Tag: Karou Mitoma

From “Messi’ to messy: the loan Seagull struggling to take off

A YEAR AGO Facundo Buonanotte thought he’d made a dream move – a season-long loan from Brighton to Chelsea (reportedly for a £2m fee).

He had been on the brink of a similar temporary move to Leeds when the chance of switching to Stamford Bridge arose almost literally at the last minute.

Within a fortnight, he made his debut in a 2-2 draw away to Brentford in the Premier League, playing behind Joao Pedro and alongside Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens, only to be subbed off at half-time.

Ten days later, he played and scored in Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Lincoln in the League Cup.

His autumn wasn’t entirely wasted because he also started in two more Chelsea League Cup games – a 4-3 win away to Wolves and a 3-1 win at Cardiff – and gained European experience in the Champions League with starts v Benfica and Ajax and as a sub on for Joao Pedro v Qarabağ.

There were no more league appearances, though, and it subsequently emerged he only got to play earlier in the season because of the injury absences of Cole Palmer and Liam Delap.

When asked to explain Buonanotte’s lack of involvement, coach Enzo Maresca said: “Facu is working well. He played many games at the beginning because Cole was injured, Liam was injured, so we had more space. There’s not any reason [other than that].”

Buonanotte got one start under Maresca’s successor Liam Rosenior in Chelsea’s 5-1 FA Cup third round win at Charlton, but because of his limited game time with the Londoners his loan was cut short.

Instead of returning to parent club Brighton, he finally got to move to Leeds on a half-season loan and Jason Ayto, Albion’s sporting director at the time, said: “Facundo wants to play and he demonstrated in his loan to Leicester City last season the impact he is able to have in the Premier League when he does.

“This is a great move for all parties and we looking forward to seeing how he continues his development with Leeds United.

Signing for Leeds United

“We wish him well for the remainder of the season and look forward to welcoming him back in the summer.”

Having played in the FA Cup for Chelsea, historically he would have been ruled out of featuring in the competition for Leeds, but the rule changed ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, allowing so-called cup-tied players to represent two clubs.

So, it meant Buonanotte was able to start Leeds’ fourth round FA Cup tie away to Birmingham City – but he was withdrawn at half-time in a game that United won 4-2 on penalties after it finished 1-1.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: “He didn’t have his best game in the FA Cup but it’s also a bit realistic. If you bring a player in who has rarely played a game, this is what happens sometimes. He’s in a challenging position.”

In a slightly curious interview with BBC Sport, Farke sought to downplay expectations of what Buonanotte might offer Leeds, explaining: “We haven’t signed him to improve our 11 straight away. We signed him to improve the depth in our squad.

“We let Jack Harrison go out on loan and Harry Gray out on loan. We spoke openly with Facundo about it. We want to make sure we hold the pressure high on our other options.

“We just like his potential. I told him ‘I don’t write you off after one poor half’. I was half expecting this.”

The German added: “It’s never easy – we give you the stage, support and arm around the shoulder. We don’t expect you to cut this league into pieces. It is step by step. If it works out – great, if not it’s a loan for both sides, not a big risk.”

Farke was blunter when talking to Graham Smyth, of the Yorkshire Evening Post, telling the reporter that Buonanotte just had to get on with any criticism being made, although he pointed out: “He’s a very self-critical lad, fantastic human being, I also like his character.

“He’s not coming to the training ground down, he’s still there each day with a smile on his face, enjoying his life together with us, with teammates, but still working hard.”

Farke continued: “It’s not easy if you have not played that much and especially when you’re young and you face a bit of criticism.

“You have to win your momentum and form back, step by step. This is what you try, what he’s trying to do at the moment.”

As it turned out, the player only made three sub appearances for Leeds after that FA Cup tie and former Chelsea, Leeds and England full-back Tony Dorigo offered an explanation in an interview with goal.com.

