Mark Dunford is joined by Brighton & Hove Albion writers Derren Howard and Frankie Elliott, and Sussex Sport legend Steve Bone.
Brighton start their European adventure as they take on AEK Athens in the Europa League. We will look at that fixture and see what Roberto De Zerbi had to say ahead of the game plus look at what we can expect from AEK Athens. Crawley Town enjoyed another win and rose to sixth in League Two, but their 3-2 victory over Tranmere was marred by idiotic fan behavior. We will discuss that
We will also find out how our Sussex sides got on in the FA Cup and who the successful ones have got in the next round. You can read about all those stories with videos and pictures on SussexWorld.co.uk
Brighton start their European adventure as they take on AEK Athens in the Europa League. We will look at that fixture and see what Roberto De Zerbi had to say ahead of the game plus look at what we can expect from AEK Athens. Crawley Town enjoyed another win and rose to sixth in League Two, but their 3-2 victory over Tranmere was marred by idiotic fan behavior. We will discuss that
We will also find out how our Sussex sides got on in the FA Cup and who the successful ones have got in the next round. You can read about all those stories with videos and pictures on SussexWorld.co.uk
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00:00 if
00:22 deserve. Sorry about that. Had to say ahead of the game. Plus, we look at what we can expect from their opponents. Crawley Town enjoyed another win and rose to sixth in League Two, but their 3-2 victory over Tranmere was marred by idiotic fan behaviour. We will discuss that and we will also find out how our Sussex sides got on the FA Cup and who the successful ones have got in the next round. You can read all about these stories with videos and pictures on Sussexworld.co.uk. But we'll start with the big game tonight. Deran, you were at the press conference, how did it go?
00:51 You were at the press conference with Roberto Di Zerbi yesterday ahead of this game. What
00:55 did he have to say about the occasion?
00:57 You just got a sense of excitement. Roberto Di Zerbi was at the press conference and Pascal
01:16 Gross was one of Brighton's first signings when they came into the Premier League. He
01:24 spoke really well about the rise and how they struggled at the beginning to establish themselves
01:30 in the top flight. Just to be on that natural progression which has now seen them take on
01:39 some of the best or will be taking on some of the best teams in Europe. There's just
01:44 a real sense of excitement. The group they've got, although it's one of the hardest groups
01:49 in the Europa League draw, I think they're genuinely excited. They wouldn't want it any
01:54 other way to be honest. In your first European adventure to get the chance to play some really
02:01 iconic teams. They've got Athens first of all. They are tipped to be one of the weaker
02:05 teams in the group. I was looking at the odds earlier and they're 20-1 to win the group.
02:13 I think they're going to be quite strong. I think Athens are a good line-up. They won
02:17 the Greek double last season. They play a very aggressive style of football.
02:24 Don't nick all of Frankie's stuff Darren.
02:28 I'm moving into Frankie's profile here. I think they're going to be great. From a Brighton
02:36 perspective, Evan Ferguson is fit and available. Soly March is fit and available as well. I
02:44 think Ansoo Fahey will make his home debut for Brighton as well.
02:48 Do you think he'll start?
02:49 Pardon?
02:50 Do you think Fahey will start?
02:54 I think he will start. I think he'll start in the number 10 role ahead of Jal Pedro.
03:00 I think Jal Pedro will come on as an impact substitute. Fahey will play either behind
03:05 Evan Ferguson or Danny Welbeck. I think he's going to go with Danny Welbeck in that main
03:09 striking role just to go for the experience. Ferguson is still managing this knee issue
03:13 and I think you'll see Ferguson come off the bench as well.
03:16 Interesting. Excellent. Well, Frankie, now Darren has tried to steal your thunder. A
03:23 lot of people might not know a lot about AEK Athens. What can you tell us about them and
03:27 how are they performing this season and who will be their danger men?
03:31 Yes, so I mean, I feel like I've got nothing to say now, but yeah, it's a it is. It is
03:39 arguably Brighton's easiest time, the sense that it's not as big or star-studded lineup
03:47 as the likes of Marseille or Ajax. But this is still a very, very tough test. First and
03:53 foremost, to become Greek champions in a league which has got Olympiacos and Panathinaikos,
03:58 which have much bigger budgets than AEK Athens to win the league by five points. And also,
04:03 like Darren said, the Greek Cup as well is an achievement. I know the Greek League isn't
04:07 the strongest in Europe, but they are still have some some very strong teams in there.
