Sussex World reporters Sam Morton and Henry Bryant join Derren Howard to discuss Brighton and Hove after their 2-1 loss to Chelsea. The trio also look ahead to the final match of the season against Man United and delve into the VAR debate
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00:00 Hi there and welcome to another episode of Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all the latest goings on at Brighton and Hove Albion.
00:07 I'm Darren Howard, and this week I'm joined by Brighton experts Sam Morton and Henry Bryant.
00:13 Brighton drew 1-1 and then lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea since we last spoke.
00:18 Sam and Henry at both games.
00:20 And you can read all of the stories we're talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk.
00:28 You can check out other great videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 276.
00:33 You may also be watching on latest TV.
00:36 So thank you very much for tuning in.
00:39 But we'll start with the Brighton and their game against Chelsea.
00:43 Sam, you're at the Amex Stadium, as we mentioned, and after Deserby's comments about trying to sign Karl Palmer in his press conference,
00:52 it just had to be him, didn't it really, that opened the scoring for Chelsea?
00:57 Yeah, it had to be him. It felt inevitable that he'd be the one to open the scoring for Chelsea.
01:02 Obviously, they've had a really significant upturn in form, Chelsea, and they've obviously stayed here,
01:08 acclaimed now for the European spots, which seemed impossible only just a few weeks ago.
01:14 But they've obviously put a run of wins together now, and that's obviously been spearheaded by Karl Palmer,
01:19 who's just been exceptional this season.
01:22 And there was a point when he might get the golden boot, but Haaland has obviously turned on the style in recent weeks with quite a few goals.
01:30 But that doesn't take anything away from Palmer.
01:31 And we just saw again the quality that he has and just a brilliant header.
01:35 And we haven't been used to seeing headers from him, but it's just another skill in his locker that he decided to unlock against Brighton
01:42 and left for Broome with absolutely no chance with the goal.
01:46 It was obviously a very entertaining game.
01:50 Me and Henry both agreed that it was one which was obviously really end-to-end.
01:54 Brighton had the chances. Often took too long to shoot, which was a bit of a problem for Brighton.
01:59 And Chelsea were definitely more clinical when they had the opportunities.
02:04 But obviously, as we'll get into, VAR was obviously very much involved in the game after the news that it could be scrapped next season.
02:12 And it did really take centre stage with a number of different incidents.
02:15 Obviously, he had a penalty shout early on in the game when Mark Kukerea was seemingly taken down by Buonanotte.
02:23 But actually showed Buonanotte he had a touch on the ball.
02:25 So that was correctly not given as a penalty.
02:29 But in the second half, Brighton should have had their own penalty, in all honesty, with Simon Odinga being tricked by Augusto.
02:37 I'm not really sure why it wasn't looked at by VAR at all.
02:41 And yeah, so it was one of those games, really, that Brighton could have got something from on another day.
02:47 But I suppose they weren't really clinical enough.
02:49 And when they eventually got that goal from Walebeck at the end, they were already 2-0 down.
02:53 It was a bit too little too late in the end, really.
02:57 Yeah, yeah. No, it seemed that way. But all right.
02:59 Well, let's get into it then, Henry. Where do you stand on the VAR issue that's been coming up?
03:06 Obviously, there's talk that the Premier League needs 14 votes from the club to get rid of it.
03:12 And the clubs are set to have a vote at their upcoming AGM, where they all get together.
03:18 What do you think about that, Henry?
03:20 Well, I think if they went back on it now, it would look very, very silly.
03:25 And I think maybe just working to improve VAR would be the better decision, because I think we have seen in other competitions it worked quite well.
03:34 So, I think the Premier League is a little bit lacking sort of the intensity and the sort of pace that VAR needs to be at for it to be not just enjoyable for the fans,
03:45 but also just efficient for players and for managers who are panicking, thinking, will this be a penalty, a red card, a goal?
03:56 And I think that it would be quite hard to get 14 teams to side with which looks to be Wolverhampton that have issued this in the first place.
04:07 So, it will be interesting to see if anything does come of it.
04:12 But I'd be very surprised if the VAR was scrapped for next season.
