The spectre of Trelford haunted them for ages at St James’

BRIGHTON travel to Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup with the backdrop of having won there twice in the competition in the 1980s – not to mention a 1-0 win in the Premier League this season.

The 1-0 third round win at St. James’ Park in January 1983 set Albion en route to that season’s FA Cup final – but Toon supporters of that era blamed the game’s unusually-named referee, Trelford Mills, from Barnsley, for their exit.

Think I’m exaggerating? Newcastle fans’ website themag.co.uk had this to say ahead of another FA Cup game between the two sides in 2013: “It is doubtful that anything could match the anger and frustration that many of us felt nearly thirty years ago.

“Wednesday 12 January 1983 will always be synonymous with the name Trelford Mills, etched into the consciousness of an entire generation of Newcastle fans, convinced he cheated us out of the FA Cup. Well, a chance of the fourth round anyway!”

*Neil Smillie, goalscorer Peter Ward, Steve Gatting, Chris Ramsey and Andy Ritchie celebrate after the 1983 win.*

Mills disallowed two Newcastle ‘goals’ while Albion nicked it courtesy of a penalty area pounce by Peter Ward, back at the club on loan from Nottingham Forest, on 62 minutes. They did it without captain Steve Foster who was suspended (as, of course, he would be for the final too).

The game was a third round replay four days after the sides drew 1-1 at the Goldstone Ground when Andy Ritchie’s mis-hit shot in the 56^th minute put Albion ahead and Terry McDermott (below right, with Tony Grealish) equalised on 77 minutes.

Even though the Magpies were in the old Division Two at the time, they had Kevin Keegan and Chris Waddle in their line-up, and they fully expected to win because Brighton hadn’t previously won away that season.

Albion, competing in the top division for the fourth season in a row, with joint caretaker managers Jimmy Melia and George Aitken in charge, had goalkeeper Graham Moseley to thank for some heroic stops to keep them in the first game.

The replay at St. James’s Park was in front of a typically noisy crowd of 32,687 and Newcastle did everything but score: they had shots cleared off the line and hit the woodwork and, when they thought they’d scored, Mr Mills disallowed them – twice!

In the meantime, Ward made the most of a counter attack to put the Seagulls ahead. It turned out to be the last goal he scored for the Albion, although he was in the side that pulled off a shock 2-1 win at Anfield to knock out Liverpool in the fifth round.

Enterprising reporter Tim Hodges searched out Mr Mills all those years later to hear his version of the events.

“I remember Brighton went one up, then Imre Varadi went through on goal, but quite clearly controlled the ball with his wrist,” said Mills.

“I think the Brighton keeper realised this, just as most of the players did, and let the ball go into the goal just to waste a bit of time. I just restarted with a free kick. I have spoken to Imre since. I think he accepts my version now.”

Mills continued: “Jeff Clarke managed to win a ball in the penalty area, but only because he had his arm around the defender’s neck. Keegan bundled the ball into the goal, but I had blown up a few seconds before it went in.

“Keegan did his Mick Channon cartwheel arm in front of the Gallowgate end, but I just jogged across to where I wanted the free kick taken from and indicated as to why I had disallowed the goal.”

Mills also recalled how he and his fellow officials needed a police escort away from the ground after the match. “When we sat in the dressing room after the match, I remember chatting to one of my linesmen, John Morley, when this police officer turns up,” he said. The copper said to him: “You’d better hang on here a while, Trelford. There are 2,000 Geordies outside and they all want your autograph!”

Three years later, the status of the teams had been reversed with Newcastle promoted back to the top division in 1984 and Albion back in the second tier, relegated the same year as the cup final appearance.

While Keegan had retired, Willie McFaul’s side had a young Paul Gascoigne in midfield and Peter Beardsley in the forward line. Clarke, who’d played four games on loan at Brighton two years earlier, was still in the centre of United’s defence and it was his foul on Terry Connor in the first minute of the game that saw Albion take a shock early lead.

Danny Wilson floated in a free kick from 30 yards out on the right which found centre back Eric Young on the far edge of the penalty box. He hooked the ball into the Newcastle net with only 50 seconds on the clock!

Albion, wearing their change strip of red, had to endure a relentless series of attacks (Toon had 23 corners to Albion’s one!) and Perry Digweed in Brighton’s goal put in a man of the match performance between the sticks, notable saves keeping out shots from John Bailey, Beardsley and Billy Whitehurst.

With five minutes left of the game, against the run of play, a quick throw-in by Graham Pearce found Dean Saunders and he rifled home an unstoppable shot past Martin Thomas for his 10^th goal of the season.

Manager Chris Cattlin summed up afterwards: “It was really tough and we had a little luck on our side, but to go away to a club who have won the cup no fewer than six times and come away winners was quite an achievement.

“With the Geordie fervour up there the noise their supporters created was something special, but our efforts speak volumes for everyone connected with our club.”

There would be no fairytale ending that season, though, with Albion being dumped out of the cup 2-0 by Southampton in a quarter-final tie at the Goldstone Ground.

*John Barnes and Steve Harper were on pundit duty for ESPN for the 2012 match*

Younger fans will doubtless recall two more recent FA Cup meetings between Brighton and Newcastle, in consecutive seasons during Gus Poyet’s reign, at the Amex in 2012 and 2013.

The Championship Seagulls beat the Premier League Magpies on both occasions – 1-0 in the fourth round in 2012 and 2-0 in the third round the following year.

A Mike Williamson own goal was enough to give Albion the edge over Alan Pardew’s side in the first of those games; Will Buckley’s 76^th minute shot deflecting off the defender and looping over Tim Krul for the only goal of the game. Leon Best, who would later have a torrid time at Brighton, missed two good chances for the visitors.

The 2013 fixture was a more convincing win for Brighton against a weakened Newcastle side who had Shola Ameobi sent off. Andrea Orlandi gave Albion the lead on the half-hour mark and substitute Will Hoskins added a second late on.

*Andrea Orlandi hooks in Albion’s first goal*

“This was an impressive victory for Brighton, a result that will add to the optimism that surrounds this upwardly mobile club and strengthen their resolve to host Newcastle in next season’s Premier League,” wrote Ben Smith, for BBC Sport. “The cool passing game of Liam Bridcutt at the heart of their midfield was tremendous.”

The reporter added: “Sharper to the ball, and swifter to make use of it, the Seagulls toyed with their more celebrated opponents for much of the opening 45 minutes, producing some stylish attacking moves while tackling, battling and dominating territory in their uncomplicated and effective way.”

