Jamie Moralee’s pitfalls a valuable lesson for future prosperity

IT WOULD BE an understatement to say striker Jamie Moralee had mixed fortunes during his time with Brighton.

A one-time £450,000 signing, the former Crystal Palace player joined the lowly Seagulls on a free transfer when they were playing home games in exile at Gillingham in 1998-99.

His lack of goals earned a certain amount of derision from the handful of Albion followers who supported the club in those dark days.

And on one infamous occasion, in March 1999, he managed to get himself sent off within a minute of going on as a late substitute, without touching the ball.

To make matters worse, the punch he threw didn’t even catch the opponent, John Eyre, who promptly added to Albion’s woes by completing his hat-trick in a 3-1 home win for Scunthorpe United.

The Argus put Moralee’s “moment of madness” down to frustration at so regularly being on the subs bench (16 times – and only sent on in eight of them).

“He did not actually connect, but the intent was obvious and the resulting red card inevitable,” the newspaper reported.

Signed at the start of the season on a month-to-month contract, Moralee had a run of 14 starts under Brian Horton but after scoring just the one goal (in a 3-1 defeat against Mansfield), he was dropped to the bench.

Just before Horton quit to move to Port Vale, he gave Moralee a contract until the end of the season and in January, after Jeff Wood briefly took charge, the player hoped his impact as a sub when laying on a winning goal for Paul Armstrong against Scarborough would help change supporters’ views of his contribution.

“It was nice to be a bit of a hero for a change,” he told The Argus. “I was a bit unlucky with a goal which was disallowed at Chester in the game before and I just want to get on with Brighton and do my best.

“I’ll take the credit because I’ve not had much this season. Hopefully the corner has turned for me.”

Moralee said he had been asked to play several different roles and reckoned much of the criticism aimed his way was unjustified.

“I feel I have done all right,” he maintained. “I don’t think the supporters really appreciate me and they let me know that when I came on, but I will just keep doing my job.

“The players give me all the support I need and I am confident enough to go out and do the business. I certainly won’t hide.”

Having missed several matches after the red mist descended at Scunthorpe, a third manager arrived in the shape of Micky Adams, and Moralee started the last seven matches of the season under the new boss, scoring once.

But it wasn’t enough to earn a new deal and Moralee was one of eight players released at the end of the season. Having played under three managers in one season for the Albion, there was swift change in the dugout at his next port of call too.

He began the next season up a division with Colchester United, whose manager Mick Wadsworth said: “I remember him as a very outstanding young player with Millwall. We watched him several times during last season.

“He is very sharp in and around the penalty box and his hold-up play is exceptional – a quality we were sadly lacking in the season just gone.

“Jamie was an outstanding prospect as a young player with Millwall and was sold on to Watford for £450,000 around five years ago before his career became blighted by injuries.

“Last season was his first full season for some time as he battled to shrug off a string of injuries and has probably used Brighton to get back to full fitness and match sharpness.”

The season was only three games old when Wadsworth resigned and was replaced by Steve Whitton who saw his United side beat Reading 3-2 in his first match (Warren Aspinall scored twice and Nicky Forster scored one for the visitors). Moralee, making his league debut for Colchester, was subbed off on 76 minutes.

After that, Colchester went on an 11-game winless run and other than a positive spell in January, had a forgettable season and finished third from bottom. Moralee made 21 starts plus eight as a sub.

Born in Wandsworth, London, on 2 December 1971, Moralee joined Palace as a YTS trainee, working his way through the levels alongside Gareth Southgate. He was a regular in the Palace reserves playing up front with Stan Collymore.

But after just two first team starts and four sub appearances under Steve Coppell, he was traded as a makeweight in exchange for Millwall’s Chris Armstrong.

When unveiled to Lions fans in a matchday programme article, Moralee boldly declared: “Having broken though into first team football with Palace last season and learned from strikers like Mark Bright and Garry Thompson, I feel I’m ready to come to a club like Millwall and score twenty goals a season.”

Of the player he swapped places with, he even went as far as to say: “Chris was quick and by all accounts did very well here in the opening games this season, but I’ll score more goals than him.”

Continuing in a similar vein, he added: “I’m most effective in the box, I like the ball into my feet and, at the risk of sounding over confident, if I get the chances I’ll score goals for you.”

True to his word, Moralee did get amongst the goals for Mick McCarthy’s side and 20 goals in 63 appearances (plus 13 as a sub) over two seasons earned him a £450,000 move to Watford.

*Moralee made a big money move from Millwall to Watford*

But the Glenn Roeder signing had a tough time with the Hornets, only seeing his fortunes change after Graham Taylor returned to the club as manager. He explained the circumstances in a full-page piece in the Wolves v Watford matchday programme of 30 March 1996.

“Glenn bought me to play up front with a big target man, which I was used to at Millwall. But the partners I had were all smaller than me and I was now the big target man, a role that did not suit me and one that I do not enjoy.

“I had always been used to scoring, something that wasn’t happening, and this resulted in a loss of confidence.

“The intentions were there, but I needed a big target man to feed me the ball. It just did not work out.”

When Taylor took over from Roeder, Moralee got back the starting place he’d lost and learned how to play as a lone striker. “It is a lot of work but I believe I have developed into a better all-round player,” he said. “It is nice to have a manager with a little faith in me.”

After Watford were relegated to Division Two, in the summer of 1996 he moved on a free transfer to Crewe Alexandra where he didn’t register any goals and made just 13 starts and six sub appearances.

He ended the 1997-98 season with Royal Antwerp in Belgium and spent pre-season with Fulham before Horton took him on at the Albion, initially on a monthly contract basis, at the start of the 1998-99 season.

After his season at Layer Road, he linked up with former Crystal Palace colleague Peter Nicholas at Welsh Premier League side Barry Town. He spent three seasons with Barry, winning the Welsh Premier-Welsh Cup double each season. He was also involved in three Champions League campaigns with the club and netted 59 goals in 96 appearances.

Financial problems at Barry led to Moralee moving on and he had spells with Forest Green Rovers, Newport County and Chelmsford City before ending his playing career in 2006.

After retiring from playing, Moralee set up his own football agency, New Era, in conjunction with former Albion teammate Peter Smith, with Rio Ferdinand as its highest profile client.

In an interview for a webinar, Moralee said the agency aims to teach up and coming talented footballers how to avoid the pitfalls that affected his own playing career.

Describing his own “very up and down career with a couple of highs and many, many lows”, he explained to The Player, The Coach, The Person webinar: “When I got a few quid, I was spending it on all the wrong things. Buying cars and watches and going out too much; drinking too much. I wasn’t investing it.”

Hard work, application and a ruthlessness to succeed in life are aspects he’s now passing on having realised they were attributes that would have made a difference to his own career as a player.

“I needed to stay in football in some capacity,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a coach or manager.I knew that young players, if they got to the edge of the pitfalls I fell down, I could help them.”

He is particularly pleased to have helped players who had rejection in their early days who went on to have successful careers, such as Welsh internationals Chris Gunter, Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams.

Moralee spoke openly about his 20-year friendship with Rio Ferdinand in a 2018 film for the ‘Best Man Project’ of The Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm): an initiative to celebrate the power of friendships which supports men in looking out for their mates.

*Opening up on the power of friendships in football*

Dat guy Danny Welbeck “a top player and a top person”

INJURY has undoubtedly caused Danny Welbeck to miss more games of football than he would have wished but the game is full of admirers for the longevity of his career.

As Gabby Logan said on Match of the Day, like a good wine, Welbeck seems to be getting better with age. He has scored more Premier League goals per game in his thirties than he did in his twenties or teens.

His 10 Premier League goals for Brighton last season was his best goalscoring campaign in the top flight and in the autumn of 2025 he has already scored two goals apiece against Newcastle and Chelsea, opponents competing in the Champions League.

“I have the passion and love for football,” he told Match of the Day after scoring the pair against Newcastle. “It’s what I want to do. I feel good. I feel strong and fit so I won’t be stopping soon.”

And as BBC Sport reporter Ciaran Kelly pointed out, Welbeck has the knack of scoring crucial goals for the Seagulls: 11 of his last 12 Premier League goals for Brighton have either put the side ahead (eight) or drawn the game level (three).

Welbeck has now played more matches for Brighton than Manchester United, the club he joined aged eight and where he spent 15 years, rising from the club’s academy, making his way through the junior sides and going on to play 142 first team games (90 starts + 52 as sub) between 2008 and 2014.

