Tag: Guy Butters

Tommy Elphick’s cherry picking ride to coaching

MEADOW LANE, Nottingham, is probably not one of Tommy Elphick’s favourite grounds. When he left the pitch on a stretcher in the 53rd minute on 7 May 2011, it was a great opportunity for the youngster who replaced him – Lewis Dunk – but for Elphick it was a turning point in a fledgling, promising career with his hometown club.

League One champions Brighton drew 1-1 with Notts County that day but, as they looked forward to playing Championship football in the shiny new American Express Community Stadium at Falmer, Elphick was sidelined for the whole of the following season with a ruptured Achilles tendon injury.

Unsurprisingly, others made the most of his absence. Although he briefly returned to first team action in a pre-season friendly v Lewes in August 2012, the level of competition by then made him realise he would need to move elsewhere to get back in the groove.

That’s when he began an association with AFC Bournemouth that continues now as first team coach, retained by the club in spite of the man who appointed him (Gary O’Neil) being replaced as manager.

As a player, Elphick took a step back to make a stride forward, dropping down a division to join the Cherries and ended up reaching the ‘promised land’ of the Premier League before the Albion.

“To say it worked out well for me was an understatement,” Elphick told Nick Szczepanik in an Albion website interview in 2020. Little wonder he is hailed as “the most successful captain in the history of AFC Bournemouth” having led them to promotions from League One in 2013 and the Championship in 2015, when he was ever-present and named Cherries supporters’ player of the season.

En route to that achievement, he finally got to play at the Amex – on 1 January 2014 – but it was in the red and black stripes of the Cherries in a 1-1 Championship draw.

At the Amex in Bournemouth’s red and black stripes

Interviewed in that game’s matchday programme, he admitted: “I’m buzzing for it. I was the first Brighton player contracted to play at the Amex but obviously my Achilles injury conspired against me and I never got the opportunity.

“Having been with the club since a kid, as we went through all the struggles the dream was always to run out at the new stadium at Falmer. It was disappointing that it never happened for me.”

Born in Brighton on 7 September 1987, Elphick played locally for Woodingdean FC before linking up with the Albion academy at the age of 11 after impressing head of youth Martin Hinshelwood.

In his early days with Brighton, he came under the influence of Vic Bragg who he described as “a very astute tactician” whose “coaching drills were excellent and kept us on our toes”.

In a matchday programme article, he said of Bragg: “While he has a heart of gold and is genuinely a nice guy, you didn’t want to cross him on a bad day – but if he did have a word in your ear, it was always constructive.”

It was under Mark McGhee that Elphick made his first team debut (above) in December 2005, going on as a 73rd minute sub away to Reading in a 5-1 mauling after his older brother Gary had earlier been sent off on his full debut.

“I’m Brighton born and bred, I was a fan at Withdean before I played, and even remember doing a bucket collection on the touchline at Priestfield (when Albion were in exiled at Gillingham) in a bid to raise money for some new jumpers for us youth-team players.

“To then go on and make my debut, having come through the system under Dean Wilkins, well it doesn’t get any better than that.

“That was the highlight for me; being one of seven players from the youth-team set-up to make it to the first team.”

Gary didn’t play for the Seagulls again and Tommy had to wait until April 2007 to make his first start, by which time his old youth team coach Wilkins was in charge of the first team. That game also ended in a defeat, 2-0 to Doncaster, and it was only the following season that he established himself as a starter, initially playing alongside Guy Butters and Joel Lynch and later Adam El Abd and Gordon Greer.

A personal highlight was winning the Player of the Season accolade at the end of his first full season (2007-08), and he went on to captain the side on many occasions, as well as being part of the team that won the League One title.

“Brighton are the club who gave me my chance in the game, who shaped me as a footballer and a person,” he said.

As well as McGhee and Wilkins, Elphick’s 182 Seagulls appearances also spread across the reigns of Micky Adams, Russell Slade and Gus Poyet.

The changes introduced by Poyet really struck home with Elphick, who told Spencer Vignes: “From day one there was absolute clarity in terms of what he expected from us, with a few simple rules to start with, which he built on week by week.

“We were in the lower reaches of the table and flirting with relegation, so for him to come in and demand that we play the way he saw the game was unbelievable really.

“A lot of managers would’ve tried to tighten the ship and play a more basic brand of football, but his football was based around possession.

“The style he produced, the football we played and what we went on to do for the next two or three years was phenomenal.”

But Elphick appreciated others too, saying: “I had such a good grounding as a kid and I’m so lucky to have played under some great managers and coaches.”

As a pointer to how things have panned out, he said: “I definitely want to stay in the game, coach, and hopefully manage one day.”

Reflecting on the League One title-winning campaign, Elphick told Szczepanik: “I relished the way we played in that season. I was brought up to play that way in the youth teams under Vic Bragg, Martin Hinshelwood and Dean Wilkins, who all wanted the game played in the right way.

“We lost our way a little after Dean left and we didn’t really have any style until Gus Poyet came to the club and revolutionised it. It was something I was enjoying until I got that injury. But if I hadn’t been injured, would I have ended up at Bournemouth?”

Elphick had signed a new contract with Albion when the move to Bournemouth in League One came up. “In theory it was a step down, but for me it was important to get back playing again,” he said.

The 2011-12 season had been a wipe-out as far as he was concerned because an infection and a repeat of the initial injury ruled out any chance of a swift comeback. He was operated on in Finland by the same surgeon (Professor Sakari Orava) who had performed similar surgery on David Beckham.

It was fully 16 months between the initial injury and playing 45 minutes of a pre-season friendly at Lewes in July 2012. “The idea had been to go out on loan and there were four or five different options, but Bournemouth were looking to have a right go at getting promoted and when I went down to meet the manager, Paul Groves, and the chairman, I was taken by the plans they had for the club,” said Elphick.

“Paul’s assistant, Shaun Brooks, was quite close to Dean Wilkins, and used to come and watch the Brighton youth team, so there was a connection there. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for Paul and Shaun but that led to Eddie Howe coming back to the club.”

After making 145 appearances for Bournemouth, in 2016 Elphick moved on to Aston Villa, who he had scored against for Brighton at Villa Park in a 3-2 FA Cup defeat three years earlier (below left).

In the summer of 2016, Villa, under Roberto di Matteo, had just been relegated to the Championship and wanted Elphick as their captain as they aimed to bounce straight back to the Premier League.

He was di Matteo’s first signing as Villa manager – and he can thank a very understanding wife that the move went through smoothly.

Elphick cut short his honeymoon to get cracking with his new club, telling the Birmingham Mail: “As soon as I heard about Villa’s interest it’s something that turned my head straight away.

“To be able to come here and represent such a great club with such great history is going to be a real honour for me.”

However, it wasn’t long before Steve Bruce took over from di Matteo and he preferred a different centre-back pairing, meaning Elphick spent most of the second half of the season on the subs bench. I recollect him going on for Villa in the last game of the season when Albion hoped to clinch the Championship title only to concede a late equaliser when a shot from Jack Grealish squirmed through David Stockdale’s grasp.

On loan at Hull City

In January of the following year, Elphick went out on loan to Reading for half a season (but only played four games) and he began the first half of the 2018-19 season on loan at Hull City, playing 18 games under Nigel Adkins.

Because of injuries to others, he was recalled to Villa at the start of 2019 by Bruce’s replacement Dean Smith. He played 14 matches but was not involved in the end-of-season play-off final when they finally earned promotion back to the Premier League (beating Derby County 2-1).

Interviewed by the Birmingham Mail about his three years at Villa, Elphick replied: “Tough, unbelievable, disappointing, anger – I had every emotion but I wouldn’t change it for the world because it’s created who I am now.

“What I saw and experienced at Villa was mental, good and bad. A big club brings different pressures and different pitfalls and you have to experience that to know what you could be dealt with further down the line.

“It was really troubled and there was poison in the brickworks to start with. Steve Bruce did the most unbelievable job at weeding that out and bringing it all together.

A challenging time at Villa

“He wasn’t a manager I particularly took a shine to in the way he coached or managed but he taught me a lot about how to bring people together and how to create a group.

“I experienced working under Roberto di Matteo, a Champions League-winning manager, and Steve Bruce, one of the most successful managers in the Championship. Dean Smith was a bit of a trailblazer and did some powerful stuff.”

After two injury-ravaged seasons at Huddersfield Town, when he managed just 14 games for the Terriers, Elphick quit playing to embark on a coaching career that always seemed to be his destination.

He reckoned it was that long spell out injured while at Brighton that helped his move into coaching because he had time to watch and understand football in a way that wouldn’t have happened if he’d been playing every weekend.

He returned to Bournemouth as coach of their development squad, explaining to premierleague.com: “I was delighted to work alongside Shaun Cooper with the 21s. I was very, very lucky to work with such an outstanding coach, and I learned so much. That period also opened my eyes to the time and effort required to do this job properly.  