“He had a couple of opportunities, didn’t do very well. Had a cup game away at Birmingham, really struggled and came off. And you’ve got to say that the other players in his position, or in and around him, were playing better. Simple as that.

“I’m sure he’s been working hard on the training ground, but so is everyone else. So, it’s been good in that respect, you’ve got to play really, really well to keep your spot or try and get into the side. Unfortunately, Buonanotte just hasn’t.”

When Sussex World suggested to Fabien Hurzeler that it had been a wasted season for Buonanotte, he was a little more conciliatory.

“I think every experience for players is important, no matter if they play or not,” he said. “Of course, if you give a player a loan, it’s always helpful that they play, but in the end we can’t make the decision.

“Daniel Farke will have a reason why he’s not playing, and then it’s about the player to understand what he needs to improve to get into the team.

“What value he needs to show in every training session, that he is an option for the coach. And I think that’s also a learning process for the player, especially for a young player like Buonanotte.”

Perhaps if his season had turned out differently, Buonanotte could have been part of Argentina’s World Cup squad along with his former under-20 teammate Valentín Barco. Buonanotte already had two full caps: one gained in 2023 when he went on as a sub in a 2-0 win over Indonesia, the other in 2024 in a 3-0 victory over El Salvador.

Hurzeler said: “I know that he has incredible potential and a lot of talent, but that’s not everything in the Premier League. It’s about work ethic, it’s about being hard to yourself, it’s about suffering if you’re not playing, trying to understand and reflect your own behaviour.”

Saying the player needed to learn to take ownership and responsibility for the situation he found himself in, he added: “Hopefully he gets the right conclusion, the right consequences out of it and we’ll get a better player.”

But the wait goes on for Brighton fans to see Buonanotte back in Albion’s colours because at the beginning of August it was announced he was heading off to Spain on yet another season-long loan, this time to newly-promoted La Liga side Elche under Argentinian head coach Martin Anselmi.

On the move again – Buonanotte has gone on a season-long loan to Spanish side Elche
Sliding in for the Albion in pre-season

Buonanotte, still only 21, was involved in Albion’s pre-season camp in Austria and played as a no.10 as a second half substitute against Strasbourg in Vienna.

He obviously didn’t do enough to convince Hurzeler to keep him within a squad that is also contending with European games this season although when announcing his departure to Spain,

Albion sporting director Mike Cave said: “Facundo is a talented young player who has continued to develop since joining the club.

“This loan gives him the opportunity to play regular football in one of Europe’s top leagues.

“We believe this move will provide an excellent environment for him to gain further experience, and we’ll continue to monitor his progress closely throughout the season.”

Born in Perez, Argentina, two days before Christmas 2004, Buonanotte began his football journey aged just 10 in the youth academy of top Argentine side Rosario Central and he was regarded as one of the most talented graduates from the club since Ángel Di María.

Brighton’s intention to sign him at the age of 17 when the January 2023 transfer window opened was first spoken of in August 2022 and headlines described him as “a wonder kid”.

The club’s technical director at the time, David Weir said: “Facundo is a player we have been aware of for some time, and we have been watching for a while.”

By November that year, he had just completed his first season of top flight football in his home country and Rosario’s boss, the former Man Utd and West Ham striker Carlos Tevez, compared the youngster to Lionel Messi!

“When he brakes and accelerates he reminds me of Messi,” Tevez said after Rosario beat Barracas in August, as reported by Rosario3. “I haven’t seen a boy play like that for a long time.

“Facu has a great mentality, he doesn’t seem to be 17 years old. He is at a very high level, one thinks that he has no ceiling, it is where he wants to go. Today he is physically impeccable.”

Buonanotte played in the Rosario midfield alongside Francis Mac Allister – brother of Alexis.

“I spoke with my brother and he told me that he is an amazing guy and a really good player,” Alexis Mac Allister said. “I am really excited for him. I told him that he is in the right place to keep growing his career.