04:17 I think that it's a useful part of the game because I think the technology is so advanced now and it's maybe something to do with the efficiency,
04:26 maybe in the back rooms of this footage and how it's actually used to draw the lines,
04:31 because I think there's been issues with drawing the lines for offsides for quite a number of seasons that VAR has been in place.
04:37 But maybe having a rethink and maybe making it more efficient instead of scrapping it might be the best way forward.
04:43 Yeah, I absolutely agree with that.
04:45 I think it's going to be tough to go back just to having one man in the middle making all of the decisions when the game is so fast.
04:53 And my thought on it as well is if you just go back to having the referee, the technology is still going to be there.
04:59 And you want to make it good for the people in the stadium.
05:02 But still, most people do watch the games on TV and the referees are going to be making mistakes.
05:08 The TV are going to have the technology, aren't they still, and be pouring over it in the studio and then saying,
05:14 "Why wasn't this given? We can see that this wasn't a goal or this was a goal."
05:18 And it just seems odd that that technology is there to make it better, but they're just not using it in the right way.
05:25 What do you think, Sam?
05:27 Yeah, I completely agree with both of your points there, really.
05:30 I think we saw it last night, really, just the two different sides of it.
05:34 We saw it work perfectly. We've shown that the penalty against Brighton wasn't and it was used in a good way.
05:41 Then they failed to do the same thing again in the second half when it was quite clear that Dhingra was fouled.
05:46 And it didn't show up as being a penalty.
05:50 I don't understand that. I don't understand how that works and why the referee wasn't told to go and check the monitor.
05:55 Like he again was later in the game to decide that Rhys James should be sent off for violent conduct.
06:02 So I think that's the frustration. It's just the inconsistency with it.
06:05 And I think I totally agree that I think scrapping it entirely probably isn't the right move
06:09 and it probably wouldn't solve many problems because you're still going to get those areas that the referees are making,
06:14 regardless of whether there's technology or not.
06:17 So I think I did a story on the website yesterday, obviously looking back at De Servi's comments in the season about VAR.
06:25 And he said it seems to work in every other country, but it's just England where you're not really sure if the decision made is correct.
06:32 And obviously he doubled down on that.
06:34 And again, he doesn't like referees and he doesn't like the referee after the game yesterday.
06:40 So he's not one to hide his feelings, is De Servi.
06:43 And I'm sad to be sad. I think it was a real frustrating one.
06:47 And it could have changed the game, really.
06:49 It was 1-0 at the time, right at the beginning of the second half. Got that penalty.
06:52 Then it's a different game. So, yeah, frustrating.
06:54 And you just hope that I think, yeah, they improve VAR rather than scrap it and make sure they're using it in the right way.
07:00 So it can only be a good thing.
07:02 Yeah, I agree.
07:04 De Servi will probably get another fine for that, won't he, Henry?
07:06 Do you think those comments yesterday or?
07:09 Well, he was he was almost sort of going, I don't want to talk about it, but...
07:13 And then saying what he actually thought.
07:17 So it'd be interesting to see if they actually do end up fining him for that, because he sort of tried to not say too much.
07:23 But he did say in quite a, you know, in quite an academic way for the way he likes to showcase his feelings.
07:31 He said, I don't like the way that the game was run and managed, in a sense.
07:36 So I think maybe the fact that he's not deliberately said, I don't like the referee, might sort of do him favours,
07:43 because he just said that he didn't like the way the game was run.
07:47 And I think we sort of know what he means, but he's not personally attacking anyone, I don't think, in that situation.
07:53 But, yeah, he was very frustrated and he said it was a clear penalty,
07:59 despite his team conceding two bad goals, he said.
08:04 And I think he also was mentioning the fact that in terms of the refereeing,
08:09 there was a lack of consistency as well with the outcomes, as Sam was mentioning there.
08:16 And yeah, it was just a shame to see that Brighton weren't able to sort of break through.
08:21 And when we when we did actually get the goal from Welbeck and a nice assist from Jal Pedro,
08:27 it was just a bit too little too late, to be honest.