“In truth, academy football probably had a lifespan for me, but it was an invaluable year.” 

When Parker lost his job in the wake of a 9-0 humbling by Liverpool, Cooper and Elphick were promoted to work alongside new boss Gary O’Neil.

“There are benefits and negatives to being thrust into that situation,” admitted Elphick. “I would love to have spent more time coaching, experimenting, and finding out who I really am on the grass before going into such a high-pressure situation, but it was an opportunity which had to be grabbed with both hands.”

Elphick told Adrian Clarke: “At the outset, none of us had coached at Premier League level before, but we went in, took the handbrake off and went for it. Thankfully, the three us had a nice blend.”  

Elphick absorbed plenty from O’Neil’s way of working and observed: “Premier League football is such a high-level now that as a coach, if you’re put on the spot you need to be able to answer questions or offer advice on all aspects of the game. My intention is to become as well-rounded as possible.” 

After helping Andoni Iraola settle in as new head coach, Elphick has relished his supporting role although he confessed: “I’ve always wanted to manage, and down the line I’d like to put my principles and ideas into practice. It’s an itch I will need to scratch, but there is no rush.  

“Right now, I just feel so lucky to have experienced contrasting styles in O’Neil and Iraola, and I have learned an incredible amount from both men. I really resonate with Andoni, and the way he wants his team to play with emotion, and he places a lot of emphasis on spirit. 

“What I have learned so far is that to be a successful coach you firstly need strong beliefs. Then, you must deliver your messages with consistency and confidence, and of course be authentic, true to yourself.”

Crunching tackler ‘Tank’ Clark: a legend at two seaside clubs

VIKING lookalike Paul Clark made a lasting impression on plenty of players with robust tackling which earned him ‘legend’ status among fans of Brighton and Southend United.

Described in one programme article as “the big bustling blond with the biting tackle”, Clark was given the nickname ‘Tank’ for his no-nonsense approach. A Southend fan lauded “his crunching tackles and never say die attitude”.

Clark himself reflected: “Wherever you go the supporters tend to like someone who is wholehearted and when it came to 50-50 challenges, or even sometimes 60-40, I didn’t shy away from too many, and the supporters just took to it.”

In Albion yellow against Palace

Giving further insight to his approach, he said: “You can go right up to the line – as long as you don’t step over it, then you’re OK.

“I used to pick up a booking during the first five or 10 minutes, then I knew I had to behave myself for the rest of the game. Despite the reputation I had, I was never sent off in over 500 games.”

A trademark strike at home to West Ham

Former teammate Mark Lawrenson said of him: “You would hate to have to play against him because quite often he would cut you in two. With him and ‘Nobby’ (Brian Horton) in the side, we definitely didn’t take any prisoners. One to rely on.”

A former England schoolboy international, it was said of the player in a matchday programme:

“Paul is the first to admit that skill is not his prime asset but there is no doubt as to the strength of his tackle. He is a real competitor and is also deceptively fast, being one of the best sprinters on the Goldstone staff.”

Born in south Benfleet, Essex, on 14 September 1958, Clark went to Wickford Junior School where he played for the school football team and the district primary schools’ side. When he moved on to Beauchamp Comprehensive, selection for his school team led to him playing for the Basildon Schools’ FA XI.

Clark as an England schoolboy

This in turn led to him being selected to play for England Schools at under 15 level, featuring against Scotland, Ireland, Wales, West Germany and France before going on a tour of Australia with the same age group. Contemporaries included future full time professionals Mark Higgins, Ray Deakin, Kevin Mabbutt and Kenny Sansom.

Clark left school at 16 before taking his O levels when Fourth Division Southend offered him an apprenticeship. He made his first team debut shortly before his 18th birthday in a 2-1 win over Watford.

Two months later, he won the first of six England Youth caps. He made his debut in the November 1976 mini ‘World Cup’ tournament in Monaco against Spain and West Germany alongside future full England internationals Chris Woods, Ricky Hill and Sammy Lee.

The following March, he played in England’s UEFA Youth tournament preliminary match against Wales when they won 1-0 at The Hawthorns. Sansom was also in that side. And he featured in all three group matches at the tournament that May (England beat Belgium 1-0, drew 0-0 with Iceland and 1-1 with Greece). Teammates included Russell Osman and Vince Hilaire.

Clark was only a third of the way into his second season at Southend when Alan Mullery sought to beef up his newly-promoted Brighton side in the autumn of 1977, and, in a part exchange deal involving Gerry Fell moving to Roots Hall, Clark arrived at the Goldstone. He made his debut for the Seagulls in a goalless draw at White Hart Lane on 19 November 1977 in front of a crowd of 48,613. And he came close to crowning it with a goal but for an outstanding save by Spurs ‘keeper Barry Daines.

In full flight, as captured by photographer George Erringshaw

When Spurs visited the Goldstone later that season, Clark put in a man of the match performance and scored a memorable opener, following a solo run. A subsequent matchday programme article was suitably poetic about it.

“It showed all the qualities looked for in a player: determination, speed, skill and most of all the ability to finish….if any goal was singled out, Paul’s was certainly one to treasure.”

Albion went on to beat Spurs 3-1, although the game was remembered more because it was interrupted twice when the crowd spilled onto the pitch.

After only 12 minutes, referee Alan Turvey took the players off for 13 minutes while the pitch was cleared of Albion fans who’d sought safety on the pitch from fighting Spurs’ hooligan fans.

In the 74th minute, with Spurs 3-1 down and defender Don McAllister sent-off, their fans rushed the pitch to try to get the game abandoned. But police stopped the invasion getting out of hand and the game continued after another four-minute delay.

Clark’s goal on 16 minutes had been cancelled out six minutes later when Chris Jones seized on a bad goal kick by Eric Steele but defender Graham Winstanley made it 2-1 just before half-time.

Albion’s third goal was surrounded in controversy. Sub Eric Potts claimed the final touch but Spurs argued bitterly that Malcolm Poskett was offside.

Clark remembered the game vividly when interviewed many years later by Spencer Vignes for the matchday programme. The tenacious midfielder put in an early crunching tackle on Glenn Hoddle and after the game the watching ex-Spurs’ manager Bill Nicholson told him: “Well done. You won that game in the first five minutes when you nailed Hoddle.”

Said Clark: “I was 19 at the time so to get a pat on the back from him was much appreciated.”

It was one of three goals Clark scored in his 26 appearances that season (nine in 93 overall for Albion) but he wasn’t always guaranteed a starting berth and in five years at the club had a number of long spells stuck in the reserves.

Midfield enforcer or emergency defender were his primary roles but Clark was capable of unleashing unstoppable shots from distance and among those nine goals he scored were some memorable strikes.

For instance, as Albion closed in on promotion in the spring of 1979, at home to Charlton Athletic, Clark opened the scoring with a scorching 25-yard left foot volley in the 11th minute. Albion went on to win 2-0.

The following month, Clark demonstrated his versatility at St James’ Park on 3 May 1979 when Albion beat Newcastle 3-1 to win promotion to football’s elite level for the first time. Clark played in the back four alongside Andy Rollings because Mark Lawrenson was out injured with a broken arm.

Celebrating promotion with Peter O’Sullivan and Malcolm Poskett

“Not many people can say they played in a side that got Brighton up to the top flight,” said Clark. “It’s something I’m still immensely proud of.”

Once they were there, Clark missed the opening two matches (defeats at home to Arsenal and away to Aston Villa) and had an ignominious start to life at the higher level when he conceded a penalty within three minutes of going on as a sub for Rollings away to Manchester City on 25 August 1979.

Some observers thought Clark had played the ball rather than foul Ray Ranson but referee Pat Partridge thought otherwise and Michael Robinson stepped up to score his first goal for City from the resultant penalty. It put the home side 3-1 up: Teddy Maybank had equalised Paul Power’s opener but Mike Channon added a second before half-time.

Partridge subsequently evened up the penalty awards but Brian Horton blazed his spot kick wide of the post with Joe Corrigan not needing to make a save. Peter Ward did net a second for the Seagulls but they left Maine Road pointless.

Ahead of Albion’s fourth attempt to get league points on the board, Clark played his part in beating his future employer Cambridge United 2-0 in a second round League Cup match.

Three days later, he was on the scoresheet together with Ward and Horton as Albion celebrated their first win at the higher level, beating Bolton Wanderers 3-1 at the Goldstone.

It was Clark’s neat one-two with Ward that produced the opening goal and on 22 minutes, Maybank teed the ball up for Clark, who “belting in from the edge of the box, gave it everything and his shot kept low and sped very fast past (‘Jim’) McDonagh’s right hand,” said Evening Argus reporter John Vinicombe.

Gerry Ryan replaced Clark late in the game and after 12 starts, when he was subbed off three times, and four appearances off the bench, his season was over, and it wasn’t even Christmas.