“I spoke with the Argentina coaching staff when they asked me about him. I said that he’s a very exciting player and once he gets used to the league he will become a top player.”

The young Argentinian in the thick of the action against Manchester City

After signing for Brighton for a reported £5.3m fee on a contract to June 2027, Buonanotte didn’t have to wait long for his first taste of first team action.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi sent him on as a substitute for Tariq Lamptey with 15 minutes left of the 4 February home game against AFC Bournemouth. An 88th-minute goal by Kaoru Mitoma earned Albion all three points.

Handed his first Premier League start three days after Albion lost on penalties to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final, Buonanotte marked it with a goal at the City Ground, Nottingham, but Albion went down 3-1. It was one of seven starts he made, plus seven appearances off the bench as the Seagulls finished in their highest ever spot of sixth.

In a season in which Brighton competed in Europe for the first time, Buonanotte scored five times in 23 starts plus 13 sub appearances. I was at Stamford Bridge on 3 December 2023 when he pulled one back for the Albion just before half time, curling the ball into the bottom left corner of Robert Sanchez’s goal, in a tetchy encounter that saw Conor Gallagher sent off and eight players booked as Chelsea edged it 3-2.

Facundo for the Albion takes aim at Stamford Bridge…..and his sweet, curling left foot shot beats Robert Sanchez

In spite of the defeat, De Zerbi spoke warmly of Buonanotte’s performance saying: “He played very well, his best game at Brighton. He is getting better and better.

“I know when a young player plays they can make mistakes and need to improve. If they have a talent, a quality, they become better. Facundo can become an important player for us.”

The following month, after the youngster had scored a stunner in Albion’s 5-2 FA Cup win at Sheffield United, De Zerbi told The Athletic he wanted to see more from him in the no.10 role.

“My demand for Facundo is to shoot and make assists, because his qualities are clear. Facundo is another important young player and he is improving a lot. He’s a smart guy, a good guy. I can’t say anything (bad) about his attitude, behaviour on the pitch.

“He has big qualities. It’s difficult to change country when you are so young, to change the style of football because the Premier League is a different competition to all other leagues.

“But he is improving a lot. He played very well; I think the best game of his time at Brighton.”

Once De Zerbi had parted company with the Albion, although Buonanotte was involved in pre-season fixtures under Fabian Hurzeler, the Argentinian was sent out on a season-long loan to Leicester City.

Hurzeler said: “I hope first of all that he will play [for Leicester]. If you play every game, you will develop. He’s still a player for Brighton so we will watch his development.

“He was very good in training. Very happy with him. For me, it’s always important that players try to develop themselves. That only happens if they play. I hope he will get the minutes at Leicester and come back a stronger, better player.”

Although the Foxes were relegated back to the Championship, Buonanotte scored six goals in 35 matches and caught the eye of various observers. Ex-Arsenal and Leicester striker Alan Smith told Instant Casino: “He’s young and has a lot of improving to do before he’s top class. But to be playing so well for a team like Leicester who are in a different situation to Brighton as he has, he’ll certainly be an exciting talent going forwards, wherever he ends up.

“This loan period at Leicester will be great experience for the young midfielder as he is getting regular game time and really seems to be making a difference there. He’ll likely return to Brighton as an even better player with that experience under his belt.”

One of his problems in trying to nail down a permanent role at Brighton is competition in the positions best suited to him, and Hurzeler seems to have doubts about his application.

According to totalfootballanalysis.com: “He thrives in a free-attacking role that allows him to roam the pitch and exploit spaces. This makes him an exceptional creative playmaker, and his inclination to cut inside also makes him a remarkable roaming playmaker.”

Is his versatility an advantage or disadvantage? totalfootballanalysis.com maintains:

“Buonanotte possesses the ability to adapt effectively within different systems when required,” and it speculates his long-term potential could lie in the role of an advanced playmaker.

“This position typically involves a high volume of passes into the final third and direct creation of chances while in possession.”

