IT’S THE SEASON of giving and with the days coming in twelves this In Parallel Lines ‘special’ gives you a dozen players who’ve played for the Albion and post-Christmas opponents Arsenal.
A bit like an advent calendar, and with the slightest hint of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, you’ll need to click on the link to see if the player has featured in a blog post of the past or is a blog post still to come!
Across several decades, there have been numerous connections between the clubs but with my own Brighton-watching journey beginning in 1969, I’m not looking at the likes of Irish international defender Jimmy Magill or manager Archie Macaulay because they were before my time.
Let’s start with goalkeepers. Over the years, there have been several who’ve worn the gloves at both clubs – Tony Burns, Nicky Rust or Mat Ryan for example. Younger readers will be more familiar with Ryan and, as an Australian international, he gets the nod as no.1.
If international status gives a player the edge, it would be tempting to suggest Ben White at right-back but ahead of him I’d have to pick Martin Keown. More familiar to today’s football watchers as a TV pundit, those of us with a few more miles on the clock will remember him as a youngster spending two spells on loan with the Seagulls before he got his break with the Gunners, Aston Villa and Everton and won 43 caps for England.
Another TV and radio pundit who wore Albion’s stripes with aplomb having once been a £2m signing by Arsenal is Matthew Upson. He was Brighton’s player of the season in 2013-14.
The late Willie Young, one of that rare breed who played for Arsenal and north London rivals Spurs, comes into contention alongside him but he didn’t cover himself in glory at Brighton so I am plumping for Colin Pates. Pates first made a name for himself as Chelsea’s youngest-ever captain before becoming a reliable back-up defender during George Graham’s reign at Arsenal.
Brighton manager Barry Lloyd had been a teammate of Graham’s at Chelsea in the mid-1960s and the connection served Albion well when he agreed for Pates to join the Seagulls on loan to become part of the side that reached the 1991 play-off final at Wembley. He later rejoined the club on a permanent basis before injury forced him to retire.
Mike Everitt might have merited inclusion at left-back but there’s really only one candidate for that position and that’s the seasoned Northern Irish international Sammy Nelson. He took over that spot at Arsenal from Bob McNab and made 339 league and cup appearances for the Gunners before losing his place to Kenny Sansom. He stayed in the top-flight, though, by joining Brighton under Mike Bailey. He had a spell as coach under Chris Cattlin before pursuing a career in the City.
Although he played most of his career in defence, for the purposes of this piece I’m selecting Steve Gatting in midfield – a position he was equally adept at filling. Another Bailey signing from Arsenal, Gatting remained at Brighton for 10 years and after his playing days were over returned to his first club as an academy and under-23s coach.
It is tempting to bend my own rules and select Liam Brady alongside him but, of course, while the mercurial Irishman was such a fine player for Arsenal, it was only from the dugout that Brighton enjoyed his influence.
Instead, I’ll plump for Steve Sidwell who, although never making a senior appearance for Arsenal, grew up in their academy and bookended his career playing for Brighton.
Barrett? Not even close!
It’s out wide and in the middle of attack that the choices overwhelm although, to be honest, it is difficult to make a case for the lesser talents of Chuba Akpom, Graham Barrett or Raphael Meade over two of Mikel Arteta’s current picks – Viktor Gyökeres and Leandro Trossard (although Paul Dickov was in my thoughts).
Centre forward could have been Frank Stapleton who did his old Arsenal teammate Brady a favour by turning out twice for the Seagulls in 1994, but I’d have to settle for Danny Welbeck to lead the line. Let’s give Stapleton the no.12 shirt.
One old school indulgence would be out wide where, although Mark Flatts briefly impressed, and one day we might come to admire the talents of Amario Cozier-Duberry, perhaps there’s room for nippy winger Brian Tawse, who’d have had a field day supplying players of the quality of Gyökeres and Welbeck.
