Matt Pole is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford, and Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds.
Brighton advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup after a fabulous 2-1 home win over Chelsea on Saturday evening.
We look back at that win over the Blues, plus we’ll bring you the latest injury news as Albion prepare to welcome Chelsea yet again to the Amex, this time in the Premier League, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town.
Brighton advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup after a fabulous 2-1 home win over Chelsea on Saturday evening.
We look back at that win over the Blues, plus we’ll bring you the latest injury news as Albion prepare to welcome Chelsea yet again to the Amex, this time in the Premier League, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all
00:04the latest goings-on at Brighton, Hove Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Powell and this
00:08week I'm joined by Brighton writer Darren Howard, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and
00:11Sam Morton, who covers both the Seagulls and the Reds. Brighton advance to the fifth round
00:15of the FA Cup after a fabulous 2-1 home win over Chelsea on Saturday evening. We'll look
00:20back at that win over the Blues, plus we'll bring you the latest injury news as Brighton
00:23prepare to welcome Chelsea yet again to the Amex, this time in the Premier League, as
00:27well as all the latest from Crawley Town. You can read all the stories we are talking
00:31about in the videos and pictures on Brighton.co.uk forward slash blog and you can check out other
00:36great videos on shotstv.com and freeview channel 262. You may also be watching on latest TV,
00:41so thank you very much for tuning in. But we will start at the Amex, where Albion bounce
00:44back from the heaviest league defeat in 57 years with a superb come-from-behind win against
00:49Chelsea in the FA Cup. Trailing to Barbara Bruggen's own goal, Georginia route a level
00:53seven for the seagulls in the first half before Kawa Emotoma struck the winner in the
00:56second. Some of that result and the performance up for us, please, Derek. It looked like a
01:00completely different team and performance from last weekend at Forest.
01:04Yes, that's right, Matt. There was a lot of talk before the match about increasing the
01:09intensity levels and really getting back to the basics of what has made Brighton, that
01:16got Brighton off to a good start under Herzela. And they really, yes, they showed what they
01:21can do when they stick to it and they all work as a team. And it was a team effort really
01:28that got them over the line against Chelsea. As you say, they went a goal down and I think
01:35a few fans in there are thinking, oh, are we going to crumble again? But no, they picked
01:41up and they went toe-to-toe with Chelsea and got their reward really. Obviously, Georginia
01:47Rutter got an excellent header from Joel Veltman's cross and then Kawa Emotoma popped
01:53up with that excellent late winner, which was, there was a bit of debate about it, whether
01:59there was a handball in the build-up from Tarek Lamptey. But there was no VAR in operation
02:05for the FA Cup game and the goal was allowed to stand. And it was really a deserved win
02:11for Brighton in the end. And as you say, a real confidence boost following what happened
02:16at the City ground. So, yes, really good, encouraging performance all round. Lots of
02:21players really got back to their top level that they're capable of. And, yes, I think
02:29the trick is now is to maintain that progress and keep it going for the rest of the season.
02:37But there was no doubt about it. It was a much-needed victory.
02:40It was indeed. And you've mentioned it there, Deren. Chelsea felt Emotoma's goal should
02:43have been disallowed as the ball appeared to strike Tarek Lamptey's arm in the build-up,
02:47though there, as Deren mentioned, no video assistant referees in the FA Cup fourth round.
02:51And what did you make of the decision, Sam? And how do you think the game flowed with
02:54that VAR? Was it a much better experience as a football watcher?
02:58I think it was. Yeah, I think it was a lot better experience. And I see, obviously, both
03:03sides of the argument with VAR, because you do see the value of it. I think when, obviously,
03:09mistakes are made and you obviously know that VAR would have stopped that goal from happening
03:14or that penalty from being given. So, you see the value of it. But in terms of the flow
03:19of the game, it was a lot better. I think it was a lot better from the viewing experience
03:24that you just know that once a goal has been scored, you can pretty much show that you
03:28can obviously, the fans can celebrate it really. So, that's always a good thing. I think it
03:34does take the enjoyment out of it a little bit when you're waiting ages for a decision
03:39to be made. We saw it, obviously, at the Everton-Liverpool game where that last-minute equaliser was
03:45obviously absolute bedlam, all the fans on the pitch. And it might have been disallowed.