The comparison to Messi may well have been a blessing and a curse, although Buonanotte told Sky Sports’ Nick Wright in December 2023: “It had an impact! To be compared to, for me, the best player in the world is something that grabs your attention.

“I was very grateful to Carlos (Tevez). It was amazing to be compared to Leo. But I always say that, in my opinion, there are no players who compare to him. It would be a lack of respect for me to compare myself to him because it’s impossible.

“Leo is the best player in the world, possibly in history, and I’m just starting out. I just want to be Facundo Buonanotte.”

Ex- Man U teenager Miah Oriola getting among the goals for Brighton

ONE-TIME Manchester United youth Nehemiah Oriola has been earning rave reviews with Brighton’s under 21s in the season just ending.

The diminutive teenager has got well into double figures scoring for Albion’s second string and earlier in the season made his first team debut.

Oriola was a constant threat in the under 21s’ Premier League 2 play-off final win over his old club at the Amex last Saturday (16 May). Tyler Silsby’s 57th minute goal secured the trophy for the Albion.

Oriola was only 13 when he moved from West Ham to the north west and after three years with Man Utd he switched to the Seagulls in 2023.

After selection as a non-playing sub for first team games at home to Newcastle and away to Manchester United, Oriola went on to make his debut as a late sub for Georginio Rutter when Albion beat Leeds United 3-0 at the Amex on 1 November 2025.

His Albion under 21s coach, Shannon Ruth, said at the time: “He’s a player that possesses a real threat, but he’s also a wonderful team player.

“He’s dangerous in wide areas, he’s dangerous one v one, he can create, he can score, but he’s also got some wonderful teammate traits, where he’ll defend for the team when he has to.

“That gives him a really good chance because he’s an all-rounder, high-level offensively but really reliable defensively.”

In the under 21s 4 May Premier League 2 3-0 win over West Ham, reporter Nick Szczepanik declared: “Oriola was unplayable down the left” and purred: “Oriola was looking the player most likely to open up the visitors’ defence”. 

Going for the spectacular

The youngster was given his first team breakthrough at a time when Karou Mitoma and Brajan Gruda were struggling with injuries.

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler told Sussex World Oriola was an “unbelievable talent”, explaining: “That’s what we saw so far, that’s why he was in the squad, because he deserved it.

“He’s part of the first-team environment, he’s doing really well in training, he shows some really good things.

“It’s important for him to adapt to the intensity, but he seems to do it quite smoothly.

“He’s a very good left-footed player, he’s very good one-against-one, he shows good reactions when he loses the ball. We’re very pleased.”

Oriola netted a brace (one a penalty) in a 2-1 under 21s win away to Wolves on 16 February and a month later again scored twice when the side hammered Everton 5-0 in Lancing.

He was also on the scoresheet in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on 27 February and a 2-0 win at Burnley on 16 March. Those goals led to him being shortlisted for the Premier League 2 player of the month award and The Argus interviewed him in early April 2025.

“The first team are all nice people, they bring you into the group,” he said. “I learned a lot from it and then coming back down to the 21s, it’s trying to just implement that and I feel like I’m developing and improving every day.”

The youngster enjoyed the challenge of taking on the likes of Joel Veltman and Ferdi Kadioglu, telling reporter Brian Owen: “It just feels like it’s a good full-back to go up against, professional, so it’s a good test for me.

“I like the challenge whoever I go against in training, which again helps me develop and improve.”

He added: “Going up against them, they are aggressive and they are smart because they played the game at the highest level. That just allows me to develop and say I could do this better now, or now I’m going to do this.”

Hurzeler, who appreciates the youngster’s ability to play on either wing, told Sussex World: “He’s left-footed, but he can also play on the left wing, he’s quite flexible. He’s very good in coming out of tight and narrow space and good in decision-making.

“There are a lot of things he can improve, but I think it’s very important to not focus too much on the weaknesses he has.