A colour photo of a typical Clark tackle (on QPR’s Dave Clement) adorned the front cover of that season’s matchday programmes throughout but he didn’t start another game after a 4-0 League Cup defeat at Arsenal on 13 November.

Programme cover shot

He was sub for the following two games; the memorable 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough, but Mullery had signed the experienced Peter Suddaby to play alongside Steve Foster, releasing Lawrenson to demonstrate his considerable repertoire of skills in midfield alongside skipper Horton and Peter O’Sullivan.

Young Giles Stille also began to press for a place and later in the season, Neil McNab was added to the midfield options, leaving Clark well down the pecking order in the reserves. Portsmouth wanted him but he rejected a move along the coast, although he had a brief loan spell at Reading, where he played a couple of games.

But Clark wasn’t finished yet in Albion’s colours and, remarkably, just over a year after his last first team appearance, with the Seagulls struggling in 20th spot in the division, he made a comeback in a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa on 20 December 1980.

Albion had succumbed 4-3 to Everton at Goodison Park in the previous match and Mullery told the Argus: “We badly needed some steel in the side and I think Clark can do that sort of job.”

Under the headline ‘The forgotten man returns’ Argus reporter Vinicombe said Mullery hadn’t changed his opinion that Clark was not a First Division class player, but nevertheless reckoned: “Paul’s attitude is right and I know he’ll go out and do a good job for me.”

For his part, Vinicombe opined: “The strength of Clark’s game is a daunting physical presence. His tackling is second to none in the club and Mullery believes he will respond to the challenge.”

Clark kept the shirt for another nine matches (plus one as a sub), deputising for Horton towards the end of his run, but his last first team game was in a 3-1 defeat at Norwich at the end of February.

Clark remained on the books throughout Mike Bailey’s first season in charge (1981-82) but, with Jimmy Case, Tony Grealish and McNab ahead of him, didn’t make a first team appearance and left on a free transfer at the end of it.

Back to Southend

He returned to Southend where he stayed for nine years and was player-manager on two occasions. Fans website shrimperzone.com moderator ‘Yorkshire Blue’ summed up his contribution to their cause thus: “In the top five all-time list for appearances, an inspiration in four promotions, one of the toughest tacklers of all-time and a man whose commitment for his home-town club could never be doubted.”

Clark was still only 27 when he had his first spell as manager, in caretaker charge after Dave Webb had quit following a bust-up with the club chairman, and he managed to steer United to promotion back to the third tier.

When Webb’s successor Dick Bate lasted only eight games of the new season, Clark was back at the helm, in turn becoming the youngest manager in the league.

His first hurdle ended in a League Cup giant killing over top flight Derby County (who included his old teammate John Gregory) when the Us had another former Albion teammate, Eric Steele, in goal.

A Roy McDonough penalty past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton at Roots Hall settled the two-legged tie (the second leg was goalless at the Baseball Ground) which the writer described as “arguably their biggest ever cup shock”.

In the league, player-manager Clark guided Southend to a safe 17th place but it went pear-shaped the following season. Clark only played 16 games, Southend were relegated, and Webb returning midway through the season as general manager.

Back-to-back promotions in 1989-90 and 1990-91 proved to be a more than satisfactory swansong to his Southend career, and in the first of those he found himself forming an effective defensive partnership with on-loan Guy Butters in the second half of the season.

In 1990-91, he missed only six games all season as the Shrimpers earned promotion to the second tier for the first time in their history, and he had a testimonial game against Arsenal.

But, after a total of 358 games for Southend, he left Roots Hall to join Gillingham on a free transfer.

Over three seasons, he played 90 league games, and was caretaker manager in 1992, before retiring at the end of the 1993-94 season. Gillingham’s top goalscorer with 18 that season was a young Nicky Forster and other Albion connections in that squad included Mike Trusson, Paul Watson, Neil Smillie, Andy Arnott and Richard Carpenter.

After Gillingham, Clark played non-league for Chelmsford City but left to become assistant manager to Tommy Taylor at Cambridge United. In 1996 he followed Taylor in a similar role to Leyton Orient.

Southend fans hadn’t heard the last of him, though – quite literally. He became a co-commentator on Southend games for BBC Radio Essex.

In the 2009-10 season, Clark was temporarily assistant manager to Joe Dunne at Colchester United.

The Foxes hero who led Albion’s line in an hour of need

STEVE CLARIDGE became a Leicester City hero long before briefly coming to Brighton’s rescue.

He scored the winner in a play-off final at Wembley to take the Foxes up to the Premier League at the expense of Crystal Palace, who’d discarded him at an early age.

Both sides had been relegated from the top flight the year before and Claridge’s right-foot strike past Nigel Martyn in the 120th minute meant it was an immediate return for Martin O’Neill’s side.

“The high is not equal to anything,” Claridge told Leicestershire Live.

Scoring play-off winner v Palace

It came in 1996 and a year later he scored the only goal of the game (past Ben Roberts) in the 100th minute of a replay against Middlesbrough to win Leicester the League Cup, leading to him being named FourFourTwo’s ‘Cult Hero of 1997’.

Claridge had only completed a £1.2m move from Birmingham City two months before that play-off and he labelled it the most important goal of his life coming after a worrying period in which he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to play again.

A mystery illness had ravaged his form and in only his fifth Leicester game he was taken off after 15 minutes. “Pins and needles from my knees down were so extreme, I could not even feel the ball,” he recalled.

It turned out a drug prescribed for a thyroid problem he’d had since the age of 12 was destroying his thyroid gland. “The main energy provider of my body was no longer functioning,” said Claridge.

However, once on the right medication, he made an almost unbelievable recovery, was restored to the side and helped to secure a play-off place.

After beating Stoke City in the semi-finals, they went a goal down to Palace in the final but pulled it back through a Garry Parker penalty before Claridge seized his chance in the dying moments of extra time.

Wembley winners for Leicester: Garry Parker and Steve Claridge

He collected a quick free kick from Parker and took aim, his shot from distance kissing the stanchion with goalkeeper Martyn motionless.

“The crowd is just really stunned in disbelief, I don’t know if that was because I’d hit it,” laughed Claridge. “It was so far out, and everybody was used to me scoring goals inside the six-yard box.”

He reflected: “To finish off after the lows I went through, the absolute lows where you’re thinking, ‘my career is over I can’t see a way out of this,’ to doing that and taking you to the ultimate high – winning that game of football. It’s unparalleled.”

Albion cover ‘boy’

Such experience was exactly what Championship strugglers Albion required when, on the back of three defeats, they faced the daunting prospect of promotion-seeking West Ham away on 13 November 2004.

Manager Mark McGhee, who’d previously signed Claridge when he was at Wolves and Millwall, was desperate to stem a tide which had seen eight goals conceded and no points on the board.

“He is one of the fittest players I’ve worked with and I had no doubt that after 18 months away from this level he would be able to perform,” said McGhee.

Claridge’s professional career looked to have run its course after he left Millwall in 2003 and became player-manager of Southern League side Weymouth.

But the disappointment of missing out on promotion had seen him and chairman Ian Ridley leave the club and Claridge, at the age of 38, was keen to give league football another go.

In what turned out to be a real backs-to-the-wall smash and grab raid, Albion earned the unlikeliest of 1-0 wins courtesy of a Guy Butters header from Richard Carpenter’s free kick.

Albion held firm despite a relentless wave of attacks by the home side and afterwards McGhee said: “We approached the game differently. Whereas before we thought we could win, today we did not, and played to make sure we didn’t get beaten.

“We kept the ball up front more which is important. Steve Claridge was key to that.”

Unfortunately, Brighton were not able to build on the win at the Boleyn Ground and there was only one more win (1-0 at home to Rotherham) during Claridge’s month with the club.

His fifth and final game for the Seagulls came away to his old club Millwall on 11 December 2004, when Albion lost 2-0.

In a programme feature about him that day, Claridge likened the circumstances of both clubs. “The club has no money and it is tough just to survive, but everyone is in it together,” he said. “At Millwall we had a great team spirit and togetherness, and that is very much the case here.”

McGhee’s tight budget prevented Claridge’s stay at Albion being extended and, after his deal was over, rather than it being one last hurrah, he went on to continue his league playing days at Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Gillingham, Bradford City and Walsall.

And, at the age of 40, and with him needing just one more game to fulfil the landmark of 1,000 professional games, his old club Bournemouth – where he’d started out as a professional in 1984 – gave him a match against Port Vale on 9 December 2006. No fairy tale, though, as they lost 4-0.

Born in Portsmouth on 10 April 1966, Claridge was brought up in Titchfield and began his football career at nearby Fareham Town in 1983. His initial foray into the pro game at Bournemouth only amounted to seven games before he moved to Weymouth for three years.

