Hopes for Hammers starlet Tony Stokes didn’t materialise

A YOUNG ATTACKING midfielder who Alan Pardew believed could make it played half a dozen games for Brighton but didn’t deliver on his early promise at West Ham.

It probably didn’t help Tony Stokes’ cause that Mark McGhee, the Albion manager who signed him, was sacked so early in the season. The youngster also dislocated a shoulder which subsequently put him out of action for eight months.

“He’s a good young player and they have high hopes for him,” McGhee had told the club website. “He’ll get on the ball and make things happen.”

The temporary move to League One Albion was Stokes’ second spell out on loan having played 19 games in League Two basement side Rushden and Diamonds’ unsuccessful battle against relegation from the league earlier in 2006.

“West Ham have very high hopes for him and the reviews that have come out of Rushden have been excellent,” said McGhee.

On North Stand Chat, a West Ham fan posted: “Stokes is one of three players that Pardew really thinks can make it in the big league, the other two being Kyle Reid and Hogan Ephraim. The boy’s been a star from under 15s onwards and likes to get on the scoresheet even though he plays in midfield.”

The Albion matchday programme declared Stokes had arrived at the Withdean with a glowing endorsement from Bobby Zamora, who was playing up front for the Hammers at the time.

“Bobby is a top lad. I get on really well with him, and he said to me what a good club this is and how he enjoyed his time here,” Stokes said. “I’m looking forward to my stay because being at a Premiership team makes it hard to get a chance. Hopefully I can play for the first team here at Brighton and show the fans and the manager – who has shown faith in me – what I can do.”

Stokes started on the left of Albion’s midfield trio (alongside Richard Carpenter and Dean Hammond) in each of the opening six matches and came on as a sub for Doug Loft in what turned out to be McGhee’s last game in charge, a 1-0 defeat at Bristol City on 2 September 2006. It was Stokes’ last appearance for Albion.

McGhee had revealed a week earlier that they had been delving into a stamina issue with the youngster, as he explained to the Argus. “We’ve felt in games that he has tired a little bit and we’ve actually discovered there’s a little bit of something going on in his system that West Ham have also discovered.

“It’s not medication but minerals and vitamins and certain things missing that have caused him to tire, so we expect more out of him as the weeks go on and as his fitness improves.

“He’s a footballer and we are playing football. He keeps the game ticking over, but I think he’s got a lot more to come.”

McGhee’s successor Dean Wilkins was keener to blood Albion’s own young talent but Stokes’ injury issue meant him returning early to West Ham anyway.

“I went up for a header and fell back on my arm. At first, I just carried on playing without too much discomfort, but then started to get a dead arm after coming off the pitch so I got it looked at again and it was decided an operation was needed to sort it out,” Stokes said in the West Ham matchday programme for the Hammers v Seagulls third round FA Cup tie in early January 2007.

“It’s not too bad and I am now waiting for it to heal properly so I can get back into training again.”

The youngster reflected positively on his time with the Albion, adding: “It was good for me to get a few matches under my belt, playing regular football. I played around eight or nine games while I was there and when I left to come back to West Ham, Brighton were in the top half, seventh place I think.

“I enjoyed it there, they wanted to try and go for the play-offs and promotion, so you always felt there was something to play for, and that’s good.

“I would go back to Brighton on loan. I liked it there.”

Born in Essex on 7 January 1987, Stokes first linked up with West Ham at the tender age of nine and the club website described him as “a combative but creative midfielder with an eye for goal who has impressed in coming through West Ham United’s youth ranks”.

His one and only competitive first team match for the Hammers came when he was 18, going on as a substitute for Tomas Repka in a 4-2 Carling Cup win away to Sheffield Wednesday in which Zamora scored twice for the Londoners.

“I will never ever forget my debut,” said Stokes. “It was a dream come true.”

In a 2015 interview, Stokes reflected on his eight months out injured saying: “In that time, Alan Pardew got the sack. I was always training with the first team, and in their matchday squads against the likes of Man Utd and Arsenal, but never did end up getting that final chance.”

Stokes was involved in non-competitive games, such as in July 2007 when he was a sub for Reid in Martin Ling’s testimonial at Leyton Orient, and the following day a sub for Freddie Ljungberg in a 3-2 friendly defeat away to MK Dons. Three days later, he was in Sussex playing for a West Ham XI in a 2-0 defeat to Lewes at the Dripping Pan and he also started for a West Ham XI that won 3-1 at Thurrock on 7 August.

Stokes produced some solid displays for the Hammers reserve team early in the 2007-08 season, raising hopes he could force his way into Alan Curbishley’s first-team reckoning – not least when he came off the bench and produced a stunning volley to force a 2-2 draw against Arsenal.

However, his next loan move was to Conference side Stevenage Borough in November 2007, where he played three matches under former Albion boss Peter Taylor.

In May 2008, Stokes was captain of academy coach Tony Carr’s young squad that took part in the Hong Kong Sevens tournament and was sent off in the Plate final which Hammers lost 3-2.

More involvement with the first-team group continued in the 2008 pre-season, Stokes twice appearing as a substitute during West Ham’s tour of North America. He went on as a sub in a 3-1 win over MLS side Columbus Crew and a 3-2 defeat to a MLS All Stars side featuring David Beckham in Toronto.

Back in the UK, he started a friendly away to Cambridge United which finished goalless and came on as a sub in a 2-2 friendly draw away to Southampton.

After Jack Collison was called up to the first team squad, Stokes took over as West Ham’s reserve team captain for the 2008-09 season. However, his career took an unexpected turn in February 2009 after a director of Hungarian side Újpest FC liked what he saw at a Hammers reserve match.

Stokes found himself heading out to Budapest on loan, and he told whufc.com: “I went on loan to the Hungarian team and it went really well. Then, when it came to the end of the season, my contract had run out at West Ham and Újpest wanted to keep me.

“They were playing in the Europa League, so that attracted me. I ended up playing in both legs of the second qualifying round defeat by Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League.

“We usually got crowds of between seven and eight thousand, but against Steaua, we got 15,000 at home and then played in front of 25,000 in the return leg in Romania. That was a great atmosphere to play in.

“For our home games, the supporters were just fantastic and the atmosphere was amazing. They would do absolutely everything to get a win.”

Stokes wore the no.6 lilac shirt for Újpest and quickly became a regular starter under Scottish manager Willie McStay.

“I loved it out in Hungary. The people were so polite and made me feel so welcome,” Stokes told Tomasz Mortimer of hungarianfootball.com.

Stokes signed a three-year deal and made 24 appearances for Újpest, but, although he enjoyed Budapest, he was homesick and came to an arrangement to end his contract after only 11 months.

Stokes played as a defensive midfielder although he said later his preferred position was “up top or just behind the front two”.

Although he couldn’t speak Hungarian, it helped that the manager and his assistant – Joe McBride – were English speakers along with three other players at the club at the same time: Gary Martin, Scott Malone and Mark Millar. “It did really help me because I didn’t feel alone and they were going through the same feelings I was about missing home,” he said.

“It takes a lot of bottle to just up and move to another country, especially if you don’t speak the language,” Stokes told hungarianfootball.com. “I would definitely go back abroad if it was worth it.”

In a statement on the club’s website, explaining his decision to return to the UK, he said: “I took a long time thinking about what to do before I arrived at the decision, that I would like to leave, subject to the club allowing this, and put my contract on hold.

“I am missing my family a lot. I found it hard to live alone in Hungary during the 14 months I was here.

“I really enjoyed playing for Újpest. I made many friends and also played with many good players. I will take with me many good memories of the club.”

Stokes felt the whole experience improved him as a person, and told football.london in 2017: “Because you are out there all alone, you have to man up and sort out all situations yourself.

“Based on my own experiences I would definitely say players should try moving abroad for a year when they are younger to try and fend for themselves. It made me grow up so much and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Although Stokes maintained his decision to leave Hungary was because he was homesick, it might also have had something to do with McStay quitting as head coach in April 2010 and returning to Celtic “amid reports of financial problems” and being replaced by Hungarian coach Geza Meszoly.

Back in the UK, his ambition was to find a professional club and Stokes told whufc.com: “I think I’ve got a lot to offer, so I just want to show what I can do at any level and take it from there.” He ended up at Isthmian Premier League side Concord Rangers, where he scored goals for fun.

Before that, though, he was able to turn out for Tony Carr’s Academy All-Stars in the well-respected academy director’s May 2010 testimonial which featured a gallery of Hammers stars.

He went on to score 78 goals in 124 appearances for Concord and captained them to the Ryman League Cup and promotion to the Conference South via play-offs.

In November 2013, Stokes joined Canvey Island and he later played for Bowers & Pitsea, Brentwood Town and Grays Athletic.