“It’s really important to focus on the strength a player has. To give him an understanding of what he needs to do to play for us.”

Hurzeler added: “It’s about him, I said it to him. It’s about how hard he works, it’s about how humble he stays. What does it mean for him to be in the first-team environment?

“Is it like, all right, I’m satisfied now, or is it more like extra motivation to do more, to invest more, to sacrifice more, to make the next step?

“We support and try to give advice, but it’s a decision every player has to make on their own.”

A regular for United’s under 16s

Born on 11 June 2007, Oriola was on West Ham’s books at a tender age but switched to Manchester United in August 2020.

He featured for United’s under 16s and when still only 15 played once for the under 18s as a substitute in a win over Derby County.

He joined Brighton’s academy in September 2023 and his progress was rewarded with a first professional contract in the summer of 2025.

In a January 2026 article for The Athletic, Hurzeler told reporter Andy Naylor how the ball was in the player’s court with regards the next steps.

“It can go this path or that path, the path for a great career, (or) the path where they might end as a great talent, but not (have) a great career. And this decision we can’t do for them. That’s a decision the players have to do on their own.”

Recognising that road ahead, Oriola told Brian Owen: “Mentality is a big thing, a lot of hard work. Not dwelling on the past and just having the momentum to keep going. And just trying to have that personality; if the team needs someone or if the team needs something, trying to step up.”

Looking ahead to a bright future?

Champion medal surprise for man on the mic Aspinall

THE starry-eyed teenager who made half a dozen top level appearances for eventual league champions Everton had to wait a long time for his share of that distant glory.

But Warren Aspinall was nonetheless delighted when his contribution to the Toffees achievement in 1986-87 was finally recognised with a medal more than 30 years later.

That’s happened since I last featured Aspinall in this blog, which recalled his early days at hometown club Wigan Athletic and darker days after he had ended his playing days in the blue and white stripes of the Albion (three goals in 24 starts plus 13 as sub) in the 1999-2000 season.

Aspinall is now more often heard rather than seen by Brighton supporters who listen to match commentaries on Radio Sussex, and it was commentator Johnny Cantor, who the summariser sits alongside for the regional BBC radio station’s coverage of all Albion’s games, who instigated a presentation of the belated honour.

“It was JC who pushed it forward and he kept it to himself before surprising me with the news that Everton would be making a presentation,” Aspinall told the matchday programme. “I was shocked but absolutely over the moon.”

The number of games to qualify for a winners’ medal used to be 14, or a third of the season, but the EFL in 2021 decided retrospectively to fall in line with the Premier League which awards medals to players who’ve made a minimum of five appearances.

Aspinall had been unaware of the rule change but Cantor had words in the right places and when Albion played at Goodison Park on 3 January 2023, the former player was finally presented with his medal by Graeme Sharp, one of his fellow Everton forwards back in the day who subsequently became an Everton director.

It’s probably a good job the presentation was made before the game because Albion romped to a 4-1 win that day with goals from Karou Mitoma, full debut-making Evan Ferguson, Solly March and Pascal Gross.

“The medal means the world to me and my family and it now sits proudly on my mantelpiece along with my England under 20 caps,” said Aspinall.

He earned the first of those two caps in the same month that Everton paid £125,000 to sign the 18-year-old from Wigan Athletic, although he saw out the season on loan with the Latics.

He featured in Young England’s 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Elland Road, Leeds, and the following month was in the side that suffered a 4-1 defeat to Scotland at Aberdeen’s Pittodrie ground. Tottenham’s David Howells and Neil Ruddock, then of Millwall, also played in both matches, as did Millwall goalkeeper Brian Horne.

Teenager Aspinall signs for Everton’s Howard Kendall watched by Wigan boss Bryan Hamilton

On his return to Goodison Park at the end of the 1985-86 season, Aspinall was on the bench for the last league game (Kendall rested several players because it was five days before the FA Cup Final, which Everton lost 3-1 to Liverpool) and he made his debut in the 3-1 home win over West Ham when going on for two-goal Gary Lineker, who was playing his last league game for Everton before joining Barcelona.

