Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 90 | Seagulls gear up for big kick-off, more misery for Crawley

Name: Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 90 | Seagulls gear up for big kick-off, more misery for Crawley
Uploaded: 2025-08-13T15:14:12+00:00
Duration: 45 min 55 s
Channel: SussexWorld

00:00Welcome to another episode of the Go on Math Action podcast where we take a look at all the

00:15latest goings on at Brighton, Hove, Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Poul and this week I'm

00:19joined by Sam Morton who covers both Brighton and Crawley, Albion writer Henry Bryant and Ron Alderman

00:23who's been keeping an eye on all things Crawley Town. Brighton's pre-season preparations ended

00:28with a fine win over Wolfsburg as intentions now turn to their Premier League opener against Fulham

00:32but Crawley Town remain winless in League 2 and were dumped out of the Carabao Cup. This week we'll

00:38look at who impressed the Seagulls against Wolfsburg, bring you all the latest team news ahead of

00:41Albion's curtain raises against the Cottages and reflect on a disappointing week for the Reds.

00:46You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at

00:49sussisworld.co.uk forward slash sport and we will start as ever at Brighton, Hove, Albion who wrapped

00:54up their pre-season preparations on Saturday with the 2-1 home win over Bundesliga outfit

00:58Wolfsburg. Jorginho, Ruta and new signing Maxine de Kuyper netted for Seagulls before

01:03Rogerio pulled one back for the visitors. Sam, you were at this one for us. What did you

01:08make of the Seagulls performance and who stood out for you? It seemed like the best way to

01:12end what's been a positive pre-season.

01:15Yeah, it was a good win for Brighton. Obviously, as we mentioned before, the results aren't

01:20what pre-season is all about. Obviously, it's about getting minutes into the legs, getting

01:25the fitness ready for the Premier League campaign. But Brighton were pretty much at full strength

01:32for the game, except for the absent Carlos Baleba, who we'll be discussing a bit later

01:37on. But Brighton were fluid going forward and looked pretty good, to be honest, and put

01:44Wolfsburg's defence under a lot of pressure. There were some really nice moves between the

01:49attackers that was spearheaded by Jorginho, Ruta. And you had Diego Gomez involved as

01:55well. And the pair did link up really nicely for the first goal. And it was Gomez that set

02:00up Jorginho to score from a tight angle on the 17th minute. And it was a really lovely,

02:05a lovely finish. But Wolfsburg were a threat for most of the game, actually. As fluid as Brighton

02:12were going forward, they were quite open defensively. And Wolfsburg really were able to get in behind

02:17them quite, quite frequently, and alarmingly so, probably, from a Brighton point of view.

02:22And Bart Verbruggen, who was back in goal after a minor injury, was superb for most of

02:26it, to be honest. He made some exceptional saves. There's a bit of a mishap very early

02:31on, but he recovered really well. The offside flag saved his blushes a little bit for that

02:34one. But he recovered so well and made some brilliant saves. And Brighton were able to

02:40double their lead. After stopping Wolfsburg, scoring on a number of occasions, they managed to

02:44double their lead. And it was the new signing, Maxim de Kuiper, that scored, again, from

02:49quite a tight angle. He was in the right place at the right time, after some sustained Brighton

02:53pressure. And it was a good moment for him. He's really impressed in pre-season. He's

02:57obviously a Mester Pignan's replacement at left-back. And he's a real threat going forward

03:01and has done well defensively as well. So that was a real high point from the match,

03:05was de Kuiper getting his first goal. But they couldn't keep a clean sheet. Brighton, then

03:08Wolfsburg got the goal they deserved. It was a really powerful shot from

03:12and kind of on the edge of the box that Verbruggen probably could have saved and would have

03:16expected himself to save. But I don't think it affects what was a brilliant performance

03:21from Verbruggen all round, really. And Brighton didn't have a repeat of that draw against

03:25Southampton and managed to see out the 2-1 win to end pre-season on a high.

03:31Well, as you mentioned, Sam, the biggest news since the last pod has been the rumours

03:34surrounding Albion's Carlos Belieber. Manchester United reportedly contacted Brighton

03:38through intermediaries to explore a potential move for the 21-year-old Cameroon midfielder.

03:43Belieber has not played for Brighton in the last pre-season, for pre-season friendly,

03:47sorry, due to a knee injury, which he picked up during Albion's training camp in Marbella.

03:51What do you make of these rumours, Henry? You know, it may want Belieber, but by all accounts,

03:56it sounds like Brighton will not be moved on this.

04:00Yeah, it's another one of those situations where Brighton have been able to develop a quality

04:06talent in midfield and someone wants it. And as frustrating as that is for Albion fans,

04:11that's sort of the natural progression. But in terms of Man Utd, they're very keen on making

04:17this deal happen before the end of the window. Their biggest frustration, though, is the fact

04:23that Brighton are extremely well run and organised, as we've seen in the past. They'll be wanting

04:28replacements. They'll want to have everything on their side, all suited and booted and geared

04:34up for, you know, that transfer so that they can bring someone else in or that they feel

04:39confident enough that someone else can step up to the plate. So they're not going to panic

04:44sell, I don't think. And Brighton have also valued Belieber at around that £100 million

04:50mark, which is also sort of being contemplated by Manchester United. They don't want to pay

04:55that sort of money. It's reported that Belieber is interested in the move. And as Sam reported

05:02recently, doing a story on it, multiple Man Utd players have been in touch to explain

05:07the setup, apparently, according to a Man Utd reporter on X. It's not revealed what Man

05:13Utd players have been contacting the Cameroon International, but we have seen that he has

05:18got a compatriot at Old Trafford in Andre Onana and his former Lille teammate, Lenny Euro.