• Pictures from matchday programmes and online sources.

‘Rolls’ Royce was surprise Christmas presence at QPR

IN THE DAYS before wall-to-wall media coverage of all things football, I can remember turning up at Loftus Road to watch a Boxing Day match between QPR and Brighton and wondering who on earth was in goal for the Albion.

It was in the Second Division days when Michel Kuipers was an almost permanent fixture between the sticks for the Seagulls (he’d played 46 consecutive games). But, on 26 December 2001, there was a stranger behind Danny Cullip and Simon Morgan.

He was certainly a stranger to the players, who’d only met him a few hours before kick-off, but, thankfully, he was well known to manager Peter Taylor.

It turned out, Kuipers had pulled a thigh muscle in the previous Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Chesterfield and, rather than chance rookie Will Packham, Taylor opted for an experienced ‘keeper who he’d signed twice before.

Taylor had hastily gone back to his previous employer, Leicester City, on Christmas Eve, to sign Simon Royce on loan to cover the period Kuipers was indisposed.

Royce did well to keep a clean sheet in what finished a 0-0 draw, having not had a chance to train with his new teammates.

It transpired Royce had only met them a few hours earlier, at Reigate, en route to Shepherd’s Bush, as the Argus reported, having spent Christmas Day with his family at his Essex home.

Royce managed to pull off decent saves in each half of the encounter at Loftus Road, stopping a goalbound Danny Shittu header in the first half and dealing with a 20-yard shot from crowd favourite Doudou in the second.

Albion’s Paul Watson hit the bar with one of his trademark free-kicks early in the second half while Cullip went close to breaking the deadlock from a Watson corner, only for his header to be cleared off the line by Karl Connolly.

Taylor knew what he was getting with Royce having signed him for both Southend United and the Foxes, where, under Taylor’s successor, Dave Bassett, the ‘keeper had slipped down the pecking order following a bout of laryngitis.

“I had been second choice all season at Leicester, but the way Dave Bassett works, if you are ill or injured he changes it and you have to work your way back,” Royce told the Argus. “I did so well last year, but, when you don’t play, you get forgotten just as quickly.”

He added: “I had been ill a couple of weeks before, so I had lost my place on the bench at Leicester.

“I’d not really played much reserve team football for three or four weeks, so when Peter asked me if I fancied playing a few games I jumped at the chance. It’s nice to keep yourself match fit.”

Royce admitted knowing the manager certainly helped him to drop down two divisions for the chance to play, but the main reason was to get some games under his belt.

“Dropping down a couple of divisions doesn’t bother me at all,” he said. “It’s still a decent standard and Brighton are flying high.

“There are some very good teams in the Second Division, like QPR and Blackpool, so it’s not a problem. I’ve played in the Second Division before with Southend and I quite enjoyed it.

“This is a perfect opportunity for me to get some games in and let people know I am still around.”

Royce was delighted to start his spell with a clean sheet – but that was as good as it got because he conceded 13 goals in the other five matches he played.

Three days after his debut, he let in two but saved a penalty in a 2-2 draw at Blackpool. Albion’s 10-game unbeaten away league record shuddered to a halt in a 3-0 defeat at Wigan, during which Royce needed treatment after being clattered by a Latics striker.

*Physio Malcolm Stuart tends to the clattered Royce at Wigan*

When Royce finally got to make his Withdean debut, against Cambridge United, he spoiled the occasion with a gaffe, pushing a long-range shot from Paul Wanless into the path of Luke Guttridge for an easy tap-in. Thankfully a Bobby Zamora hat-trick meant the Seagulls prevailed 4-3.

Royce’s penultimate game was a 2-1 win away to Chesterfield but three days later he bowed out in ignominy as Albion were thumped 4-0 by Steve Coppell’s Brentford in a live ITV Digital match, Ivar Ingimarsson and Steve Sidwell scoring two of the Bees goals.

Born in Forest Gate, London, on 9 September 1971, Royce began his football career with non-League Heybridge Swifts while working as a painter and decorator. At the age of 20, a £35,000 fee took him to Southend, signed by former Chelsea defender David Webb, who was managing the Shrimpers back then.

He made his debut for Southend in a 3-1 home win over Grimsby Town in March 1992.

In seven seasons at Roots Hall, Royce made 169 appearances in Divisions One and Two, a couple of them under Taylor, before getting a move to Premier League Charlton Athletic on a Bosman free transfer.

Addicks boss Alan Curbishley briefly promoted him from third to first choice when Andy Petterson was loaned out to Portsmouth and Sasa Ilic lost form. He kept four clean sheets in a row in eight Premier League matches in the 1998-99 season, but injury issues then sidelined him. He didn’t feature at all in the 1999-00 season and, with the arrival of Dean Kiely at The Valley, decided to link up again with Taylor at Leicester, again moving on a Bosman ‘free’.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better move,” Royce told the Daily Gazette. “I played under Peter at Southend and I can’t wait to work with him again because he’s a great coach.

“He had a hard time at Roots Hall, but Peter has matured into an excellent manager in recent years, picking up valuable experience with both the England under-21 side and Gillingham.

“I owe Peter a lot. He knew I was out of contract at Charlton this summer, but he promised me that he would take me to whatever club he was at this year.

“At the time we spoke, Peter was still with Gillingham and I’d have been happy to play for him there in the First Division. But Peter got the Leicester job and he has remained true to his word and brought me on board.”

Initially an understudy to Tim Flowers, Royce had a run of 19 Premier League matches in the second half of the 2000-01 season, keeping clean sheets on seven occasions.

David Lacey, the renowned football writer for The Guardian, even hinted at international recognition for him, after newly installed England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had been to watch Ipswich Town beat Leicester 2-0 at Portman Road.

“Eriksson was here primarily to run an eye over Richard Wright, Ipswich’s once capped goalkeeper, although, since Wright had so little to do, he must have gone away more impressed by Simon Royce, whose saves kept alive Leicester’s hopes of a point,” wrote Lacey. “Royce, back in the Leicester side because of another injury to Tim Flowers, showed excellent agility and anticipation in keeping out headers from Alun Armstrong and Matt Holland as Ipswich increasingly dominated the match.”

Taylor told the journalist: “Simon Royce’s goalkeeping was the only positive thing to come out of our own performance.”

Any hopes Royce had of taking over the no.1 shirt permanently at Leicester were dashed when Taylor paid £2.5m to install Ian Walker as his first choice ‘keeper.

After his loan spell at Brighton, he went on a similar arrangement to Manchester City later that same season, although he didn’t play any first team games.

The following season he went on loan to QPR, where he featured 17 times.

On his release from Leicester, he moved back to Charlton on a two-year contract, but made only one Premier League appearance in 2003-04.

He was quite literally a loan Ranger in 2004-05, initially playing a couple of games for Luton Town and then returning to QPR, making 13 appearances in their Championship side.

He made a permanent move to Loftus Road in 2005 and, in an away game at Stoke City, was in the news when caught up in a crowd invasion, although manager Ian Holloway said his ‘keeper was fine: “Simon Royce is a big lad and he can look after himself.”

Royce recounted the incident in an interview for brentfordfc.com. “We’d won the game 2-1. I always kept a towel and a water bottle by my left-hand post, so I bent down to pick them up and felt someone jump on my back.

“At first, I assumed it was a team-mate because we’d won the game, but then I looked down and saw a pair of trainers and felt a blow to the back of my head. It was a Stoke supporter who’d run on to the pitch, shouting ‘I’m going to do you, Roycey!’

“I had my hand on the post so managed to pick him up and throw him in the net. After that the stewards rushed on and we had more supporters on the pitch – it was complete mayhem. The fan in question was sentenced to four months in prison for assault.”

Royce managed to hold down a regular starting berth for the first time in several years during his time in west London, playing 32 games in 2005-06 and 22 in 2006-07.

However, he was back on the loan circuit, briefly, when in April 2007 he moved to League One Gillingham to play in their last three games of the season.

During the summer break, he signed for the Kent club on a permanent basis. He featured in 36 matches in the 2007-08 season, and was named Supporters’ Player of the Year, although the Gills were relegated.

When Royce penned a new one-year deal in the summer of 2008, manager Mark Stimson told the club website: “I’m delighted with Simon’s decision. He’s going to be a vital player for us next season and one that we will need to help get this club back to where we want to be.”

He was first-choice ‘keeper throughout the 2008-09 season, making 49 appearances as Gills were promoted back to League One via the League Two play-off final at Wembley. Royce, by then 38, said keeping a clean sheet as Gillingham beat Shrewsbury Town 1-0 was one of his career highlights. Former Seagulls Albert Jarrett and Mark McCammon were on the Gillingham subs bench that day.

Unfortunately, in December 2009, Royce sustained several injuries in a car accident.