Crystal Palace offered him a route back to the full professional game in 1988 but he didn’t make their league side and after three months moved on to fourth tier Aldershot Town.

Two spells with Cambridge United followed between 1990 and 1994 for whom he scored 46 goals in 132 games. A falling out with manager John Beck saw him sold to Luton Town in 1992, but he was then bought back after Beck’s departure.

Birmingham City paid £350,000 to take Claridge to St Andrews and he became one of the club’s most prolific goalscorers, netting 35 in 88 games, and was top scorer with 25 goals when part of Barry Fry’s Blues side that won the Second Division title and the Auto Windscreens Shield (Football League Trophy) in the 1994-95 season.

After spending two years at Leicester, he went on a two-month loan to his hometown club, Portsmouth, but, in March 1998, McGhee signed him for the first time – and it didn’t go well.

The Scot, who had controversially left Leicester to take over at Wolves, took Claridge to Molineux for a £350,000 fee. But Wolves fans were not impressed, as Levelle revealed in this 2012 piece, and after just six games and no goals in the famous old gold shirt, he was sold to Portsmouth for £250,000 at the end of the season.

Even more galling for Wolves followers was that no sooner had Claridge made the switch to Portsmouth, he scored all three in a 3-1 win at Fratton Park!

David Miller in The Telegraph wrote: “The 34-year-old Steve Claridge, who had failed to score in five months when previously with Wolves, now gave sun-blessed Portsmouth a bank holiday funfair with a first- half hat-trick that was as easy as licking an ice-lolly.”

On the ball for Pompey

The goals and games came thick and fast for Claridge back on home turf – 34 in 104 – but his reign as player-manager at Fratton Park in 2000 was curtailed after just 25 games by the quirky chairman Milan Mandarić.

Remembering the player he’d seen only briefly a couple of years earlier, McGhee, by now in charge at Millwall, offered the striker a lifeline with the Lions, initially on loan and then as a permanent signing.

Going through the pain barrier at Millwall

Over two seasons in south east London, he became something of a fans’ favourite, scoring 26 in 85 matches, his efforts summed up by writer Mark Litchfield. “His style was unconventional, to say the least: shirt untucked, one sock down and no shin pads, any naïve defender probably thought they could eat him for breakfast. But hard work was a pre-requisite for Claridge – he wouldn’t give any opposition player a moment’s rest and would more often than not always get the better of them, too.”

Claridge had a less happy association with Millwall too when in July 2005 he was sacked after just 36 days as manager when the chairman who appointed him, Jeff Burnidge, was replaced by  Theo Paphitis, who wanted Colin Lee instead.

Even after achieving the 1,000-game landmark courtesy of Bournemouth, Claridge couldn’t resist the lure of another game, turning out for Worthing, Harrow Borough, Weymouth and Gosport Borough.

He was one of a group of five that formed Salisbury FC at the end of 2014, and as team manager was involved in gaining two promotions in the Southern League before leaving in October 2022.

Although he had officially hung up his boots in 2012 after helping Gosport to promotion to the Southern League Premier Division, in 2017 he played in a friendly defeat to Portsmouth in July and then put himself on against Paulton Rovers in the league a few weeks later.

His final ever game as a player came in a 3-2 victory over Fareham Town, when he was a remarkable 51, but he had to go off in the 71st-minute after picking up an injury. 

Pundit Claridge contributed his thoughts on radio and TV

Claridge also became a familiar face and voice working as a pundit for the BBC on TV at Football Focus and Final Score and on BBC Radio 5 Live. He also wrote scouting reports on promising players for The Guardian, numbering future Brighton signing Matt Sparrow among them.

“He is easy on the eye, links well with his forwards but also protects and helps his defenders by tackling from the wrong side and makes sure he tracks his runner whenever he threatens to get goal-side,” wrote Claridge of the then Scunthorpe United player in 2007.

Claridge later set up his own coaching scheme for youngsters in Salisbury and Warsash.

In 2023, he took over as manager of Gosport-based Wessex League Division One side Fleetlands FC for the 2023-24 season. In August 2024 they announced he was stepping down from the role “due to personal reasons”.  
On its website, a statement added: “The club would like to place on record our huge thanks to Steve for taking up the role in our hour of need and taking us to a fantastic 5th place finish last season.”

O’Cearuill treated cruel on strange football odyssey

O’Cearuill given a run of games at Brighton

TEENAGE Arsenal defender Joe O’Cearuill certainly had a baptism of fire when he moved to the Albion on loan in early 2007.

The youngster was played out of position at right-back in a third round FA Cup tie away to West Ham.

The match at the old Boleyn Ground on 6 January 2007 pitched the Premier League Hammers under Alan Curbishley up against his old Seagulls teammate Dean Wilkins, who had taken over the reigns at League One Brighton just four months previously.

West Ham, FA Cup finalists the previous season, were just too good for the mainly young lower league side on the day and, with big-money Argentine striker Carlos Tevez up front, comfortably won the tie 3-0 (Mark Noble, Carlton Cole and Haydn Mullins the scorers).

Albion put up a reasonable fight in a goalless first half although O’Cearuill was fortunate not to concede a penalty when he put in a clumsy challenge on debutant Luis Boa Morte which referee Mark Halsey chose not to penalise.

The second half was only four minutes old when Noble scored his first ever West Ham goal, Cole added a second nine minutes later before being replaced by former Albion favourite Bobby Zamora, and Mullins struck in injury time to round off the win.

Wilkins had turned to the Arsenal youngster when Jack Hinshelwood’s dad Adam suffered a cruciate ligament injury in a Boxing Day match against Yeovil that ruled him out for nine months.

O’Cearuill’s stay on the south coast lasted three months during which he made seven starts and three sub appearances. His final Seagulls match came in a 1-1 home draw against Scunthorpe United.

The Argus reckoned his form was “patchy” and at one point he was dropped to the bench “after a below-par performance” in defeat at Brentford.

Only on a couple of occasions did he get the chance to play in his favoured centre back position; those positions were occupied most of the time by Joel Lynch and Guy Butters.

But after he’d gone on for the injured Lynch in the centre away to Gillingham, he helped the visitors to a 1-0 win and Wilkins said: “I thought he fitted in well. He went into the game at a difficult period. There were a lot of high balls to deal with, which he coped with well.”

That first half of 2007 was pretty much the highlight of his career because on an end of season tour of America he won two full caps for the Republic of Ireland.

Although born in Edmonton on 9 February 1987, he elected to represent the Republic of Ireland and having played for them at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level,

A senior cap for the Republic of Ireland

His first senior cap came when he was one of six substitutes made by manager Steve Staunton in a 1-1 draw against Ecuador at the Giants Stadium, New Jersey, on 23 May 2007.

He replaced Stephen O’Halloran in the 73rd minute and managed to pick up a yellow card in his short time on the pitch. Kevin Doyle headed the Irish equaliser a minute before half time.

O’Cearuill then started at right-back three days later in the Republic’s 1-1 draw with Bolivia in Boston. Shane Long scored his first goal for his country and in the second half former Albion goalkeeper Wayne Henderson took over in goal from Barnsley’s Nick Colgan. The side was captained by Kevin Kilbane.

Curiously, O’Cearuill had been let go by both Leyton Orient and Watford before he was given a chance by Arsenal. He played 27 youth team games for the Os in 2004-05 but was released in August 2005.

Watford picked him up and he played for their youth and reserve teams for a season, but again found himself released. Then, in the summer of 2006, after impressing Arsenal’s reserve team coach Neil Banfield in a trial game against Watford, he joined the Gunners.

He made his debut in a goalless pre-season friendly at Barnet on 15 July and a week later played in half of Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial against Ajax of Amsterdam.

On a tour of Austria, he played another half as Arsenal beat Mattersburg 2-1 and got 30 minutes as a sub when the Gunners trounced Schwadorf 8-1.

The closest he came to competitive first team action was when he was on the bench for Arsenal’s Carling Cup match away to West Bromwich Albion on October 24, 2006, although he did not get on in the 2-0 win in which Jeremie Aliadiere scored both the goals.

Released by Arsenal, O’Cearuill’s career then drifted from one non-league club to another: Barnet, St Patrick’s Athletic (Dublin), Harlow Town, Borehamwood, Forest Green Rovers (pictured left), Bishop’s Stortford, Tooting & Mitcham United, Haringey Borough, Enfield and Heybridge Swifts.

When he sought to resurrect his career with Conference Premier side Dover Athletic in 2015, he was suitably phlegmatic in an interview with Kent Online.

“It’s certainly been a journey,” he said. “From getting everything on a plate at Arsenal and then for Ireland, to then be washing your own kit and boots.

“I took being a professional for granted and I wasn’t really ready for it – I was too young to take it all in.

“When Arsenal released me, I discovered there was a lot more to life than playing football and I lost the motivation to play at a decent level. I even gave the game up for a while.

