Tag: Mark McGhee

Albion rookie Richard Martin became Sven goalie at City

RICHARD MARTIN could justifiably be dubbed ‘The Nearly Man’ of goalkeeping.

Once thought to have the potential to play 200 games for the Albion, he left the Seagulls having only ever warmed the first team bench.

In an unlikely turn of events, he went from back-up League One Seagulls ‘keeper to no.3 behind Kasper Schmeichel and Joe Hart at Premier League Manchester City, thanks to former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

After two years at City, he went on loan to Burton Albion, then worked under Ben Roberts and Nathan Jones as back-up ‘keeper at Yeovil Town before enjoying fleeting fame on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico.

Doubtless it wasn’t the career he expected when his teenage promise between the sticks led to him earning trials with Liverpool and Everton.

Born in Chelmsford on 1 September 1987, Martin spent part of his childhood in Liverpool but the family were living in Burgess Hill when the young goalkeeper was picked up by the Albion.

Martin was only 16 when Liverpool took him on a week-long trial and Albion manager Mark McGhee went public in the Argus on 4 February 2004, explaining why he thought the youngster should stick with the Seagulls.

Warming up for the Albion (pictured by the Argus)

“We have put forward a reasonable argument to the boy and to his parents as to why we think he should stay here,” said McGhee. “The thing we can promise him at a club like ours, like any other young player in any other position, is that if he is good enough he will be fast-tracked into the first team or certainly onto the bench.

“If he goes to Liverpool there is no chance of that happening. At the very best he is going to spend two or three years at youth level, then at reserve level and in five years’ time he might start to make an impression in the first team squad.

“By that time, he would have played 200 games for us and be worth a lot of money and move to Liverpool under different circumstances.”

The Argus reckoned Albion could have got compensation of at least £200,000 if Martin, a Liverpool supporter, had ended up at Anfield. But Liverpool didn’t take him on, he remained an Albion scholar, progressed through the youth ranks and was awarded a two-year professional contract in the summer of 2005, before his scholarship was due to expire.

With Michel Kuipers sidelined by injury, Martin and fellow young ‘keeper John Sullivan shared opportunities to play for the first team in pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2005-06 season. Martin appeared against Le Havre, Oxford United and Bournemouth, as well as coming on as a sub in two other matches.

A sizeable Albion following went over to France to watch Albion’s 2-0 defeat to Le Havre when Martin began in goal in the absence of Michel Kuipers. The Argus reported: “Martin flew high to his right to brilliantly tip away a 12th-minute thunderbolt from Jean-Michel Lesage which was dipping and swerving towards the top corner from 25 yards.”

Goalkeeping coach John Keeley went further and told the matchday programme: “That was an absolute world-class save. I’m sure if Michel had made it people would still have been talking about it – it was that good..

“He can take big positives out of that and the other bits he had to do in the first half.”

When the season proper got under way, Martin found himself on the bench for 14 matches as Irish international Wayne Henderson, on loan from Aston Villa, was the established first choice. But then Frenchman Florent Chaigneau arrived on a year-long loan from Rennes.

In December 2005, Everton took Martin on trial and for a while there was speculation that a nice fat transfer fee from selling the youngster could be reinvested in signing a much-needed striker for the first team. But the move didn’t materialise because Everton boss David Moyes didn’t think Martin was big enough.

The Argus reported: “Martin impressed during a recent trial with the Merseyside giants but Goodison boss Moyes has decided not to sign the slimly-built 18-year-old from Burgess Hill due to his size.”

Instead of heading to Goodison, Martin went on loan to non-league Kingstonian, competition for the no.1 spot at Albion having increased with the permanent signing of Henderson from Villa.

Martin was part of the successful Albion youth side of 2006 from which six players went on to play first team football. But even at youth level he was competing with Sullivan, who eventually edged ahead of him and did manage to break through into the first team.

Competitive football game-time was considered the best option for Martin and the following season he went on a season-long loan deal to Conference South Dorchester Town. But his stay was cut short by injury. Once recovered, in the second half of the season, he joined Folkestone Invicta where he played 12 matches.

However, on his return to the Albion his contract wasn’t renewed, and he was without a club until the surprise opportunity arose at Manchester City, where the goalkeeping coach at the time was ex-Albion No. 1 Eric Steele.

Martin told the Argus: “This is completely unexpected. I’d like to think Brighton were wrong to let me go but these things happen.

“I went up to City initially just for a week to do a bit of training, because my agent knows Eric.

“(First choice Andreas) Isaksson and Joe Hart picked up injuries, they had a reserve game which I played in and then I carried on training.

“I don’t think I am in contention for the first team, I will just be in the reserves and go from there. Hopefully the month will be extended if I can keep on doing well.”

Sure enough, it was and boss Eriksson was happy to give Martin a season-long contract.

His only first-team action came on 22 May 2008 when replacing Schmeichel for the second half in an end-of-season charity match in Hong Kong against a South China Invitational XI.

Even after Steele switched allegiance to Manchester United and Eriksson had moved on, Martin had done enough to establish himself as third in line behind Hart and Schmeichel.