03:49It was so close to being disallowed. You just think how crazy that would have been and what
03:54kind of a downer that would have been on the whole thing. So, you can definitely see the
03:59benefit of not having VAR, but then mistakes are made. You've mentioned, obviously, there
04:04with Matoma and I think he probably was a bit fortunate for his goal to stand. I think
04:11it was probably Lamptey, the one I would say was the fortunate bit, because the way that it
04:15kind of bounced up and hit his arm. If VAR was there, it would have ruled it out, I would imagine.
04:21But I think Matoma, he did avoid handballing it with his control and obviously put it away
04:26brilliantly to seal the win. But I do think Lamptey was fortunate, actually, that the handball
04:31wasn't noticed. But yeah, from a viewer perspective, really glad that it wasn't,
04:36and obviously Brighton got the win. Absolutely. Former Albion players Marc Cuccarella,
04:42Robert Sanchez and Moises Caicedo all featured for Chelsea in the Cup defeat at the Amex.
04:46What kind of reception did the trio get there? And I'm assuming they were welcomed back with
04:50open arms by the Albion faithful. Yeah, it was a really good atmosphere. We were just talking
04:56about it in the press conference ahead of Friday's match. And it just adds another layer to it,
05:04doesn't it? There's been a bit of a rivalry between Chelsea and Brighton, which has been
05:07built up with, obviously, with the transfers that have taken place recently, as you mentioned,
05:12Caicedo, Sanchez, Cuccarella and then the former manager Graham Potter all moved to
05:18Stamford Bridge. And that all just adds to the occasion. And Hazela was asked about it,
05:24and he loves it. He likes that sort of tension in the crowd and the atmosphere. And he thinks
05:31the players can thrive off that, which they did last time out. He did temper that, however,
05:37and said that it can also serve to go the other way. Sometimes they have to be careful of that,
05:43that it could lift the likes of Cuccarella and lift the likes of Sanchez, or if he plays,
05:49and Caicedo to perform at a higher level, to say, I'll show you. And so there's a balance
05:57between the two. But yeah, it is good fun. It does create for a good atmosphere.
06:03And when you play each other twice in quick succession, once in the FA Cup and once in the
06:07league, both at the Amex as well, it gives that edge, you know, other players, you know,
06:12God, I don't really want to go back and face, you know, get all that grief, get all that grief
06:17again. But it all sort of builds up and it's going to be another good occasion at Brighton.
06:24And the challenge is now, is whether they can reproduce that type of form and that type of
06:29intensity and the display to get three points in the Premier League, because that's, it's obviously
06:35great that they progressed in the FA Cup. They'll play Newcastle in the next round, in the fifth
06:39round, where there will be VAR for the fifth round. But then it's also about building up in
06:46the Premier League again and getting that momentum going again and see if they can push for those
06:50European places once again. And three points against Chelsea this weekend will be key.
06:57But yeah, the Cuccarella, Caicedo and Sanchez is a nice subplot and a sideshow in amongst that.
07:05Absolutely. And Darren's mentioned it there, Sam. The draw for the fifth round sees Albion
07:09make the trip to Carabao Cup finalist Newcastle United. All fifth round games will be played over
07:13the first weekend of March. What do you make of the draw? I've seen a few comments on social media
07:18where it seems that neither side are particularly pleased with that draw. It's a tough one for both
07:22sides, I think, isn't it? Yeah, it's a nightmare draw, really, especially for Brighton. I think
07:27Newcastle will at least be pleased they're at home. But they obviously will be probably
07:32disappointed they didn't get a lower league side to make it a little bit more comfortable. But
07:37even that's not a given. As we've seen, obviously Liverpool being knocked out after that strong
07:42result and Man City were pushed really close as well. So it's definitely not a given when you're
07:48drawn against these lower teams. And Plymouth, I imagine, will probably think they have a chance
07:52against Man City after knocking Liverpool out. Obviously, when you look at the two teams for
07:57this season. But in terms of Brighton going to Newcastle, it's a bit of a nightmare, I think,
08:03because Newcastle are obviously a really strong team. Obviously, it was the Carabao Cup final as
08:08well. So you can show that they really are dangerous in these cup competitions. I think,
08:14yeah, obviously going all that way to Newcastle is a real difficult challenge for anyone. And Brighton
08:21did actually manage to get a win away there, obviously in October, a 1-0 win for Danny
08:25Wilbert getting the goal. But it'd be difficult to replicate that, I think. I think obviously,
08:30it's just such a tough place to go. The atmosphere is always absolutely rocking. It's a dangerous
08:34park. And I imagine Brighton would have wanted to go pretty much anywhere else, I imagine. So
08:40a difficult one to call. But Brighton definitely are in with a chance. Obviously, we'd hope that
08:45Newcastle would rest players and potentially try to get into those Champions League spots still as
08:49well. And obviously, in the Carabao Cup as well. So maybe they might rest players for this one,
08:53in which case there might be a bit of a glimmer of hope of getting another really good result
08:57there. But a really tough one. And I imagine the Brighton camp are not too pleased with this draw.