Stimson told BBC Radio Kent: “His knee is in a bad way and he has a bad neck. He’s going to be out for a couple of weeks. He’s had a scan on his knee, we should get the results of that this week.

“He’s also had X-rays on his neck. I’m praying it’s just a couple of weeks because he’s a big player for us. Until we get the scan results we have to wait and see. He’s been a big part of it. He’ll be missed.”

As it turned out, Royce never regained the no.1 spot from Alan Julian, who’d stepped in to replace him, and he left Gillingham at the end of the season to take up a goalkeeper coaching job at Brentford, during which time former Albion no.2 David Button was among the goalkeepers he helped to develop.

Royce eventually left Griffin Park in the summer of 2018 after eight seasons with the Bees.In thanking him for his contribution, Phil Giles, Brentford’s co-director of football, told the club website: “He leaves behind a fantastic legacy, having developed some top goalkeepers during his time here, including Simon Moore, David Button, Dan Bentley, Jack Bonham and Luke Daniels.”

He returned to Gillingham as goalkeeper coach for the 2019-20 season, working with Bonham once again, and on 28 September 2019, at the age of 48, suddenly found himself on the substitute’s bench for Gills’ away game against Oxford United when reserve goalkeeper Joe Walsh suffered an injury just before kick-off. His previous involvement in a competitive match had been more than eight years earlier, for Brentford, in a 4-1 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge.

Royce remained on the bench as Oxford won 3-0 and, at the season’s end, he left Priestfield as part of a Covid-related cost-cutting measure.

Pictures from various online sources.

Set-piece expert Darren Currie earned Uncle Tony’s approval

THE PINPOINT accuracy of Darren Currie’s passing and shooting was a joy to watch, even though a lack of pace stopped him being as good a player as his famous uncle.

Currie was a decent player in his own right, making nearly 700 appearances for 15 different clubs, but wherever he went he was always known as the nephew of the former Sheffield United, Leeds, QPR and England creative midfielder Tony Currie.

Perhaps with a hint of family bias, Uncle Tony said in an interview for ITV Digital: “Darren is, without doubt, the best crosser of the ball, after Beckham, in the country. He’ll produce nine times out of ten, right foot or left foot.”

The young Currie attributed his crowd-pleasing skills to the start he was given in the game by West Ham. After 10 years stuck in the lower leagues, Currie was given a platform to perform in the Championship by Brighton, and he very nearly made it to the top when transferred for £250,000 to high-flying Ipswich Town.

As if by a cruel twist of fate, Ipswich lost to the Hammers in the 2004-05 Championship play-off semi-finals having just missed out on automatic promotion.

“Playing for West Ham at youth and reserve levels was a terrific way to start a career,” Currie told the Ipswich Star. “They gave me everything but my debut.”

He certainly came close though, featuring alongside recognised first-teamers like Lee Chapman and Frank Lampard in friendlies and testimonials, but he had to move elsewhere to gain competitive first-team action.

Initially he had loan spells with Shrewsbury Town and Leyton Orient, and when the Shrews bid £70,000 for him in 1996, he chose to drop down a couple of divisions to get regular football.

“The difference in money was only about £50. The then West Ham manager Harry Redknapp called me in and said that I was an adult and had to think about continuing to play regular first team football,” Currie explained. “I was given the opportunity to have a new contract at West Ham or moving permanently to Shrewsbury.

“I was a young pro at West Ham and I had been out on loan a couple of times and I got the buzz for playing at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. There was no other feeling like it.

“I thought to myself I’ll go to Shrewsbury and I’ll play really well for a year and I’ll get a move back up to the top.

“My naivety kicked in then because it didn’t quite happen. I thought I’d done OK and I was linked with a couple of moves but the route back to the top wasn’t as simple as I thought it would be in my head.”

Indeed, it was a decade in which, after three seasons with the Shrews, he moved on briefly to Plymouth Argyle, then to Barnet (three seasons) and Wycombe Wanderers (three seasons).

Currie said it got to a point where Wycombe couldn’t afford to keep him, and boss Tony Adams made it clear he was free to look elsewhere.

Mark McGhee invited him to Brighton for a trial and was impressed with the way he knuckled down in training to get himself fit following a programme devised by McGhee’s deputy, Bob Booker.

Currie was offered a 12-month contract but it was more about the opportunity to play at a higher level that prompted him to sign.

“It wasn’t a fantastic offer – put it this way, Peterborough offered me three years – but it wasn’t about the money,” Currie told Spencer Vignes in an Albion matchday programme article.

“It was about the football and playing in the Championship. I was determined to do well and to prove myself, which I did. That’s when people began to sit up and take notice.”

Currie’s ability on the ball carved him out to be a crowd-pleaser and the first of two goals for the Albion typically came from a free kick in a 3-2 home defeat to QPR that left Argus reporter Andy Naylor purring over its execution.

“Currie, having shaved a post and hit the bar with two earlier free-kicks, made it third time lucky from 20 yards just before the break. It was a sumptuous effort from the set-piece expert which rendered Rangers’ keeper Chris Day motionless.”

His other goal came in a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United, more noted for Albion wearing the limited-edition Palookaville strip to help publicise backer Fatboy Slim’s latest album.

Injury-hit Albion considered it a point gained rather than two dropped and Naylor complimented Leon Knight for “superbly crafting” Currie’s goal by evading his marker and threading a square pass through the legs of Leigh Bromby.

“Currie, with time as well as room, picked his spot to score, which meant even more to him because of the opposition,” wrote Naylor, informing readers that the Yorkshire side had rejected him as a 16-year-old following a fortnight’s trial.

Unfortunately for Currie, he was only on the bench when the Albion travelled to Upton Park on 13 November 2004. After three successive defeats, McGhee confessed he set the side up not to lose rather than go for a win.

Somewhat ironically, the Seagulls blagged a 1-0 win courtesy of a Guy Butters goal, in a real backs-to-the-wall match, with veteran striker Steve Claridge ploughing a lone furrow up front.

It was only in the 90^th minute of the match that McGhee introduced Currie in place of Claridge to play out the final few minutes of the game.

Currie only played 22 games for Brighton over four months but the fee they received for him from Ipswich gave a vital boost to club funds when they were struggling to compete in the division because of the restricted crowd numbers at Withdean. Having signed him on a free transfer, the deal was a no-brainer for the Albion hierarchy, even if it weakened a squad who subsequently only avoided relegation back to the third tier by a single point.

McGhee wasn’t that surprised to see Currie go, telling the Argus: “He was obviously happy here, but I thought he was doing so well that he would keep his options open.

“I cannot see Darren being a regular for Ipswich in the Premiership if they are promoted, but his skills and touch are good enough to justify him making a contribution to a squad in the Premiership.”

It didn’t pan out like that, but Currie was nonetheless grateful to the Albion, and told Vignes: “I am so pleased I had the chance to be a part of it all down there, to see what the support is like and to play with a group of lads who stick together through thick and thin.

“I played at the Goldstone when I was a kid, playing youth team football with West Ham, so I know how important the stadium issue is for everyone. I always will be extremely grateful to the Brighton fans and Mark McGhee because without a doubt without their help this opportunity wouldn’t have come along.”

Currie explained in a matchday programme article how McGhee had helped to develop his game and to add other dimensions which improved him. “I owe a helluva lot to Mark and Bob Booker,” he said.

Currie became an instant hit with the Tractor Boys fans earning the man of the match accolade in two of his first four games.

“I tend to build up a rapport with supporters wherever I go,” he told the Ipswich Star. “I am my own biggest critic and I know when I have done well, and I am very satisfied with my contribution so far.”

After his brief cameo for the Seagulls at West Ham, he got the chance to play against his boyhood club three times that season with Ipswich.

He was in the Town side that lost 2-0 at home to the Hammers on New Year’s Day 2005. Then, in the first leg of the play-off semi-final, Currie and Matt Richards (later a loanee with the Albion) were half-time substitutes who helped Ipswich to recover a deficit to draw 2-2.

Currie started the second leg and had Ipswich’s best opportunities with a shot straight at James Walker, then a long-range drive 10 minutes before the interval which the goalkeeper hopelessly misjudged but fumbled to safety. But they failed to make the final when Bobby Zamora scored two second half goals for West Ham to earn them a 2-0 second leg win. West Ham beat Preston in the play-off final.

Born in Hampstead on 29 November 1974, Currie’s early footballing talent drew interest from Watford and Chelsea, but he decided to join West Ham’s academy.

“The facilities were great, the training for us there as kids was first class and I really enjoyed my time there,” Currie said.

“A lot of the player I became was what I was taught as a kid at West Ham,” he told twtd.co.uk. “It was all about the ball and all about the technical skill and how to manipulate the ball. It was a way I enjoyed playing anyway so it was a really good fit for me.”