Mark Hughes took over as manager and Martin remained at the club working with ex-Chelsea ‘keeper Kevin Hitchcock, who Hughes had taken with him from Blackburn.

Martin was given the no.13 squad number for the 2008-09 Premier League and UEFA Cup campaign and it was an irresistible opportunity for the Argus to catch up with him ahead of Brighton’s home Carling Cup tie against City at Withdean in September 2008 when Albion sprung a big shock by winning the penalty shoot-out.

Reporter Andy Naylor discovered Martin had been philosophical, rather than disappointed, about the way things turned out with Albion. “When I look back at the situation at that time it was all about getting results and Michel (Kuipers) and Wayne (Henderson) were the two generally ahead of me,” he said. “I got a lot of good experience at Brighton and that set me in good stead for coming up to Manchester.”

Unfortunately, a knee injury Martin sustained shortly after sidelined him until the following March. Then in April, City allowed him to move temporarily to Burton Albion as cover because their first choice ‘keeper Kevin Poole was injured.

When released by City in the summer of 2009, more Albion connections provided him with his next opportunity, and finally the opportunity to play league football, at Yeovil Town.

Martin at Yeovil (picture by YTFC Digital)

In the Seagulls’ 2004 play-off winning season, Martin was a youth-teamer when Glovers assistant boss Jones was Albion’s left-back and goalkeeping coach Roberts was between the sticks.

Ahead of Brighton’s 2-2 draw at Huish Park on 10 October 2009, Martin told Brian Owen of the Argus: “I was fortunate I got the call from Yeovil in the summer and went down there for a trial. They liked what they saw. Of course, I know Nathan and Ben well and the fact they knew about me must have helped them make a decision.”

Martin was on the bench for the Albion fixture but had made his league debut shortly before as a substitute when first-choice Alex McCarthy (at the time on loan from Reading) was sent-off 20 minutes into a 2-2 draw with Stockport County. With McCarthy banned, Martin got his first start in a defeat at Southampton.

However, in total he made just three league and two cup appearances in that first half of the season and in January 2010 was loaned to Conference National bottom-placed side Grays Athletic – and within the space of a fortnight had conceded 11 goals in three matches!

Although he returned to Yeovil after a month, McCarthy’s fine form denied him any further first team action at Huish Park and he was released in July 2010. After brief spells with Havant & Waterlooville and Crawley Town, Yeovil re-signed him on 31 December 2010.

Plenty to say in goal for Puerto Rico Islanders

However, in March 2011 he had the opportunity to head to the Caribbean and play for Puerto Rico Islanders, who at the time were in the second tier of the North American Soccer League. He made his debut in May 2011 having initially been back-up ‘keeper and then signed for a second season, during which he established himself as first choice and played a total of 33 matches.

Talking on camera after the NASL player of the month award

In August 2012 he was named NASL player of the month, and he was interviewed about the experience of playing for the Islanders. There is an excellent montage feature in which the commentator purrs in this YouTube footage: “Richard Martin has the reflexes of a jungle cat.”  

Back in the UK in 2013, Martin played briefly for Whitehawk and Burgess Hill before retiring.

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.”

Why Saint Dan riled the Albion

DAN HARDING was promoted twice with Southampton and once with the Seagulls and later cut short his career because of family tragedy.

Personally, I’m not sure he really need to be cast as ‘public enemy no.1’ because of the way he left Brighton.

With the benefit of hindsight, it was really no surprise that he chose to turn his back on playing at Withdean in favour of Elland Road, Leeds.

OK, the stringing-out of the contract negotiations, and public slanging match that accompanied them, didn’t help matters.

But football careers are short and the Amex was a long way off becoming a reality when Harding decided to opt for pastures new.

“I really enjoyed my time at Brighton but you can’t compare the size of the two clubs or the facilities,” he told the Leeds matchday programme at the time. “It has been like going from one world to another.”

Ironically, it seems his success on the pitch with Brighton, which led to him gaining international recognition, might well have been the unsettling influence.

Former Albion boss Peter Taylor selected him for England under-21s as the 2004-05 season got underway. He made his England debut as a substitute for Micah Richards in a 3-1 win over Ukraine at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, on 17 August 2004. Future full internationals James Milner and Darren Bent were in the same squad.

He started the 8 October 2004 match against Wales at Ewood Park, Blackburn: a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Milner and Bent. He also started the game four days later when the under 21s drew 0-0 away to Azerbaijan in Baku. His last cap came the following month in a 1-0 defeat away to Spain when he was replaced by Ben Watson. Future Albion loanee Liam Ridgewell was also a substitute in that game.

It was this platform that sowed the seeds of discord, according to former chairman Dick Knight’s take on the circumstances surrounding Harding’s acrimonious departure from the Albion.

In his autobiography Mad Man: From the Gutter to the Stars, Knight reckoned it was while on international duty that Harding was “egged on by his agent about his value after talking to players with bigger clubs, on bigger wages”.

Knight went on: “Early on, I offered him a sizeable contract renewal but he sat on it. He kept saying he wanted to stay, but I don’t think he had any intention of doing so.