So, there you have it, the In Parallel Lines Arsenal-Brighton line-up is
Mat Ryan
Martin Keown Colin Pates Matt Upson Sammy Nelson
Steve Sidwell Steve Gatting
Brian Tawse Leandro Trossard Viktor Gyökeres
Danny Welbeck
Sub: Frank Stapleton
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the festive season and all the best for the new year. UTA!
A GOAL by Tony Rougier three minutes into his debut as a substitute gave Brighton a glimmer of hope in their battle to avoid relegation.
His strike against Mark McGhee’s mid-table Millwall side at Withdean Stadium on 22 February 2003 was the only goal of the game and lifted Albion out of the bottom three of the Championship.
When Bobby Zamora dummied Kerry Mayo’s pass to allow Arsenal loanee Graham Barrett to turn and move the ball goalwards, Rougier nipped in to complete a neat finish past Tony Warner in the Millwall goal.
Manager Steve Coppell had sent on the Reading loanee as a 61st minute substitute for winger Paul Brooker although he admitted to Stuart Barnes of The Guardian: “I honestly didn’t know if Tony would make a difference, but I felt he would pep up everybody else because we were starting to lose our grip.
“Getting out of the bottom three will give the players a lot of self-esteem. For a long time this season they have questioned whether they belonged at this level.”
Trinidad and Tobago international Rougier joined the Seagulls having been sidelined by Alan Pardew at Reading who paid £325,000 when signing him from Brian Horton’s Port Vale.
Horton gave the Argus an insight of what Albion fans might expect when he said in an interview: “Tony has a great build and he is a threat with his pace and strength.
“We had to sell him because we needed the money and he was one of our major earners.”
He had been Vale’s leading goalscorer with eight goals in 38 games when they were relegated from the First Division in 2000 before moving to Reading that August.
Rougier made a total of 84 appearances for Reading, scoring six goals, and in his first season helped them to the Division Two play-off final where they lost 3-2 to Walsall (and Rougier scored an own goal after going on as a substitute). But a year later, he made 20 starts and 13 appearances off the bench as Reading were promoted in second place – behind the Albion!
He had scored twice in 12 outings for Pardew’s high-flying Royals in 2002-03, including in a 1-0 win against Albion at Withdean. But competition for places was fierce, with the likes of Nicky Forster, Darius Henderson, John Salako and Nathan Tyson.
Coppell told the Argus: “I speak with Alan fairly regularly but this came totally out of the blue when I phoned him up.
“Tony is a big, strong lad and he gives us options. He can play as a wide man or down the middle and the move suits Reading, the player and me.”
Getting to grips with Jason Brown of Gillingham
Coppell needed forward cover because Gary Hart was about to start a four-match suspension, Zamora was banned for the next away game at Gillingham, Paul Kitson was still injured and Barrett was struggling for form and goals.
The following matchday programme observed Rougier had not been signed for his goalscoring prowess, but rather for his “power, direct running, and causing havoc that others can exploit”.
But the goal was very welcome in a season that might well not have ended in relegation if Coppell had started the season in charge rather than joining after so many games had already been lost under Martin Hinshelwood.
Rougier made his first start in a 3-0 defeat away to Gillingham playing up front with Barrett when Zamora and Hart were suspended.
He featured in home wins over Rotherham United (2-0) and Nottingham Forest (1-0) as well as an away defeat at Stoke City (0-1), but he missed the 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United after twisting his right ankle against Forest.
He bowed out in style in his final appearance, making one goal and scoring a second in a memorable 2-2 draw away to Ipswich Town.
I took my then 14-year-old son Rhys to the clash at Portman Road and the lively midfielder-cum-striker in the no.34 shirt, who had been taken to the hearts of the Albion faithful, was suitably serenaded with the chant ‘Ra-ra-ra Rougier’ to the tune of the popular vaudeville and music hall song Ta–ra–ra Boom-de-ay.
His first significant involvement saw him go up for a header from Hart’s cross and Town goalkeeper Andy Marshall diverted the ball into his own net to gift Albion an equaliser.
