Tag: Bath City

They came to Brighton from the land of the midnight sun

ARGUABLY the most successful Norwegian to have played for the Albion was defender Leo Østigård, who represented Norway at the recent World Cup.

As I covered in a recent blog post about him, Østigård was impatient for first team football and moved on without taking that step up with the Seagulls.

Nevertheless, he said: “For a Norwegian player to come over to England and be involved with a Premier League team is really good, and obviously makes me very proud.

“I know that a lot of people from Norway are watching me and keeping track of my progress, so it’s always great to be involved in such a big team – football is massive in this country and it’s fantastic.”

• A left-sided defender who was already an experienced Norwegian international when he joined up with Chris Hughton’s promotion-chasing Championship side in 2017 only got as far as Albion’s subs bench.

Vegard Forren, 29 at the time, was signed in March 2017 as back-up when central defensive cover in that position was limited.

Hughton said: “Vegard is a player the club had been aware of for some time, and with the absence of Shane Duffy and Connor Goldson, we felt it was important to take this opportunity to add to our defensive options.

“Vegard has played the majority of his career for Molde, one of the top clubs in Norway, and has an excellent pedigree having also played in the Champions League, Europa League and 33 times for his country.

“With Shane out for a minimum of six weeks, alongside Lewis Dunk, Uwe Huenemeier and Fikayo Tomori, Vegard gives us another central defensive option for the run-in.”

Earlier in his career, Forren was at Southampton for six months, but he spent ten years with Molde, winning three championships and two domestic cups.

He had turned down a new contract at the club the previous season and left the club when the domestic season ended in November. He had been pre-season training with Norwegian side Rosenborg before joining the Albion.

• Back in the Gus Poyet era, striker Torbjørn (‘Toby’) Agdestein spent three years as an Albion player but his time was spent mainly with the development squad with occasional sub appearances for the first team.

Born in Stord, Norway, on 29 November 1991, Agdestein went through the ranks at Stord Idrettslag where he was spotted by Brighton.

In his early days with the club, he had a short loan spell with Bath City, and 13 goals in 13 appearances for the development squad earned him a new two-year deal in March 2012.

Poyet told the club website: “Toby has understood what we have been trying to teach him from the beginning and under Luke Williams (development squad coach) he has become a better player.

“He can play anywhere in attack and he knows when to pass the ball, when to keep the ball and when to shoot.

“He’s a great prospect for the club and he’s produced it for us when he’s come on in first-team games. I know that I can count on him.”

Agdestein in action for Albion v Wrexham

After impressing in Albion’s first two pre-season friendlies in July 2012 Poyet urged him to push for more first team action.

“I’m promising nothing because if I tell you now he is a first team player and next week he doesn’t touch the ball, he doesn’t make any decisions, he doesn’t go past people, he doesn’t score, then he is going to go down (to the development squad),” Poyet cautioned.

“The thing is right now he is with us in the first team squad. The opportunity is there to stay with us. He knows that.”

As it turned out, his contract was terminated by mutual consent with a year left on it and he moved to the north of Scotland to join Inverness Caledonian Thistle, under former England international Terry Butcher.

Butcher told the Daily Record: “He is 6ft 1ins tall and gives us the option of height up front, quite a contrast with wee Billy McKay, our top striker.

“We like the look of Torbjorn, he’s young and strong and willing to learn.

“We’re happy he has agreed to sign until the January window to boost our attacking resources and we can make a decision at that point.”

However, having made only 13 league and cup appearances as a sub, he decided to return to Norway and he played variously for Haugesund, Kristiansund, Odd and Ålesund before returning to his old club, Stord.

• COMBATIVE midfielder Mathias Normann eventually made it to the Premier League with Norwich City having not got beyond Brighton’s under-23 development squad.

Indeed, two of Normann’s 21 (plus three sub appearances) games for the Canaries in 2021-22 were in central midfield in home and away goalless draws with the Seagulls.

When he joined Simon Rusk’s squad from Norwegian second tier side Bodø/Glimt in July 2017, he told the matchday programme: “This is a dream come true for me and it’s very nice for me to be here.

“It’s something that I have always wanted to do since I was a little boy, so this is absolutely fantastic.”

