Author Archives: Goldstone Rapper

Jan 16 2014
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Photo Opportunities

The original Stephen Ward

Does anyone remember the first Stephen Ward?

stephenward1

Not the Republic of Ireland international currently on loan at the Amex, but Albion’s reserve player of the 1970s.

When I asked on North Stand Chat, ‘One Teddy Maybank’ replied:

Yes, I don’t think he made an appearance for the first team, but being a keen youngster at the time, I watched a fair amount of mid-week league reserve fixtures. He probably would have been OK in the old Div 4, but just didn’t quite have the ability for the level Mullery had us playing at. He was sort of ungainly in movement…..

He was never going to displace Horton, Piper, Clark or any of the other midfielders around that time.

Although no relation to Peter, Stephen Ward does feature in various Brighton squad photos from 1975/76 to 1978/79. Here he is in 1976/77:

1976-77large2

Back row: Tony Towner, Joe Kinnear, Vaughan Woolley, Stephen Ward, Robin Madden, Alan Lewis, Carmine Porpora, Steve Eley.
Middle row: Alan Mullery, Michael Jones, Dennis Burnett, Gerry Fell, Graham Cross, Andy Rollings, Ken Gutteridge, Ian Mellor, Chris Cattlin, Sammy Morgan, Graham Winstanley, Colin Murphy, Mike Bamber.
Front row: Glen Wilson, Ken Tiler, Harry Wilson, Peter Ward, Peter Grummit, Michael McKen, Philip Smith, Brian Horton, Peter O’’Sullivan, Fred Binney, Steve Piper, George Aitken.

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Jan 15 2014
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Media Coverage

The forgotten FA Cup match of 1983

grealish-newcastle

Brighton famously embarked on a glorious FA Cup run in 1983, but it began inauspiciously. Who can remember much of the January afternoon at the Goldstone when the Seagulls were held by Second Division Newcastle, Keegan et al?

Here’s John Vinicombe’s thoughts in the Evening Argus in the aftermath:

A series of mixed blessings attach to Albion’s FA Cup replay at Newcastle on Wednesday.

For a start, they are still in the competition, albeit with a slimmer chance of reaching the fourth round.

At St James’ Park, where there must surely be a crowd of around 30,000, Albion stand to pick up around £20,000 as their share of the gate.

And although skipper Steve Foster’s two match suspension is now advanced by the course of events, he will be eligible for the important First Division match at home to Luton Town on January 22.

There is little doubt to my mind as to which is the most important engagement from the long-term point of view. Retaining championship status is all-important, while the cup has so often proved a flight of fancy for Albion.

Can anyone seriously imagine them winning it, or even reaching the final?

No, no one at the time could have imagined Brighton doing that. How wrong we were all proved to be!

Far from benefiting the side drawn at home, the Goldstone pitch was certainly problematic for Melia’s Brighton side trying to play a more flowing game with three strikers:

Conditions reduced Saturday’s affair to a lottery, although the 1-1 draw was right on balance, and the ground was the same for both sides. But what has happened to that stretch of grass that was once known as Frankie Howard’s pride?

After 15 minutes or so, divots were carved out everywhere, and it was putting an impossible premium on skill asking players to run with the ball, or pass with any certain degree of accuracy.

Newcastle had the better of the play early on with Steve Foster slipping:

An untimely loss of balance let Keegan in and Graham Moseley deflected for a corner when Albion could so easily have gone a goal down. Again Moseley rescued Albion with a flying, one-handed save from Keegan. This was at 23 minutes when Newcastle were much the better side.

But suddenly they were put under pressure when Andy Ritchie’s shot was cleared off the line by John Anderson.

Varadi looked sharp, and so did Chris Waddle who continually pushed up on the left, and had a fascinating duel with Chris Ramsey.

Only 21, Ramsey has the youth to triumph over stamina tests, and Giles Stille also gave Melia what he wanted with non-stop running.

