Derren Howard is joined by football journalists Sam Morton and Henry Bryant as they discuss the latest from Brighton and Hove Albion and Crawley Town
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Welcome to another episode of Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all the latest
00:22 goings on at Brighton, Hove Albion, Crawley Town and all of the sports across Sussex.
00:27 I'm Darren Howard and this week I'm joined by Sussex reporters Sam Morton and Henry Bryant,
00:32 who cover all things Brighton, Hove Albion as well as Crawley Town.
00:35 The Seagulls are enjoying a 20-day break from action. Their extended break has included a
00:41 week of warm weather training in Dubai and they are next in action at home against Wolverhampton
00:45 Wanderers on Monday, January 22nd at the Amex Stadium. Behind the scenes, Albion are edging
00:52 closer to making their first signing of the transfer window. Meanwhile, Crawley Town suffered
00:57 a disappointing 1-0 home defeat against Salford City. Off the pitch, 21-year-old midfielder Kame
01:04 Sawyer has also been recalled by West Ham. You can read all the stories we are talking about with
01:09 videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport and you can check out other great videos on
01:17 shotstv.com and Freeview channel 276. You may also be watching on latest TV.
01:23 As mentioned, Albion are enjoying an extended break.
01:29 Just how beneficial will that be, Sam, do you think, to the team?
01:33 Massively beneficial, Darren. I think the one thing that's been a problem for Brighton this
01:38 season is trying to get to grips with the number of games they've had to play. They've obviously
01:43 made a number of changes and I think we've seen different players come in quite frequently. I
01:50 suppose it's made it quite difficult to get the playing style as fluid and as brilliant as it was
01:56 last season, really. I think they've done exceptionally well in the circumstances and
02:00 have had to deal with lots of injuries, especially this season. So having this extended break to
02:06 recharge the batteries, get some players back from injury, I hope that we do see some of those
02:11 players that have been out for a long time, hopefully they are nearer to playing again.
02:16 So this definitely gives those players a chance to get back into action and players that have been
02:21 playing week in, week out to have a rest, which is so important as we go into the second half of
02:26 the season.
02:27 Yeah, it's going to be a big second half. Next up is a home match against Wolves on Monday 22nd.
02:33 What do you think about that one, Henry? What kind of game are you expecting?
02:38 Well, Brighton have got a really good record against Wolves and will be looking to make
02:41 this their fifth consecutive win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. And when Bryson last
02:46 played Wolves in August, it was a 4-1 win away with Estupinan, who's in form right now,
02:53 getting a goal as well on that fixture. And it looks like it will be another one where we'll
02:58 see a lot of goals. And it'll be interesting to see if having this warm weather training
03:04 will benefit the players who are now going to be going into the cold February, UK
03:09 winter and January that's coming up. So we'll see how it goes. We'll see how it goes.
03:15 Yeah. Do you agree with that, Sam? Do you think it could be a bit, you know,
03:20 the warm weather of Dubai straight into a cold match against Wolves?
03:23 Do you think that could have any impact?
03:26 It potentially could. I mean, I was just saying about how much of a positive impact
03:31 having a rest could have. Then you also wonder maybe if it does have been maybe an adverse
03:36 effect, as you say, the warm weather, suddenly you're back to the freezing cold and you never
03:41 know it could have an impact. But I think it's going to be a tough game either way. I think
03:45 Wolves are obviously in decent form. And I think Gary O'Neill has had a superb impact with them,
03:51 really, in that they are flying quite high, really. I think they're 11th place at the moment,
03:54 just a one point behind Newcastle with the game in hand, and not too far below Chelsea either.
04:01 And they're actually only three points below Brighton. So they're not too far down. And I
04:06 think it will be a tough game. And hopefully, as Henry says, that Brighton can continue that
04:11 great record they do have against Wolves. But I don't think it will be as comfortable as some of
04:16 those games were, especially last season. There was obviously a heavy, heavy win for Brighton.
04:21 So I definitely think it'll be a tough game, but one that hopefully Brighton can get through.
04:25 Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. I think it will be tough. But Gary O'Neill is a good manager. I think he's
04:30 done a good job there. But Brighton are expected to complete and announce an £8 million deal for
04:36 Valentin Barko this week. The Seagulls activated the release clause with Boca Juniors, and a 19-year-old
04:42 will certainly add to head coach Roberto Di Zerbi's options on the left flank. How exciting do you
04:48 think it is for Brighton, Henry? Do you think you should be kept at the foreloan now?