09:03No, absolutely. As we've also mentioned, Brighton and Chelsea meet again at the
09:07Amex on Friday evening, the Premier League, where the Blues are currently nine points and
09:11six places above their cup conquerors. How do you see this one going, Deren? Do we expect to see
09:16kind of a repeat performance from last weekend? And what's the latest injury news from the Albion
09:20camp?
09:22Yeah, I think it's going to be another good occasion. But there are a few injuries. And
09:27we were just speaking about Lewis Dunk in the press conference. And he's very doubtful at the
09:34moment. He's going to see if he can train today. He played in the first half against Chelsea in the
09:39FA Cup and then went off at half-time with a rib injury. Apparently, he was due to have a scan
09:46this week and then the extent of the damage will be assessed. But I think the game will
09:52arrive too soon. It's looking like Adam Webster, who came on for him in the second half against
09:57in the FA Cup, it's looking like he will be starting ahead of Lewis Dunk. But that hasn't
10:03been confirmed yet. But that's probably likely to happen. Pervis Estupina, he's still struggling
10:10with his muscular issue. And I think Tarek Lamptey, who was man of the match against Chelsea
10:15playing in that unfamiliar left-back role, he's going to fill in for Estupina.
10:21Ferdy Kadioglu, he's still a long way away, unfortunately. He hasn't been seen since he
10:27scored against Liverpool at Anfield. And he's still struggling with this toe injury. So,
10:33I don't think you're going to see him anytime soon.
10:36Soli March, I think he's going to be back training following his muscular problem. But
10:41the game's going to arrive a bit too soon for him as well. But he is progressing.
10:47And the other one of note is Matt Swiffer. He hasn't played since West Ham, but he's back in
10:53training and could be in contention to play in one of the midfield spots for this weekend.
11:01Excellent stuff. Well, best of luck to Brighton on Friday. We will take a short break. But
11:05stay tuned as we will be discussing all things Crawley Town.
11:09Welcome back to part two. And Crawley Town endured an excruciating afternoon at Bolton
11:13Wanderers on Saturday, to say the least. Leading 3-1 with around an hour played. The Reds contrived
11:19to lose 4-3 with Charlie Barker's own goal in the ninth minute of second half stoppage time
11:23concerning the visitors to defeat. Sum that performance up for us, Mark. As heartbreaking
11:30as it was, it's late goals again, isn't it? Costing Crawley.
