Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 99 | Assessment of Albion's campaign so far and Crawley Town continue to struggle

Name: Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 99 | Assessment of Albion's campaign so far and Crawley Town continue to struggle
Uploaded: 2025-10-08T15:08:14+00:00
Duration: 36 min 4 s
Channel: SussexWorld

00:00Welcome to another episode of the GoalMath Action Podcast where we took a look at all

00:13the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove, Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Pohl and this week

00:17I'm joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Sam Morton who covers both Albion and Crawley

00:21Town and Reds expert Mark Dunford. Brighton left it late to snatch a draw at the Premier

00:26League's basement club Wolves on Sunday while Saturday saw Crawley fall to yet another

00:30disappointing lead to defeat this time at Cambridge United. This week we'll look back at Brighton

00:35and Crawley's trip to the Black Country and Cambridgeshire respectively, reflect on Albion's

00:402025-26 season so far and bring you news of a backroom departure at the Reds. You can read

00:46all the stories we're talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward

00:50slash sport. Jan-Paul Van Hexlake had denied Wolves a first Premier League win of the season

00:55as the hosts had Vito Pereira sent off at Molineux. Barbara Bruggen's unfortunate first

01:00half own goal looked like giving the hosts a first league victory since April but Van

01:05Hexlake's bullet header found the bottom corner with four minutes left at an Albion

01:08a point. The draw means Brighton have now lost just once in the last 12 league games at Wolves

01:12but by the sounds of it Derren it sounds like the Seagulls are far from their best. Sum that

01:17Brighton performance up for us please. Yeah, yeah, you were right Matt, they were far from

01:22their best and it had the two certainties of Brighton this season that they struggle against

01:27the low block and Carlos Belieber was substituting at half-time again as well. So if you know if

01:34everything else in unpredictable is in the world then those two are bound to happen at the moment.

01:39But yeah, they were a bit below par and it was the goal, it was unfortunate. It was actually

01:45quite a very good save from Bart for Bruggen. He tipped the powerful effort onto the crossbar,

01:52hit the crossbar, came off his back and then into the goal. So unlucky for Bruggen, he's yet to keep

01:59a clean sheet this season. So yeah, it's a bit of a problem but it was kind of the worst possible

02:06situation at Wolves as well because they got their noses in front and then sort of as they're

02:14perfectly entitled to, they just defended, defended and you know really sat back and made life awkward

02:20for Brighton. They were still a threat on the break. Strand Larsen was very lively going forward

02:27and Van Hecker had his hands full dealing with him. But yeah, it was just that cutting edge from

02:36Brighton again as well. Their attack in play is nowhere near as good as it was. Yankou Baminte was a handful.

02:41Karel Matoma was injured. So he, there was, Gruda came in for him and he was, in flashes,

02:49Gruda looked okay but he never really looked like being capable of unlocking the defence. Danny

02:54Welbeck was quiet up front again as well. But they finally got their reward. They kept pushing,

02:59kept pushing. And as you mentioned, it was a great header from Van Hecker. He was one of the

03:06players that really stood out for Brighton that day. He was, he was a real leader and,

03:10um, and his, his equaliser was, was quite, quite important as, as, as well. So, so probably Brighton

03:17deserved, you know, deserved their point. And it moves, a big win at Wolves could have moved them

03:21up to seventh. It now puts them into 12th place, which doesn't look great, but a point is, is still

03:27good. It was frustrating. There was no lack of effort. It was a tough game. And, you know, some of the

03:32Brighton players were really blowing at the end. They, they put in, put everything into it.

03:37Uh, lots of endeavour, but little in terms of quality, unfortunately.

03:41Uh, well, Brighton's drawing more for Hampton came off the back of an excellent win at Chelsea.

03:45Um, Deren's kind of alluded to there, Sam. Is there a sense of frustration that Seagulls have

03:49once again not kicked on after a, a statement of victory? You just got a look at the game,

03:53the win over City and didn't quite do it after that. Um, or would supporters have been satisfied

03:57with the mental strength that Albion have showed, having gone, gone a goal down away from home?

04:02Yeah, it's, it's a bit of a mix of emotions, isn't it? I think, I think it once again,

04:06is there is frustration because, um, Brighton obviously, as you say, have had a brilliant

04:11win there at Stanford Bridge and they've done really well to, to win that game, uh, from a

04:15goal down. And you're kind of just looking for them to really build on that. And Welbeck obviously

04:19started the, the match as a, as a, a reward really for his, his, um, rowics at the end

04:25of that match at Stanford Bridge, but he wasn't very good to be honest at Wolves. He was really

04:30kind of off the pace and started off with that half-hearted clearance with the header that

04:36obviously then smashed in on goal, um, for the, for the opening goal. And as Deren said,

04:40Verbruggen did make a good save and it was really unlucky. But to be fair, Wolves could have had

04:45two or three, um, and they hit the post in the second half. Um, Verbruggen made another couple of

04:51good saves. And there was also a huge chance that Wolves had, um, to, to, to go tuning up with this

04:57guy over the, over the bar. So there's definitely concern there for Bryson. Obviously they're playing

05:02against a team that have failed to win yet this season. And they, for a lot of it, were second best.