04:53 Well, personally, if you look at the wingers that we've got at the moment on the left,
04:58 you've got Ansi Fati, you've got Simon Didinger, you've got Karim Mottoma. All have been
05:02 a little bit injury prone this season. Some of them are going to be out for quite a while.
05:08 So it might be worth Di Zerbi potentially taking a chance on this new signing that we'll be having
05:14 very soon, shortly to be announced. And he might just provide another level of creativity that
05:21 we've been needing. I think that previous season we had Karim Mottoma was just that magician
05:28 and he really burst into the scene. We haven't seen as much of that this season, not to say that
05:33 he's not anywhere near as talented as he has been for us. But it looks like having a player like
05:40 this Valentin Barko coming in might be some opportunity to kind of create a bit more
05:47 competition in an already quite crowded left midfield, left wing role that we already have.
05:53 And yeah, maybe give him a chance in this second half of the season and then go from there in the
05:58 summer, I would say. Yeah, yeah. It looks a good sort of classic Brighton signing. Do you agree,
06:05 Sam? What do you think of Barko? Yeah, I think it's a really exciting signing for Brighton,
06:15 actually. And it's obviously one that has been talked about for quite a while. Some big clubs
06:19 linked with him, as you say. And as you mentioned, there's been talk of him potentially being loaned
06:25 out. And it's a little bit up in the air whether he's going to be kept on the club this season or
06:30 trying to loan him out and give him some match experience to then come into Brighton for the
06:35 new season. But I would quite like to see him start. And not necessarily start, but I'd like
06:40 to see him stay at Brighton and really start to cut his teeth in the Premier League, really. Really
06:45 get that invaluable experience. And I think there will definitely be opportunities for him, really,
06:50 when we've seen the number of injuries Brighton have had, especially in those full-back positions.
06:53 And the fact that he can play in midfield as well would only help his cause. And
06:57 I really do hope that he's given a chance to show what he can do this season. And I
07:02 mentioned last week that he's been likened to Marcelo. And he's obviously one of the best
07:06 left-backs in football history. So, if you're anything like him, then Brighton are doing okay.
07:11 So, yeah, I really hope that he can make a good impact for Brighton and really,
07:16 yeah, as I say, show what he can do.
07:18 Good stuff. Good stuff. Yeah.
07:20 Sorry, Dario, you asked about the transfer speculation as well. Yeah, I think there's
07:27 a couple of names that will be doing the rounds. Nothing concrete as such, but Lazar Sanadzic
07:33 from Udinese, managed by the former Cork Town Manager, Gabriel Chioffi. There's a report coming
07:38 out of Italy via Sport Witness that Brighton have joined the race alongside Juventus and Napoli to
07:43 sign the midfielder. He's a 21-year-old, valued in the region of 25 million euros. And he's played
07:50 over 80 times for the Serie A outfit after joining from the Bundesliga in 2021. So, potentially an
07:56 exciting signing. And the fact that he's been linked with two huge clubs in the Serie A can
08:00 only bode well. I think Brighton really mixing with the heavyweights of Europe there. And also
08:06 Ficundo Medina from London in the French League. Apparently, Brighton showing interest in him as
08:12 well. He's an Argentinian centre-back. And apparently Man United are also interested
08:16 for the 24-year-old. So, yeah, a couple of, I suppose, unorthodox players there that we might
08:25 not necessarily know too much about, but potentially could be two serene signings for Brighton. And they
08:31 have been notorious for that, really, aren't they, in signing these players that are maybe not
08:35 well known across the world just yet, but they soon will be if they start playing the trade in
08:40 the Premier League? Yeah, yeah, for sure. They've certainly got more right than they have wrong in
08:44 the last few windows. So, yeah, plenty of the window left to go. We're still only just halfway
08:49 through. So, we'll keep watching that one. But yeah, just on a slightly sour note, former Brighton
08:56 manager and current Ghana head coach Chris Hughton was reportedly attacked by a Ghanaian fan at the
09:02 team's hotel after their defeat against Cape Verde in the AFCon. The unidentified man was handed to
09:11 the Ivorian police and arrested, apparently. What's the latest there, Henry? What's been going on over
09:16 there? Well, there's been some recent developments and a spokesperson for Ghana FA has kind of come
09:23 out and issued a few statements. Basically, what we can now confirm is that they've had a meeting
09:31 with the coach after, giving him 100% assurance that they are behind him. And they've insisted
09:38 that there was a fan that actually was just trying to get closer to the coach at his hotel. And then
09:45 security had intervened on duty. They say that there was no arrest, but the security team did
09:52 take them away from the scene. So, it looks like he wasn't actually physically attacked. It was more
09:58 of a verbal attack. But at the same time, this is still not a nice thing to see. I mean, you know,
10:04 there's still three games left for them to have an opportunity to progress. And it's just a shame,
10:12 really, because he's, you know, as a Brighton fan, and, you know, knowing how he manages teams,
10:19 he's genuinely a very nice, quite quiet manager, some would say. And for him to be involved in
10:26 something like that is a real shame. But it does look like there was no physical attack, according
10:32 to the Ghana FA. And yeah, more updates, I'm sure will follow after that. Yeah, yeah, no, it was a
10:40 nasty. And like you say, you couldn't meet a nicer guy, could you? So hopefully, hopefully,
10:45 it wasn't too bad. And he can turn it around. But we're just going to go for a short break now. And
10:50 when we come back, we'll be talking all things Crawley Town. Crawley's playoff hopes suffered a
10:57 bit of a blow with a 1-0 loss against struggling Salford City last time out. It wasn't really a
11:03 good performance from Scott Lindsay's men, was it? Was it, Sam? No, no, it wasn't at all. And it was
11:09 a bit of a surprise. I think Crawley went into the game as favourites. They were, as you mentioned,
11:15 not too far off the playoffs. And they've had a great run of form with a couple of brilliant away
11:20 victories. And they definitely were expected to put Salford to the sword as they were in a really
11:24 poor run of form without a win in a long period of time. And they were really struggling, Salford.
11:30 But you wouldn't have known that from the performance. I think Salford, right from minute
11:34 one, dominated Crawley. And if it wasn't for Corey O'Day, it could have been a lot worse than 1-0.
11:40 I think the Crawley keeper put one of his best performances in a Crawley shirt and kept out
11:45 lots and lots of shots. And the stats made for crazy reading. I think it was about 14 shots to
11:50 Crawley's one at half-time or something like that. And yeah, crazy. I think Salford were
11:55 dominant for the first half. And I think Crawley were very fortunate to come in
11:58 0-0. And you thought maybe that could be a turning point and they'd be able to
12:02 make Salford regret those missed chances. But it didn't turn out like that. And then
12:07 Salford carried on where they left off in that first half and eventually found a winner
12:12 towards the end of the game. So definitely a deserved win for Salford. And a bit of a
12:16 disappointing performance for Crawley. It seemed that every time they got possession of the ball,
12:20 they seemed to lose it, which is most unlike the team this season. Jake Williams, who's been one
12:25 of the signs of the season, probably had one of his poorer games. He was booked very early on,
12:30 and that might have affected him throughout. But a lot of the players seem to go missing, really.
12:34 And I suppose you can credit them for the way they defended. I mentioned Corey O'Day for the
12:39 saves he made. So they're some of the positives. They did manage to keep the score down. But yeah,
12:47 I suppose it's a difficult afternoon, but hopefully they can bounce back quickly.
12:54 Yeah, yeah. Let's hope so. Scott Lindsay's not really one to sort of mince his words. He wasn't
13:00 very happy, was he, after the performance? He said it's the worst performance he's seen from
13:03 Crawley. And not just disappointed with the players, but also with the fans as well, who
13:08 voiced their anger throughout the game and even booed when the final whistle was blown.
13:13 What did you make of his comments, Sam? Yeah, it's not too... We've seen comments like this
13:21 from Lindsay before, even recently after the Wimbledon defeat at home. He was really critical
13:26 with his performance. I think it's because he expects better. And we've come to expect better
13:31 from this Crawley team, especially on the ball. And as I mentioned, Salford had lots of shots.