After signing professional in 1993, he was a regular in the West Ham reserve side and a trawl through the excellent archive website whu-programmes.co.uk records show he played in a Football Combination game away to Brighton on 1 April 1994, and later the same month was up against Guy Butters in Portsmouth’s reserve side at the Boleyn Ground. Mark Flatts and Paul Dickov were in opposition when the Hammers stiffs entertained their Arsenal counterparts at home on 11 May.

In an Avon Insurance Combination match at the Goldstone Ground on 30 November 1994, Currie scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in a West Ham side also featuring Lee Chapman and Frank Lampard.

The following summer, Currie played in four matches when he was part of West Ham’s squad on a centenary tour of Australia.

Shrewsbury boss Fred Davies, a former playing colleague of Redknapp’s at Bournemouth, took Currie on full time after his two loan spells at Gay Meadow.

He moved on to Plymouth Argyle in 1998 but only played five matches in three months, then switched to Barnet where he made 136 appearances, plus seven as a sub, in three years.

Wycombe Wanderers paid £200,000 to sign him in the summer of 2001 and manager Lawrie Sanchez told BBC Three Counties Radio: “He’s obviously a quality player. He gets crosses in and that’s an area where we weren’t very good last year. He’s come to add that to our game and his free kicks will trouble the ‘keeper as well.

“It was quite a lot of money for our club to spend but I’ve got to back my judgement. I’d looked at him for a while and quite liked him. He gives us something we haven’t got, he’s a great technician. He hasn’t got particularly great pace but what he does with the ball is tremendous. We’re hoping he does all the things he was doing at Barnet and a little bit more for us.”

Sanchez added: “A lot of people looked at him for a long time. He’s always been considered one of the best players in the Third Division and hopefully we’ll give him the stage where he can prove he’s one of the best players in the Second Division.”

After Currie’s flirtation with promotion to the Premier League ended in disappointment, Joe Royle left Portman Road and his replacement Jim Magilton axed Currie from the side in the 2006-07 season. He was sent on loan to fellow Championship sides Coventry City and Derby County, for whom he made a play-offs appearance as a substitute, although he wasn’t involved in the final when County beat West Brom 1-0.

That summer, on the expiry of his Ipswich contract, Currie moved on a free transfer to League One Luton Town. He made 38 appearances for the Hatters but when they went into administration, were deducted 10 points and relegated, he was among several players given a free transfer.

Micky Adams, back in the hotseat at the Albion, was hopeful of getting Currie back to Brighton for a second spell, telling BBC Southern Counties Radio on 11 July: “He’s a player I’ve admired for a long, long time. We want him, and he wants to come back. He’d offer competition for places and fantastic delivery from set pieces.”

But at the end of the month the player rejected the terms on offer and took up a three-year contract at Chesterfield instead.

While the first year at Saltergate went OK, in the second season, the manager who signed him, Lee Richardson, had been replaced by John Sheridan, and Currie was out of the picture. He went on loan to fellow League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge and the deal was made permanent in January 2010. Currie played in 16 matches as the Daggers won promotion to League One.

They went straight back down the following season, and Currie departed for Conference South outfit Borehamwood as player assistant manager. He was there less than three months before moving to Isthmian League Hendon for a year as a player.

In October 2012, Currie returned to Dagenham & Redbridge, initially as a development coach and later as assistant manager under John Still.

In June 2018, Currie was appointed assistant manager at National League side Barnet, working under Still. He succeeded Still in December 2018, initially as caretaker, before landing the role permanently in January 2019.

Currie, assisted by former Albion loanee midfielder Junior Lewis, came close to getting Barnet promoted to League Two but, having missed out, and the club struggling financially because of the Covid-related lack of fan revenue, both left the club in August 2020.

The luck of the Irish eluded striker Graham Barrett

GRAHAM Barrett did his level best to impress when new boss Steve Coppell took charge for the first time at Withdean.

The on-loan Arsenal forward put in an inviting cross from the right wing for Gary Hart to score midway through the first half of the 19 October 2002 game against Sheffield United.

Barrett himself then got on the end of a precision pass from Bobby Zamora out wide on the left to put Albion 2-0 up in the 34^th minute.

Unfortunately, the young forward’s contribution was overshadowed by events at the other end of the pitch in the second half. Firstly, the Blades hit back through Michael Brown and then substitute Carl Asaba equalised.

Referee Phil Prosser became the villain of the peace by awarding United two penalties in the final four minutes of the game, both converted by Asaba.

The first was given when Prosser reckoned goalkeeper Michel Kuipers had brought down Asaba in the box; the second when Adam Virgo pushed over Wayne Allison in the penalty area.

“Albion fans were so incensed by Prosser’s first penalty decision that several hundred left their seats in the south stand to protest from the running track,” The Argus reported. “Police and stewards gathered in front of them to prevent the threat of a pitch invasion.”

Even Albion-supporting MP Ivor Caplin got in on the act, subsequently calling for an FA inquiry into Prosser’s “totally inept” display. Needless to say, that went nowhere.

Barrett, meanwhile, was far less impressive the following Saturday when he and his temporary teammates were thrashed 5-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

He started 20 games for the Albion in that season, as well as making 10 substitute appearances – but that single strike against Sheffield United was his only goal.

g barrett stripes Born in Dublin on 6 October 1981, Barrett was one of several Irish youngsters who began their football careers with Arsenal having been spotted by ex-Albion boss, and fellow Irishman, Liam Brady, playing in an Ireland U15s game against England at Blackburn.

Brady had become Arsenal’s head of youth development and academy director after his spell at Brighton. Barrett agreed professional terms with Arsenal in 1998 and went on to captain their FA Youth Cup winning team of 2000.

He earned a call-up to the Republic of Ireland’s under 21 team and went on to play 24 times at that level, scoring five goals. Between 2002 and 2004, he stepped up to the full Eire side and scored twice in six matches.

*Try as he did, Barrett couldn’t add to his single goal against Sheffield United*

Barrett managed to break through to the first team squad at Arsenal in December 1999 and made his debut as a substitute for Thierry Henry in a 3-0 win over Leicester City. The following month, again as a substitute, he appeared in a 4-1 win over Sunderland, and he also played in a league cup match.

“I was around the first team for a good four or five months, travelled a lot with them and got to train every day with them, played a little bit,” Barrett told the42.ie, in an April 2018 interview.

Facing stiff competition for a first team place, Barrett was sent out on loan to gain playing time at a lower level. He went to Bristol Rovers but only managed one game before being struck down with glandular fever, causing him to be out of the game for six months.

When he’d recovered, he went on loan to Crewe Alexandra and Colchester United who had wanted him back for the 2002-03 season, but he opted to join Brighton instead.

With little chance of dislodging the likes of Bergkamp, Henry, Wiltord and Suker at Arsenal, Barrett was given a free transfer by Arsenal in May 2003 and opted to join Coventry City on a three-year contract.

graham barrett Although he made 32 league starts plus 23 as a sub, ex-Albion boss Micky Adams made it plain he didn’t fit into his plans. He went to spend the last year of his contract on loan at Livingston in Scotland but after only six games suffered a season-ending knee injury.

He subsequently stayed in Scotland and played for Falkirk and St Johnstone before returning to Ireland to play for Shamrock Rovers, who his dad, Gary, had played for in the Eighties under Johnny Giles.

Barrett is now a director of football agency Platinum One, representing the interests of young players.

Northern Irish legend Aaron Hughes was talk of the Toon

AH red black VETERAN Northern Irishman Aaron Hughes only brought down the curtain on his lengthy playing career in June 2019 at the age of 39.

On 12 June he finally confirmed his playing days were over in an emotional speech to his Northern Ireland team-mates in the Borisov Arena after the country’s 1-0 victory over Belarus.

Remarkably, Hughes had first been called up to the Northern Ireland squad at the age of 17, before he’d even broken through at Newcastle United.

“Having known Aaron Hughes for nearly 25 years, it was an honour to be present to witness his typically classy speech to all of the Northern Ireland players and staff to announce his retirement from the game after an amazing career,” former Newcastle keeper and current Northern Ireland coach Steve Harper told the Belfast Telegraph.

Amongst many others paying tribute, former international Paddy McCourt added: “Without doubt the best professional I encountered during my football career. I was fortunate enough to play alongside Aaron Hughes at Brighton and we also spent many years together with Northern Ireland. A true gentleman and brilliant player.”

He had just the one season with Brighton & Hove Albion – in 2014-15. Mainly a central defender, Hughes could also play comfortably in either full-back position or midfield.

He was the first Brighton signing of Sami Hyypia’s ill-fated spell as manager, and Hyypia told the club website: “We wanted to bring another experienced defender, and Aaron fits the bill – having played at Premier League, Champions League and international level.