11:33It is, yeah. Sort of a little bit similar to the Exeter game when they threw away the 4-1 lead
11:39and then drew 4-1 all that day. But it's another performance where they're brilliant for 60 minutes
11:44and then it just sort of goes a bit wrong. I mean, what we have got to remember is they're
11:48playing much better teams. Very good players, big budgets and that. And they're doing well
11:54to a certain point. And then it just sort of, I don't know if it's tiredness, the way they play,
11:58they're so aggressive, they press so much for all the teams, the way Rob Elliott set them up,
12:04that I imagine it's quite tiring playing that kind of football. So when you go 3-1 ahead,
12:10they continue to try and push. I think the difference with the Exeter game, the Exeter
12:14game, they did sit back too much and allowed Exeter, whereas this time they were still going
12:18for it. I mean, it was brilliant, two brilliant, three brilliant goals from Hepburn, Murphy,
12:23got two of them, Wilswan, to give them that 3-1 win. But yeah, I think they just ran out of steam
12:30and Bolton really went for it at the end. And yes, a draw probably would have been a fair result,
12:36but 12 minutes added time. I think everybody's still sort of questioning where that 12 minutes
12:41came from. Crawley players were accused of wasting time. I think Rob Elliott mentioned on Tuesday
12:47night after the Charlton game that he was accused of, he was accused of telling people to waste,
12:52telling his players to waste time. And he said he's never done that in his career and he never
12:56would do. So it's very, very odd accusations on that. But yeah, good to a point. And there's some
13:03really proselytising aspects. Good to see Hepburn, Murphy. He's been brilliant since he's been put
13:07into a more central role, attacking role. He's been on the wings lately. Wilswan's been more
13:12effective on the wings as well, as we saw on Tuesday night as well. So yeah, disappointing
13:18late goals. I think, like I say, they just ran out of steam and they are, people have got to
13:22remember, they're up against Bolton, former Premier League side. It's never going to be as
13:26easy as taking a 3-1 win. AC Milan threw away a 3-0 lead in the Champions League final. It happens.
13:32Yes, I'm sorry. That was probably more pertinent to a point we're going to come to in a bit. But
13:37yeah, carry on. Well, post-match Reds manager Rob Elliott bemoaned another referee's decision,
13:43which he believed cost his side points. What decision got Elliott's ISM and does he have a
13:48right to feel aggrieved? Yeah, obviously Crawley had been hard done by by a number of poor decisions
13:54of late. And the latest one was that the referee allowed play to go on with a Crawley Town player
14:00down injured. I'm not too sure who it was actually from the comments. I don't know if Mark can
14:03correct me, but it sounds like... I think it was Charlie Barker, I think. Charlie Barker. Okay.
14:09Yeah. So from what Rob Elliott was saying, Charlie Barker was down injured and the referees allowed
14:15Bolton to take a quick free kick and obviously to go on to score the winner. And compounded by
14:20all those minutes that were added on at the end, it just kind of added salt to the wound, really.
14:25So yeah, a real disappointing one. But I think Rob Elliott rightly did say that Crawley need to
14:31improve on how they see out these games, because it's not the first time this season they've lost
14:35some winning positions. And to be two goals ahead, it just makes it even worse to still
14:39end up losing the game. So he's just saying they really do need to help themselves with their
14:44mentality and could have been a bit more determined to see it out and sit in at least
14:49still a point. We've got to see it through and we can't allow that to happen, as it's happened
14:53twice now with Bolton and Exeter. It's something we need to address. Obviously, that red card didn't
14:58help as well for Rory Feeley. And he did say Rory is experienced enough to know not to make that
15:02second foul, which didn't really put the team on the back foot again. It's disappointing and
15:07frustrating because we've got ourselves in a fantastic position yet again, and it shows we're
15:10setting up right, we're getting the counter press, the shape, taking opportunities right,
15:14but we have to find a way of seeing games out and getting the points. So yeah, I think
15:19reasonable assessment from Rob Elliott there. He's obviously rightly pointed out an error from
15:23the referee. But as I've said multiple times, they really need to look at themselves in these moments
15:28and make sure they don't crumble it as easily. Absolutely. And what was the reaction like on
15:34social media from the Crawley fans after the defeat at Bolton? I'm sure it was very even-handed
15:38and level-headed. Oh, as it always is, yeah. I mean, yeah, we've got to remember that it is only
15:43a minority that are on the keyboard warriors. But there was lots of calls, but Rob Elliott
15:49doesn't know what he's doing. They should get rid of Rob Elliott. I think it was even in the... I
15:54mean, the Way fans have been brilliant this year, and they've generally been positive. I was there
15:57when they lost 4-1 to Reading, and the fans realised that they really did play well that day.
16:02And again, at Bolton, they played well, but apparently there were a few boos. Rob Elliott
16:06looked a little bit despondent as he walked off because there were boos aimed at him. I think
16:11Bradley Ibrahim, I read reports that there was a couple of fans who accused him of not playing
16:15for the shirt and stuff like that, and he reacted to that. But yeah, it's just... Going back to my
16:25point earlier, you've got to realise who they're playing against. You've got to look at the budgets.
16:29Yes, they were 3-1 up. Yes, they should have held on and got a result from that, but they didn't.