13:36 I'm just seeing a stat now. They had 35 shots in the game, including 12 on target. So you can kind
13:41 of understand really that if they're conceding that many shots on goal, you can understand why
13:46 the manager was really unhappy. And as you say, he said it was the worst performance he's seen
13:51 since he joined the club last year. And I suppose it was just unexpected for him as much as the fans
13:57 because they were in a good place and no one really saw that coming, really. And in terms of
14:03 the fans, it sounded like he was unhappy that the players were getting some stick, especially after
14:09 the form they've been in. And I suppose he just asked for a bit of context, I guess. He probably
14:14 just wants the fans to appreciate how far they've come when you consider the position they were in
14:18 last year, only stayed in the League 2 by the skin of their teeth. So the fact that they have
14:23 come so far in that time, maybe it just needs a little bit of perspective. And I think that's
14:27 what he was most upset about, that it only took one bad performance for the players to really get
14:33 some stick from the fans. I think he basically said, if you're going to criticise us, just
14:37 criticise him personally and not the players. And I think that was his message, really.
14:41 But yeah, hopefully, Crawley can show a good response to that.
14:45 Yeah, yeah. Let's hope they can turn that around. So they face a rematch against their rivals,
14:52 AFC Wimbledon, on Saturday in League 2. The Reds will be looking for revenge after losing
14:58 the reverse fixture 2-1 just before Christmas. Do you think Crawley will get what they want, Sam?
15:04 I'd like to think so. I think they'll definitely be after revenge, as you say, after the
15:09 2-1 defeat at home just before Christmas. But it won't be easy. Definitely won't be easy. We saw
15:16 at the Broadfield Stadium what a good side the Dons are. They're some very dangerous players.
15:21 But Crawley's away form has been good. And I can't imagine Lindsay allowing his side to have
15:25 another Salford-like performance, really. So I think there's a very good chance they can get
15:30 the three points and put things right from the Salford game. But as I say, the away form has
15:35 been good. So hopefully they can keep that going. And it'll be a huge, huge statement against their
15:41 rivals.
15:42 Yeah, yeah. And the fixtures, they keep coming, don't they? Thick and fast. Next Tuesday,
15:46 they travel to Peterborough for the EFL trophy clash. And hopefully the second time lucky after
15:53 the game was postponed last week. It was all a bit of a bit of a faff. How do you see this one
15:59 going, Sam?
16:00 Yeah, another tough game for Crawley. It's one of the worst possible ties they could have got,
16:06 obviously, in the competition. One of the furthest places to go, one of the toughest teams left
16:10 in the competition. And as you say, second time lucky because they were due to play there last
16:15 week. And the players and the fans had arrived when they found out the game had been postponed
16:19 because of the conditions. And it was very controversial, as you say, because quite
16:26 frankly, the game should have been postponed at one o'clock in the afternoon, the latest,
16:29 and not an hour before kickoff. And the fact that they have to travel to Peterborough once again,
16:34 hopefully they'll be able to play some football this time. And yeah, so hopefully, yeah, Crawley
16:40 can win. It's, as I say, a really tough game against a League One side that I don't think
16:46 Crawley will be under too much pressure for, really. I think it's just a case of, yeah,
16:50 doing their best. And I think if they do get through, it's another huge step towards Wembley
16:54 for the first time in the club's history.
16:56 Good, good. Then off the pitch, 21-year-old midfielder Kamar-Ei Soye has been recalled
17:03 by West Ham. How has he played for Crawley? And is that a blow for them to lose him at this stage
17:08 of the season?
17:10 Yeah, it's a difficult one, really, because he hasn't played many minutes for Crawley. So I'm
17:15 not too surprised that he has been recalled by West Ham. He signed for the Reds on a season-long
17:22 loan deal in July. He's made 11 appearances for Scotland's side, scoring one goal and getting
17:27 two assists. But all three of those goal involvements did come in the EFL trophy. So he
17:32 only appeared in League Two off the bench. He never started a League Two game. He only played
17:38 43 minutes, actually, in the football league. So it was not a surprise, as I say, that he's
17:44 been recalled. He's not played too much for Crawley. And I'm sure that he'll probably go
17:49 out on another loan deal, I imagine, somewhere where he might get some more minutes to show
17:53 what he can do. But I think in the few games we did see him play in the EFL trophy, he looked
17:58 decent. So as I say, he got a few goal involvements and he didn't look like he was struggling as
18:05 much. I think obviously, in those games, you don't have a huge amount of pressure on, I guess.
18:09 And he's playing with lots of other kind of fringe players that are really trying to make an
18:13 impression. But I think Scott Lindsay decided very early on in what starting XI he wanted for the
18:19 league. And it was very difficult to kind of get into that team, really, and to try and nudge those
18:25 players out. So he definitely suffered as a result of that, I think. And I wish him the best of luck
18:29 for the future. Yeah, yeah, sounds good. Hopefully, he'll get some minutes elsewhere
18:34 for, you know, as his career goes. And then, yeah, just moving on to the score predictions
18:40 as well. Obviously, Brighton will be back in action against Wolves. How do you see that one
18:45 going, Henry? Lots of goals or? I think there will be a lot of goals, to be fair. And I think that I
18:53 can see Brighton winning it, but not as comfortably as they normally do. And I feel like this might be
18:59 a high scoring 3-2 to Brighton Over Albion. That's what I'd bet. Yeah.
19:04 Is Joe on the score sheet, do you think? Sorry, say that again?
19:08 Joe Pedro on the score sheet, do you think? Oh, I hope so. I hope so. He's been in an
19:14 insane run of form. And it's quite annoying as a Brighton fan because your players do really well.
19:20 And then out of nowhere, you see that someone's looking to buy him. It seems like we can never
19:25 have someone that's quality and actually, you know, not have those rumours. But I guess that
19:32 shows the quality of the players that we do have here at Brighton and that we're always producing
19:37 these almost £100m reported players to be transferred to somewhere else. So, yeah,
19:44 let's hope that Joe Pedro can get a goal. Good stuff. Good stuff. Sam, how do you see that one
19:49 going? Yeah, I think it'll be a close one. I think Brighton will wedge it 2-1. I think Joe
19:54 Pedro will get on the score sheet again. Yeah, I think it'll be a close game that Brighton will
19:59 just about get through. Yeah, I agree. I think it's going to be tight as well. I think 2-1 as well.
20:06 So, moving on, Wimbledon versus Crawley, Henry, what's your prediction for that one?
20:11 I feel like with Wimbledon versus Crawley, it's a game where Crawley really do need to bounce back.
20:18 And it's at this time of the season, they really need to kind of get results under their belt. I'm
20:24 hoping for a 1-0 win to Crawley, if I'm honest with you. Yeah. And Sam, how do you see that one?
20:32 I'm going to go for a draw. I think it'll be a 1-0 draw. I think that'll be a decent result away
20:37 from home and will obviously be a decent response, I guess, to the defeat against Alford. So, yeah,
20:44 I'll go for a 1-0 draw. 1-0 draw. Yeah. And just finally, a quick one, Peterborough. Henry,
20:50 how do you see that one? Crawley travel to Peterborough on Tuesday. What do you think?
20:55 I think I'm being quite positive here, but I feel like with that sort of reaction from the manager
21:04 saying about his fans and also his players, I feel like you can only go up from there,
21:09 hopefully, otherwise you do crash and burn. So, I'm hoping for either a draw, a 1-1 draw,
21:17 or for Crawley to just edge past because I feel like that might be the difference in
21:24 kind of boosting morale. Yeah. Yeah. It'd be interesting to see how many fans head up for
21:29 that one as well. What do you think, Sam? How do you think Crawley can get a result in Peterborough?
21:34 I think they definitely can. I think if they perform to their best qualities,
21:39 they definitely can do it. I think last time we predicted this game, I said a 2-1 defeat.
21:44 So, I suppose I'll stick with that. I'll stick with that. They might just fall short. It's
21:50 obviously another long trip. So, they might just fall short in this one. But as I say,
21:55 there's no huge pressure. It'd just be an added bonus, really, if they were able to
21:59 keep going in this competition and potentially get to Wembley, which would be brilliant for
22:04 the club and a historic moment. So, yeah, I do hope they can get through. I'm just hugely,
22:10 hugely optimistic.
22:10 Well, fingers crossed they can put it round. And yeah, thanks, guys. Thanks for joining us and for
22:21 your predictions. You can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we've
22:25 talked about at sussexworld.co.uk. And you can watch more excellent videos on shotstv.com and
22:32 Freeview channel 276. But thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time. Thanks, guys.