The spectre of Trelford haunted them for ages at St James’

BRIGHTON travel to Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup with the backdrop of having won there twice in the competition in the 1980s – not to mention a 1-0 win in the Premier League this season.

The 1-0 third round win at St. James’ Park in January 1983 set Albion en route to that season’s FA Cup final – but Toon supporters of that era blamed the game’s unusually-named referee, Trelford Mills, from Barnsley, for their exit.

Think I’m exaggerating? Newcastle fans’ website themag.co.uk had this to say ahead of another FA Cup game between the two sides in 2013: “It is doubtful that anything could match the anger and frustration that many of us felt nearly thirty years ago.

“Wednesday 12 January 1983 will always be synonymous with the name Trelford Mills, etched into the consciousness of an entire generation of Newcastle fans, convinced he cheated us out of the FA Cup. Well, a chance of the fourth round anyway!”

Neil Smillie, goalscorer Peter Ward, Steve Gatting, Chris Ramsey and Andy Ritchie celebrate after the 1983 win.

Mills disallowed two Newcastle ‘goals’ while Albion nicked it courtesy of a penalty area pounce by Peter Ward, back at the club on loan from Nottingham Forest, on 62 minutes. They did it without captain Steve Foster who was suspended (as, of course, he would be for the final too).

The game was a third round replay four days after the sides drew 1-1 at the Goldstone Ground when Andy Ritchie’s mis-hit shot in the 56th minute put Albion ahead and Terry McDermott (below right, with Tony Grealish) equalised on 77 minutes.

Even though the Magpies were in the old Division Two at the time, they had Kevin Keegan and Chris Waddle in their line-up, and they fully expected to win because Brighton hadn’t previously won away that season.

Albion, competing in the top division for the fourth season in a row, with joint caretaker managers Jimmy Melia and George Aitken in charge, had goalkeeper Graham Moseley to thank for some heroic stops to keep them in the first game.

The replay at St. James’s Park was in front of a typically noisy crowd of 32,687 and Newcastle did everything but score: they had shots cleared off the line and hit the woodwork and, when they thought they’d scored, Mr Mills disallowed them – twice!

In the meantime, Ward made the most of a counter attack to put the Seagulls ahead. It turned out to be the last goal he scored for the Albion, although he was in the side that pulled off a shock 2-1 win at Anfield to knock out Liverpool in the fifth round.

Enterprising reporter Tim Hodges searched out Mr Mills all those years later to hear his version of the events.

“I remember Brighton went one up, then Imre Varadi went through on goal, but quite clearly controlled the ball with his wrist,” said Mills.

“I think the Brighton keeper realised this, just as most of the players did, and let the ball go into the goal just to waste a bit of time. I just restarted with a free kick. I have spoken to Imre since. I think he accepts my version now.”

Mills continued: “Jeff Clarke managed to win a ball in the penalty area, but only because he had his arm around the defender’s neck. Keegan bundled the ball into the goal, but I had blown up a few seconds before it went in.

“Keegan did his Mick Channon cartwheel arm in front of the Gallowgate end, but I just jogged across to where I wanted the free kick taken from and indicated as to why I had disallowed the goal.”

Mills also recalled how he and his fellow officials needed a police escort away from the ground after the match. “When we sat in the dressing room after the match, I remember chatting to one of my linesmen, John Morley, when this police officer turns up,” he said. The copper said to him: “You’d better hang on here a while, Trelford. There are 2,000 Geordies outside and they all want your autograph!”

Three years later, the status of the teams had been reversed with Newcastle promoted back to the top division in 1984 and Albion back in the second tier, relegated the same year as the cup final appearance.

While Keegan had retired, Willie McFaul’s side had a young Paul Gascoigne in midfield and Peter Beardsley in the forward line. Clarke, who’d played four games on loan at Brighton two years earlier, was still in the centre of United’s defence and it was his foul on Terry Connor in the first minute of the game that saw Albion take a shock early lead.

Danny Wilson floated in a free kick from 30 yards out on the right which found centre back Eric Young on the far edge of the penalty box. He hooked the ball into the Newcastle net with only 50 seconds on the clock!

Albion, wearing their change strip of red, had to endure a relentless series of attacks (Toon had 23 corners to Albion’s one!) and Perry Digweed in Brighton’s goal put in a man of the match performance between the sticks, notable saves keeping out shots from John Bailey, Beardsley and Billy Whitehurst.

With five minutes left of the game, against the run of play, a quick throw-in by Graham Pearce found Dean Saunders and he rifled home an unstoppable shot past Martin Thomas for his 10th goal of the season.

Manager Chris Cattlin summed up afterwards: “It was really tough and we had a little luck on our side, but to go away to a club who have won the cup no fewer than six times and come away winners was quite an achievement.

“With the Geordie fervour up there the noise their supporters created was something special, but our efforts speak volumes for everyone connected with our club.”

There would be no fairytale ending that season, though, with Albion being dumped out of the cup 2-0 by Southampton in a quarter-final tie at the Goldstone Ground.

John Barnes and Steve Harper were on pundit duty for ESPN for the 2012 match

Younger fans will doubtless recall two more recent FA Cup meetings between Brighton and Newcastle, in consecutive seasons during Gus Poyet’s reign, at the Amex in 2012 and 2013.

The Championship Seagulls beat the Premier League Magpies on both occasions – 1-0 in the fourth round in 2012 and 2-0 in the third round the following year.

Getting to grips with Will Buckley

A Mike Williamson own goal was enough to give Albion the edge over Alan Pardew’s side in the first of those games; Will Buckley’s 76th minute shot deflecting off the defender and looping over Tim Krul for the only goal of the game. Leon Best, who would later have a torrid time at Brighton, missed two good chances for the visitors.

The 2013 fixture was a more convincing win for Brighton against a weakened Newcastle side who had Shola Ameobi sent off. Andrea Orlandi gave Albion the lead on the half-hour mark and substitute Will Hoskins added a second late on.

Andrea Orlandi hooks in Albion’s first goal
Praise for Liam Bridcutt

“This was an impressive victory for Brighton, a result that will add to the optimism that surrounds this upwardly mobile club and strengthen their resolve to host Newcastle in next season’s Premier League,” wrote Ben Smith, for BBC Sport. “The cool passing game of Liam Bridcutt at the heart of their midfield was tremendous.”

The reporter added: “Sharper to the ball, and swifter to make use of it, the Seagulls toyed with their more celebrated opponents for much of the opening 45 minutes, producing some stylish attacking moves while tackling, battling and dominating territory in their uncomplicated and effective way.”

Will Hoskins buries Albion’s second goal in 2013

Saint Christer: Albion flop but blossomed with Cherries

CHRISTER WARREN played in three defeats for bottom-of-the-league Brighton against a backdrop of turmoil behind the scenes.

With a winless run stretching back six games, reluctant boss Jimmy Case had returned to his old club, Southampton, to take the youngster on loan in October 1996.

Warren joined a squad comprising several familiar faces because in the Spring of that year Paul McDonald, Craig Maskell and Derek Allan had all moved along the coast from The Dell.

Instead of his arrival meriting mention in the matchday programme, its pages were devoted to Case urging fans not to invade the pitch in protest at what the owners were doing to the club and hated chairman Bill Archer claiming their beefs should be with the local authorities for thwarting plans for a new stadium.

Christer Warren in action for Brighton

On the pitch, the introduction of Warren failed to bring about a change in fortunes: in his three matches the sorry Seagulls lost 2-1 at home to Cambridge United, 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers Hereford United and 3-0 at Doncaster Rovers.

He returned to the Saints and made one more sub appearance for the first team before making a £50,000 move to AFC Bournemouth. After scoring on his debut, he went on to net 14 goals in 127 appearances for the Cherries.

He is one of a number of players who’ve played for Southampton, Bournemouth and Brighton; others include Case, goalkeeper Alan Blayney and more recently Adam Lallana.

Born in Poole, Dorset, on 10 October 1974, Warren was playing for Dorset Schools against Gloucestershire when he caught the eye of former Bristol Rovers full-back Lindsay Parsons, scouting as Cheltenham Town’s youth development officer.

Warren subsequently joined the Whaddon Road outfit and rose through the YTS ranks to become a first team regular in a side that was often close to the top of the Southern League and on 5 December 1992 he scored Cheltenham’s goal in a 1–1 second round FA Cup game against future employer Bournemouth.

His performances playing wide on the left side of the midfield attracted the attention of League clubs and just as he was about to attend a trial at second-tier Derby County, Premier League Southampton’s boss Alan Ball stepped in to sign him for £40,000 (plus appearance-related add-ons) – a record fee for Cheltenham at the time.

He made his Saints debut as a substitute away to Arsenal on 23 September 1995, going on for Neil Shipperley in the 78th minute in a 4-2 defeat. Dave Beasant was in goal for Saints and Jason Dodd at right-back. 

Warren started a 2-1 League Cup defeat to Reading on 28 November 1995 but his only league start under Dave Merrington was in a 3-0 defeat at QPR on 30 March 1996. He also made six sub appearances for Saints that season.

The temporary Albion move was one of two loan spells away from The Dell; he also spent time at Fulham in the final months of the 1996-97 season, helping them gain promotion from Division 3 under Micky Adams.

Saints recouped £50,000 of Ball’s outlay when Warren dropped two divisions and made the switch to the Cherries in October 1997. He was in the Bournemouth side that lost 2-1 to Grimsby Town in the 1998 Auto Windscreens Shield final – the club’s only Wembley appearance.

His versatility meant Bournemouth boss Mel Machin used him as a midfielder or striker, but he later settled into a left wing-back role.

A free transfer to QPR in June 2000 saw him move up a division and he was full of optimism about the move, telling the Rangers website: “It came totally out of the blue and I just can’t wait to get started now.
“Obviously, Rangers are a division above Bournemouth, so it is a great move and hopefully I can adapt to Division One football.

“I started my career as a centre-forward. Then I went to left midfield before moving back to left-back. I think my game is mostly about my speed.

“I’m quite fast and I like to get at people. I played at left back all last season, so obviously I didn’t get the chance to get forward and get at people as much as I’d like. But at QPR you play wing-backs, so it is a better position for me to play.”

Warren said he was relishing the chance to work under former QPR and England captain Gerry Francis. “You only have to look at the players that he’s brought through, so obviously he must be a good coach. Hopefully, he can make me a better player as well.

“Everyone’s main ambition is to get as high as you can and get into the Premiership. Last time I was in the top flight, I was at Southampton but I think I was too young then.

“Hopefully, I can get a chance to play for Rangers in the Premier League and hopefully this time around I’ll be better equipped for it.”