16:35And you've got to respect how they've played, the entertainment they provided. They had loads
16:40of shots and goals. They attacked the whole time. All the players trying to win. I mean,
16:44Bradley Ibrahim's been one of Crawley's best players this season, consistently. And to give
16:49him abuse and that, it just blows my mind. I mean, I've got no skin in this game. I report on Crawley
16:55Town. I don't support Crawley Town. I want them to win because it's good for us if they do win.
17:02But I just wonder what effect it has on the players. When you've tried your heart out,
17:07you've absolutely gutted because you've let in a last-minute goal, which was unlucky because
17:11it deflected off Charlie Barker. Charlie Barker, again, one of Crawley's better players this season.
17:16And you just wonder what it does to... I mean, the kind of people that go on social media and that,
17:22that criticise players and footballers and all that. Oh, they shouldn't. Yeah,
17:26they get paid loads of money. They should be loving this. I love their life.
17:29Mental health. If you say mental health, some fans will go, oh, whatever sort of thing,
17:33mental health. I mean, but you've got to worry about these players and how it affects them.
17:37Because I mean, a lot of them will say they don't read social media. I'm sure they do,
17:41or I'm sure they have people who monitor social media for them. If they saw some of the things
17:45that were written about them, it would do my head in. That's why I turn off any replies on X now,
17:52because I can't handle it. Whenever anyone criticises me for not doing the kind of
17:56journalism they want me to do and all that, it just does your head in. I mean, I try,
18:00you try to ignore it, but it's very difficult to ignore it when you are being criticised publicly.
18:05And you've just got, I mean, I know football fans are passionate and there's a lot of Crawley fans
18:09who are very positive and realise they're playing above where they probably should be in terms of
18:15budget, ground, the players they've got, et cetera. But everybody's working really hard
18:21to try and stay up this year. And if they stay up this year, it's a better achievement than
18:25getting promoted last year. It's as simple as that. So I think there needs to be a little bit
18:30of calming down. I don't think Rob Elliott's going anywhere. I think they really are working
18:34on something and making it a really good project. But yeah, I know fans are passionate, but I'm
18:41passionate too about just being positive. I mean, I get criticised by Crawley fans for being too
18:46positive, but I'm not always going to be like that. I wish everyone else could be like that.
18:52Well, if they can't find reason to be positive after Tuesday night result, then there's something
18:55wrong with them as Crawley boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation with a home victory over
18:59mid-table Stevenage. Brandon Hanlon cancelled out Harry Forster's 50th-minute opener for Crawley
19:04before substitutes Armando Coterno and Kamari Doyle hit late goals to give the Reds their
19:08first home win since November. You were at this one, Mark. Sum that performance up for us. It
19:13must be nice to see Crawley being the ones dishing out the late goals for a change.
19:17It was. They were brilliant on Tuesday night. I mean, they absolutely dominated the game.
19:21Stevenage, I mean, I know Rob Elliott said before he really rates Stevenage,
19:25and they're a big, strong, organised side. And defensively, they looked really good.
19:29But in the end, Crawley just outrun them. And it helps when you can bring on Kamari Doyle,
19:33Loney Friant. Armando Coterno came on, was brilliant. Torres John Jules, he started the
19:41last few games. He came on as a sub this time, and that was more effective. So maybe that's
19:46something Rob Elliott needs to look at as an impact sub for Torres John Jules. But
19:50they were really, really good. And you mentioned they had nothing to moan about on Tuesday night.
19:55They didn't moan, but they didn't say a lot. They'd rather go on social media and moan when
20:00they lose. But when they win, I think they find it quite hard. These minorities, I should point
20:05that out, the minority of fans, they don't say anything when Crawley do win. And it was
20:12such a good performance and brilliant goals as well. If you haven't seen them
20:15go on, really good goals. I mean, Harry Forster couldn't have hit the ball any harder or any
20:20better than when he did, what he did for the first goal. But really good performance,
20:25really much needed performance. And now they've got these two other home games coming up.
20:29They couldn't really close the gap on getting up into that safety,
20:32because there are only three points with a game in hand of safety now.
20:35Yeah, well, you mentioned those two home games. Crawley conclude their trilogy of home games with
20:40fixtures against Wycombe Wanderers and Wigan Athletic on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.
