Matt Pole is joined by Sussex World reporters Derren Howard, Sam Morton and Henry Bryant as they delve into all things Brighton and Hove Albion and Crawley Town
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00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast where we take a look at all
00:04the latest goings on at Brighton and Hove, Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Powell and
00:08I'm joined by Brian Wright as Derren Howard and Henry Bryant and Sam Morton who covers
00:12both Albion and Crawley Town. Brian entered their two game tour of Japan with an excellent
00:17win beating J League outfit Tokyo Verde 4-2 on Sunday. We'll pick over the bones of Albion's
00:22victory and their tour of Japan plus we'll bring you all the latest news from Crawley
00:26Town. You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online
00:30at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com
00:35and Freeview channel 276. You may also be watching on later TV so thank you very much
00:40for tuning in. But as mentioned at the top of the podcast goals from Jan-Paul Van Hecke,
00:44Jankuba Minte, Simon Odingra and Jeremy Samiento fired Brighton to victory over Tokyo Verde
00:50in their final match in Japan. A good win. Derren, what were the main takeaways from
00:54the game?
00:55Yeah, I just think it was another good, another good reasonable performance. They were a little
01:00bit open in defensive areas at times. But, but yeah, there's still very much early days
01:06under Fabian Herzeler. It's obviously work in progress pre-season as well. Players returning
01:13to fitness and, and just getting used to each other's ways, really getting used to what
01:17the manager wants and the managers still getting used to the players as well. But, but yeah,
01:23it was a good performance, very humid, very humid conditions. And it was more of a test
01:28than the first game. I think Tokyo Verde looked pretty good, actually. They were very lively.
01:33They looked really fit as well. And they attacked quite well with pace as well. So there was,
01:39there was lots of defending for Brighton to do, some of which were probably a little bit
01:43of cause for concern. But once they get the main players back, once you get your Louis
01:48Dunne's back and Van Geck played for half the game, looked very good again as well.
01:53But well, once you get them all fit and firing, you'd think Brighton will be a bit more solid
01:58than what they showed against Tokyo Verde. But in attacking areas, I think they really
02:03impressed, impressed once again, as well. Minter, who they brought from Newcastle for
02:0830 odd million, he plays on the right flank and he's a real threat. He loves to receive
02:15the ball. He's got every trick in the book. And more importantly, he can finish as well.
02:21When he, when he gets in that position, he's calm and he's, he's ruthless in front of goals.
02:26So, so it's like I mentioned previously, it's only pre-season, but you shouldn't get too
02:31excited about a player in pre-season, but he does look very good. And he had such a
02:36good season with Feyenoord last, last year as well. So he's definitely one to watch out
02:41for. Kozodubre as well. He came off the bench, didn't have quite the impact he had against
02:47Kashima Antlers in the first game of the tour. But once again, you can just see that he's
02:52a class player as well. Technically excellent, the way he receives the ball, always, always
02:57under control. And yeah, he just looks the business as well. So, so yeah, plenty, plenty
03:04to look forward to. So yeah, overall a good, a good trip, a good trip to Japan.
03:11Deren's mentioned a few names there, Henry, but who stood out for Albion against Tokyo
03:14Verde? And I know that obviously we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but that Minta
03:17does look quality. He does look very good.
03:20No, he really does look the business. Just echoing Deren there, you know, another goal
03:25for him and he ended up scoring two goals in two games in the Japan pre-season sort
03:30of friendlies that we did. He's really making a mark in the team, showing off his pace and
03:35his skill. A lot of fans have already been taking social media as well and thanking Newcastle
03:41for the player. And I mean, he's a player that was worth a bit of money, especially
03:47for sort of Albion spending. They normally maybe spend a little bit less than that, you
03:52know, with the history that we've seen and then normally get a bit more sort of value
03:56in the player with a few seasons.
03:58But it looks like we've maybe gone that step further now with the likes of Koizumi Dubre
04:04and also Yakuba Minta with some signings that are already ready to go. I feel like
04:12with the likes of Boliva, for example, maybe Barca as well, you've got those sort of players
04:16that might have needed that season previous just to sort of get that confidence going.
04:20But with these two signings, it really looks like we're going to see them hit the ground
04:24running properly with a lot of confidence and yeah, a lot about them straight away in
04:30the Premier League.
04:31And as Darren mentioned as well, I mean, Jean-Paul van Geck has got this new confidence
04:35that we saw sort of near the end of the season, I thought, but he's doing really, really well
04:41and he's gone from a boy to a well-established defender. And it seems like maybe Lewis Dunk's
04:49sort of calmness has rubbed off on him and he seems like a real leader for the team now.