Sadly it all went pear-shaped for Rangers who won only seven games all season. Francis was sacked in February 2001 (and replaced by Ian Holloway) and the side was relegated to the third tier for the first time since 1967.

After occasional appearances for them at left-back in 2001-02, Warren was released at the end of his two-year contract and was offered the chance to train with Bristol Rovers by former Southampton youth coach Ray Graydon.

He spent a month with the Gas, making two substitute appearances, but preferred to drop into non-league to play football closer to his Bournemouth home.

He played in Hampshire with Eastleigh and Winchester City and Dorset with Lymington & New Milton and Wimborne Town, while working for Snows, an industrial stationery company in Southampton.

Warren briefly ventured into management at Wimborne but reverted to playing – in lower-division football, in western France for FC Boutonnais and US Melle – before returning to the UK and playing for Sydenhams Wessex One club Christchurch and then Verwood, where he coached.

Christchurch manager Adie Arnold told Andy Mitchell of the Bournemouth Daily Echo in 2015: “He has been playing in France at a reasonable level but recently decided to come back to England.

“I go back a long way with Christer and he wants to continue playing. He is as fit as a flea and can play a number of positions so his experience, football knowledge and, most importantly, ability will be a massive asset to us.”

Arnold pointed out: “He has played at the highest level and everyone can learn from him, particularly the youngsters at the club. He is a role model and the sort of player you should look up to, watch and see how he handles himself.”

High hopes have followed Billy Gilmour on his football journey

NAPOLI might well be riding high in Serie A but it’s mainly a watching brief for midfielder Billy Gilmour who moved to the Italian club from Brighton in August 2024.

The former Chelsea midfielder has found game-time harder to come by than fellow countryman Scott McTominay, who has shone in midfield as Antonio Conte’s side have been involved in an intriguing Italian title race with Atalanta and Inter Milan.

Most of Gilmour’s involvement has been from the bench apart from during October and November 2024 when he started five consecutive league matches. Stanislas Lobotka has more often been Conte’s pick for the no 6 role.

Nonetheless Conte said: “I’m happy that we have him here, he is a great player. He is an important option for us.”

While some Brighton supporters lamented Gilmour’s departure, it could be seen as a shrewd piece of business considering the Seagulls received a reported fee of £12m plus £4m in add-ons, turning a profit on the £9m paid to Chelsea two years earlier.

Veteran Albion watcher Andy Naylor reckoned Gilmour was a key player, citing Opta stats highlighting Gilmour’s 92.15 per cent passing accuracy in 2023-24 to back up his view. “He helps to control games and dictate the tempo with slick and reliable passing,” he wrote for The Athletic.

Indeed, after Gilmour had once again earned plaudits playing for his country at the 2024 Euros tournament, Naylor declared that the player “is going to become increasingly important to Brighton” even going so far as to say: “The midfielder is the future for his club under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler.” As it happened, that couldn’t have been more wrong.

The arrival of two £25m signings in Dutch international Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord and Danish international Matt O’Riley from Celtic, together with the emerging influence of young Carlos Baleba must have sounded a warning signal to the Scot. And a central midfield starting berth for veteran James Milner meant Hurzeler had something quite different in mind. Not to mention other midfield options of Jack Hinshelwood and Yasin Ayari.

Although Gilmour went on as a sub in the opening day 3-0 win at Everton and started alongside Milner in the 2-1 home win over Manchester United, the growing rumours of his imminent departure to Italy proved true as former Chelsea manager Conte signed him along with McTominay from Manchester United.

Gilmour admitted in an interview with AreaNapoli: “Scott arrived here before me, and we were texting each other, in the days when I was also hoping to move to Naples.

“When Scott told me he was on the plane to come here, all that was left to do was close my transfer. The day I arrived in Naples was something incredible. I got off the plane, ran to do the medical and then went to the stadium.”

Gilmour and McTominay together at Napoli

Gilmour added: “My dream as a footballer is to reach the highest levels and win trophies here in Naples. That’s what I will try to do.”

Apart from starting one cup match, and the autumn run referred to earlier, Gilmour’s had to reprise the situation he found himself in at Brighton when he first arrived – he only made six starts plus seven appearances off the bench as Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Pascal Gross lorded it in midfield.

Gilmour heard only good things about Brighton from former Chelsea teammate Tariq Lamptey before making the move south, and on arrival there was also a familiar face behind the scenes in David Weir, who he’d known from his days at Glasgow Rangers.

After that low key start to life with the Seagulls, in April 2023 Roberto De Zerbi decided to rest key players for the home game with Wolves and give Gilmour and striker Deniz Undav starts. Albion won 6-0 and the manager confessed afterwards: “Gilmour, I think, was the best player on the pitch and I must admit possibly in the past I made some mistakes with him and with Undav because I didn’t give them many possibilities to play.

“But for me it’s difficult. To play without Mac Allister, Mitoma, Solly March, Moises Caicedo, it’s difficult.”

Once Mac Allister and Caicedo had flown the Seagulls nest, De Zerbi showed his faith in Gilmour, giving him 32 starts and nine appearances off the bench as Albion competed in the Europa League for the first time.

“Billy is a unique player,” reckoned De Zerbi. “We have only one playmaker in our squad and he is Billy Gilmour.”

Gilmour in action for the Albion v Arsenal

In early December 2023, he was full of praise for the young Scot, telling the media: “The improvement of Gilmour is incredible. I completely love him, because now he is playing very much like a leader on the pitch.

“Big quality, big attitude, big player. He is improving in the quality of the pass, in the personality, how he can drive and control the game, drive the team. To understand the play before he receives the ball.

“He understood when he has to play a long ball and a short pass because the defensive space starts from how long is the pass. In his reaction, when we lose the ball. I am very pleased for his performances.”

Born on 11 June 2001 in Irvine, Ayrshire, Gilmour grew up in the county’s coastal town of Ardrossan where he went to Stanley Primary School. He moved on to Grange Academy in Kilmarnock which was part of the Scottish FA performance school programme.

When he and fellow graduate Nathan Patterson made it into the full international squad, programme director Malky Mackay told The Scotsman: “Billy is someone I’ve been impatient about for a number of years now. We took him to the Toulon tournament with Scotland under-21s when he was 17 because I had a firm belief this kid is something special.

“He ended up playing, becoming the breakthrough player at a tournament of that esteem, scoring a goal and captaining the team. It was only a matter of time but it’s terrific he and Nathan have been picked for the squad. That makes me more happy than you could ever know.”

At a young age, Gilmour spent three months at Celtic (his dad supported the Hoops) but switched to Rangers (who his mum supported) because it was easier to get to training.

He progressed through the youth ranks and was still only 15 when he was called up to train with the first team squad during Mark Warburton’s reign as manager.

“I came on the scene at a young age and there was a lot of talk, a lot of people putting my name out there, but you have to learn to live with that – and the best way is by playing well and keeping your consistency,” Gilmour told the Albion matchday programme.

It was a disappointing snub by Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty that led to his £500,000 departure from Glasgow to London, as recounted by sports writer Ewan Paton in rangersreview.co.uk.

Gilmour was due to become Rangers’ youngest-ever player at 15 years old in a Scottish Cup tie against Hamilton in March 2017; Murty indicating the teenager would be on the bench and would get the chance to fulfil his lifelong dream of playing for Rangers.

But, just hours before kick-off, Murty changed his mind, with Gilmour being left out of the matchday squad.

“I felt like I was going to be on the bench and maybe even come on that game. It works in its weird ways, so it does, football,” said Gilmour.

Two months later, when he was eligible to turn professional aged 16, the incident was in the back of his mind and he opted to move to Chelsea.

“Of course, I would’ve loved to have played for Rangers,” he said. “But I ended up moving on and maybe it’s a wee part of my journey that made the decision a bit easier.”

Remarkably, Gilmour scored in each of his first three games for Chelsea’s under 18 side and he signed a professional contract aged 17 in July 2018.

A year later, it was newly-appointed manager Frank Lampard who gave him his senior debut in a pre-season friendly. His league debut was as a late substitute for Tammy Abraham against Sheffield United and his first start was shortly afterwards in a 7-1 EFL Cup thrashing of Grimsby Town, a game in which Reece James made his debut.

Lampard said afterwards: “I thought Billy Gilmour ran the game from midfield, and Marc Guehi was solid. They’ve been outstanding this year.”

After making 11 league and cup appearances for Chelsea in each of 2019-20 and 2020-21, Gilmour went on a season-long loan to Norwich City where, although he got more games (23 starts, five off the bench), he didn’t enjoy the experience and wasn’t a permanent fixture in the struggling Canaries side that eventually ended up being relegated.

Gilmour didn’t enjoy his time at Norwich

“Things had been going so well and then I went on loan to Norwich which I thought would be good for me,” Gilmour told Men’s Health. “It turned out to be a fight, a battle. I learned a lot.”

He continued: “I was just a young kid and it was a low time for me.

“I learned how strong I was. I put a smile on my face, even though I was hurting, especially when I was living on my own in Norwich. Some nights, I’d be sitting there thinking, ‘This is c**p’, but that’s where my family helped me. You can only learn from that.”

Gilmour, when aged just 20, was named man of the match in his first full start for Scotland as they held England to a 0-0 draw at Wembley in a Euro 2020 match (played in June 2021 because of Covid).

“The ease with which he has transitioned into international football implies that he possesses some very special skills,” reckoned Ewan Murray, writing in The Guardian.

“It was his big moment and he didn’t let us down,” said Scotland manager Steve Clarke. “Nobody is surprised by that. Not in our camp.”

But a word that has hung heavy around Gilmour’s neck is expectation. When the permanent move to Brighton came about, Tuchel admitted that Chelsea hadn’t wanted to let him go and would rather he had only left on loan.

He told reporters: “We had high hopes [for him] and he played for us in the first half a year when I was at Chelsea. He played some important matches for us and looked for a new challenge that did not go so well for him with Norwich.

“We expected more, he expected more so it was like, without pointing a finger, but it is difficult also for him and for us to not succeed, to not play at Norwich, to be relegated and then suddenly be a central midfielder for Chelsea and competing for top four and for every title.

“There’s a huge step in between so we were looking. The ideal solution would have been maybe that he goes again on loan as the concurrence is huge for us in central midfield and we felt like he is not the age where he can live again with five or six or seven matches during a whole season to fulfill his own potential so, ideally, it would have been another loan.

“Billy did not want to go on loan, it was a no-go for him so in the end, we agreed to a sale.”

Gilmour’s version of events differed a little, as he revealed in an interview with talkSPORT in September 2023, saying that after his season-long loan at Norwich, he was told he wasn’t part of the first-team plans at Chelsea and would have to be content with playing in the reserves.

