Rival Lines
Match Preview: Brighton v AFCB
Blogger Interview: We are Brighton
Twitter: @wearebrighton
This week I've been chatting with Scott at We are Brighton. Fresh from a trip to Wembley where Brighton came close to shocking one of the best sides in Europe, Brighton have more pressing concerns of only being five points above the relegation zone with their seven games to go. Those games in hand could be Brighton's safety net, but they probably need to get points against teams like Bournemouth when they have other fixtures against the likes of Spurs, Arsenal, Wolves and Man City.
CC: Were you surprised at how close Brighton pushed Man City in the Fa Cup Semi-Final?
WAB: Very! City obviously didn't play anywhere near as well as they can do, but the fact it was a one-off game certainly seemed to help us. Chris Hughton is a very conservative manager by nature and that means that when we face one of the top six in the Premier League, we tend to defend at all costs to protect our goal difference. On Saturday, it obviously didn't matter how many we conceded which seemed to result in the players having a little more freedom to go on the attack. Hopefully, Hughton will look at how that made us more of a threat and stick with it in the future.
CC: Did the cup run and day at Wembley make up for the struggles in the league?
WAB: There is a surprisingly high proportion of Albion fans who would happily be relegated if it meant winning the FA Cup. I was very much in that camp; a day out at Wembley and Lewis Dunk lifting one of the most famous trophies in the world would mean much more than watching Brighton finish between 10th and 17th in the Premier League every season. Whilst the media and the bigger clubs will tell you that the competition is dying, it seems to be the opposite in Sussex. We sold out the Amex for both our home ties against West Bromwich Albion and Derby and our away allocations against yourselves and Millwall. It's certainly proven to be a welcome distraction and I hope that we have a real good go at winning it again next season as well.
CC: What have been the reasons for the drop in league form in 2019?
WAB: It all seems to go back to Hughton's decision to change formation. Around the start of December, he moved away from the 4-4-1-1 that had been so successful in our first 18 months in the Premier League in favour of a 4-3-3. The idea behind the change was to try and make us more of an attacking threat, but all it seems to have done is remove the defensive solidity that underpinned our survival last year. It also doesn't play to Glenn Murray's strengths at all as he no longer has two out-and-out wingers feeding him crosses, so we've blunted out best striker as well. Given that we've only won two league games since the end of December, I'm astounded that Hughton is still sticking with it.
CC: Should Glenn Murray be starting more games than he does?
WAB: Not in this formation. He is still our main man - and there is a completely separate argument to be had about why we are still relying on a 35-year-old striker we initially signed 12 years ago from Rochdale to get the majority of our goals in the Premier League - but he just doesn't seem to be able to play in a 4-3-3. Florin Andone is much better suited to leading the line in this formation, but he seems to be made out of glass and will get a run of up to five games and then be out for another five.
CC: Is Chris Hughton still moving Brighton forward or has he started to plateau?
WAB: Some fans seem to think he has hit what Gus Poyet loved to call "the glass ceiling" and that if we want to move onto the next level, we need a new man in charge. But you only have to look at the likes of Stoke post-Pulis, Southampton post-Puel, Charlton post-Curbishley, West Ham post-Allardyce to see what happens when a club gets ideas above their station and moves on a successful manager. We should have enough to survive this season because of the excellent first half of the campaign we had but it could be a big summer for Hughton and the recruitment team as if we start 2019-20 as we are ending 2018-19, then we could be in big relegation bother in a years time.
CC: Where do Brighton need to strengthen to get a higher finish in the league next season?
WAB: If Hughton is going to persist with 4-3-3, then he needs to get a holding midfielder in. Dale Stephens is currently playing in that pivot role but he looks ill-equipped to handle the unique demands playing at the base of the midfield requires. We also need a striker who can play in it - essentially, a fitter version of Andone. The only trouble with that is every other Premier League side will be looking for that striker and we aren't likely to outbid many clubs as Tony Bloom runs a very prudent ship.