Everton finished as league runners up that season but they went one better the following season, when competition for forward places saw manager Howard Kendall able to pick Sharp and Adrian Heath as his preferred pair, with Paul Wilkinson and Ian Marshall as alternatives. It meant Aspinall’s playing contributions came in the form of nine league and cup appearances as a substitute (he was also a non-playing sub on four occasions). Although first team chances were limited, he bagged plenty of goals for the club’s reserve side, netting 21 in 23 games.

That was enough to convince former Celtic stalwart Billy McNeill, in charge of relegation-bound Aston Villa, to splash £300,000 to take him to Villa Park – where competition for a starting spot was again daunting, with Andy Gray, Gary Shaw, Simon Stainrod and Garry Thompson all striker options.

Aspinall made his Villa debut on 21 February 1987 in a 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool and by the season’s end, while his former Everton teammates were lifting the league trophy, he was part of a Villa side that was bottom of the pile.

McNeill was duly sacked and the picture changed the following season when Aspinall was joint top-scorer as Graham Taylor’s Villa bounced straight back to the top tier as runners up behind Millwall.

“Garry Thompson and I hit it off up front and we had such a good understanding that we kept Alan McInally out of the team for a long time,” he told Villa supporter Colin Abbott. “Garry was good to play alongside because he was like a battering ram and I fed off him.”

Aspinall made his 50th and final appearance for Villa on 7 May 1988 in a 0-0 draw away to Swindon (playing left back for Villa was Bernie Gallacher and in the opposition line-up was Colin Calderwood and Kieran O’Regan).

Already warned by Taylor that he needed to improve ill discipline that had resulted in too many cautions, Aspinall got himself sent off for stamping in a pre-season friendly against St Mirren and Taylor transfer-listed him.

Happy at Pompey

England World Cup winner Alan Ball, in charge at recently relegated Portsmouth, seized the moment and took him to Fratton Park for a fee of £315,000 in August 1988, where his teammates included Mark Chamberlain and Terry Connor. In six years with Pompey, Aspinall also played under John Gregory, Frank Burrows, caretaker Tony Barton and Jim Smith.

Briefer stays followed along the coast at Bournemouth (loan and permanent), Swansea City (loan) and two seasons at Carlisle United.

Aspinall at Colchester

Keen to return to the south, Micky Adams first signed him when he had taken over as manager at Brentford and he made 48 appearances (plus three as sub) for the Bees but Aspinall then went on loan and then permanently to Colchester United for nine months before Adams brought him on loan and then permanently to the Albion in the autumn of 1999. It was a part exchange for midfielder Andy Arnott.

In only his third game, Aspinall was a delighted scorer of the only goal on his old stomping ground of Brunton Park as Albion returned to Sussex with all the points. The News of the World said: “Former Carlisle favourite Warren Aspinall seized on Billy Barr’s poor back pass to chip keeper Andy Dibble.”

In the Argus, Andy Naylor wrote: “The colourful midfielder then dashed towards the Albion supporters huddled in the seats on a drizzly day in Cumbria before sliding full-length on the greasy turf.”

Aspinall continued his celebration with a finger-on-lip gesture and an ear cupped towards the home support. He told the matchday programme: “I heard the keeper shout for the ball and anticipated the defender’s pass. I think I showed a great turn of pace for a veteran.”

In fact, Aspinall was 32 when he joined the Seagulls and he added experience to a side that went on to finish its first season back in Brighton in 11th place in the fourth tier

At the start of the following season, when he went on as a sub for Gary Hart in Brighton’s home 2-1 win over Rochdale (Bobby Zamora scored both Albion goals), it was to be his last ever appearance.