That was despite Chelsea exercising an option to extend his contract to the end of the 2023-24 season earlier that summer.

“When I came back from my loan from Norwich, I came back and had pre-season and I just wasn’t in the plans,” Gilmour told talkSPORT host Jim White. “At that point I was thinking, well, I want to be at a club that really appreciates me and I want to be part of the team.

“I want to play first-team football. I’ve had a taste for it. I’ve played for my country, so I want to try and push on now. For me, it was the right time to leave. I spoke with the manager at the time, and he thought the same.

“I want to play football, I want to really settle down and try and find a house and home and be here and give my all.”

It remains to be seen where the young Scot’s career goes next but even though his playing time in Italy hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, the midfielder told broadcaster DAZN: “I am fit and well, I’m enjoying it.  Of course, we are doing well as a team, so we want to keep building on that.”

Sparks flew in Brighton v Chelsea FA Cup clashes

BRIGHTON v Chelsea in the FA Cup sparks memories for supporters of my generation stretching back several decades.

Many began as Albion followers the day the then First Division side from Stamford Bridge visited the Goldstone Ground in February 1967 when a dubious refereeing decision denied Third Division Brighton a shock win.

Others, me included, recall a fiery encounter in Hove six years later when Second Division strugglers Brighton were beaten 2-0 courtesy of two Peter Osgood goals in a game marred by violence on and off the pitch.

That third-round tie in January 1973 was dubbed “a day of shame” in the newspapers after two players were sent off, five were booked and crowd trouble erupted.

The chance for lower ranked teams to pitch their lesser talents against the big boys has always been at the heart of the FA Cup’s appeal.

That was certainly the case when Archie Macaulay’s mid-table Albion hosted Tommy Docherty’s top 10 Chelsea on 18 February 1967. To give it musical context, Georgy Girl by The Seekers had just taken over from The Monkees’ I’m A Believer at no.1 in the pop charts!

At a time when home crowds were normally 12,000 – 13,000, a sell-out gate of 35,000 packed into the Goldstone.

Cup fever had certainly captured the imagination of the Sussex public. In the previous round, 29,208 watched Albion beat Aldershot 3-1 in a third-round replay for the chance to take on the top division Pensioners (as Chelsea were called back then).

The two clubs hadn’t met in any other competition for 34 years – back in January 1933 Brighton beat the London side 2-1 in a third round FA Cup tie.

After such a long gap, maybe it was understandable that Albion’s young captain, Dave Turner, at 22, fell off the settee at home in excitement when he saw the cup draw made on the television.

Canny Brighton decided to sell tickets for the game at a reserve home fixture against Notts County, meaning a stunning 22,229 paid to watch the second string win 1-0 in order to secure their entry to the big game.

The matchday programme revealed how Docherty and several of his players had watched the Aldershot match to check out what would be in store for them.

Docherty meanwhile was very complimentary in his programme notes, declaring: “Chelsea know that we have a hard and difficult task today, and are not facing it in a complacent manner.”

He added: “We know that there is great potential for the Albion club. They have a First Division set-up at the Goldstone Ground, and First Division ideas, as well as a first-class pitch.

“The day cannot be very far away when they become one of our top clubs, and I am just one of many people in the game who will welcome their promotion to a higher class.”

However, the game was only five minutes old when Bobby Tambling gave Chelsea the lead. But before half-time, Chelsea’s John Boyle (who would several years later joined Albion on loan) was sent off for kicking Wally Gould. And just four minutes into the second half, Turner gave Albion parity.

Goalkeeper Tony Burns, who had top flight experience with Arsenal, made several decent saves in the game and, with the clock ticking down, a cracking strike by winger Brian Tawse in the closing minutes of the game looked to have won it for the Third Division side.

“I smashed a volley past Peter Bonetti from 20 yards out with the score at 1-1 and thought I’d got the winner,” Tawse told Brian Fowlie of the Sunday Post in 2015. “It was a goal that could have made my career – but the referee chalked it off.”

Unfortunately, the official had spotted an infringement by Kit Napier and the ‘goal’ was disallowed.

As Brighton would discover again only too painfully in the 1983 final, these winning chances rarely happen twice, and, sure enough, in the replay at Stamford Bridge Chelsea ran out 4-0 winners in front of a massive crowd of 54,852.

Chelsea went on to reach that season’s final at Wembley only to lose 2-1 to a Spurs side that had Joe Kinnear at right-back and Alan Mullery in midfield.

Hardman Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, their captain in 1967, was still leading the side by the time of the 13 January 1973 game and John Hollins and Tommy Baldwin also played in both. The dismissed Boyle was on the Chelsea bench in 1973. Only John Templeman (right) played in both games for Brighton.

The UK had just joined the European Economic Community (as it was then called) and You’re So Vain by Carly Simon was no.1 in the charts. Albion had moved up a division under Pat Saward having won promotion the previous May, but the side was struggling at the foot of the Second Division, unable to cope at the higher level.

Nevertheless, there were two players looking forward to the cup tie: Bert Murray and £28,000 signing Barry Bridges had both won silverware at Chelsea in the 1960s.

Barry Bridges slots home for Chelsea in a FA Cup tie v Peterborough and, pictured by the Daily Mirror’s Monte Fresco, ahead of the 1973 match against his old club.

“It’s a tremendous draw for the club and a dream draw for Bert Murray and myself who both started our careers at Chelsea,” Bridges told Goal magazine. “Personally, it will be nice to see most of the Chelsea lads again. I grew up with Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris and Ossie (Peter Osgood).”

Unfortunately the Albion game was one of several former Worthing schoolboy Bonetti missed through injury and illness in the 1972-73 season, John Phillips deputising in goal at the Goldstone.

How this young supporter recorded the team info in his scrapbook

Dave Sexton, a promotion winner with Brighton in 1958, saw his Chelsea side put the ball in Albion’s net within the first 10 seconds of the game but Bill Garner’s effort was ruled out for offside, to the bemusement of the football writers watching. As the game unfolded, not only did it end in defeat for the Albion but it attracted ugly headlines for all the wrong reasons as Harris and Brighton left back George Ley were sent off.

Ley was dismissed in the 85th minute for bringing down Baldwin from behind and then getting involved in a punch-up with England international Osgood, the scorer of Chelsea’s goals in the 17th and 60th minutes, who himself was booked for his part in the altercation.

Albion’s Eddie Spearritt had been the first to go in the book on 23 minutes (for a foul on Alan Hudson) and on 73 minutes was involved in the incident which led to Harris being sent off for the first time in his career.

Esteemed football writer Norman Giller recorded it like this: “Harris got involved in a tussle with Spearritt, and, as he pushed him, Spearritt went down holding his face as if he had been punched. The referee directed Ron to an early bath. All the bones he had kicked, and here was Harris being sent off for a playground push.”

1970 Cup winner Dave Webb went in the book for wiping out Spearritt, joining colleague Steve Kember who was cautioned for fouling Steve Piper. Albion’s Graham Howell also went into referee Peter Reeves’ notebook for taking down Baldwin.

The kicking and aggression on the pitch led to fighting on the terraces with 25 people arrested. And Leicester referee Reeves had to be given a police escort off the pitch.

Former Spurs captain-turned-journalist Danny Blanchflower, writing in the Sunday Express: declared: “This FA Cup third-round tie was as disgraceful as any match I’ve ever seen.”

In the opinion of Albion scribe John Vinicombe in the Evening Argus: “Football anarchy gripped the Goldstone during the last 20 minutes of Albion’s FA Cup tie with Chelsea.

“In the frenzy, players fought one another, hacked and kicked, and the violence tiggered an all-too-predictable chain reaction on the terraces where rival factions became one mass of writhing, mindless hooligans.”

Interestingly, Harris’ dismissal was subsequently overturned, Giller recording: “A Brighton-supporting vicar, with a pitchside view, wrote to the Football Association telling them what he had witnessed, and ‘Chopper’ was vindicated.”

Chelsea made it through to the quarter-finals of that season’s tournament before losing 2-1 to Arsenal in a replay. Arsenal lost in the semis to Sunderland, the Second Division side who stunned the football world at the time by beating Leeds United in the final.

Forest hopes felled for injury-stricken Matt Thornhill

TRANSFER makeweight Matt Thornhill fell foul of managerial changes and debilitating injury which together brought a promising professional playing career to an early end.

Brighton’s former assistant manager Colin Calderwood believed in the midfielder but his successor as Nottingham Forest manager, Billy Davies, didn’t.

Surplus to requirements at the City Ground, Thornhill was Russell Slade’s seventh signing of the summer in 2009, heading to Sussex as part of the deal that saw Albion academy graduate Joel Lynch move to Forest for £200,000 (having spent the previous season on loan there).

Thornhill initially joined on a six-month loan and he was full of optimism, telling the Argus: “They (Brighton) are looking to go for it this season and hopefully I can be a part of that team and help them strive for the top five of the table and the play-offs.

“My target is to play as many games as I can for Brighton and see what happens. If everything goes well then I could extend it to a year, but we’ll just see.”

Although he started the first game of the season at home to Walsall, he was subbed off at half-time as the Seagulls lost 1-0. Three days later, he was in the side beaten 3-0 by Swansea City in the League Cup (Andrea Orlandi was playing for the Swans and Stephen Dobbie scored his first two goals for City in the Liberty Stadium clash).

But it was another two months before he started another game. Other new arrivals at Withdean (like big money signing Elliott Bennett) at the start of that 2009-10 season and niggling injuries limited Thornhill’s involvement, and, at the end of October, Slade was sacked and replaced by Gus Poyet.

Thornhill, who turned 21 during his time with the Seagulls, only started five games, made four appearances off the bench, and was an unused sub for eight matches.

Poyet had his own ideas about the squad he wanted and swiftly Thornhill and fellow Forest loanee midfielder Arron Davies, who’d played under Slade at Yeovil, were sent back to the City Ground.

Born in Nottingham on 11 October 1988, Thornhill was only eight when he was first offered the chance to sign for Forest, but his father said he was too young.

They went back in for him when he was 14, and, despite other interest from Derby County and Notts County, as a Forest fan it was an easy decision to make.

He was initially coached by former Forest defender Chris Fairclough. When he left school at 16, he became a scholar under John Pemberton, and signed a pro contract a year later.

Calderwood gave him his first team debut at Chester City in the Carling Cup in August 2007, a game Forest won on penalties.

Thornhill made five starts and 11 sub appearances across that 2007-08 season as Forest went up from League One and he scored his first goal for the club in a 4-0 win over Leyton Orient. He featured in 28 league and cup games (16 starts, 12 from the bench) on their return to the Championship.

“Calderwood was really good,” said Thornhill in an extended interview with the Nottingham Evening Post in 2018. “He came and watched the young lads and gave us confidence,” he told reporter Matt Davies.

