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Season Review 07-08
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Posted by David Snowball
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Monday, May 05, 2008
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Brighton's nearly-but-not-quite seventh place finish to the 2007-08 season was, if we're all brutally honest, higher than most of us expected when the action got under way last August.
Considering the overall quality of the squad, it was a highly commendable place and, if there had been a bit more calmness and, at times, a more positive approach, a place in the play-offs could have been achieved.
A telling comment from Argus football reporter Andy Naylor in an article comparing the records of recent Albion managers summed up this first full season under Wilkins: "A little less caution and worrying about the opposition and he could emulate the achievements of Adams and Taylor."
All too often we would hear in match previews how it was going to be difficult against so-and-so because they've got quality in x, y and z areas. Surely psychologically it would be better for those things to go unsaid, and for the focus to be on how well Brighton players are performing and developing.
In hard facts, Brighton were two wins and a draw shy of a play-off place and it isn't difficult to look at certain games where the points went begging to see how the situation could have been reversed. Two points were dropped as far back as November when Albion were all over Walsall at Withdean but only got a draw.
The Boxing Day battering at Millwall was nothing short of a disgrace when there was clearly turmoil off the field. Only taking a point from Huddersfield at home was another disappointment. And defeat to relegation-bound Port Vale was inexcusable.
Where Wilkins does emerge with credit, though, is in achieving such a high finish considering that he had to re-build the side midway through the season.
The loss of four key players - Bas Savage, George O'Callaghan, Dean Hammond and Matt Richards - was unsettling at a time when the side was progressing well. Richards eventually came back but it took time for Steve Thomson to bed in and Hammond wasn't really properly replaced until the later arrival of Therry Racon on loan from Charlton.
Adam El-Abd proved his versatility with impressive performances in a number of positions but he doesn't have the flair of Hammond, Racon or O'Callaghan. Tommy Fraser can't be faulted for effort but his decision-making and lack of guile found the central midfield wanting when he was selected. The injury-plagued Paul Reid seemed to blow the limited chances he got to step into the breach.
The major positives of the season were the performances at the back of Tommy Elphick and Joel Lynch and up front of Nicky Forster, particularly as the partnership with Glenn Murray began to evolve. Dean Cox had bright moments but needs to be more consistent. After too long seeing Albion trying to fill the full back positions with central defenders, it was good to see specialist players in those places and the side were at their best when they had Andrew Whing on the right and Richards on the left.
The best addition to the team by a country mile was Ian Westlake, who, apart from a couple of below-par performances, showed why he has played at a higher level before now.
As it turned out, I think Brighton did well to get a £150,000 fee for Alex Revell: Murray has shown he is a better player and promises to score plenty of goals whereas Revell was only a sporadic contributor whose touch and movement was suspect. Savage had a curious knack of doing well for Brighton but I would doubt most people ever thought he was a genuine long-term solution up front.
Michel Kuipers is to be congratulated for being ever-present but, like several managers before him, one senses that Wilkins would like to have another quality option for the number one shirt.
As has been detailed and debated elsewhere, there are clearly a number of squad players who are likely to be bidding farewell and, if Brighton want to move up to the next level next season, they will need to offload those average or below-average performers in order to afford better quality players.
If Richards can be persuaded to sign permanently, I believe the addition of a goalkeeper and right, central and left-sided midfielders will improve the squad sufficiently to make a decent challenge in 2008-09.
The main downside to making this happen is that one or two of the promising youngsters might have to be sold to fund such additions. It would seem the likeliest departure could be Elphick, and possibly Cox.
By Nick TurrellLabels: League One, News 08-09, Nick Turrell
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Luton 1 - 2 Brighton
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Sunday, April 13, 2008
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| Brighton kept alive their play-off hopes and condemned Luton to relegation with a win at Kenilworth Road this weekend.
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Match Report: Forster at the double to freeze out Swindon
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Sunday, March 23, 2008
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HARUM SCARUM Albion recovered from the shakiest of starts to overcome a
useful Swindon side on a freezing afternoon at Withdean.
Skipper and leading goalscorer Nicky Forster once again led by example with
two fine goals and new boy Therry Racon looked a busy class act in the
centre of midfield.
If the Frenchman signed on loan from Charlton on Thursday can reproduce this
sort of form until the end of the season, Albion's bid for the play-offs
could stay on course.