“Because he was under 24, we were entitled to compensation. Shaun Harvey, the Leeds chief executive – who became CEO of the Football League in July 2013 – tested me with a couple of paltry sums before finally offering £250,000, which I rejected.”

DH Leeds action 2Via the Football League tribunal system, Knight managed to get the figure up to £850,000, part achievement-based, and with a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

All in all, not a bad return for a player who came through the Albion’s youth and reserve ranks after being spotted at 15 playing for Hove Park Colts.

Born in Gloucester on 23 December 1983, the young Harding loved kicking a football from the moment he could walk and enjoyed watching his dad, Kevan, turn out for the Army team.

The family was posted to Brighton, and Harding was taken to the Goldstone Ground by his mum, Linda. One of his earliest memories was on 23 September 1992 seeing a 17-year-old David Beckham make his Manchester United debut as a substitute for Andrei Kanchelskis in a League Cup tie that finished 1-1.

Harding joined the Albion initially on schoolboy terms for a year and was then taken on as a YTS trainee, progressing through the juniors and reserves before eventually making his first team debut on 17 August 2002, during Martin Hinshelwood’s brief reign, as a substitute for Shaun Wilkinson in a 2-0 home defeat to Norwich City.

After Hinshelwood was replaced by Steve Coppell, and Harding sustained a back injury, the youngster played no further part in the first team picture that season, but he was awarded a new contract in April 2003.

In the first part of the 2003-04 season, Harding was a regular on the bench, but, on 21 February 2004, Coppell’s successor, Mark McGhee, gave him his full debut in place of the suspended Kerry Mayo in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.

Dan Harding

Harding kept his place through to the end of the season, making a total of 23 appearances, including being part of the side that lifted the divisional play-off trophy at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, as the Seagulls beat Bristol City 1-0.

“In hindsight, it was a very lucky time for me. I broke into a team that was winning games and was promoted,” he told the Daily Echo. “Looking back now, I don’t think I appreciated at the time what a big achievement it was.”

Sent off in only the second game of the following season for two bookable offences, it wasn’t long before his contract discussions were aired publicly, with McGhee telling the Argus in October: “It’s starting to really frustrate me.

“Dan keeps telling us and saying publicly he wants to sign but we cannot tie his agent down to have a meeting with us. He has to be honest with us.”

Harding in turn denied he was being difficult, telling the Argus that talks were ongoing.

The off-field issues certainly seemed to be troubling Harding and McGhee publicly blamed the defender for a 2-0 defeat at Millwall in December. He was also outmuscled by Stoke City’s Ade Akinbiyi in a game at Withdean, leading to a late winner for the visitors. Across the season, McGhee dropped him on four occasions because of such inconsistency.

When he won his place back in February, he told the Argus: “I had to prove not only to the gaffer but to the other players and the fans that I want that position back.

“That’s where I prefer to play. I like to call that my position. I don’t mind playing on the left hand side of midfield or centre midfield, but I do love playing at left-back.

“Hopefully I can reproduce the same sort of form and keep my confidence up. Everyone wants to be playing, so when you are left out it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth. It’s not nice, but you have to pick yourself up and try to get back into the team.”

DH leeds action 1However, the Brighton contract offer was declined and on 7 June that summer, Harding put pen to paper on a deal with Leeds, whose fans were no doubt delighted to read that he used to follow their fortunes when he was a youngster.

“When I lived in Germany, they showed quite a lot of Leeds games on telly and, in a strange way, I kind of ended up supporting them because it was the only football I really got to see out there,” he said.

His dad later took him to a Leeds FA Cup match v Wolves, and he added: “I have to admit I have been a closet Leeds fan. Obviously, I didn’t shout about it when I was playing for Brighton and it’s kind of strange now that this move has happened.”

If Harding doubted the size of the task at Elland Road, he’d only have had to read the comments of manager Kevin Blackwell, often Neil Warnock’s no.2, who was the Leeds manager at the time.

In an article about Harding in the club programme, Blackwell said: “It has been a big transition for him. No disrespect to Brighton, but coming from the scaffolding at Withdean to Elland Road was a big step-up for Dan. He was nervous in the first couple of games, but he has started to settle down.”

He talked about how he needed to cement his place at United, and added: “If he does succeed here, all the doors will be open to him. I have no doubt that once he develops certain aspects of his game and his self-confidence, he will go a long way because he is a real athlete with a great left foot.”

Brighton fans vented their displeasure at how things had turned out every time Harding touched the ball when Leeds entertained the Seagulls on 12 September 2005; a game which finished 3-3. The fact two of Albion’s goals came from crosses on Harding’s flank prompted Blackwell to drop him for the following match.

After only seven games, Harding picked up an injury and, over the course of the season, played just 21 matches for United. In August 2006, the Yorkshire club used the full-back as a makeweight in a deal which took future Albion loanee Ian Westlake from Ipswich to Leeds.

He was a regular at Portman Road for a couple of seasons but, in his third season, manager Jim Magilton deemed him surplus to requirements and sent him out on loan to Southend United. I recall going to a match at Roots Hall and seeing him have an outstanding game against Brighton.