*Will Hoskins buries Albion’s second goal in 2013*

Tony Rougier couldn’t have wished for a better Albion start

A GOAL by Tony Rougier three minutes into his debut as a substitute gave Brighton a glimmer of hope in their battle to avoid relegation.

His strike against Mark McGhee’s mid-table Millwall side at Withdean Stadium on 22 February 2003 was the only goal of the game and lifted Albion out of the bottom three of the Championship.

When Bobby Zamora dummied Kerry Mayo’s pass to allow Arsenal loanee Graham Barrett to turn and move the ball goalwards, Rougier nipped in to complete a neat finish past Tony Warner in the Millwall goal.

Manager Steve Coppell had sent on the Reading loanee as a 61^st minute substitute for winger Paul Brooker although he admitted to Stuart Barnes of The Guardian: “I honestly didn’t know if Tony would make a difference, but I felt he would pep up everybody else because we were starting to lose our grip.

“Getting out of the bottom three will give the players a lot of self-esteem. For a long time this season they have questioned whether they belonged at this level.”

Trinidad and Tobago international Rougier joined the Seagulls having been sidelined by Alan Pardew at Reading who paid £325,000 when signing him from Brian Horton’s Port Vale.

Horton gave the Argus an insight of what Albion fans might expect when he said in an interview: “Tony has a great build and he is a threat with his pace and strength.

“We had to sell him because we needed the money and he was one of our major earners.”

He had been Vale’s leading goalscorer with eight goals in 38 games when they were relegated from the First Division in 2000 before moving to Reading that August.

Rougier made a total of 84 appearances for Reading, scoring six goals, and in his first season helped them to the Division Two play-off final where they lost 3-2 to Walsall (and Rougier scored an own goal after going on as a substitute). But a year later, he made 20 starts and 13 appearances off the bench as Reading were promoted in second place – behind the Albion!

He had scored twice in 12 outings for Pardew’s high-flying Royals in 2002-03, including in a 1-0 win against Albion at Withdean. But competition for places was fierce, with the likes of Nicky Forster, Darius Henderson, John Salako and Nathan Tyson.

Coppell told the Argus: “I speak with Alan fairly regularly but this came totally out of the blue when I phoned him up.

“Tony is a big, strong lad and he gives us options. He can play as a wide man or down the middle and the move suits Reading, the player and me.”

*Getting to grips with Jason Brown of Gillingham*

Coppell needed forward cover because Gary Hart was about to start a four-match suspension, Zamora was banned for the next away game at Gillingham, Paul Kitson was still injured and Barrett was struggling for form and goals.

The following matchday programme observed Rougier had not been signed for his goalscoring prowess, but rather for his “power, direct running, and causing havoc that others can exploit”.

But the goal was very welcome in a season that might well not have ended in relegation if Coppell had started the season in charge rather than joining after so many games had already been lost under Martin Hinshelwood.

Rougier made his first start in a 3-0 defeat away to Gillingham playing up front with Barrett when Zamora and Hart were suspended.

He featured in home wins over Rotherham United (2-0) and Nottingham Forest (1-0) as well as an away defeat at Stoke City (0-1), but he missed the 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United after twisting his right ankle against Forest.

He bowed out in style in his final appearance, making one goal and scoring a second in a memorable 2-2 draw away to Ipswich Town.

I took my then 14-year-old son Rhys to the clash at Portman Road and the lively midfielder-cum-striker in the no.34 shirt, who had been taken to the hearts of the Albion faithful, was suitably serenaded with the chant ‘Ra-ra-ra Rougier’ to the tune of the popular vaudeville and music hall song Ta–ra–ra Boom-de-ay.

His first significant involvement saw him go up for a header from Hart’s cross and Town goalkeeper Andy Marshall diverted the ball into his own net to gift Albion an equaliser.

Future Albion loanee striker Darren Bent missed a penalty that would have put Ipswich back in front, and then, with 10 minutes to go, Albion fans were buoyant with expectation when Rougier slammed the ball into the roof of the net after Ipswich had failed to clear their lines.

Unfortunately for Brighton, a 30-yard thunderbolt from Martin Reuser flew past Dave Beasant to put the home side level and Albion had to be content with a point, which ultimately wasn’t enough to avoid making an immediate return to the division they’d left the previous season.

While the player was keen to extend his stay, Pardew wanted him back to help with Reading’s promotion run-in, although thankfully he wasn’t involved in Brighton’s shock 2-1 win at the Madejski Stadium on 4 April (and Steve Sidwell, who had been on loan at the Albion earlier that season was an unused sub). Goals from Brooker and sub Kitson took the spoils for the Albion, Cureton netting for the home side.

The Royals finished fourth in the league before losing 3-1 on aggregate to Wolves in the play-off semi-finals, and Rougier was released on a free transfer having scored three times in 13 starts and nine appearances off the bench.

Rougier told the Argus he would be interested in returning to the Albion, but nothing came of it and he joined Brentford instead. Manager Wally Downes believed the player had “real quality” although Brentford fans seemed to have divided opinions on what he brought to the side.

‘Snappy’ on The Griffin Park Grapevine reckoned: “The guy is a huge asset, especially in the last 10 minutes of a game when he can hold the ball up and dance his way around players like they were statues and relieve the pressure on the defence.”

‘West Ealing Bee’ agreed: “He is an asset to the club and a very important part of the team.” But ‘Boston Bee’ had a totally different take on the player: “Even when he actually tried (15min/match) he looked like he wasn’t trying. His lack of interest in the game going on around him drove me crazy.”

Rougier made 34 appearances for the Bees, scoring five goals but when Martin Allen took over as manager in March 2004, Rougier was one of five players he allowed to leave Griffin Park as part of a squad overhaul that ultimately helped them to a last-day escape from relegation.

Meanwhile, Rougier linked up with another ex-Albion captain, Danny Wilson, at Bristol City on a free transfer. Indeed, Rougier appeared for the Robins when they lost 1-0 to McGhee’s Albion in the divisional play-off final in Cardiff on 30 May.

But when Wilson lost his job that summer, Rougier followed him out of the exit and he returned to Trinidad, where he won the last of 67 international caps for Trinidad and Tobago.

He has since turned to coaching, becoming a UEFA A licensed coach, and attained a degree in sports development. On his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as the founder, president and technical director of FC South End, and, in 2014, among his past coaching experiences was a spell working with his nation’s under 20 squad.

Four years later, he had moved to the United States to coach the New England Revolution academy team.

Born on 17 July 1971 in Sobo, a village in south west Trinidad, his footballing career was initially confined to his home country.