04:54It's really nice to see. And one final mention would have to be Barca. I thought that he's
04:59gaining confidence as well, just the way that he's receiving the ball, the way he's sort of
05:04on the ball and doesn't look as timid and as shy as we've seen in previous games.
05:08And I mean, if we go back to a real big test for him that he had against Manchester City
05:13when the Amex, when Albion were at home in the Amex, he looked a little bit lost at times
05:19and made a couple of mistakes. But I feel like this pre-season was really good for him as well,
05:23just to get a few minutes and sort of just get himself on the ball and get more minutes
05:28with the team, really. We'll brighten in the Tour of Japan with two wins from two,
05:32scoring nine goals and conceding three in the process. How would you assess Albion's
05:37trip to the Far East, Darren? It's very much a worthwhile endeavour, do you think?
05:42You're on mute.
05:47Sorry, guys, the old trick. Yeah, absolutely. It was a very, you know, it seemed to be a very
05:52positive experience for the players, for the manager and also commercially as well. They're
05:59sort of cashing in on the fact that Mitoma is an absolute star over in Japan. And I think they
06:07really enjoyed the occasion and it was a good chance for the team to bond in a different
06:13environment. It looks like they were training hard as well. It certainly wasn't a jolly for
06:19the players. Herlitzer had them training, you know, very hard. They're picking up their fitness
06:25in what was quite humid conditions as well. So hopefully they can reap the benefits from
06:33that tour. But yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it seemed a real success and it
06:40boosted the club's profile in an area which Paul Barber said, you know, they've got lots
06:46of commercial partners as well. So in that respect, it was good. But from the playing side
06:51as well, I think it was very worthwhile. And I'll be back to the less sort of exotic surroundings
06:57of Loftus Road this Saturday now to see how their work in Japan has progressed
07:04against QPR. They've got two more friendlies coming up. So they've got QPR this Saturday
07:08and then Villarreal the following week at the Amex. And then they're good to go or hopefully
07:14to go for Everton for the first Premier League game. So yeah, hopefully the work that they did
07:20in Japan should set them on the right path for that first Premier League game.
07:26Meanwhile, it's very much an end of an era, Brian, as it's been confirmed that Pascal
07:29Gros has left the Seagulls to join his boyhood club, Borussia Dortmund, for officially undisclosed
07:34terms as per the club. How big of a blow is it to lose Gros, Henry? And where does the German
07:40ranking Albion's pantheon of greats? He's just been superb, hasn't he, since he's joined?
07:45Yeah, I mean, for what he's done for the club and the fact that he's been there through sort
07:49of a whole Premier League journey up until now. You'd have to put him up there, I think. I think
07:53it'd be wrong to not put him up there with a few of the Albion greats. And I mean, after seven years
07:58at the Albion, 261 appearances, 32 goals, 52 assists. I mean, he's been absolutely quality
08:06and it's a real blow for the team. He's an absolute engine. And sometimes he doesn't get
08:10the sort of credit that is due because he's sort of in that midfield role, sort of helping other
08:16players get up the pitch and coming back to defend at times. He's almost everywhere. And yet, he
08:24didn't get too much credit at times. And I think that the fact that he's just gone to Borussia
08:31Dortmund, having impressed for Germany, when he has had a few minutes with the German national
08:38side, is really good. And I think, although it's a big loss, I think he deserves it. He deserves it.
08:45There were rumours that he was homesick. Maybe some Borussia Dortmund fans might not realise
08:51what kind of player they have on their hands, but he's certainly a great in my eyes for the
08:55Albion. It's a big loss. Yeah, I'd have to agree with that, yeah.
09:00I was going to say as well, it seems that there could be another midfielder on the way out of
09:04Brighton. It's been well documented that Billy Gilmore is of interest to Antonio Conte and
09:09Napoli. An £8m bid was rejected last week and it seems Napoli are poised to make a second offer,
09:15which we believe is around £10m. What's the latest on that, Darren, and has that reported
09:20offer been materialised? We're not sure. We're not sure is the honest answer to that one. There
09:27has been, obviously they had the initial bid of £8m rejected, which seems seriously low for a
09:34player of Gilmore's age experience. And plus he's got two years on his contract as well. So, there's
09:40no need for Brighton to sell him for such a small amount. Obviously, they'd like to keep him.
