Rival Lines
Match Preview: Brighton & Hove Albion v AFCB
Blogger Interview: We are Brighton
Twitter @wearebrighton
CC: Is Graham Potter a better manager than Chris Hughton?
WAB: The jury is still out on that one. Statistically, we're no better off at the minute than we were in our two Premier League seasons under Hughton. The football under Potter however is worlds away from what we saw under Hughton. Gone is the Brighton that would consider a 1-0 win to be the perfect result and in it's place, Potter has brought an attacking, possession based style which is extremely pleasing to watch.
We won't know if changing managers has paid off until the end of the season, and if we do end up being relegated there would be a debate to be had about whether you'd rather bore your way to top flight safety or go down, but do so playing expansive football that justifies the extortionate cost of a matchday ticket at the Amex. But at the moment, the signs look good.
WAB: One glaring weakness we now have is at the back. Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy were one of the best partnerships outside of the top six, but Potter has dropped Duffy in favour of our £18m signing from Bristol City Adam Webster. That decision has been made on the basis that Webster is a better footballer and while he can certainly play a pass better than Duffy, he cannot defend as well and looks like a rabbit in the headlights anytime he is confronted with a ball in the air.
In terms of strengths, we're no longer reliant on Glenn Murray to score all our goals. Over the previous two seasons, Murray was responsible for 36 per cent of our output, no team in the history of the Premier League had even been so reliant on one player. We've now got goals coming from Neal Maupay, Leandro Trossard and Aaron Connolly and Aaron Mooy's arrival has eased the creative burden which fell on Pascal Gross. We may be weaker defensively, but we're a lot more capable going forward.
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CC: Is there a position where Brighton really must bring someone in during the January window?
WAB: We desperately need a left back. Potter has been using 6'7 centre half Dan Burn there this season which very much looks like a square peg in a round hole. Going forward, Burn is fine - which is astonishing really when you consider his height and his natural position. Defensively though, he's struggled whenever a side has pushed a half decent winger against him. Not helped by the fact that we play 4-2-2-2 most of the time, so he doesn't have any help from a covering winger either. If you're going to use such a narrow formation, you need to have specialist full backs who can cope.
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CC: Young Aaron Connolly reminds me of a youthful Wayne Rooney. Do you think he has the talent to score such a variety of goals as Rooney in time?
WAB: Definitely, yes. The similarities between Rooney and Connolly are glaring really - they're both powerfully built for their age, both have an astonishing work rate and both hold no fear. Connolly's second goal on his full debut against Spurs was very Rooney-esque in the way that he latched onto a through ball and caught the opposition goalkeeper by surprise by having the confidence to take a shot on early. He's an exciting prospect and one we're very lucky to have.
CC: Neal Maupay has been among the goals. Have you been shocked at quite how well he has done since signing last summer - well worth the price-tag?
WAB: Maupay took a bit of time to get going, but now he's up and running you can see what a quality addition he is. I'm always very dubious when Brighton spend big money on a player as normally, they turn out to be rubbish. Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Jurgen Locadia were nearly £40m worth of attacking talent who managed three goals between them last season.
Maupay though is worlds apart from those two. He's always in the right place at the right time - as is shown by the number of easy chances he misses as well as scored - he never stops running and he loves to wind opposition fans up. He's proving to be quite the fan favourite.
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WAB: Spurs at home wasn't just our best game of the season, it was probably our best game in the Premier League to date. Mauricio Pochettino was on his last legs and they were terribly out of form, but even so to win 3-0 and be totally dominant with Maty Ryan not having a save to make against a side who reached the Champions League final four months previously was superb.
CC: And the worst game?
WAB: Sheffield United at home last week. We had no answer to their overlapping centre backs and every Brighton player was a three out of 10 at best. Hopefully, that was a one-off.
CC: Any really bad VAR decisions or good for Brighton?
WAB: We've been quite lucky with VAR. It gave us a penalty in our 3-2 win against Everton when Michael Keane accidentally trod on Aaron Connolly's toe when challenging for a high ball in the box. It was never a spot kick in a million years and I believe that it was one of the rare instances so far where even the FA had to say that VAR got it wrong. Sheffield United also had two goals ruled out against us last week which stopped our 1-0 defeat to them becoming an embarrassment.
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WAB: I just don't think he's a Gareth Southgate type of player. Southgate wants to promote young players who've been through the England system and Dunk was never capped below senior level. He's also 28-years-old, so it's understandable that Southgate would want to look at the likes of Fikayo Tomori who is going to be around for the next 10-15 years rather than Dunk. I don't think our style of football under Hughton helped either. England are obviously wanting to play out from the back which is something we never did previously. Potter's appointment could help Dunk's England chances in that regard, but sadly I think the boat has sailed for him barring an unbelievable run of form in the New Year or a load of injuries to the players ahead of him in the pecking order.
CC: What is your favourite Brighton & Hove Albion v Bournemouth match from the past?
WAB: Well, we've not beaten you in the league since New Year's Day 2008, so it's slim pickings! In fact, I can't recall ever seeing us win at Dean Court in my lifetime as I didn't bother with the FA Cup game last season. That most reason league win came with Alex Revell scoring his only hat-trick for Brighton, which he was promptly awarded for by being sold to Southend United a few weeks later. His replacement though was a certain Glenn Murray, so that hasn't worked out too badly for us.
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WAB: Only two long-term absentees at the time of writing - Solly March and Jose Izquierdo.
CC: How do you think Brighton & Hove Albion will line up?
WAB: Genuinely, no idea. Trying to predict a Potter lineup is like knowing what the lottery numbers are going to be. This season we've gone into one game with four centre backs on the pitch, another with five central midfielders and another with three wingers - and we don't actually use any wingers. Saturday is obviously complicated as well by the fact that it is our second game in the space of 48 hours, so there will definitely be players rested. We're away at Spurs on Boxing Day, a game we probably won't win so Potter could well sacrifice that game by naming a weakened line up in favour of having a full strength side fit and firing for the more 'winnable' Bournemouth game. The only player I could say with any certainty that will start is Ryan in goal.
CC: What is your score prediction?
WAB: We never beat Bournemouth and we've only ever managed one league win over Eddie Howe when he was at Burnley. I'm going for a 2-2 draw, which will be a significant improvement on our last meeting at the Amex!
Thanks to Scott who has some excellent coverage of Brighton & Hove Albion We are Brighton. The Seagulls look much improved to me over the past times when we have played them and the FA Cup win last year they had is an indication that they are now very capable of beating the Cherries, so this is going to be a tough one with both teams knowing any loser could be sitting in the bottom three by the end of the afternoon.
Cherry Chimes also answers some questions for We are Brighton - Opposition view. Remember it's a 12.30 kick off today!
Brighton Home Form
WWLDL
AFCB Away Form
LDLLW
Possible AFCB line up
Premier Talk - Wolves 3-2 Man City, best game for the neutral?
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