However, within a month, Normann was sent on a season-long loan back to his homeland to play for top tier (Elitserien) Molde under Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

The former Manchester United player and manager said at the time: “He is a quality player, which he particularly demonstrated in the Tippeligaen last year when he showed clear leadership qualities. He complements the other midfielders we have in an excellent way.”

Born in Svolvær on 28 May 1996, Normann began his football career at Svolvær and Lofoten FK before moving to Bodø/Glimt ahead of the 2013 season. He was loaned to Alta for the 2015 season.

On his return to Brighton in the summer of 2018 after the season with Molde, he was sent off (for two yellow cards) on his debut for the under-23s in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool.

Team boss Rusk said: “He is quite combative and I think it was the right decision. Maybe when he is a little more match sharp, with a few more games under his belt, he might not be picking up that second yellow.”

Normann played in the same Albion side as Ben White, Østigård, Aaron Connolly and Viktor Gyökeres that drew 2-2 with Peterborough United and beat MK Dons 3-2 in the Checkatrade Trophy.

He featured 11 times for the under-23s but the following January left on a permanent basis to join Russian club FC Rostov.

Rusk said at the time: “It’s been enjoyable to work with Mathias during his time at the club, but this move makes sense for all parties involved, with it being an excellent move for him.”

It was from Rostov that Norwich signed Normann on loan and City boss Daniel Farke told the club’s official website. “It’s not easy for us to bring a player in who had many clubs interested in him.

“We see lots of potential in Mathias and he’s capable to play in several roles. He’s quite versatile in the midfield positions.

“Quite often, he plays the holding midfield position. But he’s very good with his passing choices and is a good technical player. He’s not the tallest but is still very good in the air and in the duels.”

Ahead of that first game he played against the Albion, The Argus asked the opinion of Connor Southwell, who covers the Canaries for the Eastern Daily Press.

“The biggest compliment I can give to Mathias Normann is that he’s been the best player for Norwich in every game he has played.

“I’ve been sat in the press box at both Everton and Burnley and on both occasions local media for the opposition have praised his efforts,” said Southwell.

“He’s added a real quality into Norwich’s midfield and has rapidly become the first name on the team sheet. He combines tenacity with technical quality with ease.”

Normann made his full Norway debut in 2019 and went on to earn 12 full caps. After his season with Norwich, he returned to Russia to play for Dynamo Moscow, then in 2023 moved to the Middle East where he has since played for Saudi side Al-Raed, Qatari outfit Al-Sailiya and another Qatari side, Al-Gharafa, on loan.

• With the signing of people like Anthony Knockaert, Jiri Skalak and Steve Sidwell plus Liam Ridgewell on loan, Henrik Bjørdal’s arrival at Brighton for a reported £300,000 from Ålesund in January 2016 rather went under the radar.

And that’s pretty much where he stayed because Chris Hughton had plenty more experienced wingers at his disposal with the likes of Knockaert, Solly March and Jamie Murphy.

The player spoke about his prospects in an interview with Andy Naylor for The Argus in January 2017, when he declared: “I didn’t come here to play too much under-23 football. I was hoping I would be close to first team level. I want to play at as high a level as possible, of course.

“I feel like I have made progress, but it’s a promotion team. It’s very difficult to come in, I know that.”

While recognising the difficulty of breaking into the first team picture, Bjørdal told Naylor: “Anthony is a player I like to watch and learn from.

“He’s a skilful player who likes to beat his man. I’m the same type of player and I want to do the same sort of things as him, so of course I want to train with the first team and try to see what he’s doing, to be as good as him.”

He added: “It’s more difficult to play a game when the team is top of the table but I like that challenge. It’s good to be around a team who wins almost every week.”

Born in Ålesund on 4 February 1997, Bjørdal played youth football for IL Valder then progressed through Norwegian top tier side Ålesund’s youth ranks to their first team.

His switch to the Albion found him playing in front of far fewer people than he had been used to; his hometown club often had crowds of 7,000 in a 10,000-capacity stadium.

“It’s a little bit different from playing at Crawley! It’s a bit more silent than I was used to,” he said.

“I played for them in the first team for two seasons, in the top league, playing against good teams. It’s not easy to compare.”