20:44At the time of recording, Wycombe are second in League One, while Wigan, who snapped up Red's
20:49favourite Ronan Darcy in the January transfer window, sits 16th. How do you see these two
20:54games going for the Reds, Sam? And how many points do you see them taking from these two fixtures?
20:58Yeah, it's tough, isn't it? Especially Wycombe, that is a really tough match.
21:02Obviously, second in the league, as you say, and the league's highest goal scorers with 55 goals.
21:10That shows Crawley are going to have to be tight in the back for this one. So it'll be a really
21:15difficult one. But I think you can kind of have some room for optimism. I think, in a sense,
21:20that Crawley put in a great performance against Rexham, obviously, one of the league's best teams
21:24as well. So it's definitely a reason to think that Crawley can at least put up a good account
21:31for themselves. Obviously, at home, with that home support, you'd really hope they can try and
21:35nick at least a draw. I think they can maybe try and get a point there. But time will tell. But I
21:40think, obviously, Wycombe will be looking to bounce back, actually, after dropping two points
21:44away at the bottom of the league, Cambridge. It was an 83rd minute equaliser, so they'll be
21:47really disappointed with that. And I'm sure they'll be looking to bounce back. And they
21:50lost on penalties in the FA Cup at Championship side, Preston. But Wycombe have lost just one
21:56game in 2025. They were beaten 1-0 by Huddersfield on January the 7th. So they're a tough team to
22:01beat. And Crawley will definitely have a lot of work to do to get something out of that game.
22:07And then going on to Wigan, I think this is definitely a game they should be looking to win.
22:10Wigan haven't set the world alight this season, 16th in the table, two wins so far in 2025.
22:17And most recently, they conceded a late goal to draw against Lincoln, and they lost to Fulham
22:21in the FA Cup. Just a narrow defeat. And obviously, there's no shame at all in that. So it's one of
22:28those, again, where I think Crawley should be looking to win. I think Wigan were obviously
22:33recently rocked by the loss of their player, Thilo Asgard, who was a really highly rated
22:41player for Wigan. He's gone to Luton in the Championship. So he was, I think, a real
22:46consistent goal scorer for Wigan, and they're still getting over the loss of him. So definitely,
22:50again, Crawley should be getting a win out of that. So I'd say four points should be the aim
22:54from these two. Fingers crossed. And finally, two matters off the pitch, where the Crawley
22:59Town Supporters Alliance revealed the results of their survey about the ownership of Wagme United.
23:04Out of 700 members, 274 participated in the survey. 14.9% opted for Wagme to remain as owners,
23:11with the current senior leadership remaining in position. 25.1% opted for Wagme to remain as
23:16owners, except for new senior leadership to be appointed, including a new CEO, sorry. And 60%
23:22wanted Wagme to market the club for sale. What do you make of these results, Mark? And can we
23:28expect anything to change off the back of them? I don't think so. As you said, the numbers are
23:34relatively small. If you consider, what was there, 4,700 red fans for the home Wrexham game.
23:41Only 700 members, but only 274. So it's quite a small percentage. But obviously, the CTSA,
23:48they're looking out for the club and for the supporters. And they want to do the best for
23:53the club as well. But what they've got to remember as well is that Wagme are the club. They own the
23:58club. They've helped get Crawley promoted. And I know this is going to be another thing where fans
24:04have a go at me for whatever, for seeming like I'm a pro-Wagme or a Wagme apologist or whatever.
24:10But I just find the timing of it really odd. I mean, wait till the end of the season. Because
24:16like I said earlier, if they survive today, this year, the season, it's a huge, huge achievement.
24:23And arguably better than getting promoted than last year. So the timing seems really odd. Wait
24:30till the end of the season. If they get relegated, then yeah, why not? You have to have this vote,
24:35then have a sit down with Wagme and say, look, yeah, we're not happy with how it's gone.
24:39Can you consider selling up? But the other argument to that is who's going to buy Crawley
24:44Town Football Club when you know, if it's not going to go slightly well, the supporters
24:49association is going to put up a vote to get you out. So, and you have to look at the timing. It
24:55was right at the beginning of the, in the middle of the transfer window. And you think if you were
25:00a player or an agent looking in on the club and Wagme putting a bid for you or your negotiating
25:06contract, and then you see, oh, the fans are not behind the onions. So why am I going to come here
25:11kind of thing? And you look at maybe thinking outside the box of sponsored deals and revenue
25:16streams. I know Wagme look at a lot of different ways of bringing in revenue, which get criticized
25:21or get questioned, but it just makes you wonder the timing and the thinking behind it. But I know
25:29the CTSA, I know Ruben and I know Sam Jordan as well, who are big parts of the CTSA. They really
25:35care about this football club and they want it. They want the best for it. And they had the
25:39greatest of intentions with this vote, but you do, I do question the timing and whether Wagme will
25:47take it seriously given the numbers. I mean, I don't know. I mean, I don't think Wagme are under
25:52any illusion that most, a lot of Crawley fans want them out, but like there's, there's one particular
25:58person on Facebook, on the Facebook groups, whenever these sort of things come up, they always
26:04say, well, get your money out then. You want to sort the club out, buy the club. But how many
26:09people are going to come and want to buy Crawley Town Football Club at the moment? I think, yeah,
26:14I can understand Wagme know they've made mistakes and they will make further mistakes, but they've
26:19done a lot of positive as well. So yeah, it's an interesting one, but it'd be interesting to
26:24know if Wagme are going to speak to the CTSA about this and what they, what they do, how they work
26:30together more closely, because there seems to be a big, yeah, what's the word I'm looking for?
26:35Bigger, yeah, they don't seem to be communicating at the moment, as well as they should do
26:42for a supporters alliance with the owners of the football club.
26:45Oh, very interesting, Mark, isn't it?
26:52Never happened, no, absolutely. And very quickly to round out the podcasters,
26:55and we're running short of time, score predictions, starting with Brighton's home
26:59game against Chelsea on Friday. Sam Morton, how do you see this one going?
27:04Really tough one to call, I'm going to say
27:082-2. Darren, what do you reckon?
27:12It is a tough one to call, and a lot depends on sort of the team line-up and whether they make
27:17changes. I don't think Brighton are going to make too many changes, but I'm going to go for a 3-1,
27:203-1 for Brighton. I think Chelsea are struggling. Nicholas Jackson, he's just been ruled out for
27:25about six weeks, I think, so they're struggling up front a bit.
27:29I think their reserve striker is injured as well, I think, so that might...
27:32He is, yeah, is it Gehy as well?
27:35He's out for a month as well, so it could be sort of Cole Palmer playing in a false nine,
27:40but yeah, it'd be an interesting one.
27:43Mark, how do you see it going?
27:45I'm going to go goals in this one, 4-2, Brighton.
27:49Brighton, and looking up to Crawley Town starting on Saturday at home to Wickham,
27:53a very tough one for a mark. Can we see any shining lights of positivity from that one?
27:59Yeah, I think so. I think after Saturday, because Stevenage had one of the best defences in
28:05the league, and so I think there will definitely be goals in this one as well,
28:07but I'm going to go for a draw this time, because I find it hard to see Crawley beating Wickham 2-2.
28:13Surely Crawley would bite your hand off for a draw, wouldn't they, Sam?
28:17Yeah, I'll be optimistic. I think the draw is probably the best we can hope for, 1-1.
28:23Deren, what do you reckon?
28:25Sorry, 2-0 defeat.
28:27Boo!
28:30And then, finally, for Crawley's strategy of home games at home to Wigan,
28:33I can see them picking up three points in this one, Mark. I don't know about you.
28:37Yeah, I think so. I think it's going to repeat of this Tuesday's game, 3-1, I'm going for.
28:43Sam Morton, do you echo Mark's positivity?
28:46Yeah, but a bit closer. I'm going to say 2-1, 2-1 to Crawley.
28:49Darcy to score for Wigan, obviously.
28:52Obviously, yes. Are we going to whistle out Crawley wins then?
28:55Yeah, clean sweep. I was going to go for a 2-1 as well. So, yeah, 2-1.
29:01Brilliant. Well, thank you very much, chaps, and best of luck to Brighton and Crawley on Friday
29:05and Saturday. You can catch up with all this latest sports news covering everything we've
29:08talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport, and you can watch more excellent
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29:19watching, and we will see you all next week.
29:22Bye.