Tom Lunn, writing for Reading fan website thetilehurstend.sbnation.com in 2019, profiled Rougier describing how the player began his senior footballing career in his home country with La Brea Angels. His Wikipedia page says he also played for Trintoc, United Petrotrin, and Trinity Pros.

An Albion matchday programme article said Rougier then moved to New York where he spent a year working in the baggage department at John F Kennedy airport before heading to the UK.

After overcoming work permit issues, he was taken on by Raith Rovers where, over the course of two years, he became something of a cult hero. In 2018, he returned to Fife to be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.

“This is where it all started,” he said in an interview with the club’s TV channel. “It never felt the same whichever club I went to afterwards. The Fife people gave me respect and it’s something I’ll never forget.”

During the interview, Rougier remembered fondly an occasion when he man-marked Paul Gascoigne, playing central midfield against Rangers.

His stand-out moment was a UEFA Cup second round tie in Munich’s Olympic Stadium on 30 October 1985 when Raith only narrowly lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich who boasted the likes of Oliver Kahn in goal and Jurgen Klinsmann up front.

His performances for Raith earned him a £250,000 move to Hibernian. He scored four times in 45 matches for Alex McLeish’s Edinburgh outfit but in January 1999 joined Port Vale, signed by Horton’s predecessor John Rudge for £175,000.

By then, he had established himself in the Trinidad and Tobago national side, a teammate of Dwight Yorke, and often being chosen as captain.

In his own words, he describes himself as: “A highly experienced football coach and former professional player with a career in the game spanning more than 25 years, I has successfully made the transition into coaching, management and club operations through a consistent focus on long term player and team development.

“A former national team captain with Trinidad & Tobago and a promotion winner in both England and Scotland, I have been able to effectively apply my on-field experience to guide team success and coaching strategy at professional, grassroots and school level.

“I am a positive, dynamic and passionate professional who is committed to my continued progression as a coach. I am always open to opportunities in which I can develop while positively impacting a football club or organisation, and would relish the opportunity to work with elite players within an ambitious environment.”

Things didn’t click for wanderer Stephen Dobbie

A 93^RD-MINUTE winning goal in a Championship match against Peterborough United was as good as it got in Stephen Dobbie’s brief stay with Brighton.

Dobbie left the Albion for Crystal Palace just five months into a three-year contract after failing to live up to the hope that he would be the answer to Albion’s shortage of a genuine goalscorer.

“He has great quality which will unlock defences and I have no doubt he will also score plenty of goals,” Poyet said on capturing a player who had a goalscoring pedigree at Championship level with Swansea City and Blackpool, as well as in Scotland.

“He has played and proven himself at this level and in the Premier League. His goals helped Blackpool win promotion in 2010 and he returned on loan to help them reach the play-off final last season,” he said.

Dobbie was one of four players who joined Brighton on 31 August 2012; fellow Swansea player Andrea Orlandi also arrived, along with Dean Hammond, on loan from Southampton, and Athletic Bilbao’s David Lopez.

Seldom a starter, Dobbie’s first Albion goal came after he’d gone on as a 64^th minute substitute for Andrew Crofts at home to Peterborough. Despite relentless Albion pressure, the game looked to be heading for a goalless draw when Dobbie produced a composed finish from an Ashley Barnes pass in the third minute of added on time.

A delighted Poyet said: “We needed quality and Dobbie showed us what he is capable of and that won us the game. It was real quality and that’s what we needed to score tonight.

“On another day, another player would have smashed that and it would not have gone in. The touch was magnificent and we are all delighted.”

Dobbie added: “Before I came on the gaffer told me to keep doing what I have been doing in training. I was confident that my time would come. Hopefully I can kick on and show the sort of form I have showed before in the Championship.”

As it happened, Dobbie did score in the next match too although an astonishing game at Molineux possibly summed up his time with the Albion. He had a great chance when through on goal that Carl Ikeme saved; he then put Albion 3-2 up with an 89^th minute penalty – but 10-man Wolves hit back with a 90^th-minute equaliser.

“We are all a bit gutted because the three points were there to be taken and on another day we probably would have scored four or five,” said Dobbie afterwards.

Dobbie didn’t score again and after just five starts plus 10 appearances off the bench Poyet decided to cut his losses and ship the player out on loan to Palace.

He couldn’t put his finger on exactly why it hadn’t worked out and was open in his assessment when talking to the Argus about it.

“I don’t think there is one reason, one person responsible,” said Poyet. “I think it didn’t click, that’s all. I am more than happy to take the blame but it’s a mix of things, the way we play, the player, the results, the team.

“The moment it was a possibility to get him I was convinced he was the perfect player for us, to play between the lines, arrive late, get goals, play in different positions in a front three or even behind the striker.”

Earlier in the season, Dobbie said matters off the pitch had made it difficult for him to settle. He had been living in a hotel with his wife and young son for a month during which time his wife gave birth to their second child.

“It was quite hard living in the hotel with my wife and little boy but thankfully we’re now settled in a house and another little boy has since come along, so I can concentrate fully on my football,” he told the matchday programme. “It’s not easy when you’ve got so much going on, it takes a period of adjustment, but now I’m able to just focus on what I’m doing on the training ground.”

At least the move to Palace reunited Dobbie with a familiar face: he had played under Palace boss Ian Holloway during two loan spells at Blackpool. Dobbie scored three times in 15 matches for Palace as they won promotion via the play-offs (thankfully he didn’t play in the semi-finals v Brighton).

Albion and Palace had to make the transfer a loan initially to comply with FIFA regulations regarding the number of clubs a player can play for on a permanent basis in one season, but the loan became permanent in the summer.

Although he signed a two-year deal at Selhurst Park, he only played in one Premier League game and one League Cup tie before returning to Bloomfield Road on loan to Blackpool for a third time.

It was perhaps inevitable that Dobbie should score an equaliser for relegation-threatened Blackpool when they salvaged a point in a disappointing 1-1 draw at the Amex on 21 April 2014.

Blackpool player-manager Barry Ferguson said: “It was a great strike. [Dobbie] has quality and it’s up to him to produce it more often.

“I let him play where he wants to. I’ve known him a long time and, apart from what he does on the ball, his work-rate off the ball is excellent.”

Although still under contract with Palace, Dobbie spent the 2014-15 season on loan at newly promoted League One side Fleetwood Town.

Released by Palace at the end of that season, he spent pre-season on a trial basis at Championship side Bolton Wanderers and when boss Neil Lennon liked what he saw he was given a one-year contract with the Trotters.