Quality in the engine room of the side has been missing for a while now -
principally since Dean Hammond's departure - but, in Racon, Albion have
unearthed a potential gem. He looked comfortable on the ball, competitive,
challenged well for the ball in the air, and passed it intelligently.
His stock rose even more with the Albion faithful when halfway through the
second half he discarded the gloves he had been wearing!
It's to be hoped that Glenn Murray can soon resume sharing the goalscoring
burden with Forster, who, by his own admission, often scores in clutches of
games rather than consistently. Right now, if Forster's supply dries up,
it's not clear where other goals might come from.
Murray continues to get into goalscoring positions but, after a series of
misses in recent games, his lack of cutting edge and frequency of being
caught offside are proving frustrating.
Swindon's giant goalkeeper, Brezovan, did pull off one terrific stop when
Murray powered in a header from a Cox cross, but the £300,000 man otherwise
flattered to deceive.
Swindon were very quick out of the blocks to take the game to Brighton and,
after several early scares, including a pinball style set of ricochets in
the Albion penalty area, it wasn't surprising the Robins went ahead when
Craig Easton glanced in a header from the resulting corner.
Thankfully the lead didn't last long. Forster was brought down out on the
right and then got up to guide a header past Brezovan from Dean Cox's
pinpoint free kick.
In the swirling wind, defending was clearly difficult and there were plenty
of chances at both ends although Albion came closest through the Murray
header and a decent effort from Steven Thomson, who also popped up in
defence to head off the Albion goal-line.
It was a foul on the lively Cox that led to Albion's winner. Awarded a free
kick 20 yards out, Forster and Ian Westlake each shaped to take it but it
was Forster who struck a delightful curling effort into the net off the far
post.
At moments like that, when considering Albion's usual disappointing efforts
from such set pieces, it's a wonder Forster hasn't been given that
responsibility before. Albion had 25 minutes to defend the single goal
margin, and it was nervy at times.
Then, as the fourth official indicated there were four minutes of added
time, a blizzard suddenly swept across the ground. But Albion, with Butters
thrown on in place of Cox to shore up the defence, managed to hold out.
Player ratings (out of 10):
Kuipers 7; Hart 7, Elphick 7, Lynch 8, Mayo 7; Cox 8, Thomson 7, Racon 9, Westlake 7; Murray 6, Forster 9.
By Nick TurrellLabels: League One, Nick Turrell, Swindon
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Top Performance Sinks Donny (Brighton 1 - 0 Doncaster)
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Saturday, March 15, 2008
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A superb Ian Westlake-inspired performance at rain-soaked Withdean put Albion within a point of the play-off places with a game in hand.
The on-loan Leeds midfielder was terrific against Doncaster in what was arguably Albion's best home display of the season.
Westlake caught the eye with one stunning volley turned round by Neil Sullivan in the first half and a superb bit of trickery out wide on the right in the second half. On that occasion, he burst into the box, shot for goal, Sullivan could only parry the ball straight to Glenn Murray and the former Leeds 'keeper made a quality second stop from Murray's header.
After weathering early Doncaster pressure, Albion changed their shape to cope with the visitors' fluent passing and then had to adjust again when Matt Richards went off injured after only 25 minutes.
Kerry Mayo came on to slot into his familiar left back berth and put in a terrific shift, possibly to the surprise of many.
Indeed it was Mayo's determination which led to the only goal of the game. He won the ball in the left midfield channel and released Nicky Forster for a run on goal. Forster burst into the penalty area and went tumbling down. The referee had no hesitation in awarding the spot kick although the protests from the Doncaster players were long and resulted in two bookings. Interviewed on SCR afterwards, Forster admitted there had been little contact.
But with the award made, Forster stepped up to take the penalty only to see Sullivan guess right and save his initial shot. Fortunately the ball rebounded nicely to Albion's no.9 who reacted quickest to slot it home.
Tommy Elphick and Joel Lynch did brilliantly at the back to repel everything Doncaster threw at them and Andrew Whing was on top form, snuffing out any potential threat from much-derided former Albion frontman Mark McCammon. Unfortunately, Whingy's enthusiasm once again got the better of him as the final minutes ticked away and the yellow card issued - one of many the referee brandished - means under the totting up rules he'll miss the games against Swindon and Forest.