09:47There was a report that came out of Italy. I'm not quite sure how serious it was, but it was
09:52saying that Gilmore has said yes, he was happy to go to Napoli. But as far as sort of the
10:00negotiation on price is going, we haven't heard any more as to whether Napoli have increased that
10:07offer. So, it's very much a case of wait and see. Personally, I'd like to see Billy Gilmore stay,
10:14especially with Pascal Gross departing. I think Gilmore can have a huge season for Brighton this
10:20year. Although they are bringing in or have brought in Mats Whiffer from Feyenoord for £25m.
10:27He looks a really good player. He didn't feature in Japan, but I think he'll be a very good,
10:32ready to go, as Henry was saying, at some of the other players that they brought in. And I think
10:36Whiffer is in that category as well. He won't need a season to get up to speed. He's good to go.
10:42And also, they're still trying to push for Diego Gomez as well from into Miami. So,
10:48if Gilmore did leave, they do have a couple more options. But hopefully, these guys coming in will
10:55be additions to Gilmore rather than replacements. We will wait and see how that resolves itself.
11:03We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to talk all things Crawley
11:06Town. Welcome back to part two, where we'll discuss all things Crawley Town. And the Reds
11:11gave a good account of themselves as they went toe-to-toe with Premier League Crystal Palace in
11:14an entertaining pre-season friendly at the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday. The Reds were
11:194-0 down at half-time, but won the second half 3-2 as the match ended 6-3 to Palace. And it
11:23very much sounded like it was a thriller, Sam. How would you assess Crawley's performance?
11:28It certainly was a thriller, Matt, actually. It was a very fun match to watch. Definitely one of
11:32the most entertaining games I've seen at the Broadfield Stadium in recent seasons. Obviously,
11:38last year, we had the same match before the season started. And it was Ebreche Eze that
11:43stole the show on that day in a 4-0 win. And he wasn't there this year. So he kind of hoped that
11:47maybe Crawley could limit Palace's attacking threat and then could maybe make it a closer
11:52scoreline than the 4-0 result last year. But it didn't turn out like that at all, actually. They
11:59were 4-0 down very quickly, obviously, by half-time. And they were 2-0 down after two minutes.
12:07So it was a really shocking start to the match for Crawley. They looked all at sea at the back.
12:11The defenders really didn't look comfortable at all, kind of giving the ball away constantly. And
12:16Palace were so ruthless, especially, obviously, Edouard with the clinical-finished
12:21token scoring. And it was just, yeah, really concerning start to the match, actually. And you
12:26kind of felt it could get really embarrassing. It could end up being a cricket score.
12:31But there was a moment where there was a drinks break towards the end of the first half,
12:35and Scott Lindsay brought his side over to make some tactical adjustments. And it did work a
12:40treat, actually. And you did start to see some improvements towards the end of the first half.
12:44And then after the second half, they really were a different team. And they scored a cracking goal
12:49from rushing Hepburn-Murphy right to the top corner. They got them back into the game.
12:55And he got another goal. And it was a lot more fortuitous with Joaquin Anderson tripping over
13:02the ball at the back, which is very comical. And he just had a bit of a tap in Hepburn-Murphy to
13:07score again. And Jack Rowles came off the bench to score for Crawley as well. And it was a lovely
13:12team move, actually, that one. And moments earlier, he'd just cleared one off the line. So
13:16really good impact from Jack Rowles, who was a bit of a bench player last season. So maybe he'll be
13:20looking to have some more starts this year. But I think, yeah, it was really impressive the way
13:25that Crawley came back after that dismal opening 25 minutes or so in the first half. And if it
13:32wasn't for that, then they would have won the game. And they actually probably were
13:37in a good position in the game for quite a large period of it, if you know what I mean.
13:41So I think it was only a small period of the game, which they did completely crumble. And
13:44it looked like it was going to be a bit of a cricket score. But Scotland did a great job.
13:48Obviously, he pulled his team in at halftime and got them playing a lot better football.
13:52And I think he basically just said the press wasn't quite right initially. And he had to
13:56change that and to make sure that those turnovers weren't happening. But he fixed those little
14:00issues. And they got a few goals. And obviously, the defence was still a little bit leaky. And
14:04they conceded six goals in the end. But the second half was a lot better than the first.
14:10You were also in attendance with Sam Morton of the game. Henry,
14:13who stood out for the Reds against Palace? As Sam kind of alluded to,
14:16it seemed like a great afternoon for the Crawley forwards, but one to forget for the defenders.