CC: Do you feel Brighton are established in the Premier league now?
WAB: No. I don't think any club outside of the big six can feel established really with the possible exception of Everton. The division from 7th down to 20th is normally so tight that all it can take is a poor run of results and you can get sucked from one end to the other. We're finding that out the hard way - we were 12 points clear of the relegation zone around Christmas time but could be in it by 10pm on Tuesday night.
CC: How should Brighton line up against AFCB for this game?
WAB: If Hughton is going to play 4-3-3, he needs to start Andone. I'd also drop Alireza Jahanbakhsh who has done absolutely nothing so far since signing for £16m from AZ Alkmaar in the summer and replace him with either Solly March or Jose Izquierdo. In our last home game against Southampton we were so slow, and Andone, March and Izquierdo would add some much needed pace.
CC: If Brighton don't win the game will you be more worried about the threat of relegation or are you confident Brighton will be safe?
WAB: Saturday is important, but Tuesday night at home to Cardiff is even bigger. If we lose against Bournemouth and Cardiff beat Burnley on Saturday and Cardiff then win at the Amex in midweek, we'll be in the relegation zone. With our final three games of the season against Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester City, that is going to be a very dangerous position to get out of.
CC:What is your score prediction?
WAB: I'm banking on the fact that Bournemouth have nothing to play for will count in our favour and we take a bit of confidence from Saturday's game against Manchester City and end up winning 2-1. Having said that, it would be typical for Brighton to push one of the best teams in Europe all the way and then get turned over 4-0 at home a week later. So who knows!
CC: It was intriguing to hear Scott's opinions on Brighton's tough season and how they enjoyed the cup run even if it wasn't ultimately successful and has left Brighton wondering of they are going to get enough points to get safe quickly. While I wouldn't want to swap AFCB's league position for Brighton I can't help but feel their fans have had a more exciting season than Bournemouth. Hopefully, AFCB can try and recapture some sparkle on the pitch and give us some fast improving memories of 2018-19. But we go into this game knowing that it is basically the decider between the two teams having had one win each in the league and FA Cup so far this season.
You can also read some of my answers from Scott's questions on We Are Brighton this weekend.
Score Predictions
Send in your score predictions for Brighton v AFCB to @CherryChimes on Twitter. We will select a winner form the correct scores to win a T-shirt.
CC: Were you surprised at how close Brighton pushed Man City in the Fa Cup Semi-Final?
WAB: Very! City obviously didn't play anywhere near as well as they can do, but the fact it was a one-off game certainly seemed to help us. Chris Hughton is a very conservative manager by nature and that means that when we face one of the top six in the Premier League, we tend to defend at all costs to protect our goal difference. On Saturday, it obviously didn't matter how many we conceded which seemed to result in the players having a little more freedom to go on the attack. Hopefully, Hughton will look at how that made us more of a threat and stick with it in the future.
CC: Did the cup run and day at Wembley make up for the struggles in the league?
WAB: There is a surprisingly high proportion of Albion fans who would happily be relegated if it meant winning the FA Cup. I was very much in that camp; a day out at Wembley and Lewis Dunk lifting one of the most famous trophies in the world would mean much more than watching Brighton finish between 10th and 17th in the Premier League every season. Whilst the media and the bigger clubs will tell you that the competition is dying, it seems to be the opposite in Sussex. We sold out the Amex for both our home ties against West Bromwich Albion and Derby and our away allocations against yourselves and Millwall. It's certainly proven to be a welcome distraction and I hope that we have a real good go at winning it again next season as well.
CC: What have been the reasons for the drop in league form in 2019?
WAB: It all seems to go back to Hughton's decision to change formation. Around the start of December, he moved away from the 4-4-1-1 that had been so successful in our first 18 months in the Premier League in favour of a 4-3-3. The idea behind the change was to try and make us more of an attacking threat, but all it seems to have done is remove the defensive solidity that underpinned our survival last year. It also doesn't play to Glenn Murray's strengths at all as he no longer has two out-and-out wingers feeding him crosses, so we've blunted out best striker as well. Given that we've only won two league games since the end of December, I'm astounded that Hughton is still sticking with it.