In 2016, Dobbie returned to the club where he’d previously been most prolific as a goalscorer: Queen of the South. In his first spell (2006-09), he scored 55 goals in 105 games for the Scottish First Division outfit.

That level of goalscoring prowess returned second time around, as he netted 111 goals in 178 games over five seasons in the Scottish Championship. He topped the Championship scoring charts in 2017 and 2018 and his 43 goals in 2018-19 was the best ever total for a Queens player in a single season.

Born in Glasgow on 5 December 1982, Dobbie grew up in the tough Barlanark district of the city, and in an interview with the Daily Record he described his experience playing street football in the area.

He was a Rangers fan and, although it was Hearts who first showed interest in him, he spent two years as a youth player at Ibrox Park.

“I signed for the club when I was about 10 or 11,” he recalled. “I was quite lively as a kid but I was soon brought back down to earth whenever I got to meet my heroes. It was intimidating walking into a room and there’s Gazza, Brian Laudrup and Ally McCoist sitting there.”

He added: “They were world class and although I never got to follow them into the first team, it was a brilliant club and I loved my time there.”

While he scored goals for Rangers reserves, he didn’t break through to the first team with his boyhood heroes. The first of many loan moves in his career saw him go to Sydney in Australia and score three times in three games for Northern Spirit.

In the summer of 2003, he was transferred to Hibernian and made a total of 33 Scottish Premier League and cup games during his first season at Easter Road. But a regular starting berth eluded him and he went on loan to Scottish First Division St Johnstone.

That move was turned into a permanent switch but in 2006-07, when once again he couldn’t nail down a regular starting spot, he was loaned to Third Division Dumbarton, where he hit a purple patch, scoring 11 goals in 18 matches.

Such form attracted Queen of the South; he joined them on 5 January 2007 and enjoyed a successful two-and-a-half-year spell.

After he’d finished the 2008-09 season as the Scottish First Division’s top goalscorer with 24 goals, Swansea City, then in the Championship, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“Dobbie has reinvented himself in the last two seasons and is at the best stage of his career,” said Swansea manager Roberto Martinez.

Aged 26 at the time, Dobbie was reunited with Swans top scorer Jason Scotland who he’d played with at St Johnstone in 2005-06.

“He has been through many different moments since his Rangers days, but I firmly believe he is now ready for a new challenge,” said Martinez. “He is a typical Swansea player – very gifted and strong technically.

“He’s also a natural goalscorer, has high standards and is hungry to show off his talent in the Championship.”

Dobbie’s first goals for Swansea somewhat ironically came against Brighton when the Welsh side dumped Russell Slade’s side out of the Carling Cup with a 3-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium.

He scored again in the next round but injury then kept him out of the side and by the following February he was on his way to Blackpool on loan for the first time.

Ironically, Dobbie went on to play for Blackpool in their 3-2 Championship play-off win over the Swans bitter rivals Cardiff City, which saw him branded “Secret Agent Dobbie” by a certain section of the Swansea faithful.

Back at Swansea, Dobbie finally got his place back after Brendan Rodgers had taken over from Paulo Sousa in the manager’s chair.

Dobbie score four times for the Swans but he eventually found himself back on the bench playing second fiddle to loan signing Marvin Emnes and Craig Beattie.

Nevertheless, he chipped in with some important goals from the bench and once again found himself playing in the Championship play-off final, this time getting on the scoresheet as Reading were beaten 4-2.

Remarkably, he featured in a third successive Championship play-off final, again with Blackpool, having failed to hold down a place in Swansea’s Premier League side. He made eight appearances at the elite level but didn’t get on the scoresheet.

Dobbie joined Holloway’s Blackpool in March 2012 but they missed out on another promotion when West Ham beat them 2-1 at Wembley.

In April 2021, Dobbie announced his departure from Queen of the South, with the Daily Record declaring: “The 36-year-old has scored 166 times in 282 games over two spells with the club and is regarded as one of their best players of all time.”

Having put down roots in the North West (even when he was playing for Queen of the South he would commute from his home on the Fylde coast), it was little surprise to see him start the 2021-22 season with AFC Fylde of the Vanarama National League North.

*Dobbie became part of Steve Bruce’s coaching team at Blackpool*

‘Weirdo’ makes meteoric rise to Albion’s top football role

DAVID WEIR had something of a meteoric rise to the top football role at Brighton.

Weir, a former Rangers, Everton and Scotland international, became the club’s new technical director in May 2022 having only been appointed assistant technical director in January. He stepped up to the top job in an interim capacity only a month later after Dan Ashworth quit (and was put on ‘gardening leave’ before joining Newcastle).

Previously Weir had been pathway development manager, keeping tabs on players sent out on loan. When Weir’s appointment to the top role was confirmed, chairman Tony Bloom told the club website: “During his recent role as acting technical director he has used his experience, knowledge and ability in supporting both Graham Potter and the men’s first-team, as we secured a record top-flight finish, and to Hope Powell and the women’s first-team.

“In that time he has already further enhanced an already excellent working relationship with both Paul Barber and me, as well as our executive team responsible for the running of the club. David will oversee all football operations; including recruitment, analysis, medical and player welfare, across both the men’s and women’s set-up.”

Weir didn’t have long in the role before he was having to help Bloom and deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber find a new head coach following Potter’s defection to Chelsea. Weir found himself facing the media when Roberto De Zerbi was unveiled as Potter’s replacement.

However, as Barber said at the time of Weir’s appointment: “It is well known by Everton, Rangers and Scotland fans that David was a leader on the pitch. He has continued to show those qualities off the pitch and has quickly settled into the role.”

When the pathway development manager job was created, who better to entrust the care and progress of promising youngsters than a father of four who played more than 600 matches at the highest level in both the English and Scottish leagues, not to mention 69 games for his country.

Weir had a 20-year playing career, and was still playing for Scotland aged 40, after starting out with his hometown club Falkirk. He was at the heart of Everton’s defence for seven years, including several as captain.

“David has an excellent playing and coaching CV, has excellent contacts throughout the football world and is hugely respected within the industry,” Albion’s head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley, said at the time of his appointment.

“With an increasing number of our younger players going out on loan, this is a particular area in which we feel it is important for us to develop.

“David will be responsible for working with those players individually and collectively, during pre-season and throughout their loan spells to help their footballing development, with the aim of assisting with their graduation to long term first-team football.”

Weir told the matchday programme: “As a former manager and coach, I know the pitfalls that come with loan moves and so I put procedures in place to make sure our players gain the most from their time away from the club.

“It’s also important that we send our players to work with coaches who will enhance their experience – I think a loan move is more about sending them to the right coach rather than any particular club.”