14:20Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think in those first 10 to 15 minutes, I was thinking,
14:24what am I doing here? No, I'm only joking. But it did seem like Crawley was almost like a rabbit
14:31in the headlights. They'd been caught really badly. And it only took sort of rushing Hepburn,
14:37Murphy to sort of help them out in that 50th minute, scoring an absolute beauty from outside
14:42the box, as Sam mentioned. But it did take till the second half to get there. It did take that
14:48half of sort of getting battered a little bit to go, actually, there's some things we can do here
14:53to actually get ourselves in the game, not sort of embarrass ourselves and actually, you know,
14:58have a pretty decent competitive friendly in that second half. I thought there was some excellent
15:04pressing as well by Murphy. He sort of came off the blocks really quickly. And he was a very,
15:11very good player in that game for Crawley Town. And as Sam mentioned as well, Jack Rowles was part
15:17of a lovely team goal, which he scored, cleared a goal off the line when he came on. And that was
15:22literally his first touch of the game. So if that's a good statement, you know, to sort of
15:27represent himself, you know, I think there's no better way than, you know, than doing that.
15:31But Renan Darcy as well, he struggled to get into the game at times. But once Crawley were on the
15:37attack in that second half and actually looking like the better side, there was a lot of times
15:42where he was able to actually win back the ball from the Palace players and get the ball up. So
15:48I think overall, a lot of positives to take away from that. And Scott Lindsay after the game was
15:53saying that he was questioned sort of about the sort of the start and what he thought about the
15:58whole game, maybe insinuating that they didn't have the best game. But he said he thought it was
16:03a pretty good performance and he was very impressed with his players. So I think another really good
16:08pre-season game for Crawley and a lot of things they can take into the season with.
16:13Yeah, Henry's kind of mentioned it there, Sam. Scott Lindsay was very,
16:17quite chipper despite the scoreline, wasn't he, at the end of the game?
16:20He was, he was. Yeah, he was very happy with the way Crawley performed towards the end of the first
16:25half and in the second half because he disputed the claim that it was a game of two halves,
16:29actually, because that's something that was put to him by the club and media. He didn't agree
16:33with that at all and he felt that Crawley actually, bar the first 25 minutes, were good apart from
16:39that. So he felt that it was more than just a 45-minute performance from Crawley. And he said
16:43the fans certainly got their money's worth and he said there's lots of it that he's really pleased
16:48about. Obviously, the goals that Pally scored mostly came from mistakes and he acknowledged
16:53that. But he said there's nothing to worry about and he said that's obviously just, it comes with
16:56the territory being a pre-season and the mistakes are going to happen. As long as they happen now
17:01and not in League One when that starts, I think that's what he's hoping for, I think. And he's
17:07not too concerned about that and he'll obviously iron out those mistakes. But he said Crawley
17:12scored two really good goals on the press, which really pleased him, and he wants to make sure
17:17players are rewarded for their hard work as it makes them buy into it more. I think he was alluding
17:21to the mistake from Anderson, but Crawley obviously were pressing high up the pitch and perhaps
17:27forced him into that mistake. So I think Lindsay was pleased with the way that his players
17:32performed in that sense. And he said if they can press like that against a Premier League team
17:37and score goals, then they can certainly do it in League One. But he is hoping they can create
17:41more goals from open play, or create more chances I should say. That's something they're working
17:45hard to do on the training ground. But obviously it's a new group of new players, so it will take
17:49time. And the priority is just getting more minutes into the tank in pre-season and bedding
17:55down those principles of how he wants his team to play. In stark contrast, Lindsay was less enthused
18:01by Crawley's performance in their 2-1 win at Aldershot on Tuesday, in which Roland Darcy and
18:05Hepburn-Murphy netted. What drew the ire of the Reds boss at the EBB Stadium, Sam?
18:11Well yeah, exactly that. He wasn't too pleased. I think it was all down to do with their mentality
18:15actually. I think when the game was 1-1, he saw players kind of walking around and not in any
18:20rush to take corners. And that did frustrate him by the sounds of it. He said that mentality won't
18:26cut it and won't help them win games in League One. But I think to start off with, the game is
18:31really open and free-flowing. Crawley took the lead through Hepburn-Murphy, who scored his third
18:36goal of pre-season, adding to the two that he scored against Palace. So that's another positive
18:40for Crawley that he's in amongst the goal. Obviously it's a big task to replace Danilo
18:44Rossi after the season he had. So a good start for Hepburn-Murphy as he opened the scoring.