Later the same season, with Ipswich bobbing along in mid-table, Harding seized the chance to join Steve Coppell’s promotion-chasing Reading, and he played in their play-offs defeat to Burnley.

When Roy Keane took over at Ipswich in 2009, Harding was sold to Southampton; manager Alan Pardew’s first signing for the Saints. Harding’s former Albion youth coach, Dean Wilkins, was part of Pardew’s coaching team.

Harding reflected in an interview with the Southern Daily Echo that what followed were the happiest three years of his career, in which he played 121 games and chipped in with five goals.

In 2010-11, he was named in the PFA League One team of the year along with teammates Kelvin Davies, Jose Fonte, Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

In the harsh and fickle world of football, Brighton fans relished Brighton’s 3-0 win over Southampton at the Amex on 2 January 2012 when Albion winger Will Buckley gave Harding such a torrid time that, to compound his humiliation, the former Brighton player was subbed off by boss Nigel Adkins with five minutes of the first half still to play.

Although part of the Saints side that won promotion back to the Premier League that May, Harding didn’t get the chance to play at the top level because Adkins moved him on to Nottingham Forest.

Harding talked in detail to the Echo’s Paul McNamara about life at Forest, which he found an unstable place, especially when Sean O’Driscoll, the manager who signed him, was sacked.

Although he played some games under that legendary left-back Stuart Pearce, when he took over, Harding eventually went on loan to Millwall, but wasn’t able to help them stave off relegation from the Championship.

He reveals in his interview with McNamara how disillusioned he became with the amount of dishonesty in football and, coupled with his pregnant wife losing two of the triplets she was expecting, he put family before football and, at the age of only 31, dropped down four divisions to play non-league with Eastleigh.

He talked about the tough decisions he’d had to make in an interview before a FA Cup tie Eastleigh played against Bolton Wanderers.

In 2016, Harding joined Whitehawk as a player, then became part of the coaching set-up, and was briefly caretaker manager before the appointment of Steve King.

Great strike rate at Brighton but journeyman Benjamin had 29 clubs!

T Benj BTNSELDOM in his remarkable 29-club career did Trevor Benjamin enjoy such a successful spell as the 10 games he spent on loan at Brighton.

The bustling striker who had thrived under Micky Adams at Leicester City the season before scored five times for Mark McGhee’s promotion-chasing side in 2004.

McGhee was keen to keep him through to the end of the season but because of the timing of the three-month deal he wouldn’t have been eligible to play in the play-offs.

As a result, he went back to Leicester and McGhee brought in Chris Iwelumo instead, and, with a goalscoring debut in an away win at Chesterfield, there was no looking back.

Born on 8 February 1979 in Kettering, Benjamin was brought up in Wellingborough, Northants, and, having done well for Wellingborough Colts, was picked up by Kettering Town, playing for their youth team and reserves.

Cambridge United took him on as a trainee and he made his first team debut aged only 16 against Gillingham and went on to score 46 goals in 146 appearances.

Such a scoring record caught the eye of Leicester boss Peter Taylor and, on 12 July 2000, Benjamin joined the Foxes for a fee of £1.3 million.

However, he managed only a single goal in the 2000-01 season and the following season was sent out on loan to Crystal Palace, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion.

He returned to Leicester for the whole of the 2002-03 season, including playing against the Albion at Withdean.

He said in a matchday programme article for that season’s return match against Brighton on 19 April 2003: “Brighton are a very similar team to ourselves. They have got a good work ethic and never give up.

“I came on as a substitute for the last 10 minutes when we played against them at the Withdean Stadium just before Christmas and that was a tough night.

TBenj Lei action“The conditions were terrible and both sides had to work hard to beat the elements. But I think our quality shone through on the night.” (Leicester won 1-0).

The following season, Benjamin was back on his travels, initially to Gillingham, then Rushden & Diamonds and, in January 2004, to Brighton.

Benjamin’s first Brighton goal came after just 12 minutes of Albion’s home game against Plymouth Argyle, who were then top of the league table. Leon Knight added a second goal before a jubilant celebration in front of the Sky cameras and Albion prevailed 2-1.

He followed that up by netting Albion’s goal in a 1-1 draw away to Wycombe Wanderers, and was again on the scoresheet in the 2-1 away defeat to Grimsby Town.

A 3-0 home win over AFC Bournemouth saw Benjamin score the second of Albion’s three goals at Withdean. When Tranmere Rovers were dispatched by the same score, he once again scored the second goal.

Back at Leicester, when Craig Levein was installed as boss, he cancelled Benjamin’s contract in January 2005. Benjamin initially dropped down a couple of divisions to play for Northampton but, three months later, his old Leicester boss, Adams, took him to Championship side Coventry City. He helped to set up both goals on his debut for the Sky Blues as they beat Reading 2-1.

In Coventry’s matchday programme for their home game against Brighton on 2 April 2005, he talked about how he had been settling in and the efforts he’d been making to try to improve his game.

“I’ve been training quite hard with Alan Cork on my finishing since I got here and he’s great to work with. He’s trying to get me to focus on what I am best at and hopefully when the games start again the practice will pay off.”