Future Albion loanee striker Darren Bent missed a penalty that would have put Ipswich back in front, and then, with 10 minutes to go, Albion fans were buoyant with expectation when Rougier slammed the ball into the roof of the net after Ipswich had failed to clear their lines.
Unfortunately for Brighton, a 30-yard thunderbolt from Martin Reuser flew past Dave Beasant to put the home side level and Albion had to be content with a point, which ultimately wasn’t enough to avoid making an immediate return to the division they’d left the previous season.
While the player was keen to extend his stay, Pardew wanted him back to help with Reading’s promotion run-in, although thankfully he wasn’t involved in Brighton’s shock 2-1 win at the Madejski Stadium on 4 April (and Steve Sidwell, who had been on loan at the Albion earlier that season was an unused sub). Goals from Brooker and sub Kitson took the spoils for the Albion, Cureton netting for the home side.
The Royals finished fourth in the league before losing 3-1 on aggregate to Wolves in the play-off semi-finals, and Rougier was released on a free transfer having scored three times in 13 starts and nine appearances off the bench.
Rougier told the Argus he would be interested in returning to the Albion, but nothing came of it and he joined Brentford instead. Manager Wally Downes believed the player had “real quality” although Brentford fans seemed to have divided opinions on what he brought to the side.
‘Snappy’ on The Griffin Park Grapevine reckoned: “The guy is a huge asset, especially in the last 10 minutes of a game when he can hold the ball up and dance his way around players like they were statues and relieve the pressure on the defence.”
‘West Ealing Bee’ agreed: “He is an asset to the club and a very important part of the team.” But ‘Boston Bee’ had a totally different take on the player: “Even when he actually tried (15min/match) he looked like he wasn’t trying. His lack of interest in the game going on around him drove me crazy.”
Rougier made 34 appearances for the Bees, scoring five goals but when Martin Allen took over as manager in March 2004, Rougier was one of five players he allowed to leave Griffin Park as part of a squad overhaul that ultimately helped them to a last-day escape from relegation.
Meanwhile, Rougier linked up with another ex-Albion captain, Danny Wilson, at Bristol City on a free transfer. Indeed, Rougier appeared for the Robins when they lost 1-0 to McGhee’s Albion in the divisional play-off final in Cardiff on 30 May.
But when Wilson lost his job that summer, Rougier followed him out of the exit and he returned to Trinidad, where he won the last of 67 international caps for Trinidad and Tobago.
Rougier stepped into coaching
He has since turned to coaching, becoming a UEFA A licensed coach, and attained a degree in sports development. On his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as the founder, president and technical director of FC South End, and, in 2014, among his past coaching experiences was a spell working with his nation’s under 20 squad.
Four years later, he had moved to the United States to coach the New England Revolution academy team.
Born on 17 July 1971 in Sobo, a village in south west Trinidad, his footballing career was initially confined to his home country.
Tom Lunn, writing for Reading fan websitethetilehurstend.sbnation.com in 2019, profiled Rougier describing how the player began his senior footballing career in his home country with La Brea Angels. His Wikipedia page says he also played for Trintoc, United Petrotrin, and Trinity Pros.
An Albion matchday programme article said Rougier then moved to New York where he spent a year working in the baggage department at John F Kennedy airport before heading to the UK.
After overcoming work permit issues, he was taken on by Raith Rovers where, over the course of two years, he became something of a cult hero. In 2018, he returned to Fife to be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
“This is where it all started,” he said in an interview with the club’s TV channel. “It never felt the same whichever club I went to afterwards. The Fife people gave me respect and it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Rougier welcomed back in Fife
During the interview, Rougier remembered fondly an occasion when he man-marked Paul Gascoigne, playing central midfield against Rangers.
His stand-out moment was a UEFA Cup second round tie in Munich’s Olympic Stadium on 30 October 1985 when Raith only narrowly lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich who boasted the likes of Oliver Kahn in goal and Jurgen Klinsmann up front.