05:07Um, and yes, they did do well to, to get that equaliser. And it was a brilliant header and

05:11a lovely cross from Stefanos Simas, who, um, we're looking to see more from, I think,

05:17to see more of it, I should say, um, because he's not really had too many opportunities,

05:21to be honest. Um, but he's, he's come in and, and done, and done really well in the glimpses

05:26that we've seen from him. And he's, uh, he's definitely added something a bit different to,

05:30to that attack that isn't quite firing all cylinders yet. Um, there's definitely been some

05:35moments and glimpses of brilliance from certain individuals. Um, but it's not quite clicked just

05:40yet. Um, I think Jorginho has definitely had a bit of a rusty start and he was obviously on the

05:45bench for this one and came on and played with a bit of a point to prove. And there were some,

05:50some moments where he kind of kept holding the ball too long, but you could just see how

05:55desperate he was to try and unlock that door. And he was definitely energetic and had a really good

05:59shot saved superbly by Sam Johnston. And he kind of felt that that was a big chance and

06:06time was running out, but they, they managed to get the equaliser in the end. And it's a,

06:10definitely a point gained, I think, in this scenario, because they very easily could have lost it.

06:15Yeah, absolutely. And there have been calls in some quarters, uh, mainly online. I've seen this,

06:19uh, to drop Seagull skipper Lewis Dunk. Lewis Dunk has been in the Abbey and starting

06:2411 for just two clean sheets and a calendar year. The 0-0 draw with Brentford in December and

06:27a 1-0 win at Newcastle last October. Um, I think it's quite plain to see that Brighton do have

06:32defensive problems having recorded just four clean sheets in 28 Premier League games. Um,

06:37so is taking the captain out of the firing line the answer, Derren, um, quite a big summer

06:42splashes for Diego Coppola and Olivier Buscagli. Um, they're yet to make their Premier League

06:46debuts. Is it maybe time to give those two a go at some stage? Yeah, it's an interesting one,

06:52isn't it? I can see where the fans are coming from. And last season, I would probably have agreed with

06:57them. I would have said, yes, you know, Dunk is maybe part of the, part of the problem. But I,

07:02I honestly, the first six or seven games, I really don't see it this, this year. I think he's, um,

07:07I think he's had a good preseason and he looks the fittest he has, um, for, for some time. And

07:13I actually think he's, he's playing much better than he, than he was last season. And the partnership

07:17with Van Heek, um, uh, it's a good one. Um, I know they haven't kept a clean sheet, but I think you

07:24can also look at the situation in front of them where the midfield has been not, not at its best

07:30as, as, as well. You know, they've had, um, Yassi Nayari has probably been their most consistent

07:35midfielder, but Carlos Beliba, who last season offered, you know, quite a bit of protection in,

07:40in, in, in front of them. Uh, he, he hasn't helped, um, in my opinion, but, um, but yeah,

07:47I think Dunk is, is doing okay. I think, uh, I can see why the fans are saying that, but, um,

07:52um, having watched them, you know, against the likes of Manchester City, I thought against

07:57Erling Haaland, Dunk and Van Hecker were, were an excellent, excellent combination. The best I've

08:02seen those two play together, um, for, for quite some time. And actually it was Van Hecker who

08:08actually had probably a few shaky moments this season. He conceded a penalty at Bournemouth and

08:13then he can see he's then scored the own goal against Tottenham as well. But, but, um, he showed his

08:19character and then he's hit back against, you know, and got, got the equalizer against Wolves

08:23as well. So, so for me, I think it's probably the best centre-back pair that Brighton have got

08:29at the moment. Coppola, he came in for 10 million and Boscagli on a free from, uh, from PSV. Um,

08:36Coppola's played twice in the Premier League. He's been introduced as a late substitute, uh, on,

08:41on two occasions. And I think he's one for the future. He looks, he looks very physical. And

08:46sometimes in the last five or 10 minutes, Herzl has brought him on just to shore up,

08:49uh, the defence and try and hold on in the, in the closing stages as they did against Manchester City.