Two months after that interview, he was loaned to Swedish side IFK Göteborg until the end of that season.

When the breakthrough at Brighton didn’t materialise, in June 2018 Bjørdal made a permanent move to Belgian side Zulte Waregem and in an interview with Ålesund’s newspaper, Sunnmørsposten, he said: “The time in England didn’t quite turn out as I imagined.

“When I look back at it, there are periods I’ve been frustrated, but I’ve come out stronger mentally and as a player. It’s been good for me.”

From Belgium, he returned to Norway and since 2020 has played for Oslo-based Vålerenga.

The strange tale of Lorenzo Pinamonte, a gentleman of Verona

IF CASH-STRAPPED Brighton hadn’t been outbid by Brentford for a little-known Italian striker in the opening months of the 21st century, a teenage forward who went on to earn a place in the club’s history might never have appeared in an Albion shirt.

‘If only’, ‘but’ and ‘maybe’ preface many a football fan’s dashed hopes but in the case of Lorenzo Pinamonte, it seems the Gods were smiling on the Seagulls.

The imposing Italian scored only three goals in 26 appearances for the Bees after their £75,000 gazumped Albion’s bid to take him permanently from Bristol City.

Thankfully Brighton’s fortunes were vastly improved by the chap they signed instead: a raw reserve at City’s neighbours Rovers called Bobby Zamora!

Let’s go back to the last month of the 20th century. After a spectacular start to life back in Brighton following the two-year exile playing home games at Gillingham – including an opening day 6-0 crushing of Mansfield Town – mid-table Albion were struggling to find the back of the net with any consistency.

Twice-red-carded striker Darren Freeman missed multiple games through suspension, former soldier David Cameron struggled to cut it at leading the line, and former England Youth international Aidan Newhouse didn’t live up to Micky Adams’ expectations either.

That’s when Adams turned to the first Italian to represent the Albion, 22-year-old 6’3” Pinamonte, who was struggling to get a game under Tony Pulis, then boss of the relegated Robins (they’d dropped down to the third tier the season before).

He made his debut for ‘flu-hit Albion away to Swansea City on a rainy night at the Vetch Field, only meeting his teammates for the first time when being picked up en route to Wales for the game.

“Pinamonte led the line as a lone striker,” recalled wearebrighton.com. “A thankless task was made even harder when the Albion were reduced to 10 men following a red card for Jamie Campbell with only 25 minutes played.”

While makeshift Albion lost 2-0 to the Swans, their run of defeats was halted courtesy of a 1-1 Boxing Day draw at home to Barnet and a last game of the century 3-1 win at Rotherham. The 3 January match at home to Exeter City not only famously saw Freeman score the first football league goal of the 21st century, it also featured a brace from the lanky loan signing as Albion won 4-2.

It seems Adams had seen enough to want to make Pinamonte’s move permanent, but matters became complicated when Pulis decided to quit the Robins and take over at Portsmouth.

Because the departing manager’s successor may have had a different view of the striker, he signed on loan for a second month, rather than permanently, Adams telling the Argus: “We are pleased to keep Lorenzo for another month. The situation at Bristol won’t be resolved for a few weeks, so a permanent deal is up in the air.”

The same article declared that Pinamonte wanted to join Albion permanently but the bid put in by chairman Dick Knight was below the asking price, and Brentford, a division above Albion at the time, had also made an offer.

Pinamonte unsurprisingly felt in limbo and confessed to being distracted when he played in a 1-0 defeat against Leyton Orient.

“In your mind you wonder what is happening, whether you are going to stay or go, so there was a little bit of confusion.

“That probably affected me. I was thinking about it, and perhaps not concentrating,” he said. “I think I have done well so far, but not in that game.”

Cover boy Lorenzo

The turn round in form took the Seagulls to within five points of a play-off place but Pinamonte’s head was turned by the chance to play at a higher level and Brentford eventually got their man.

Offered a lucrative three-and-a-half-year contract at Griffin Park, Pinamonte admitted to the Argus: “I am a little bit upset to be leaving and I would love to come back in the future. I wanted to stay but for my future it is better to leave. Money talks and I will be playing in a higher division.”