05:25The thing is, though, as we mentioned, Brighton aren't going to rush anything. And reports are

05:31now suggesting that Man Utd will calm potentially their interest if they can't get him this summer

05:38and there'll be an all-out bidding war in the next summer transfer window. So, yeah,

05:43we'll see. Brighton are very good at this. They know what they're doing. They're smooth

05:46operators. And we'll see, I guess, in the next few days what happens.

05:51Yeah, absolutely. So, I think he's got a contract to, was it, 2029 Henry or something like that?

05:56So, if they were to accept, would it be a fee that you'd imagine would dwarf the one paid

06:01for Caicedo?

06:03I don't think dwarf just because of the sheer amount of money Caicedo went for. And also,

06:09we were talking about Chelsea, you know, and they're still in their Todd Bowley era, but

06:14they have sort of calmed their massive sort of lump sum in terms of one player spending. But

06:20I wouldn't be surprised if it's similar money. I wouldn't be surprised at all. It's just

06:25from an Albion fan's perspective, when you're trying to compete for Europe, you need those

06:32standout players. You need those star players to stay. So, as a fan, I'm hoping he stays,

06:38but I'm sure the club will just be trying to maximise how much money they can get from him.

06:45And as you said, Matt, I think it will be a considerable amount of money, but I don't think

06:50it will dwarf the Caicedo fee.

06:52Yeah, all it takes is for him to have one good season. This season, they could command an even

06:57high fee, couldn't they? You spoke to Albion head coach, Fabian Hurtz, the same after the

07:00Wolfsburg game. What did he have to say about the rumours surrounding Belieber and how confident

07:05is he that the Cameroonian will still be a Seagulls player come the end of the summer

07:09transfer window?

07:11Yeah, so he basically just confirmed that Belieber was back in training. He trained on

07:17Saturday, the day of the match, and he also trained on the Friday. He said he will be

07:22back. He was asked as well about Jack Hintwood and referring to both players, he said, we

07:26need these players and every team needs these players. So, it's kind of a small bit of a

07:32message to perhaps the owners to do everything they can to keep him. He didn't

07:35directly refer to any transfer speculation. It's probably not his place to, and it's

07:42probably one for those above him, obviously, in the boardroom and obviously the decision

07:48makers to see what they can obviously do in terms of fending off any interest from Manchester

07:55United this summer. But I was told in no uncertain terms by a club source that on Saturday he was

08:03not for sale at that point. And I don't think anything has changed since then. And obviously,

08:10speculation is speculation in the day. And I think Brighton, as Henry's discussed, obviously

08:15do sell their best players quite often. But what they don't like to do is to be forced

08:20into anything when it's not right for them. They want to make sure they have a ready-made

08:24replacement, which they're brilliant at doing. And I'm sure they've probably already got a

08:27replacement nine-up for Belieber when he does inevitably move on. But I would be surprised

08:34if he does move on this window for a number of reasons, really. I think the money that

08:41will be demanded, I think, will probably be above what many not can feasibly do. I think

08:45after all this, they've spent big money already this summer on three shiny new attackers that

08:50I will be surprised if they smash the cash big time with high sale of tight money on Belieber.

08:55But you never know. A few outgoings and they might be in a position to do that. And it is

09:00probably a position in their team that they really need to improve on. So they might really

09:05go all guns blazing and put Brighton under pressure to accept. You never know. But as we've

09:11mentioned, he's got a long contract. And I don't think Brighton will be bullied into doing

09:15anything. They're not ready to do and they're not have a ready-made replacement for him.

09:20Yeah, absolutely. And I don't know how Man Utd, considering the three players you mentioned

09:24there, Sam, how will they be able to afford it, considering we were told that if Jim Radcliffe

09:28didn't put any money in the club, they would have gone bust by Christmas, sacking all the

09:32tea ladies and things like that. It's, yeah, I don't know how they'll be able to afford it.

09:37I don't know how you see it as a Man Utd fan.

09:40Yeah, no, I completely agree. It's a strange one, isn't it? Because I think a lot of the talk

09:43building into the summer was they'd only be able to make signings if they were to sell

09:48players. And they haven't really done that. I mean, obviously, Rashford has left on loan,

09:53which they've obviously saved up some money in the wage bill in that department. And I

09:58know there's been some sell-on clauses as well from players that have left in previous

10:02seasons. I think Alanga and Alvaro Fernandes, two key ones. They've had transfers this summer.

10:07Man Utd got a nice little paycheck and got some money from Chelsea because they didn't sign

10:13a sad story on a permanent deal as per their obligation to do so. So there's been some

10:18income in terms of finances. But yeah, seemingly not enough to warrant spending 200 million

10:25on new attackers and 100 million on new midfielder. But I don't know what goes on behind closed

10:30doors and how they managed to get some more money. And I think Money Night will definitely

10:35put the pressure on and see what they can do in terms of getting a believer in this window.

10:38Because as Henry said, next summer, there will be a bidding war. And you can imagine

10:42more teams will be coming in for him because he quite simply is one of the best midfielders

10:47in the Premier League.

10:49Yeah. And there might be a higher quality of team than Man Utd potentially next summer

10:53as well. But yes, we shall see. Going back to pre-season, Henry, we've kind of touched

10:58upon it, but how would you rate Albion's summer? They went unbeaten, as is well documented.

11:03But is there a concern about the lack of playing time for some of the new boys?

11:07I read in Sam's match report from Salah against Wolfsburg that Zafanis Zimas played

11:14five minutes, I think it was, while Kasulis barely featured at all. Is that a bit of a worry?

11:20Yeah. I mean, it's been a fairly solid pre-season, I must say. There's been a few leaky defence

11:26issues that will need to be addressed and sort of gives scary flashbacks of last season of going

11:33a few goals ahead and then not being able to retain a lead. But like you mentioned, not being

11:39able to see those two Greek lads perform and have as many minutes as we might have sort of hoped

11:46has been a little bit concerning, especially with the outgoings of João Pedro. It seems like

11:52those boys are going to be relied on and not having those minutes in pre-season might,

11:58I don't want to say prove costly, but it might take them a little longer to adjust. And if you're

12:03throwing them into a pre-season game, I feel like that's a lot less of a risk than throwing

12:07them into a Premier League game when there's 20 minutes left, 10 minutes left and we need

12:13to get a goal. Tommy Watson as well is not really featured and I think it'll be interesting

12:18to see how he does. But according to Fabian Hursler, who was asked about it during a recent

12:23fans forum about the new signings and them not really getting that many minutes, he said

12:28that they're sort of still adjusting to the training, getting their fitness up. But it

12:32is a shame and we can't really rely on Danny Welbeck again. That would be quite bonkers,

12:39but I feel like we might have to. On a more positive note, it's been really nice to see Harry

12:44Howell in the mix as well this season and he was handed his first Albion appearance by

12:49Fabian Hursler at just 17 years old and it seems like he'll be trusted more this season

12:55as well. And then one final takeaway from that final Wolfsburg pre-season game, as Sam

13:01touched on quite a bit, is Bart Verbruggen. It's great to see him back. Yes, a couple of

13:05mistakes and he did make a few mistakes last season, but he's such a young goalkeeper

13:10and when it almost looked like Brighton were going to concede their two-goal lead

13:17and get another draw, Bart Verbruggen stood tall and he was able to come up with some

13:23really important saves and I'm tipping him to have a good season. But yeah, as you

13:28said, overall, really good pre-season in terms of results, but it's not really about

13:34that. It's just about getting those new signings adjusted to the Premier League as

13:38quickly as possible and hopefully that will happen.

13:42Before we move on to the season over, Henry, going back to the Greek lads, is there a potential

13:48danger that people might put a little bit too much pressure on them to deliver the goals

13:53that may be expected of them considering they're only, I think, are they both 19? I know they're

13:59both young, aren't they?

14:00Yeah, they're both really, really young and when you look at the hype around Evan Ferguson

14:07when he had his breakout and it didn't quite work out for him, he was still only young

14:13and all the headlines that were going on at that time. I know it won't be the same because

14:18the English media like to glorify the United Kingdom players, but at the same time, I do

14:26think that those two have got a lot of pressure on their shoulders. They need to make a mark

14:32and whether they do that at the very start of the season and that fills them with confidence,

14:38we'll see. I don't know how it will work out. I don't, I really don't. It's almost a shot

14:44in the dark because you're replacing a proven Premier League striker and Premier League attacking

14:49options with, also with Dingra that's gone as well. Although he didn't have a great season

14:53last season, I do think that he showed glimmers of, glimmers of quality and he was also an

14:59AFCON winner. So he's clearly got something there about him. This is a little bit of a

15:05shot in the dark. It's another analysing the players and their stats, a stats by almost,

15:12obviously they've got some quality, but yeah, I am concerned. I am concerned because one

15:16one or two bad games and no goals and that could drag out. So it's very important that

15:23Brighton get off the mark against Fulham. There's been a few bogey results against Fulham and I went

15:28to Craven Cottage last season and watched us and it was really poor and yeah, just we didn't get it

15:36right. So it'll be interesting to see how Albion face this one, especially with a lack of experience

15:41and some may even argue a lesser team coming into this season.

15:46Well, brilliantly, we can segue into the Fulham game. Good work, Henry. This Saturday sees the

15:52moment. Brian fans have all been waiting for the opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

15:57Albion all entertained Fulham in the first game of the new campaign. The Cottage has finished 11th

16:02last season but have made just one signing this summer, spending half a million pounds on French

16:06goalkeeper Benjamin LeCompte. Obviously, it's going to be very exciting to get the season underway,

16:11Sam. How do you think the game will pan out and who are the danger men for Fulham? I must admit,

16:17we'll do predictions at the end of this podcast, but I fear for Fulham a little bit this season.

16:23Yeah, I mean, I wasn't aware they'd only made one signing, which is bizarre, isn't it? I mean,

16:27I know obviously they had a decent year last year, but yeah, you'd expect them to maybe add some

16:31more, obviously, with teams around them only getting stronger and stronger. It can be very easy to

16:36slip down the pack if you're not trying to keep up in terms of signings and spending money,

16:43which is unfortunately the way football's going. If you don't spend money, you could suffer as a

16:48result. But from a Brighton point of view, I don't think Fulham would have been the game they

16:52would have chosen for their first game of the season. As Henry's just pointed out, their record

16:57isn't great. In the last 10 games in all comps, they've only won once Brighton. That was in March

17:02this year, thanks to João Pedro's stoppage time penalty. That ended a nine-game winless

17:08run against the Cottages in the Premier League. And Fulham have won just one of the last seven

17:15away league games against Brighton, conversely, beating them 1-0 in February 2023. So yeah,

17:23both teams won four games in pre-season. Fulham lost one to Manchester City, 2-0, while Brighton

17:30were unbeaten, obviously having won one draw against Southampton. Brighton, if you look back

17:35at their Open League match history, they've won their Open League match each of the last

17:40four seasons. It's the Seagull's longest such run in the league history and the longest current

17:44run of any Premier League side. So that actually does bode well for the first game. Fulham have won

17:49that Open League match and just won of the last eight campaigns, winning it 1-0 at Everton

17:53in the 2023-2024 campaign. But in terms of danger, man, I think you watch out for Jimenez,

17:59who's always a threat. He scored a great goal against Brighton in that game that Brighton

18:04eventually won. It was a great goal from Jimenez in the Amex last season. And Iwobi also has

18:11been known to play very well against Brighton on a couple of occasions. I remember he was

18:16involved in Everton when they flashed Brighton at the Amex. And he's a great player, obviously

18:22the former Arsenal man. And Smith Rowe, again, another ex-Arsenal player at Fulham. He's

18:26a big threat. And it'll be interesting to see what happens with Munez as well, who's been

18:31linked with Leeds, I see, this week for I think about £40 million being talked about.

18:35So that would be interesting. If Fulham was to lose him, that would be another big blow.

18:39And they'll definitely have to go out and spend and try and get a replacement because

18:43he's a good player as well. So it's a really tough one to call. I think he always is in

18:47the first game of the season. You don't quite know what the team is going to do. It's one

18:51thing doing it pre-season. There were a few red flags in terms of the defence and it'd be

18:57so important for Belaber to play if he can. Jack Hinchelwood as well. I think it's going

19:01to be unlikely with him because we've not seen him at all in pre-season. But yeah, there

19:06were a few defensive frailties against Wolfsburg. As I say, they could have scored a hatful

19:12if it wasn't for Brugge making a few great saves. So yeah, some question marks to solve

19:18and if they can keep Belaber, then it would be a huge plus.

19:22Yeah. Speaking of team news, Henry, what's the latest from both sides? Who are the major

19:26doubts of both Albion and Fulham and how badly will those players be missed for the

19:29respective teams?

19:32Well, as we were talking about how bad it's looking for Fulham at the moment, we'll go

19:36into them first. Anthony Robinson, the defender, looks like he will not be playing in the opening

19:43games of the season for Fulham. He's not going to be ready and he was an integral player for

19:49Fulham and has been since their promotion to the Premier League in 2022. He's a really solid

19:56player and he's contributed the most assist of any defender in the Premier League last season.

20:01So that's a huge miss and it's going to be interesting to see if he will be missed in

20:08a sense of getting goals. I don't think that they will do that well against Brighton, to

20:15be honest. I feel like they're going to have a bit of a shaky one first game in. But sort

20:20of going down the list of Brighton injuries, Facundo Buonanotte, his ankle, he hobbled off

20:27against Las Palmas. But he did feature in a behind the door, behind the closed doors,

20:3260 minute friendly against Southampton. And in terms of him, he might be on his way out

20:37anyway. He might be going to Dortmund and he also might be going to Bayern Leverkusen

20:41in new reports. They suggest that he might be going there. Solly March's knee is still

20:48a bit of a, still a bit of a miffed one. He's struggling, but hopefully he'll be back

20:54to feature in some of the opening games. That'll be interesting to see. Ferdi Kadioglu,

20:59he's getting back up to speeds, but it'd be interesting to see if he's featuring in the

21:03first game. Julio and Ciso's knee as well has been playing up and he's been working on

21:08that. There were sort of murmurs of him having surgery on that, but apparently he's stepping

21:13up his recovery. And also an unspecified one for Tariq Lamptey. And the biggest blow,

21:20in my opinion, is going to be the Adam Webster injury because he's got that knee ligament

21:25injury that we've mentioned in a few podcasts. But that'll be a big one because with Diego

21:30Coppola coming into the mix, and although he's looking good, it is going to beg the question,

21:36can he step up to the Premier League quality straight away? Can he stay cool when he's going

21:41to get pressurised by these teams that have got really fast paced attackers? This is a different

21:46league. The Premier League is relentless. And as we've seen in the past, a little bit further

21:51up the pitch with Mats Wiefer, when he's made mistakes last season, you do get punished for

21:57it. So as a defender, it's even more pressure. But yeah, I think that'll be the biggest blow.

22:03And as we mentioned, yeah, Fulham's Anthony Robinson as well. That's another defensive worry

22:09and he does provide a lot of attacking threat for them. So Brighton have got a little bit of an

22:14advantage coming into this one. Yeah, absolutely. Hope they make the most of that. Best of luck

22:18to Brighton at the weekend. Now we'll take a look at the latest goings on at Crawley Town.

22:23And the Reds are still searching for their first League 2 win after going down 2-1 at home to

22:26Newport County on Saturday. The Exiles went in front when Kai Whitmore rounded goalkeeper Harvey

22:32Davis before firing into their only 68th minute. The visitors doubled their lead just two minutes

22:36later when Liam Sheppard converted from close range before Max Anderson struck deep into injury

22:41time to give the home side faint hope. I think it's safe to say that it's not got any better

22:46since Grimsby, Ron. What did you make of Crawley's first home performance of the season and where

22:53was the game lost on the day?

22:55I don't know. It's not been the greatest of starts for Crawley, but it's not been the easiest

22:59of starts either. Grimsby away is always going to be tough for any team. Newport was perhaps

23:04that Crawley should have been Crawley's first win of the season. But despite having the better

23:09chances, we still end up losing. I felt they played better than they did at Grimsby. We

23:15created plenty of chances. Just couldn't seem to stick the ball in the back of the net.

23:19I mean, Adeyemo had two shots well saved by the Newport keeper in the first half as well

23:25as the header in the second. Dion Conroy's free kick was absolutely superbly saved before

23:31Max Anderson scored. But the best chance fell to Kaby Shaminga, who got onto a long ball,

23:38rounded the keeper, but somehow blazed and shot over the bar from close range. But I

23:44certainly believe it was a better performance than the week before.

23:48What was Scott Lindsay's take on the defeat to Newport, Sam? He was a bit blood and thunder,

23:53shall we say, after the Grimsby defeat. What was his appraisal? Was it just as damning or

23:59that he'd softened somewhat?

24:01Well, so it seems like from Lindsay's comments that Crawley simply didn't take their chances.

24:05He said that was the real problem today. We had some real guilt-edged chances that we

24:09should have taken to put the game to bed. He said we don't take them. They got up the

24:13other end and cut for us far too easily on the first goal. But three minutes later, they

24:17scored off a set piece. He said it's actually a situation they worked on and spoke about

24:21in meetings all week about kind of their threat from long throws. They scored against

24:26not counting in a similar fashion. But Crawley were guilty of not marking in the box at the

24:30far post. And Lindsay actually described that as criminal. But he said, if you don't take

24:35your chances, you're not going to win a game of football. And he said the mood in the dressing

24:39room is not great. The players want to win. So do I. And so do all my staff. So you can

24:44imagine this a bit flat. You can hear what the players are saying in there that will not

24:48play in a more dominant game this season and lose. But it's only a start. It's not going

24:51to affect what we do this season. But we have to put it right quickly. So yeah, it seems

24:57like Crawley had chances to win that one. But simply didn't take the chances and were made

25:01to pay. Yeah, absolutely. Well, Tuesday night saw

25:05the Reds exit the Carabao Cup, losing 3-1 to Championship side Swansea. Talk us through

25:10that one, Ron. Was it a better performance? Who stood out for you? And did Gavin Hollaghan

25:16deserve that red card he received?

25:19I think it was as good a performance as Leuport. I thought we played quite well against Leuport.

25:23The fact that we held a decent Championship side in Swansea City until Hollaghan's red card

25:28is something that the team should be proud of.

25:32Harvey Davis made several class saves that kept calling me in the game.

25:36He got Scheminger scoring his first goal for the club. And I thought Charlie Barker, apart

25:40from the first five minutes where he was passed for the first goal, the player which passed

25:47him quite quickly, I thought he had a good game after those initial five minutes.

25:51It was also good to see Joy McKenna back playing for the first time since December 2024.

25:56And he had quite a good game as well. Not convinced it was a red though. It looked

26:03a 50-50 challenge to me. And Branco starts rolling around holding his thigh for an injury

26:10where it would have been around his ankle. So maybe he made more of it than perhaps he

26:13should have. But it's only my opinion. I'm not so sure it was a red.

26:17Did Harry McCurdy deserve that reception?

26:22I don't think so. I mean, he's had... I think he's a very good player. I think he had quite

26:29a good game last night. He was sort of the main out there for me down the right-hand side.

26:37Corners were pretty good into the box. Found players what he needed to be. I thought he

26:41had a good game. But obviously the fans who were there in attendance perhaps don't think

26:46so. So I think from what I've seen, it was only one or two fans that were booing him.

26:51But as Scott said, we should be together in this. We need to stick together. And it doesn't

26:57really need to be... It's only three games into this season.

27:00Yeah. Absolutely. And why do you think... It'd be interesting to get you taken on this.

27:06Why do you think it's been McCurdy in particular who's been singled out for this criticism? It

27:10just seems a bit odd that none of the Crawley strikers have been firing it, have they? So

27:14why has it been McCurdy who seems to be bearing the brunt of this?

27:19I'm not entirely... I think he might have come with a lot of high hopes, I think, because

27:24obviously he comes from a hibernian. He's played at a reasonably high level. So I think

27:28it may be that they're expecting more from him than perhaps at this moment. I mean, as

27:34Scott mentioned, he hasn't played much, had a few injuries, needs to get himself back

27:40into fitness. And when he starts scoring, they'll be... They'll change their mind again.

27:44I just feel that they need to give him a bit of a chance for himself.

27:49Well, yeah, that's the thing, isn't it? New striker at a new club, you're going to take

27:52some time to bed in. Sam Morton, what did Mr Lindsay have to say after that performance

27:57at Swansea?

27:59Yeah, so he obviously referring to the McCurdy incident, he said the fans are brilliant, but

28:04he does want to have him own. He said, we're in this together, we're together, that's what

28:09Crawley is. We haven't got loads, but we've got to stick together. The staff, people in

28:12the back office, my players and fans have got to support the players. I'm not having

28:16Harry McCurdy being booed, I'm not having that at all. The kid has played his first 90 minutes

28:19on Saturday, the first time in three years. He's not had a good time, kind of like with injury

28:24and illness. So he wants the fans to support the players, please not boo and go against

28:28them. And he had a golden season under Lindsay at Swindon, actually. The boss knows what fans

28:33can expect from him throughout the season. He said, you'll love him. He's going to score

28:36goals for us and you're going to love him. I'm disappointed to hear a few years against

28:38him. That can't happen. We have to be connected. We have to stay together. So yeah, as Ron said

28:45there, disappointing to hear that. But I think it's positive from the performance, obviously

28:51playing against a team in a high division. Lindsay thought they had a really good go

28:54of the game. He thought they were excellent in moments and came across a team that played

28:57in a high division. And he thought that Corey did well on the whole and did show signs of

29:03improvements from those two league games that haven't gone to plan. He didn't see that he

29:09saw a lack of belief in the players, certainly in the first half. So there's definitely signs

29:14to be optimistic. But yeah, it's obviously not been a great start at all. Three defeats

29:19to start the season is not what you want. So it can only get better. And they really need

29:23to start picking up some points in the league sooner rather than later.

29:27Yes, absolutely. And I hope Harry McCurdy starts firing the back of the net. It's bizarre

29:31to me that he's been singled out for this criticism. So yeah, hopefully he finds the back

29:36of the net soon. As Sam mentioned, the Reds will be hoping to pick up their first three

29:40points of the season when they visit Crewe on Saturday. The Railwaymen currently sit

29:44top of the League Two, albeit after two games, having picked up two wins from their opening

29:48fixtures against Salford and Actington, respectively. Early days, Ron, but it looks like it'll be

29:54a tough test for the Reds against Alex. Who are the crew, Danger Men, and can Crawley

29:59finally break that unwanted duck?

30:02Yeah, Crawley's defence will have to be on top form. They've won both of their games by two

30:06clear goals. We feel Connor Thomas scored twice in four minutes against Salford. He's

30:13a player to look out for. As well as Josh Marsh, who set up both their goals in a two-nil

30:18win at Actington at the weekend. It will be difficult for me. They all crew are one of the better

30:25sides in the division, will always be near the top. They've not got a best record of crew

30:29either. I think the last time they won there was 2016. They've not got the best of records

30:37at crew. In the playoff season, where we beat them in the final, we lost both games in the

30:42league. It's definitely going to be a tough game, but I know we're going to go predictors

30:48in a little while, but I can see Crawley sneaking a point out of it.

30:50Yeah, perfect time to break that record, isn't it? The Reds are then in action on Tuesday night,

30:56and it's set to be a spicy one, as Crawley entertains Scott Lindsay's former club, MK Dons.

31:01At the time of recording, the Dons, who both former Reds rushing Hepburn Murphy and Liam

31:04Kelly sit sixth, having picked up a win and a draw from their first two games. It'll no doubt

31:09be a feisty encounter with Broadfield Sam. How desperate will Lindsay be to get one over

31:14on his former employees? And what kind of perception do you think Hepburn Murphy and Kelly will

31:19receive? I know they're fairly popular, weren't they, during their time at the Reds?

31:23Yeah, 100%. I think this will be a really good opportunity for Crawley to get off the mark

31:28for the campaign. Obviously, there'll be an added incentive for Scott as well to go back

31:35and prove them wrong, maybe. He would obviously want to prove that he was the right man for

31:39them, and he's obviously going to have a bit between his teeth to not only beat MK Dons,

31:45but to get the first one in the campaign, because it's looking a bit sticky. If you lose

31:51the first two, you can very quickly become into a difficult run where you can't get out

31:56of. So if they can get a win here, it'll be a real morale-boosting moment, I think.

32:01But in terms of MK Dons, they drew the opening league game 0-0 at home to Oldham, and they

32:06then beat Barrow 2-0 away, then lost in the Carabao Cup 2-0 at Bristol City. So they're unbeaten

32:12in the league, which would obviously be the priority for them, just as much as Crawley.

32:17And yeah, as you mentioned, Liam Kelly and Hepburn Murphy are involved. They started all

32:21three games, actually, for MK Dons so far this season. And no sign of Lawrence Maguire

32:26yet this season. I'm not sure if he's picked up an injury, but if he is there, he'll get

32:31a good reception too, because I think it's especially Kelly, part of that team, historic

32:35season, that got Crawley promoted via the playoffs at Wembley, and he obviously scored the

32:39all-important goal, second goal as well. So I think he'll get a great reception. And

32:45Hepburn Murphy as well, he obviously wasn't involved in such a historic season in that

32:50sense. He's obviously part of the team that got relegated, unfortunately, but he was a

32:54good player for Crawley, and he'll be remembered fondly for his contributions. And I think he

32:59should get a good reception as well.

33:02Absolutely. Fingers crossed for six points this week for Crawley Town as well. And score

33:07predictions, then, for the first time this season, we have a full complement of Brighton

33:10and Crawley games. We'll start with Brighton's opener against Fulham on Saturday, starting

33:15with you, Sam. How do you see this one going?

33:18I think Brighton will win this one. I think it will be a tight game as it always is against

33:23Fulham, but I'll go for a 2-1 win for Brighton.

33:27Henry, do you share Sam's confidence?

33:30I think it's going to be really nervy. I don't think there'll be a lot of goals in it, and

33:34I think it'll be 1-0 to Brighton. I think they'll just nick it at the end. It'll be

33:38quite a scrappy goal.

33:40Ron, we're going for a clean sweep, if I can say, of Brighton wins?

33:44Yeah, I actually think Brighton will win soon, though, I think. I think Fulham are going

33:50to struggle in this season, as we've said before.

33:53Absolutely. Well, fingers crossed that does happen, and now we'll take to Crawley's games.

33:56They're up to Crewe on Saturday. Tough one, Ron. What do you reckon?

34:01Yeah, definitely a tough one, but I think, as I said earlier, they can eat a point. I think

34:06it'll be a 1-0 draw.

34:10Any chance of a first win of the season at Crewe, Sam, or would they be more than happy

34:14with a point?

34:16Yeah, I think they'll be happy with a point. I think just to get off the mark, at least,

34:21and if they can get a point there and then beat MK Dons, that'll be positive. So yeah,

34:26I'll go for a 1-0.

34:28Henry, finally, how do you see things? What do you reckon?

34:31It's a clean sweep of 1-0. I feel like...

34:34I want it to be weird and interesting, but I thought, actually, no, that...

34:39I think, like Ron was saying, and Sam, you need to get off the mark, and they've obviously

34:45done quite well early on. So yeah, a point would show positive signs to do better things.

34:51Yeah, couldn't agree more. And finally, we've got Crawley's home game against MK Dons.

34:57Ron, I've got a sneaking suspicion that Crawley are going to absolutely batter MK Dons. I don't

35:01know whether or not I'm being wildly optimistic.

35:03I think they could quite easily batter them, but I think it's just going to be a 1-0 win

35:10for Crawley. I think they need to get that win on the board. It might be a case of a late

35:16winner or an early goal, and we'll just see what we can do. But it may be... Yeah, like

35:20you say, we could actually do quite easily batter them. We should have probably beaten

35:24Newport by 2-3 at the weekend. We just couldn't stick the balls away. So hopefully, Chimingas

35:30scoring last night with his first goal, and maybe McCurdy can get one, get his alley up

35:36and running, just to keep... Yeah, I'll go for a 1-0 win.

35:411-0 win would be all right, wouldn't it, Sam? You'd take that?

35:44It would be. Yeah, I'd take that. I think they'll concede that. I think it'd be 2-1.

35:482-1 Crawley. Are you also going for a clean sweep of wins here for Crawley Town, Henry?

35:54I'm not this time. No, I reckon it's going to be a really feisty game. I think it's going

35:58to be a feisty game, and they're both going to be up for it. So I'm going to go full out.

36:03I'm going to say 3-0 and a red card for each side. God.

36:08Blimey.

36:08I'm going for the neutrals.

36:10Sports journalist nightmare, I think, that one, writing up that match report.

36:14And finally, before we wrap things up, do you want to make a few Premier League predictions?

36:17Should we make calls ourselves? Yeah, go on, why not? Sam, right, where do you think

36:22Brighton will finish this season?

36:25That is putting me on the spot. I think that Europe will be a bit of a push for them,

36:34especially if Believer was to leave. A lot could hinge on that. If Believer does leave

36:38and they don't have a proper replacement for them, that could spell trouble.

36:42But assuming they keep him, which I think they will, I think they will finish 7th.

36:497th. Henry, what do you reckon? Would that constitute a good season for Brighton, 7th?

36:53Yeah, that would be great, but I don't think we're going to do it. I think you've lost

36:57a really cool head and a goal machine in Gio Pedro. And that's going to come at a loss.

37:04And you've also got another process of building players up again, getting them into the Premier

37:09League, learning how to sort of deal with that pressure. So I think realistically, Brighton

37:16are going to finish 9th. I think a top 10 finish for Brighton is realistic. I know fans will

37:21be expecting Europe, but you can't expect Europe. It's good to see Brighton as a team that can

37:28push for top 10. So I think that that should be the aim and they'll finish 9th.

37:33What do you reckon, Ron? How do you reckon Brighton will do this season?

37:36Yeah, I think they've got a top 10 finish there. I'll just go in the middle and say 8th, because

37:42it's that way probably won't be right. I can definitely see a top 10 finish. The way they've

37:50played the last cup season, as Henry said, it's great to see Brighton as a side that settled

37:57themselves in the Premier League as a middle table, top 10 team. Pushing for Europe would

38:04be great. But I just think they'll just miss out on the last couple of weeks of the season.

38:10Panama question before we go into general predictions. Henry, will Brighton win a trophy this season?

38:17No. And I'm absolutely gutted by the way that Crystal Palace have won the Community Shield

38:22and the FA Cup. I can't tell you how seething I am right now. I can't tell you how upset

38:27I am, genuinely upset. But yeah, no. I don't think Brighton will win a trophy, but it would

38:35be great to have a cup run. I mean, if we were able to go to Wembley and have a good go,

38:41that would be ideal. We like a Wembley run. So yeah, it'd be nice. It'd be nice to see us

38:49at Wembley and that I'm performing. Yeah, I suppose it's probably a bit of a horrible

38:54question, me asking Henry. They've definitely got Inham to win a trophy, haven't they? So

38:58make no mistake. I think so. I think they've actually got some depth as well. If they can

39:02get the Greek lads firing, I think if they settle down quickly, I think there are some

39:09options there. We've seen in pre-season, you can play Jorginho up front. Obviously, if you've

39:14got the two Greek strikers that can come in. There's a lot of options there. And I feel like

39:19there is some real solid depth in most positions in the team. We've seen them obviously play

39:24two pre-season games against both Southampton and Wolfsburg, and they've been able to fill

39:29two entirely different 11s and both look pretty strong, to be honest. So I feel like that

39:35does bode well. And obviously, a lot will depend on if they can keep players fit and not have

39:39any damaging injuries that we've already seen, obviously, to Adam Webster and that kind of

39:43thing. So as long as they can avoid anything like that, I think they can definitely have a

39:47good run in the cup. And as Henry said, Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup and then going back

39:51to Wembley and winning again in the Greenwich. So I think that's only going to give Brighton

39:55an extra intensive to have some glory for themselves.

39:59Yeah, absolutely. Ron, do you reckon they'll be able to lift a pot this season or just because

40:04of the sheer amount of quality in English football? It does make it incredibly hard, doesn't it?

40:07Yeah, it certainly does. I think they've got a chance at the Carabao Cup. That's probably their

40:14best chance of winning because you see a lot of the bigger sides that feature in Europe

40:19won't play the full strength teams. We saw Newcastle win it last season. So you might find that

40:26that's something Brighton should perhaps look to win rather than the FA Cup. But yeah, I can see

40:33them picking up the Carabao Cup. That'd be a great achievement for them. And last one

40:38for me, a nice easy one. Sam Walton, who will win the Premier League and who will get relegated?

40:43Oh, that is a tough one as well. I think in terms of winning the league, I think you can't

40:49look past Liverpool. They won the league last year and they've only made themselves stronger.

40:55I can't believe the amount of money they've gone out and gone out and spent. Apparently

41:00they're going to be signing two new, brand new centre-backs, including Mark Gahey from

41:03Palace. That looks like it could be happening. And Isaac as well, apparently doing everything

41:09he can to force a move out of Liverpool. And if you put him in attack, we have Florian

41:14Vertz, Etatike, Salah. It's a strong-looking team. To be honest, they've still got the former

41:23Albion Manning, Alexis McAllister in there as well. And obviously they've had a Frimpong,

41:29Kirkez from Bournemouth. Yeah, really strong team. I can't look past Liverpool. And in

41:35terms of relegation, I think we often see teams come up and go straight back down, don't

41:39we? I think it would be perhaps the likely scenario, I think maybe, for Sunderland to be

41:47among them to go back down. Leeds is an interesting one. I think I'm not too sure where Leeds are

41:56at. I think one of my mates supports them is that they need to sign a striker. They're

41:59suffering from maybe not having enough goals in their team. So a lot will depend on that.

42:05And then the last team to go down, I'm going to go West Ham. I'm going to throw a kerbal in

42:11that. They nearly went down last season and things weren't looking too good for them.

42:17They've lost to having Kudus. He's gone to Spurs. And they're fully relying on Jared Bowen.

42:23I think if something was to happen to him, they would be in problems. So I think, yeah,

42:27that's my three to go down.

42:30Agree, disagree. Ron, who are you tipping for the title and who do you think will go down?

42:34Yeah, I have to agree Liverpool. I think Chelsea will probably be there or thereabouts again.

42:46They look like they've improved their size. I certainly signed Gio Pedro, as mentioned

42:49earlier. As for going down, I can see Burnley and Sunderland. I think Leeds will probably

42:56stay up. That will please my stepson, who's a Leeds fan. But yeah.

43:03Yeah. I don't know about the other team. I think Sunderland will struggle. So I think

43:08Sunderland will probably go down.

43:16Henry, you get the last word. Who's going to win the title and who's going down? If you

43:21say Crystal Palace are going to get relegated, I'm going to ask you to pick another team.

43:24So you're not allowed to say Crystal Palace.

43:26I was going to say Bright to win the league, Palace to go down.

43:29That's fair. That's fair. I'm going to throw a few curveballs. I think that Chelsea have

43:37the potential to win the league this season. I think that the depth and the chemistry is

43:42finally setting in and we've seen glimpses of that and some really quality moments in

43:47the Club World Cup. So if they're able to do that, then there's no reason why they can't

43:51win the Premier League. But I think it'll be a race between them and Liverpool, but they'll

43:54just pip it. In terms of size to go down, I'm thinking Leeds will go down. I do think

44:03Fulham might go down. It's a tricky one. I get what you're saying with West Ham, Sam,

44:10but I do think Sunderland will go down.

44:15I do think Sunderland will go down. So yeah, but I think it'll be a bit more tricky this

44:22season because I mean, the players that have been brought from all the, well, I was going

44:28to say relegated sides, the sides that have just come up. No, it's looking promising and

44:32it's good to see. So I think that they'll have a good go at all the sides. Yeah, that title

44:39race I think is going to be really interesting this season.

44:41Yeah, couldn't be any more.

44:43Oh, what about me? Oh, I nearly got away with it. Yeah, I think I can't. It's going to be

44:49between Liverpool and Man City, which is a very brave answer of me to say. I think Liverpool

44:55will probably just nick it. And I'm predicting that Sunderland and Leeds will both stay up and

45:02I reckon Fulham, Burnley and Brentford will go down. I say Brentford because they've got

45:09an unknown manager and they've lost most of their big name players, haven't they?

45:15That's a good point. Yeah, and Boomer and Wister. Yeah, Boomer's gone. Wister might be leaving.

45:19Yeah. So those are my three. Anyone who's watching it who disagrees, our Twitter handles are all

45:25in our profile pictures. So if you disagree with us, you know where to send any complaints.

45:30So yes, we're bound to look foolish as the season progresses and it'll be exciting nonetheless.

45:36Thank you very much for joining us this week, chaps, for this bumper episode. You can catch up

45:40with all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk

45:45forward slash sport. Thank you very much for listening and or watching and we will see you all next week.

Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 90 | Seagulls gear up for big kick-off, more misery for Crawley

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