Brighton took the lead on 56 minutes:

When Stille’s cross came over after snapping up a poor clearance, the ball took a slight deflection off Clarke. This found Ritchie on the left in plenty of space. For what seemed an eternity he fidgeted to find a spot, and then appeared to mis-hit the shot. The ball, however, rolled gently past Carr’s right hand.

1-0 to the Seagulls, who were then on top, even gaining their first corner on 65 minutes. Even so, Newcastle battled on and had a penalty claim for a supposed push on Keegan by Gary Stevens but the referee did not award it. As Vinicombe noted:

Plenty of referees would have given a penalty but Tony Glasson hasn’t been on the list for 24 seasons for nothing.

However, Newcastle did hit back a minute later:

In terms of experience, Newcastle have the edge. Apart from Keegan, there is a wily and abrasive Terry McDermott whose 77th minute equaliser capped a shrewd piece of kidology.

When Moseley turned the ball round for a corner, McDonald’s flag kick came to Keegan, and he dummied for McDermott to drive home a beauty.

While appearing to turn it on and off in patches, McDermott was always threatening, a similar sort of role to Case, except Case didn’t score.

Graham Moseley pulled off a great save from Newcastle’s Mick Martin late on, while Stille just failed to connect with a Jimmy Case cross.

When the final whistle blew, it was all-square. A replay was hastily arranged for St James’ Park, where Peter Ward proved keeper Kevin Carr’s master once more, just like in 1979.

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Jan 14 2014
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Around The Goldstone, Photo Opportunities

Dave Busby – Albion’s first black footballer

davebusby3

“My best asset was speed,” says Dave Busby. “I had a lot of natural pace. I had some good skills but my speed gave me time.”

Aged 17 at the time, the Paddington-born striker made history on 20th October 1973, becoming the first black player to appear for the first team of Brighton & Hove Albion.

In the dying days of the Pat Saward era, struggling Brighton beat Shrewsbury 2-0 thanks to goals from Ron Howell and Ken Beamish, to move up to 19th in Division Three. Busby came on as a substitute for loanee John Boyle on 78 minutes: “It was so good to come on and hearing the crowd cheering my name.”

His manager Saward missed it, though. He was in Crewe watching a transfer target, goalkeeper Bryan Parker.

Perhaps it was no coincidence that Busby got his chance with trainer Glen Wilson deputising. As Dave says: “Pat Saward was a good manager. As far as I was concerned, though, he just was not brave enough to put the youngsters in when we were hot. The first team should have been made up of both the young and the experienced and we would have been great.”

Having gone to school in Heathfield, Sussex, where Frank Bruno was a fellow pupil, Busby joined the Goldstone staff as an apprentice in 1973, having played as a junior for Heathfield United. When Brian Clough arrived at Brighton, Busby was one of the few to have encountered him before: “Not a lot of people know this. I played under Brian Clough at Derby County for three weeks as a trialist before I came to Brighton. He said to me then that I would stand a good chance in a lower league.”

Even so, following his debut, Dave did not see first team action under Clough, with Pat Hilton, Ken Beamish, Lammie Robertson and Barry Bridges higher up in the pecking order up front. This setback did not put him off from continuing to score regularly for the reserves. As a result, Busby eventually signed a contract as a professional in August 1974.

In the 1974/75 season, with Peter Taylor now a boss going solo, Busby was an unused substitute in the August matches against Reading (League Cup 1st Round Replay) and Chesterfield, before making his second appearance from the bench in the 3rd replay against Reading, with his side losing 3-2 at the Goldstone:

Busby gathers a pass near Reading's goal as team mate Ernie Machin rushes to support

Busby gathers a pass near Reading’s goal as team mate Ernie Machin rushes to support

Dave ventures that Peter Taylor “was quite the opposite of Mr Clough. He did not shout as much. He was not as aggressive. He would talk to you a little more.”

In the match that followed the Reading cup marathon, on 7th September 1974, Dave got his big chance in making the starting line-up, against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. He almost scored as well. Ronnie Welch found Busby with a peach of a first time ball from defence, but the attacker was denied by a foul from the Rovers keeper Roger Jones.