Suffering from the niggle of a piece of floating bone in his right ankle, he followed physio advice to have it removed in what was expected to be a routine operation. But while in hospital, he caught the MSRA superbug which ate away tendons and ligaments in his ankle.

“They eventually said I would never play football again as a result. I was finished,” he told The News, Portsmouth, in a graphic account of the trauma. “Yet now I needed an operation to get rid of this infection, which involved me scheduled to stay on a hospital ward for 14 days, attached to an intravenous drip while antibiotics were fed into my body.

“After 13 days, my body broke out in a rash from head to toe. It had rejected the drug. So, I had the operation once more – and it happened again. After 13 days, my body rejected it.

“For 28 days I’d been on that hospital ward, so I was then offered the chance to return home if I underwent an operation to insert two tubes into my heart, one for the intravenous drip to enter and the other to take blood out.

“That sounded good to me – apart from my heart subsequently stopping during the procedure. I died. I’m told it was for a few seconds, but I died on that operating table,’ Aspinall told The News. “But they brought me back, and I was allowed to go home to Hedge End, with a district nurse checking on me every day, even Christmas Day.

“There were two six-inch tubes hanging out of my chest, with the nurse taking blood out of one and putting the drugs into the other.

“I lived. The antibiotics killed the superbug, but my career ended there and then. I was aged 33, with nothing planned, no coaching badges. I had to go into the real world.”

The story of what happened in his post-playing days – battles against gambling and alcohol addictions – have been well documented in various media interviews, including a detailed one with the Birmingham Mail in October 2012, when he spoke openly about a near-miss suicide attempt.

He has been Cantor’s co-commentator on Albion matches for Radio Sussex since 2015.

Last eight in the FA Cup becoming familiar territory

REACHING the FA Cup quarter-finals for the fourth time in seven years is music to the ears of Brighton fans of a certain vintage.

Time was when an exit far earlier in the competition was the more likely expectation and falling victim to non-league giant killers (remember Walton & Hersham, Leatherhead, Kingstonian, Canvey Island, Sudbury Town) was nothing short of humiliating.

But as each season in the exalted company of the Premier League has gone by, the last eight stage of the FA Cup has been well within reach.

As one who goes back a good many years, it was a delightful surprise to reach the quarters twice in the mid-1980s (going all the way to the final in 1983, of course, if you hadn’t heard!).

Gary Stevens tackles Mark Barham

It still pains me to say that I was one of the many locked out of the 28,800 Goldstone Crowd on 12 March 1983 when Albion played in their first ever FA Cup quarter-final.

Norwich City, under former West Ham FA Cup winner Ken Brown, were the opposition with future England goalkeeper Chris Woods in goal and Mark Barham, who joined Albion towards the end of his career, on the wing.

Jimmy Melia’s Seagulls had already beaten the Canaries 3-0 a few months earlier but the cup match proved a much tighter affair described as “bruising” by several football reporters who noted the physios were called on seven times to treat injuries – Albion’s Norwich-born Mike Yaxley twice attending to Steve Foster.

Andy Ritchie in what turned out to be his last home game for the Albion

Nonetheless, it was “marvellous entertainment for all its imperfections” reckoned the Sunday Telegraph’s Lionel Masters, who said: “Brighton full-back Chris Ramsey did more than most to inject a steely resolve. He conducted a feud with (Dave) Bennett, whom he flattened more times than a target a fairground rifle range.”

Alan Hoby of the Sunday Express wrote: “It was a tough, turbulent, physical affair with an orgy of high balls,” while the only goal of the game, from Albion’s Jimmy Case was “one of the few moments of quality in a frantic game,” according to Brian Scovell of the Daily Mail.

The less well-known quarter-final appearance of that decade came on 8 March 1986 when a Goldstone Ground crowd of 25,069 (at a time when the average often dipped below 10,000) saw Chris Cattlin’s Second Division Albion entertain First Division south coast rivals Southampton.