“I have played against Aaron a few times during my time at Liverpool and also for Finland, and I know his qualities and what he will give us.

“He has a very good footballing pedigree, is an intelligent player, and he has a great mentality and good approach to the game.

“He has that experience I wanted to bring into the squad, which alongside our other senior players, will help our younger players continue to develop and progress in the first-team squad.”

As it turned out, Hughes was only used as cover and during his season with the Seagulls made only 13 appearances.

Nevertheless, Hughes’ stay on the south coast clearly left an impression and fellow Northern Ireland international Oliver Norwood described how Hughes played a part in persuading him to join the Seagulls in 2016.

“I spoke to Hughesy about his time here and he spoke so highly of the club, mentioning the facilities, the stadium and that it’s set up to go to the Premier League,” Norwood told the club website. “He’s a wonderful person that’s achieved so much.

“I know he didn’t get the game time he would have liked here, but if I have half the career he has, then I’ll be very happy.”

Born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, on 8 November 1979, Hughes joined Newcastle United’s youth ranks at 17 and, over eight years, he made 279 appearances for the Magpies.

A Hughes superb footy pics Eyebrows were raised when former Northern Ireland manager Bryan Hamilton took Hughes to Portugal for a World Cup qualifier in October 1997, when he was still only 17, but Hamilton told the Belfast Telegraph: “There was something special in him, even at a young age, and I wanted him in the squad. I felt he could be an outstanding player for Northern Ireland and I knew that coming in early wouldn’t affect or faze him.”

Hughes had to wait until Lawrie McMenemy succeeded Hamilton to make his international debut the following March, and by then he’d made a memorable debut for Newcastle in November 1997 against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Selected by manager Kenny Dalglish, despite the 1-0 defeat, the 18-year-old showed tremendous promise against the likes of Figo, Ronaldo and Stoichkov. He eventually held down a regular first team place under Dalglish’s successor Ruud Gullitt before Bobby Robson took the helm.

Hughes made his name at St James’s Park in the centre of Newcastle’s defence, playing alongside Sylvain Distin in a side also featuring Craig Bellamy, Gary Speed and Alan Shearer. He spoke about his time playing under Dalglish and Robson in an interview with the Guardian.

Discerning followers of Toon were quick to join in the tributes paid to Hughes when he announced his retirement. Elsewhere they have vented their spleen at the decision Graeme Souness took to sell him to Aston Villa.

Hughes had three seasons at Villa, having been signed by David O’Leary in the 2005-06 season. But Villa fans are a tough lot to please and, despite his previous success at Newcastle, it seems they expected more. “Hughes, despite filling his role admirably as a centre back, never felt integral to our defence as he found himself chopped and changed with (Olof) Melberg, and fellow signing Wilfried Bouma,” declared readastonvilla.com.

Eventually with injury-hit defender Martin Laursen returning to the side under new manager Martin O’Neill, Hughes became more of a squad player at Villa Park. He was allowed to leave to join Fulham and was signed by a former Northern Irish international teammate, Lawrie Sanchez.

hughes fulham At Fulham, he formed a formidable defensive partnership with Brede Hangeland and fulhamfc.com said: “The pair worked brilliantly together, with the fans soon referring to them as our very own Thames Barrier. Their styles complemented each other perfectly, and while Hughes wasn’t the tallest of centre-backs, his leap and reading of the game more than made up for it.”

Hughes was one of three ever-presents – with Mark Schwarzer and Danny Murphy – when Fulham finished seventh in the Premier League in 2008-09, which led to European qualification.

He was part of the side captained by Murphy, with Bobby Zamora up front, who went on a gloriously unexpected UEFA Cup journey in 2010, only to be pipped to the trophy in extra time by Atletico Madrid.

“The way we lost, right at the end of extra-time, still grates with me, so the final is a bitter-sweet memory,” Hughes reflected in a 2014 interview for Albion’s matchday programme. “The Juventus game stands out more, where we came back from 3-1 down from the first leg in Italy to win 4-1 at Craven Cottage.”

On transfer deadline day in January 2014, Hughes signed a short-term deal for Harry Redknapp’s Queens Park Rangers for whom he made 11 Championship appearances.

After his season with Brighton, even at the age of 36 Hughes had no intention of packing up playing. Instead, he headed to Australia and played for Melbourne City and then linked up with India’s Kerala Blasters before he joined Hearts for his final two seasons.

His last club game saw Hearts bring him on in the 68^th minute of their final league game of the season, a 2-1 defeat to Celtic at Celtic Park. Upon replacing John Souttar, the 39-year-old Hughes took the captain’s armband for the final few minutes of a career stretching across an impressive 22 years.

Hughes won an amazing 112 caps for his country across 20 years – a record for an outfield player. He was second only to the legendary Pat Jennings as most-capped player and was captain of his country for eight years. Small wonder, then, that he should be so grateful to so many at the Irish FA for the longevity of his international career.

hughes NI

Pictures from various online sources.

Sweet passer ‘Chippy’ became Brighton crowd favourite after Cardiff move

RICHARD Carpenter was a popular mainstay of Albion’s promotion-winnning side of the Noughties, scoring some notable goals along the way.

Billed as Brighton’s ‘star player’ in Port Vale’s 20 April 2002 programme for the last game of Albion’s promotion-winning season, Carpenter was described as “a highly effective midfielder, being strong in the tackle, a precise and sweet passer of the ball, while possessing a strong right-foot shot” – an excellent summary.

The goal he scored from a free kick against Spurs in the FA Cup at White Hart Lane on 8 January 2005 is right up there as one of my all-time Albion favourites.

Brighton, battling at the bottom of the Championship, hadn’t played Spurs since falling out of the top division in 1983 so it was a great chance for a giant-killing.

Albion ultimately succumbed 2-1, but not before Carpenter rifled home a free-kick past England ‘keeper Paul Robinson three minutes into the second half to level the score.

Carpenter told the Albion matchday programme in January 2018: “We were going to have a good time, win, lose or draw, but we also didn’t change the way we played – we made ourselves hard to beat, like we always did.

“Before my goal, I had already hit the crossbar with a half-volley from outside the box when Gary Hart teed me up. It went like slow motion and I thought it was going in.

“Obviously, I did score with a free-kick in the second half. I looked at the wall and my mind was made up to hit it. I knew it was going in by the flight of the ball and it was obviously a great feeling to score at White Hart Lane.”

Born in the village of Teynham, near Sittingbourne in Kent, on 30 September 1972, most of Carpenter’s career was centred on London and the south east, apart from one brief foray to south Wales, and Cardiff City.

Chippy began his professional career with Gillingham in May 1991 and he had clocked up 142 senior appearances for the Gills in five years before Gillingham old boy Micky Adams paid a £15,000 fee to take him to Craven Cottage, Fulham.

In two seasons at the Cottage he played a further 66 times, scoring nine goals along the way.

It was in July 1998 that he left the English capital to sample life in the Welsh capital. Cardiff paid £35,000 for his services and he helped them to promotion from the fourth tier in 1999.

Unfortunately, Carpenter’s time in Wales was also marred by a tackle he made in a Boxing Day game against Reading in 1999. His challenge on Chris Casper resulted in a double leg break for the defender which ultimately ended his career. Five years later, Casper was awarded undisclosed damages in an out-of-court settlement for past and future loss of earnings.

Nevertheless, when interviewed about his time in south Wales, Carpenter told Graham Otway, of the Daily Mail: “I had two and a half fantastic years at Cardiff. I helped them win promotion and I lived in a lovely part of the Forest of Dean, near Chepstow.

“I never wanted to leave the club but my girlfriend was expecting a baby and we wanted to move back home to Kent.”

So, after 89 league and cup appearances for the Bluebirds, he joined the Adams-managed Brighton on a free transfer in July 2000.

Away from football, it also presented him with the perfect opportunity to browse Brighton’s famous Laines searching out various antiques for his collection.

“I do like collecting nice pieces,” he told Otway. “I am mainly into collectables – watches, jewellery and old walking canes. But when it comes to furniture I am into modern stuff as well. I just have lots of interests outside of football.”

On the pitch, Carpenter was an Albion fixture under various managers and was part of promotion and relegation sides.

In the first leg of the play-off semi-finals in 2004, on a boiling hot day at the County Ground, Swindon, it was Carpenter’s deflected goal that gave Albion the advantage going into the second leg, which was played in exactly opposite conditions of torrential rain, as Albion edged it via a penalty shoot-out.

Carpenter said the 2004 play-off final at Cardiff was the pinnacle of his career, as Albion secured a 1-0 win over Bristol City to return to the second tier.