His performances for Raith earned him a £250,000 move to Hibernian. He scored four times in 45 matches for Alex McLeish’s Edinburgh outfit but in January 1999 joined Port Vale, signed by Horton’s predecessor John Rudge for £175,000.
By then, he had established himself in the Trinidad and Tobago national side, a teammate of Dwight Yorke, and often being chosen as captain.
In his own words, he describes himself as: “A highly experienced football coach and former professional player with a career in the game spanning more than 25 years, I has successfully made the transition into coaching, management and club operations through a consistent focus on long term player and team development.
“A former national team captain with Trinidad & Tobago and a promotion winner in both England and Scotland, I have been able to effectively apply my on-field experience to guide team success and coaching strategy at professional, grassroots and school level.
“I am a positive, dynamic and passionate professional who is committed to my continued progression as a coach. I am always open to opportunities in which I can develop while positively impacting a football club or organisation, and would relish the opportunity to work with elite players within an ambitious environment.”
STEVEN THOMSON didn’t enjoy his year playing for Brighton in League One and the former Crystal Palace midfielder seized an escape route to return to Scotland to see out the remainder of his long professional career.
It had been considered quite a coup when Dean Wilkins secured the signing of the Falkirk captain in January 2008. In effect a replacement for the departing Dean Hammond, Thomson was soon a victim of Wilkins’ tinkering with the formation, and over his 41 matches for the Seagulls had a conveyor belt of midfield partners, not to mention a change in manager, as Wilkins’ replacement, Micky Adams, introduced a different style – in vain – to try to galvanise the side during his second spell as boss.
Although Thomson had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Seagulls, in January 2009 the disillusioned Scot headed back north of the border.
“I didn’t enjoy it there at all and was keen to try and get myself back up the road,” he admitted in an interview with the Daily Record in 2018.
Having wound down his full-time career at St Mirren, after 18 seasons as a professional, and having moved to London to begin a business career, Thomson linked up with his former Albion teammate Nicky Forster to spend a season as a part-time player with Dover Athletic, where the former Seagulls striker was manager at the time.
In an in-depth interview for the Dover Athletic website, Thomson gave a great insight into his career, revealing the lengths he went to to get a break into the professional game.
Born in Glasgow on 23 January 1978, he explained: “After playing for a local boys club I was invited to go and train with a few clubs, so, at the age of 10, I found myself training with Rangers on a Monday, Celtic on a Tuesday, Hearts on a Wednesday and Hibs on a Thursday.”
When he reached 14, he was advised to choose one club over the others and opted for Rangers. Daunted by the high numbers of youngsters all trying for the same opportunity, aged just 16 he took the bold move to head to Croydon and signed on as an apprentice with Palace.
He progressed from the youth team to be offered a pro contract at 17, worked his way through the reserves and then got some calls up to the first team subs bench when they were still in the Premier League. He also played for Scotland’s under-18 side between 1995 and 1997.
During his brief return as manager, Terry Venables gave Thomson his debut aged 19 in the 1998-99 season. Thomson wasn’t renowned for goalscoring, but Palace fans do remember a particularly sweet strike he succeeded with in a 3-0 Worthington Cup win at Leicester City in November 2000.
Leicester’s back-up goalkeeper Simon Royce, who would later join Albion on loan, was beaten from 35 yards by Thomson’s spectacular shot.
The midfielder’s 121 games spanned the spells of five managers – Venables, Steve Bruce, Trevor Francis, Steve Coppell and Dave Bassett – before he left the club at the end of the 2002-03 season. It would be fair to say he divided opinion among Eagles supporters.
On fans forum cpfc.org, ‘Hairybear’ said: “Thomson was a warrior. Very little ability but did a good job when called upon under Bruce and co. He would never let you down.”
But ‘Baron Greenback’ said: “As well as THAT goal against Leicester, he also scored great goals at home to Sunderland in the FA Cup and Wolves.”
It was the ebullient Barry Fry who took Thomson to Peterborough United, (above) where he played 75 games in two seasons before moving back to Scotland to play for Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League.