“He said that if you were good enough, he’d give you a chance with the first team. Some managers don’t go with the academy players.

“They bring players they know in. I saw Lewis McGugan get his chance though and that spurred me on.

“When I got in the team I never thought far ahead. I took every week as it came. I knew the manager believed in me.

“I tried to make the most of it. Playing for Forest meant a lot to me and my family.

“It was massive. I knew growing up how big the club was.”

Thornhill was still only 19 when he played in the biggest game of his career, a 3-0 FA Cup third round win at Manchester City in January 2009.

Forest were floundering at the wrong end of the Championship and had just sacked Calderwood. Pemberton took caretaker charge and it was the biggest cup upset of the round when Forest beat the newly-enriched City so convincingly.

“City were spending loads of money,” said Thornhill. “We had nothing to lose, but wanted to impress the new manager (Billy Davies was watching from the stands).

“I should have scored. I shanked it to Robert Earnshaw and he scored in the end.”

Two days later, Davies took over as manager and Thornhill said he made it quite clear he was going to send out on loan all the young lads who did well under Calderwood.

After his foreshortened Albion loan spell came to an end, he then joined League Two Cheltenham Town on a similar basis, helping them to narrowly avoid dropping out of the league.

Back at Forest for the new season, Thornhill thought he had changed Davies’ opinion, telling the Nottingham Evening Post: “I had a really good pre-season. He told me I’d done well and that I’d be in his plans for the season.

“I was buzzing. The first league game he named me on the bench.”

In the second game of the season, he was a starter in a 2-1 Carling Cup defeat at Bradford City

“I scored and felt I did really well,” said Thornhill. It turned out to be his last game for the club.

“I’d have loved to have got the opportunities Billy said he would give me but there was nothing I could do about it,” he said.

“It annoyed me that he told me I was in his plans and never got the chance when I was at my fittest.”

By Christmas 2010, he was told he had no future at Forest. And he never played in the Football League again.

Former boss Calderwood took him to Scottish Premier League Hibernian in January 2011, but after only nine matches for the Edinburgh side he damaged medial knee ligaments and missed the rest of the season.

Thornhill told Davies of the Post: “I believed in myself still when Forest let me go and Colin Calderwood gave me another chance at Hibs.”

As well as the knee issue, Thornhill contracted a stomach condition which kept him out for eight months. By the time he was fit again, Calderwood had been sacked.

New boss Pat Fenlon did not see a role for him; he was sent to train with the youth team, and was eventually released after making only 15 appearances for Hibs.

Still only 23, he joined Northern Premier League side Buxton (‘The Bucks’) while hoping he would get the chance to resurrect his league career. It never came and instead, after two years at Buxton, he moved on (left) to Barnsley-based Shaw Lane Aquaforce ‘The Ducks’), whose head coach Craig Elliott said: “It is a massive coup for the club.”

Elliott told Non League Yorkshire: “He’s one I didn’t think we would get as a couple of other clubs were after him, but I convinced him to be part of our project.
“He has a fantastic CV and he did well at Buxton last season. Everyone at the club is pleased to have him.”

He helped the club to win promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One South in 2014-15 and was club captain the following season when they reached the divisional play-off final, only to lose 3-1 to Coalville Town.

He then moved up two levels in the football pyramid and spent a season with National League North side Gainsborough Trinity, where he was appointed captain.

The player told Non League Yorkshire: “I am really pleased to be a part of what (Gainsborough manager) Dominic (Roma) is building at Trinity this season and am glad to be signed early, so I can get a good pre-season under my belt. I really feel I can help the team and channel my experience in a positive way.”

In 2017, Thornhill switched to his local club Basford United and he is still playing for the Northern Premier League Premier Division outfit.

A key figure for Basford United

When he signed a new two-year deal with Basford in 2021, then manager Steve Chettle (himself a former Forest player) told the Hucknall Dispatch: “It is vitally important that we set out to continue where we have been for the last two [incomplete] seasons and Matt has been a massive part of that, and he has a been a key figure in the success of this club in the last five years.

“His attitude to all parts of the games and training is an example to all and his contribution in assists and goals over the years has been fantastic. He is a fans favourite and for the captain to re-sign really shows our intentions.”

Chairman Chris Munroe added: “Matt has shown the club, Steve and myself a great deal of loyalty over the years and my dream is that he finishes his playing career with us at Basford, which is now a real possibility.

“There is nothing better for our fans than to see Matt scoring goals or contributing numerous assists and we hope that continues in good supply moving forward as we enter an exciting phase for the football club.”

In that 2018 interview with the Nottingham Evening Post, Thornhill said: “I never really got back where I wanted. I started so well and since Billy let me go I’ve been hampered by injuries.

“I do think I’d have kicked on but for injuries. I might still have been a pro now. It’s football though. It’s what can happen.”

The article said Thornhill was working for a company supplying paint to the car repairs industry and he said philosophically: “My job now is different to football obviously. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get by in life.

“Anyone that knows me knows I get on with things. I see it that I was lucky to play for Forest.

“I was lucky to play for a club that big. There’s no point having regrets and always looking back.”

‘Marmite’ Maupay always ‘ready to do whatever it takes to win’

A FIERY LATINO temperament acquired from his Argentinian mother led Neal Maupay to become one of football’s love-hate characters.

His audacity and impudence – some call it ‘shithousery’– brought smiles to the faces of plenty and fury to others.

From an early age, the diminutive French centre forward thought nothing of tangling with strapping centre backs who towered over him.

And verbal exchanges in the heat of the battle were all part of the game as far as he was concerned.

Few would forget the lockdown clash when Maupay’s nudge on Arsenal ‘keeper Bernd Leno led to a knee injury for the irate Arsenal goalkeeper, nor his running battle with midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, who grabbed Maupay by the throat after the final whistle, the 5’7” striker having scored a late winner against the Gunners to seal the Seagulls’ first win of 2020.

Maupay on the ball v Liverpool

“I have always been like this. I’m a winner, that’s it,” he told The Athletic’s Andy Naylor. “I’m ready to fight, I’m ready to compete, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win and to help my team to win.”

Referring to the origins of that competitive streak, he said: “With my mum (Liliana) we’ve always had this kind of relationship. She has that fire in her and so do I. Sometimes it just clashes, like mother and son. I’m so happy she gave me that part from her.”

There were other key goals along the way too, of course: memorable late strikes against Crystal Palace Southampton, West Ham and West Brom which raised his popularity amongst Brighton fans.

Celebrating his late equaliser at Selhurst Park

But there were plenty of misses too, incurring the wrath of certain sections of supporters, particularly during his season at Everton.

It’s not easy to define Maupay or to decide where he fits in the popularity stakes at his various clubs. Well, perhaps, it is easier to say that at Everton he was never seen in a good light.

But at Brighton he had several highs and also plenty of frustrating lows.

“He is a good presser and holder up of the ball,” wrote Ryan Adsett in The Argus in May 2022, in a piece debating why ‘Marmite’ Maupay divided opinion so much.

“Maupay uses his body very well in and out of possession, and is a decent ball carrier too,” said Adsett, suggesting he struggled to adapt to often playing as a lone striker for the Seagulls having scored a lot more for Brentford, the club who brought him to England and partnered him with Ollie Watkins, and who welcomed him back into the fold on loan when it went wrong at Goodison Park.

Scoring 41 goals in 95 games for the west London side in the Championship unsurprisingly endeared him to the Brentford faithful. Interestingly, the Bees love-in may never have happened had Albion acted more decisively when weighing him up as a prospect.

Brentford had wooed him when he was playing Ligue Two football in France, on loan to Brest from Saint Etienne. He scored 12 times in 31 appearances for Brest.

After Brentford first approached him, Maupay also had a conversation at Brighton, who were newly-promoted to the Premier League, and the Bees feared they were going to be gazumped by the Seagulls.

“Luckily, they didn’t quite grasp the fact that all Neal wanted to do was play football,” said Brentford’s head of recruitment, Andy Scott. “They said to him come in pre-season and if you don’t get in the side we’ll send you out on loan.

“It was quite ironic that he ended up going to Brighton from Brentford,” Scott told The Athletic.

Scott was behind Watkins’ £1.8m move from Exeter three days after Brentford bought 20-year-old Maupay for £1.6m in July 2017 to pair them in the Bees attack.

“Neal was just a proper nuisance of a No 9,” he said. “At Brest, he was continually getting into fights and arguments with 6ft 5in centre-halves, smashing goalkeepers, but getting in really good goal scoring positions without getting the ball. He still had a really good work ethic and showed a real desire to want to score goals.”

Scott continued: “I always believed Neal would score goals if you gave him the chances. There is footage of him missing a clear chance, but you listen to all the outstanding goalscorers throughout the years – Tony Cottee, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer – they didn’t care about missing, they just wanted chances and he is very much like that.”

Referring to that fiery personality, Scott pointed out: “He’s a winner, hates losing, moans like anything about decisions that are made and stomps off, but he’s got a heart of gold.”

Scoring for the Seagulls

Maupay joined Brighton for £16m – ten times what Brentford paid for him! – in August 2019 and he couldn’t have got off to a better start when he scored in the opening day 3-0 win at Watford.

His strike rate for the Seagulls totalled 27 in 109 games and although he could count a number of vital finishes amongst that number, many will remember him for some glaring misses too.

In his first season with Brighton, he told The Athletic’s Andy Naylor: “I feel like I’m still learning and with the work I am putting in every day and a bit more confidence I will only get better.

“I don’t think I’m playing at my best level. Last season I was more clinical. This season I’ve been missing chances that were not easy but doable. Defenders are better, keepers are better and there is more pressure in the Premier League.”

When Maupay netted in another win at Watford – 2-0 on 12 February 2022 – he equalled Glenn Murray’s record of 26 Premier League goals for Brighton and promised to go on to beat it. But he missed a golden chance to do so from the penalty spot in a 0-0 home draw with Norwich City, also hitting the side-netting from close range and steering another effort wide late on.

Striking in black for the Albion

Subbed off by Graham Potter after the third miss, the striker nonetheless was given a round of applause by the Amex crowd as he trudged round the pitch back to the dugout, a reaction the manager described as “fantastic”.

“A huge thank you to them for that because he gave everything in the game but it just wasn’t his day. That happens but it will be his day another day.”

However, he was dropped for the following two matches when his friend and Belgian international Leandro Trossard stepped up to score in both the 2-1 win at Arsenal and the 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Instead of beating Murray’s record, Maupay’s final chance came and went in a 3-1 last game home win over West Ham when all he picked up was a yellow card after going on for the second half in place of Yves Bissouma.