Dave then came on as a substitute at home to Port Vale later in the month, but that was his final Albion first team appearance. He was given a free transfer in May 1975. He then worked at a greengrocer’s, became a car mechanic, before spells with Worthing, Blackpool, Barrow, Gravesend & Northfleet, Tooting & Mitcham United and Littlehampton.

Having hung up his boots, he is justifiably proud of his accolade as a trailblazer: “Being Brighton first black player is just great. I just wish they had given me more of a chance and I would have been fine.”

Dave Busby, in the front row of the 1974/75 team photo

Dave Busby, in the front row of the 1974/75 team photo

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Jan 13 2014
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Media Coverage, Photo Opportunities

The Brighton brawl! Video – Brighton v Chelsea (FAC) 1973

bridges

In 1972/73, Pat Saward’s Brighton were having a horrendous time at the foot of the Second Division, losing ten consecutive League matches. However, there was excitement in the air in the shape of a cup tie at the Goldstone with the superstars of Chelsea.

From a magazine in January 1973:

Brighton and Barry Bridges eagerly await their Cup crunch with Chelsea on Saturday, if only because it gives them the opportunity to forget all about their Second Division troubles.

Albion’s desperate struggle for survival – they are firmly rooted at the foot of the table – will be forgotten at the Goldstone Ground on Saturday as the spotlight shifts to the Cup and Chelsea.

As former Chdsea striker Barry Bridges says: “It will be nice to forget about our League position for a change and just go out on the park and concentrate on one result.

“It’s a tremendous draw for the club and a dream draw for Bert Murray and myself who both started our careers at Chelsea.

“Personaily, it will be nice to see most of the Chelsea lads again. I grew up at Stamford Bridge with Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris and Ossie. It will be great to meet them again even though they are on the opposite side.”

Can lowly Brighton really raise their game and shock Dave Sexton’s men on current League form?

“You can forget about League form in the Cup,” claims Bridges. “It’s the way you play on the day that counts. The Cup has a way of lifting everyone and with home advantage I feel we must have every chance.
“Mind you, I’ve got tremendous respect for Chelsea. They are a fabulous side with allround ability. I’ve still got a soft spot for them and try to see them whenever I’m in town.

“I know our League form has been very disappointing but this is the sort of draw that could really gee us up. A good performance against Chelsea could stoke up a lot of confidence after a lean spell.

“Our big problem at the moment is that we have stopped scoring goals. I’ve only scored a couple of times lately and I’m not too happy about that.

“But goals seem to come in spells for me and it would be nice to break the ice against Chelsea. It would be even better if we can beat them because the directors and manager here have worked very hard for success.

“The potential here is tremendous. When the club was going for promotion last season home gates were over the 30,000 mark. The whole set-up here is geared for success. Even though we are struggling in the League you couldn’t find a better atmosphere.

“There are no chins down just because things aren’t going right. As I said, the folks here deserve success. It’s a crying shame that we’re struggling because the facilities here are second to none.

“Obviously, we need to start getting the right results now before it’s too late. A win against Chelsea could be just the boost we need to get out of trouble in the League. So we’ll all be trying really hard.” The obvious sincerity of Bridges, veteran of over 400 League games and a consistent scorer with Chelsea, Birmingham, Queen’s Park Rangers and Millwall, will be a key factor in this intriguing duel.

And Brighton will be banking on his goal-den touch to give them the shot in the arm they need.

Well, what a humdinger of a match it turned out to be, with two sending-off and some horrendous foul play. A quite incredible atmosphere by the end!

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Jan 12 2014
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Around The Goldstone, Media Coverage

Brighton face FA penalty after new pitch invasion

Here’s The Guardian’s Peter Nichols report on the events of Tuesday 1st October 1996:

pitchprotest1

Brighton face the threat of playing behind closed doors and having three points deducted, after supporters invaded the pitch during last night’s Third Division game against Lincoln at the Goldstone Ground. Play was halted for 12 minutes in the first half when Lincoln took the lead.