“I was then happy to play wherever and go with the flow. I had a couple of great years playing with my mates at Haringey Borough. But that’s all in the past now. The days for playing for fun are behind me.

“I am ready for the next chapter in my life because I’ve got the hunger and desire back to play the game at a level I know I am capable of.”

Released by Dover at the end of the season, former Albion striker Nicky Forster, by then manager of Staines Town, took him on for the Isthmian League Premier Division team.

“We are delighted to have secured the services of Joe this season, he has a great attitude for success and will sit well alongside Darren Purse at the back,” he told the club website.

His last port of call was back at Haringey in the summer of 2016 and he retired from playing in October that year.

In his LinkedIn profile, O’Cearuill describes himself as a senior manager for The Elms Sport in Schools programme.

The Barking boy who became a Hammers play-off final hero

IT WAS A DREAM come true for Bobby Zamora to play for West Ham, the team he supported as a boy.

Born in Barking on 16 January 1981, he explained: “They were my local team and having been spotted by the club playing for my Sunday side, Senrab, I signed schoolboy forms and we’d be given tickets to watch the team on a Saturday afternoon at the Boleyn.”

Zamora’s favourite player was Tony Cottee and the side at that time included the likes of George Parris and Julian Dicks. “It was always a great atmosphere down there, singing ‘Bubbles’, and I count myself honoured and privileged to have played for the club that I grew up supporting,” he said.

Fellow Senrab players John Terry, Paul Konchesky, Ledley King and JLloyd Samuel were all snapped up by the Hammers at the same time but when the club decided to merge two centres of excellence they found themselves playing fewer games which prompted them all to leave.

Zamora joined Terry at Chelsea but suffered Osgood-Schlatter disease (which causes pain and swelling below the knee joint)and had to stop playing for six months. He described in the Undr The Cosh podcast how Norwich kept in touch with him to see how the injury was progressing so, when he was fit again he joined them and spent a season in Norfolk.

“They had a lot of London lads in their side but it was like playing in the Land of the Giants,” he explained in a matchday programme article. “They were all 15 going on 18, much bigger physically and taller than me, and I was released for being too small.”

His friend Luke Williams was also released but the pair of them were offered a trial by Bristol Rovers and, after only playing half a match, both were offered apprenticeships.

As described in my previous post, it was from Rovers that Zamora joined Brighton, while Williams played non-league before moving into coaching, which included a spell as development coach at Brighton.

When Spurs decided to swap Zamora for Jermain Defoe, a move to the Boleyn was a bit of a no-brainer for the former fan, although Premier League Leeds United were also keen to take him.

“The pull of West Ham was too great and although it was a drop into the Championship, the squad they had under Alan Pardew was more than good enough to go up,” he said.

Zamora got off to a good start with the Hammers, scoring on his debut and again on his home debut. That first goal came after he had gone on as a sub in a 2-1 win at Bradford City on 7 February 2004. He followed it up with the only goal of the game in a home win over Cardiff on 28 February.

Three more goals followed before the end of the 2003-04 campaign, but the season ended in disappointment when the Hammers lost in the Championship play-off final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, against Crystal Palace the day before Brighton’s famous League One play-off win against Bristol City in the same stadium.

Zamora had a first half effort saved at point blank range by Palace keeper Nico Vaesen and a second half ‘goal’ ruled out for offside before being subbed off on 68 minutes as Palace won promotion courtesy of a Neil Shipperley goal.

All was put right a year later, though, when at the same ground Zamora was the Hammers hero. It was his turn to score the only goal of the game, against Preston North End, getting on the end of a Matthew Etherington cross to slot home from six yards in the 57th minute.

Play-off final scorer

Across the season, Zamora made 20 starts and 19 sub appearances, scoring 13 goals. His first double for the club came in a 3-2 League Cup second round win over Notts County at Upton Park on 21 September 2004.

Competition for forward places was fierce with Marlon Harewood, Teddy Sheringham and Sergei Rebrov also pushing for a place up front.

As well as scoring in that play-off final, Zamora had emphasised his claim to a starting berth by scoring in the 2-2 semi-final first leg home draw with Ipswich then twice in a 2-0 win at Portman Road in the second leg.

Pete Ellis on claretandhugh.info reckoned Zamora “played a key role for the Hammers at a pivotal point in our recent history” and he added: “The promotion season in 2005, where he and Etherington played like men possessed in the play-offs, still fills me with great pride.”

Back in the Premiership, Zamora scored 10 goals in 20 starts and 22 appearances off the bench and Ellis remembered “some great displays showing his ability to hold the ball up and have the craft and guile to bag a few tasty goals in the process.

Zamora marked by former Brighton teammate Guy Butters who scored Albion’s goal in a 1-0 win for the Seagulls at the Boleyn Ground

“A proper character around the club, I enjoyed watching Bobby play and thought he never really got the plaudits that his talents and performances deserved.”

Amongst memorable goals in 2005-06 were a stunning solo effort in a 2-1 win at Birmingham and a goal in a 3-2 win at Highbury. Unfortunately, he’s also remembered for having his penalty saved by Pepe Reina in the FA Cup Final shoot-out with Liverpool.

The 2006-07 season saw Zamora make 30 starts and seven sub appearances, scoring 11 goals and named runner-up to Carlos Tevez in the Hammer of the Year contest.

A terrific start to the season saw him score five goals in his first four matches, including two against Charlton in a 3-1 opening day win.

A four-month barren spell came as the Irons struggled but he scored crucial goals against Blackburn, Everton, Middlesbrough and Arsenal (the last time West Ham played at Highbury).

Fans remember too his goal the following season – a chip over Jens Lehmann – that sealed a vital win for the Hammers at Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium, with a heroic performance from ‘keeper Rob Green keeping out the Gunners at the other end.

The arrival of Craig Bellamy and return from injury of Dean Ashton added competition for Zamora, who missed seven months of the 2007-08 season with tendinitis.

His last Hammers goal was in a 2-1 win at the Boleyn against Derby on 19 April 2008, and his last game for the club was in a 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa the following month. He had scored a total of 40 goals in 152 appearances for West Ham.

Even though he had missed a lot of games, and only scored once in 12 starts plus two off the bench across the whole season, he had no inkling he wouldn’t be offered a new contract.

“I went in at the start of the next season expecting to be talking about a new contract and they told me they’d agreed a deal to sell me to Fulham,” he told the Fulham website in a 2019 interview.

“It was obvious I wasn’t wanted and I made my way down to Motspur Park,” he said.

Zamora and team-mate John Paintsil moved to Fulham for a joint fee of £6.3m (Zamora was valued at £4.8m).

• I’ll explore how Zamora got on at Fulham ahead of Brighton’s game with them in March. His form with the Cottagers hit sufficient heights as to earn him two England caps.

The Oatway way to getting back on the straight and narrow

CHARLIE OATWAY’S colourful life story has often appeared in the media and he now uses it to try to persuade wayward youngsters back onto the straight and narrow.

Brighton supporters of a certain vintage will remember a promotion-winning tenacious midfielder and captain who went on to be a coach at the club (see my 2018 blog post).

How he turned his life round was the subject of a book, Tackling Life, and, after injury brought a premature end to his professional playing career, he initially worked in the Albion in the Community scheme alongside former teammates Guy Butters and Danny Cullip.

He became first team coach under Gus Poyet in 2009 and followed the Uruguayan and assistant manager Mauricio Taricco to Sunderland, AEK Athens, Real Betis and Shanghai Shenua.

But he didn’t follow Poyet to French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux, popping up instead to help out his former Albion in the Community mentor, Dr Alan Sanders, who had become director of education, sport and health for Charlton Athletic Community Trust.

It was Sanders who Oatway had first turned to for advice at Brighton at the age of 30, subsequently going on to enrol on an adult literacy course to help with reading and writing.

At Charlton, Oatway delivered football courses for the community scheme, and shared his experiences with schoolchildren in south east London.

Sanders subsequently became chief executive at the Russell Martin Foundation, and Oatway joined as a relationships manager. Adopting the title of his book, Oatway’s Tackling Life programme aims to try to return to education young people between 11 and 14 who have dropped out of the system.

Dyslexic Oatway had a troubled childhood growing up in Shepherd’s Bush in a family where criminality was commonplace, and he didn’t attend school from the age of 14. He told the Safeguarding and Child Protection Association: “A lot of these kids are going through what I went through.

 “They get to know me and my background. The things I’ve done, the things I haven’t done and then I can start to get through to them a bit.”

An integral part of the foundation’s offer, Oatway shares his personal experiences and imparts invaluable life lessons via interactive sessions, workshops, and mentoring, Topics he covers include resilience, self-belief, teamwork, and making responsible choices.

“The kids we deal with, any sort of authority, such as police or social workers, teachers, headmasters etc, they don’t tend to engage with. I try to break that down for them.”