“I have played all my career in the Second and Third Divisions – apart from one in the First – and I haven’t had the opportunity to play in luxury stadiums in front of massive crowds,” he said. “The final is going to be something special for me to remember for the rest of my life.”

After Mark McGhee was replaced as manager by Dean Wilkins in September 2006, Carpenter’s Albion days were numbered.

In fact, he was red-carded in Wilkins’ first game in charge, away to Millwall, although the Seagulls won 1-0. Former Albion youth coach Wilkins was keen to introduce to the first team some of the younger players he’d helped to develop. So, at the age of 34, and after more than 278 appearances and 24 goals, Carpenter’s Seagulls playing career finally came to a close, in February 2007, when he left by mutual consent.

Albion chairman Dick Knight devoted space in the matchday programme to honour his achievements with the Seagulls.

“He has been a fantastic player and model professional for this football club ever since he arrived from Cardiff in 2000,” said Knight. “I remember Micky Adams telling fans that Richard would be a player that fans would enjoy, and he was right.”

As well as highlighting his key moments on the pitch, Knight added: “He has also been a real credit to his profession off the pitch, a tremendous role model for the youngsters coming through in terms of his dedication, honesty as a player and character.”

Manager Wilkins added: “He is the ultimate professional – on and off the pitch. His attitude and application from Monday through to Saturday was superb. I don’t think I’ve seen anybody with better work ethic, discipline and determination.”

For his part, Carpenter said: “I have got no hard feelings, although I’m disappointed with the way it’s ended this season. I haven’t played as many games as I would have liked, due to suspension and injury.

“It’s hard at my age not to be involved; this last year or so has been a struggle and it is time to move on.”

He joined non-league Welling United, where he was appointed captain and briefly caretaker manager. In 2011, he emerged from retirement for a short spell to play for Whitehawk.

After his playing days came to an end, Chippy spent four years coaching for the Albion In the Community programme. He then “worked on the railways” for five years and at the turn of 2018 said he was planning to indulge his passion for antiques.

In February 2018, prior to Albion’s FA Cup tie with Coventry, he appeared on the BBC Radio Sussex show, Albion Unlimited, and talked about how he missed the game, especially the close bond he enjoyed with teammates at all the clubs he played for.

Presenter Adrian Harms asked him about the characters he played with and he said: “We trained the way we played; we was all up for it. Individually we were strong; collectively we were even stronger.”

B Dean Chippy + Cullip

Pictures from various matchday programmes, by Bennett Dean, and the Argus.

History-maker Joel Lynch went to Town after Brighton breakthrough

SUSSEX lad Joel Lynch made Brighton & Hove Albion history when he was made first team captain aged just 19 and 186 days.

The ‘youngest-ever Albion captain’ honour was a measure of the maturity the defender had displayed in Dean Wilkins’ young line-up in April 2007, even if it was a temporary appointment in the absence of the rested Guy Butters and the injured Dean Hammond.

“I wasn’t even captain of my school team,” Lynch told Argus reporter Andy Naylor. “I am 19 years old and it is a great honour. I am grateful to the gaffer for having so much faith in me and it will be good for my confidence.”

Unfortunately, the experience against Doncaster Rovers at Withdean was marred when Lynch missed a clearance, the player he was supposed to be marking, Graeme Lee, scored and Rovers went on to win 2-0.

It was a minor blip at the beginning of a career which saw Lynch become a consistent Championship defender for more than a decade after emerging from Brighton’s youth ranks in the ‘noughties’.

Born on 3 October 1987 in Eastbourne, Lynch made his way through the age group sides with the Albion, often alongside another local youngster who went on to have a good career, Tommy Elphick.

“We played all the way through the youth teams together since the age of about ten,” Lynch told Naylor of the Argus. “Both of our games really changed and we really grew up when we went to Bognor on loan. We did really well there for Bognor and ourselves.”

Lynch pictured in the Argus alongside Tommy Elphick when they were together as under 14s in 2001, and still together a couple of years later.

As well as being part of the Brighton team which reached the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup in 2006, the year couldn’t have begun better for Lynch when Wilkins’ predecessor, Mark McGhee, handed him his first team debut in a narrow 2-1 defeat away to Southampton on 2 January 2006.

He went on to play 16 times that season, and also registered his first goal for the club, which is a fond memory for me and my son, Rhys. It came on Easter Saturday 2006, and we made a last-minute decision on the day to travel up to Ipswich to watch the game.

Although Albion were destined to relinquish their Championship status, they had a new-found confidence in their play thanks to the belated arrival of much-needed hold-up centre forward, Gifton Noel-Williams (on loan from Burnley).

He’d scored on his debut in a home draw against Luton and got an assist by laying on a goal for Paul Reid in a 2-0 win at Millwall two weeks before.

At Portman Road, always a favourite away ground, Albion, wearing the stylish all-burgundy away strip, opened the scoring when Noel-Williams buried a cross from Colin Kazim-Richards.

To add to the unexpected delight, teenage defender Lynch made sure our trip was a memorable one. Ipswich failed to clear a corner properly and when Reid returned the ball to the penalty area, Kazim-Richards jumped simultaneously with ‘keeper Shane Supple and the ball broke for Lynch (above left) to prod it in.

Albion, never wanting to make life too easy for themselves or their fans, allowed Ipswich to pull a goal back when Alan Lee flicked on from former Seagull Darren Currie’s cross for substitute Nicky Forster – a future £75,000 signing for Albion – to score. But thankfully it was too late for Ipswich to salvage anything from the game.

It was all to turn pear-shaped on the Easter Monday at home to Sheffield Wednesday, but for a couple of days at least the Great Escape still seemed a possibility.

In December 2006, the matchday programme devoted a two-page article to Lynch’s progress in the first team, pointing out how he had begun at left-back, stepped in as a left-sided centre-back – his more natural position – and even played right-back in the 8-0 thrashing of Northwich Victoria in the FA Cup.

Lynch spoke of the experience he had gained playing alongside the veteran defender Guy Butters, telling the programme: “I learned a lot from him, Guy’s had a great career and he is still playing great football. Hopefully I will just slot in there when the time comes and, in the meantime, I will play wherever the manager wants me to play and hopefully stay in the team. I’ve still got a lot of years ahead of me to make the centre-half slot my own.”

Lynch confessed being handed the no.5 shirt at the start of the season had given him a massive boost. “So far, I have really enjoyed this season. I have had my ups and downs and missed a few games due to my performances,” he said. “There have been things that I have had to sort out within my game, but I think I have resolved them now and I am slowly regaining my confidence and my performances have been improving week by week since I regained my place in the team.

“I feel more confident and my self-belief has improved a lot. I want to keep improving and I think that I can help the team in a big way.”

Lynch said a lot of the younger players had been inspired by Bobby Zamora’s elevation to Premiership football and added: “Hopefully a few years down the line we all will be playing at a higher level with Brighton in a new stadium.”

Interviewed by the Argus on the eve of the 2006-07 season, Lynch said: “Last season was a season to just keep on progressing and doing well.

“This season is one where I really want to push on. I want to play a major part in getting the club promoted and express myself more so maybe more clubs are interested in me or I get called up for England.”

Pretty bold stuff from a 19-year-old player still aiming to establish himself, but, having been awarded a three-year contract, he certainly wasn’t short of confidence. “I’ve got to do something really big or something big should happen,” he continued.

“We’ll take it one game at a time but you’ve got to aim for promotion. You can’t aim for anything else.”

Lynch certainly made his mark across the League One season, playing in a total of 44 league and cup games.

The following season was only a matter of a few weeks old when Lynch was sidelined by a hairline fracture in his left leg and ligament damage when twisting to clear in a game against Millwall. Then when he returned sooner than expected, he suffered a hamstring problem.

Perhaps if Albion’s move to the Amex had come sooner, Lynch might have stuck around, but he clearly felt he needed to be playing at a higher level than the Seagulls could attain at the time and, in September 2008, having made 88 first-team appearances, forced through a loan move to Nottingham Forest, with various extensions taking the loan through to the end of the season.

In July 2009, the deal eventually became permanent, with Forest paying a £200,000 fee and offering Lynch a three-year contract. Albion obtained midfielder Matt Thornhill on a six-month loan from Forest as part of the arrangement.

The young defender initially found it difficult to break through as a regular at Forest, with most of his appearances coming as a stand-in left-back.

It was in the 2011-12 season that he began to get games in his preferred position, at first playing alongside Wes Morgan and then, after Morgan’s transfer to Leicester, pairing with Luke Chambers.

In November 2011, writer Peter Blackburn waxed lyrical about Lynch’s form at Forest via the seatpitch.co.uk platform, describing him as “a tough-tackling, committed, classy and agile defender”.

