to be able to support kids who enjoy their sport in this way”.

The NWSS are currently taking season ticket bookings for their two coaches for next season. More details about their fares and routes can be found at www.northwestsussexseagulls.co.uk or by contacting Andy Stonestreet on 07738 085752.

North West Sussex Seagulls
Coach season tickets for 2012-13

NWSS first trip to the Amex - 30th July 2012

North West Sussex Seagulls was formed in July 2011 with the main objective being to transport Horsham based Brighton & Hove Albion fans to the club’s new home in Falmer at an affordable cost. The American Express Community Stadium has proved to be a big draw and has over 18,000 season ticket holders, many of whom live in the Horsham district. With Albion putting in a further 8,250 seats NWSS expect to see even more demand for coach seats from fans living in the local area. With this in mind NWSS have just released their coach seat prices for the 2012/13 football season. Coach seats are available on an ad-hoc basis but regular match goers should consider buying a coach season ticket as this is certainly the most economical way to travel to the Amex on match days.  Concessions are available for under 16’s and over 60’s.

Albion adopted a strong 'green' policy when they applied for planning permission to build their new stadium and have been encouraging as many fans as possible to get to and from the Amex by using environmentally sustainable public transport like buses, coaches and trains rather than polluting and clogging up Sussex roads with lots of cars. NWSS have transported over 1,700 fans to the Amex this season from Horsham, Southwater, Cowfold and Henfield. That's probably saved around 600 car journeys which have been replaced by 40 coaches which is very impressive. They have also laid on a second coach to accommodate Albion fans from the Billingshurst area. You could say that NWSS are very ‘green’ blue & white fans.

NWSS are an independent supporters club who organise their own low cost match day transport using Arun Coaches and are run by fans for the fans. They are a non profit making organisation and as a consequence can offer transport to the Amex from as little as £4.50 return.

They have made a donation to Albion In The Community, a charity scheme run by Brighton & Hove Albion FC for the benefit of Sussex based people who need help in all sorts of areas including adult education and employment. In addition NWSS has recently agreed to sponsor the Horsham Sparrows F C Under 12 girls side for the 2012/13 season as part of their commitment to support local youth and sport organisations as and when they have a surplus of funds and their aim is to be able to support other worthy causes over the coming years.

NWSS can be contacted by emailing info@northwestsussexseagulls.co.uk or you can telephone founding member Andy Stonestreet on 07738 085752. Alternatively find more information on the club website at www.northwestsussexseagulls.co.uk