Benjamin’s arrival at Coventry may have seen him make a leap of two divisions but he was by no means unfamiliar with football at that level having played with Leicester for five years in both the Premiership and the Championship.

David Antill wrote: ‘During his time with the Foxes he was loaned out to no fewer than seven clubs before eventually signing permanently with Northampton Town but he is delighted to be back in a league he enjoys playing, for a manager he believes can get the best out of him.

“I’ve always believed in my own ability and thought I could play at this level and it was great to be given the chance to return to this league with Coventry,” said Benjamin. “My confidence never really slipped – I never had a doubt about coming here and being able to deliver the goods.

“I know what Micky Adams is all about and he knows what I’m all about so I enjoy working with him. What he’s brought here is exactly what he brought to Leicester and that’s what brought him success there. He’s a hard-working manager and he wants exactly the same thing from all of his players and I think he’s getting that.”

After scoring only once for the Sky Blues, in the summer of 2005 the burly forward linked up with Peterborough United, where he signed a three-year deal. However, he was loaned out several times, appearing for Watford, Swindon Town, Boston United and Walsall.

There was some stability and a return to goalscoring when he moved to Hereford United. He scored 10 in 34 games for the Bulls but was released in May 2008 and ended up drifting across the non-league scene for the next four years, popping up at no fewer than 13 different clubs.

It was all a far cry from the heady days of 2001 and 2002 when he briefly reached the international arena.

He went on as a substitute for Howard Wilkinson’s England under 21s as they beat Mexico 3-0 in a friendly at Filbert Street on 24 May 2001. Because he hadn’t played in a competitive fixture, he was then able to swap allegiances and played two matches for the full Jamaica international side in 2002.

FA Youth Cup winner McPherson shored up leaky Seagulls defence

CENTRAL defender Keith McPherson made just one top division appearance for West Ham’s first team but went on to have a lengthy professional career, with a swansong at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Born of Jamaican parents in Greenwich on 11 September 1963, McPherson signed as an apprentice for the Hammers in 1980 and was a member of the FA Youth Cup winning side in 1981 (they beat Spurs 2-1 over two legs).

It was only the second time in the club’s history they had won the trophy and the excellent theyflysohigh.co.uk faithfully records the details on its website; headlined by the fact young Paul Allen had played in the Hammers FA Cup winning side the year before but was still eligible to play for the youth team.

WHU K McPMcPherson’s single first team appearance came at home to Liverpool on 20 May 1985, the last game of the season, which finished 3-0 to the visitors.

Unable to break through again, he had an 11-game loan spell with Cambridge United before a fee of £15,000 took him to Northampton Town in January 1986. He went on to play 216 times for the Cobblers over the next four and a half years.

In the summer of 1990, he joined then First Division Reading where he played for nine years.

Royals’ manager Ian Porterfield signed him having been impressed when the defender scored twice against Reading in previous visits to Elm Park.

McPherson ReadMcPherson was a regular at the heart of the Royals defence at Elm Park and the Madejski Stadium, and was a key part of the Mark McGhee side that won the Division 2 Championship in 1994.

After spending nine years at Reading, many as captain, and making 317 league and cup appearances, he joined the Albion at the age of 35 shortly before the March transfer deadline in 1999 as beleaguered manager Jeff Wood tried to shore up the centre of a defence which had been leaking goals at an alarming rate.

He made his debut in a hard-fought 0-0 draw away to relegation-threatened Hartlepool which registered Albion’s first point for seven games and first clean sheet since the start of November.

King, McPherson, Doherty and trainee Duncan McArthur all made debuts at Hartlepool

The game also saw Wood give debuts to another experienced defender in former Swindon full-back Phil King together with young Charlton loanee Lee Doherty.

With Albion up against it in the league, McPherson even played with a broken nose, manager Wood telling the Argus: “He is happy to play. It doesn’t affect his breathing and his nose is not the prettiest anyway.

“He is very important to us. I brought him in for his experience and if he didn’t play it would weaken us considerably.”

Before the season was out, the experienced defender had played 10 games under three managers and ended up as captain!

Caretaker manager Martin Hinshelwood handed him the armband for his one match in charge, at Plymouth, and McPherson carried on as captain when Micky Adams took over as manager for the final five fixtures.

One of Adams’ first moves once the season had ended was to secure McPherson’s signature for the following season. Adams told the Argus: “Keith is an older and experienced professional who has still got a bit of life in him.”

For the veteran defender, it was all something of a whirlwind. He said: “It has been very eventful. Jeff brought me down and when the chairman decided he had to go that made my position precarious. When something like that happens, all you can do is play well.”

He continued: “I’m delighted. Micky Adams must have liked what he has seen.”

Having helped Reading to promotion from the old Fourth Division in 1987, McPherson pointed out: “I know all about the hustle and bustle at this level. It’s a matter of being organised. The gaffer has made it clear he wants promotion, which is good for the club and the fans.

“We are going to be playing back in Brighton next season and he wants winners.”

McPherson in the 1999-00 squad photo with Gary Hobson and Charlie Oatway

McPherson went on to play 25 times that season but, having turned 36, it was his last season in a professional career that saw him play more than 500 games.