With the arrival of Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Kaoru Mitoma for the start of the 2022-23 season, competition for places was hotting up, and Maupay only had a year left on his contract.

A move was inevitable and, having been an unused sub for two of the opening league games of the season, he made a £15m deadline day move to Everton.

“Neal is a player who has proven himself in the Premier League over the past three seasons and he is hungry to hit the ground running with Everton,” said the club’s director of football, Kevin Thelwell.

“We believe he will add an extra dimension to our attack and complements the existing players we have at the top end of the pitch.”

A point to prove at Everton

Frank Lampard was in the Everton hotseat at the time and he spoke of Maupay’s blend of dynamic attributes and his tireless work ethic.

“We wanted to strengthen our attacking options and Neal provides a goalscoring threat, as well as bags of energy and a fighting spirit that are vital to what we’re building at the club,” he said.

An enthused Maupay told evertontv: “Everton is a great club with unbelievable fans and I am so, so happy to be here.

“It feels amazing. It was an easy choice for me when I started to talk with the club. I knew straight away I wanted to play for Everton and help the club to succeed.

“I’m excited and it’s a new challenge for me.

“I will do everything I can for Everton. That’s what the fans want – they want players that are ready to give their best, and ready to fight

“When I step on the pitch, I will run, I will tackle, I will try to make assists and score goals. Whatever the team needs, I will do it, because I want to be successful and I want my team to win.”

Born in the Paris suburb of Versailles on 14 August 1996, Maupay was only five when the family moved to the Cote D’Azur in the south of France because of his father’s work.

Within a year, Maupay started playing football at weekends for a small local club, Valbonne Sophia-Antipolis, where he stayed until he was 11.

Ligue 1 side OGC Nice signed him up to their youth academy and he progressed so well that he was given his professional debut against Brest on 15 September 2012, only a month after his 16th birthday, making him the third youngest player in Ligue 1 history.

Three months later, he became the second youngest ever goalscorer in Ligue 1, netting in the final seconds of a game against struggling Evian.

His promise was also spotted by the international selectors and he gained French caps at under 16, 17, 19 and 21 levels.

Early career in France had its ups and downs

But a torn cruciate knee ligament injury aged 16, sustained in a reserve match, held up his progress at Nice and when opportunities under Claude Puel (later Southampton and Leicester manager) were limited, he moved 300 miles to Saint Etienne.

The move was meant to get his career back on track but he was often left out of squads by the coach Christophe Galtier and he told The Athletic’s Naylor: “When you are 19 or 20 it is hard to deal with. I just wanted to play. At that time, I had lost my happiness, my desire to play football. Football is supposed to be fun.”

Fortunately, another manager’s belief in him proved to be a turning point. Jean-Marc Furlan was in charge of Ligue 2 Brest and took the young striker on loan.

“When I arrived there, I was like his son,” he told Naylor. “I was in his office every single day. He was talking to me, calling me, made me realise a lot of things and made me progress on the pitch, off the pitch.”

Bees happy for the Frenchman

Goals followed and led to the move to Brentford where fans quickly took to him. For example, Nemone Sariman writing on fan website Beesotted, described the player’s reaction as he walked along a road near their ground after a game.

“He was mobbed by fans as if he were one of the Kardashians, yet his smile was unwavering and he posed for photos with every single one of us who asked.”

Noting Maupay’s restrained celebration after scoring for Brighton in the Boxing Day 2021 2-0 win over Brentford, Sariman added: “However one might feel about Neal as a player, his passion for Brentford is palpable; despite being fearsome on the pitch, he has always treated us with respect, even since leaving us.”

Within less than three weeks of joining Everton, Maupay scored the only goal of the game as the Toffees beat West Ham on 18 September 2022. Alas, it was the only goal he scored for them in 11 starts and 17 appearances off the bench, in particular suffering when Lampard was replaced by Sean Dyche who generally preferred Dominic Calvert-Lewin on his own up front.

After Maupay had secured a loan back to Brentford, he said in an interview with The Times: “It was a really hard year team-wise. People don’t see that. They just go online, check the stats and say ‘You’re rubbish. You’re not worth the shirt’.”

He continued: “We were losing every week, which affects the mood in training, we changed managers and playing styles which wasn’t easy, and the fans were upset because they love the club.

“I can understand that but it’s not like I am trying to miss chances on purpose. I would be on a day off with my kids and people in the park would swear at me like I owe them something because I’m a footballer.

“After the games, fans would smash on the window of the car when my kids were in the back saying, ‘Leave our club’. I understand if you don’t think a player is good, fair enough, but there’s a way to do it.”

When a previously winless-for-seven-games Everton pulled off a remarkable 5-1 win at Brighton on 8 May 2023, Maupay only got on for Calvert-Lewin as an 87th minute sub.

Back at his spiritual home in west London on loan for the 2023-24 season, Maupay scored eight times as he made 13 starts and 16 appearances as a sub.

At the end of the season, he posted a video on his X account in which he said: “I’m going to miss the club, I can’t lie. It’s a long story for me with Brentford. I came here when I was 20, seven years ago. I was a kid then – I didn’t know too much about the club or English football.

“But here I am, seven years later, in the Premier League. I’ve played a few teams but I’ve never received love like I have here. From day one, people loved and appreciated me. They saw that I was a fighter on the pitch and that I would give everything for the shirt.

“I think that straight away, we had that connection. Honestly, I’m going to miss them.

“The good moments I’ve had during my time here have been absolutely amazing. I wish everyone could experience that because it’s very special.

“I’m not scared about the future. I know whatever comes next, I’ll be ready for it. So, stay tuned and we’ll see…”

As it turned out, Maupay, still officially an Everton player, joined Albion’s Europa League opponents Olympique de Marseille on a season-long loan, playing under the Seagulls’ former boss Roberto De Zerbi.

The player’s antipathy towards his parent club couldn’t have been more stark when, after a recent home defeat for the Toffees to Nottingham Forest, Maupay posted on his X account: “Whenever I’m having a bad day, I just check the Everton score and smile.”

Collyer breaks through at United after spurning Albion

DEFENSIVE midfielder Toby Collyer can genuinely be placed in the ‘one that got away’ category as far as Brighton are concerned.

Worthing-born Collyer excelled as a teenager in Albion’s youth set-up but chose to move on to Manchester United when he was 18.

He has since made it through to United’s first team, getting on as a sub in the last two matches under Ruben Amorim having been blooded by former boss Erik Ten Hag.

After involvement with the first team squad from February 2024 as a non-playing sub, he impressed in pre-season games and played in the Community Shield match at Wembley against Manchester City.

He made his Premier League debut as a half-time substitute for Casemiro when United lost 3-0 to Liverpool at Old Trafford and his first competitive start was in the 7-0 beating of Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, when he played at left-back.

Born in Worthing on 3 January 2004, Collyer’s talent began to be honed when he was only 11 playing for Albion’s under-12s squad.

He attended Angmering School and Ian Gooding, his former teacher, told the BBC: “Toby was the epitome of dedication. Even as a young student, he had an undeniable mentality and drive to succeed in top-level sport.

“His commitment to his studies and football was evident in everything he did.” Gooding said, “It was clear from the beginning that Toby wasn’t just a talented athlete; he was someone who truly wanted to excel and make a mark in the world of sports.”

Collyer made his debut for Brighton’s under-18s just a few weeks after turning 15 and never looked back.

“Even though he didn’t play a great deal at under-16 he still trained,” former Albion under-18s coach Mark Beard told Sussex Live. “You could see he was going to be a top-class player.

“He is a pleasure to coach. He is so low maintenance, what I mean by that is you don’t know he is there. He gets on with his job. He regularly put in displays of 8/10 at the least.

“You want 11 of these type of players in the team. You know what you’re going to get in training, he works hard, he wants to improve, he’s intelligent. He’s a good all-round kid.”

A defensive midfielder happy to tackle and control play from deep, he also showed his versatility by filling in at centre-back with Albion’s under-18s. He also captained England at under-16 and under-17 level, highlighting his leadership qualities and tendency to lead by example.

In an extended interview with the Manchester Evening News, Beard said: “I was made aware of Toby probably from around the age of under-14s. I was the u18 manager and he used to come up and train with us, despite being much younger and I gave him his debut toward the end of his under-15 year. He was always a little bit smaller back then and he seemed to shoot up in height suddenly when he became a scholar.

“Everyone would say he was the best player in the age group every year, but he was just one of them that you hardly noticed. He just got on with his job, there was no trouble and he worked hard.

“He took everything on board like a sponge. There were obviously a few things as he got older that we needed to work on and as he shot up a bit and he needed to redevelop.

“Toby sort of changed the way he played, so different types of passing, defending and he became a real good all-round midfielder once he’d learnt those two of three key areas.”

The coach admired the youngster’s ability to cover left and right from a central position, closing players down and winning the ball. “His ball retention was different class,” said Beard.

“I had such a good team at Brighton, with Evan Ferguson and players like that, and everyone would say Evan was unbelievable, but he’d touch the ball 10 times, score a goal and run about 8km.

“Toby would run around 13km every single game, he’d have 200 touches of the ball and have the best defensive duel win-rate. His stats would be astronomical, honestly, absolutely ridiculous.

“You really don’t get that with many players. He’d be under the radar, but those are the players you want in your team more than anyone else.”

Collyer captained England at under-16 and under-17 level and played 25 games for Albion’s under-18s and under-21s in the 2020-21 season. But he couldn’t agree terms on a new deal at Brighton, after which he was frozen out and given only one game in the 2021-22 season.

The teenager had a successful trial period with United, appearing in a friendly game for the club’s under-23s against Huddersfield Town, and impressed the coaching staff sufficiently to be offered a three-year contract.

There had been no shortage of suitors eager to take him on and Beard encouraged him to join United over the likes of Chelsea and Spurs.  As things transpired, he was the first (and only) signing of the Ralf Rangnick era and became a regular in United’s under-18s and under-21s.

Originally given a three-year contract, in July 2024 he had it extended to 2027 with an option to extend to 2028.

Injuries hampered his early days at United but under-21s manager Travis Binnion told the Manchester Evening News: “We’re talking about a really good young player with high potential. “When you have a spell out of the game and have a couple of injuries that stop you playing, it takes a while to get going, but when we signed him, we had no doubts about what he was capable of – he’s a fantastic athlete and effective without the ball.

“Toby is also making great strides with the ball, so we’re talking there about someone who can be really effective in all moments of the game.”

It was in pre-season ahead of the 2024-25 season that Collyer saw action for the first team for the first time, being handed the captain’s armband when part of a complete half-time team change in a 1-0 defeat to Rosenborg in Norway.

He then started the 2-0 win over Rangers before getting another 45 minutes against Arsenal in Los Angeles.