Blackburn added: “Capable of reading the game, nipping in front of the attacker to steal the ball and hold his own in the air, Lynch also seems to possess the sort of driven cross-field ball out of defence not seen on the fair shores of the Trent since prodigal son, Michael Dawson so entertained the crowd.”

No doubt it would have delighted Lynch that he scored a last-gasp equaliser for Forest at the Amex in March 2012.

Four months later, he rejected a new deal at Forest to become a fifth new signing made by Simon Grayson at Huddersfield Town, and in August the same year he got onto the international stage – not for England, though, but Wales. He qualified for Wales because his father came from Barry in South Wales, and he made his debut as a substitute in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzogovina.

HuddExam Lynch Lynch made 22 appearances in his first season with the Terriers; nine more the following season, and 35 in 2014-15. In January 2015, Lynch was winner of the Examiner Huddersfield Town Player of the Month award, with writer Doug Thomson saying: “He scored a stunning goal to help clinch a welcome 3-1 win over Watford. But Lynch, who stung the Hornets with an overhead kick, also excelled in the centre of defence.

“And the former Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest man played a key role when Town finally ended their long wait for an away win, and kept a clean sheet to boot, at Wigan Athletic.

“Calm and composed both on the ground and in the air, the 27-year-old brings plenty of experience to the backline. Lynch also works well alongside skipper Mark Hudson.”

lynch qpr After making 40 appearances for Town in 2015-16, he departed Yorkshire for London and signed a three-year deal with Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

The fee was undisclosed but was believed to be something of the order of £1.2 million and the QPR manager at the time, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink told bbc.co.uk: “He offers us something a little bit different. He’s left-sided, which will give us better balance, and has that ability to bring the ball out from the back.”

Hamstring and foot injuries hampered opportunities to show his worth to the Loftus Road faithful, a frustrating situation he talked about in January 2018, but he has since become a regular at the heart of the Rs’ defence.

Perhaps with an eye to the future, Lynch has a profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn.

Pictures sourced from The Argus (Simon Dack / Liz Finlayson), matchday programmes, Huddersfield Examiner and QPR websites.

Peter Taylor disciple Junior Lewis helped Seagulls to promotion

JunLew JUNIOR LEWIS was a loyal disciple of Peter Taylor, linking up with him as a player or a coach at EIGHT different clubs.

Although he didn’t win the support of too many Leicester City fans during his time with the Foxes, his arrival for the final third of Brighton’s 2001-02 season helped them to claim the third tier crown.

One particular game stands out in the memory, and it came on a rain-soaked night against league leaders Reading at the Withdean Stadium.

I recollect watching the action from the front row of the covered east side of the ground – the roof affording no protection whatsoever as the rain swept in.

Reading hadn’t lost in 12 games but with Bobby Zamora in sparkling form, Albion beat the Royals 3-1.

Lewis marked his debut with a simple tap-in after Zamora had set him up. The striker with the golden touch had scored his 26^th goal of the season to give Albion the lead on 59 minutes and then provided the assist for an unstoppable strike by Steve Melton.

Five days later, Lewis scored the only goal of the game at home to Huddersfield and, as promotion came properly into view, boss Taylor talked to the Argus about the difference he had made to the side.

Brighton went on to overtake Reading to claim the title, rounding off the season with a 1-0 win away to Port Vale. Lewis finished with three goals in 15 appearances as the side Taylor inherited from Adams lifted the championship trophy.

lewis applauds Born in Wembley on 9 October 1973, Lewis was on Fulham’s books as a youngster and made it through to the first team, his debut coming as a substitute in a league game against Burnley in October 1992.

But he played only six games at first team level before dropping into non-league and playing for three years with Dover Athletic – where he was first managed by Taylor.

He went on to play for Hayes and Hendon before getting back into league football under Taylor at Gillingham.

In a season and a half with the Gills, he played 59 games before Taylor, by now manager of Premiership Leicester City, took him there initially on loan and then as a permanent signing in 2001.

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Although he was a Leicester player for three years, he managed only 30 appearances for the Foxes because Taylor’s successors as manager sent him out on loan.

After the temporary move to Brighton, Lewis had two spells on loan at Swindon Town the following year, then, in 2004, he was reunited with Taylor at Hull City, initially on loan and then on a permanent basis.

After 52 appearances for Hull, he had fleeting spells with Brentford, Milton Keynes Dons, Edgware Town and Stevenage Borough.

He joined Taylor’s backroom staff as a coach at Wycombe Wanderers and then moved in a similar capacity when Taylor was appointed as boss at Bradford City, the eighth club where they’d worked together.

“I’ve worked with him at every level from the Conference right up to the Premier League and been lucky enough to get promotion at a lot of those clubs,” Lewis told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. “I know how the manager works and how he likes things done from playing for him and working under him as a coach.”

In a FourFourTwo magazine article by Nick Moore on 19 February 2016, Lewis reckoned Taylor always sought him out because he reminded him of his younger self.

“We were both two-footed, but mainly left-footed, and we relied on a similar trick – feinting to cross but chopping back onto your right foot,” Lewis explained. “I watched a video of him play once and I thought: ‘I do that’.

“He trusted me to keep things ticking over. I fitted his philosophy, and he brought the best out in me. But I didn’t assume that when he moved, I’d automatically follow. When he took over Leicester in the Premier League I did really hope I’d join, but I didn’t hear from him for ages.”

Lewis also reckoned operating in a difficult position was a way to become a favourite. “I was always a two-footed holding midfielder. There aren’t a lot of us around, compared to more attacking players, probably because you don’t get as much glory.

“So, having me in that role meant Peter always knew he had one position sorted.”

Before joining Taylor at Bradford, Lewis had continued playing at Welwyn Garden City and after leaving Bradford pulled on the boots once more as player-coach back at Hendon in 2014.

To the astonishment of many, Lewis was named first team coach of Leeds United in June 2014, when the relatively unknown Dave Hockaday was appointed their manager, but the role lasted only a couple of months as the pair were sacked by controversial owner Massimo Cellino after a poor start which included a 2-0 defeat at home to Brighton on 19 August.

In 2015-16 Lewis was coaching Canvey Island before moving on to become first team coach at Barnet, when former Seagull Darren Currie took over as boss from the veteran John Still. Lewis and Currie were relieved of their duties at Barnet in August 2020 when the club had to restructure after missing out on promotion back to the League.

Much-travelled Ade Akinbiyi a big hit in brief Seagulls spell

A STRIKER with wildly differing fortunes in a varied and much-travelled career made a good early impression when joining Albion on loan from Norwich City back in the autumn of 1994.

Ade Akinbiyi had not long since broken through to the City team as a teenager and he scored four times in seven games on loan to the Seagulls.

Just turned 20, Akinbiyi arrived at a time when Liam Brady’s Albion hadn’t registered a win for 11 games and, although Albion lost the first game he played in, the remaining six produced three wins and three draws.

AA scores

There is some YouTube footage of him scoring Albion’s second goal on a snowy pitch at Hull City’s old Boothferry Park ground in a game that finished 2-2.

“He is powerful and big and he can take knocks and we have missed having somebody in that mould,” Brady wrote in his matchday programme notes.

Later in his career Akinbiyi would prove to be a real handful for the Seagulls – I recall him shrugging off a powder-puff challenge from a young Dan Harding at Withdean and muscling his way to a winning goal for Stoke City. Manager Mark McGhee subbed Harding off and publicly lambasted him afterwards.

Born in Hackney on 10 October 1974, Akinbiyi was more interested in athletics at an early age, as he told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“I was interested in football but not massive on playing it,” he said. His school PE teacher persuaded him otherwise. “I went to play for my district team, Hackney, and it all started from there.”

From Hackney, Akinbiyi joined nearby Senrab, the team that blooded the likes of Bobby Zamora, Leon Knight, John Terry and Jermain Defoe.

His age group earned a place in a children’s tournament in Great Yarmouth called the ‘Canary Cup’ where he was spotted by a scout for nearby Norwich, who signed him as a schoolboy.

“The schoolboy and youth team system was second to none, as it still is now,” said Akinbiyi. But he found it hard living away from home, missing his mum’s native Nigerian cooking.

But after finding new digs with a few of his team-mates, he stuck at it and earned a dream debut as a substitute against Bayern Munich in the return leg of their UEFA Cup second round game, less than a month after his 19th birthday.

“I thought my debut would come in a cup game, perhaps against lower league opposition, not against Bayern Munich,” he said. “Not many people make their debut in a European cup competition.”

Although Akinbiyi made 51 league appearances for Norwich, his Canaries career never really took off, hence the Brighton loan spell and a similar move to Hereford United.