The emergence of Danny Cullip curtailed his appearances but, when released on a free transfer at the end of the season, together with Warren Aspinall, Adams said: “The door is not closed on them. They have been good lads, model pros.

“They have done well for us this season, but their appearances have been restricted because of other people’s good form.”

When McPherson decided to move to non-league Slough Town to wind down his playing days, Adams told the Argus: “We are sorry to see him go. He is a good pro who always works hard and tries his best.”

After 75 appearances for Slough, McPherson went back to Reading as a coach.

According to getreading.co.uk, he now lives in Surrey and does computing at a private school.

McP in 2017

Pictures: various online sources, and Albion matchday programmes.

Illness put paid to John Piercy’s promising career

A FIVE-YEAR professional football career bookended by 3-1 results against Crewe Alexandra almost certainly wouldn’t have been the path John Piercy would have chosen for himself.

One saw him make a promising debut for Tottenham Hotspur on 13 October 1999, subbed off to a terrific ovation from a 25,000 crowd at White Hart Lane on 74 minutes as they progressed in a League Cup game against the lower league opposition.

The other was a League One defeat for Brighton & Hove Albion at humble Withdean Stadium on 6 November 2004, subbed off ignominiously only 12 minutes into the second half with many in the crowd of 6,163 unaware that the hereditary bowel disease afflicting him was putting paid to his hopes of a football career.

Born in Forest Gate, east London, on 18 September 1979, Spurs first spotted Piercy as a stand-out 12-year-old, talented enough to represent England Schoolboys.

He became a trainee with Spurs at the age of 16 and signed as a professional in July 1998.

It was George Graham who gave him his first team debut for Spurs in that game against Crewe, starting him up front alongside Chris Armstrong in a side that featured future Brighton player and assistant manager Mauricio Taricco in defence.

The Spurs goals were scored by Oyvind Leonhardsen, David Ginola and Tim Sherwood, but spursodyssey.com was full of praise for the young Piercy.

“One young man who will remember this night more than most is 20-year-old debutant John Piercy, who won the home fans’ hearts with two terrific efforts on goal, and an eye-catching performance all round,” it said. They even went as far as to suggest he might be ‘the new Ginola’.

The performance was good enough to earn him a place on the bench for the following Saturday’s Premier League game away to Derby County and he was called into action in the second half to replace Armstrong as Spurs won 1-0.

He made two more league appearances that season and an excellent Spurs archive website said of him: “The solidly built East Londoner had the ability to lead the line and to make chances for his team-mates, by going wide and taking people on.

“Some work was needed on his first touch and his pace, but he was strong, direct and knew where the goal was.  Preferred to play wide on the left of midfield, but was deployed at full back in the reserves to good effect.”

Chris Hughton was the Spurs reserve team manager at the time and said of Piercy: “John is able to adapt well to different roles which is why we’ve played him at full-back in pre-season when we’ve been stretched in those areas.  But I’d say his best position is definitely right or left of midfield.”

On 4 April 1999, he started for England under 20s against the USA in the World Youth Championships in Nigeria, but was subbed off in a game England lost 1-0. His teammates that day included future full international Ashley Cole, and the side was managed by former Albion full-back Chris Ramsey.

john piercyFrustrated by the lack of first team opportunities at Spurs, Piercy, by then based in Eastbourne, opted to join Brighton in September 2002 during Martin Hinshelwood’s brief reign as manager.

Hinshelwood told the BBC: “He’s a player who can play in a variety of positions. That will give us plenty of options.”

A first team breakthrough at Brighton was slow to happen, however, with Hinshelwood’s successor, Steve Coppell, opting for experience in the ultimately unsuccessful battle to avoid relegation from the second tier. Piercy top-scored for the reserves that season, netting 13 goals from midfield.

However, shortly after Mark McGhee’s appointment, he did get some game time and in December 2003 also registered his first league goal in a 1-0 win at home to Wrexham.

Later the same month, he went one better playing up front in place of the suspended Leon Knight and scored twice in a resounding 4-0 home win over Wycombe Wanderers.

More often than not, though, he was brought on as a substitute rather than starting games. He made just eight league starts and in six of them was subbed off.

His other appearances (16) were all from the bench and that was the role he found himself in at the 2004 play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, although his contribution was certainly effective.

Piercy replaced Nathan Jones in the 77th minute. “He (McGhee) made a change with just over 10 minutes left and we went on to win the game, so no one is going to complain, are they?” Jones told walesonline.co.uk.

Reports also recorded how Brighton threatened Steve Phillips’ goal moments after Piercy replaced Jones, Iwelumo glancing the substitute’s cross wide of the far post.

Sadly for Piercy, while he showed promise on the football pitch, he began to suffer the horribly debilitating effects of colitis, as he described in an interview with the Argus.

He praised the support he got from McGhee and reserve team boss Dean White but it reached a point where it was evident the illness was simply sapping too much energy from him to continue a full-time professional football career.

That defeat at home to Crewe proved to be his last game for the Albion and he announced his retirement aged 25 shortly afterwards.

“He knows his capabilties and I know his capabilities,” said McGhee in a matchday programme article. “He’s a player that could easily cope with the standard of the Championship but this illness has just affected him in a way that he just can’t get fit enough to do himself justice.”

Chairman Dick Knight added: “It is a great shame that such a skilful player, with such tremendous natural ability, has seen his career curtailed in such a cruel way. All at the club are devastated for him to be hanging up his boots at the relatively young age of 25.”

Piercy subsequently regained sufficient fitness to play a season with non-league Eastbourne Borough and then took up a coaching role with the club.

Nowadays he is a sports coach at Ocklynge Junior School in Eastbourne where he teaches youngsters football and PE, and is also a coach at CACL Sports in the town.

Piercy Ocklynge Sch

Injury curtailed Saints stalwart Jason Dodd’s Albion swansong

INJURY deprived Albion of the services of the experienced former Southampton captain Jason Dodd throughout the 2005-06 season.

After completing 499 games for Saints, Dodd had originally intended to retire at the end of the 2004-05 season having been sidelined by boss Harry Redknapp to such an extent that he’d gone out on loan to Plymouth Argyle.

However, Brighton were missing the long-term injured Adam Hinshelwood and manager Mark McGhee gave the 34-year-old Dodd a season-long deal at the Albion.

Dodd slotted in at right-back for the opening five fixtures of the season but then had to have surgery on a troublesome ankle injury which put him out of action for two months.

He returned to first team action at the end of November but was then struck by a mystery back injury that was severely debilitating, as he told The Argus.

“They cannot really pinpoint what the problem is and it isn’t just not being able to train,” he told the paper. “I am in constant pain 24-seven so, from my point of view, it’s not just at work it’s when I go home. I can’t pick the kids up or go for a walk with the dog.”

Dodd col HSUnfortunately, he managed just two more games in a season when Albion finished bottom of the Championship table. One fond memory I have of his contribution to Albion’s cause came in a game at QPR in March 2006.

The game was memorable for the sending off just after half time of Rangers’ skipper and long-serving striker Kevin Gallen for punching Paul McShane. Sadly, Albion only managed to take a point when they really needed three, but it was their first away point for nine games, so it was a triumph of sorts.

QPR full back Marcus Bignot put a deep Gary Hart cross through his own net under pressure from substitute Joe Gatting to equalise Gareth Ainsworth’s early header for Rangers.

The tricky Ainsworth gave Adam El-Abd, playing in an unfamiliar left back role, such a torrid time that McGhee switched the fullbacks with half-an-hour played and put Adam Hinshelwood there instead. Shortly after half time, McGhee switched it again and Dodd replaced El-Abd.

In the 40 minutes, or so, he was on the pitch he showed what we had missed by providing an outlet for some neat passing, and hardly ever gave the ball away.

Born in Bath on 2 November 1970, Dodd began his distinguished career by signing for his home town club, non-league Bath City. In 1989, Southampton paid £15,000 to take the 18-year-old to The Dell.

Jason Dodd (Southampton)

He certainly couldn’t have got off to a better start, making his first team debut at home to Liverpool, marking England international John Barnes.

Londonsaints.com was fulsome in its praise for the impact he made, declaring: “Not only did he completely snuff out the efforts of the England winger but found enough time to supply a perfect cross for Paul Rideout’s opening goal in a momentous 4-1 win.”

From that encouraging beginning, he went on to establish himself as Saints’ regular right back, playing under nine different managers and captaining the side. Dodd remained a fixture in a team that more often than not found itself fighting for survival in the top flight.

Between 1990 and 1991, he won eight England under-21 caps, making his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Poland at White Hart Lane on 16 October 1990 and playing his last game against the same opponent, away in Pila, on 11 November 1991, when England lost 2-1, their goal being scored by Paul Kitson, who later played for Brighton.

In his fifth under 21 game, Dodd was sent off as England trounced Mexico 6-0, when, as well as a goal for Kitson, Alan Shearer scored a hat-trick (including two penalties).

Although Dodd had been involved in earlier rounds of the FA Cup in 2003, injury meant he missed out on the final, when Saints lost to Arsenal.

At the end of his injury-plagued season with Brighton, Dodd joined his former Saints teammate Francis Benali as a coach at non-league Eastleigh before stepping into the manager’s role for seven months.

The lure of his old club was too great, though, and, in the summer of 2007, he became first team coach at Southampton under George Burley. He was briefly caretaker manager before leaving Saints in July 2008, had a short tenure as caretaker manager at Aldershot in the autumn of 2009, and then returned once again to Southampton as a development coach and under 18s coach at St Mary’s.

During his five years with the Saints youth academy, working with former teammate Paul Williams, together they brought through the likes of Luke Shaw, Callum Chambers and James Ward-Prowse.

But they were controversially let go in May 2014 – some reports said it was because they didn’t spend enough time with the younger age groups.

Shaw took to Twitter when news of their dismissal was announced saying he was “gutted” for them.