The 29 goals he scored along the way played a big part in him earning selection for the England national team for whom he collected 42 caps between 2011 and 2018 having also won 42 caps across the various junior England levels. Welbeck netted 16 times for the full England side.

That there have been calls in certain spheres for United to try to take him back to Old Trafford as he approaches his 35^th birthday are a mark of the man and the quality he still exudes.

Striker-turned-pundit Tony Cascarino even urged Thomas Tuchel to recall him for England as back-up for Harry Kane. He told talkSPORT: “Welbeck contributes in various ways beyond scoring. His goal tally isn’t huge, but it’s a decent level and, above all, he is an excellent team player.

“I’ve never seen anyone speak ill of his attitude or professionalism. He is truly an exemplary veteran,”

Cascarino added: “Poland still uses superstars like Robert Lewandowski. If a team needs a veteran, I think there’s absolutely no problem calling Welbeck back,”

Graham Potter was in charge when Welbeck arrived at the Albion in October 2020 on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract.

*Welbeck scores for Albion at Old Trafford*

Potter moved on but in October 2024 he couldn’t speak highly enough of what the player had brought to the Seagulls, in particular as an influence on others.

“Somebody like Danny is a role model. He can teach you how to act, how to be, how to condition yourself and how to interact with your team-mates at the highest level,” said Potter, speaking on BBC Sounds’ Planet Premier League podcast.

“He is a top player and a top person. Credit to the club – they didn’t just recognise that it is about signing young players, it is also about understanding what older players can do for the environment and for the collective.

“To have someone [in your squad] that has been there and done it, and can just handle it well, I think is priceless as a coach.

“If you see what Danny has had to go through, I think he is also a resilient character. He is a good human being, so he doesn’t get carried away too much with the nonsense of football.”

Potter’s successor Roberto De Zerbi was equally effusive. “Great player, great guy,” said the Italian. Speaking in April 2024, when his own Albion future was in doubt, he said of Welbeck: “We have to keep him for a lot of years. He is playing very well and he is important for the young players, for the dressing room.”

A couple of months earlier in the season, De Zerbi’s assistant, Andrea Maldera, told Andy Naylor of The Athletic: “Danny is one of the best teachers on the pitch.

“He is always positive and he is not only a teacher on the pitch. He can speak with a young player when he is eating with them or when he is on the bus.

“He always gives a lot of advice to everybody. He is a big teacher, he has the soul of a teacher. I don’t know what he wants to do in the future in his life, but he is always very clear-minded. On the pitch, it is the same. He doesn’t speak a lot, but he’ll go close to the players, sometimes work a little with them on the training ground.”

Welbeck himself appreciated the influences of more experienced players in his own early days and told BBC Sport’s Simon Stone: “At Manchester United there were lots of players to guide me and give me advice. It meant a lot back then hearing that sort of stuff, listening to people who had been through certain situations and different experiences, who have a lot of knowledge in the game.

“I am always happy to help with the other players. It is pretty easy for them to come and talk to me. It’s nice to pass on a bit of knowledge and experience.”

Born in the Longsight suburb of Manchester on 26 November 1990, Welbeck’s first games of football were played with his older brothers Wayne and Chris when he was just four or five.

Wes Brown, who was already on United’s books, and his brothers lived nearby and the young Welbeck was inspired to follow in Brown’s footsteps.

He actually had a trial for City when he was eight but they didn’t have an age group side for him. It was while he was playing for local side Fletcher Moss Rangers that United seized the opportunity to offer him a two-week trial, and he didn’t look back.

After progressing though the academy schoolboy squads, he made his debut for the youth team in December 2006, debuted for the reserves the following October and was United Young Player of the Year for the 2007-08 season, going on to sign as a professional in July 2008.

Three months later, Sir Alex Ferguson gave him his first team debut, starting up front alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at home to Middlesbrough in the third round of the League Cup, when United won 3-1.

In November, he went on as a substitute to make his Premier League debut and scored United’s fourth goal in a 5-0 thumping of Stoke City, unleashing a swerving shot from 30 yards.

Welbeck was winning his first significant medal before that season was over after he had started for United in the League Cup final, when they beat Tottenham on penalties at Wembley (although Welbeck had been subbed off 10 minutes into the second half, the BBC match report noting “youngster Welbeck was having a tough time making an impact in the face of the physical presence of Dawson and King”).

He scored twice in eight matches on loan to Preston North End in 2010 and then spent the 2010-11 season on loan to Sunderland, scoring six in 28 matches (23 starts plus five as sub) for ex-United skipper Steve Bruce’s Premier League side.

“He has always had ability but made slow progress because he had a bit of a knee growth problem, so we knew we had to wait for him,” said Ferguson in August 2011. “We put him on loan to Sunderland last season and that is when he became a man. He has grown up.”

Dat Guy (Mancunian slang for The Man), the nickname given to him by former United teammate Ravel Morrison, was part of the 2012-13 Premier League title-winning squad (23 starts plus 17 as sub) which turned out to be Ferguson’s last in the hotseat.

He scored 10 in 24 starts plus 12 as sub under David Moyes, but Dutchman Louis van Gaal preferred to bring in Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and, after only three games at the start of the 2014-15 season, Welbeck was sold to Arsenal for £16m (Ferguson putting in a good word with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger).

Plenty of iconic United names, such as Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Bryan Robson, voiced their disapproval of the decision and former coach Rene Meulensteen was adamant Ferguson wouldn’t have sold him if he’d still been in charge.

Meulensteen told talkSPORT: “We were always keen on bringing young players through and giving them a chance. I had him from when he was 8, 9 years of age and I think the best of Danny is yet to come.

“He is a very versatile player and I’m 100 per cent sure he will do very, very well for Arsenal. Danny is a perfect match for Arsenal. He is such a versatile player.

“He is very good in short, creative, combination play, showing for the ball, passing and moving, picking up different positions. At the same time, he has the pace and power to break away if they break from their own half.”

Robson said: “He came through the ranks, he has a great attitude, he’s a great lad.” And Wayne Rooney told The Mirror: “Danny’s great to play alongside. If I’m completely honest, I’d probably like to still see him here, playing for Manchester United.”

Saying United let him go too quickly, Gary Neville added: “He’s actually perfect for how Manchester United should play. Threatening space in behind, playing off front players. This idea that he’s not good enough for Manchester United is absolutely rubbish.”

In a January 2025 interview with the Manchester Evening News, Welbeck remembered: “At the time I was playing on the left-wing a lot and in a 4-4-2, which is very difficult for me because I can’t make an impact on the game.

“I can play it to the best of my ability but that’s not best for the team, and I could make a bigger impact playing in my preferred position.

“You start to have thoughts but at that time you’re still going to training and I was still giving 100 per cent and giving my all in every single game – that’s just me, I’m not going to change that. But you do start to think about what’s best for you.”

Apart from anything else, Welbeck was an established member of the England set-up by then.

He had been on loan at Sunderland when he was first called up to the England senior squad (following the withdrawal of Aaron Lennon) only days after scoring for England Under-21s in a win over Denmark.

Ironically, the opponents at Wembley on 29 March 2011 were Ghana – the country his parents came from – and Fabio Capello sent him on in the 81^st minute as a sub for Ashley Young. The game ended 1-1.

He ultimately featured under four different England managers (albeit Stuart Pearce only managed one game) with the majority (29) under Roy Hodgson. His final England game was as a sub for Trent Alexander-Arnold at the 2018 World Cup in a 1-0 defeat to Belgium.

When Welbeck suffered a badly broken night ankle in a Europa League match for Arsenal in November 2018, and was forced to withdraw from the England squad, Gareth Southgate revealed how the squad showed their strong bond with him by placing his photo on a TV they were watching ahead of a Nations League match.

And after he’d left Arsenal in the summer of 2019, but was still recovering from the ankle injury, the FA helped his comeback by allowing him to use all of the facilities he needed at the St George’s Park national centre.

*Welbeck nets in the FA Cup against Newcastle*

Another illustration of the enduring relationships Welbeck has built during his career came after he’d scored an extra-time winner for Brighton at St James’ Park in March 2025 to book an FA Cup quarter-final against Nottingham Forest.

Ferguson phoned the player after the game, and Welbeck told BBC Football Focus: “He talked about the goal and the performance. He was buzzing and to have that sort of connection, he is a manager who is always looking out for his players, always wants the best for them, and still to this day is in contact.”