08:55And, um, yeah, he looks good. He looks good. He moves well. He's physical six foot four and nice

09:01and strong. Uh, and he's played in the Carabao. He started both the Carabao Cup wins as has Boscagli as

09:07well. Um, and I think there's, there's more to come from them, um, particularly Boscagli. He's,

09:12he's, he'll be frustrated that he hasn't had a chance, uh, in, in the Premier League and hopefully

09:17he will be able to improve himself. But, um, um, yeah, I think for now though, with Newcastle coming

09:24up, I think dunk starts for me. Uh, but that's, yeah, that's my view anyway.

09:29Um, while we're on the subject of potential tweaks to the, to the team, Sam, do you think

09:34there are other tweaks that Selah can make to the side? Um, you mentioned potentially giving

09:38one of the Greek lads to go instead of Jorginia. I've also seen some people suggest maybe bringing

09:43in Jason Steele for Buck for Bruggan. Um, what changes would you make, uh, if any?

09:48Yeah, no, it's a tricky one for Fabian, I think, to, to kind of find that right balance. Obviously,

09:52he's got a few different options that he can, he can go to. And we've seen, obviously,

09:56him switch up a little bit, obviously, as you've mentioned with, with Welbeck, um, coming in. I can't

10:01imagine he'll, he'll start from, um, start from me off again, uh, for the next one,

10:06I think, because he made such an impact off the bench at Chelsea that there might be a feeling

10:10that he can probably do, do that again. Um, so it'd be interesting to see if Jorginho goes back

10:15into that, that false nine role. Um, but yeah, I definitely would like to see him as start a

10:20match in the Premier League and, and just to see what he can do from the off. Um, because as I say,

10:25we've seen glimpses. It was, um, yeah, showing what he can do in, in, in, uh, in setting his

10:30teammates up as well. It was such a great cross for, for Van Hek. So yeah, you'd like to,

10:34like to see him get an opportunity, um, in the team. And interesting to see if he keeps, uh,

10:39starting Belieber and taking him off, or if he's going to try and maybe bring him on. And it's,

10:44it's definitely a problem for Brighton at the moment. They're still not able to get the best

10:48from Belieber. And he definitely wasn't the worst performer by any means. And he did obviously make

10:54the comment that it was to do with the yellow card that, um, that he decided to bring him off at

10:58half time, but he wasn't the only one that was in the book. Cause I think at least three others.

11:02Um, and Fabi wasn't happy with that either, with the referee giving out yellow cards quite,

11:07quite quick, but I don't think he can have any complaint about the manner of the yellow card

11:12that Belieber got. To be honest, it was quite a late, a late challenge and it kind of summed things

11:16up for him at the moment. So it'd be interesting to see if he, if he starts again. Um, but yeah,

11:21I think I'd definitely like to see Coppola or even Biscali get a chance in the Premier League,

11:25just to see, see what they can do in defense. Obviously Lewis Dunk isn't getting any younger.

11:29He's not going to be able to start every game. Um, we saw obviously Adam Webster start to come

11:34in on a more regular basis. So it'd be interesting to see if, um, if they can start to mold, um,

11:40Coppola or Biscali into, into the team, but obviously Van Hecht's going to be, um, there to stay.

11:45And there's no move in here, and rightly so too. But in terms of the goalkeeper,

11:49I think there's nothing to worry about there. I think Barber Brogan should keep his place in the

11:53team. I think, as you mentioned, he did have actually quite a good game against Wolves and

11:56the goal was quite unlucky. Um, to be honest, I don't think he could have done much about it.

12:01Um, so yeah, I've not got any concern with the goalkeeper and I don't think that there should

12:05be any changes in that department at the moment.

12:07Uh, well, we now move into an international break, uh, which as Derren said, means Brighton's

12:13men's first team won't take to the field again until the 18th of October at home to Newcastle

12:17and Premier League. And as the action pauses and we have a chance to reflect, Derren, how

12:20would you assess Albion's season so far? As you mentioned, they're 12th in the league

12:24after seven games, but they're also through to the round of 16 in the Carabao Cup.

12:27Uh, what do you make of their campaign at this, uh, still fairly early stage?

12:32Yes. Yeah. So yeah, inconsistent three draws, two wins and two defeats so far for, for Brighton.

12:41Um, they probably deserved a couple more points, but overall they, they just haven't been clinical

12:46or good enough in, in the key moments. Um, but it's, it's sort of the little details, which

12:51has frustrated them really, you know, and I think that highlighted against sort of Fulham

12:55and Tottenham where the games that they were winning, uh, should have closed out, uh, for the win,

13:00but just didn't have the game management to do so. And I think that's what's frustrating,

13:03uh, a lot of the fans and why some of the fans are on Herzella's, uh, Herzella's back a little bit.