A disappointed Adams admitted he would have to look elsewhere for a big, hold-up striker. “We thought Dave Cameron would come in and be that big centre forward and Aidan Newhouse also. Unfortunately Dave prefers the ball into his body and feet so he can jink and turn.

“Big Lorenzo came in and gave us that other option. Gary Hart and Darren Freeman gambled off him. Now that he has gone, to get the best out of them and the other forwards at the club, we may need to bring another big man in.”

Adams later told Greville Waterman, one of the voices of authority on all things Brentford: “We were going through an indifferent spell and struggling for a big centre forward. David Cameron wasn’t up to it and we had been outbid by Brentford for Lorenzo Pinamonte, so I called Ian Holloway at Bristol Rovers who told me: ‘I have got a young lad who’s been on loan at Bath City. He’s only 19 and as raw as anything, but he has scored a few goals for them.’

“I was not totally convinced but we were desperate and the clincher was when Ian told me he was only earning £140 per week, so I said ‘send him down,’ and the rest is history!”

For his part, Pinamonte reflected some years later that his time at Brighton probably just came too early in his life. “Maybe if I had gone when I was 25 or 26 it would have been different for me,” he told Brian Owen of the Argus in 2016. “I enjoyed England but it probably came too early for me. I was there alone and I was very young.”

Pinamonte’s time at Brentford certainly divided opinion. ‘Smilely’ on griffinpark.org described him as “Lorenzo Pinthetailonthedonkey” but ‘Saffrey’ on the same platform said: “I think he’s been unlucky with (Ron) Noades as he was never really given a chance, as Uncle Ron brought in that donkey Steve ‘Murray’ Jones, when he should have given Pinamonte, who had recently joined the club, a decent run out.”

The Bees lured Pinamonte from Albion’s grasp – thankfully

‘Chalfont Bees’ reckoned: “All I’ve seen of Lorenzo is him getting booked or worse. He just doesn’t seem to be good enough at the moment and I can’t see him improving. I say cut our losses and get rid of him so as to give other strikers a chance.”

And ‘Holysmith’ opined: “Although Pinamonte hasn’t done much, he has a good strike rate for the amount of time he has played for Brentford. The problem is he doesn’t move about much.”

In the 2000-01 season, Pinamonte went out on a mid-season loan to Leyton Orient and at the season’s end he was released by Steve Coppell.

As he explained in that 2016 interview with Brian Owen, he then returned to Italy and spent eight years playing in the Italian third division until retiring as a pro at the age of 31.

Born on 9 May 1978, a gentleman of Verona (Caprino Veronese to be precise), the young Pinamonte was with southern Italy side Foggia before trying his luck in England. He joined Bristol City on a free transfer in the 1997-98 season.

In City’s disastrous 1998-99 season, when they were relegated from Division One (now the Championship) in bottom place, Pinamonte celebrated his 21st birthday by scoring the only goal of the game on his debut as Norwich City were beaten at Ashton Gate in the last fixture of the campaign.

With their fate already sealed and with an eye to the following season, Swedish manager Benny Lennartsson, who had won only five of the 30 games he’d taken charge of, chose to blood a few youngsters and handed Pinamonte his debut up front alongside £1.2m signing Ade Akinbiyi.

Five minutes before half time, the City faithful finally had a moment to cheer, as Bristol Evening Post reporter Richard Latham recorded. “Akinbiyi, made captain for the day against the club who launched his career, headed down a Micky Bell corner and Pinamonte stuck out a long right leg to find the top corner of the net from close range.”

Lennartsson was relieved of his duties at the end of the season and two months later he was replaced by former Gillingham boss Pulis, who sent the young Italian striker on a fruitless loan at Carlisle United (he didn’t play a game) before answering Brighton’s call for reinforcements.

Off the field, Albion’s matchday programme informed us how Pinamonte was staying at the Courtlands Hotel in Hove during his temporary stay where the manager was Italian Jo Guiseppe-Messina, and he had also enjoyed the hospitality of Angelo Cavalli, the owner of Topolino Duo restaurant in Hove.

Apart from scrapbook memories of his time with the Albion, Pinamonte continued his friendship with Cavalli; the restaurateur had been to visit him at the hotel at Lake Garda that he ran after his professional playing days were over.