At Arsenal, Welbeck played under another great manager and he told the programme: “Sir Alex Ferguson got success in his own way, Arsene Wenger had success in his way. There’s different ways to reach success. Those two managers played a huge part in my life, not just my career.”

• More about Welbeck’s time at Arsenal in my next blog post.

‘Rooster’ became pivotal to developing young players

FORMER BRIGHTON apprentice Kevin Russell enjoyed a 20-year playing career in which he scored 105 goals in 552 games but he had forgettable spells at three South Coast clubs.

As we learned in my previous blog post, England Youth international Russell scored goals for Albion’s youth team and reserves but moved on before making the first team after a falling out with manager Chris Cattlin.

He got on better with Alan Ball at Portsmouth but only played eight games in three years at Pompey.

In March 1994, he was back in the south after a £125,000 move from Burnley to AFC Bournemouth. Unfortunately, his time at Dean Court coincided with dismal form on the pitch and financial pressures off it.

Russell was signed by Tony Pulis, who, it turned out, was in the final throes of his first spell as a manager, having succeeded Harry Redknapp at Dean Court.

The side had a dreadful run of form the month after Russell joined, suffering five defeats and three draws in eight matches. It was in the last of these that Russell finally got on the scoresheet for the Cherries as they picked up a point in a 1-1 draw at Hull City (his only goal in 17 matches).

While Mark McGhee won the Division Two title with Reading and Russell’s former club Burnley won promotion via a play-off final win over Stockport County, the Cherries finished a disappointing 17^th in the table.

Portsmouth-born Russell had joined a squad (above) that included a number of players with past or future Brighton connections: Gary Chivers, Mark Morris, Paul Wood, Steve Cotterill and Warren Aspinall.

Cotterill recalled in a 2023 interview with gloucestershirelive.co.uk: “I know Rooster very well. I played with him at Bournemouth and he’s a great guy and a good coach.

“I liked him when I played with him because he used to stick crosses on a sixpence for me. I remember scoring a few goals from his crosses.”

Back in 1994, Pulis was sacked early on in the new season and former player Mel Machin took over, but the Cherries had managed only one win and a draw in their first 14 matches by the time they met the Albion at the Goldstone on 2 November 1994.

The game ended in a 0-0 draw and, although they won their next game, by Christmas they’d only got nine points from 21 games. Staring down the barrel of relegation, a last ditch revival in fortunes saw the season go down in memory as ‘The Great Escape’ because Bournemouth managed to avoided the drop by two points.

Russell, who had scored twice in 18 matches, had moved on by then and according to Aspinall, in a September 2011 interview with the Bournemouth Daily Echo: “Mel wanted rid of myself and Kevin Russell.”

Russell, who later had a habit of scoring against the Cherries – he hit four in 10 games against them – said after a 2001 encounter between Wrexham and Bournemouth: “The club was in a bad state when I was there, but Mel Machin and Sean O’Driscoll have turned things round and you know you’re always going to have a hard game against them.

“I don’t try any harder than normal when I play against them, but because I am playing up front and not in midfield or out wide, I get more chances to score.”

Aspinall had a couple of trial matches for the Albion before being packed off to Carlisle, while in February 1995 Russell joined First Division strugglers Notts County where he was reunited with former Leicester teammates Gary Mills and Phil Turner.

Howard Kendall was in charge at the time but County, who got through four managers that season (including Russell Slade for four months), finished bottom of the table having won only nine matches all season.

Russell then returned to his spiritual home in north Wales and, over the next seven years, played a further 240 matches for Wrexham, scoring 23 goals along the way.

One of the most memorable was a last-minute winner at the Boleyn Ground in January 1997 as Wrexham pulled off a FA Cup giant-killing against West Ham. Having held the Hammers to a 1-1 draw at the Racecourse Ground, Russell went on as a 75^th minute sub in the replay and scored a screamer in the dying seconds against a side that included Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard.

While the Dragons fans were elated, protesting home supporters spilled onto the pitch in anger at Harry Redknapp’s side’s performance and lowly Premier League position.

Slaven Bilic, later West Ham’s manager, was playing alongside Ferdinand and remembered the game thus: “We were struggling. We weren’t conceding a lot of goals but we couldn’t score and then Wrexham came and they scored at the end of the game, a great goal from 25 yards. After that we signed Johnny Hartson and Paul Kitson and we stayed up.”

When Russell’s playing days were over, he stayed on as a coach and worked as assistant manager under Denis Smith, taking Wrexham to promotion from the Third Division in 2002-03 and winning the LDV (English Football League) trophy in 2005.

That same year his loyalty and service to the club were rewarded with a pre-season testimonial against Manchester United – managed by his former teammate and captain Darren Ferguson’s dad!

Russell played the first 14 minutes of the match against a largely youthful United before being replaced by Ferguson. United won the game 3-1 with goals from Giuseppe Rossi, Liam Miller and Frazier Campbell and one of their subs that day was Paul McShane.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Alex for bringing his side here for me,” said Russell. “I’ve been treated to a special team with a lot of quality. I know there were a lot of young players out there, but you could see the potential they’ve got is immense.”

A crowd of nearly 6,000 watched the match and Wrexham secretary Geraint Parry said: “It just shows how well respected Kevin Russell is after his many years in the game.”

Smith and Russell were sacked in January 2007 but he went straight to Peterborough with Ferguson, who had been appointed Posh player-manager.

“We had an unbelievable time at Peterborough,” Russell told John Hutchinson. “We took them from the bottom league to the Championship in successive seasons in 2008 and 2009.”

There was a brief and unsuccessful spell for the managerial duo at Preston North End in 2010 – they were sacked four days after Christmas with Preston bottom of the Championship – but they weren’t out of work for long because they were re-appointed at Peterborough the following month.

They lost their first game back in charge though – to Brighton. Albion, on course to be league one champions under Gus Poyet that season, beat Posh 3-1: Chris Wood two and Elliott Bennett the scorers while Craig Noone made his home debut for the Seagulls.

After three years at Peterborough, Russell moved back to the Potteries to join the coaching staff at Stoke (below) and stayed for nine years! He mainly worked with the under 18s and under 21s but also helped with the first team in between managerial changes in 2018 and 2019.

In May 2023, Russell joined Cheltenham Town as assistant manager to Wade Elliott. He was in caretaker charge for two matches when Elliott was sacked four months later but didn’t want the job on a permanent basis and left the club in October 2023 when Darrell Clarke was appointed.

Robins chairman David Bloxham said: “I am extremely grateful to Kevin for all his hard work and dedication and for his willingness to step in to manage the side in an extremely difficult period between Wade leaving and Darrell’s appointment.”

Once again, Russell wasn’t out of work for long. In January 2024, he was reunited with former Stoke technical director Mark Cartwright, a former goalkeeper who played 15 matches in Brighton’s 2000-01 promotion winning side, at Huddersfield Town.

He was appointed as B team manager with a glowing endorsement from Cartwright, now Town’s sporting director, who said: “Not only is Kevin a great coach, but he also has a brilliant ability to develop relationships with young players.

“He’s a lively character and he knows how to relate to individuals to get the best out of them. Whilst at Stoke City, he played the pivotal role in developing players such as Nathan Collins, Harry Souttar, Tyrese Campbell, and Josh Tymon, alongside many others.

“He’s been so successful in doing that because he has a great understanding of the qualities that senior coaching staff want to see in young players.”

Stadium lure too distant for promotion winner Peter Taylor

PETER TAYLOR steered Albion to promotion from the third tier in 2002 – a feat his namesake as Brighton boss fell short of achieving back in 1976.

The younger Taylor, who played for and managed arch rivals Crystal Palace, had quite an extraordinary managerial career – from taking charge of the England international side, when he appointed David Beckham as captain, to taking the reins at Isthmian League side Maldon & Tiptree at the age of 69.

He took the helm at third-placed third-tier Brighton in October 2001 after being sacked by Premier League Leicester City – who had created the Albion vacancy by recruiting manager Micky Adams to work as no.2 to newly-appointed Dave Bassett.

Taylor revealed that it was on Adams’ advice that he accepted Albion’s offer. “Micky said they were a close bunch, a confident group and happy with each other,” Taylor told The Guardian. “My job now is to carry on the good work he has started.”

In dropping down two divisions Taylor returned to the level of a previous success, when he guided Gillingham to the First Division via (via a play-off final win over Wigan Athletic). In less than two years he went from the Second Division to the Premiership – managed England for one game along the way – and back again.

“I’ve not lost any self-belief after what happened at Leicester,” said Taylor. “I don’t feel I have anything to prove. Leicester is in the past now as far as I am concerned. I am not worried about the level I am managing at. Brighton has fantastic potential, particularly in size of support, and it is my job now to fulfil it.”

Albion press officer Paul Camillin wrote in the matchday programme: “Micky’s replacement is a man whose coaching ability is unquestionable. Here is a man who not so long ago was taking England training sessions under the gaze of Sven Goran Eriksson,”

Taylor’s knowledge of the game spanned all four divisions and beyond and Camillin pointed out: “He was the overwhelming choice of the board of directors.”

Indeed, chairman Dick Knight said: “Peter Taylor’s management experience at both Nationwide and higher levels of football make him ideal for the Albion.

“He quickly identified with the ambition and potential here and I’m very pleased he has chosen to join us.”

Top scorer Bobby Zamora was also delighted, telling The Guardian: “When I heard the list of who was being put forward, Peter Taylor was the name that stood out. He has proven his ability and has got an obvious wealth of experience.”

In young Zamora, Taylor inherited a magnificent key to unlock defences. One player he did bring in who also made a difference was a lanky goalscoring midfielder called Junior Lewis (remarkably Taylor also signed him for four of his other clubs – Dover, Hull, Gillingham and Leicester) and his contribution certainly helped to cement the title.

“Junior did exactly what he had done for me at Gillingham, which is make the team play more football,” Taylor told Nick Szczepanik. “He wasn’t easy on the eye, but he was always available to get the ball from defenders and got it to the strikers and was very useful.”

While Taylor’s eight months as manager of Brighton culminated in promotion, he was never really credited with the success because many said he achieved it with Adams’ team.

“Micky had done the hard work because he signed all the squad before I got there, and they had done well so the last thing I was going to do was to change too much,” Taylor told Szczepanik, in an interview for the club website. “He had built a team with a great spirit.

“You could see why we went on to win the division because the squad was full of incredible characters – not just experienced professionals but good professionals who were desperate to do well for the club.”

Citing the experience and ability of Danny Cullip, he made special reference to “the greatest asset” Zamora, saying: “He was an incredible player and miles too good for that level.

“Simon Morgan was another one. What a great defender – and yet he could hardly train because he had two bad knees. Whenever he played, he was such a good organiser at the back that we were always solid.”

Unfortunately, Taylor didn’t help to endear himself to Albion’s public when he quit within days of the victory parade along the seafront, but deep down not too many people could blame him considering the limitations prevailing at the time.

“People will think I was stupid to leave the club after we won the league but I think everyone understands the reasons, which were because of the budget I thought I’d need to keep them up and the new stadium not being as close as Dick promised in my interview,” Taylor explained.

“Some people assumed I must have a new job lined up, maybe at Palace, but no, I didn’t. My plans had been to win promotion at Brighton, move into the new stadium with a big budget and then try eventually to get them to the Premier League.”

Nevertheless, Knight said: “It’s a great shame that Peter has chosen to resign. He has done a terrific job for the club in leading the Albion to the Second Division title, and it’s sad that he doesn’t wish to continue.”

The captain at the time, Paul Rogers told The Argus: “It’s a big shock to me and I’m sure it will be a big shock to the other lads as well. He’s done really well here. Since he came in the lads took to him straight away.

“He is a good coach. His sessions were a lot more technical than we were used to and he’s improved some of the players during his time at the club.”

Six months after he left Brighton, Taylor took over at Hull City, who were about to move into the 25,000 all-seater KC Stadium and in four years he guided them from the bottom tier of football through to the Championship.

I recall a visit to the KC when Albion’s travelling supporters taunted him with a ‘Should have stayed with a big club’ chant, to which he responded by opening wide his arms to point out the plush new surroundings he was working in.

Born in Rochford, Essex, on 3 January 1953, Taylor was a Spurs supporter from an early age and had an unsuccessful trial with them – including playing in a South East Counties league match.

Looking back in an interview with superhotspur.com, he recalled that he didn’t perform well in his trial match at Cheshunt because he was up against Steve Perryman (who later became a close friend) and Graeme Souness in the Tottenham midfield.

Taylor also had an unsuccessful trial with Crystal Palace, so it was somewhat ironic that both clubs who rejected him as a youngster ended up paying handsome fees to sign him.

Taylor had first drawn attention while playing for South-East Essex Schools and Canvey Island but it was nearby Southend United who took him on as an apprentice in 1969.

The winger turned professional with the Shrimpers in January 1971 and scored 12 goals in 75 league matches for the Essex side.

It was the flamboyant Malcolm Allison who signed him for Palace in October 1973, paying a £110,000 fee. Allison told the player he had been trying to sign him for some time, including when he was in charge at Manchester City.

“He made me feel like a million dollars and I couldn’t thank anyone more than I would thank Malcolm for the career that I have had,” said Taylor. “He knew his stuff and he was an exciting coach, far ahead of his time, but the most important thing for me was that he made me feel that I was the best player in the world.”

Taylor went on to be Palace’s player of the season, although they were relegated to the third tier.

His time at Selhurst Park was his most successful as a player, he reckoned, and he scored 33 goals in 122 league games for the Eagles. But his notable performances when Palace made it through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1976 led to Keith Burkinshaw signing him for Spurs for £400,000.

“I was desperate to play for Tottenham, because they were the team that I supported, so it was a wonderful move for me,” said Taylor.

Earlier that year, he had made his debut for England while playing in the third tier of English football, going on as a substitute in the second half of a Welsh FA centenary celebration match at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, and scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory.

He was the first Third Division player to be capped since Johnny Byrne in 1961, and also the first player to score while making his debut as a substitute. He went on to win four caps.

Two months later, against the same opponent, but at Ninian Park, Cardiff, in the Home International Championship, he scored again – this time the only goal of the game as Don Revie’s England won 1-0.

Taylor’s third cap came in the 2-1 defeat to Scotland at Hampden Park on 15 May 1976. And he went on as an 83^rd minute sub for Kevin Keegan as England beat Team America 3-1 in America’s Bicentennial Tournament. Bobby Moore was Team America’s captain and the great Pelé was playing up front.

Although he scored 31 times in 123 league matches for Spurs, he was hampered by a pelvic injury during his time at White Hart Lane but superhotspur.com writer Lennon Branagan said: “A player with a real eye for goal, Peter Taylor was a really fine all-round winger, who also had good defensive qualities to his game.

“He was a very important player during his second season at Spurs, as he helped them to win promotion from the old Second Division, following their relegation to that division during the previous season.”

Taylor moved on from Spurs after four years when Burkinshaw couldn’t guarantee him a starting spot, leaving for £150,000 to join second tier Leyton Orient, where Jimmy Bloomfield was manager.

He scored 11 goals in 56 league games for the Os and had four games on loan for Joe Royle’s Oldham Athletic in January 1983. He then went non-league with Maidstone, apart from a brief spell back in the league, that he didn’t enjoy, playing under Gerry Francis at Exeter City.

Having returned to Maidstone to carry on playing, he eventually got his first managerial job at Dartford in 1986 as a player-manager.

He moved on to Enfield in a similar role, telling superhotspur.com: “I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I was learning all the time about coaching players, and then Steve Perryman asked me to be his assistant at Watford in 1991, and I had two fantastic years there of coaching and learning. So that was the start of my managerial career.”

His first league manager’s job then followed at his old club Southend, between 1993 and 1995, but he quit having not been able to raise them above mid-table in League One. Curiously, his next outpost was non-league Dover Athletic but he left when his former Spurs teammate Glenn Hoddle invited him to coach the England under 21 team.

A successful spell in which he presided over 11 wins, three draws and only one defeat came to an abrupt end when Taylor was controversially relieved of his duties by the FA and replaced by former Albion winger Howard Wilkinson.

Gillingham offered him a return to club management and, with Guy Butters at the back and the aforementioned Junior Lewis in midfield, he steered the Kent club to that play-off win, taking them into the top half of English league football for the first time in their history.

That achievement prompted Leicester to poach him and he got off to a great start with the Foxes, even earning a Premier League manager of the month award in September 2000.

It was during his time at Leicester that he rode to England’s rescue two months later by taking caretaker charge of the England national side for a friendly against Italy in Turin. England lost 1-0 but the game is remembered for Taylor handing the captain’s armband to Beckham for the first time. He also included six players still young enough for the under 21s: Gareth Barry, Jamie Carragher, Kieron Dyer, Rio Ferdinand, Emile Heskey and Derby’s Seth Johnson (it was his only full cap).

Describing it as the proudest moment of his long career, Taylor told Branagan: “I never dreamt that opportunity would happen to me. I knew that it was only going to be for one game, but it’s on my memory bank, and no one will ever change that.”

Back at Leicester, it all went pear-shaped towards the end of the season and when City were beaten 5-0 at home by newly promoted Bolton Wanderers in the new season opener, and then recorded a further four defeats, two draws with a solitary victory, Taylor was sacked.

He combined his job at Hull with once again coaching the England under 21 side between 2004 and 2006, and early into his reign called up Albion’s Dan Harding and Adam Hinshelwood (Jack Hinshelwood’s dad) for a home game v Wales and an away fixture in Azerbaijan. Harding started both matches and Hinshelwood was an unused sub.

Taylor oversaw nine wins, two draws and five defeats, selecting players such as James Milner, Darren Bent and Liam Ridgewell.

After promotion success with Albion and Hull, where he spent three and a half years, in the summer of 2006 Palace, in the Championship, stumped up £300,000 in compensation to take the Tigers boss back to Selhurst Park to succeed Iain Dowie.

Telling the BBC it had to be “something special” for him to leave Hull, Taylor added: “When I got the call from Simon (Jordan) there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be at Selhurst Park.”

Talking to cpfc.co.uk some years later, he said: “I was very confident as a manager. Very confident. I felt as though I would succeed.

“I didn’t look at my reputation too much. I looked at: ‘How can I get these into the top division?’ Even if I was worried about the reputation I had, I still would have taken the job.”

After a promising start, results went awry and Palace finished the season in mid-table. When the Eagles managed only two wins in their first 10 games of the 2007-08 season, Taylor was sacked and replaced with Neil Warnock.

Undeterred, he stepped outside of the league for his next position, taking charge of then Conference team Stevenage Borough – recruiting Junior Lewis as his first signing!

Lewis followed him into his next job as well, this time as first team coach at Wycombe Wanderers, where Taylor succeeded Paul Lambert in May 2008. Taylor’s promotion-winning knack once more came to the fore when the Chairboys won promotion from League Two.

However, a poor start to life in League One cost him his job and Wycombe owner Steve Hayes told BBC Three Counties Radio: “We started the season reasonably well, but truthfully, six points from 33 is very worrying.

“We need a change. [Peter’s] body language in the last few weeks has not been great and he doesn’t seem to be as happy as he was last year.”

Taylor was approaching his fifth month out of the game when, in mid-February 2010, League Two Bradford City gave him a short-term deal to replace Stuart McCall. Once again, loyal Lewis joined him.

Hoping his stay at Valley Parade would ultimately be longer, he told the Yorkshire Post: “I remember what happened at Hull when I went in there (in 2002) with the club sitting 18th in the bottom division.

“We went on to enjoy a lot of success and I see similar potential here at Bradford. Certainly if we can go on a run then there is a potential of putting bums on seats.

“I still believe we can do something this year. But if that does not prove to be the case, then definitely next year.”

Taylor signed a contract extension and stuck at it even when he was offered the chance to become no.2 to Alan Pardew at Premier League Newcastle United at the beginning of January 2011.

“It’s flattering to be offered the position to work alongside Alan Pardew,” Taylor told BBC Radio Leeds. “I wasn’t comfortable leaving Bradford earlier than I need to, I know what the game is about, I can easily get the sack in a month’s time, I understand that, but I don’t really feel I want to leave at this particular time.”

Saying Bradford had “really switched me on”, he added: “I’ve always had a special feeling about the club, and I’ve still got that feeling.” Six weeks later he left City by mutual consent.

In the summer that year, Taylor headed to the Middle East and spent 15 months in charge of the Bahrain national side, leading them to success in the 2011 Arab Games in Doha when they beat Jordan 1-0. He was sacked in October 2012 after Bahrain lost 6-2 to the United Arab Emirates in a friendly.

The following summer, he was given a short-term contract to take charge of England’s under 20s at the Under 20 World Cup in Turkey. Hopes may have been high after a 3-0 win over Uruguay in a warm-up match but England were eliminated at the group stage after only managing to draw against Iraq and Chile and then losing to Egypt. The England side included the likes of Sam Johnstone, Jamal Lascelles, John Stones, Eric Dier, Conor Coady, James Ward-Prowse, Ross Barkley and Harry Kane.

Taylor found himself back in club football that autumn when Gillingham welcomed him back on an interim basis after they’d sacked Martin Allen. Handed a longer term deal a month later, he stayed with the League One Gills until halfway through the next season when, after only six wins in 23 matches, he was sacked on New Year’s Eve.

Another posting abroad was to follow in May 2015 when he was appointed head coach of Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters, taking over from former England goalkeeper David James.

But his time in India was brief. Despite winning five of six pre-season friendlies and the opening league fixture, the Blasters lost four and drew two of the next six matches and Taylor became the league’s first managerial sacking in October that year.

The New Zealand national side recruited Taylor to work with the country’s UK-based players in 2016-17 and a third spell at Gillingham followed in May 2017. He was named director of football at Priestfield where Adrian Pennock was head coach and he was briefly interim head coach when Pennock lost his job in September 2017.

That turned out to be his last job in league football. He joined National League Dagenham & Redbridge in June 2018 and spent 18 months in charge, leaving the club after a spell of nine defeats in 11 games.

Welling United, in the sixth tier of English football, appointed Taylor manager in September 2021 but with only six wins in 25 matches he left in March the following year. His final job was at Isthmian League Maldon & Tiptree, from December 2022 to August 2023.

Ridgy rides in to shore up injury-ravaged defence

FORMER WEST BROM defender Liam Ridgewell played six games on loan for Brighton in the early part of 2016.

Ridgewell helped out when first choice left-back Gaetan Bong and deputy Liam Rosenior were both out injured.

He made six starts, starting in the FA Cup away to his old boss Steve Bruce’s Hull City, who won the tie with a single goal. His next game was also away, at Rotherham United, where Albion went down 2-0.

After that, he was on the winning side four times, as Albion beat Blackburn Rovers away and Huddersfield, Brentford and Bolton at home.

*Albion’s matchday programme devoted a double-page spread to the loanee*

Brighton wanted to extend the experienced defender’s loan but his parent club – MLS (Major League Soccer) outfit Portland Timbers – wouldn’t allow it and he returned to the States.

Albion manager Chris Hughton told The Argus: “He has certainly brought us a wealth of experience. We have to abide by the situation. In any way we could extend it for whatever, a further week or so, we’d be delighted to be able to do that, but I certainly can’t speak out of turn when he’s not our player.

*Ridgewell returned to Portland Timbers after his brief loan with the Seagulls*

“We have to respect everything his parent club want. He has certainly fitted in very well.”

Ridgewell explained the background to joining the Seagulls in an Argus interview with Andy Naylor, and on clinching the deal, Hughton said: “I know Liam very well from my time as manager at Birmingham City, and he is an excellent and important addition for us.

“He will bring extra experience to our defence at a crucial time and will give me an option both in the centre of defence and at left-back.

“Liam has played the vast majority of his career in the Premier League with more than 350 senior appearances and he’s also got experience of the Europa League and Championship from his time at Birmingham.”

Born in Bexleyheath on 21 July 1984, Ridgewell went to Bexleyheath School and was on West Ham’s books for two years between 1999 and 2001.

After looking at the quality of players breaking through there, he took the bold decision to quit the Hammers and join Aston Villa’s youth set-up instead, which he spoke about in an interview with the Birmingham Mail.

“I had looked at what was already in the team – you had Michael Carrick coming through, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Richard Garcia – and I thought it might be time for a change.

“I was a south London boy, grew up around there and had all my friends there. But I thought if I got away it might focus me a bit more. It was a tough decision.

*A youthful-looking Ridgewell made his breakthrough with Aston Villa*

“I used to leave school early on a Friday afternoon to travel up to Villa for the weekends.

“I used to get the bus from my house to the train station, get a tube from Charing Cross to Euston and a train from London up to Birmingham all on my own.”

After joining Villa in February 2001, he was part of their 2002 FA Youth Cup winning side. They beat an Everton team featuring Wayne Rooney 4-2 over two legs. Villa’s goalkeeper was another Wayne – Henderson – who would later move to Brighton. The side also included Steven Davis, who went on to play for Southampton.

In the same year, Ridgewell was selected for the England under-19s and was sent out on loan to AFC Bournemouth, then in Division 3, where he made his league debut as part of a five-game loan spell.

Back at Villa Park, former England boss Graham Taylor gave him his first-team debut in a FA Cup tie against Blackburn in January 2003 when he came on as a substitute in a 4-1 defeat. He had to wait until December that year before getting his Premier League bow, again as a substitute, but this time in a 3-0 win over Fulham. He went on to make 11 appearances by the season’s end.

Under David O’Leary and, for a season, Martin O’Neill, Ridgewell made a total of 93 appearances for Villa before making what some fans would consider a controversial move.

In August 2007, Ridgewell became the first Villa player in 23 years to be transferred to bitter city rivals Birmingham. Des Bremner, brother of one-time Brighton striker Kevin, had been the last one, in 1984.

Steve Bruce’s £2m signing then found himself wearing the captain’s armband on his debut. “It’s one of the greatest achievements in my career,” Ridgewell told the Birmingham Mail. “It’s a real honour. I thank the gaffer for that. Hopefully I can continue as captain for a few more games before a few of the others come back in.

“It was fantastic to do it. I only found out before the game when we were on the pitch. The gaffer came up to me and asked would I have any problems doing it? I said none at all. It’s what I’m made for, it’s what I want to do. I want to captain sides and have a responsibility on me.”

Ridgewell subsequently played under Alex McLeish and Hughton for the Blues, winning promotion back to the Premier League in 2009 and the League Cup in 2011.

After a total of 175 appearances in four years, and on the back of a 6-0 win for Birmingham at Millwall, Ridgewell joined West Brom on deadline day in January 2012.

*Ridgewell settled in quickly at West Brom*

He couldn’t have wished for a better debut, as Albion recorded a memorable 5-1 win over Black Country rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Baggies were managed by Roy Hodgson at the time and, having initially been flirting with relegation from the Premier League, stayed up with results like a 4-0 victory over Sunderland and a 1-0 win over Chelsea that cost Andre Villas-Boas his job.

“Roy Hodgson was brilliant,” Ridgewell told The Athletic, in an interview in 2020. “Roy knew how to make players feel and perform better than they were,” he said. “Everything was positional based. He let you do your own thing but he gave you the tools and the words to make sure you did it to the best of your ability in your own position. It was a clear message for me of how a manager gets the best out of players.”

When Hodgson left to manage England, Ridgewell continued as a Baggies regular for the next two seasons under Steve Clarke. Baggies escaped the drop by just three points in 2014, after Pepe Mel had taken over the managerial hotseat in January.

That summer, Ridgewell wanted to try something different and headed for the States to join Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers.

In his five years with the Timbers, one of his highlights was captaining the side to a 2-1 MLS Cup win over Columbus Crew, a few weeks before his loan spell with Brighton during the American season’s winter break.

The previous season he’d returned to the UK in a similar arrangement to play six games on loan for Wigan Athletic in the Championship.

Ridgewell spoke about his time in the States on his return to the UK in January 2019, when he joined Hull City until the end of the season.

*Back in the UK*, *Ridgewell spent half a season at Hull City*

“I wanted to try something different and go out there with an open mind,” he told the Hull Daily Mail. “The league is completely different to what a lot of people expect. It’s grown bigger and stronger. I feel as fresh and as fit as when I first went there.”

To illustrate the point, he mentioned how he’d been up against the likes of Miguel Almiron, who subsequently joined Newcastle United for £20m.

“I loved it, it was great, really refreshing for me. It gave me another lease of life. It was something I needed to do, and I really loved it.”

In the summer of 2019, Ridgewell joined League One Southend United, but, having made only one appearance by December, quit playing to take up coaching.

He took to Instagram to reflect on his career, writing: “Football has given me the best life any little boy could wish for. There have been some massive highs and lows but now it’s time to hang up my boots and move on to the next chapter of my career.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the coaches and managers who moulded me into the player I was. A special thank you to the late, great Graham Taylor for giving me my debut and the reason I was able to pursue my dream.”

In April 2020, Ridgewell spoke at length to Gregg Evans for an article on The Athletic, describing how lockdown had interrupted his plans to drop in on some of his old managers to gain knowledge and information in pursuit of his goal of becoming a manager.

“Moving into management has always been my aim,” he said. “I’ve always had a speaking role at every club I’ve been at. Whether it’s on the training pitch or during a game, I’ve always tried to help people out, too. With me being so vocal, I try to marshal teams in a certain way.”

He did some work with Aston Villa’s youngsters towards the end of 2020 but took on his first official coaching post in December 2020, as first team coach at Dover Athletic under former Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler.

It’s no surprise to discover Ridgewell (or Ridgy 6 as he’s known) has a veritable army of followers on Twitter – more than 42,000. Away from football, Ridgewell co-owns luxury swimwear business Thomas Royall, with fellow footballers John Terry and Sam Saunders.

Pictures from various online sources, and the Albion matchday programme.

Cards came up trumps for ex-Saints full-back Kevan Brown

FULL-BACK Kevan Brown made more than 120 appearances for Southampton reserves during three years as a young professional but it took a move east along the coast to Brighton to play league football.

Brown arrived at the Goldstone Ground for a fee of £7,500 shortly after Barry Lloyd had taken over from Alan Mullery early in 1987.

Lloyd preferred the youngster from Andover as right-back to the ageing Les Berry, who’d joined on a free transfer the previous summer.

The club put Brown into digs in Hove (run by Val and Dave Tillson) with another young player who had moved away from home, former Everton youngster Darren Hughes.

In a programme profile feature, Brown said Hughes had been a big help in him settling into his new surroundings. “He has been showing me around the area and we’ve become good friends,” he said. “I’m glad I wasn’t put in a hotel on my own.”

Unfortunately, Brown was only on the winning side twice in the 15 matches he played that season and Albion were relegated from the second tier in rock bottom place.

Brown was a permanent fixture in the no.2 shirt for 46 league and cup matches in the 1987-88 season until the arrival of experienced defender Gary Chivers from Watford.

With promotion in sight, while Lloyd dropped the experienced captain Doug Rougvie in favour of the relatively untried Robert Isaac in the centre of defence, he saw Chivers rather than Brown as the better option at right-back.

Chivers went straight into the side for the promotion run-in and the 2-1 home win against Walsall on 12 March 1988 was the last time Brown appeared that season.

He played in the opening two games of the following season but Chivers on the right and Keith Dublin on the left were Lloyd’s preferred full-back pairing, and Brown found himself on the outside looking in.

Born on 2 January 1966, Brown was an associate schoolboy with Southampton at the age of 13, following in the footsteps of his father Peter, who had played for Saints in the late 1950s.

Brown said in an Albion profile feature that his father and Saints youth development officer Bob Higgins had been the biggest influences on his career, although Higgins later drew opprobrium.

Lawrie McMenemy awarded Brown a professional contract but neither he nor his successor Chris Nicholl elevated the young full-back to the first team, although he did get to play against Manchester United in Trinidad and Tobago while on tour with Southampton.

Having had his fill of reserve team football at Saints, rather than repeat the experience at Brighton, he moved on to Aldershot in the autumn of 1988.

He spent four years there and made quite a few more appearances than the 175 that the record books show: the 1991-92 season records having been expunged after the club went out of business.

Aldershot found themselves in a worse financial situation than the Albion were to suffer later that decade and the club was finally wound up owing £1.2m on 25 March 1992.

Five days earlier, Brown played in a match – alongside future Albion hero Robbie Reinelt – that was the last game Aldershot would play.

Although his next career move saw him drop out of the league, he enjoyed huge success in terms of silverware and recognition.

He joined Geoff Chapple’s Woking in the Football Conference and captained The Cards to three FA Trophy wins – in 1994, 1995 and 1997 – with veteran former Albion winger Clive Walker the side’s talisman.

In addition to leading his team up the steps at Wembley to lift the silverware, Brown’s performances with Woking earned him international recognition with the England semi-professional ‘C’ side.

He made his debut in a 1-0 win over Wales at Huish Park, Yeovil, on 28 February 1995. He made three more appearances that year: away to Netherlands (0-0) on 11 April, home on 19 May (played in St Albans) against the Highland League (3-4), then away to Gibraltar (3-2) on 31 May.

His fifth and final appearance was on 2 April the following year as England beat the Netherlands 3-1 at the Nene Park home of Rushden & Diamonds.

Brown’s loyalty to Woking – he made more than 350 appearances across six years – was rewarded with a testimonial game at home to West Ham United in August 1998.

More than 5,500 turned out at the Kingfield Stadium to see the Hammers edge it 2-1 with goals from Frank Lampard and Steve Lomas. Rio Ferdinand limped off early in the match and Ian Wright played up front for West Ham.

The game took place five months after Brown had moved on from Woking to Yeovil Town.

Chapple’s former assistant, Colin Lippiatt, had taken charge at Huish Park in January that year, having joined three months earlier as a coach under Graham Roberts.

One of his first moves was to sign Brown and teammate Steve Thompson (who ended up staying with The Glovers for ten years). Brown stayed for two years, making a total of 88 appearances, latterly playing under Thompson when he took over as caretaker manager following Lippiatt’s departure.

The arrival of former Chelsea defender David Webb as manager in March 2000 spelled the end of Brown’s time at Yeovil and he returned to Woking to play a further 25 games as they battled against relegation from the Conference in the 2000-2001 season.

Playing part-time had enabled Brown to pursue a teaching career and in April 2007 he was appointed director of sport at independent co-educational St Francis School in Pewsey, Wiltshire.

Brown’s devotion to the club who set him on the road remains undimmed and on his Twitter account @KevanBrown05 he declares himself a Saints season ticket holder.

Paul McShane wrote his name in Albion’s history in one season

McShane

FLAME-HAIRED Irish centre back Paul McShane was a complete revelation during a season on loan to Brighton from Manchester United.

The 2005-06 season ended ingloriously for the Seagulls but McShane was imperious, given a platform to launch a career which saw him play most of it in the second tier of English football, and almost 100 times at the top level, together with earning him 33 full caps for his country.

Although he was given a squad number by United, and had been selected by Sir Alex Ferguson for pre-season matches, McShane didn’t get the chance to play any proper competitive football for United’s first team.

United reserve team manager, Brian McClair, a former Celtic teammate of Albion manager, Mark McGhee, could see the benefit of giving McShane first team football at a decent level and an initial half-season loan was agreed, then, in January, it was extended to the season’s end.

Brighton were missing the long-term injured Adam Hinshelwood and although veteran Jason Dodd had been signed to add experience to the defence, his season was to be plagued by injury, so McShane was a near permanent fixture alongside Guy Butters in the centre of the back four.

The young defender shared a flat in Hove with fellow Republic of Ireland international Wayne Henderson and in an early season profile article, Butters was quick to acknowledge the quality of the youngster. “He is an excellent player. He’s only 19 but you see he’s got that Premiership quality about him,” said Butters. “He’s very confident; he likes to bring the ball down and play.”

The former Spurs and Portsmouth defender said he reminded him of Richard Gough, a former teammate at Tottenham. “He’s strong; not the tallest, but makes up for that with his great leap. Very good on the ball, quick and great in deep positions.”

McShane cover His passion and aggression sometimes got the better of him and the only reason he wasn’t ever present was a penchant for bookings – 12 over the course of the season – which earned suspensions, and a couple of injury-induced absences. And he was missed when he wasn’t available.

After he’d picked up an ankle injury that required him to return to Old Trafford for treatment, the matchday programme put together an article extolling the merits of the young defender in which it said: “Paul’s cool reading of the game and his ability to overcome some of the most effective attacking players in the division marked him out as a fine prospect, and he proved competitive in the air and on the ground, his pace and positional sense being a real asset.”

In their end-of-season player ratings, the Argus summed up his contribution thus: “Talent and determination in abundance. Rash in the tackle at times but that is a product of his insatiable hunger. Will be sorely missed next season.”

Such was the impact of McShane’s outstanding performances over the course of the season that he was selected as the Player of the Season, the first time a loan player had ever been given the honour.

Butters was convinced it was the right choice and told the Argus: “He’s done really well for us. He’s scored some vital goals. Obviously the one away to Palace springs to mind.

“He has been solid all-round. He is very aggressive, ultra-competitive and hates losing, even in training.”

It’s perhaps inevitable that any player who scores a winning goal against arch rivals Crystal Palace earns a place in Albion folklore. McShane’s scruffy effort, which appeared to go in off his shoulder, at Selhurst Park on 18 October 2005 proved to be the only goal of an intense scrap but how it went in became irrelevant as time passed.

“Crystal Palace was a special night, because of the rivalry,” said McShane. “It was a great atmosphere and scoring that goal was brilliant.”

He scored three other goals over the season, including a crucial opener in a 2-0 win away to Millwall as the Seagulls put up a valiant, but hopeless, fight to avoid the drop, but it will always be the goal at Selhurst that fans remember most.

McShane confessed in an interview with Andy Naylor in the Argus that relegation had hurt, but the season for him had been “brilliant” and “a great experience”.

He said: “It has given me a chance to get out there and make my name in the Championship and I think I have done that well enough.

“It has given me a great opportunity to get the experience I need to take back to Manchester and hopefully give it a good crack there, because I’ve learnt so much this season.

“Brighton have been brilliant to me. They’ve treated me really well. They’ve made me feel very welcome, the fans and the people around. That has helped a lot. It has been great.”

In conclusion, he told Naylor: “The club is part of me now. You never know what will happen in the future but Brighton will always have a place in my heart.”

Perhaps rather presciently, Naylor commented: “McShane’s fierce commitment is unlikely to be seen in an Albion shirt again. If he does not make it at Manchester United, there are sure to be Championship clubs interested in signing him.”

With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić United’s regular centre back pairing, and Wes Brown as back-up, it was always going to be a difficult ask to dislodge them, and in August 2006 McShane left Old Trafford together with goalkeeper Luke Steele as makeweights in the deal that took goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak to United.

mufcmcshane McShane and Steele had both been members of United’s winning FA Youth Cup team of 2003, a side which also included Kieran Richardson and Chris Eagles, who went on to make names for themselves in the game.

McShane, born in Wicklow on 6 January 1986, played hurling, Gaelic football, rugby and badminton (his dad, Sean, and uncle played Gaelic football for Dublin) in his early years in Ireland but eventually began to demonstrate his soccer prowess with junior clubs and was playing for St Joseph’s Boys AFC in Dublin when United snapped him up in 2002.

“I was 16 when I signed; I wasn’t going to until I went to Old Trafford with my mum and dad,” McShane said. “It was so down to earth for such a big club. I would be getting the best coaching and training, also playing with some of the best players in the world.”

He added: “Alex Ferguson has been brilliant to me and my family; a very nice man. He just cracks jokes all the time.”

After his success with United’s Youth Cup team, McShane’s first senior football came in 2004 during a brief loan spell with Walsall, where he played four games and scored once.

At Championship West Brom, McShane played 42 games in the 2006-07 season as the Baggies finished fourth and agonisingly lost to Derby County in the play-off final.

Before the new season got underway, McShane was one of 12 new signings manager Roy Keane made for Sunderland, newly-promoted to the Premier League.

He scored an own goal in only his second league game but Sunderland salvaged a 2-2 draw at Birmingham and he went on to make 21 appearances (plus one as sub) as the Black Cats finished just three points clear of the drop zone.

In the following season, McShane went on loan to Premier League new boys, Hull City, and having played 19 games for the Tigers made the move permanent the following season. The KFC Stadium would be his home for the next six years, although he was sent out on loan twice, to Barnsley in 2011 and Crystal Palace in 2012.

In the final game of the 2012-13 season, McShane scored a vital goal for Hull which guaranteed them promotion back to the Premier League, and he earned a new two-year contract from manager Steve Bruce.

However, with Curtis Davies, Alex Bruce and James Chester ahead of him, his appearances were limited, although he did get on as a substitute in Hull’s 3-2 FA Cup Final defeat to Arsenal.

McShane featured 23 times as Hull relinquished their Premier League status in 2015, and he was among six players released by the club, including Liam Rosenior, who moved to Brighton, of course, and goalkeeper Steve Harper, who’d had a short loan spell at Brighton from Newcastle.

McShane wasn’t without a club for long, and joined Reading in July 2015, with manager Steve Clarke telling the club website: “I knew that Paul’s contract with Hull City was due to expire and was always monitoring the situation. When we met up earlier in the summer for a chat I knew that Paul would be a good signing for Reading FC and I’m pleased that we managed to get the deal completed.

“As well as his obvious talents as an experienced defender who is aggressive both in the air and on the ground, I felt that he was a good character to bring into our squad.
“Paul has gained good experience at many clubs and, like Stephen Quinn, was an important part of a promotion-winning team. He has a winning mentality and it will be good for our two young central defenders, Michael Hector and Jake Cooper, to train and play alongside Paul.”

After four years at Reading, over which he played 103 games, in 2019 McShane switched to League One Rochdale.

In July 2021, McShane returned to Man Utd as player-coach for the under 23 side and made two appearances for the under 21s in the EFL Trophy as an over-age player. When he retired from playing at the end of the 2021-22 season he took up the role of professional development phase coach (covering under 18s through to under 23s).

“I’m calling it a day playing now,” he told manutd.com .”I’ve had 20 years playing and I’ve come back into the club as a player-coach in the under 23s. It’s been a great year and great experience but now it’s time to fully focus on the next stage of my career, which will be in coaching.

“It’s amazing how things work out. It’s a great way to end my career, to come back here and help the future generation with their careers. It was perfect, to be honest with you, when this role came about, and I’m grateful to the people who made it happen. I think it’s a great way to end my playing days.”

Injury-plagued ‘keeper Ben Roberts part of ‘Boro Cup folklore before Brighton promotion

BEN ROBERTS might only have played a handful of games for Middlesbrough in seven years on their books but one of them will never be forgotten.

He was between the sticks for ‘Boro when Chelsea’s Roberto di Matteo scored one of the quickest ever FA Cup Final goals.

Thankfully, Brighton fans prefer to remember him as the ‘keeper who helped the Seagulls to promotion from the third tier via the play-offs in 2004.

“That season at Brighton remains one of my best experiences in football,” Roberts told beatsandrhymesfc.com’s Christian Brookes, in a 2011 interview.

“Apart from enjoying living in the city, I remained relatively injury-free and played the most games of my career. So for a full season’s work to come down to one day in the Millennium Stadium with a full house in attendance was a very special memory.”

No-one knew at the time, of course, but it was also Roberts’ last game in goal for the Albion because a back injury forced him to retire from the game prematurely in 2005, aged just 29.

In an extended interview with Dominic Shaw for gazettelive.co.uk in December 2017, Roberts looked back on his time at ‘Boro and a playing career that was beset with injury.

Born in Bishop Auckland on 22 June 1975, the young Roberts was spotted playing for South Durham Boys by Dennis Cooper, father of ‘Boro legend Colin Cooper, and the club took up his recommendation. Roberts would set off by bus from his home in Crook at 6am each day to get to training on time in Middlesbrough, nearly 30 miles away.

At one point, it looked like he wouldn’t get the chance to continue his career because he was deemed too short, but he fed his face throughout the summer, shot up the required inches, and was rewarded with a two-year scholarship.

In fact, he was still a YTS scholar when he got his first involvement with the first team, being named on the bench for two of Boro’s first three games in the inaugural season of the Premier League (1992-93).

However, it was another two seasons before he actually got into first-team action, making his debut in an Anglo-Italian Cup game against Ancona, with Bryan Robson by then in the managerial hotseat.

In the 1994-95 season, Roberts got league experience under his belt during loan spells with Hartlepool and Wycombe Wanderers and the following season he went on loan to Bradford City before returning to Middlesbrough to help out a goalkeeping crisis.

Injury to Gary Walsh presented Roberts with his chance, and, aged 21, he made his ‘Boro league debut on 18 January 1997 in a 4-2 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Although Mark Schwarzer arrived at the club, he was also hit by injury – and was cup-tied in the FA Cup – leaving Roberts, 21 at the time, as the stand-in No.1.

On 1 April that year, he also earned his one and only international cap, coming on as a sub for Chris Day as England under 21s drew 0-0 with Switzerland at Swindon’s County Ground. Also in the team for that friendly were Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Darren Huckerby and Lee Bowyer.

Two of Roberts’ 17 appearances for ‘Boro that season were in cup finals: in the replay of the League Cup Final against Leicester City, and then the FA Cup Final against Chelsea at Wembley.

Roberts started the following season as first choice because Schwarzer was still out injured, but his final appearance of the season – at home to Birmingham in the September – was his final appearance for the club.

Several treatments for a back injury were unsuccessful and at one stage, still only 24, he feared he’d be forced to retire, until he underwent surgery in London. As well as operating on problematic discs, the surgeon found a blood clot in his back.

In between back operations, Roberts went out on loan again and in 1999 played 14 games for Division Two side Millwall, including another Wembley appearance, this time against Wigan in the Auto Windscreens Shields Trophy. The Latics won 1-0 with the winning goal scored by future Albion captain, Paul Rogers.

The following season, Roberts had another loan spell, this time at Lennie Lawrence’s Luton Town and in the summer of 2000 he finally left ‘Boro and joined Charlton Athletic. However, he played only once for the Addicks, coming on as a sub in the final game of the 2002-03 season after regular no.1 Dean Kiely had been sent off.

Prior to that, Roberts had been out on loan again, initially at Reading and then returning to Luton. His first association with Brighton also came in that season, as Steve Coppell’s Seagulls were battling hard to avoid relegation from the second tier.

He played three times and I remember one of those games was one I went to away at Bradford City (a 1-0 win) on 15 February 2003, when he pulled off some terrific stops on a rock-hard pitch. The most memorable came early in the game and Roberts rated it as his best as a Brighton player.

“It was only after five minutes and Ashley Ward had a clear header inside the six yard box, but I got to it. I shouldn’t have, but I did,” he recalled in a matchday programme interview. “It (the game) shouldn’t have been played because the goalmouth was like a skating rink and that kind of set the tone.”

Unluckily for Roberts, he then picked up a dose of ‘flu and veteran Dave Beasant took over and kept the shirt until the end of the season.

However, Coppell saw enough to persuade him to sign Roberts permanently and, as referred to earlier, the 2003-04 season was to be the one time when he finally made his mark, culminating in the 1-0 win over Bristol City at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

When his back injury problems returned and ruled him out of the whole of the 2004-05 season, he quit the game and went travelling to South America, Asia and India before returning to the UK and going to Roehampton University to take a sports science and coaching degree.

Not only did he achieve first class honours, his dissertation on biomechanics (which applies the laws of mechanics and physics to human performance) earned him a ‘Pursuit of Excellence’ award from Adidas.

Although he intended to stay in the world of academia, his old Brighton teammate, Nathan Jones, persuaded him to join the coaching staff at Yeovil Town.

“I was at a stage where I missed the banter, the day-to-day interaction and being outside,” he said. “I went down and loved it and that turned into my career. ”

While at Yeovil, he worked with Alex McCarthy, who later played for Southampton in the Premier League, and the much-travelled Stephen Henderson, who has played for Charlton, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

Roberts himself had the briefest of returns to league action when in October 2010 he appeared as a substitute in a 3-3 draw against Swindon, replacing the injured Henderson at half-time and conceding two late goals.

At the end of that year, he followed Jones to Charlton Athletic and in four and a half years at The Valley worked with Rob Elliot (later with Newcastle), Ben Hamer (Leicester), David Button (who became Mat Ryan’s deputy at Brighton) and Nick Pope (Burnley).

When, in the summer of 2015, the goalkeeping coach role at Brighton was vacated by Antti Niemi, who returned to Finland for family reasons, Roberts jumped at the chance to link up once more with coach Jones, then part of Chris Hughton’s management team.

Skysports.com quoted Roberts at the time, saying: “I’m ecstatic to be back at Brighton. I’ve made no secret that my happiest years as a professional footballer were spent down here, as I had a special affinity with the fans at Withdean.”

While that role continues it would be remiss not to mention THAT ‘Boro v Brighton Championship clash at the Riverside in May 2016. He told gazettelive.co.uk: “Obviously you want to win and it was so, so tight. My best mate and best man, Adam Reed, is a physio at ‘Boro and seeing him in the tunnel afterwards so happy with his kids, that levelled out the disappointment a little bit for me.

“It was still so hard to take, though. Adam said he felt a bit awkward as well and didn’t want to celebrate too much, but we were on holiday together a couple of weeks later and I was philosophical about it.”

Roberts continued as Albion’s senior goalkeeping coach after Hughton was succeeded by Graham Potter and, somewhat controversially, followed Potter to Chelsea when the manager took almost all of his backroom team to Stamford Bridge in September 2022. He retained the goalkeeper coach role at Chelsea after Potter was sacked.

Brighton pictures from Bennett Dean / Pitch Publishing’s We Are Brighton / Play Off Special; from online, celebrating ‘Boro promotion with Bryan Robson and Nigel Pearson; flying the flag for Reading, and the Albion matchday programme.

In parallel lines

Memories from 55 years following Brighton & Hove Albion

Tag: Rio Ferdinand