The Southampton manager’s foundation works with 30 schools across Sussex, including all 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove, to build the confidence and skills of young people struggling with mainstream education.

“I get sworn at less by the kids than I used to by Gus,” said Oatway, who nonetheless always spoke highly of Poyet when standing in for the boss on occasional media duties.

For example, under scrutiny at Premier League Sunderland, Oatway responded angrily to criticism from former Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn, telling the Daily Express: “Gus works so hard on a daily basis. Even if he chooses to part company with me tomorrow, I’d still say the same about him.

“We all know how tough this job was when we got here, but the players and the gaffer have managed to do it, so he deserves a pat on the back and a little more respect.”

Sunderland successfully avoided relegation under Poyet and during the battle Oatway gave a typical rallying call: “Life’s a fight. You either stand up and be counted in everything that you do or you sink.”

Boo boys saw off international ‘keeper Wayne Henderson

DISGRUNTLED former Albion goalkeeper Wayne Henderson helped Grimsby Town keep their place in the Football League.

The Republic of Ireland international stopper, forced away from Brighton by a section of voluble supporters, was on loan to the Mariners in 2009 as they desperately tried to avoid the drop.

Although there were Grimsby grumbles on his debut, Henderson’s mission was a success, Town avoiding the drop by four points. But it was only a stay of execution because they finally fell out of the league for the first time in 100 years in 2010.

By then, Henderson was back at parent club Preston North End, who had bought him from the Seagulls for £150,000 on deadline day in January 2007.

He managed only 10 appearances for the Lancashire club – his last game coming in the final match of the 2009-10 season – and in March 2011, when only 27, he was forced to quit the game after two years plagued with spinal injuries.

Much had been expected of the young Irishman at Brighton after an initial loan spell from Aston Villa, where he had been coached by former Seagulls ‘keeper Eric Steele. He made his Albion debut away to Derby County, together with fellow countryman Paul McShane (on loan from Manchester United), in the opening game of the 2004-05 season.

Manager Mark McGhee said the youngster hadn’t put a foot wrong. “His kicking really took the pressure off us,” he said. “He was composed and took a couple of crosses towards the end which also helped relieve the pressure.”

McGhee had first hoped to sign Henderson in January 2005 to help solve a goalkeeping crisis created by a serious shoulder muscle injury to Michel Kuipers in a home match against Nottingham Forest.

Youngster Chris May, son of former Albion defender Larry May, had come off the bench to replace Kuipers in the match but McGhee didn’t see him as experienced enough in the battle to stay in the Championship. The previous season’s first choice ‘keeper, Ben Roberts, was a long-term absentee with a back injury, so McGhee had few options.

The Seagulls hoped a contractual hitch relating to Henderson’s previous loan spell at Notts County could be resolved in time to enable him to make his debut for the Albion at Elland Road. But it couldn’t and Brighton turned to Blackburn’s David Yelldell instead. That was the game where the loan goalkeeper famously wore a bright pink goalkeeper jersey and predictably suffered abuse from the Leeds crowd.

Although Clarke Carlisle put Leeds ahead just before half time, Yelldell had the last laugh when defender Guy Butters prodded home an equaliser in the 81st minute.

When McGhee didn’t see Yelldell as a long-term option, he turned to one-time Arsenal ‘keeper Rami Shabaan, who hadn’t played a competitive game for two years, but he let in 13 goals in six games. The manager brought in Southampton’s Alan Blayney, and he was between the posts for the last seven games of the season when Albion just managed to cling on to their tier two status.

McGhee finally managed to bring in Henderson ahead of the new season and, perhaps mindful of the goalkeeping headache he’d had the previous season, found he suddenly had an embarrassment of riches in that department.

Promising youngster Richard Martin appeared as a back-up on the bench, as did season-long French loanee Florent Chaigneau. In September, Southampton’s Blayney also returned for another loan spell and eventually took over the gloves when Henderson’s three-month loan from Villa came to an end.

Intriguingly, Henderson’s penultimate game on loan was a 1-1 draw with Ipswich at the Withdean when another Villa loanee, Stefan Postma was in goal for the visitors.

It had been Henderson’s understanding that a permanent move would follow soon after he’d featured in a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves on 1 November. But a two-month on-off saga began which, according to McGhee and chairman Dick Knight, was largely down to demands made by Henderson’s agent.

Albion agreed a fee with Villa of £20,000, plus £15,000 if he helped avoid relegation from the Championship. He didn’t.

The Argus sought the opinion of former Albion no. 1 Steele who felt Henderson had a chance to make a name for himself with the Seagulls.

“With Thomas Sorensen as the no. 1 and Stuart Taylor bought in from Arsenal, Wayne’s route in terms of playing first team football was always going to be limited,” Steele told the paper. “Our problem is that we only need one goalkeeper to play in one position and it’s just been a question of what level he would make his mark.

“He’s 22 now and he really had to be looking to move on and I wish him all the best. I’ve worked with him now for four and a half years and always thought he would make a good living from the game.

“I think that’s summed up by the fact that Brighton are going to pay a small fee and we’ll also get sell-ons. He’s the same height, he’s got the same build and he has got the same attributes as Shay Given (Newcastle and Republic of Ireland). And he just needs the chance to go and play.

“He’s been away at Wycombe and been away at Notts County, who would have signed him had they had the money. He’s done it in the Second Division and the First, now he’s got the chance to do it in the Championship.”

Even if supporters of the club he’d just joined had doubts about his merits, the Republic of Ireland selectors were confident enough to give him a first senior call up in February 2006, and he made his full international debut on 1 March 2006, as a second half substitute in a 3–0 win over Sweden.

After the Albion had forfeited their tier two status that season, and the omitted Kuipers had been transfer-listed after falling out with McGhee, Henderson opened his heart to the Argus.

“Michel is liked by the fans and hopefully one day I will get the respect of the fans I feel I deserve,” he told Andy Naylor. “Michel has that because he has been at the club for a long time. I have mixed feelings about him being on the transfer list because it’s good to have someone with his reputation at the club pushing me, but sadly he fell out with the manager.

“Hopefully, I can prove the fans who are criticising me wrong but if they are set in their ways there is nothing I can do about that. It’s a shame if that is the way they feel but I couldn’t care less. I am not going to worry about it.

“I know myself how well I have done, and I am an international player because of that.”

Although he started the new season as first choice ‘keeper, three defeats on the spin saw McGhee sacked and Kuipers back in the starting line-up.

New boss Dean Wilkins restored the Irishman to the team in October which was enough to convince Eire manager Steve Staunton, a former Aston Villa colleague, to put him into a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic, when first choice Shay Given and back-up Paddy Kenny were unavailable.

“I knew Stan from Villa, yes, but I like to think I’m being picked on merit not just because he knows what I’m capable of,” said Henderson. “I’ve got a long way to go in all aspects but being at Brighton and playing first-team football means I’m developing under pressure and getting a chance to show Stan (Staunton) what I can do.”

The Irish drew 1-1 and, having been to Dublin to watch the match, Albion goalkeeping coach John Keeley believed Henderson could be Albion’s ‘keeper for 10 years.

“I’m so pleased for Wayne. It proves what a good goalkeeper he is,” said Keeley. “He has taken some stick but people should appreciate him.”

The coach praised his handling at Lansdowne Road, the way he had made himself available for back-passes from his full-backs, and his composure. Highlighting a fine one-handed save he made to deny Milan Baros, Keeley said: “The save that he made just before half-time was world class.”

He added:“I honestly believe that Wayne is a better ‘keeper than Paddy Kenny. His all-round game is more suited to international football.”

Henderson makes his Eire debut, replacing Shay Given

Keeley reckoned: “He’s 22 and we’ve got a world-class player. With Wayne being so young we’ve got a goalkeeper now for the next ten years. That’s the way I look at it.”

The following month, Henderson even made the headlines when he wasn’t playing! Injury ruled him out of Albion’s side to face Bradford City at Valley Parade on 4 November and he decided to watch from the seats behind the goal.

When Dean Bowditch scored an 89th-minute winner for the Seagulls, the exuberant ‘keeper jumped over the hoardings – and was promptly escorted out of the ground by a steward!

“It was over-zealous stewarding,” he said afterwards. “Alex Revell made the goal and he was celebrating right in front of where I was sitting in the front row of the stand.

“The natural thing was to go and celebrate within him but one of the Bradford stewards – who knew I was one of the non-playing squad members – took exception to my celebration.

“I think he was a Bradford supporter and perhaps he thought I was trying to rub his nose in it – but I wasn’t. I was just pumped up to see the lads score a last-minute winner.

“The next thing I was being grabbed by a steward and then I was marched out of the ground where the police took my name and address, but I think they saw the funny side of it.”