Shortly after play resumed Brighton equalised but two further goals for Lincoln consigned them to last but one in the league. The second goal prompted another invasion but this time the spectators did not reach the centre circle and they were booed off. Even the faithful had had enough.

The damage, though, may well have been done. Brighton have a Football Association sentence hanging over them after fans rioted and caused the abandonment of a Second Division relegation game against York City at the end of last season. That sentence could now come into effect after the referee Steve Bennett was forced to take the players off the pitch.

Trouble had been anticipated. Fans were angry at the breakdown of talks on Monday between the club chairman Bill Archer and the consortium headed by the advertising millionaire Dick Knight wanting to take over the club. But appeals to stay calm went unheeded. There was already a volatile atmosphere, with cries of “Archer out”. before matters spilled over in the 25th minute.

About 50 supporters from the North Stand invaded the pitch, and the referee immediately took the teams to the safety of the dressing-rooms.

Another 100 or so supporters from other sections of the ground then spilled on to the pitch, and the entire group congregated in the centre circle before leaving en bloc to return to the North Stand. The police adopted a “softly, softly” approach and, as invasions go, by Goldstone standards it was brief and bloodless. There were five public order arrests.

pitchprotest2

Archer, the object of the supporters’ disaffection, was not there to witness the protest. He had bought into Brighton and Hove Albion for £56.25 and, through dealings that might be described as Byzantine, sold the ground to Chartwell, a company connected to the Kingfisher Group and with which he is also involved. Chartwell paid £7.4 million, most of which went to pay off the club’s mounting debts.

The club now rent the ground back on a single-year lease which costs £480,000. At the end of the season, after 94 years at the Goldstone Ground, Brighton will be homeless. The ground will be dug up in June for a retail development.

Supporters might have been less alienated if Archer had employed a little PR during his tortuous dealings.

Talking to the supporters would have been a start. Nobody in this seaside town has the faintest idea of his plans.

Archer has attended only a handful of games and yesterday’s was not one of them. David Bellotti, the former Liberal MP, has been the front-man and, though he did visit the ground yesterday, he made his excuses and left before the game.

This particular crisis was precipitated by Monday’s meeting at the Park Court Hotel in London, where the FA attempted to arbitrate between Archer’s group and the Knight consortium.

Liz Costa, vice-chairman of the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters’ Club, was one of many who predicted the worst for last night’s match.

“It will make York City look a like a Christmas party,” she forecast. “There’s going to be bedlam.” In that match almost 3,000 spectators spilled on to the pitch to demostrate against the board.

If those fears were unfounded, there was no disguising the despondency of the manager Jimmy Case. “Since I’ve been here there’s not been one ounce of good news, written or implemented,” he said. “When Liam Brady was here he said he couldn’t work in an unharmonious atmosphere, and it’s got worse.

“All we want as a manager and a football team, and especially the supporters, is a ground to play in. This situation affects everyone, down to the tea-ladies. I’ve never brought it up before but there comes a time. Any good news would be a breath of fresh air for me, the players and the tea-ladies.”

From ‘Build A Bonfire’:

Bill Swallow: I have to say, and maybe this puts me in a minority of one, I wasn’t terribly happy wit the Lincoln protest. I didn’t think it was wise. If they’d opened fire on David Bellotti I wouldn’t have had a problem with that, no difficulty at all. I thought the strategy went off the rails.

Tim Carder: Everyone supported it – I mean there were about two cries of ‘get off the pitch’ because we were under suspended sentence at that point. We knew that anyone going on the pitch and holding the game up was going to cost us points, but we were in such a desperate state at the time that the vast majority of the crowd applauded them. I clapped them. It was all very orderly and the crowd was in full support. We had to show that, even with the threat of losing points – and we were very near the bottom at this stage.

Significantly, after the Lincoln match, there was a marked change in emphasis in the protests that followed. Out went the kind that were liable to cost the club league points and made it easy to brand the loyal supporters as hooligans, and in came the imaginative kind such as the charm offensive at the village of Mellor, Bill Archer’s home in Lancashire.

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Jan 11 2014
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Media Coverage

Cat makes the Seagulls soar

chriscattlin8

After Albion narrowly failed to clinch promotion to Division One in 1977/78, boss Alan Mullery promised at the end of the Blackpool match that Brighton would achieve the feat a year later. It seemed an unwise thing to pledge, especially when Brighton stood in mid-table position at the end of November 1978. However, the trusty and experienced full-back Chris Cattlin was recalled, in place of Ken Tiler, a decision that helped the team to find its mojo again:

Professional pride is an expression often misused, frequently abused and occasionally I misconstrued. It is, however: a phrase that is deservedly applied to the’ attitude” of certain players.

In these days Of commercialisation it is indeed pleasurable to see a seasoned professional who has seen both success and disappointment yet still has genuine enthusiasm for the game.

As Brighton push ahead towards the First Division, experienced defender, Chris Cattlin plays with as much, if not more, enthusiasm than many of his much younger colleagues.

For Chris it’s very much a case of ‘I’ve seen it all before’. Three caps for England at Under-23 level, chosen for the Football League against the Scota tish League, transferred from Huddersfield to Coventry nearly 13 years ago for £70,000 and over 250 appearances in the First Division.

When he moved to Brighton in May 1976, many thought the cheerful Lancastrian had come to the end of the road. The thought of a stay for a few years by the sea in the Third Division could be the ideal prelude to retirement.

But, for the big and enthusiastic son of a Rugby League international, that was not the aim. Twelve months after his arrival Brighton were in Division Two and a year later they missed promotion to the First by goal difference.

Last August it seemed Brighton manager, Alan Mullery had written off the one time Burnley Youth player. Ken Tiler and Gary Williams had settled in as a full-back pairing.

By the end of November The Seagulls had dropped to the bottom half of the table and Mullery seemed to be facing problems.

Chris Cattlin, was recalled and immediately fortunes changed.

A League Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest was hardly a disgrace and nor was a one-nil reverse on the ice-bound pitch at Preston in February. Apart from those two defeats the presence of “Cat”, as he’s known to his colleagues, has been more than just as a lucky mascot.

His skill, enthusiasm, experience and quite obvious enjoyment is infectious.

Looking back to his time at Coventry, Chris recalls nine years of fun and dozens of games that literally stirred the blood. When he left Highfield Road, The Sky Blues’ supporters protested and signed petitions to retain their favourite.

The move to Brighton, however, was finalised but Cattlin vowed his First Division days were far from finished.

And now he could be right. The heroics of Eric Steele, the foot perfect precision of Mark Lawrenson and the pulsating talent of Peter Ward may well grab the headlines but always there, in the number two shirt is the dependable true professional, Chris Cattlin – and when skipper Brian Horton was suspended he was made team captain.

For some footballers, careers are short but Chris has no thoughts of retirement. To play regularly again in the best League in the world – Division One – is his singular aim.

Alan Mullery is unstinting in his praise for the man who, as a teenager, was prevented by his parents from starting a professional career.

“Defeat never enters his head,'” says the Brighton manager. “Cat sets a fine example to my young players.

Chris is already a successful businessman but football will always be part of his life. The First Division is his immediate target but even that, one imagines, won’t completely satisfy him. Maybe to play in Europe would.

To talk the game with this now “neturalised” Brightonian is a pleasure and he gives the impression he’d be happy playing until he’s 50…

Yes, the man has “Professional Pride” with a capital “P” in the best and most genuine sense.

Cattlin was ever-present in the number two shirt for the second-half of the 1978/79 season. However, when Brighton entered the First Division, he was honest enough to Alan Mullery to admit that he wasn’t going to make it as a top flight player again. A heavy 4-0 defeat at Highbury in a League Cup replay in November proved his only appearance before retiring from the game to concentrate on his rock shop.

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Jan 10 2014
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Media Coverage, Photo Opportunities

Mellor 3 Ward 4

One of Brighton’s most memorable games of the 1976/77 season was the 7-0 slaughtering of Walsall. Here’s the match programme:

walsall

The sensational result was all the sweeter as the Saddlers had become bit of bogey side. In 1974/75, Brighton suffered a 6-0 drubbing at Fellows Park before Walsall did the league double over Peter Taylor’s men the following season.