Dodd obviously keeps a close eye on the progress of the young players he was once responsible for and, when Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho subbed Shaw at half-time during United’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Brighton in 2018, the BBC sought Dodd’s opinion. He admitted a tough love approach was the way to get the best out of him.

“He does make you pull your hair out at times. You have to try different things to get the best out of him,” said Dodd. ”I think they have tried everything and they have not got through to him to get him out on the pitch and perform.

“Luke is one of those players where you have to keep on, you have to keep pushing him and he needs to be challenged.

“I was constantly on him. He likes it. He needs more of a cuddle, and then give him a little dig,” Dodd added.

The Saints stalwart is frequently asked his views on current happenings, but his day job is as head of football in the PE department of independent school, Winchester College. He has a few other sidelines on the go, as he told the Daily Echo earlier this year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B Dean Chippy + Cullip

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

‘Have boots, will travel’ striker Steve Claridge mixed it with Lions, Wolves, Foxes – and Seagulls

VETERAN striker Steve Claridge, who saw service with 22 professional and semi-professional clubs, helped Brighton to one of the most amazing smash-and-grab raid wins I’ve ever seen as an Albion fan.

The former Millwall forward answered a plea from his old Lions boss Mark McGhee in November 2004 which paid off big time when the Seagulls snatched a 1-0 win away to West Ham United.

It was the first of only five games Claridge played for second-tier Brighton after McGhee turned to a player who had delivered for him during his spell in charge of Millwall.

Albion went into the game at the Boleyn Ground on 13 November 2004 on the back of three defeats and McGhee was desperate to stem a tide which had seen eight goals conceded and no points on the board.

A trip to West Ham (who ended up being promoted via the play-offs that season) was a daunting prospect if the bad run was to be halted.

However, as McGhee pointed out: “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.

“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.”

Claridge in action at Upton Park

Centre back Guy Butters headed the only goal of the game on 68 minutes from Richard Carpenter’s pinpoint pass and the Seagulls held out for an unlikely three points. Hammers boss Alan Pardew had to admit: “Technically they were perfect and obviously came here to play deep and try and nick it on a set piece, which is what they did.”

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.

McGhee knew the qualities Claridge could bring to his ailing side having been a popular figure as Millwall came close to promotion from the second tier.

The West Ham success didn’t spark a great revival in Albion’s fortunes, however, and there was only one more win (1-0 at home to Rotherham) during Claridge’s month with the club.

In one of those strange footballing quirks of fate, his fifth and final game for the Seagulls came away to Millwall (see Argus picture at top of article) on 11 December 2004, when Albion lost 2-0.

Claridge said all the right things in a programme feature about him that day, included likening 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.”

Unfortunately, it seemed money was the obstacle that precluded 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.

Then, 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 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, there aren’t many clubs in Hampshire and Dorset that Claridge has not had some kind of association with! Having been brought up in Titchfield, he started out with nearby Fareham Town in 1983. AFC Bournemouth took him on and gave him his debut in 1984 but he only played seven games before moving 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, instead moving on to fourth tier Aldershot Town.

In two spells with Cambridge United, he scored 46 goals in 132 games. A falling out with manager John Beck saw him sold to Luton Town, and then bought back after Beck’s departure!

Nearly two years later, 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.

Such form eventually saw him switch to Leicester City and Claridge wrote himself into Foxes’ folklore, scoring winning goals in a play-off final to earn promotion to the elite level, and in the 1997 League Cup Final over Middlesbrough, the last time the competition staged a final replay. That, though, came after an ignominious beginning with Leicester.

McGhee’s successor as manager, Martin O’Neill, signed him for £1.2m in March 1996 and his early form was dreadful. Astonishingly, it seemed his poor start might well have been related to the wrong medication he had been taking for a heart defect for EIGHTEEN years, according to this official Leicester City website report.

In 1998, Leicester sent Claridge on loan to his hometown club, Portsmouth, but, in March 1998, McGhee, then boss at Wolves and seemingly at odds with more established strikers at the club, took Claridge to Molineux for a £350,000 fee. Only five months later he was sold to Portsmouth for £250,000.

Writer Dan Levelle said on an amusing Wolves’ fan website: “He was that amazing food blender you saw at your mate’s house, but you can’t get it to work at all for love nor money.”

claridge Wolves1

Claridge’s time at Molineux was clearly not appreciated by the Molineux faithful, as Levelle revealed in this 2012 piece.

Even more galling for Wolves followers was that no sooner had Claridge made the switch to Portsmouth, he was scoring a hat-trick against them in a 3-1 win at Fratton Park!

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.

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.

He joined on a temporary basis to cover a period when current boss Neil Harris was banned following a sending off, but, after he hit the ground running, was then tied to a permanent deal, as this Millwall blog post described in 2016.

Writer Mark Litchfield summed him up brilliantly when he said: “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.”

Few could doubt Claridge’s enthusiasm for the game, as he told the Bradford Telegraph & Argus during his time in Yorkshire.

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, Gosport Borough and Salisbury.

Many younger readers will know Claridge as a pundit who worked extensively for the BBC on TV and radio and he now coaches youngsters in Salisbury and Warsash through his own scheme, the Steve Claridge Football Foundation.

Claridge