One of the many aspects Weir keeps an eye on is how a player adapts outside the cosseted Brighton bubble.

“The loan process, to a lower league club for instance, should make them appreciate how good they’ve got it here and provide the motivation for them to want to succeed at our club.

“They will have to adapt to new surroundings, maybe bringing their own food, washing their kit or finding a gym to work out in. They have to grow up quickly but I’m available to support and help.”

Weir knows himself what it is like being far from home while trying to get your career started. He went to the United States on a scholarship deal, at Indiana’s University of Evansville, between 1988 and 1991.

Born in Falkirk on 10 May 1970, when the centre back returned to the UK he linked up with his hometown team, playing 134 matches over four seasons, before being transferred to Edinburgh side Hearts.

He was in the 1998 Scottish Cup-winning Hearts side (they beat Rangers 2-1) and featured in a total of 116 games before Everton took him to England in February 1999 for a £250,000 fee.

He was signed by Walter Smith and spent seven seasons with the club as a player, during which time he was club captain under both Smith and his successor, David Moyes.

“I spent ten years in total at Everton, so they will always be a club that means a lot to me,” said Weir. “It’s just a special club for me and one that provided me with many happy memories.”

Everton fan website toffeeweb.com summed him up thus: “Weir brought all the essentials of a great defender: big, strong, good in the air and a hard tackler, he had also shown that he was good at attacking, scoring important goals and taking set pieces.”

Weir cited the 2004-05 season when Everton finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League as one of his highlights.

“It was a team that worked hard for each other, and we had that never-say-die attitude that came from the manager (David Moyes),” he pointed out.

Weir played alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney, Duncan Ferguson, Mikel Arteta and Paul Gascoigne during his time at Goodison Park, and he went back after his playing days were over to coach the academy and reserve teams.

Weir had returned to Scotland in 2007 and, while silverware eluded him on Merseyside, he made up for it in Glasgow, where he won the Scottish Premier League title three times, the Scottish Cup twice and the League Cup on three occasions. A personal high came in 2010 when he was the SFWA Footballer of the Year and the Scottish Premier League Player of the Year.

The previous year he had taken over the Rangers captaincy from Barry Ferguson and in 2011 he became the first player to be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame while still playing.

Weir was first selected for Scotland in 1997 and was in Craig Brown’s squad for the 1998 World Cup in France. He only scored once – in a World Cup qualifier versus Latvia at Hampden Park in 2001. He retired from international football in 2002, when Berti Vogts was the coach, but had a change of heart and returned when his old club boss Walter Smith took charge two years later.

It was in a Euro 2012 qualifying game in 2010 that Weir became the oldest player to play for his country. His 69 caps make him the nation’s seventh-most capped player.

He finally hung up his boots in May 2012 at the age of 42 and returned to Everton as an academy coach. A year later, he took over as manager of third tier Sheffield United but his tenure lasted only 13 games after a disastrous start in which only the opening game was won.

Undeterred, he became Mark Warburton’s assistant manager at Brentford and, after winning promotion to the Championship in their first season and securing a fifth-placed finish in their second season, the pair left the club after a management restructure.

In the summer of 2015, Warburton took charge of Rangers with Weir as his assistant, and after their departure from Ibrox in early 2017, they joined forces at Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

Warburton, Weir and director of football Frank McParland were all appointed towards the end of Fawaz Al Hasawi’s ownership of the club – two months before a takeover by Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis – and lasted only nine months at the City Ground.

It was in July 2018 that Brighton took on Weir to guide the club’s loanees.

Amongst his cohort were his own son, Jensen, who went on loan to League One Cambridge United in 2021-22. The England under 20 international then joined Morecambe for the 2022-23 season.

On 20 December 2021, according to Mail Online, Everton held talks with Weir senior about him rejoining the club in a player development role at Goodison Park, but nothing came of it.

A month later, Albion announced Weir had been promoted to become the club’s assistant technical director, supporting Dan Ashworth.

Sweet left foot but McLeod wasn’t to Albion fans’ taste

McLeod stripes WHEN MICKY Adams returned to the Albion for a second spell as manager, he brought in a number of players who, for whatever reason, struggled to deliver what was expected of them on the pitch.

One was Kevin McLeod, a Liverpudlian who, earlier in his career, had come through the Everton academy and briefly made it through to the Everton first team.

During Adams’ previous reign at Brighton, he’d made a habit of recruiting players he had worked with before – with plenty of success. Second time around, it was not the same outcome. McLeod was a player who had played under Adams at Colchester United, joining Albion on a Bosman free transfer on 1 July 2008.

“He is a left winger with good pace. He can deliver crosses and he offers a goal threat,” Adams told the media at the time. “At this level, he’s going to be a terrific signing for us.”

McLeod scored in only the second minute of a pre-season friendly against Worthing at Woodside Road and followed up three days later with two goals against Bognor.

When the proper League One action got under way at Gresty Road, Crewe, McLeod was on fire in the opening 45 minutes and Albion went on to win 2-1.

Three days later, Adam Virgo scored twice from McLeod corner kicks as Barnet were swept aside 4-0 in the League Cup. But McLeod picked up a knee injury in that game which forced him off just before half time. Some critics maintain he never properly recovered from it for the rest of his time with the Albion. In the middle of September, he had to undergo an operation on the troublesome knee.

He returned to the line-up after a month, in a 0-0 home draw v Peterborough, and in his Argus match report, Andy Naylor observed: “McLeod once again demonstrated his ability to deliver quality crosses, which is why he has been so badly missed.”

However, by his own admission, McLeod rushed back rather too soon, and playing when not properly fit didn’t do him any favours.

650057 It didn’t seem to stop him being the joker in the pack during training, though, on one occasion taking the key to loan signing Robbie Savage’s Lamborghini and hiding it. Former teammate Jim McNulty remembered him as being “hilarious for so many different reasons”, adding: “He was funny when he meant to be, he was funny when he didn’t mean to be and he was funny when he told a story because we never knew whether it was true or false. We could have so much humour with him from so many different angles and he probably wasn’t even aware of 95 per cent of them.”

McNulty detailed one stupid stunt in an interview with express.co.uk: “Macca took the car keys from the pants of one of the young lads in the changing room and decided to drive his brand new 4×4 straight onto the training pitches, over the grass and locked it between two goals.

“The goals would get chained up so he pushed two goals over the top of this lad’s BMW and locked them together. It was hilarious watching the lad trying to unlock them from his car.”