Henderson wasn’t laughing a few weeks later. He’d returned from injury but the side was on a losing streak in December. Away to Bournemouth on New Year’s Day, it looked like Albion might come away with a point but in stoppage time the ‘keeper lost his footing and gifted the Cherries a win, and a section of Brighton supporters booed him off the pitch.

After a 3-0 defeat to West Ham in the FA Cup third round, the Seagulls entertained Millwall at Withdean and a mix-up between Henderson and Joel Lynch led to the visitors winning by the only goal of the game.

Manager Dean Wilkins dropped him and it was the last time he played for the club. The barracking had got to him to the extent he had submitted a second transfer request of the season and, referring to the fans who’d got on his back, he told the Argus: “They love their football as much as anyone else but the way they reacted was pathetic really.”

After securing a deadline day move to Preston, he said: “It was disappointing the way it finished. I was devastated at being left out of the team. The mistake I made against Bournemouth could have happened to anybody and the Millwall game was a mistake by someone else that caught me out.”

Now free to air his feelings about the series of events, he said: “A lot of fans have certain opinions of players. For me the whole experience at Brighton was more like the X Factor.

“It just seemed to be a personality contest and I couldn’t enjoy my football.”

He continued: “I’ve never felt welcome at the club, except by the coaching staff and the players. The coaching staff have been magnificent, and I wish them all the best, because, if anyone is going to get anything out of the kids, it is Dean (Wilkins) and Dean (White), so I hope they are given a fair crack of the whip.

“Outside of them and the lads, a handful of fans have backed me lately and I really respect that but there were an awful lot of fans who didn’t and other people at the club who, for some reason, made it more difficult than it should have been.”

Within the tight confines of the small capacity Withdean Stadium, perhaps it was always going to be a tall order for Henderson to supplant crowd favourite Kuipers.

The ‘former Dutch marine – chef’ Kuipers, as he was serenaded by the singing section, had endeared himself to the Albion crowd after Micky Adams brought the previously unknown shot-stopper to the club in 2000. Subsequent managers brought in their own alternatives but Kuipers, always a reliable shot-stopper, had a habit of bouncing back.

If Henderson was perturbed by unfavourable crowd opinion at Brighton, it seems there was similar mood music when he made his debut for Grimsby.

Manager Mike Newell brought him in along with three other loan players (Joe Widdowson, Peter Sweeney and Barry Conlon) and, in 14 games he played through to the end of the season, five wins and three draws were enough to give them a finish four points above the relegation trapdoor (Chester City and Luton Town went out of the league).

The excellent Cod Almighty fans website observed some fans booed and jeered Henderson on his home debut because the gale force wind kept blowing his goal kicks into touch.

Pete Green, on the same website, later wrote: “These temporary Mariners have played an enormous part in preserving the club’s status in the Football League – even as repeated mistakes by experienced, longer-term Town players such as Phil Barnes and Tom Newey continued to jeopardise it. Henderson has already gone back to Preston, and we stand no chance of signing him permanently.”

While the other three loan players did sign permanently, Newell brought in another Irish international goalkeeper in Nick Colgan the following season.

Born in Dublin on 16 September 1983, Henderson followed in the goalkeeping footsteps of his father and brothers. Dad Paddy played for Shamrock Rovers; brothers Dave and Stephen played in the League of Ireland. Even his nephew, Stephen, was a goalkeeper – most notably for Portsmouth, Charlton and Nottingham Forest after also going through the youth ranks at Villa.

Wayne played for the same Cherry Orchard club in his home city that also spawned the likes of Mark Yeates, Dave Langan, Andy Reid and Stephen Quinn.

John Gregory was in charge at Villa Park when Henderson joined Aston Villa in July 2001. A year later, he was in goal when Villa won the FA Youth Cup (below), beating Everton – with Wayne Rooney playing up front – 4-2 on aggregate over two legs. Also in the Villa side that day was Liam Ridgewell, who later had a brief loan spell at Brighton, and Peter Whittingham, who went on to play more than 500 professional games and died in tragic circumstances aged just 35.

Joy for Henderson as Aston Villa win the 2002 FA Youth Cup

Although Henderson was chosen on Villa’s first team bench occasionally, he didn’t play any competitive fixtures for the first team. Those opportunities came via loans.

After a month at non-league Tamworth in the spring of 2004, he spent a month on loan at Second Division Wycombe Wanderers under Tony Adams towards the end of the 2003-04 season, when their last place finish meant they were relegated to the newly formed League Two.

The following season he joined Notts County, another of the clubs who’d been relegated with Wycombe, and had two loan spells, three months under Gary Mills and then a month under his successor, caretaker boss Ian Richardson.

Paul Simpson signed Henderson for Preston but when injuries forced him to retire at just 27, he told skysports.com: “I’ve decided to actually step out of football and give my body time to heal for once.

“It is exciting for me though because I’m looking to go into a completely different environment from playing but stay within football at the same time.

“I’ve been trying to get back fit for a few years now with injections and operations, but I’ve decided that rest is the way forward for it now.

“I’ve not signed anything yet, but there are a good few options for me to choose from, which I am really excited about.”

Henderson, who married 2010 Apprentice winner Liz Locke, now works as a licensed intermediary for agency YMU, who, among plenty of other elite footballers, represent Albion’s Evan Ferguson and Andrew Moran.

Lowe and behold, the centre back who couldn’t get a game

KEITH LOWE is one of those curious cases of a player who joined the Albion on loan but didn’t kick a ball in anger!

He played one game for the reserves and sat on the first team bench for five matches without getting on.

Lowe was just 20 and well down the centre half pecking order at Wolves when Mick McCarthy had just taken charge.

At the beginning of the 2006-07 season, Albion’s first choice centre backs, Adam Hinshelwood and Guy Butters, were both out injured, and Joel Lynch was a doubt after picking up a niggle in a pre-season game. So, manager Mark McGhee took the opportunity to get Lowe on loan for a month.

Candid former Wolves manager McGhee told the Albion matchday programme how the club had done its homework on the youngster, who he described as a “no frills central defender who gets in where it hurts to head it and boot it. Obviously, that’s something we need – a big lad in our box to head it away. With the absence of Guy Butters, we’ve missed that sort of height in pre-season so I hope he will do well for us.

“Obviously I know people well at Wolves, so we don’t think for a minute that we are signing Rio Ferdinand, but we’ve signed a steady young player who’s determined to make a career for himself and wants to do well.”

For his part, Lowe told the Argus: “I’ve found out that there are a few injuries in the defence here so hopefully I’ll get into the team as soon as possible and play as much football as I can.”

Born in Wolverhampton on 13 September 1985, Lowe had progressed through the Wolves academy and was given a first team debut by Dave Jones in the League Cup at the beginning of the 2004-05 season, three weeks before his 19th birthday. Two months later Lowe was awarded a three-and-a-half-year contract and he said:“My family are all Wolves supporters so it’s a bit of a dream come true.”

Although he made 13 appearances at either right-back or centre-back that season, he only played three matches for them under Glenn Hoddle the following season although he gained experience out on loan, at Burnley (under Steve Cotterill), and QPR in the Championship, and Swansea in League One.

“A lot of people have left Wolves but the one thing they have got is a lot of defenders and they have scrapped their reserve team now so it was best to go and play somewhere else,” Lowe told Andy Naylor of the Argus. “I’m looking to play as many games as I can. I wasn’t getting the opportunity I would have liked at Wolves so I jumped at the chance to come and play some football.”

Lowe said that even though McCarthy had not long been in charge, he had already got his starting eleven in mind. “I hadn’t asked to go out on loan yet, but from what I can gather the manager here ‘phoned up our manager and it seemed like the ideal place to come,” he said. “I’ve not been down to Brighton before but my first impressions, even from the drive in, were it seems really nice and I’m really looking forward to it.”

He added: “My aim is to get noticed at Wolves but I’m open to anything that happens. If it’s not going to happen for me at Wolves then I’ll stay here as long as the management staff want me.”

Unfortunately for Lowe, Lynch recovered from a pre-season thigh injury in time to make the starting line-up for the season opener at Rotherham, and he never did manage to force his way into the side.

By mid-August, he confessed in another Argus interview: “I’m very disappointed. I came down here to play football but it hasn’t happened. You’ve got to be professional about it, keep working hard and hopefully it will come.

“We kept clean sheets in our first two games and, when things like that happen, you can’t really go knocking on the gaffer’s door and say: ‘Why am I not in the team?’ The lads have done really well but I’ll just keep working hard in training and hopefully he’ll take note.”

Lowe pressed his claims for a place by scoring on his debut for the Reserves, heading an equaliser from a Tommy Fraser corner on 54 minutes, in front of McGhee, in a 2-1 win away to QPR. He said: “It was nice to get 90 minutes under my belt and it was a good performance and result, so I was pretty pleased.

“Hopefully I’ve caught the gaffer’s attention. I thought I did well enough and I’m just trying to push to get into the team.”