Things did not look promising at the Goldstone on 5th October 1976 when the players left for the interval with the match scoreless. However, as Nigel Clarke of the Daily Mirror reported, lethal Brighton looked a different side after Alan Mullery’s half-time team talk:

The 'boy wonder' Ward

The ‘boy wonder’ Ward

Peter Ward grabbed four goals last night and lan Mellor three as Brighton blitzed their way back to the top of the Third Division.

All the goals came in a sensational second half as Brighton turned on their second seven-goaI romp in three weeks – York were their other victims.

Ward, 21, is rapidly emerging as a £250,000 transfer target. A professional, for just four months, he has now scored fifteen times in seventeen League games.

He began his League career last March and scored with his first kick in his first match.

Now with eleven goals already this season, Ward has the sprinkle of stardust all over him.

Watched by West Ham manager Ron Greenwood, he and Mellor were superb.

Said Brighton manager Alan Mullery: “I have never seen finishing quite like that. Both lads were tremendous. It was the most magnificent second half of football I’ve ever seen.”

In the fifty-first minute the flood of goals began. Ward cleverly juggled an opening for Peter O’Sullivan whose fierce shot was pushed out by keeper Mick Kearns. But there was Mellor to knock the rebound from close range.

Ian 'Spider' Mellor

Ian ‘Spider’ Mellor

Five minutes later Brian Horton robbed Alun Evans, ran 40 yards and slipped the ball to Ward, who scored with a fierce rising drive.

In the 61st minute it was Ward again, finishing brilliantly, and two minutes later Mellor headed home Harry Wilson’s cross.

In the 70th minute Gerry Fell set up Mellor for his hat-trick, and Ward completed the rout with two in two minutes.

First, he took a long clearance from Grummitt in his stride to get a superb solo goal, then he put home the rebound after Mellor’s shot had been blocked.

In Match Weekly many years later Peter Ward commented:

“I can’t remember in what order the goals came but I know it was 6-0 and both Ian and I had scored three when the ball came over and ian volleyed it against the Walsall post. I knocked it in from the rebound. As for the other goals, two came from through balls, I believe when I ran on and beat the keeper. And the other came after a mazy dribble where I beat a couple of defenders before slotting ball in.”

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Jan 09 2014
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Media Coverage, Photo Opportunities

The Peruvian connection

perustars

In early February 1979, Mike Bamber divulged plans to sign Peruvian World Cup stars Juan Carlos Oblitas and Percy Rojas. As John Vinicombe reported in the Evening Argus at the time:

In a sensational bid to improve their chances of reaching the First Division, Albion are bringing Oblitas to Brighton and he will play in a friendly match the club are trying to arrange at the Goldstone on Monday.

Accompanying Oblitas is striker Percy Rojas, who also played when Peru reached the World Cup quarter-finals last year in Argentina, and the president of the Sporting Crystal Club, Lima.

Albion have paid the Peruvians’ air fares and they are expected to arrive tomorrow.

Oblitas, “the many who catches pigeons” , was voted the best winger in the World Cup. I understand the fee would be around the £200,000 mark and Albion have plans to split the cost by arranging a deal that would take the Peruvian to San Diego Sockers in the summer.

This is the club Brighton are to play in June at the end of their Californian five-match tour.

If Oblitas joins Albion he will need a work permit, but chairman Mike Bamber foresees no difficulties. The San Diego side of the deal will be discussed when Bamber and manager Alan Mullery go to California early next week.

Reports linking the Peruvians with Nottingham Forest drew this comment with Bamber: “I have no idea if Oblitas is going to see Brian Clough. All I know is that we have been promised first choice.”

The skills of Oblitas were just one of the many exciting facets on TV from Argentina in the summer. He was particularly devastating when Peru beat Scotland 3-1.