13:08But, um, um, but you cannot argue with the spirit of the team though. They, they, they show up and

13:14they compete. And I don't think there's been one occasion so far this season where they've lost

13:18for the lack of trying, you know, I think, I think the main thing is, is that the key players at the

13:23moment, the big players who you need to perform have been, uh, been off the pace. Sam mentioned Carlos

13:28Belieber, you can't hide from that. He's been, he's been poor, probably a bit of a liability to

13:33keep, keep starting all the time at the moment. Um, but Mitoma, uh, the same, Jorginho struggled

13:40for goals. Welbeck too, um, other than his brace against sort of 10 men against Chelsea,

13:46where there was a bit of extra space for him. He's, he's really, um, really, really struggled.

13:52And I think the attacking situation was always going to be a gamble. They sold Pedro, um,

13:57Evan Ferguson went out on loan as well. And the Greek lads, um, you know, they weren't ready.

14:02They, they, they're untested in, in the Premier League. So, but at some stage, you've got to think

14:08that Herzell has got to be tempted just to say, okay, let's just, let's just give them a go.

14:13Because otherwise you're not going to find out, you know, this, uh, Tissimass, I think is probably

14:17ahead of, um, Kostoulas at the moment in the, in the fitness and in terms of being ready. So I'd

14:24probably like to see him start against Newcastle and have a, um, uh, a good run out. So, so that,

14:30that would be interesting to see how they go. But I think personally Herzella was left a bit short

14:35there really by, by the club. I think they didn't replace Pedro. Uh, Ferguson was never really in the

14:41plans. So, and I think just to have that reliance on Danny Welbeck, who's 34, um, Jorginho should have

14:48done a bit better, but he, he hasn't tried him in different roles, um, higher up the pitch,

14:53back in his number 10 role. Um, so, so yeah, I think he's been left a bit short on that,

14:58but on the plus side, I think Minté's looked very good. He's been absolutely electric this season,

15:03easily Brighton's most dangerous player. Uh, Dick Cuiper looks a real bargain at left back.

15:08And I think Cadioglu as well, he deserves a mention as well. I think he's been press impressive. So,

15:13so there's been some good, but yeah, lots, lots to work on. Uh, going back to the Greek lads,

15:19um, surely they've spent, they spent a lot of money on that Kostoulas there, didn't they?

15:22Surely the amount they spend means at some point they'll surely have to play, won't they? You

15:27can't spend that amount of money on a kid for him not to play. Exactly. So 50 million for the

15:31pair of them, 30 million for Kostoulas. And there has to be a time where they think, okay,

15:36they've been through, they keep, he keeps calling it an adaptation process where they're,

15:40they're getting up to speed and, and you just thought, hey, I'll just let them go because

15:45the others aren't really doing much. And you just think, just give them a chance to see what they

15:50can do. Uh, and you get into the point where it's sort of, well, they can't do any worse than what

15:54the others are doing. So it's, um, you know, just give them young, hungry, obviously talented. Um,

16:01yeah, just unleash them, put them out there and see, see how they go. But, uh, yeah. Yeah.

16:07So that would be an interesting call. I think after this international break,

16:10you may see them sort of playing a bit more. Kostoulas was in the Premier League matchday

16:14squad for the first time, uh, at Wolves. So hopefully that's a sign that those two are both,

16:20um, working their way into the first team.

16:23Yeah, absolutely. Hashtag free the Greeks. We'll get that trended on Twitter, Jared.

16:29Um, moving on to Crawley Town, a 3-1 loss at Cambridge consigned the Reds to a seventh defeat in 11 games.

16:34Shane Lavery, Killian Kuwassi, and Pelly Ruddick Mpanzu struck for the usual Kabby

16:39Shamanga netted Crawley's consolation goal. The defeat leaves the Reds fourth from bottom in

16:44lead two and just two points above the drop. Um, you were at the Abbey Stadium, weren't you,

16:48Mark, for this one on commentary duty. Um, it sounds like another incredibly dispiriting

16:53afternoon for everyone involved at Crawley Town.

16:56It was, yeah. First of all, I just like to say, I wish my first two names were Kelly Ruddick,

17:00because, uh, my life would be a lot more interesting.

17:04Yeah, it was just such a strange afternoon, because I know I do this a lot, but I looked

17:11at the stats and Crawley had 71% possession. They had twice as many shots on goal as Cambridge and I had.

17:18They had 495 passes compared to Cambridge's 203. So you look at that and you think Crawley have

17:28absolutely dominated that game, but at no point did you feel that Crawley were going to win that

17:33game on Saturday. It was bizarre. I mean, and I think it was the manner of the goals as well

17:38that Cambridge scored that was just really dispiriting and demoralizing for the players,

17:44the fans, the bench, the staff, everybody, which you could just, there was just a real sense of,

17:50oh God, um, every time saw Cambridge went forward. Uh, they, they scored after 12 minutes,

17:56Cambridge. It was a corner that came in. It, there was a little bit of luck because it,

18:02I think it hit, was it Badger Army? It was, it hit somebody in the, um, Crawley defense on the chest

18:07and it just fell at the feet of a, um, Cambridge player who just had to hit the target and he did.