Poster ‘Basil Fawlty’ opined on North Stand Chat: “He never recovered after that knee injury against Barnet. His wages could have been used on somebody decent who can actually play left wing!”

‘Finchley Seagull’ added: “Most of the time he was here he was being paid for being injured or useless” and ‘EssBee’ declared: “Never have I seen such an unlikely professional footballer than that bloke. He looked like a poor pub team footballer…barrel chested, ill-physiqued, he was like a tub of f***ing lard with no control, no nothing.”

McLeod Well-known Albion watcher Harty observed: “I cannot think of any player, in recent years, who had a better first 45 mins for the club, vs Crewe in August 2008… then had an Albion career peter out in the manner it did.”

‘Twinkle Toes’ agreed: “I remember marvelling in his performance that day at Gresty Rd. He was absolutely terrorising the Crewe right-back with his pace and ability: he looked absolutely awesome.

“How the hell could somebody with that kind of ability turn into the no-hoper we all know and loathe?”

wearebrighton.com summed him up thus: “Another player to be filed under the umbrella of players signed by Adams who just wanted money. You could see that McLeod had talent, he just couldn’t be bothered to use it.”

While he made 28 appearances in the 2008-09 season, he only appeared eight times in 2009-10 and by the time Gus Poyet was in the manager’s chair, he let McLeod join Wycombe Wanderers on loan.

After the move he further riled Brighton supporters by claiming the humble Buckinghamshire club had “a better squad than Brighton, better ground, better fans”.

McLeod played just 11 more times as a professional for the Chairboys before going on to join a Sunday League side in Colchester.

Born in Liverpool on 12 September 1980, McLeod joined Everton as a schoolboy in 1991 and did well enough to become part of a decent youth side before establishing himself in their reserves. In the 2000-01 season, he was player of the season as they topped the reserve league.

His form was recognised by manager Walter Smith who called him up to the first team and gave him five substitute appearances in the Premier League. He made his debut v Ipswich on 30 September 2000; called off the bench for the last 15 minutes when the Toffees were already 3-0 down.

His next two appearances, two months later, were happier, though: he featured in a winning team against Arsenal and Chelsea.

Fellow youth team product Danny Cadamarteri had already given Everton a second-half lead over the Gunners when, within a minute of McLeod’s introduction, Kevin Campbell sealed the points against his old club.

The following week, the same two goalscorers gave Everton a 2-1 victory against a Chelsea line-up including the likes of Marcel Desailly, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Gianfranco Zola.

McLeod reflected some years later: “That’s not bad to have on your CV is it? Being an Evertonian it was great.

“When you are on the same pitch as Dennis Bergkamp, Ashley Cole, Ray Parlour, Lee Dixon, Martin Keown and the rest of them you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“It was a good experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In my age group there was Cadamarteri, Leon Osman, Francis Jeffers, Tony Hibbert, George Pilkington and Peter Clarke.”

The Arsenal-Chelsea double was as good as it got for McLeod. He made two more substitute appearances that season, in defeats at Ipswich and Chelsea.

The following season he made his only start for Everton as a team-mate of Paul Gascoigne in a League Cup defeat on penalties at home to Crystal Palace on 13 September 2001.

The excellent toffeeweb.com probably hit the nail on the head in describing the rising star.

“He may fall into the Everton black hole for promising youngsters who are good… but just not quite good enough,” it said. “He only has one weakness, and that is within himself when he will sometimes hide in a game if things don’t go to well in the first 10 to 15 mins.”

McLeod only got one chance under Smith’s successor David Moyes, coming on as a last-minute sub in a FA Cup defeat v Shrewsbury Town on 4 January 2003.

Ten years later he admitted to the Liverpool Echo that things might have turned out different if he had been more responsive towards Moyes.

Instead, he joined QPR on loan between March and May 2003, helping them reach the second division play-offs before joining them permanently for £250,000 on 18 August 2003.

McLeod said: “I didn’t like it at first when I moved to London. I didn’t want to go but I sat down and talked about it with my family and they said you can stay here and work hard or go and play League football.

“I went away and enjoyed it and got promotions (in his first season with both QPR and Swansea).

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“You look at Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert. They stayed there for the extra year and now they are playing week in and week out but I am not one of those people who looks too much at the past.

“I’d rather go forward. I made my decision and I live with it to this day.”

McLeod initially joined Swansea on loan in February 2005 and made 11 appearances as the Swans won promotion to League One. The move was made pemanent for a fee of £60,000 at the start of the 2005-06 season and he went on to make 52 appearances (14 as a sub), before the move to Colchester.

In November 2015, McLeod was in trouble with the law, appearing before magistrates in Colchester accused of assault.

Fluctuating fortunes for Guy Butters after beginning alongside Spurs stars

Spurs’ programme remembers the early years of his career.

A programme cover shows Butts in action for Pompey v Oxford.

GUY BUTTERS saw plenty of highs and lows in a 20-year playing career that started with great promise at Tottenham Hotspur and included six years at Brighton, where he still works.

Butts coaches for Albion in the Community, he’s scouted players, hosted hospitality lounges and still turns out to play in charity matches, not to mention sharing a constant flow of corny jokes with his 3,700+ followers on Twitter!

Promotion via the play-offs at Cardiff in 2004 and being chosen as player of the season would be up there in terms of highs with Brighton.

My personal favourite came on 13 November 2004, when Butters scored the only goal of the game as Albion committed daylight robbery in front of 29,514 packed into West Ham’s Boleyn Ground.

BZ GB Brighton were up against it going into the game and had taken veteran Steve Claridge on for a month to help them out of a striker crisis. Hammers threw everything at the Albion that afternoon but somehow the Seagulls kept the ball out and, on 68 minutes, Butts, up for a Richard Carpenter free kick, got his head on the end of it to send the ball into the back of the net in front of the Seagull faithful.

Even after versatile Adam Virgo and Hammers’ Haydn Mullins were sent off for a scrap on 74 minutes, and West Ham bought on substitute Bobby Zamora, the scoreline remained 1-0 to the Albion.

A couple of months later, it was obviously a special day for Butters when, on 8 January 2005, he was given the captain’s armband to lead the Albion in their third round FA Cup tie against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

A programme portrait and skipper for the day in the FA Cup at White Hart Lane.

The matchday programme recalled how Butters “was very much the discovery of the 1988-89 season when manager Terry Venables lifted the tough tackling former Spurs trainee from our reserves to the first team to play alongside Gary Mabbutt and Chris Fairclough in a back three.