08:29 And before that goal went in, Sam and I had had a look and it had only been one shot on target for the Albion at that point,
08:37 which was only about 10 or so minutes to go of normal time.
08:41 So it was interesting to see that Brighton weren't able to get their shots off early.
08:45 And maybe if they had got their shots off early or they had had a penalty decision awarded to them from the Gusto challenge on a Dingra,
08:54 then, yeah, like Sam was saying, the game could have been completely different and we could have been talking about an emphatic Brighton win or a hard-fought draw,
09:02 because it did feel like Brighton did deserve a bit more out of that game.
09:06 Yeah, there were two opportunities, weren't there? I think Pascal Gros had one from point-blank range.
09:10 I think Tarek Lamptey put in a really good cross and he was his third brilliant cross into the box.
09:15 I think Jal Pedro hit the crossbar from one of them.
09:19 And there was another one that fell to a Dingra and he put just wide.
09:23 And then the third one was when he came to cross it into Pascal Gros.
09:26 And you think, I think the fans were celebrating.
09:27 They thought he was in and he managed to squeeze the ball wide.
09:32 And obviously, we saw a Dingra hit the post in the last five minutes.
09:36 So, yeah, there definitely were chances for Brighton.
09:38 And you just felt like if they had have got that goal earlier, they could have then gone on to draw or even win the game.
09:44 But I just felt like when they finally put the ball in the back of the net,
09:47 I think they only had about three minutes left of injury time to try and find that equaliser.
09:51 So, yeah, frustrating in that sense.
09:53 But they certainly had the chances and I didn't think they played too badly at all.
09:57 Yeah. Yeah. How do you think that they go into the Man United game and they can still get a top half finish if other results go their way?
10:06 Is that a good season, Henry, when you're sort of on balance?
10:09 Do you think Deservey's done a good job to get them top 10, last 16 Europa League, last 16 of the FA Cup as well?
10:17 And all the injuries they've had, losing Caicedo, losing McAllister, not getting Karl Palmer, not getting Dewsbury Hall as well.
10:28 He's done a good job, hasn't he, to do that?
10:30 I think he has. I think for casual football fans, they might go and look at it as a table comparison from last season to this season.
10:39 I think, hold on, actually, he's not done a good job.
10:41 But like you say, the injuries that have occurred for Brighton, the sheer amount we've had and also the sort of opportunities we've given to younger players that have been able to shine, like Jack Kinchelwood, for example.
10:55 You know, that's a risk that Deservey's had to take.
10:59 And, you know, it's not worked for some players.
11:01 Like, for example, O Mahoney, when he played and started for Bournemouth, he didn't have the best game in that respect.
11:08 But for some of the younger players, like I say, it was a risk worth taking.
11:14 And including the fact that we got into the round of 16 in the Europa League has just been absolutely fantastic.
11:21 And I think if we can get into that top 10 finish, it would be something that Brighton fans and Brighton players and managers and staff can all think, all right, we've done well.
11:31 Let's regroup. Let's try and get more players in.
11:34 Let's use some of that Caicedo money to good use.
11:38 And regroup and aim for Europe next season.
11:42 Yeah, that's got to be the aim, isn't it?
11:44 Well, thanks. Thanks for that.
11:45 Join us after the break and we'll be talking about all things Manchester United and a look ahead to what Brighton squad may look like next season.
11:57 OK, thanks. Thanks again for joining us.
12:00 We're going to go to Sam Morton now.
12:02 Sam, as a Man United fan and a Brighton reporter, you'll be keeping an eye on this game coming up.
12:11 How do you think this one could play out for the Amex on Sunday?
12:16 Yeah, a really tough one to predict, actually, Darren, because Man United themselves are just a box of chocolates, really.
12:23 I think you never really know what team's going to turn up.
12:26 I certainly wasn't expecting them to get a result against Newcastle last night.
12:31 As I mentioned before, we saw Brighton play at St James' Park the other day and Newcastle performed really well in that game.
12:39 It was really end to end and you felt there's more kind of solid grounding there with Newcastle and they're starting to score some more goals of late.
12:48 And I certainly wasn't expecting Man United to come out with a win with the problems they've been having lately.
12:54 So, yeah, they surprised me there.
12:55 And I think coming into the game against Brighton, Man United have to win to get at least a Conference League place.
13:03 Obviously, if they win the FA Cup final, then they can get into the Europa League.
13:08 So, yeah, so they'll definitely be up for it and looking to end the season on a high.
13:13 Whereas Brighton, as I said, the only real aim they have is to finish in that top 10, as Europe is now out of the question, unfortunately, for Brighton.
13:23 So, yeah, it's a difficult one.
13:25 I think difficult ones for them in that sense.
13:26 Maybe the pressure might be off Brighton a little bit and they can just go and express themselves.
13:30 Because as we've seen, Brighton have improved form significantly.
13:33 I think it started with that win against Aston Villa, which they followed up with another positive performance at Newcastle and even against Chelsea.
13:40 I thought they played well.
13:41 They were better, weren't they?
13:43 100 percent, yeah.
13:44 Because it looked like they were really kind of ending the season on a whimper before that Aston Villa game.
13:49 So, it's really good they've managed to pick themselves up despite all the injuries.
13:53 Obviously, we saw Lewis Dunn go off last night.
13:56 So, time will tell if he'll be available to play against Man United.
14:02 But, yeah, last game of the season, the pressure is completely off of Brighton now.
14:05 And just to try and give the fans something to celebrate at the end of the season.
14:09 As we know, they've had a really good record against Man United in recent seasons.
14:14 So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see if that continues.
14:18 Danny Welbert, of course, will be looking to get another goal against his former club.
14:21 He's had a few of those.
14:23 So, yeah.
14:24 A new contract for Danny Welbert, wasn't it?
14:26 New contract, yeah.
14:27 I'm delighted to see that he's got assigned a new contract, really.
14:29 It's a real coup for that because you need that level of experience.
14:33 And as we've seen this season, with the injuries and everything, he's been so crucial in stepping in when
14:38 Jal Pedro has not been there, for example.
14:41 And it was quite telling that De Serbi did say the other day that, in hindsight, he's regretted letting
14:47 Dennis Inder leave, but it is only hindsight because he never could have foreseen the number of injuries
14:53 they've had in those positions this season.
14:55 So, yeah, I think they'll definitely be looking to bolster their attacking ranks in the transfer window.
15:01 But managing to keep hold of Welbeck is really good, really good for the club and keep that experience around.
15:07 Yeah, yeah.
15:08 So, Welbeck stays, Milner stays, but Lallana goes.
15:12 Henry, how would you assess Lallana's contribution over the last few seasons?
15:17 Well, I think that he's been a player that has allowed younger players to have experience.
15:23 He's also been a cool head in the dressing room, I can imagine, especially with Brighton's first campaign
15:28 in Europe. And I think that having those older, more experienced heads in the changing room must pay dividends,
15:35 especially when we had that first match where we lost out to Eidgar Athens in the first sort of Europa League
15:42 group stage match that we had, where a lot of fans and maybe even players are thinking, oh, no, what's going on here?
15:48 Are we going to really struggle? And we ended up topping the group, which was absolutely fantastic.
15:55 So I think his contribution must have been something of a mentality boost for sure.
16:02 And just the way he's been able to play for Brighton, he's been able to sort of sit in that midfield,
16:07 either deep or sort of pushing up and just provide useful options for attackers and wingers,
16:14 but also able to defend. And he's been, I'd say he's been sort of a workhorse as well as sort of the likes of
16:19 Pascal Gros in sort of that midfield area.
16:22 And it's been nice to see that we've been able to sort of get a little bit out of him and get some good use out of him,
16:28 because I think he's been a great player throughout his career and for him to have had a little bit of a shining light here
16:36 and sort of helping us out in probably one of our most important seasons in the club's history has been fantastic as well.
16:45 And hopefully whatever he's doing, whether that's playing or coaching, he'll succeed.
16:51 Yeah, yeah.
16:52 James Milner, Sam, are you happy he's staying another year?
16:56 Absolutely, yeah. And that's really, really great news as well.
16:59 I think because his injury came at quite a bad time for Brighton.
17:04 I think when they've had lots of injuries and his versatility could have been a huge boost in those positions,
17:10 really all over the pitch, really. So it's a shame.
17:13 To lose him and Hinchelwood, that was a blow, wasn't it? Both similar positions.
17:18 Big blow, big blow. Yeah, obviously you talk about the Soddy March and Karim Atoma being big ones and obviously
17:22 Jal Pedro being out for those crucial European games, but kind of the unsung heroes like Hinchelwood and Milner not being there.
17:29 Absolutely. Can make such a big difference in those kind of games when they're coming thick and fast and can provide that versatility that teams need, really.
17:39 So, yeah, big shame that they've lost these players at crucial times in the season.
17:43 And I think when you weigh up everything like that, you can just, there are so many factors as to why Brighton haven't finished maybe as highly as they would have liked.
17:50 Yeah. So, yeah, absolutely.
17:53 Been really pleased that Milner is there for another season, keeping him around for his experience and hopefully he can play some more football next season as well.
18:00 Yeah. Yeah. Now, it's key to have that experience.
18:03 And Pascal Gros, he's another one who's, you know, Player of the Year, Fans Player of the Year.
18:08 There has been some talk that Eintracht Frankfurt are very keen to bring him over.
18:14 Pascal Gros has previously spoken that he would like to play in a Bundesliga again before his career is finished.
18:19 And also perhaps move back to Germany for family reasons.
18:24 I think after losing Lallana, Deserby will be doing all he can, won't he, Henry, to try and keep Pascal Gros there for another season.
18:33 I think he's got a year left on his contract this summer.
18:36 I think if we lose Pascal Gros, then we are really going to have to dig deep in the transfer window and get a couple of really high quality, experienced Premier League
18:48 pedigree midfielders. Because Pascal Gros, he's been there since our first season in the Premier League and was actually one of our first signings.
18:58 It was from Stuttgart. And when he came in, he was also there with Marcus Suttner as well.
19:04 And for him, he's just been absolutely quality for the Albion.
19:08 And his contribution is sometimes, you know, overshadowed because he's just not, you know, not one of the sort of stars like the likes of Jal Pedro and so on and so forth.
19:20 But he really has been a major benefit to the Albion.
19:24 And just the way he's been able to play these few seasons has been quality.
19:28 And in the, you know, in a fan's perspective, I think that just watching him, he's always been the player to be positive and get the ball
19:38 rolling for the Albion. Even when the Albion lost out to Bournemouth in quite a devastating fashion a few weeks back.
19:44 Pascal Gros, when I went down to watch, was always trying to be positive with the ball and always attacking and always making sure that Brighton were getting up the pitch in any way, shape or form.
19:54 So for the Albion to lose such an important and integral player at the moment and in this sort of situation where you've got the likes of Lallana that will be leaving and, you know,
20:06 who knows who else will be leaving in the transfer window as well for the Albion.
20:10 It just shows that we do really need him to stay at the club, yeah, for one more season.
20:15 That would be fantastic. And it's for his personal reasons.
20:19 But let's hope that he is able to stay for that final season because fans love him, Deserby loves him.
20:26 And let's see.
20:27 Yeah, yeah. I hope he does.
20:29 I think this season he's held that midfield together, hasn't he, with Caicedo and McAllister leaving.
20:35 He's been absolutely key in that midfield.
20:38 And he always scores against Man United as well.
20:41 So hopefully he'll get a goal against Man United again as well.
20:45 But Sam, you were speaking to Bart Verbruggen, you were saying, after the match yesterday.
20:52 And that's an interesting situation, the goalkeeping situation at Brighton.
20:55 You've got Bart Verbruggen, Jason Steele and then Karl Rushworth, who's had a brilliant season at Swansea, tipped as a future England international.
21:04 And then James Beadle as well. That goalkeeping situation.
21:07 They've got Kel Shirpin on loan as well, who'll be coming back in the summer.
21:13 There's lots to ponder there, isn't there?