Unfortunately, the Peruvian pair did not arrive on the Friday as expected as a misunderstanding caused them to believe they were expected to play in a friendly against Nottingham Forest on the forthcoming Monday. As Alan Mullery said:

“They haven’t trained for a couple of weeks and weren’t keen to play against Forest. But we were never going to play Forest on Monday.”

Eddie Buckley, the agent responsible for Ardiles and Villa at Spurs, flew to South America to try to clear up the confusion, as well as investigate reports that tax formalities were causing a hold-up. The delay caused the proposed practice game with Brentford to be called off.

peru2

However, Percy Rojas (above, left) and Juan Carlos Oblitas did eventually arrive in Brighton for a spot of training, both finding the weather and training conditions just a little difficult. Alan Mullery said:

“Neither of them looked very fit. But they haven’t played for nine weeks so we can make excuses for them.”

It was reported that both players would be at Craven Cottage on 24th February to watch their prospective new club play Fulham. The news coincided with the decision by the Football League to extend the 8th March transfer deadline by three weeks, which gave Brighton much needed breathing space in trying to gain work permits.

Incredibly, the two World Cup stars eventually played for Brighton in… wait for it!… Hove Greyhound Stadium. In a piece in the Daily Express:

Off the beaten track - Brighton give trials to the Peruvian pair

Off the beaten track – Brighton give trials to the Peruvian pair

Brighton staged a match behind closed doors at the local greyhound stadium yesterday to test Peruvian World Cup players Juan Carlos Oblitas and Percy Rojas.

An hour before kick-off club officials were still denying that any game was to be played.

But it was known that Brighton manager Alan Mullery had arranged for Alex Stock to bring Bournemouth for a work-out. Brighton played 28-year-old winger Oblitas, who was the more impressive, and striker Rojas throughout. Rojas and Peter Ward scored in a 2-2 draw, cancelling out two goals from Ted MacDougall.

The Peruvians have a £400,000 price range and Brighton may make a decision today to start negotiations.

An overly hasty report in the paper then stated:

Peruvian World Cup winger Juan Carlos Oblitas signed for Brighton last night in a two-way £190,00 deal with Tampa Bay Rowdies. But the 28-year-old who helped show Scotland the door in Argentina will first play in the United States before joining Brighton in the autumn ready for the new season. The other Peruvian, Percy Rojas, is unlikely to join Brighton though he still hopes to find an English club in time for next season.

Tampa Bay? What happened to San Diego Sockers?

However, the reality was that no deal had been done. Gordon Jago, manager of the Rowdies, had Oblitas on trial but withdrew interest once the North American League season started. There were already gathering snags for Brighton, such as establishing the true age of Oblitas, the lack of availability of either player for the current season, not to mention all the issues regarding obtaining work permits and the language barrier. Without a partner club to bid, though, the deal for either player was dead.

Update: Both Juan Carlos Oblitas and Percy Rojas have now been added as honorary Brighton players by Cult Zeros. Click on a player’s name to order a T-shirt or hoodie of your favourite Peruvian superstar.

peruvians

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Jan 08 2014
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Stickers & Cards

Panini Football 80 – Brighton’s first double spread

panini80

I originally bought this second hand at the Sunday market outside Brighton train station in the early 1990s. I thanked my lucky stars that all the Albion stickers were there. This was years before eBay, so finding someone with a spare Peter Sayer sticker lying around would have been tricky, whereas now it would only take a few seconds…

Looking at the Arsenal pages now, it’s striking that out of the 14 Gunners on display, five would eventually join Brighton (Steve Gatting, Willie Young, Sammy Nelson, Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton). Neil McNab lined up as a Bolton player sticker for the last time, while future Seagull favourite Michael Robinson smiled for his Manchester City photo shoot with a joviality that was not reflected in his unhappy year at Maine Road.

However, it’s the Albion double-spread that really catches the eye!

1979-80-panini-p1

1979-80-panini-p2

In these head and shoulder shots, we get to see the bubble perms of Sayer and Ward, but even these are outnumbered by the popularity of moustaches within the Brighton first team, through Lawrenson, Horton, Clark, O’Sullivan, Poskett and Ryan. Curiously, our players here are wearing flared collars with a triangular panel at the bottom, whereas during the season (I’m addressing fellow shirt anoraks, here!) it was open flared collars that were on display, at least for the home kit.