Albion were pleased finally to have got a home game in the competition having had to overcome away ties at Newcastle, Hull and Peterborough (who were eventually beaten 1-0 in a home replay five days before the Saints match).

Saints were managed by Chris Nicholl, Cattlin’s fellow former Burnley youth team colleague, and in the opposition line-up was Case, the talisman of Albion’s run to the final three years previously when he rifled in the winner at Anfield in the fifth round, scored that only goal v Norwich and buried a long-range rocket in the semi against Sheffield Wednesday at Highbury.

England’s Peter Shilton was in goal for Southampton and, most curiously, after a five-week absence from first team action, misfiring Mick Ferguson was selected by Cattlin to lead Albion’s attack. Not one of the 1983 Albion side started for the Seagulls.

Sadly, Brighton, in the upper reaches of the second tier at the time, didn’t do themselves justice. Saints won it 2-0 with first half goals from Steve Moran and Glenn Cockerill – and it turned out to be Ferguson’s last game for the Seagulls. Three weeks later he moved to Colchester United.

Fast forward to 2018 and another strange striker selection by a Brighton manager – this time Chris Hughton leaving top scorer Glenn Murray on the subs bench – proved costly in a quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

New £14m signing Jurgen Locadia missed four good chances among 12 second-half Brighton efforts on goal to United’s one and Pascal Gross went close on three occasions. But BBC Sport’s Mike Whalley suggested: “He (Hughton) might have been left wondering if resting Murray caused Brighton to miss their chance of a first FA Cup semi-final since 1983.”

United topped and tailed the tie with Romelu Lukaku opening the scoring early on and Nemanja Matic sealing victory late on when he nodded in Ashley Young’s free-kick.

A year later, it looked like Albion wouldn’t be going beyond the last eight once again when Championship side Millwall led the Seagulls 2-0 at The New Den with only two minutes to go. Cue Locadia, on as a sub, to make amends for the previous season’s misses by making space for himself in the box and firing home an unstoppable shot to pull a goal back for the visitors.

Then, with 95 minutes on the clock, Solly March from way outside the box floated in a free-kick that Lions’ ‘keeper David Martin inexplicably let slip through his grasp to bring the Albion level.

Goalkeeper Mat Ryan a penalty shoot-out hero at Millwall in 2019

The momentum was in Brighton’s favour in extra time but it took a penalty shoot-out to decide the tie and when Murray missed Millwall might have thought it had turned back their way. But after three successes each, Mat Ryan kept out Mahlon Romeo’s effort, and Lions centre back Jake Cooper needed to bury his spot kick to keep the tie alive for the home side. He blazed his shot over the bar and Albion were through.

There was to be no such drama in 2023 when 18-year-old Evan Ferguson did a whole lot better than his 1986 namesake and stole the headlines by scoring twice against League Two Grimsby, who were playing in their first FA Cup quarter-final for 84 years.

The Mariners had knocked out five teams from divisions above them to reach that stage but they were well and truly put to the sword by Roberto De Zerbi’s impressive Seagulls who ran out 5-0 winners at the Amex.

As well as Ferguson’s brace, Deniz Undav, March and Karou Mitoma were also on the scoresheet and it could have been more; Mitoma missing a sitter and Adam Webster’s effort hitting the bar.

Perhaps by way of highlighting how quickly fortunes can change for young players, it’s interesting to recall that of Ferguson BBC pundit Danny Murphy said at the time: “This kid is a superstar. Honestly.

“He’s got great feet, technical ability. He’s calm, powerful and plays the role really well. You don’t see him out wide, he stays central and is always a target.

“I can’t see a weakness in his game at the moment. For 18 years old, the maturity he shows in his game is phenomenal.”

Murray, having moved into the punditry game himself by then, added: “It was the manner in which he scored those goals, he was so composed. As a young lad just coming into the first team, you can snatch at those chances but he just relaxes in that moment – and that is something that you can’t teach.

“He’s got a good stature and I think there’s big things in the future for him.”