The Withdean crowd really got behind the Albion in a way normally only seen at away games and Nicky Forster was warmly saluted when he gave way to Gary Hart in the final few minutes. Hart, though, squandered an unbelievably easy chance to seal the game within only a few seconds of entering the action. Cox set him up with an exquisite pass to beat the offside trap but Hart couldn't compose himself to control the ball and shoot and the chance went begging.
Sullivan then went upfield as Doncaster had a free kick in a dangerous position in the four minutes added time. There were bodies flying around everywhere and Sullivan appeared to try to punch the loose ball goalwards, which the referee missed. But the final whistle finally blew and a relieved crowd and team celebrated with some passion.
Albion (marks out of 10):
Kuipers 8; Whing 8, Elphick 8, Lynch 8, Richards 7 (sub Mayo 8); Cox 9, El-Abd 8, Thomson 7, Westlake 9; Murray 8, Forster 9 (sub Hart).
By Nick TurrellLabels: Doncaster, League One, Nick Turrell
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Match Report: Breathing through the Gills
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
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BEATING Gillingham 4-2 to go three points off a play-off place with two games in hand should be a cause for celebration.
Looking at those cold hard facts makes good reading, but there was something about the manner of achieving it which wasn't entirely fulfilling.
Even reduced to ten men, Gillingham posed sufficient questions for a hesitant second half Albion side to raise concerns for up-coming games against much better teams.
That Gillingham scored a second and managed to hit the bar and a post in this period, and Albion's Glenn Murray missed three glorious openings to bolster the goal difference, perhaps demonstrate that the game could so easily have gone the way of some other lost opportunities we have witnessed this season.
But OK, that gripe over, let's take the positives out of the performance and hope securing three points sends the side to Carlisle on Saturday with a decent confidence boost.
At least Murray is getting into goalscoring situations and surely on Saturday he will want to prove his former employers wrong for letting him go by getting on the scoresheet.
Nicky Forster broke his own personal hoodoo of never having scored against a former club when he emphatically buried a penalty awarded for a foul by former Albion captain Danny Cullip only moments after the Gills were reduced to 10 men.
Then Stillie in the visitors' goal did brilliantly to push a Matt Richards free kick onto the post but unluckily for him the ball fell nicely for Adam El-Abd who smacked the ball in with all the aplomb of a seasoned striker.
Not to be outdone, fellow central defender Tommy Elphick took advantage of being left totally unmarked at a corner to nod home the simplest of goals to give Albion a 3-1 cushion at the break.
Gillingham's third minute 30-yard opener from Andrew Crofts was thoroughly negated by that point but Albion failed to build convincingly on their lead in the second half, even though Jake Robinson, once again on as a substitute for Dean Bowditch, fired in from close range when the keeper could only parry an Andrew Whing effort from a corner.
Gills manager Mark Stimson boldly went with three at the back, withdrawing Cullip at half time, in an effort to get back in the game despite the one-man disadvantage. They were to finish the game with only nine, though, when the no.19, already booked for a crude lunge through the back of Forster, stupidly kicked the ball away after conceding a free kick and was off for a second yellow.
Albion debutant Ian Westlake picked up a yellow card himself for a rather over-zealous tackle but generally the Leeds loanee could be content with his contribution, particularly as he hadn't even trained with the team. However, there were plenty of familiar faces from his time at Ipswich and there was a solid, sound performance from Matt Richards in particular.
Albion performance ratings out of 10: Kuipers 7; Whing 8, Elphick 7, El-Abd 9, Richards 8; Bowditch 6, Fraser 6, Martot 7, Westlake 8; Murray 7, Forster 8. Subs: Robinson (for Bowditch) 7; Mayo (for Westlake).
By Nick TurrellLabels: Gillingham, League One, Nick Turrell
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Murray's super strike wins it: Brighton 1-0 Oldham
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Sunday, February 24, 2008
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ALBION gave themselves and their nervy fans a welcome confidence-
booster with a well-deserved win over Oldham.
New £300,000 signing Glenn Murray scored the only goal of the game,
and what a superb strike it was.
Matt Richards made a fantastic surging run through the middle and
found Murray with a neat pass as he moved out to the left of the
penalty area.