18:51But Aldershot equalised very quickly. It was a clever scissor-kick goal actually,
18:57that Wollacott was kind of caught off guard for and he couldn't stop it. It wasn't until the 55th
19:02minute that Crawley retook the lead through Ronan Darcy, who's obviously one of the players
19:07remaining there from last season. But yeah, so I think Lindsay was just a little bit unhappy. He's
19:12happy with the way the game started, but I think he felt they started well. But then the mentality
19:17shifted a little bit for the worse after the Aldershot's goal actually. He felt they weren't
19:22conducting themselves in the right way and weren't putting enough effort into it, which is something
19:26he did say last season on a few occasions. And we saw how he drilled that out of the team very
19:32quickly and got them playing with passion and pride all throughout the season. I think the hope
19:38is that he can do that again. And this is just a one-off that some players may be a bit tired
19:42before the season starts. And I'm sure they've been made to work really hard in pre-season. So
19:47yeah, I think it's one of those games for Crawley that it's good they got the win,
19:52but I think Lindsay probably wanted a bit more from them.
19:54Meanwhile, the Reds have dipped their toe in the transfer market once again,
19:59making two signings since the last pod. A tacky midfielder, Junior Quaterna,
20:03has been signed from Fleetwood for an undisclosed three. And the 24-year-old
20:07started in Saturday's friendly against Palace. How did he acquit himself, Henry?
20:12Well, I think when he was given the ball, he was able to get up that line really quickly. He wanted
20:17to show what he could do. You could tell that there was a lot of urgency in his play.
20:23And he was able to get a few dangerous crosses in for the Reds. And I would say
20:28he was one of their sort of key players, but I wanted to save it for this question.
20:33But he was a real nuisance and he kept on trying. And it was great to see the 24-year-old
20:38sort of making that impact and getting into the game like that. And I mean,
20:43against Premier League opposition, from not playing loads and loads of games for Fleetwood
20:48to hopefully becoming a player that they can sort of trust, Crawley Town can trust.
20:55I think it will be really interesting to see how he does this season. He seemed like a real talent.
21:00And instantly when I was there and I wasn't too sure who these new signings were, I said to Sam,
21:06he looks good. He looks really, really good. He was sort of right in our eye line,
21:10sort of playing really quality football. And he looked like he was the sort of level needed for
21:17a quality signing that will do well in League One for Crawley. And I'm looking forward to seeing
21:23what he can do. Finally, Cameron Bragg has joined from Southampton on a season-long loan,
21:29adding to Crawley's midfield options. What do you make of the signing, Sam? Do you see the
21:3319-year-old being more of a rotational option? They seem to have quite a lot of midfielders
21:38at the moment, Crawley. Yeah, they certainly do, don't they? They've signed a number of
21:42midfielders. I think after they've lost Liam Kelly, maybe it's a case of trying to sign as
21:46many as possible and hope that one of them can do as well as he did, or at least a few of them.
21:52But I think this is a promising signing for Crawley, Cameron Bragg, actually. It shows
21:55the Premier League clubs are looking at Crawley as a good team to develop their young talent,
22:00which bodes well for the future. And he did actually sign a new and improved contract
22:03to Southampton recently. So I think that shows how highly thought of he is over at Southampton.
22:08And I think it's just a case of trying to get those minutes in the tank. And
22:11now Crawley are in League One. They've got that kind of...
22:15They've obviously been looked at as a team to develop these Premier League players, which is
22:18great. And, yeah, time will tell if he is a starter or a bit more of a rotational player. I think,
22:23yeah, he might get some minutes, hopefully, at the end of pre-season,
22:27see what he can do. And if he impresses Lindsay enough, then there's no reason why he won't be
22:31able to start games in League One. But the 19-year-old has been at the Saints since the
22:35age of eight and has progressed nicely through the Premier League side's academy before signing
22:39his first professional contract with the club in 2023. He's played 79 matches in his career,
22:45scoring two goals and grabbing 11 assists, been to 38 games in Premier League too.
22:49He actually had high praise from Saints boss Russell Martin, who gave the teenager his
22:53professional debut in the FA Cup last season. So I think he's definitely made some waves and
22:59impressed people at Southampton. And he spoke about how he's really excited to get the deal
23:03over the line. He said it actually took a little bit longer than he might have expected to get the
23:08deal with Crawley signed, but he's glad that it's all been sorted. He had a really good meeting with
23:14Scott Lindsay, and it was obvious to me and his family that this was the place he needed to be,
23:18and he just can't wait to get started. So, yeah, another promising signing for Crawley,
23:22and I hope he does well. Well, best of luck to all those Crawley Town new boys,
23:27and thank you very much for joining us this week. Chaps, you can catch up with all the latest sports
23:30news covering everything we've talked about today at sussexwell.co.uk forward slash sport,
23:35and you can watch more excellent videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 276.
23:39Thank you very much for listening and or watching, and we will see you next week.