18:13And then it was the start of the second half. Crawley dominated the game after that without

18:18really creating anything clear cut. And then at the start of the second half, Cambridge was just

18:23hitting with a double blow and it was two really poor goals. One of the first one was a corner which

18:29they just failed to clear again. And the second one, they were just opened up and Scott Lindsay

18:34raised it afterwards, actually said, you look at that third goal. There's a winger went down, beat Josh

18:39Flint, crossed it in and then, um, um, came in and deciphered it at home. Uh, and there was nobody

18:47else in the picture other than the three defenders. None of the midfielders had come back to try and

18:52there was time for them to do it because the winger came, came sort of had to take it around Josh

18:57Flint and that sort of plenty of time. And that's what Scott said afterwards. They weren't running.

19:01Nobody was running for me today. And if they're going to run for me, then I'm going to play for

19:05me. But again, I know we're going to come on to what Scott said about, uh, divine intervention,

19:11but Dion Conroy hit the post when it looked like it was harder to not score. Uh, Josh

19:18Flint had a free header, which he should have got at least got on the target. Um, but it was just,

19:24yeah, it was just really odd, but yeah. Um, on the stats as well, the corner count,

19:28Paulie had 10 corners. Cambridge had two. They scored from both their corners.

19:33And, um, Scott, I hope he doesn't mind me saying this, but afterwards, after we stopped recording

19:37and everything on Saturday, he said, weren't our corners rubbish? And I said, yeah, he said,

19:43I think we have 10 corners and 12 of them to keep acclaimed sort of thing. So it was, um,

19:48a little bit tongue in cheek, obviously there, but, um, it was just, just a really frustrating

19:53performance and they got really touchy. Jack rolls came on and seemed determined to just annoy

20:00everybody. Um, uh, the fans, the Cawley fans had to be split apart. The young and the old,

20:07the young were singing songs. Yeah. We could see something happening in the stewards, but Steve

20:13Herbert, our columnist wrote this week that some of the younger fans need to grow up a little bit.

20:18And when we're losing, you've got to realize that sometimes that happens rather, but just don't

20:23turn on your team like they did. I didn't hear what was sung. I don't know what we said, but the

20:27stewards had to stand in between them at one point. And that was in the Crawley away fan. And it's just

20:32like, what's going on. But I know we're going to be on to Leonorian later, much more positive than

20:37Leonorian. So not all is lost, but Saturday was just a really odd, dispiriting day for Crawley

20:43town. And if you watched Scott Lindsay's video on our website, he just seemed, it wasn't even if

20:50he was broken. He was just fed up, I think, fed up and cross and angry and disappointed. Yeah.

20:55As, as were most people involved with Crawley that day.

20:59Yeah. Well, Mark might be optimistic. Um, Scott Lindsay, in his post-match interview,

21:03was decidedly the opposite. He said Crawley were weak, easy to score against, and as Mark said,

21:07suggested divine intervention might be needed to turn their fortunes around.

21:10Um, I don't think any of us predicted this, Sam, I think it's safe to say. Um, where and

21:16why has it gone wrong, so wrong for the rest of the season? And at what point do we say Crawley

21:21are in crisis? Um, as we mentioned, it was their seventh defeat in 11 league games. Um, it makes

21:25for particularly grim reading at the moment, doesn't it?

21:28It certainly does. Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's, it's not something we could, we could envisage coming.

21:33And as you say, really, I think when Scott Lindsay came back, we know he's worked

21:37miracles in league two before. Um, and we were kind of expecting him to, to do it again.

21:42Obviously he was unlucky not to keep them up in league one. And I suppose there was just the

21:46expectation that they would, they would then have a good season in league two and just hit

21:50the ground running. But it really hasn't worked out like that at all. And I think when your own

21:55manager is coming out post-match and saying you're weak and easy to score against, it just tells you

21:59how deep the problems go. And obviously Scott, he's not just being emotional, he's being honest as

22:04well. Um, and he's just saying what a lot of the fans have been thinking and feeling and seeing for

22:11weeks now, to be honest. Um, and defensively it's, it's obviously not been great. There's no real

22:16consistency there and no authority in key moments. And, um, just, I think when they concede early,

22:23the heads drop, um, we've seen that far too often where things aren't going their way and it just all

22:30falls apart and crumbles really quickly, which is something that Scott has been really angry to,

22:35to see and hasn't, hasn't seen enough fight in, in key moments. And, and, and they definitely are

22:41conceding kind of cheap, avoidable goals as well. And that's something which, which needs to, needs to

22:46change and, and just to be able to score more goals as well. But that's been a real, a real issue.