CC: Should Glenn Murray be starting more games than he does?
WAB: Not in this formation. He is still our main man - and there is a completely separate argument to be had about why we are still relying on a 35-year-old striker we initially signed 12 years ago from Rochdale to get the majority of our goals in the Premier League - but he just doesn't seem to be able to play in a 4-3-3. Florin Andone is much better suited to leading the line in this formation, but he seems to be made out of glass and will get a run of up to five games and then be out for another five.
CC: Is Chris Hughton still moving Brighton forward or has he started to plateau?
WAB: Some fans seem to think he has hit what Gus Poyet loved to call "the glass ceiling" and that if we want to move onto the next level, we need a new man in charge. But you only have to look at the likes of Stoke post-Pulis, Southampton post-Puel, Charlton post-Curbishley, West Ham post-Allardyce to see what happens when a club gets ideas above their station and moves on a successful manager. We should have enough to survive this season because of the excellent first half of the campaign we had but it could be a big summer for Hughton and the recruitment team as if we start 2019-20 as we are ending 2018-19, then we could be in big relegation bother in a years time.
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WAB: If Hughton is going to persist with 4-3-3, then he needs to get a holding midfielder in. Dale Stephens is currently playing in that pivot role but he looks ill-equipped to handle the unique demands playing at the base of the midfield requires. We also need a striker who can play in it - essentially, a fitter version of Andone. The only trouble with that is every other Premier League side will be looking for that striker and we aren't likely to outbid many clubs as Tony Bloom runs a very prudent ship.
CC: Do you feel Brighton are established in the Premier league now?
WAB: No. I don't think any club outside of the big six can feel established really with the possible exception of Everton. The division from 7th down to 20th is normally so tight that all it can take is a poor run of results and you can get sucked from one end to the other. We're finding that out the hard way - we were 12 points clear of the relegation zone around Christmas time but could be in it by 10pm on Tuesday night.
CC: How should Brighton line up against AFCB for this game?
WAB: If Hughton is going to play 4-3-3, he needs to start Andone. I'd also drop Alireza Jahanbakhsh who has done absolutely nothing so far since signing for £16m from AZ Alkmaar in the summer and replace him with either Solly March or Jose Izquierdo. In our last home game against Southampton we were so slow, and Andone, March and Izquierdo would add some much needed pace.
CC: If Brighton don't win the game will you be more worried about the threat of relegation or are you confident Brighton will be safe?
WAB: Saturday is important, but Tuesday night at home to Cardiff is even bigger. If we lose against Bournemouth and Cardiff beat Burnley on Saturday and Cardiff then win at the Amex in midweek, we'll be in the relegation zone. With our final three games of the season against Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester City, that is going to be a very dangerous position to get out of.
CC:What is your score prediction?
WAB: I'm banking on the fact that Bournemouth have nothing to play for will count in our favour and we take a bit of confidence from Saturday's game against Manchester City and end up winning 2-1. Having said that, it would be typical for Brighton to push one of the best teams in Europe all the way and then get turned over 4-0 at home a week later. So who knows!
CC: It was intriguing to hear Scott's opinions on Brighton's tough season and how they enjoyed the cup run even if it wasn't ultimately successful and has left Brighton wondering of they are going to get enough points to get safe quickly. While I wouldn't want to swap AFCB's league position for Brighton I can't help but feel their fans have had a more exciting season than Bournemouth. Hopefully, AFCB can try and recapture some sparkle on the pitch and give us some fast improving memories of 2018-19. But we go into this game knowing that it is basically the decider between the two teams having had one win each in the league and FA Cup so far this season.
You can also read some of my answers from Scott's questions on We Are Brighton this weekend.
Send in your score predictions for Brighton v AFCB to @CherryChimes on Twitter. We will select a winner form the correct scores to win a T-shirt.
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