Eventually, though, a manager who believed in him, Tony Pulis, made him a record £250,000 buy for Gillingham in January 1997. Akinbiyi repaid Pulis’ faith in him with 29 goals in 67 starts, leading to Bristol City paying £1.2million for the striker following their promotion to the old Division One (now the Championship).

akinbiyi + colin lee

After scoring 21 goals in 47 league appearances for the Robins, in 1999 he completed a £3.5m move to Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the same year, he played his one and only game for Nigeria, in a friendly against Greece in Athens.

He made a great start at Wolves, scoring eight times in his first 12 games for Colin Lee’s side, but a year later, switched to Premier League Leicester City, after the Foxes’ boss Peter Taylor (later to replace Micky Adams at Brighton) paid out a £5m fee for the striker.

Ade A Leicester Akinbiyi was brought in to replace Emile Heskey, a real Filbert Street hero who had been sold to Liverpool for £11m. However, his goal touch eluded him and he managed to score only 11 goals in 58 league appearances for the club – some Leicester fans dubbing him Ade Akin-Bad-Buy!

Akinbiyi looked back on it in an interview with Four Four Two magazine and said: “I came in as Emile Heskey’s replacement, but he is a different breed of footballer.

“He’s big, strong and scores goals, but, back then, if Heskey wasn’t scoring a lot he could get away with it. He was the local hero. I was a different player – I’d be running in behind and trying to cause people problems. But Leicester looked at my record in the Championship and thought I’d come and do the same thing.”

Eventually they cut their losses and sold him to Division One Crystal Palace for £2.2m. At Selhurst, he was rather ignominiously given the number 55 shirt! Having scored just one goal in 14 league and cup appearances, in 2003 he was loaned to Stoke City, under his old boss Pulis.

He scored twice – the second goal coming in the last game of the 2002-03 season, when the Potters won 1-0 against Reading to seal their Division One (now the Championship) status (the season Albion were relegated).

Akinibiyi discussed the events in an interview with another ex-Stoke, Burnley and Brighton striker, Chris Iwelumo, for Stoke City FC TV.

AA chat with CI It led to Akinbiyi joining on a permanent basis, on a free transfer, and he became a cult hero with the Stoke City crowd.

In March 2005, Burnley signed him for £600,000 – and he was promptly sent off on his debut! The game was only two minutes old when he head-butted George McCartney of Sunderland, and was shown a straight red.

Less than a year later, he was on the move again, switching to Sheffield United in January 2006 for what was then a club record £1.75m fee.

He scored on his Blades debut against Derby County but by October that year he was in the news for his alleged involvement in a training ground bust-up with team-mate Claude Davis.

In all, Akinbiyi made only five appearances for the Blades in the Premiership in 2006 and, on New Year’s Day 2007 he returned to Burnley for a £650,000 fee, with add-ons.

He scored in his first game back, against Reading, but only notched three by the season’s end. Burnley fans have some good memories of him, particularly in a brief spell when he played alongside loan signing Andrew Cole, but on 2 April 2009, Burnley offloaded him to Houston Dynamo.

Dave Thomas, a prolific writer on all things Burnley, talked about Akinbiyi’s cult hero status among Burnley fans, telling thelongside.co.uk: “Ade certainly had a talent and that talent was scoring goals. The story that he was utterly bad at this is totally inaccurate, but that is the legend that developed, at one club in particular, Leicester City.

“In truth, at Burnley too, he missed sitters that Harry Redknapp might say his wife could have scored. But then so do all other players and, in many games, he displayed all the things that he was good at, and the attributes that he had in abundance.”

After he was released by Houston, back in the UK he played 10 games for Notts County, as they won the League Two title In 2009-10, and the following season pitched up in south Wales to play for then non-league Newport County.

In July 2013, Akinbiyi became a player-coach for Colwyn Bay, managed by his former Burnley teammate Frank Sinclair, but both resigned in January 2015 after a 5-0 defeat at Boston.

Akinbiyi now lives in Manchester and in 2015 was interviewed about work he has done as an ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK after his father died from the disease.

Promotion-winning full-back Paul Watson delivered for Zamora

DEPENDABLE full-back Paul Watson will best be remembered by Brighton fans for a sweet left foot that invariably created goalscoring chances for Bobby Zamora

.Previously, Watson made 57 appearances in a season-and-a-half with Fulham, and was a mainstay in their famous 1996-97 side that earned promotion from Division Three under Micky Adams.

.Born in Hastings on 4 January 1975, Watson began his playing career with Gillingham, where he spent five years before following Adams to Fulham in July 1996.

He teamed up with Adams once more, at Brentford, where he played for 20 months before signing for the Albion in a joint deal with Bees teammate Charlie Oatway.

Watson was a key member of the side that won back-to-back championships, helping the Seagulls from the fourth to the second tier.

The left-footed right back was particularly accurate from dead ball situations and his pinpoint passing proved ideal for Zamora to thrive on.

In Paul Camillin’s Match of My Life book (knowthescorebooks.com, 2009), Zamora said: “Whenever Watto got the ball I knew precisely where I needed to run to and he knew where to deliver it to.

“It was just such a great connection: Watto has an absolutely wonderful left foot and it made my job as a striker so much easier when you get deliveries like that.”

At the time of the interview, Zamora had moved on to Premiership Fulham and had played several seasons at the highest level. He said: “I don’t think I have come across anybody with a better left foot than Watto’s.

“I was very lucky to have played in the same team as him: he created numerous goals for me; not only with his deliveries but with his intelligent play as well.”

When the Seagulls finished top of the third tier under Adams’ successor Peter Taylor, Watson was one of four former Fulham players in the side: Danny Cullip, Simon Morgan and Paul Brooker the others.

The disastrous run of 12 defeats under Martin Hinshelwood, after such a promising start in the second tier, took the players by surprise, as Watson revealed in an extended interview with Jon Culley for the Wolverhampton Wanderers matchday programme on 11 November 2002.

“Obviously we were aware it was a step up but we thought we would at least do okay,” he said. “Nobody was suggesting we would win promotion for a third season in a row, but, with a couple of new signings and the quality that was already in the side, we didn’t think we would struggle as we have.

“Everything started off all right. We had a good win at Burnley and then a 0-0 draw against Coventry and the way we were playing seemed to be working but after that nothing would go right.

“Every bit of luck, even the referees’ decisions, seemed to go against us and we could not get a point for love nor money.”

Watson conceded that the squad Peter Taylor had led to the Second Division title before his resignation faced a steeper learning curve than anticipated.

“You have to appreciate that 80 per cent of the squad had never played in the First Division before and it is a big jump in terms of the technical quality of some of the people you are up against,” he said.

Watson admitted the loss of Taylor had come as a big blow, and said: “Peter Taylor had been the England coach, even if it was only for one game, and to attract a manager of that quality to a club such as ourselves was very exciting. Lots of players were gutted when he left.”

The arrival of Steve Coppell as manager gave the team renewed hope, although at the time Watson also spoke about the return to fitness and form of Zamora.

“Bobby was out for a while at the beginning of the season and you are always going to miss a player of his quality,” he said. “Now that he is beginning to get his fitness back, hopefully he will be able to make a difference to our fortunes.

“Nobody here is talking about relegation despite the start we have made. The arrival of players like Dean Blackwell and Simon Rodger have given a bit more know-how to the squad. We think we have what it takes to stay up.”

Obviously, it didn’t quite turn out that way, although they came mighty close to avoiding the drop. Watson stayed with the club the following season when Mark McGhee came in and steered the Seagulls to play-off victory in Cardiff against Bristol City, but his regular right-back slot was taken over by Adam Virgo.

After six years with the Seagulls, Watson left in July 2005, once again following ex-boss Adams, this time to Coventry City.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” Watson told fulhamfc.com. “He’s made my career, basically! I’ll always have good things to say about him. Wherever he’s been he’s always been able to get the best out of his players, and he got the best out of me as well.”

However, Watson only played three games in a six-month spell with the Sky Blues, before going non-league with Woking, playing 15 games and, in the 2006-07 season, appearing in 44 games for Rushden & Diamonds.

He then had a season with Crawley and finally finished playing with Bognor. After hanging up his boots, Watson undertook a physiotherapy degree and was subsequently taken on by the Albion.

“It kind of started when I was at Brighton,” Watson told fulhamfc.com. “I had a couple of injuries towards the end of my time there and the physio at the time, Malcolm Stuart, helped me along and pointed me in the right direction.

Watto phys

“I did a couple of courses while I was still playing which helped me get onto my degree when I retired.”

Watson spent just short of nine years with the Albion’s physio team, initially with the development squad and then with the first team, during which time he earned a first class honours degree in physiotherapy at Brunel University, graduating in 2012.

Since June 2017 he has been head physio at Sheffield United and is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Sports Physiotherapy with Bath University.

In parallel lines

Nick Turrell's Brighton & Hove Albion blog

Tag: Bobby Zamora