As the season unfolded, keeper Eric Steele gave way to Graham Moseley. Gary Stevens and Steve Foster also played much stronger roles in defence than either Chris Cattlin or Andy Rollings. Sayer, Maybank and Clark would be further casualties as Mullery moved his Panini stickers around his imaginary album to try to find a winning formula. Then, from nowhere (OK, Blackpool in the Third Division) Peter Suddaby took Lawrenson’s spot in defence while the Republic of Ireland international was pushed further forward. He would have taken one of the midfielder stickers, while Neil McNab and Ray Clarke would have been the new arrivals bringing high quality passing and forward play to the Goldstone. Good swopping, Mullers!

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Jan 07 2014
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Media Coverage

Gerry guns down Arsenal

Gatting, ex-Arsenal midfielder, in conversation with Ryan

Gatting, ex-Arsenal midfielder, in conversation with Ryan

The Arsenal hoodoo was well and truly broken. Having been the Gunners’ whipping boys in the time that Brighton had been a First Division club, the Seagulls achieved a second successive victory over their more distinguished opponents. On Tuesday 7th September 1982, following away thrashings at West Brom (0-5) and Nottingham Forest (0-4), Mike Bailey’s men showed that Goldstone was still a fortress with a superb win.

Here is the match report from the Daily Express:

Arsenal’s £1 million ticket to ride to the League title is already being declared null and void by the rest of soccer.

They have invested heavily in strikers Tony Woodcock and Lee Chapman to provide the finishing touches to a team renowned for outstanding organisation and resilience.

But the Highbury horror story is that Arsenal have managed only one point from their opening four matches.

In fact, after tonight’ fixtures, the club which has never known the ignominy of relegation could be bottom of the First Division [not true. Arsenal were relegated from Division One in 1903-04].

Woodcock has begun his Highbury career with a little more style and panache than his unhappy partner, Lee Chapman.

leechapman

A goal for Chapman, signed from Stoke, would provide a massive boost for his flagging confidence and he was unlucky not to get one last night with a fine header in the 33rd minute that was hacked off the line by Tony Grealish.

On the hour Chapman tried again from a John Hollins corner but his firm header thudded into the chest of goalkeeper Perry Digweed.

Brighton emerged as victors with a display of guts and determination, following the crisis meeting of all the staff with chairman Mike Bamber on Monday morning.

Internationals Steve Foster and Mike Robinson, who have both been seeking to leave the club, were both left out of the team, along with midfield player Neil McNab.

Gerry Ryan, in for Robinson, scored the all-important goal in the 32nd minute – a firm, incisive finish from close range after clever creative work by Giles Stille and Gary Stevens.

The considerable influence of injured full-back Kenny Sansom and striker Alan Sunderland was missed by Arsenal who are surely capable of much better than this when those two are available for selection again.

The Gunners were hardly helped by the loss of midfield player Brian Talbot at half-time. He had spent most of the opening 45 minutes in obvious pain after a juddering collision with Jimmy Case.

This sweet victory calmed the nerves at the Goldstone, taking Albion out of the relegation zone into 16th position. As for Arsenal, they fell to 21st place by the time the following evening’s games were concluded.

mikebailey1982

Mike Bailey, who had made a brave team selection, was very happy with outcome:

‘Following our disappointing results at West Bromwich and Nottingham Forest I was delighted with the performance against Arsenal here at the Goldstone on Tuesday. After things went so very wrong at the City Ground we were looking, on Tuesday, for 100 per cent commitment from everyone, and I was very pleased that the lads gave just that against Arsenal.

What had gone wrong was that some of the players had allowed off the field problems, not associated with football, to go onto the field with them and affect their game. As a result some players weren’t able to produce their best form, this shouldn’t have happened, but as a result I had to make changes and it clearly had the desired effect.’

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