Murray coolly drew Mark Crossley off his line, rounded him, and
slotted with supreme confidence from a tightish angle.
It was the former Rochdale hitman's fourth goal in four games for the
Albion and his all-round performance raised expectations for the run-
in to the end of the season.
Once again, Murray's partnership with Nicky Forster looked highly
promising and, although the experienced ex-Ipswich forward didn't
score, it really can only be a matter of time before his industry,
movement and skill is rewarded with a lucky break.
In truth he could - and maybe should - have had two goals as Albion
carved out plenty of chances.
Dean Bowditch, sporting a new shorn look, set him up with a delightful
threaded pass but Crossley was equal to Forster's effort. And a header
from a left wing cross went well over when you'd have fancied him to
hit the target.
It was Albion's failure to capitalise on their chances which was the
only downside of the afternoon. Oldham, to their credit, tried to get
on the scoresheet themselves and came very close on several occasions.
With Albion defenders still caught upfield following a corner, their
best effort came when Craig Davies found himself through one on one
with Michel Kuipers but a desperate last-ditch lunge by Tommy Fraser
was maybe just enough to make him send his shot well over. Davies
injured himself in the process and had to be replaced and Fraser also
limped off before half time. A word for his replacement, David Martot,
who slotted into the left central midfield berth very effectively and
was quickly into the thick of the action. It was the best I had seen
from him in an Albion shirt.
There were a few harum scarum moments in the Albion penalty area as
Oldham pushed for an equaliser, but Tommy Elphick and Adam El-Abd,
together with Michel Kuipers, managed to keep them at bay.
It was frustrating to see Dean Cox trying to wind down the clock by
playing keep-ball in the corner with 13 minutes still to play, but the
ploy, also picked up by Forster and substitute Jake Robinson (on for
Bowditch) had the desired effect.
When Forster was replaced by Lynch close to the end, he earned a warm
ovation as he left the field.
Albion had to wait a long time to secure his services but he has been
worth every penny of the £75,000 fee paid to Hull.
Optimists will look at the league table and note Albion are now only
seven points adrift of the play-off places with three games in hand.
Many more performances like this one and the dream may yet become a
reality. But there is still a long way to go and Albion have a tough
month ahead, starting with Orient at home next Saturday.
Player scores out of 10:
Kuipers 8;
Whing 7,
Elphick 8,
El-Abd 7,
Richards 8;
Bowditch 7,
Fraser 5,
Thomson 7,
Cox 8;
Murray 9,
Forster 8.
Subs:
Martot (for Fraser) 8,
Robinson (for Bowditch),
Lynch (for Forster).
Not used: Mayo, Hart.
By Nick TurrellLabels: League One, Nick Turrell, Oldham
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Match Report: Bore draw blow to play-off hopes (Brighton 0-0 Tranmere)
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Posted by David Snowball
at
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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ALBION slipped to 16th place in League One as they once again squandered a chance to make a genuine claim for a play-off place.
The first of five consecutive home games saw a dull stalemate against a Tranmere Rovers side who got the point that they came for.
It was perhaps an all too predicatable result with very little Albion flair on display, other than one or two glimpses from a frustrated Nicky Forster.
Dean Wilkins clearly saw a different game to the fans when he commented on local radio afterwards that he felt Albion had played well, but didn't have enough quality in the final third.
He told the interviewer Albion had 13 chances - double Tranmere's efforts - yet he must have been watching a different game to the spectators because none of them witnessed that many efforts on goal.
Glenn Murray's second Withdean game was vastly more disappointing than his home debut: his rather lethargic display ultimately saw him withdrawn in favour of Gary Hart, who was equally ineffective.
It was good to see Dean Bowditch back in an Albion shirt and he threatened sporadically but perhaps not as convincingly as many would have hoped for.
He did lay one delightful throughball in to Forster, but the former Ipswich colleague had his shot saved and the follow-up deflected for a corner.
Albion defended far too deeply for much of the game and, once Murray departed, at times seemed to be playing with only one (Forster) up front, which was frustrating and disappointing to see from the home side.
With the crowd dropping to 4,700, Albion failed to convince those who bothered to turn up and it would not be a great surprise if the gate for next week's home game with Cheltenham drops below 4,000.
By Nick TurrellLabels: League One, Nick Turrell, Tranmere
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