22:51They've, they've not been able to, to score enough goals to win games. Scott's talked about

22:55an invisible wall between them and the goal. Um, and it's, everything seems to just be going

23:02against them. Um, really just, it really hasn't worked out at all so far. Um, and on, are they in

23:07crisis? It's obviously not a word you want to kind of throw around, but if they're not already,

23:11then they're absolutely teetering on the edge of one. I think form wise, it's, it's pretty grim reading.

23:16And if it continues much longer, they'll find themselves in a relegation scrap and they could be out

23:20in the football league if they're not careful. Yeah, that'd be dreadful. And Mark,

23:23I also saw that Gavin Holohan spoke to the media afterwards. Um, I'm paraphrasing,

23:27but I basically, I think he said that they had the quality within the squad,

23:30but the players needed to stand up and be counted. Do the players need to carry,

23:35the players need to carry the can a little bit as well? I know that Scott's got a fair bit of grief,

23:39but the players also, do you think they need to take some accountability for their recent form?

23:44They absolutely do. Yeah. Uh, very much so. They, like, um, Scott said that, um,

23:49there was a few on Saturday that just weren't, didn't look committed to the cause. I know that's

23:54a big accusation to go, but sometimes when they lost the ball, you could just see that they weren't

23:59running back, tracking back. That third goal was the prime example where there was nobody

24:03in the box to sort of help the defense out. Um, going back to, you mentioned about the Lewis

24:09Dunk conversation. There are people calling for Dion Conroy not to be playing at the moment.

24:14He doesn't seem to be on his top form and he is the Lewis Dunk equivalent for Broadly Town. He's

24:19Scott Lindsay's general in the middle. He's the captain of the club captain, but he just,

24:23he, he doesn't seem to, uh, yeah, he's not, not hit the form. He did certainly during the promotion

24:29season and he hasn't seemed as reliable and calm on the ball as he has been in previous seasons. So

24:35it's just a blip in form hopefully, but something's not clicking. And Scott said that on Saturday,

24:42actually just said, we just don't seem to click at the moment. And like Gavin Houlihan said,

24:46they've just got to stick together. They've got to stick together. I keep saying Houlihan,

24:50it's Polly Hang. Um, Polly Hang. But they've just got to, they've got to stand up and be counted.

24:55Now everybody's got to stick together and just really work hard now to, uh, to get them out of this,

25:01uh, out of this horrible situation.

25:03Yeah, absolutely. And before we move on to the, um, late in Orient game on Tuesday night,

25:07uh, Monday saw sporting director Tobias Phoenix leave the Reds by mutual consent. Uh,

25:12the former director of football operations at Bolton joined Crawley during last season when

25:16the Reds were relegated from League One. He leaves just over two months after KB Sports and Leisure

25:21completed a takeover of the club and is the latest change in a turbulent year for the Reds

25:25after former co-owner Preston Johnson resigned in July over the club's, uh, transfer strategy.

25:30Um, what was the reaction for Phoenix departure, Mark? Um, what was his legacy? Um, I think that

25:37might be a short answer. Um, and, uh, where did the Reds go from here in terms of their recruitment?

25:42With his legacy, God knows, because nobody got to know him. Nobody knew what he, I mean,

25:48I know he's a sporting director, so I'm assuming he was involved in transfers, in recruitment,

25:53um, the day-to-day running of the team, et cetera, and that. But yeah, I requested a couple of times.

25:59So when Preston Johnson and Ben Levin were chairman and vice chairman, I asked a couple of times,

26:04could we have an interview with Tobias? Everybody wants to know who he is, what he does,

26:08et cetera. And I was told, oh, we'll ask him, but he's quite a private person. So

26:14I'm not, I'm not too hopeful that you want to do one. But yeah, I mean, he hit the headlines when he

26:20allegedly offered a fan out in the, in the club park after, after a fan took exception to him and

26:27Preston appearing to be laughing after they conceded the goal against Cambridge. Um,

26:32um, apparently the internal investigation said all he did was let's chat about this outside of the

26:38ground. So, but who knows what happened there? We don't know the full story, but, uh, the actual

26:44reaction was generally, I think he, yeah, general reaction was good. Yeah. I mean, after Saturday's

26:55game, there were a couple of fans, I think we discussed this now Monday, that just went on

26:59social media and just said, this is not Scott's fault. This is not the player's fault. This is

27:02Tobias fingers fault. Why it's his fault. I don't know. And maybe we will, but maybe his legacy will

27:09be once he left, things turned around and it was his fault. Who knows? But again, it might not get

27:15any better. It might get worse. So, and in terms of, um, recruited to how it will change your recruitment.