04:11 And also the major thing I think which will play an impact is this is Brighton's first
04:16 European game. And that is a very exciting thing. But AEK Athens, they've been doing
04:21 this for a long time. This their first European event was 1966. They've reached the European
04:27 Cup quarterfinal in that year in the 60s as well. They made it to UEFA Cup semifinal in
04:31 1977, and they've been involved in European competitions, I think, for the last 13 out
04:37 of the last 18 years. So they know how to do this. They might not be successful in that
04:42 they never won a European trophy, but group stage competition football in Europe they
04:47 have done before. And it's shown in this squad as well as a number of players that played
04:50 for AEK Athens for a number of years. There's a number of players over the age of 30. You've
04:55 got players like Nordin Amrabat, who's Sofren Amrabat's brother, the guy who's playing obviously
05:00 in Manchester United now, who was a member of the Morocco World Cup squad. He's 36, but
05:04 he's still a key member of the team. Vida as well. I don't know if you can remember
05:09 when Croatia got to the 2018 World Cup semi World Cup final. Sorry. He was the centre
05:14 back partner of partner of Lovren with the blonde ponytail. He's unfortunately not travelled.
05:20 But again, experienced players with a lot of international experience as well as playing
05:24 in European competition. I think that will do them well because as well, they don't have
05:28 the sort of quality or, you know, there's not as much fun money in Greek football. So
05:32 they don't have 20 million pound 30 million pound players like Brighton now do. But they
05:37 still have, like I said, the understanding of how to deal with these big games. They're
05:40 managed by, sorry I've lost his name, Marte Salmada. He is the former Argentinean international.
05:47 He made 40 caps for Argentina. He's not really had a long managerial career of yet, but again,
05:52 he's played at the highest level. He's played at World Cups. He's played for Inter Milan.
05:56 He set up this team really, really well. He's joined, you know, he joined last season. They've
06:00 gone on to win the Greek League. So he has already stamped his authority on that team,
06:06 so to speak. They're known for very, like Darren said, a very physical, quite intense
06:10 man marking pressing style. They don't take prisoners very easily. So I think Brighton
06:15 will feel that very much so at the Amex tonight. So in regards to do Brighton go in as first
06:22 favourites? Yes, they do. Because in regards to the two teams on paper, they have a much
06:27 better line-up. But in regards to how a game like this can go, I think this Greek side
06:33 will have a look at the performance of teams like West Ham and Everton at the Amex in the
06:37 last year and a half under Roberto Di Serbi. I think if we can set up in a very similar
06:41 style which suits them to play more counter-attacking football with a striker like Levi Garcia up
06:46 front who scored 18 goals in 37 appearances last season. If they can catch a counter-attack
06:52 sort of 1-0 victory, I think they will see that as their best opportunity. They can have
06:57 the experience and know-how to do that.
07:00 Yes, that's going to be interesting. Darren, it is going to be an incredible occasion.
07:05 I think you and Sam Morton are there tonight, aren't you? What does it mean to the fans
07:09 and for the club, this one fixture?
07:12 Yes, it just demonstrates the rise. It's the best time to be a Brighton fan, to be honest.
07:20 They're playing some of the best football in the Premier League. They've got a great
07:24 manager, the strongest squad they've had even though they've lost two of their key
07:29 players Alexis McAllister and Moises Caicedo. I just think the fans are really embracing
07:35 it and just living in the moment. It's really probably never going to be this good again
07:41 because you look at the money that's in the Premier League. There's a lot of talk that
07:47 there isn't a ceiling for Brighton but this is probably about as good as it could ever
07:51 be for them really. I think the fans are just really enjoying the occasion, having these
07:56 big European nights. When you look back to a few years back when they had to sell their
08:04 stadium and were playing in Gillingham and playing at the Whipdean and then to get to
08:09 the position they are in now. It's just an incredible story. I just think every Brighton
08:15 fan has just got to really enjoy these occasions while they're here. I just think the team
08:22 are going to go for it and try to put on a good show and really tackle it in the best
08:27 way possible which is to play attacking football, entertain the fans and see where it gets them.
08:32 I think it will be enough for them to get through to the group, to get out of the group
08:37 stages and into the knockout phase as well. I think that's what fans will be hoping for.
08:43 Absolutely. After watching Man Utd vs Bayern Munich last night, I think I've worked out
08:49 because Brighton beat Man Utd because this is exactly how football works. Brighton would
08:53 beat Bayern Munich 1-0 on the scorelines. I think that's how it works.
09:02 It was a great win on Saturday, Brighton beating Man Utd 3-1. They're back in Premier League
09:07 action this Sunday against Bournemouth. On paper a home banker for Brighton we would
09:11 say but it's going to be interesting to see how the players handle their first Thursday-Sunday
09:16 fixtures isn't it Frankie?
09:19 I think that at the moment is their only stumbling block really because I think for the first
09:25 time, maybe ever, that Brighton went into that game against Manchester United 1-3-1 and
09:32 were 3-0 up. I think a lot of people had predicted that and expected that. They had gone in as
09:37 they were playing the far better football and weren't overall by the occasion of playing
09:41 Old Trafford and completely played United off the park. The way they're playing, as
09:46 Jamie Carragher alluded to on Monday Night Football, it's no longer a shock now Brighton
09:50 winning these sort of games. Tonight as well as a number of examples, they go into their
09:55 first European game as favourites and would be disappointed if they didn't win the game
09:59 despite this being the little old Brighton playing in the Europa League. They go into
10:05 every game now as favourites and for Sunday's game against Bournemouth, as you'd say, you'd
10:10 expect them to win quite comfortably. The only downside to that is they are playing
10:15 off the back of a game on Thursday, one of the biggest occasions emotionally and physically.
10:21 Can they recover in time to go again for what will be a tough test against the Bournemouth
10:25 side? There were no pushovers at the Amex last season. It was Kermit Home's late winner
10:30 that got them that very hard-fought victory. It's very much a case of seeing how they do
10:38 and how many changes they will make as well. They made six changes at Old Trafford and
10:42 still looked pretty flawless. That's going to be the interesting thing because it is
10:49 a very difficult thing to do. We saw at the end of last season as well, the squad was
10:53 more depleted but when they were forced to play three games a week in May, you could
10:57 really see how much they struggled in games against Nottingham Forest, Everton, Newcastle.
11:03 Those were big defeats. That will be the only worry. At the same time, as Darren alluded,
11:11 they are playing the best football in, well, certainly one of the best teams in the Premier
11:15 League and probably in Europe as well in regards to how unique their style is. I'm sure they
11:20 won't really fear it, to be honest, but how they cope with it will be another issue.
11:25 Did you get any indication of Lewis Dunk not playing tonight?
11:41 I saw that coming through. I'm not sure where that's come from. I'd be surprised if that
11:49 had been leaked from the Brighton side. There was no talk of that yesterday. That would
11:58 be a major shocker and a real disappointment for Lewis Dunk, hometown Brighton lad. He'd
12:05 be proud to lead Brighton out into Europe. It would be a blow if that is the case. There
12:11 was absolutely no indication of that yesterday. We'll keep an eye on that and see how that
12:18 progresses.
12:19 Moving on to Crawley Town. They had an eventful weekend. They beat Tranmere 3-2 thanks to
12:28 an added time winner from Clydie Lawless. The win puts them up to 6th in League 2 as
12:32 they head into this week's trip to Grimsby Town. The game was marred by an incident that
12:36 saw missiles thrown towards visiting keeper Luke McGee. A flare was also thrown on the
12:41 pitch. The Club of Power statement apologising to Tranmere and condemning the fans. It could
12:46 lead to a points deduction, closure of areas in the ground or a hefty fine. This behaviour
12:52 seems to be becoming more and more prevalent these days. We saw there was an incident at
12:58 Horsham this week, Horsham away at Marlow this week in the FA Cup replay. Steve, can
13:04 you tell us a bit more about that? Do you think the punishments for the fan behaviour
13:09 is enough of a deterrent for them to stop?
13:12 Yeah, it's an interesting one. Briefly on the Horsham one, it's very much still being
13:20 investigated so not a lot we can say. But at the end of Horsham's FA Cup replay win
13:26 at Marlow, they won 3-1 to go through, it appears that a home fan had a bit of a go
13:34 at the goalkeeper, the Horsham goalkeeper, as he went to retrieve his water bottle from
13:39 the back of the net at the end of the game. He then, I think, defended himself somehow
13:45 and it all kicked off a little bit with quite a number of home fans involved and all got
13:50 a bit messy and unseemly. And as we were saying, things do seem to be happening a little bit
13:56 more often at non-league grounds and at League Two grounds as far as Crawley are concerned.
14:01 And it's quite concerning really, isn't it? There seems a particular issue at Crawley
14:06 with flares being thrown. The question now for them has to be how are people getting
14:11 these into the ground if they know they've got...
14:13 Yes, every game, every home game I've been to there's been a flare.
14:16 If they know they've got people bringing these in and with a view to using them when clearly
14:21 they shouldn't be using them, because that's a danger to players and other fans, then they
14:26 need to have better systems in place to search people on the way in. It's not difficult to
14:30 find out who's got a firework or a flare on them and take them off them at the entrance.
14:36 Or if you find, you know, maybe the better deterrent is if you find someone with a flare,
14:41 don't just take it off them, turn them away, don't let them into the ground. Take it off
14:45 them and turn them away sort of thing. Yeah, it needs to be cracked down on. The one thing
14:53 I do think is an interesting debate is the whole question of pitch invasions, because
15:03 that's in recent years, that's become a bit of an issue and a bit of a problem. My own
15:08 view is that if a team has won promotion or got to a cup final, or had a massive, giant
15:14 killing win, I don't think there's anything wrong with a celebratory pitch invasion. I
15:19 know they can sometimes turn into a bit of a flare up, you know, if there's opposition
15:24 fans still there, but I think it would be a shame if those sorts of occasions were sort
15:29 of criminalised as well, if you like. But clearly there are things happening now at
15:34 Crawley and at many other grounds as well that do need to be cracked down on and given
15:39 proper deterrence. Yeah, Frankie, have you noticed sort of more of this kind of behaviour
15:45 when you've seen around grounds? I mean, AFC Vandinians, for example, do you get this kind
15:48 of stuff? No, unfortunately the crowd is well over the age of 60, so a pitch invasion would
15:54 not be possible. A pitch walk might be on the cards. But no, I think we are noticing
16:02 the effects of the COVID lockdowns is the main thing. I think we're seeing a much more
16:05 prevalent rise in football violence since then. I think a lot of young kids are now
16:12 sort of, it's certainly a much younger audience I've noticed, who are causing the letting
16:16 off of flares or the essence of the football casual culture that used to be obviously prevalent
16:22 in the 70s and 80s. I think that's sort of become, what would I say, cool again for people
16:27 sort of the age between 16 and 20. I think there's lots of films they can watch, there
16:32 are older people that go to the games that can tell them all about that sort of stuff.
16:36 It's very much in sort of the mainstream media for them to sort of pick up and see as something
16:40 that they want to take on themselves. And they're also, like I say, I think it very
16:44 much stems from a situation where you have been told, you've been locked in your house
16:49 for a year, a year and a half or two years or however long we were, being told by people
16:53 to do it who weren't following the rules themselves. I think that creates a sort of feeling and
16:59 a societal point of putting two things up to you and saying, well, you can't tell us
17:04 what to do. All the sort of, that time, that period, there was a lot of stigma towards
17:09 the widening gap between rich and poor. People who were in power could do what they want,
17:15 whether that be the police or the government. And I think a lot of kids have taken that
17:18 alongside being trapped indoors for a long period of time. And it's led to this spurt
17:24 of violence, because especially that first season back after, when fans could return,
17:30 which I think was 2021, 2022, when crowds were in full capacity, we saw a real, real
17:36 spike in fans running onto pitches, attacking players, violence within the stands. And a
17:42 lot of people just, which is right, is that people just say, they're idiots, we need to
17:46 get rid of them, crack down on it. These people are morons. And that's absolutely correct.
17:51 Obviously, that behaviour is not tolerated. But just to call them that without looking
17:54 at the reason for it, just leads those sort of fans to go, well, they don't understand
17:58 us. So we continue to behave like that. So it is definitely more prevalent. It's definitely
18:02 a younger crowd, as I say, who feel that it's cool and they feel they're not being listened
18:06 to. And it's that classic, which is what was happening before the Premier League was invented.
18:12 That was the classic problem, before Hillsborough, the use of pens and football ID cards and
18:18 so forth. So it's sort of history repeating itself in a way. And that behaviour, like
18:24 you say, can't be tolerated. But I think a lot of Crawley fans, those fans that are doing
18:29 it will see that they're sort of rebelling against society, so to speak.
18:34 Yeah, it's an interesting one, because the club's safety officer per hour, Crawley Town's
18:38 safety officer per hour message, it was quite detailed. We've run it in the Crawley Observer
18:43 newspaper this week. But when we socialised it on social media, a lot of people were commenting,
18:50 saying it's great that he's saying this, it's great that we're not going to tolerate any
18:54 more. But how have these, as Steve said earlier, how have these flares got into the ground
18:58 in the first place? Somebody's not doing their job or they're allowing it to happen. So yeah,
19:04 that needs to be absolutely clamped down. And that's just the starting point and then
19:07 go from there. So yeah, no, an interesting discussion.
19:12 Moving on to the non-league stuff, we've had the second qualifying round of the FA Cup
19:16 this weekend. Steve, how did our nine teams get on and who have they got in the next round,
19:21 the ones that were successful?
19:23 Yeah, it was a mixed bag, I suppose you'd call it, of results for our nine teams. Four
19:29 got through, five went out. So since last week, we have lost, who have we lost now?
19:35 I've got to remember them now. Hastings, Burgess Hill, Eastbourne United, Stenningtown and Eastbourne
19:44 Borough. They've all gone out. Through to the next round are Worthing, Whitehawk, who
19:50 will play each other in the third qualifying round at Worthing. Lewis are through and they
19:56 are at home to Hampton and Richmond. And Horsham, as we've mentioned earlier, got through in
20:00 a replay against Marlow and they will be at home to Hamworth Villa in the next round.
20:06 So four teams through. Clearly, we're going to have one Sussex team in the fourth qualifying
20:11 round, the winners of Worthing and Whitehawk. I think Horsham will probably get through.
20:16 They should get the job done against Hamworth Villa, another team from one step below them
20:20 in the pyramid. Lewis, they're at home to Hampton and Richmond, who are in National
20:24 South, so that's going to be hard. But Lewis have had a reasonable start to the season,
20:28 so not impossible. So I'm going to say we'll have two sides in the fourth qualifying round.
20:33 You never know. They might then get drawn against each other if, for example, we have
20:36 Worthing and Horsham together. If they were to play in the fourth qualifying round, you'd
20:41 be guaranteed a Sussex non-league team in the first round. And you could be...
20:45 Which is great.
20:46 You could be...
20:47 It's going to be great.
20:48 ...Damekins, Pompey or Charlton or somebody like that. So, yeah, plenty of excitement
20:52 still despite...
20:53 We're a big time, like, drawing sound. Yeah.
20:54 Yes, I was just going to mention them as well. Yeah.
20:57 And when is the next round played, Steve?
21:01 Saturday week. Saturday 30th of September is the third qualifying round.
21:04 Lovely. Brilliant. Thank you very much. Right, we'll move on to score predictions. We'll
21:10 start with the big game tonight. Brighton versus Athens. Deron, Brighton have got to
21:14 win, aren't they?
21:15 Yeah, I think they're pretty confident they should be able to pick up the victory. Like
21:21 we were saying earlier, I don't think it's going to be, you know, it's not going to be
21:25 really easy, but I'm going to go for a 2-1, 2-1 to Brighton tonight.
21:31 Frankie?
21:32 I'm actually, although I've said Athens will give them a tough game, I still think that
21:38 Brighton at the moment are still far superior than most sides they've played. So I'm going
21:42 to go for 3-0 Brighton.
21:43 Brilliant. Steve?
21:44 Well, thanks to Deron and Frankie earlier, I now know everything there is to know about
21:49 AEK Athens and more. That hasn't changed my view. I am again going for a Brighton draw.
21:55 You know, this is my default position is going for Brighton draws. I think it's going to
22:00 be quite an exciting one tonight, though, and I really hope all the Brighton fans sort
22:03 of savour it and soak it up and enjoy it as their first game in Europe. I'm going 2-2.
22:08 2-2. I'm going to go for a 1-0 Brighton win. I think it's going to be tough. I think they're
22:12 going to be hard to break down, Athens, so, but they will do it. 1-0 I'm going for, but
22:18 it won't be exciting.
22:21 Next game, we're going to go to Grimsby Town versus Crawley. It's Crawley's first away
22:27 trip for about two and a half weeks, three weeks. So it's going to be a tough one. Grimsby
22:33 always a tough place to go, but Crawley are going to get something there, I think. I'm
22:37 going to go for a 2-1 win for Crawley. Steve, I'm going to come to you first on this one.
22:41 Yeah, Crawley are a little bit up and down away from home, aren't they? They had a big
22:46 defeat at Swindon and then a much better performance at Stockport. I think I'm going to have to
22:50 go for a 2-1 Grimsby win. Sorry, Crawley fans.
22:54 I'll tell Scott Lindsay that when I speak to him this afternoon.
22:57 Yeah.
22:58 Darren.
22:59 In my dress.
23:00 Yeah, it's a tricky one, Grims. I'm going to go for a 1-1. 1-1, I think.
23:05 1-1. I think that would be a good result for Crawley, if they can get anything there. Frankie?
23:10 Yeah, I've just noticed that Steve's going for the sort of Mark Lawrenson technique,
23:15 where he, Mark Lawrenson, did his predictions on BBC Sport and they realised that for three
23:19 years he predicted Liverpool to win every single game. I think Steve's on for a record
23:23 with that, with Brighton drawing every single game. But no, I agree. I think Crawley away
23:29 from home is not as strong as they are at home. They're still, you know, they seem to
23:33 be an entertaining game at the moment, Crawley. They can't seem to help themselves. So I'm
23:36 going to go for 2-2.
23:37 2-2. Lovely. That'll be an exciting old game for the fans. And finally, very quickly, Brighton
23:44 versus Bournemouth on Sunday. Frankie, we'll start with you this time.
23:47 Yeah, I'm struggling to work out what will happen that game because I'm yet to see how
23:53 Brighton perform after their European adventure. So I still think they'll win, but Bournemouth,
23:58 as I say, they're quite a difficult team to break down at the moment. So I'm going to
24:01 go for another 1-0 win at the Olympics.
24:05 1-0 win. Steve?
24:06 0-0.
24:07 0-0. Going for a 0-0.
24:08 Yeah, I think they'll struggle after tonight. Sunday struggles after Thursday.
24:15 Fair enough. Darren?
24:17 Yeah, I'm kind of with Steve with this one. I was going to go 0-0 or 1-1, but I'm going
24:24 to go for a 1-1, I think. I think Brighton, there is this expectancy that they now beat
24:29 these so-called smaller teams and they've historically struggled against them. So yeah,
24:36 especially after the European night, I think 1-1 would be a decent enough result after
24:42 the European.
24:43 Lovely. I'm going to go for them scraping a 2-1 win, midtimer scoring an injury time
24:47 winner. So that's what I'm going for. Brilliant stuff. Thanks for the conversation, lads.
24:53 You can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about
24:56 today and all the videos, picture galleries, etc. from the weekend at sussexworld.co.uk.
25:02 And look out for any extra videos we do. There'll be a reaction video after tonight's game,
25:06 I'm assuming Darren with you and Sam. And then yeah, look out for all of that on sussexworld.co.uk.
25:13 Cheers, guys.
25:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]