It didn’t happen, though, and McGhee was at pains to point out the circumstances. “We brought him here to play but then Joel got fit and suddenly looked absolutely fine.

“By the time we got Keith down here we weren’t sure he had trained with us enough and done enough work with us. Joel was there and we decided not to gamble with Keith but to play Joel, who has then played so well, so things have conspired against him a wee bit.”

McGhee added: “He did fine at QPR. In the second half, particularly, when we pushed them up the park and asked them to defend in behind, he did it well.”

Lowe might have got a chance in the Carling Cup against Boston United but Wolves were only prepared to allow him to be cup-tied if Albion intended keeping him longer – and McGhee had decided to add to his defensive options by signing veteran Georges Santos.

Lowe headed back to the Black Country, but the following month he went on loan to Cheltenham Town, where he finally saw some league action, playing in 18 matches. It sowed the seed for a later period in his career: he played 133 games for League Two Cheltenham between 2010 and 2014 in a career that ultimately embraced 617 appearances for 13 different clubs.

Lowe spent the final season of his Wolves contract on loan at League One Port Vale. Signed by Martin Foyle, Lowe also featured under his successors Dean Glover and Lee Sinnott, playing in 31 matches. But Vale were relegated in 23rd spot and the defender finally bade farewell to his boyhood club in May 2008.

He dropped out of the league for the 2008-09 season, appearing in 52 games for Conference Premier League side Kidderminster Harriers.

Budget issues meant he was released at the end of the season and the following campaign he was back in the league with Hereford United, playing 26 games for the League Two Bulls under John Trewick and former Wolves boss Graham Turner. That spell at Cheltenham came next.

During two years at York City, Lowe collected no fewer than four Player of the Year awards in 2014-15 – three from supporters’ groups and one from local newspaper The Press.“Keith deserves the awards for his consistency,” City boss Russ Wilcox told the newspaper. “To play every league game is always an achievement. It shows you are doing things right on and off the pitch. It means you look after yourself, train properly and are a good professional.”

Released by new York boss Jackie McNamara, Lowe returned to Kidderminster, by then in the National League, where he spent another 18 months, much of it as club captain.

National League Macclesfield Town was his next port of call and he played in all of their matches as they won promotion back into the league in 2017. However, it ended on a sour note in 2019 when he was one of six players to issue the club with a winding up order for unpaid wages.

The 2019-20 season saw him turn out for three different clubs: Southern League Nuneaton Borough, National League North side Bradford Park Avenue and latterly (until the Covid pandemic called a halt to the league) Kidderminster for a third spell.

At the end of the 2021-22 season, he announced his intention to concentrate on developing a career as a teaching assistant. He told the Kidderminster club website: “I’m not ready to stop yet and am very much planning to play part-time next year, but it feels like now is the time to move away from the full-time game and think about the future and the career I’ve been building in schools.”

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 90th 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.

Seagulls kick-started lengthy career for trailblazer Zesh

ZESH REHMAN became the first British Asian of Pakistani origin to play for Brighton.

He played in two separate spells three years apart and his 20 Albion appearances spanned four different managers: Steve Coppell, Bob Booker, Mark McGhee and Dean Wilkins.

His first action in Seagulls colours came in September 2003 and the experience he gained during a three-month loan provided him with the experience to return to parent club Fulham and make his Premier League debut.

Before his temporary move to Brighton he had played one first team game in the League Cup for FuIham, and, only a matter of days later, Coppell signed him for the Seagulls.

“It’s an opportunity to get some first team football,” said Rehman. “This season I’ve been in central midfield, but it doesn’t matter what position I play, I just hope I can do a job for Brighton.

“(Fulham boss) Chris Coleman told me it would be good to come and learn here,” he added.

I can remember being at the Nene Park home of Rushden & Diamonds (above left) to see 19-year-old Rehman mark his debut in the centre of midfield with a goal to seal a 3-1 win for the Seagulls. He scored with an exquisite lob over ‘keeper Billy Turley to add to goals from Guy Butters and Leon Knight. Incidentally, Paul Kitson, released by Brighton that summer after an injury-wrecked 2002-03 season, came on as a sub for Rushden.

Rehman had only played twice before Coppell vacated the manager’s chair at Withdean to take over at Reading, but in Booker’s first game in charge, Rehman was once again on the scoresheet as the Seagulls beat Grimsby Town 3-0.

The utility player stayed with the Seagulls after McGhee’s appointment as manager but after 13 matches he returned to Craven Cottage in January 2004.

Born in Birmingham on 14 October 1983, Rehman was brought up a stone’s throw from Villa Park in the Aston area of the city. The promise he showed in schools, district and county football was soon spotted and at the tender age of 12 he signed up to Fulham’s academy, with the family moving to London.

He progressed through the junior, youth and reserve sides, mainly as a centre back but also able to play full-back or as a holding midfielder.

The spell at Brighton gave him his first extended run in a first team environment and, three months after his return to Fulham, he made his Premier League debut as a late substitute at Anfield. He went on to make a total of 30 appearances for Fulham (26 starts, plus four as a sub), but with first team opportunities limited he had another loan spell away, joining Norwich City in January 2006.

He was at Carrow Road until the end of the season, making just five appearances as defensive cover, and on his return to London opted to leave Fulham in search of regular football.

Gary Waddock gave him a three-year contract at Queens Park Rangers and he made 27 appearances for the Rs but one of the club’s many managerial changes saw the arrival of former Albion defender John Gregory, and he was happy to send Rehman out on loan.

Lo and behold, Albion, by then with Wilkins at the helm, seized on the opportunity because Adam El-Abd was on the brink of a suspension, and Dean Hammond and loan full-back Joe O’Ceaurill were struggling with injuries.

“Zesh gives us a degree of versatility, as well as the experience he has picked up playing at Premiership level for Fulham, so he is a good addition for us,” Wilkins told the Argus.

For his part, Rehman said: “As soon as I found out Brighton wanted me, I thought I owe the club because they were the first to give me regular first team football.

“I’ve got great memories of my time here before. The club and the fans have had a special place in my heart ever since, so I couldn’t really turn it down.”

His second Albion debut saw him playing right-back in a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Huddersfield Town, but Rehman was just grateful to be playing competitively again.

He told Andy Naylor: “Being out there on a Saturday is a buzz, whether it is at Brighton, Fulham or QPR. I had that at QPR for the first six months of the season but then a new manager came in and I didn’t play for a little while so, rather than just getting stale, I’ve come to Brighton and hopefully I can kick on again when I get back there.”

Rehman played eight games during his second spell at the club, his last marked by picking out striker Nathan Elder who slotted Albion’s goal in a 1-1 draw at Cheltenham on 5 May 2007.

The following season, a six-month loan at Blackpool didn’t work out as he’d hoped for, featuring in only three games under Simon Grayson, and he went back to QPR. However, by the end of January he was on the move again, this time to link up with bottom-tier side Bradford City, initially on loan, and then making the move permanent.

Rehman details his various career moves on his own website, and at Bradford his involvement took on a lot more importance than just playing games. He said:

“Hopefully I can inspire some local Asian people to start coming to games and really feel a part of the club. I want Asian kids to feel they have someone to look up to. Bradford is a big city with a big Asian population and if I can inspire one or two local kids to go on and make it as professionals, I’ll know I’ve made a positive difference to someone’s life and that’s good enough for me.”

Born in the UK, Rehman represented England at under 18, 19 and 20 levels, but opted to play for his parents’ home country of Pakistan, and he captained them at the 2013 Peace Cup in the Philippines.

Between 2011 and the start of 2017, Rehman spent six years playing in Asia, initially for Muangthong United in Thailand, then Kitchee SC in Hong Kong and lastly Pahang in Malaysia.

But the lure of the English game saw him spend four months at Gillingham between February and May 2017, helping the relegation-threatened Gills to retain their League One status.

The following month he headed back out to Hong Kong to play for Southern District FC where, in May 2020, he became player-manager.

In March 2023, Rehman was promoted to first team development coach by Portsmouth having moved to Fratton Park in the summer of 2022 as the academy’s lead professional development phase coach.

He stepped up to help the first team temporarily when Danny and Nicky Cowley left the club in January 2023 and remained in post when John Mousinho took over as head coach.

Rehman set up training on Mousinho’s first day and the head coach said: “Since that day he’s been absolutely brilliant. He’s incredibly diligent and the lads and staff at the club all really like him.

“He adds something different to me and Jon (Harley), providing a different angle, and is an influential presence on the bench.

“Development is a key part of what we’re trying to do here and when we talk about the complementary skillsets of the coaching staff, that’s something he can bring to the fore.”

Rehman said: “I believe continual development is needed by players of all ages and at all stages of their careers. Every player is a work in progress and never the finished article.

“There is no better feeling than assisting an individual, partnership or a unit to improve and then see that work transferred to a matchday, helping the team win.”