When Brighton signed him, his former Falkirk teammate and one-time Albion loanee, Graham Barrett, told the Argus what Seagulls supporters could expect.
“They are getting a fantastic professional and a really good player,” said Barrett. “We have been going really well and he has been a massive part of that.
“He is a box-to-box player, he is comfortable on the ball and he has got a bit of everything.
“He is not particularly big (5ft 8in) but he is also very good in the air for his height.”
Barrett reckoned he would be “a massive influence” if he could continue the form he’d shown in Scotland. “He is great in the dressing room as well, a real leader,” said Barrett.
Thomson made his Albion debut in a 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield on 19 January, starting at the base of a midfield diamond with Paul Reid and David Martot out wide and Dean Cox at the top of it.
Brian Owen, of the Argus, described him as “a neat and tidy passer who only gave the ball away when trying something ambitious”.
Within a couple of months, the Argus was reporting: “It has not been easy for Thomson since his January move back to England from Falkirk.
“He has had to adjust to playing with a number of different partners and now Adam El-Abd is a long-term casualty with the medial knee ligament injury he suffered at Huddersfield.”
Although mostly recognised as a centre back, El-Abd had been one of the options tried in midfield. Thomson admitted to the newspaper: “I know I can perform better. There is more to come. I am adjusting to playing so many games. In Scotland you just play Saturday to Saturday.
“It has been a big move for my family as well. My wife (originally from London) is a lot closer to her parents now and she has got a lot of family around, which helps with our young son.”
In rather a similar vein to the Palace faithful, Brighton fans were also divided as to Thomson’s merits. ‘The Complete Badger’ declared on North Stand Chat: “The only midfielder of any class we’ve got. A real touch of quality about everything he does in my opinion. Much better than Hammond, and much better than anyone else we’ve got.”
But ‘Napper’ reckoned: “Thomson just seems to have nothing about him, not quick, no killer passes. Just seems to either waste possession or go backwards. I’ve really given him more than enough time, but facts are he just isn’t very good. I’ve been watching him closely for many games now.”
In his end-of-season summary, Andy Naylor, Albion reporter for the Argus in 2008, reckoned Hammond had been a hard act to follow, and commented: “Thomson looks a tidy player who will benefit from playing as a central midfielder in a 4-4-2, not the dreaded diamond.”
After Wilkins was shown the door, new boss Adams recognised Thomson’s leadership qualities, making him vice-captain to skipper Nicky Forster, as well as saying he was going to play him in a role further forward than he had been previously.
“I enjoyed the responsibility at Falkirk and I will be willing to help Nicky as much as I can,” Thomson told the Argus. “The manager has stressed that he wants me to try and push forward a lot more, rather than just sitting in front of the back four, and I am quite happy with that.
“I look after myself off the park, so I’m quite fit. Maybe he thinks I have got the engine to get up and down!”
However, problems mounted for Adams when Forster was ruled out by injury and, as in the previous season, Thomson found himself alongside different midfield partners, including, at one time, the flamboyant Robbie Savage, trying to recover some fitness on loan from Derby.
As the year drew to a close, it became public knowledge that Thomson was unsettled and itching to go back to Scotland, so a deal was lined up for him to join St Mirren as soon as the January transfer window opened.
He joined them on the day they played their final game at Love Street ahead of their move to Greenhill Road, and he went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Buddies.
Their fans’ abiding memory of his time there centre on a surprise 4-0 win over Celtic on 24 March 2010, when Thomson scored twice. The result so shocked the Parkhead bosses that they sacked Hoops boss Tony Mowbray.
On joining Dover in May 2012, Thomson told the club’s website: “I made the decision last year that this would be my final season as a full-time player. I have been studying for four or five years and I’m now fully qualified and have secured a job in London.
“My wife Bryony is from London anyway and she wanted to move closer to her family. I’ve been a footballer for 18 years and now it’s time to enter the real world.”
Thomson now works as a financial advisor, with a stylish looking profile on LinkedIn.
In parallel lines 