21:15 If Karl Rushworth steps up, what does that mean for Jason Steele?
21:19 And, you know, does Karl Rushworth potentially go out on another loan?
21:23 Or it's a tricky one. He looks ready to be in the Premier League now, doesn't he?
21:26 Yeah, yeah, definitely a tricky one.
21:28 I suppose it's a positive headache, I guess, for Deserby to have those options.
21:32 And maybe assess them in maybe pre-season training to see how they're doing.
21:36 So obviously, the goalkeeping situation at Brighton is quite a unique one, isn't it?
21:39 I think for much of the season he's been rotating Steele and Verbruggen.
21:43 It's only really in recent weeks that he has seemingly decided to stick with Verbruggen on a more regular basis, which I certainly think has helped.
21:51 I think that's given the team a little bit more...
21:55 It's solidified things, really.
21:56 You kind of know what to expect from your goalkeeper and the defence has benefited absolutely from that.
22:03 I think, yeah, I've spoken during the season.
22:04 I don't think changing them each week has really helped matters, really.
22:09 So, no, yeah, pleased to see Verbruggen's getting more minutes and he's a quality keeper.
22:13 He made an absolutely superb save, a couple of good superb saves, particularly the one against Gusto.
22:18 The lined-up shot from long distance and it took a big deflection of Igor and it looked like it was dipping in over Verbruggen.
22:23 He was a superb reaction save.
22:27 So, yeah, I think going into next season, he will, I'm sure, will remain the number one.
22:32 But as you say, these young keepers coming up into the ranks and Serbia, I'm sure, would love to assess them and see how they can come into the fold and maybe test Verbruggen.
22:41 But, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to see maybe Jason Steele maybe leave the club, maybe, as always, maybe next season.
22:48 I'd see how he progresses with those players as well.
22:52 So, yeah, big question to answer anyway in the summer for Brighton and how they're going to progress that goalkeeper position.
23:00 Yeah. What do you think, Henry, just quickly on Steele?
23:02 Because he is experienced, isn't he?
23:04 And to have two young goalkeepers, Rushworth and Verbruggen, that's a bit of a gamble, isn't it?
23:08 Whereas Steele offers that experience.
23:12 Absolutely.
23:13 There's been a few rumours going around with some sources saying that if Ramsdale leaves Arsenal, potentially to go to Newcastle,
23:20 that Arsenal will be looking for a homegrown goalkeeper to fit into their squad, sort of as a backup keeper.
23:26 And they've had a look at Jason Steele and they might even approach him in the summer transfer window.
23:31 But like you said, having an experienced keeper, having an experienced keeper like him would be of massive interest to Brighton for,
23:43 you know, having their younger players learn off such an important, sort of, experienced goalkeeper.
23:49 And I think that having that mix that we already have in a lot of positions of experience,
23:54 of defence, midfield and attacker, young and old, is really key.
23:59 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
24:01 No, it'll be an interesting situation to see how that one pans out.
24:05 And just quickly, Man United this Sunday at the Amex, final game of the season.
24:09 What's the score going to be, Sam?
24:12 I'm going to go for a draw in this one.
24:13 I'm going to go for one all draw that doesn't really help Man United in their quest for Europe.
24:19 And yeah, not a bad way to end the season for Brighton.
24:23 But yeah, both teams will be obviously looking for the win.
24:25 But I think, yeah, it'll be a one all draw.
24:26 Yeah. And yourself, Henry, how do you see that one?
24:30 How do you see that one playing out?
24:32 I've got to say 2-1 to the Albion.
24:33 I think that I think that Brighton will be able to get the win there.
24:37 Yeah. Yeah. Good stuff.
24:39 Good stuff. Well, we'll see what happens.
24:40 I think I think it'll end up in a 2-2.
24:43 I think there's definitely definitely.
24:46 Thank you both for joining us.
24:48 Great to have you on.
24:49 And you can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today.
24:54 Sussexworld.co.uk.
24:56 And you can watch more excellent videos on ShotsTV.com and Freeview channel 276.
25:01 But for now, thanks.
25:03 Thanks very much for joining us again, guys.