“Guy was also in there alongside such names as Paul Gascoigne, Chris Hughton, Chris Waddle, Paul Walsh, Terry Fenwick, Paul Stewart, (former Brighton Cup Final hero) Gary Stevens and Paul Allen. And he kept his regular place the following season when Gary Lineker was added to the squad.”

Born on 30 October 1969 in Hillingdon, he made his debut shortly after his 19^th birthday in a League Cup game against Blackburn, and suffered the agony of scoring an own goal. But on his full league debut as a sub against Wimbledon on 12 November 1988, he made amends with a goal in the right end.

“We won that one 3-2 but it’s probably better remembered by Spurs fans as the game in which Gary Stevens was injured following a tackle by Vinnie Jones,” Butters told the Spurs programme.

“I’ve got great memories of my time at Tottenham but, looking back, I recall spending much of my time trying to avoid Gazza who was always up to something! But it was the players around me that I will never forget – I was in there with men who had appeared in World Cups, and that’s my abiding memory.”

The year after his Spurs debut, Butters also earned international honours. In June 1989, he was involved in three England under 21 tournament matches in Espoirs de Toulon matches.

He started in the 3-2 defeat to Bulgaria on 5 June, and was replaced by substitute Neil Ruddock. Two days later, he came on as a sub for Dean Yates in England’s 6-1 thrashing of Senegal in Sainte Mazime. Two days after that, he came on as a sub for Ruddock, as the under 21s drew 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland in Six-Fours-les-Plages.

Of that side, Carlton Palmer, David Batty and David Hirst went on to gain full England caps, but those three games were Butters’ only representative appearances.

After limited game time at Spurs in the 1989-90 season, Butters went out on loan to Fourth Division Southend United, scoring three times in 16 games.

Steve Sedgley, Fenwick and Gudni Bergsson were all ahead of him as potential partners for Mabbutt so, on 28 September 1990, he was transferred to Portsmouth for a fee of £375,000, having made a total of 35 league appearances for Tottenham.

At Pompey, he played at the back alongside Kit Symons and colleagues included Mark Chamberlain on the wing and Warren Aspinall up front, together with his ex-Spurs teammate Paul Walsh, now better known as a Sky Sports pundit.

But there were mixed fortunes for Butters at Pompey, which he spoke about in a November 2016 interview for the Portsmouth website. He was there six years and enjoyed some good times when Jim Smith was manager.

guy butters YouTube

He had a brief spell on loan with Oxford United in 1994 and he eventually realised his time at Fratton Park was up when a regime change saw the arrival of Terry Venables, who was the Spurs boss when he was sold to Portsmouth.

Tony Pulis signed him for Gillingham for £225,000 on 18 October 1996 and, in six years at Priestfield, one game in particular stands out for the unfortunate pivotal moment Butters played in it.

It was 30 May 1999, the Football League Second Division play-off final to determine the third and final team to gain promotion and Gillingham were up against Manchester City, remarkably, at that time, struggling to get out of the third tier of English football.

Goals from Carl Asaba and Bob Taylor on 81 and 87 minutes looked to have given Pulis’ side victory. But Kevin Horlock had pulled one back for Joe Royle’s City and, as normal time expired, former Albion loanee Paul Dickov equalised for City in the fifth minute of added on time to level the scores at 2-2.

With no further scoring in extra time, it went to penalties. City scored three of their first four; Gills had scored only one of their three. So, the pressure was on Butters, the fourth penalty taker, to bury it to keep the Gills in it.

When Butters stepped up and hit it low to ‘keeper Nicky Weaver’s left…. it was within the 20-year-old’s reach, and he pushed it away. Cue wild celebrations as City won the shoot-out 3-1.

“Missing that penalty was one of the worst moments of my life but you have to move on and I am not afraid to have another go,” Butters told interviewer Alex Crook in an article for the 2004 Division Two play-off final match programme. “At the time, I just wanted the ground to swallow me up but nobody blamed me because it was just one of those things.”

Consolation for Butters came the following year when Gillingham returned to Wembley and on that occasion won 3-2 in extra-time against Wigan Athletic. As with Pompey, Butters had six years in total with the Kent club and played 159 league games before being released in the summer of 2002.

The 2002-03 season was already under way by the time Butters joined Albion on a free transfer and, in the September, he was doing his own personal pre-season workout programme in a bid to get fit.

“When I first came here I had to do a lot of extra work with Dean White,” Butters told Brian Owen, of the Argus. “It was a case of trying to cram a lot of stuff into a little space of time. I wasn’t really getting too much time to recover after it.”

The managerial change from Martin Hinshelwood to Steve Coppell didn’t do Butters any favours either. Virgo and Butters were the centre back pairing for Coppell’s first match – a 4-2 home defeat to Bristol City – and both were then discarded into the wilderness. Virgo went on loan to Exeter and, after Coppell brought in Dean Blackwell to play alongside Danny Cullip, Butters was sent out on loan to Barnet.

But when injury meant Blackwell’s career was over, the door opened again for Butters and he seized the opportunity to such an extent that as Albion won promotion back to the second tier via the play-offs, he was voted player of the season.

GB potseas by Bennett Dean • 2004 Player of the Season pictured by Bennett Dean.

In fact, it was the arrival of Mark McGhee to succeed Coppell that was very much a turning point in Butters’ career because he had previously been considering hanging up his boots.

In Match of My Life (www.knowthescorebooks.com), he said: “Mark was a real breath of fresh air as manager. Straight away he helped me with a special diet and fitness programme aimed at improving my general match fitness, but, more importantly, helping me work towards prolonging my professional football career.

“He was the first manager to do that and under his guidance I began to thrive and really enjoy my football again.”

As the Argus previewed the 2004-05 season with a special publication, they declared: “Buoyed by a great run of form in last season’s run-in and looking in good shape in training, Butters is ready for another stab at the second tier of English football.”

And Butters said: “This year I did a bit in the summer when I was on holiday and the gaffer put us through our paces so I’m sure that when the season starts I’ll be pretty match fit.

“It’s a big step up but, if we can get a few results away from home, not too many of those big teams are going to fancy coming to Withdean.”

The Argus spots a lighter refreshing moment!
Butters and Cullip were opponents when the Seagulls won at Sheffield United, another moment captured by the Argus.

Three years later, at the age of 37, Butters was still with the Seagulls and looking forward to what would ultimately turn out to be his last in the stripes.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it last year,” Butters told Andy Naylor. “It is probably one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve had.

“I missed out on pre-season last year through injury. The gaffer was amazed I played as many games as I did.

“I cannot see why, with a decent pre-season under my belt and, as long as I look after myself, that I cannot do the same again.

“I just want to go on playing as long as I can and along the way enhance my CV with coaching badges.”

Manager Dean Wilkins finally released Butters at the end of the 2007-08 season, during which he had been sent off for the first time in his career.

He’d played a total of 187 games for the Seagulls and carried on playing with Havant & Waterlooville briefly plus a seven-game spell on loan at Lewes before trying his hand at management with Winchester City and Eastleigh.

Guy + Nick

I got the chance to meet Guy when he kindly presented an award at an event I was involved in organising: what a great bloke!

Cup Final hero Dave Beasant was Brighton’s oldest player

Beasant BHA

THE FIRST goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup Final – and the first to captain his team in the historic end of season finale – played between the sticks for Brighton at the ripe old age of 44.

Admittedly Dave Beasant is better known for his years playing for Wimbledon, during which time he laid down those FA Cup milestones in the 1988 final against Liverpool.

Nicknamed Lurch after the butler in The Addams family, Beasant’s heroics to keep out John Aldridge’s spot kick and preserve the 1-0 lead given to the humble south west London club by Lawrie Sanchez, led to the giant goalkeeper lifting the cup.

It also turned out to be the last ever game he played for Wimbledon. A month after that Wembley triumph, Newcastle paid £750,000 for his services – a transfer fee record for a goalkeeper at that time.

Not a bad return on Wimbledon’s £1,000 investment ten years earlier after he had impressed Dario Gradi playing for Edgware Town against the Dons in a pre-season friendly.

Beasant made his league debut against Blackpool in January 1979, and, remarkably, between August 1981 and the end of that 1987-88 season, made 304 consecutive league appearances for the Dons as they rose through the leagues.

When Newcastle sold Paul Gascoigne to Spurs for £2.2 million, they decided to splash £750,000 of it on the big Wimbledon goalkeeper.

Sadly, it was not money well spent. Beasant’s spell on Tyneside lasted just five months and certainly didn’t match the fairytale ending at Wimbledon.

Newcastle struggled at the foot of the table in 1988-89, and were relegated, but before the trapdoor opened Beasant had already departed after just 20 appearances.

He moved back to London in January 1989 to join Chelsea, where he played 193 times, initially under Ian Porterfield, until falling out of favour in 1992.

It was towards the end of 1989 that Beasant won two England caps, playing against Italy and Yugoslavia, and an injury to David Seaman saw Beasant selected for Bobby Robson’s 1990 England World Cup squad, although he didn’t play.

When Glenn Hoddle took over at Stamford Bridge, Beasant was relegated to number three ‘keeper behind Dmitri Kharine and Kevin Hitchcock, so he went out on loan for brief spells at Grimsby Town (six games) and Wolves (four games) before securing a £300,000 move to Southampton in 1993 to succeed Tim Flowers as their no.1.

He played 105 times for Saints but several managerial changes saw his fortunes fluctuate and, in 1997, he once again found himself third choice – this time behind Maik Taylor and Paul Jones – and he was on the move again.

By this time he was 38, but retirement was still not on his agenda. After joining on loan initially, Beasant moved permanently to Nottingham Forest in November 1997 and played 139 games in four years.

It was back to the south coast again in 2001, when Portsmouth needed a goalie following the death in a road accident of their regular ‘keeper, Aaron Flahavan. Beasant played 27 times for Pompey.

Emergency loan spells then followed successively at Tottenham, Bradford City and Wigan Athletic, although he didn’t play any first team games for any of them.

It was from Wigan, just a few weeks before his 44^th birthday in 2003, that he once again headed south, this time to join Brighton’s brave but ultimately unsuccessful attempt under Steve Coppell to stave off relegation from Division One.

With Michel Kuipers out of the side with a thigh injury and loan replacement, Ben Roberts, suffering from ‘flu, Beasant was drafted in.

In the Bradford City v Brighton programme in February 2003, Colin Benson wrote almost poetically about the legendary goalkeeper.

Beasant landsc “The unmistakeable figure of Dave Beasant stood tall under the Brighton crossbar at the Bescot Stadium a fortnight ago marking his debut for his 11^th club at 43 years of age by brilliantly saving from Leitao’s shot on the rebound after beating out an effort from Corica,” he wrote. “Unfortunately he could not crown the day with a match winning clean sheet for Walsall pinched a 1-0 victory but it amply demonstrated that after 20 years between the posts he has lost none of his technique or resilience.”

In a 2018 interview with Spencer Vignes, Beasant said: “Stevie Coppell gave me a bell. I think you’d lost 12 straight games. I remember looking at the table thinking ‘They’re going down’. But there was also something about it that I quite liked. It was a challenge.”

Beasant said that morale was good despite the league position, and he added: “Wherever I go, I can add something on the field and off it. And that’s what happened. We clicked really well together.”

He played 16 games through to the end of the season and although ultimately the bid to stay up was not successful, no blame could be laid at Beasant’s door for lack of effort.

Never was it more evident than in the final game of the season away to Grimsby. With the score 2-2 and all hope virtually extinct, Beasant was still giving his all when other players’ heads had dropped.

I chatted briefly to Beasant at the club’s end of season dinner and remarked how I had been impressed by his never-say-die attitude right to the very end of that game, even though it was a lost cause.

Obviously the consummate professional, he said to me that however unlikely a win would be, you had to continue to play in the hope things might change round.

What a pro and exactly the sort of attitude that meant Beasant endeared himself to the Albion faithful. In a prophetic assessment after the Grimsby game, he told the Argus:

“You feel for those fans because they have been superb. They are gearing themselves for next season already and hopefully the players can set the same target as the fans and, obviously, that is to bounce straight back.”

Beasant cemented his place in the record books as Albion’s oldest-ever player while Albion, of course, went on and did just as he thought they might on that glorious day at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Although Coppell offered Beasant the chance to stay on with the Seagulls, he didn’t want to drop down to the third tier and instead took up Chris Coleman’s offer to become a player-coach at Fulham. He was proud to say that on his 45th birthday he was on the bench when Fulham played Chelsea.

Beasant remained on the Fulham coaching staff after Coleman’s departure under his old Wimbledon teammate Lawrie Sanchez (he had already worked with Sanchez in his previous role as Northern Ireland manager). But when Sanchez was fired, Beasant went too.

He subsequently worked for his son, Sam, at Stevenage, and at the age of 55 was famously registered as part of the squad for the 2015 play-off final, even though he didn’t play.

Between 2015 and 2018, Beasant was goalkeeping coach at Reading.

In parallel lines

Memories from 55 years following Brighton & Hove Albion

Tag: Paul Gascoigne