27:23We Preston Johnson left because he didn't like the way the recruitment was going.

27:27Uh, the recruitment doesn't seem to have worked so far.

27:32No, maybe that's why they parted ways. Um, or it must be the reason why they parted ways because

27:39it isn't working out how they'd all hope so. I don't know what this means going forward. I mean,

27:43is Scott in charge of transfers now? Is someone else's something to ask Scott when we next speak to him?

27:49Um, and does it mean a lot more work for Scott Lindsay, which he probably doesn't need right now

27:54because he needs to coach those players into putting in really good performances. So it's a,

27:58yeah, it's a really, um, I was, I mean, I was and wasn't surprised on Monday morning because

28:05one, I didn't know you never knew he was there other than those big smiley photos when the new owners

28:11came in, um, in August. But yeah, if it, yeah, we'll see in the next few games, whether how much

28:20influence the by-screen is having a real estate moment.

28:22Uh, moving back to matters on the pitch, uh, Crawley Town's miserable week was compounded on

28:27Tuesday night as ex-Brighton striker Aaron Connolly netted an exquisite 93rd minute free kick to see

28:33late Noreen come from behind to beat the Reds 2-1 in the EFL trophy. Louis Flower fired Crawley

28:37in front inside three minutes before Dimitri Mitchell leveled for the O's on 40 minutes. Crawley's late

28:42winner leaves Crawley second in Southern Group F, level on points with holds Peterborough. Um, considering

28:48everything that's going on with their league campaign, Sam, I don't think the EFL trophy

28:51would be particularly high on the Reds' priority list this season, but that must sting, surely,

28:56to lose it that way. Absolutely, yeah. Even if the EFL trophy isn't Crawley's main focus,

29:01the manner of the defeat, of course, will hurt. It's, it's, um, it's always frustrating, I guess,

29:06to take an early deed, um, concede an equaliser, and then lose it in stoppage time. And as you said,

29:11it was a moment of real quality, um, but it does add to what's becoming a very demoralising run of results.

29:17Um, and yeah, as you say, it's the EFL trophy, not the league. Um, and priorities are elsewhere,

29:24but Crawley could have used a win just to stop the rot a bit, build a bit of belief and shift

29:29the mood around the place. But instead, it's another defeat and pressure, obviously,

29:32does continue to mount on the players to turn it around. And, and regardless of what the competition

29:37is, when, when you lose and late, you can see late goals, it does feel like a gut, a gut punch.

29:43And obviously they're, they're building up quickly, aren't they, at the moment, really?

29:46And they can start to take their toll. But despite that heartbreak, there were lots of positives to

29:50take. And Scott Lindsay will know that, um, it's easy to focus on, on the result,

29:55especially when it continues a tough run. But in terms of performance, they were encouraging,

29:59encouraging signs. So Crawley would write in spells, play within 10. And some of the fringe

30:03players really put their hand up, um, to be starting in the league as well. I thought Max Anderson, uh,

30:09seemed lively in the midfield. Louis Flower took his goal well and showed energy throughout.

30:13And Ben Ratcliffe put in a composed display. Um, so for what was a young side, there's,

30:17there's a lot of maturity. Um, and that will definitely give Lindsay something to think about

30:21ahead of all sorts visit. Um, and there's definitely, yeah, some question marks over what,

30:26of what team Lindsay will put out, whether he will obviously make changes from that league game

30:30and start to put in some of these players impressed in the cup. Um, but he said,

30:34it gives me things to think about and it's great. Um, it's a great game for us.

30:38We're playing the team who are top of the league, bringing them on. That's what I want to be all

30:41about. I want that to be a real incentive for us to play, play well and win, score and defend well,

30:46and nothing better than taking on the league leaders. I think it's a great opportunity for

30:49us now to try and turn the corner. And he's really encouraged by what he saw,

30:53really good performances. And he kind of got an idea of what he wants to do for Saturday.

30:59Yes. As you mentioned, the Reds' task doesn't get any easier as they welcome top of the table

31:02Walsall to the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday. Uh, the Saddlers have won eight of their 11 league

31:06two games and sit just a point off Scott Lindsey's old team in second. Um, it's another tough game.

31:11Mark, um, how do you see this one going? The final Tobias Phoenix there, I think he wants to do an interview.

31:17Yeah, he's, uh, he's asked me if I fancied the, uh, Crawley Townsport and director job. I think,

31:21um, I think I might have to polarly decline.