Interviewed by United media’s Sam Carney about his first experience of an overseas tour with the first team, he said: “It’s really, really, really valuable. Everyone wants to be able to play in the first team. So I think getting experiences like this in a stadium like this as well, it’s the top level, and obviously the opposition [was top level] as well today. 

“I’m taking everything step by step and hopefully I’ll get many more opportunities to show what I can do.”

Although United lost 2-1 to the Gunners, Collyer said: “I thought I had an okay game. I thought there was a lot of things I could have done better, but it’s great to experience a game like today and I can take it into the next game, and even into training tomorrow.”

United writer for The Athletic, Carl Anka, liked what he saw, observing: “Collyer is a calm operator on the ball, favouring safe, short passes either sideways or backwards, while showing himself capable of occasional long switch passes.

“He is also skilled at receiving the ball on the half turn, letting passes come across his body before swinging his hips around to protect the ball from opponents looking to pressure him.

“Tall, strong and with a good sense of how to delay opposition counter-attacks, there are moments where his play can resemble Declan Rice when he broke into West Ham United’s first-team squad.”

The reporter added: “Athletically gifted, Collyer can cover 20-30 yards quickly — but rather than sprint around with wild abandon in search of the ball, Collyer works to disrupt easy passes inside the opposition half. Collyer’s defensive work centres on blocking off the more obvious passes opponents can make before looking to intercept the ball for his team.”

Interviewed for United’s matchday programme, United Review, Collyer talked about sharing the field with the likes of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be able to reach the level I’ve got to at the minute. I think as much as I’ve done hard work, they’ve worked hard with me as well to help me and give me tips. It’s massive for me.”

Collyer earned a call up to the England under-20 squad in October 2024, and United’s Binnion said: “He’s a fantastic lad. He’s got a superb attitude and he’s getting what he deserves.”

He was on the bench for United’s 3-3 Europa League draw with FC Porto at the beginning of October but, later that month, was ruled out by injury; reports reckoning he would be sidelined for a month.

Shortly after Ruud Van Nistelrooy took over as manager at Leicester, The Sun reported the former United assistant manager was keen to take Collyer on loan. The newspaper also reported that former Albion midfielder Steve Sidwell had tipped Collyer to be a “shining star just like Kobbie Mainoo.”

Collyer was plunged into the heat of battle as a substitute in United’s dramatic FA Cup third round win at Arsenal on 12 January 2025, and Steven Railston, Manchester United writer for the Manchester Evening News, liked what he saw.

“Toby Collyer made his first appearance under Ruben Amorim against Arsenal and took his chance with both hands,” wrote Railston.

“The youngster was introduced to the game with nine minutes of normal time remaining and deserves praise for the maturity he demonstrated under immense pressure.”

The reporter noted that Amorim chose to introduce Collyer over the more experienced Casemiro, who was available on the bench and wrote: “The 21-year-old embraced the occasion when it was possible to be overawed, seemed to cover every blade of grass and proved to United’s new head coach that he can provide value to the squad.”

Seething Knight dumped O’Callaghan for telling him how to run the Albion

CORK-BORN George O’Callaghan had something of a yo-yo footballing career after bursting onto the professional scene as a talented teenager.

Eyed by Arsenal and Spurs when he was in his formative years at Port Vale (then in the Championship), he turned to drink when ex-Albion captain and manager Brian Horton dropped him from the Vale first team.

Although the tall midfielder worked his way back into contention, he returned home to Ireland to rebuild his career before making several other attempts to succeed in the English game.

Over the course of five years, he was an influential cog in Cork’s League of Ireland side, the highlight coming with a championship win in 2005 when he scored eleven goals from midfield and was voted League Player of the Season.

He survived meningitis in 2006 just a handful of months before another Championship side, Ipswich Town, gave him another opportunity to make it in England but he struggled to hold down a place at Portman Road.

After only 13 appearances, the Tractor Boys were prepared to offload him to third tier Brighton. A deal was agreed in August 2007 but he made the move on loan rather than permanently because he still thought he could make it in Suffolk.

By then 28, the player brought experience and creativity to Dean Wilkins’ largely young side, slotting in effectively in the centre of Albion’s midfield alongside Dean Hammond, making 16 starts and one appearance off the bench.

But his Irish gift of the gab brought it all to a messy end. He publicly criticised chairman Dick Knight’s handling of contract negotiations in an explosive article in The Argus and didn’t play for the Seagulls again.

The Irishman told reporter Andy Naylor he thought the team was in danger of falling apart because chairman Knight had been too slow to sort out contracts and loans.

Knight countered: “We have given him the chance to shine and show his talents. It’s not George O’Callaghan’s business to tell the club what we should be doing.”

The midfielder spoke out after Albion capitulated 3-0 at Millwall on Boxing Day. He told Naylor: “There are a lot of lads who are very important to this team that don’t know if they are coming or going and I think it’s about time the club got a grip on it and sorted it out, because it has dragged on for too long and I feel it is starting to affect the players.

“I just don’t think it is right and it’s something the club needs to look at. It used to happen at Cork City when I was there and we lost a lot of good players. We lost Kevin Doyle and Shane Long for peanuts over contracts not being sorted out early and quickly.

“It makes you angry as a player. I can cope with it, because I am a lot older than the other lads, but the young lads are really upset and it’s not right.”

O’Callaghan’s version of events the club would have wanted to keep to themselves plainly differed from Knight’s while Wilkins was stuck in the middle.

“I know the manager tries his best behind the scenes,” said O’Callaghan. “He is fantastic. I think he works with a very small budget. It must be more frustrating for him, because he has built a team and it could easily fall apart now.

No holding back where O’Callaghan was concerned

“Things should have been sorted out a lot quicker. It has been a big thing in the squad in the last few weeks. I’ve mentioned it and the club need to sort it out now.”

The Irishman said he had encountered something similar at Ipswich the previous season, pointing out players just needed to know where they stood.

“I don’t want to stay and then see our best lads go, like Hammo,” he reasoned. “If we want to make that push for the play-offs and get back into the Championship it needs to be sorted.”

Knight was in no mood to take that sort of broadside from a loan player and told the reporter: “The team’s performance was absolutely woeful. I think certain players should be looking at themselves before trying to deflect criticism elsewhere. I thought it was a disgrace.

“George O’Callaghan is totally out of order. I would suggest he is trying to deflect attention away from his own performance, which was frankly poor, and he wasn’t the only one.

“Young players within the club are dealt with contract wise as and when the time is right.”

Knight maintained that he’d already agreed with Ipswich that both O’Callaghan and fellow Town loanee Matt Richards could extend their loans until the end of the season but neither player wanted to commit to it until they’d explored other options.

Unsurprisingly, O’Callaghan’s stay with the Seagulls came to an abrupt end and he returned to Portman Road.

Sidestepping the spat with Knight, O’Callaghan reckoned his return to Ipswich was his decision, telling The Argus: “I enjoyed playing regularly at Brighton but I spoke with the gaffer and decided it is right to try again at Ipswich and try to get first team action.

“They are a good bunch of lads at Brighton and I enjoyed playing with them so I hope things work out for them.”

When a month later there was no look-in happening with the Tractor Boys, he returned to Ireland once again to play for his old club, Cork City. It was part of a familiar pattern.

Deadline day signings David Martot and George O’Callaghan

O’Callaghan had joined the Albion on loan (the same day David Martot signed a similar arrangement from Le Havre) on August transfer deadline day having rejected a permanent move earlier that month (the clubs had agreed a £60,000 deal plus £15,000 based on appearances).

The player said at the time: “It would be a shame to leave Ipswich because the supporters have been brilliant to me, even though they never saw enough of me, and all the lads are fantastic, but I need to be playing regular football.”

Town manager Jim Magilton praised O’Callaghan’s ability and attitude and empathised with his frustration at not getting a run in the side. He said: “I don’t want to lose George but I wouldn’t stand in his way. He has been great since he has been here. He is very popular in the dressing room and he has done very well.

Tractor Boy O’Callaghan

“But he is 28 years of age and needs to be playing games. I have been there, so totally understand how frustrating it can be. We will do anything we can to help him.

“I have absolutely no problems with George. He has been top class since he came here. His attitude is first-class in training and in games.”

O’Callaghan had impressed Knight in a reserves match when Ipswich beat the Seagulls’ second string.

When O’Callaghan finally agreed the temporary move, Albion also wanted his Town teammate Richards on loan, but he too prevaricated, only to change his mind the following month. It was the first of three loan spells with the Albion. Brighton also wanted a third Ipswich player, injury-prone Dean Bowditch, who had briefly been on loan the previous season, and he eventually returned for a month in 2008.

Born in Cork on 5 September 1979, O’Callaghan left Ireland as a teenager to pursue his football dream and in a March 2020 podcast with the Irish Examiner, he talked about his early days at Port Vale when he was regarded as one of the hottest properties in football.

“Arsenal came in for me when I was 18,” he said. “I was waiting outside the manager John Rudge’s office and Pat Rice, who was Arsene Wenge’s assistant at the time, came out and said: ‘George, we can’t get you this time, we’ll get you next time,’.”

When the youngster protested to Rudge, he was told Arsenal had only offered £1m for him and Vale wanted £2m. O’Callaghan continued to progress in Vale’s Championship team but when Rudge was replaced by Horton, he was demoted back to the youth team.

In another podcast, A Footballer’s Life, O’Callaghan admitted to Graham Cummins that he turned to drink as his promising career stalled. “You’re responsible for your own actions so it’s ultimately your own fault. But nobody looked out for me or had my back at the club. Nobody caught me and said, ‘George, what’s going on, you’re not yourself’.

“Those days, the clubs didn’t care, it was old school, you were put out to do the job and if you didn’t you were replaced.

“You never asked anyone for help in those days. I kind of went into meltdown. Everything unravelled, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

When he eventually got back in the first team picture, he said Arsenal’s north London rivals Spurs then showed an interest in him. “David Pleat tried to sign me for Tottenham. But Brian Horton said: ‘You’re doing really well,’ and offered me a two-year deal and doubled my money.”

He asked Rudge’s opinion about the situation and when told he should stay at Vale because he’d struggle to get games for Spurs, he stayed put. “I took his advice and signed the contract. Within about 14 months I was finished, sent home.

“It was a massive mistake, a big, big mistake. I was too comfortable in the situation I was in. I probably didn’t have the guts to go ahead with it. I loved playing for Port Vale but I should have pushed for Arsenal and Tottenham. And then you can always go out on loan if it doesn’t work out.”

One of O’Callaghan’s early matches for Albion was against his old club and unsurprisingly he was a natural interviewee before the game. “It is a very special club to me because I started off my career there when I was only 15,” he told The Argus.

The Irishman scored four goals in 22 league starts plus 12 sub appearances for Vale and felt he probably had a point to prove coming up against them (Albion won 1-0 with a goal from Alex Revell).

“I never showed Port Vale fans what I can do,” he said. “I took a few wrong roads when I was a kid and it has taken me a while to get back to where I am now.

“It will be nice to put on a good performance and show them what they have missed; the player I have turned into. I never fulfilled my potential there.

“I started off doing well there as a kid but I didn’t really have the right guidance and it all went pear-shaped. As soon as John Rudge left as manager and Brian Horton came in, my chances were limited. I think that is where it all went wrong.

“Obviously, I wasn’t his type of footballer. People said he was a good footballer, but he wanted physical lads.

“Maybe at the time I wasn’t physical enough and he didn’t fancy me. I don’t blame him in any way because at the end of the day it is all down to yourself and how you look after yourself.”

He added: “I had so many knocks there that it took the fire out of me. I had to go back to Cork to get that fire back into me and build my career again.

“It was a big learning curve in my life. I lost my career in English football for a while and had to battle hard to get back.”

The player’s topsy-turvy career continued back at Cork City before he had another go in England, spending eight months at Tranmere Rovers. Once again he returned to Ireland, this time to play for Dundalk, but the lure of the English game beckoned again.

O’Callaghan linked up with Yeovil Town in the summer of 2009 and played in three pre-season friendlies. In the opening months of the season, he made 15 appearances (including six from the bench) but found it difficult to break into the team past the partnership of Jean-Paul Kalala and Shaun MacDonald.

Next stop, in December that year, was Waterford but before long he was back at Cork City once again. Brentford took him on a two-week trial but nothing came of it and instead he went to then Conference side Cambridge United but didn’t feature.

The wandering Irishman at one point tied his luck with Brunei side Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota but he got into trouble for failing to bow to the Crown Prince.

His old Brighton and Ipswich teammate Nicky Forster took him on at Dover Athletic but he only played once for the Conference South team, and he announced his retirement on Christmas Eve 2012.

He briefly managed Sabah in the Malaysia Premier League in 2014 but he struggled to deal with El Hadji Diouf and was sacked in January 2015 when he started missing training sessions.

Four years after playing what he thought was his last game, he turned out for junior Cork club Rockmount.

After packing up playing, O’Callaghan became an agent and spent a year as a business development manager for William Hill. He was a general manager for gym chain Anytime Fitness for two years and later co-founded agency TEN Sports Management.

High-flying Canary Culverhouse flew with lowly Seagulls too

ONE-TIME Norwich City hero Ian Culverhouse flew high in the Premier League and Europe with the Canaries and ended his playing days at basement Brighton where he began a lengthy coaching and managing career.

It was only at the end of November 2024 that Culverhouse began a new managerial post, taking charge of sixth tier (National League South) side St Albans City.

A few weeks previously he had parted company from Boston United because they were struggling to come to terms with life in the tier above.

Culverhouse was brought to Brighton by Brian Horton in 1998, shortly after he’d been picked up by non-league Kingstonian having been given a free transfer earlier in the year by Swindon Town. He’d spent three and a half years at the County Ground, including being a key player in their Second Division Championship-winning squad of 1995-96, but left the Robins after falling-out with manager Steve McMahon.

He’d only played twice for Kingstonian before he joined Brighton, who were playing in exile at Gillingham at the time.

Signed on a monthly contract initially, his presence as a sweeper helped plug holes at the back and saw Torquay United, Scarborough and Swansea City all beaten. But after two months, Horton decided to dispense with a sweeper and play a flat back four, so Culverhouse was let go.

But when Albion promptly lost 3-1 to Mansfield Town without him, Horton had a change of heart. He re-signed Culverhouse before a week was up, gave him a contract until the end of the season and even made him captain (in the absence of injured Gary Hobson). Quite some turnaround.

“He was one of the best readers of the game the Albion have had,” reckoned wearebrighton.com. “Culverhouse would always be in the right place at the right time, on the scene to stop danger before anybody realised that there was danger coming.”

The musically-minded wags amongst the Albion die-hards also found the perfect terrace song for him – sung to the tune of Our House by Madness, ‘Culverhouse, in the middle of defence’ became a popular ditty.

He completed 38 appearances for the Seagulls that season and took his first steps towards a coaching and managing career under Horton’s successor, Jeff Wood, when he began coaching the reserve side. Wood said: “Ian has shown on the field that he is a player of immense ability. In his new coaching role, he will now have the opportunity to pass his knowledge on to the younger players at the club.”

A grateful Culverhouse added: “This is a good opportunity for me and I am looking forward to it.

“It’s the first chance I’ve had to coach and it’s something I wanted to do anyway when my career finished. It has just come at a nice time.”

Albion’s then chairman, Dick Knight, told the Argus: “Ian has impressed me greatly with not only his experience but his attitude.

“He has been a real leader in the dressing room as well as on the field and we are giving him a chance to bring that know-how to bear on the coaching side.”

Culverhouse was retained as reserve team coach after Micky Adams took over from Wood towards the end of the season, and the new boss told the Argus: “Ian reminds me a bit of myself. You have got to get on the ladder somewhere. He is enthusiastic, has had a good career and sets himself high standards.

“He has a lot to learn in terms of coaching, but I hope he will become fully qualified along with the rest of my staff.

“He will still be registered as a player as well in case we need him in emergencies, but I don’t envisage him playing too many games.”

In fact, there was just the one final first team appearance for him, when Adams tried to bring a halt to a six-game winless run at the start of 2000. But it didn’t go well and he was subbed off in a 2-0 defeat at Hull.

“It is fair to say we have possibly seen the last of Culvs in a first team shirt,” Adams admitted later. “He is still registered as a player, but his career is probably over. It was me that persuaded him to play at Hull. He wasn’t sure he would be up to it in terms of fitness.”

Born in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, on 22 September 1964, Culverhouse was in the England Youth squad for an international junior tournament in Norway in the summer of 1982, starting in a 4-1 defeat to the home nation and gaining a second cap as a sub in a 3-2 win over Poland.

In the same year, he began as an apprentice at Tottenham. He impressed in Spurs’ youth and reserve sides and spent three years at the Lane. “I was playing alongside players like Ricky Villa, Ossie Ardiles and Glenn Hoddle, which was tremendous experience,” he said.

He even collected a UEFA Cup winners’ medal in 1984 as an unused substitute in the first leg of Spurs’ win (on penalties) over Anderlecht; future Albion boss Chris Hughton was left-back and recent signing from Albion, Gary Stevens, was in midfield, and scored one of the decisive penalties.

But Culverhouse only made one full appearance for the first team, plus one as a substitute, and in October 1985 moved to Norwich under Ken Brown for a £50,000 fee. He was part of the Norfolk club’s Second Division title-winning side of 1985-86 in his first season and became an established defender, usually as a right-back but also as a sweeper.

Culverhouse for the Canaries

He was part of the successful Canaries side that finished third in the inaugural Premier League season of 1992-93 after enjoying three top five finishes in the old First Division, reaching two FA Cup semi-finals (1989 and 1992) and playing in Europe (1993-94). He won the club’s player-of the-year award in 1990-91.

The excellent Norwich fans website Flown From The Nest blamed the Robert Chase regime for Culverhouse’s eventual departure from Carrow Road after nine years.

“From being an integral part of the City team that finished third in the Premiership and enjoyed UEFA Cup success, Ian Culverhouse found himself at the start of the 1994-95 season out of contract and out of favour with Robert Chase and manager John Deehan,” it said. “Similar problems had occurred the previous season with Dave Phillips.”

Culverhouse with the Robins

Together with the contract issues, Culverhouse went public to criticise Deehan’s decision to drop him, which ended any chance he had of regaining his place. Eventually, he was transferred to Swindon for the bargain sum of £150,000 in December 1994, the fee being fixed by a tribunal.

After he left Brighton in 2000, Culverhouse became youth coach at Barnet and two years later joined Leyton Orient in a similar role before being elevated to assistant manager. He left the Os in August 2005 – replaced by future Villa boss Dean Smith – but was then appointed coach at Wycombe Wanderers by former Swindon boss John Gorman.

When Paul Lambert succeeded Gorman, he and Culverhouse developed a strong bond. He followed Lambert to Colchester United to become assistant manager, then returned to Norwich in the same role, where he didn’t forget Wood’s role in setting him on the coaching ladder, being instrumental in the former Albion manager’s appointment as Norwich’s goalkeeping coach.

At the end of their first season, Lambert and Culverhouse steered Norwich to the League One title. The following season, they won promotion to the Premier League and finished 12th in their inaugural season back at the elite level. When Lambert quit Norwich to take charge at Aston Villa in July 2012, Culverhouse and fellow ‘lieutenant’ Gary Karsa followed him.

Coach at Villa under Paul Lambert

In June 2013, Lambert told the Birmingham Mail how much trust he placed in his right-hand man. “My assistant boss Ian Culverhouse has a real eye for a player,” he said. “If he reckons we should go for someone I will back his judgement 100 per cent.”

But in April 2014 Culverhouse and Karsa were suspended by the club after being accused of bullying and aggressiveness by players and other staff members, and they were sacked the following month.

Between January 2016 and February 2017, Culverhouse was assistant manager to veteran boss John Still at Dagenham & Redbridge. He left the Daggers to become manager of Southern League Premier Division side King’s Lynn Town. In May 2018, he moved on to Grantham Town but left after only five months and returned to King’s Lynn.

He led them to a second place finish in the Southern League, and. in the subsequent play-offs against Northern Premier League Warrington, saw the Linnets win 3-2 in extra time to earn a place in the National League (North) for 2019-20.

This was the Covid-affected season in which the fixtures weren’t completed. Lynn finished the games played two points behind York City with two games in hand. The National League board ultimately decided, using an “unweighted points per game” formula that Lynn would have won the title and they therefore gained promotion to the National League.

However, on 29 November 2021 he was sacked by Lynn on the back of a run of eight league defeats in a row which left the club second from bottom of the National League and struggling for survival. 

Two months later, he was back in management at National League North Kettering Town, together with assistant Paul Bastock, although that tenure only lasted four months.

Next stop was Boston United in September of the same year, a club all too familiar to Bastock, who played 679 games for the Pilgrims (and broke Peter Shilton’s record in competitive club football when he made his 1,250th appearance in the game in 2017).

The pair helped to preserve Boston’s league status in their first season and then guided them to promotion via the play-offs in May 2024. United’s struggle in higher company – only two wins in 16 matches – led to Culverhouse and Bastock leaving the Jakemans Community Stadium in October 2024.

Dislodged ‘keeper Ryan offered curious reprieve with Gunners

FEW FOOTBALL observers would have imagined an out of favour Brighton goalkeeper would get a move to Arsenal but that’s exactly what happened to Mat Ryan.

The Aussie no.1, Albion’s first choice goalkeeper for their first three seasons in the Premier League, surprisingly joined the Gunners having lost his Seagulls place to young Spaniard Robert Sanchez.

“We know Mat very well through his performances with Brighton in recent seasons and he brings additional quality to our squad,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta told the club’s website. “Mat has very good Premier League experience and has played over 100 times in the league, which is something that will benefit us greatly on and off the pitch.”

Technical director Edu added: “Mat is an experienced goalkeeper, a proven talent in the Premier League and has also played many internationals for Australia.

“Mat will further strengthen our squad with his experience and knowledge of playing at the highest level.”

The goalkeeper himself, a self-confessed boyhood Arsenal fan, relished the opportunity but found himself under fire from Brighton fans when he told Optus Sport: “I had in my mind a little bit of a plan that I wanted to play a couple of seasons at Brighton and try and do well and hopefully be bought by a bigger club and keep progressing in my career.

In action for the Gunners

“Perhaps it didn’t work out in the way of playing two, three seasons and then being bought for a fee as no.1 and going and playing.

“But one way or another I’ve obviously ended up in a massive step up from Brighton and to another level of football.”

For someone who had always previously endeared himself to the Albion faithful, memorably running the length of the pitch to join teammates in goal celebrations and after games handing out bits of his kit to supporters, it struck a discordant note.

When Ryan learned how his comments had angered some Brighton supporters, he took to Instagram to address them.

“I want to apologise to anyone who has felt I’ve been disrespectful towards the club. This was not and never will be my intention.

“I recognise how people could have interpreted that through those comments and, moving forward, I’ll be sure to pay extra attention as to how I refer to the club to not have the same outcome.

Albion’s no.1

“The club will always have a special place in my heart. I’ve got nothing but fond memories and wish all the best to you all for the remainder of the season and I’ll always continue to support the club because of our experiences together.”

Those experiences began ahead of Albion’s first season (2017-18) playing in the Premier League. Previous no.1 David Stockdale had chosen to move to Birmingham City, who were offering him a longer-term deal than Brighton, so the coast was clear for Ryan, already an established Australian international, to become Chris Hughton’s first choice goalkeeper.

Hughton himself admitted in an interview with the Argus that Ryan’s arrival had more to do with goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts. “He is the one who went to see him play, watched hours and hours of video.

“I didn’t see him live. Ben just thought he was a player at the right age, really enthusiastic. He’s different, not as big as some of the other keepers, but very athletic and really hungry to do well.

“I certainly watched a lot of him on video. We also, of course, have recommendations from our scouts but Ben is the one who looked at him and recommended him. You have to have faith in your staff.”

For his part, Ryan appreciated the work Roberts put in on the training ground. “Ben has a real knack of getting his goalkeepers in the best physical and mental shape in order to be best prepared for the opposition that we’re facing,” he told the matchday programme.

Signed from La Liga’s Valencia for a then club record transfer fee of £5 million, he played all 38 league games in his first season under Hughton, only missed four because of international commitments in 2018-19 and all league games in Graham Potter’s first season in charge.

In an early matchday programme interview, he spoke about how he had learned about life in the Premier League from fellow Aussie ‘keeper Mark Schwarzer (“a big hero of mine”) and, when on international duty, from former Aston Villa and Man Utd ‘keeper Mark Bosnich.

Ryan more often than not proved a reliable stopper for the Albion and he twice won Australia’s PFA Player of the Year award.

“At this level, you’ve got to be consistent,” he said. “Every day you’ve got to work hard on every aspect of your game and I’ve tried to do that.

“I try to contribute to the team as much as possible and it’s that constant challenge that you’ve got to try and live up to and, I guess, is what separates good players from great players – remaining consistent and sustaining those very high levels.”

And according to wearebrighton.com: “At his best throughout the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, he was one of the most dependable number ones in the Premier League whose performances did more than most to keep Brighton in the top flight.”

He was sorry to see Hughton sacked – “Brought the club success it could only dream of and will always be someone I have the highest respect for” – but was happy to adapt to Potter’s more possession-based style in which the goalkeeper needed to be comfortable with the ball at his feet.

“It’s important we adapt to the new style so the system works as effectively as possible,” he said. “In the modern game you have to be able to adapt anyway, so each day I’m working hard and doing what’s being asked of me.”

The beginning of the end of his time at the Albion came when, out of the blue, young Sanchez was chosen to keep goal in a 2-1 defeat at Spurs after the Seagulls had managed only one win in the first six matches of the 2020-21 season.

Although restored to the starting line-up for the following five matches, following a 3-0 defeat at Leicester, Ryan was summoned by Potter and told Sanchez would be given an extended run in the side and that, assuming he wanted a no.1 berth, he would be better looking for a new club.

The conversation staggered Ryan and, ever a willing interviewee, told The World Game he was surprised and shocked but added: “Knowing where I stand now, from what was communicated to me, perhaps it might be better that we do go our separate ways.

“However, until that opportunity comes – and it’s a good project – then, as far as I’m concerned, I’m a Brighton player and I’m here to fight for my spot.”

Taking the opposite stance to the one Sanchez subsequently took when Jason Steele ousted him as no.1, Ryan vowed to continue to work hard.

“I still feel like I’ve got a lot to contribute and I’ll be trying to convince the manager I’m the best man for the job,” he said.

“I feel the experience I’ve picked up over the last three years in England shows I’ve got plenty to give to any club that wants to acquire my services.

“I think I’ve proved that through my performances.”

It was never particularly clear why Ryan eventually fell out of favour, although he ventured some ideas in an exclusive interview with Andy Naylor for The Athletic in March 2022.

He remembered at the start of the 2020-21 season noting there had been rumours around Albion being interested in signing Emiliano Martinez (who eventually went from Arsenal to Aston Villa) and when his (Ryan’s) agent tried to ask the club about it no one answered his call.

He was also heading into his fourth season of a five-year contract, but his agent wasn’t getting any response as to whether there would be a renewal.

“Thinking back, after all that has happened, maybe that was a sign,” Ryan told Naylor. “At the time, I wasn’t thinking anything of it, but when I think back now, maybe these were little signs.”

The loan move to Arsenal might have been brief – he had a won one, drew one, lost one record in three games – but his commitment to the cause was appreciated.

In a game against Fulham, a minute before the final whistle, Ryan went up for a corner and got his head on the ball to keep it live in the Fulham box before Eddie Nketiah equalised a few seconds later.

“I picked him because he totally deserves to play, he trains like a beast, he’s got the right attitude and he needed a game,” Arteta told Arsenal.com. “It was a great header.”

It led to him being chosen ahead of Bernd Leno for the 2 May trip to Newcastle which Arsenal won 2-0.

Although Arteta made all the right noises about signing him on a permanent basis, it turned out they wanted an English goalkeeper and they signed Aaron Ramsdale instead.

While awaiting news of where his next move would be, Ryan told Fox Sports Australia: “I’ve learnt so much in my experiences (at Arsenal) so far, all that’s being with a club like that, the resources, the personnel, the quality on the pitch, the enormity of the club on a global aspect… it was so cool to be a part of.

“It was a great experience and I was really proud of how I did and really content with how I did, and I showed that I have the capability to play at a level like that. I look forward to seeing what that little period now means for me moving forward.”

It was clear there would be no return to the Albion no.1 spot but warm words were issued when his summer departure to Real Sociedad was announced.

Potter declared: “He’s a great guy, top professional and as someone who wants to be playing regularly at senior level he goes to Real Sociedad with our very best wishes. 

“He’s been a pleasure to work with, he will be fondly remembered by everyone and always welcome back at the club.”

Unfortunately for Ryan, a knee cartilage injury suffered in pre-season put a hold on him mounting a challenge to Sociedad’s well-established Alex Remiro, and he had limited chances to shine back in Spain.

Nonetheless, his confidence remained high and he told Naylor in The Athletic article: “I’m a very good goalkeeper – a world-class goalkeeper. Since I left Brighton, I feel the level I’ve played at in the games I’ve played in has been quite high.

“Don’t get me wrong, every time the team list goes up and I see I’m not playing, it’s a blow – a kick in the guts – but I try using it as motivation to keep pushing on. I won’t stop until I see my name there more regularly.”

Born on 8 April 1992 in Plumpton, New South Wales, as a teenager Ryan played for semi-professional sides Marconi Stallions and Blacktown City before turning pro with Central Coast Mariners in 2010, where he was given his pro debut by Graham Arnold, later his head coach at international level.

In the course of his three years with the Mariners, he picked up various league accolades for his performances and earned his first international recognition when selected for Australia’s under 23s in 2011. He stepped up as a full international the following year making his debut in a 1-1 draw with North Korea and played all three matches in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil before winning the AFC Asian Cup with the Socceroos in 2015. He went on to play for his country at the 2018 and 2022 World Cup final tournaments and, at the time of writing, had 95 caps to his name.

Aussie international stopper

It was in 2013 that he moved to Europe and was signed by Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge, where he made more than 100 appearances over two years and was in the side that won the Belgian Cup in 2015 when Anderlecht were beaten 2-1 in Brussels. Ryan was the league’s goalkeeper of the year in 2014 and 2015.

An unhappy spell at Valencia followed where he managed only 21 appearances in two years, as the club got through five different managers. He spent the second half of the 2016-17 season back in Belgium, on loan to Genk, where he played 24 matches.

It would be fair to say Ryan has endured mixed fortunes since leaving Brighton. He managed only nine games for Sociedad before switching to FC Copenhagen but he only made six Danish Superliga starts and appeared in five cup matches while in Denmark.

AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands were able to offer him a return to being a regular no.1, though, and in 18 months he played 64 matches for the Eredivisie side, including 15 Europa Conference League games.

At the end of the 2023-24 season, he failed to agree a new deal with the club and the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that he ‘lost his game of poker’ with AZ’s sporting director Max Huberts, the club walking away from negotiations due to his wage demands.

As a free agent, Ryan joined Albion’s 2023-24 Europa League opponents AS Roma on a one-year contract as back-up to Serbian first choice ‘keeper, Belgian-born Serbian international Mile Svilar.

“If they get the Brighton version of Mathew Ryan, Roma will have a very safe pair of hands waiting in the wings,” reckoned Eliot Ben-Ner, writing for The Football Hub.

However, Ryan’s reign in Rome lasted only six months and in January 2025 he moved for a reported fee of £676,000 to French Ligue 1 side Lens on a six-month deal.