31:24Yeah. Um, no, it's gonna, um, yeah, I mean, it'll, it'll be typical if Crawley went and won on Saturday,

31:30being the league leaders, because they've done that before in previous seasons where they've had a

31:35run of bad results, lost 14, like Barrow weren't a 14, they're a well-organised team,

31:40but you shouldn't be losing for them at home. But Wolves will come top of the league and Crawley will

31:44probably beat them handsomely as well on Saturday. But yeah, Sam, Sam said about the selection issue

31:51has, because if you put the two sides, if you put the two sides by side, there were eight changes

31:58for Tuesday night's game against Lane Orient, against the team that played Cambridge, you would

32:02have thought the Tuesday night team was the first choice team and the Saturday team was not the first

32:07choice league side. So he's got some big decisions to make. Uh, Matt, like Sam said, Max Anderson was

32:13excellent. Um, I, I always find it odd that he doesn't play more, Max Anderson, because every

32:19time he plays, he gives 100%, he battles hard, he scores important goals at times,

32:24against Charlton Awain last year, he scored the winner. Um, so, yeah, um, it's gonna be very,

32:30very interesting what the line-up looks like on Saturday. But, Scott, as he said, bring them on.

32:36I think it's a really good fixture for them, because they know they have to be good. I mean,

32:40they knew they had to be good against Cambridge, but, but they've got to be, they've got to be at

32:44the top of their game to compete with. It's also been really impressive this year. So, uh, yeah,

32:49no, but injury-wise, uh, we're waiting for an update on Harvey Davis's finger. Um, so how long

32:57he's gonna be out for. But Jojo Wallachot, he's been, he's been good. I don't, I wouldn't say he was

33:02at fault of any of the goals in the last two games. So, um, hopefully he'll be, and he pulled off a

33:06really good save on Tuesday night. Um, again, he's a really good shot stopper at the time.

33:11Um, but Adi Adi Yemo, as Scott said last week, we're hoping he'll be back. He picked up

33:16not hearing Barrow. But he said they were wrapping him in cotton wool last week, hoping that he'd be

33:21ready for this week. Um, Danny Cashman, I believe, will still be out. Um, so, yeah, we'll have to see.

33:28But it's gonna be really interesting who he picks on that side, um, on Saturday. And they have got,

33:34although they lost, it was a really soft three kick the referee gave as well that led to the

33:39winner. So it could have easily been a one-all draw and then Crawley went on penalties and then

33:44you're suddenly really positive. Because there's four defeats on the trot now, it looks, it looks

33:50worse than it probably is. I think they've got a little bit of momentum from the performance

33:53on Tuesday night. So hopefully they can carry that forward. I'd love to see Ben Radcliffe get a start.

33:59And like I say, yeah, I think they can get something out of this. I think they can shock

34:04Walsall a little bit. And who knows? And the devised Phoenix news, the fans might be a little

34:10bit more buoyant. I don't know. It's, I mean, it's, it's horrible to criticize someone or

34:15cheer someone losing their job, but the Crawley fans seem to be doing that on social media and that,

34:20hopefully that translates to positivity on Saturday and get behind the lamp.

34:25Yes, we can only hope. Um, it leads us on quite nicely to score predictions. As we mentioned,

34:30no Brighton game this week due to the international break, but we have Crawley v Walsall. Um, I don't

34:35know if whether that summation you just gave there, Mark, is positivity, optimism or anything

34:40like that. Um, or we're just clutching the straws. How do you think, um, Saturday's going to go?

34:46I am going to go with my heart and say Crawley are going to win 2-1.

34:51What does your head say? A draw.

34:55A draw. They'll take a draw.

34:58No, for 2-1.

35:002-1. Sam, they take a draw, wouldn't they? They bite your hand off for a draw.

35:03They absolutely would bite your hand off a draw, but I don't think they're going to get one. I

35:06think my head's saying a 2-1 defeat, unfortunately. Um, we'll still have been really good this season,

35:11and I think they'll continue.

35:14And finally, Darren. Uh, yeah. Um, yeah, I don't know.

35:19I think they're going to get hammered, I think.

35:23Yeah. Well, yeah, no, we'll still look good, but because I'm easily swayed, and Mark was very

35:27persuasive that Crawley are going to bounce back, I'm going to go for a 2-0 Crawley, I think.

35:31I'm going to think that they can pull up a shot.

35:35Oh, we can only hope. Best of luck to Crawley Town this weekend, and thank you very much for joining

35:40us this week, chaps, as ever. Uh, don't forget you can catch up with all the native sports news

35:43covering everything we've talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport.

35:47Thank you very much for listening and watching, and we will see you all next week for a very special episode.

Gull-Mouth Action podcast - episode 99 | Assessment of Albion's campaign so far and Crawley Town continue to struggle

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended