Sussex Sport podcast - Episode 27
Matt Pole is joined by Steve Bone, Frankie Elliott and Derren Howard for all the latest sport news around Sussex - including Brighton and Hove Albion, Crawley Town, Sussex Cricket and all the local sporting scene
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00:00 Welcome to another episode of Sussex Sport Weekly Podcast.
00:03 I'm Matt Poland, this week I'm joined by Brighton and Hove Albion writers,
00:06 Darren Howard and Frankie Elliott.
00:07 And Steve Bone, who covers all things sport in Sussex for our newspapers and
00:11 online at sussexworld.co.uk.
00:13 One long-running Brighton transfer saga has seemingly reached its conclusion,
00:17 while another continues to rumble on.
00:19 We'll also have news on a couple of Albion outgoings and
00:21 look at the preseason so far.
00:24 Meanwhile, Crawley Town, Eastbourne Borough and
00:26 Worthing kick off their respective league campaigns this Saturday.
00:29 We'll look ahead to those games and take a look at the latest twists and
00:32 turns in the Sussex Cricket League Premier Division,
00:34 as well as Sussex's upcoming One Day Cup campaign.
00:38 But the big news this week is long-term Brighton transfer target Levi Culwell
00:41 was signed a new contract to Chelsea.
00:44 The defender has agreed a new six-year deal with the Blues,
00:46 which will take him round to 2029.
00:48 It's a huge blow for Brighton transfer plans, wouldn't you say, Darren?
00:51 But was it also cushioned somewhat by the signing of Igor from Fiorentina?
00:56 Yeah, I think it was.
00:57 There's no secret that Brighton were very keen to keep him.
01:01 And it was a nice message, wasn't it, from Culwell?
01:04 He sent a nice message on Instagram.
01:06 And sometimes you look at these things in a cynical world of football and
01:09 you sort of think that they're going to stay at Chelsea for the money or
01:13 that tends to sort of dominate their thinking.
01:16 But it really seemed as though he had a lot of affection for his time at Brighton.
01:21 And he appreciated what the club and his derby did for him as well.
01:26 When he first came in, he sort of alluded to the fact that it was Graham Potter
01:31 that wanted him there at the club in the first place.
01:33 He had a good loan in the championship the previous season.
01:37 And Brighton gave him that chance to step up into the Premier League.
01:42 And it was just great to see that he really appreciated his time at the club
01:47 and how they helped him progress as a player.
01:51 And I think that's set his career up now.
01:53 He's going to have a really six-year contract at Chelsea.
01:57 It's brilliant for him.
01:59 He's someone who really rates him highly.
02:03 He said he hasn't just spoken to him as a player, but
02:08 he made him feel sort of valued as a person as well, which is important.
02:14 So yeah, I think it's certainly a good deal for him, a good deal for Chelsea.
02:20 It's a gutter for Brighton.
02:22 They wanted to keep him.
02:23 They were prepared to smash their transfer record to get him 40 million.
02:28 For a 20-year-old, these left-sided defenders don't come around too often of
02:34 that quality.
02:35 And they really wanted him, but just couldn't get a deal together.
02:41 And it basically came down to the fact that Pochettino said, yes, he's my guy.
02:45 We want him.
02:47 And that sort of put an end to it, really.
02:50 Igor has come in from Fiorentina, as you mentioned, 16 million.
02:55 And he looks a player that can go straight into the first team.
02:59 And a permanent addition to that left-sided defence that Brighton haven't
03:03 had since Dan Byrne left, really.
03:07 He looks good.
03:08 He looks a player who can play up from the back as well.
03:11 And sometimes Brighton have looked a little bit lopsided sometimes with
03:15 Adam Webster or Lewis Dunk on that left side of the defence.
03:18 They're not natural in those areas.
03:21 So I think how it's going to work is Dunk and Webster will probably rotate on
03:26 that right side of the centre-back throughout the season.
03:30 And then you'll have Igor playing on that left side of the defence as well,
03:35 with Estu Pinon on the left-hand side.
03:37 So I think, yeah, it is a shame that Brighton couldn't get the deal for
03:41 Colwell, but Igor looks a solid and a very promising guy to come in.
03:48 You mentioned it there, Darren.
03:50 Colwell delivered an emotional farewell messages to the Seagulls fans after
03:53 opting to stay at Stamford Bridge.
03:55 Posting to his social media channels, the defender thanked Brighton for
03:58 giving him the opportunity to play in the Premier League, when no one else did,
04:02 in a seeming swipe at Thomas Tuchel.
04:03 He also paid tribute to ex-Seagulls head coach Graham Potter, current Brighton
04:07 boss Roberto Di Zerbi and the Albion faithful for all their support during
04:10 his span at the Amex.
04:11 I know supporters shouldn't get attached to lone players, Frankie, but it was a
04:15 really, really, really classy touch from Colwell, that message, wasn't it?
04:19 Yeah, no, it really was.
04:20 And I think I have to say it was a testament to how close he was to joining
04:23 or leaving Chelsea permanently, because when leaving Brighton, he probably
04:29 didn't imagine having this dilemma.
04:32 Obviously, when you leave Chelsea, who have been European champions two years
04:37 before, and you join a club like Brighton, whose highest ever finish is ninth in
04:40 the Premier League, you just assume you're going there to get more minutes and to
04:43 become a better player to come into the Chelsea team.
04:45 But a season is a long time in football, and I think towards the back end of last
04:50 season, especially in those final few games, I think Colwell was probably
04:53 thinking about staying on the south coast rather than returning back to London.
04:57 But I think this is also another sign of what Deron Luchie there as well,
05:01 is how much Pochettino really rates Colwell, because throughout this whole
05:06 saga, the contract being whether it's going to be signed or the new contract
05:09 was going to be signed or not, or whether he would join Brighton or Liverpool or
05:13 Manchester City, they were all very much interested in England under 21
05:18 international, was that he wanted game time.
05:21 He wanted game time because he wanted to stamp his authority in becoming a
05:24 senior member of the England squad.
05:26 He wanted to win his first cap for Gareth Southgate's side and also to become
05:29 one of the leading defenders in European football, which a lot of people have
05:33 hyped him around being or potentially being.
05:35 So it seems to me that Pochettino has offered him that and guaranteed him that.
05:39 And I think that's a huge statement from Poch.
05:42 I think he's already got someone like Benoit Barriere-Scheules in that left
05:46 sided centre back role.
05:47 He didn't have to make Colwell a priority player, but he has.
05:52 And Chelsea don't have a long history of bringing through their academy products.
05:56 They've produced an awful lot of those players, but not many have made it or
05:59 stayed in the first team.
06:00 So Pochettino making the statement and Colwell signing such a long term deal
06:04 means that this might be the first or one of the first youth team players to
06:08 really become a staple of the Chelsea squad for years to come.
06:12 The only downside I can really see to it is that with Colwell being on a
06:16 contract till 2029 and Benoit Barriere-Scheules being on a contract till 2030,
06:21 while that means that Chelsea don't have to buy a left sided centre back for
06:24 eight years, if one of them isn't playing, I don't know how motivated the
06:30 other one would be to improve or get into the side because on such a long term
06:35 contract, you're set up for life, you're very stable, you don't feel the desire
06:39 to really get back into the team or even move because you're getting paid very
06:43 handsomely to sit on the bench for, like I say, five, six years.
06:46 So in regards to the downsides of these long contracts, that's the main thing I
06:51 would say about the person that's missing out on playing the regular football.
06:55 But Colwell, from what we've seen in pre-season for Chelsea's played, they
06:58 started two of the games and look very good.
07:00 He's come on for 45 minutes in another game and Chelsea haven't impressed
07:04 them to Pochettino so far.
07:06 So I can imagine that come the first game of the season against
07:09 Liverpool on the Sunday, August the 13th, Levi Colwell will be starting,
07:14 which is brilliant because from when he first joined Brighton this time last
07:19 season, I don't think many people have envisaged that for him.
07:23 But now he looks like he'll be starting for Chelsea and I hope very soon a
07:27 call up to the national squad, to the senior national squad will be just
07:30 around the corner.
07:31 So it's very exciting times for him.
07:33 Well, further to the point you made about the contracts as well, say, for
07:36 example, either Badia Shiela or Colwell fall out of favour, would potentially
07:40 any buying clubs have to be ready to pay a premium due to the length of their
07:44 contracts?
07:45 Well, that's the thing.
07:47 They would become too expensive to be sold on or for clubs to really want to
07:51 look at buying because that length of contract means their prices are north of
07:55 sort of 60, 70 million pounds, which is not what someone wants to pay for
07:59 someone that's not playing regular first team football.
08:02 But like I say, that is the Chelsea tactic.
08:07 That's their way of getting around the financial fair play regulations at the
08:10 moment. And so we will have to wait and see in the long run if it works out.
08:15 But just going back to what Levi Colwell, his message to the Brighton fans and to
08:20 the board and all those staff, I think also it shows that right now, even though
08:25 we sign this long term deal as a player, any player, whether in Europe or in
08:29 England, one of the best places to be playing football right now is at Brighton.
08:34 Further to the point about Colwell, Darren, and we're probably we're going to
08:37 touch a little bit more on this in more depth in the minute, but will Colwell
08:40 staying at Chelsea affect any potential deal for Caicedo going the other way?
08:44 It had been noted that a swap deal could potentially be on the cards, but Colwell's
08:48 new deal seemed to have maybe scuppered that idea.
08:51 Yes. Yeah, that was always in, as far as we know, that was always in
08:55 Brighton's thinking to arrange with a swap deal, including Colwell.
09:01 But it seems to say that Chelsea are building for the future.
09:04 So they want Caicedo, who's 21.
09:07 They want Colwell, who's 20.
09:08 They've got Wesley Fofana as well in the back line as well.
09:12 And they're really trying to look at this as a long term project as well.
09:17 So I think them keeping Colwell, I don't think it will really affect the Caicedo
09:22 deal too much. Brighton would have been open to a part exchange, but they also
09:28 want to make sure that they get maximum fee for Caicedo.
09:31 That is their only focus now is that they achieve this 100 million
09:36 valuation, which they've put on him.
09:39 So the situation, I think, in a way is a bit more simple now, because if you
09:44 include another player in a deal, it becomes a bit more complex.
09:47 But now that the Colwell situation is organised and it's pretty much solid that
09:53 he's going to be signing this contract at Chelsea, it's now a straightforward deal
09:58 for Caicedo.
10:00 OK, do you want him to pay 100 million or don't have him?
10:03 So I think in that regard, it could still go through.
10:08 There is supposed to be this report of a mystery bidder that came in for Caicedo
10:13 yesterday, another Premier League club, which Brighton are said to have rejected
10:19 a fee of around 80 million.
10:23 You never quite know in these instances.
10:25 You don't know whether this has been put out there just to sort of get Chelsea
10:30 going again and to show that they've got competition.
10:33 So we'll see how that one plays out.
10:36 But my money would still be on Caicedo leaving before the end of the transfer
10:41 window, but and I guess that would be to Chelsea if I was to put any money on it.
10:46 But yeah, we'll have to wait and see.
10:49 Do we have any inkling, Darren, about who this mystery bidder is?
10:51 I know that Caicedo was allegedly of some interest to Man United at some stage.
10:56 The talk is that it was Liverpool that have come in for the 100, sorry, with the 80
11:03 million bid. But that's obviously what's doing the rounds on social media.
11:10 No one really knows for sure.
11:13 But there is talk, which would obviously be, that would mean them having
11:17 McAllister and Caicedo as well, which they've just taken the Brighton midfield
11:22 if that were to go through.
11:23 But yeah, we'll see.
11:27 Well, Brighton rejected a second increased offer from Chelsea for Caicedo worth 80
11:31 million pounds last Friday.
11:32 But the main talking point has been Caicedo allegedly admitting to guests at a
11:36 Brighton 2022/23 awards evening that he wants to leave the Amex stadium this summer.
11:41 It was claimed by two of the guests that the 21-year-old didn't hold anything back
11:44 about his desire to depart on a permanent deal.
11:46 He did, however, refuse to discuss Chelsea when asked about a preferred destination.
11:51 What do you make of this, Frankie?
11:52 It's obviously been well documented that Caicedo would prefer to leave the Amex in
11:56 the summer. But are you surprised that he's made a comment like that in such a public forum?
12:01 Very surprised. This is the first we have openly heard or
12:05 supposedly openly heard Caicedo saying he wants to leave Brighton.
12:09 In January, it was slightly muddied by the fact that the statement he released on
12:15 Instagram, a lot of people felt that that was more agent driven.
12:18 So we were unsure whether he was pushing that move through in January.
12:22 As of that moment, I'm sure he had a desire, but to move so hastily, I don't think he
12:27 was that fussed by.
12:29 And then Deserby was saying sort of in February, March time that his head had been a
12:33 bit all over the place after the January transfer window.
12:36 But towards the back end of February or towards the middle of February, he got him back on
12:40 track and was still giving his all for Brighton.
12:42 So there was there was there was rumblings there that Caicedo was wanting to move on.
12:46 But there was no he was he was not showing on the pitch.
12:50 He was still playing at the highest level.
12:52 He was still giving his all.
12:53 And so there was no real inkling that there was unhappiness with Caicedo staying at the
12:59 Amex stadium. And then even this summer, although all the most of the stories are
13:03 said that he has a desire to leave, we haven't really heard anything from from him or his
13:07 camp about really pushing for a deal to happen as quickly as possible until until this awards
13:14 awards night, which is, I think, a very odd time to be making these claims when you're
13:19 winning an award for by fans and your teammates about you being one of the best players of
13:24 last season. It seems slightly unprofessional to then say that you want to leave the club
13:28 ASAP.
13:30 But I now wonder this.
13:33 Does this now create the first because what we've seen so far in this in this transfer
13:37 saga is Chelsea and Brighton very much not getting the fee correct.
13:42 So there's a lot of arguments about the fee.
13:44 Now, is there going to be any we've never seen any issues between Caicedo and Brighton.
13:48 Caicedo signed a new contract in March.
13:51 Very happily, they got him on board, signed a new deal.
13:53 He was playing very well.
13:54 He's not said anything bad against Brighton or how they've treated him since these stories
13:59 have come out about leaving the club.
14:00 But now he's come out and said this.
14:02 If Brighton continue to play hardball with Chelsea or Liverpool or whoever are interested
14:07 in him, will he now start to be more open and in his disapproval of how Brighton are
14:15 running this? Because if he is, this could cause more issues on the pitch, whether he
14:19 plays, it could cause more issues in the dressing room, which I'm sure De Zerbi doesn't
14:22 want. And it may cause Brighton to fight.
14:25 Well, the only thing that I would say would cause Brighton to lower their asking price,
14:28 because if he becomes a difficult player, which I don't hope, I hope he doesn't.
14:33 But if he does, if he becomes difficult, if he becomes a nuisance, then the 100 million
14:38 mark might have to come a little bit further down so they can they can get him out the
14:41 door. Putting you on the spot here, Steve Bone, coming to you now.
14:45 And say, for example, you were Tony Bloom and you saw Moises Caicedo make that statement.
14:49 Would you go, right, we're going to cut our losses of eight million or would you hold
14:52 firm for 100? Knowing Tony Blue, who's a very clever
14:58 owner and as you know, some of the negotiations that he's overseen and led in the past
15:06 couple of years have been, you have to say, been very, very good.
15:08 He's done the right thing for the club.
15:10 I think I don't think he's going to suddenly accept much less.
15:15 You know, if it comes to the point where somebody's paying 95 million, the number that's
15:21 been talked about, then maybe you'll go for that.
15:22 I can't see him suddenly accepting 80.
15:26 You know, he knows the value of the player and they've been quite consistent in in in
15:31 placing that value on him.
15:32 So I would think that, you know, for other clubs, the waiting and the bidding is going
15:39 to have to go on.
15:39 And as an outsider looking into this whole Moises Caicedo transfer saga, Steve, you've
15:44 got no affiliation to either Chelsea or Brighton.
15:46 What do you make of it all?
15:47 It's just it's a typical one of these transfer sagas that they just seem to go on forever,
15:52 don't they? There's always one, every so sometimes more than one.
15:56 And there probably has been this year as well.
15:57 There's always a saga that goes from almost like the middle of one season until the start
16:05 of the next season and sometimes beyond as well.
16:07 And after a while, you get a little bit, especially as a neutral, you get a little bit fed
16:11 up with it. I'm sure if you're a Brighton fan or a Chelsea fan, you know, you're hanging
16:15 on every word. You're wanting to know what's going to happen.
16:17 But for the neutral, it's gone on long enough now.
16:19 I think they should toss a coin and decide where he's going to end up.
16:24 I've done with it.
16:25 Well, another player who could potentially be swapping Sussex for Stamford Bridge is
16:29 Robert Sanchez.
16:30 Deron, could you tell us a little bit about this potential move?
16:33 Again, it's another one that's kind of come out of left field a little bit.
16:36 Yeah, I think it's actually one that makes sense, actually.
16:40 If you're Rob Sanchez, you know, there's absolutely no way back from what's happened.
16:47 Brighton have bought in Bart Verbruggen as well for 16 million from Anderlecht.
16:53 He's going to be the one that's going to be pushing Jason Steele for the number one spot.
16:58 And yeah, I think Sanchez will probably look back on this and think when he threw his,
17:06 you know, he had his, he wouldn't play for the team and he really didn't act professionally
17:11 when he was dropped last season from what we gather.
17:14 And I think he'll look back on this and probably regret how he handled the situation.
17:19 He's still a young, a fairly young guy, and you would have thought it's his first little
17:24 obstacle in his career.
17:25 And perhaps he should have just got his head down and accepted that he's out of the team
17:29 for a while and really tried to work his way back.
17:31 But he didn't do that.
17:34 And it's kind of not ruined completely what he achieved at Brighton.
17:39 He did very well in those first few seasons, but he still isn't, he wasn't the finished
17:45 article by a long way.
17:47 He was still making mistakes and he was still learning his trade.
17:50 So to take this stance up, he'll get a move away.
17:59 And I think Chelsea would probably be his best option.
18:02 There is reports of a couple of options in Spain as well, where he is a Spanish international
18:08 goalkeeper. But it's looking as though Chelsea could be the move that makes most sense.
18:12 He would team up with his former goalkeeping coach, Ben Roberts, as well, who was at Brighton
18:18 previously and helped him sort of develop as a player.
18:21 So he'd team up with them as well.
18:23 And you'd think he's got more chance of trying to push into the first team at Chelsea than,
18:30 say, perhaps an Arsenal, who are also linked with him as well, where Ramsdale looks more
18:35 established than the Chelsea goalkeeper.
18:38 So, yeah, I think it's a move that makes sense.
18:41 He's got a hooker-bucker rookie.
18:43 He's going to leave, I'd say, this summer.
18:46 There is no future for him at Brighton anymore, I wouldn't have thought.
18:49 So, yeah, I think the Chelsea deal probably makes more sense.
18:54 I was going to ask you this a little bit later on, Darren, but I'll ask it to you now.
18:57 Where has it gone wrong for Sanchez at Brighton?
19:00 He was very much the undisputed number one at Brighton under Graeme Potter.
19:04 And is it a blow for Brighton losing a player like Sanchez?
19:07 He's, as you mentioned, still a good goalkeeper.
19:09 He's still a great goalkeeper, yes.
19:11 He's a very good goalkeeper with a lot of potential.
19:14 But I think a lot of the credit has to go to Jason Steele, really.
19:17 It's such a competitive position in that goalkeeper.
19:23 And pretty much under Graeme Potter, Sanchez was the main guy.
19:27 De Serby came in and changed the way the goalkeepers have to play.
19:31 And it's hugely important to De Serby's style, how they build up from the back and how
19:38 comfortable the goalkeeper is on the ball.
19:40 And he looked at Jason Steele.
19:44 Jason Steele grabbed his opportunity, I think it was in an FA Cup match up at Stoke earlier
19:49 in the season where he played and he did very well.
19:51 Sanchez had made a couple of mistakes in the games leading up to that.
19:56 And De Serby gave Steele his chance and he claimed it, basically.
20:01 And then it went back to Sanchez, his reaction to being dropped, which wasn't great.
20:07 And that's basically where I feel it went wrong.
20:10 And it all came to a head as well after there was a game, I think it was against Everton
20:15 last season, where Steele was in goal.
20:18 They lost 5-1.
20:20 And I think Sanchez was thinking, well, Steele's just let in five goals.
20:23 This is my chance to get back in the team.
20:26 He wasn't in the team for the following match.
20:28 And I think there was an argument ensued after that.
20:32 So, yeah, I think that's basically where the relationship fell to pieces.
20:37 And never, never really, never really came good again.
20:40 But Steele is De Serby's number one.
20:43 I think De Serby's a big fan of how he conducts himself.
20:47 He likes his experience and he's a solid, solid goalkeeper and a solid guy.
20:52 And I think he's a bit more reliable than what Sanchez was.
20:55 Frankie, can you explain a little bit about the goalkeeping situation at Chelsea, please?
21:00 And if Sanchez does complete a move to the Blues, do you think he'll be the first choice goalkeeper?
21:07 Well, the situation has obviously been difficult for Chelsea ever since Thibaut Courtois left back in 2018.
21:15 They've never really replaced him.
21:17 Obviously, Petr Cech was their number one for years.
21:20 Courtois then came in, was another exceptional goalkeeper.
21:23 And yeah, they've signed Kepe Arisa-Balaga with the money they got from selling Courtois to Real Madrid.
21:29 He never really became, despite being brought in for a world record fee,
21:34 he's never kicked on to be a reliable goalkeeper.
21:37 But yeah, he still seems to be there and still seems to be trusted.
21:40 I think it's the same thing that we've seen with Steele,
21:45 is that a lot of managers like Arisa-Balaga because he's very good with his feet.
21:49 However, he doesn't seem to be very good at much else, which is not particularly helpful,
21:53 especially when the situation at Chelsea or another big club is you don't really receive many shots on your goal,
22:00 because obviously Chelsea are normally dominating games.
22:02 But every shot that does seem to go on his goal normally goes in.
22:06 So that's never helped his cause.
22:07 They signed Edward Mendy in 2020 as a sort of to challenge Kepa.
22:12 That started very well.
22:14 Obviously, that season they won the Champions League.
22:15 But ever since then, he's looked very, very shaky as well.
22:19 Not really been trusted again.
22:20 A liability when it comes to shot stopping and certainly decision making.
22:24 Nowhere near as good as we would it with his feet either.
22:27 So that's always hindered him.
22:28 So Chelsea have always had an issue where they've had two keepers that could be their first choice goalkeepers,
22:33 but never really seized the opportunity.
22:35 So they took this summer.
22:38 Edward Mendy was sold to Ali Alhi in Saudi Arabia.
22:42 That left Kepa as the only first choice goalkeeper.
22:46 Pochettino was said to want to work with Kepa and see him as his first choice goalkeeper.
22:49 So there was a position there open for the number two, it seems.
22:54 So Sanchez, I imagine, will be signed as the number two to begin with.
22:57 But I feel that he and he will certainly feel as well that there's very much an opportunity to grab that number one position.
23:04 Because as we know, Kepa has not been trustworthy or reliable as a goalkeeper unless we see some brilliant developments in his game.
23:11 In the opening moments of this season, we could see a situation come September, October time where Sanchez is very much in position to take that position.
23:22 They're very similar goalkeepers.
23:23 They're both very technically gifted.
23:25 They both like to be involved in the play.
23:31 Sanchez used to be involved in a lot of Brian's play as well, setting up attacks, especially under Graham Potter.
23:37 But both under the high ball, dealing with set pieces, dealing with crosses, both of them are very, very shaky.
23:43 So I don't think it's really solved Chelsea's goalkeeping issue.
23:46 I don't think Sanchez is the man that will come in and take down that number one spot and be that crisis averted.
23:55 But he certainly, for himself personally, will see this as an opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in England,
23:59 one of the biggest clubs in the world and become their regular first choice goalkeeper,
24:03 because it's not a player that he's coming into that has established himself in the side.
24:07 So it's a good, I think it's a very, very good move for him.
24:09 But I don't think Chelsea fans will be too optimistic about the signing, truth be told.
24:14 One player who has left Albion, albeit temporarily, is striker Denis Sundav.
24:18 The 27-year-old has joined Bundesliga club Stuttgart on loan for the 2023/24 season.
24:23 Are you surprised by this, Frankie?
24:25 We looked like we were starting to see the best of him towards the back end of the last season.
24:30 Yeah, we did. We did.
24:31 But I think it was almost too little too late in some regards.
24:34 I think it was very nice to see him turn it around because it was such a shame.
24:41 It was such a disappointment to all fans and journalists alike to watch a player that had scored so many goals in the Belgium league
24:50 and had been signed for not a massive price, but had been signed for around £10 million the summer before.
24:57 I think a lot of fans were looking forward to him coming in and solving Brighton's goal scoring crisis,
25:01 which they had under Graham Potter, of course, was the fact they didn't seem to have a striker that could put the ball in the back of the net.
25:06 But just wasn't up to speed, wasn't up to standard, looked miles off every time he did come on.
25:11 He didn't get many opportunities either, to be fair to him, due to the performances of Danny Well, Beck and Evan Ferguson.
25:18 But like I said, from the FA Cup semi-final onwards, where he came on and had his poorest game,
25:25 I think he then really turned it around and was, I think, Brighton's highest goal scorer towards the last eight games of the season.
25:31 So he was working hard.
25:33 But I think the signing of Jal Pedro means that it's just a case of the numbers game.
25:38 Danny Well, Beck is an established Premier League striker with all that experience.
25:41 He's obviously going to stay.
25:43 Jal Pedro is the new man, £30 million, that he's obviously going to be part of the Zerby's first team plans.
25:48 And then Evan Ferguson is the wonder kid, the young boy that has really made his way into the team for a great first season in the Premier League.
25:58 So when you're looking at the way Zerby plays, he normally plays with one striker.
26:04 If you've got three strikers in your arsenal, that's more than enough for the season normally.
26:08 So Denis Undov has just been done by the numbers game because he can't be trusted as much as those three, simply.
26:14 Now, I've said this before, the Brighton loan system does not mean the end of the world for these players.
26:20 So it's not the case of he's being loaned out to be sold.
26:25 I believe that obviously Danny Well, Beck is nearly reaching, I think, 34, 35.
26:30 He's coming towards the end of his career.
26:32 I think the club will tell Undov that, listen, if you give it, you know, the Bundesliga is one of the top European leagues.
26:40 If you shine, if you show that you are, you know, you can score regular goals in that league and play well, there's still a position for you in this side going forward.
26:49 We've seen this with Alzate and Odinga coming back into the first team set up this summer from successful loan moves.
26:54 So it's disappointing for Undov.
26:57 But I think it's an opportunity for him to continue to show that he can play at the highest level because we saw glimpses of it towards the end of the season.
27:04 And there's still very much a case for him to be a member of the Brighton squad in future seasons.
27:10 Frankie's mentioned it there, Darren, that some Brighton fans and some journalists consider Denis Undov's first season a disappointment.
27:16 Would you agree with that?
27:18 He did score eight times for Brighton last season, but I think he got five in Abing's last eight Premier League games last season.
27:24 There's always an adapting process to the Premier League as well, as well.
27:28 You need to take him into context as well.
27:30 But would you agree that there's a view that it's been disappointing for Undov?
27:35 It was very mixed, wasn't it?
27:37 I like him personally.
27:38 I think he's a really good striker and I think he would get goals in the Premier League for sure if he's playing.
27:45 He had to adapt. He was at Union.
27:47 He was very much scoring goals.
27:50 He was a poacher.
27:51 He was that.
27:52 That was his role in the team.
27:53 Everything was made so that he was on the end of the crosses.
27:58 He was on the end of all the through balls.
27:59 Whereas at Brighton, he had to change a bit.
28:01 He had to come deeper and he was playing in slightly different positions.
28:05 So that must have taken him a while to suss out exactly how he had to play in De Serby's line-up.
28:12 But yeah, I really like him.
28:14 I think Frankie, if he has a good season in the Bundesliga, scores a bag full of goals,
28:22 I think there is a way back for him because Danny Welbeck, he's maybe...
28:25 I don't know. It's difficult to say with Welbeck because he's had a lot of injuries.
28:30 Maybe he's got one more season left in the Premier League and he might be the type of player who would be looking at the Saudi money thinking,
28:37 'Oh, that looks quite nice.
28:39 So one more season at Brighton and maybe look at that.'
28:42 But you never know.
28:44 But with Undov, I think there could be a way back for him.
28:50 But he's still very ambitious.
28:51 He has spoken previously about looking at getting in the German national team as well.
28:57 And if he scores regularly in the Bundesliga, there's not that many proven goalscorers in the German set-up at the moment.
29:05 So there is an opportunity for him there as well, which I'd personally love to see him take.
29:13 Finally, on the transfer front, Darren, Aaron Connolly has joined Hull City.
29:19 Not a surprise, really.
29:20 I don't think he had much of a future at Brighton.
29:23 Well, no, no.
29:24 He was way down the pecking order.
29:28 You know, as Frankie's mentioned, you've got Evan Ferguson, Jao Pedro, Danny Welbeck, Undov had to go.
29:35 So Connolly and Zakiri, who are those couple of other guys that are on the books still.
29:41 I imagine Zakiri would be looking at a move away as well.
29:45 And yeah, Aaron Connolly, he just, it's a good chance for him to kickstart his career.
29:51 He'll be joining up.
29:53 So he had a loan at Hull towards the back end of last season, actually started it quite well, but then had a foot injury,
29:58 which sort of slowed down his progress with them.
30:02 But they've seen enough in him to take a chance on him.
30:06 I'm not sure what the transfer fee is that Brighton actually received for Connolly.
30:12 But I think it's a really good opportunity. And I think if he can get some goals for Hull City, again,
30:19 he could be back into the Republic of Ireland set up and it wouldn't be too much of a pinch to see Ferguson and Connolly playing together up front for Ireland.
30:31 Combination with those two. But yeah, I'm glad he's got his move.
30:37 And I think it didn't quite go too well for him at Brighton towards the end there.
30:41 And I think it's a good chance for him to really try and get his career back on track.
30:47 Away from the transfer front, Brighton have actually played a few games of football.
30:51 They wrapped up their tour of the US with a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United last Saturday.
30:56 Albion conclude their pre-season preparations at home to La Liga outfit Reo Vallecano this Saturday.
31:02 With one friendly to go, Frankie, at the time of recording, how would you rate Brighton's pre-season?
31:07 There's plenty of promise, I think, maybe?
31:10 Yeah, I'd say so far so good.
31:12 I think if you look at just the window itself, I think you could say, let's say they keep Caicedo.
31:20 I think they've had a brilliant window. They've managed to keep their best player while also signing five players that will get into their first team and could arguably start against Luton.
31:29 Those players that have played in pre-season, Dehoogh, Jal Pedro, Bart van Brangum, they've looked really solid.
31:34 They've fitted into the Derby style effortlessly.
31:38 Bearing in mind, it's also very good for Brighton to be playing all the teams they will be playing next season as well.
31:43 I think this is the first pre-season where Premier League teams have just played Premier League teams.
31:47 It's a very good indicator of where you are in your preparation for the new season.
31:51 They've looked, you know, they've competed against Newcastle and Chelsea and very unlucky not to win those games.
31:57 And probably, you know, in a more competitive environment, they may have done, but they didn't have to make so many changes and played their strongest team.
32:04 So, on that sense, they've looked like they're picking up where they've left off.
32:08 And from what we've seen tactically, they look like they're pressing higher up the pitch.
32:11 I remember that was a key part of the Derby's footballing philosophy that was spoken about at Shakhtar and Sassuolo.
32:18 But we didn't really see it. We saw it a little bit last season, but not an awful lot.
32:22 I think having a chance to work with him in pre-season, he's been able to implement that a bit more.
32:26 So, we could see a bit more of a high-pressing approach to which could lead to even more chances being created next season, which is very exciting.
32:35 The only downside I would say, and this is why the signing of Eagle has been so critical, is they have looked quite shaky at the back.
32:43 They've looked quite frail. A number of the goals that have been conceded have been defensive errors.
32:48 We also saw Jean-Paul Van Geck get sent off needlessly in the first game against Chelsea.
32:52 I don't think that's the first red card I've ever seen in a friendly in my life.
32:56 So, obviously, Lewis Dunk has not been there either.
32:58 That's obviously another key member of that defensive line that has been missing.
33:02 But the only issues, which were apparent again towards the end of last season when players started to go down injured,
33:08 is those backup players, especially in the back line and in the centre midfield areas as well,
33:15 when people like Caicedo or De Hood have not been playing, and then Dunk and the left-sided centre-back, they have looked quite weak.
33:22 So, that's a slight cause for concern.
33:24 But hopefully, with the reinstallment of a fit Dunk and this new signing Eagle, that can be taken care of.
33:31 But overall, you would say there's a lot to be excited about, especially going forward in the attack.
33:37 Meanwhile, on the cricket front, Sussex Sharks begin their One Day Cup campaign this week.
33:42 Last season, the semi-finalists entertained Durham this Friday.
33:46 The Sharks also take on Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire in Group B.
33:54 Head of the game against Durham, Steve, how do you assess Sussex's chances in this season's competition?
33:59 Yeah, I think Sussex are really looking forward to this competition, actually.
34:02 Did well last year, won their group last year, a similar sort of line-up of group,
34:08 and got to the semi-finals, lost in the semi to Lancashire.
34:13 They'll be expecting to give this a good go again this year.
34:18 You've got a similar squad.
34:21 You've got the sort of young and up-and-coming players, but you've got some more experienced players in there too.
34:27 It all starts tomorrow. They've got one home game, then they've got three on the road in a row, which will test them.
34:33 But the risk of sort of tempting fate is not a bad group to be in.
34:37 I think it's probably the weaker of the two.
34:41 You've got sort of three or four potential winners of the competition, I think, in the other group.
34:47 And I don't think you've got quite as many in this group.
34:49 So, yeah, Paul Farbrace has described it as a nice release from the grind of the County Championship in four-day cricket.
34:57 And I think they'll be confident going into it.
35:00 I also know that head coach Paul Farbrace said there's pressure on Sussex to perform after last season's exploits in the One Day Cup.
35:06 Do you agree with him, Steve?
35:08 And another thing I was going to ask, too, their 2020 exploits, will that have any indicator on how well they do in the One Day Cup?
35:13 Because there wasn't much home to write about there, was there?
35:16 No, 2020 was a bit of a write-off again for them for the second year in a row.
35:20 To answer your second question first, I don't think 2020 will have any bearing on this.
35:25 It's quite a different format and quite a different line-up for Sussex.
35:29 You know, there's two or three players that were in the 2020 that won't be playing in the 50-over game.
35:35 And in terms of Farbrace saying there's pressure on them, I can see where he's coming from.
35:40 Because Sussex did so well in this last year, there is now probably for the first time, in his view, an expectation,
35:48 particularly from Sussex fans, that this is a competition they should be able to do well in.
35:52 I think they've gone into other things. Because it's been such a transitional time for Sussex over quite a long time,
35:59 there's perhaps not been quite that same weight of expectation at the start of the county championship season,
36:05 or even for this year's 2020.
36:07 So, yeah, people will... It's fresh in their mind that Sussex got to the semi-final last year,
36:13 and I think people will want the same sort of progress again.
36:17 Slightly different this year, because it's the top four from each of the two groups qualified for quarter-finals.
36:24 So last year you had to finish in the top two, which meant there wasn't much room for error in the group.
36:29 This time you can afford to lose a couple and still get through.
36:33 So that's the first aim, get to the quarter-finals.
36:36 If you can finish in the top two, I think you get a home quarter-final to start with.
36:39 So it's going from there. Sussex have got some good players coming back into contention for this.
36:49 Ali Orr is nearly fit again, and he did very well in this competition last year.
36:52 He hit a double hundred in one of the games.
36:54 First ever list-day double hundred that Sussex fans had seen from one of their players.
37:00 Chet Pujara is coming back after a span away with India.
37:04 If he gets in and fancies it on a given day, that double hundred could be repeated.
37:12 And then you've got Steven Finn as well.
37:14 Hopefully he'll be able to stay fit and he's available for these games as well.
37:17 So you've got a good mix in the squad.
37:21 And every reason for Paul Farbrace to say there is a bit of pressure on,
37:27 but no reason to think that they can't cope with that pressure.
37:30 Do you think the format change will maybe take a bit of pressure off then, if it's four going out of the group, Steve?
37:34 I think it does in a way, because if you lost one game last year,
37:41 you were suddenly looking over your shoulder thinking, 'I can't really afford to lose any more'.
37:45 I think the key for Sussex here is to get a good start.
37:47 If they can win that home game against Durham, that takes the pressure off for the run of three away games.
37:52 You've got, I'd say, probably Somerset and Warwickshire are the two other teams in the group
37:58 that you'd think are traditionally good one-day signs, especially Somerset.
38:01 They've just won the 2020.
38:04 But nothing for Sussex to fear there.
38:06 So, yeah, let's hope they can get to those quarterfinals.
38:11 Fingers crossed.
38:12 Well, in the Sussex Cricket League Premier Division,
38:14 there have been more twists and turns in Cookefield and East Grinstead's battle for the title.
38:18 Both sides endured contrasting fortunes this week.
38:21 How did Cookefield and East Grinstead get on this week?
38:24 And where does that leave the title race with five games to go, Steve?
38:27 Yeah, we're getting to the business end now, aren't we?
38:29 Cookefield had a very good win, a comfortable win over Three Bridges by eight wickets, I think it was.
38:36 East Grinstead were a bit frustrated.
38:38 They were held to a draw by Roffey.
38:42 The upshot of that is that Cookefield are now 38 points clear at the top, which is one win and a bit, isn't it?
38:49 So, they've got a little bit of breathing space there now, which with five games to play means they're strong favourites.
38:56 Their next two home games for Cookefield are against Preston Nomads, who are third.
39:01 And then in a fortnight's time, it's Cookefield against East Grinstead.
39:05 So, you would think even if the gap is similar, come that game between first and second in the middle of August,
39:12 that looks like being the decider.
39:15 It might be that Cookefield have extended their advantage by then and just will want not to lose that game.
39:24 But no, they just, you know, we've said it before on here, at the start of the season,
39:27 I don't think too many people outside of Cookefield would have had them down as title favourites or even contenders.
39:34 But they have just kept on winning and winning, been very consistent, subtle line-up.
39:39 And that's why they're leading the way.
39:42 So, it'd be interesting to see if they can stay there for these last few games.
39:45 Is there money on Cookefield to win it, Steve?
39:48 I think so, yeah.
39:50 I just can't see, I don't think Preston Nomad nor East Grinstead, who are the only other two that realistically could still catch them,
39:57 just not quite been consistent enough and relentless enough.
40:02 Back to football and Worthing and Eastbourne Borough both kick off their National League South campaigns at home this Saturday.
40:08 Worthing entertained Tunbridge Angels while the sport sows Hampton and Richmond.
40:12 It's very much been a summer of upheaval at Borough.
40:15 The club is a new owner, a new manager and a host of brand new players.
40:18 But despite this, Steve, you've been impressed by Borough in pre-season, haven't you?
40:22 How have they got on over the summer and how do you see their season going at this very, very early stage?
40:27 Yeah, they've done very well.
40:29 I think, I mean, I was a little bit sceptical when the new owner took over at the end of last season.
40:34 He came from nowhere.
40:36 We didn't know much about him.
40:38 There was a lot of talk about all the money he was going to be putting in.
40:42 Changed the manager within his first week of being owner, which was a surprise to many people.
40:47 Announced that they were going full-time, which is a big step for any club to take, especially at that level.
40:52 But I have to say, so far, you know, everything he's touched has turned to gold.
40:57 He's got Mark Bearden as manager, who is certainly talking a very good game and seems to be overseeing a very good game.
41:04 Eastbourne's results in pre-season have been very good.
41:06 They've beaten AFC Wimbledon last week.
41:10 They held Charlton to a draw.
41:12 They've played a couple of other teams.
41:13 I think they beat Aldershot as well, who are in division above them.
41:16 And I know results aren't everything, but from our people that watch Eastbourne Borough,
41:22 it seems the performances have been there as well.
41:24 You know, they've looked very energetic.
41:27 They've got a squad of about 18 players who have been in and out in the starting 11.
41:31 So he seems to have recruited very well and very quickly, you know, it's almost a whole new team.
41:36 There's only three players left in the squad from last season.
41:40 And that doesn't always work, but so far, so good.
41:44 And you have to say that they've gone about things the right way, given themselves a chance.
41:49 And I think there's probably a lot of other clubs in the National South that will be looking over their shoulders a bit at Eastbourne Borough
41:55 and thinking, right, this is going to be a hard game and this is going to be a team who are at or near the top of the table this season.
42:02 And Worthing, Steve, how have they fared over the summer in terms of friendlies and recruitment?
42:05 Are they well positioned to better last season's run to the play-off semi-finals?
42:09 I think they are now.
42:10 Yeah, they had a little bit of a dodgy run of results.
42:13 They lost three home friendlies in a row, which is quite unusual for them because they're quite a strong team at home.
42:19 They lost to Bognor, Hashtag United and Gosport Borough, all within the space of about 10 days.
42:25 And at that point you were thinking, well, is this, you know, are they going to have a difficult second season in National South?
42:32 But actually, I think the reality is that Adam Hinshaw was playing some quite experimental sides.
42:38 A lot of youngsters, quite a few trialists in those games.
42:43 When he then sort of turned things up a bit and played a stronger team against Horsham last weekend, as you know, from covering Horsham,
42:53 Worthing won quite well. They won 3-0 at Horsham.
42:56 Since then, they have beaten Littlehampton Town with a very young team when they ended up with a few 15-year-olds on the pitch, in fact.
43:05 And then Wednesday night, they beat Broadbridge Heath on penalties in the Sussex Community Shield.
43:13 And may I just make a plug at this point?
43:17 Do go onto the Sussex World website and see the goal that Finlay Chadwick scored to take that to penalties.
43:24 He scored from not just inside his own half, but behind his own centre circle.
43:29 He scored from about 60 yards to sort of save the game for Worthing.
43:32 So I think Worthing have timed it well.
43:34 I think Hinshaw has been clever in that he's given all sorts of people a chance while probably knowing what his preferred strongest 11 was.
43:43 He's now getting that strongest 11 out gradually and they look to be in good form.
43:48 So I think playoffs again for them, certainly a possibility.
43:53 I do recommend watching the goal, if anyone hasn't seen it, by the way, it's very, very, very good goal.
43:58 Meanwhile, in the Football League, Crawley Town opened their League 2 campaign at home to Bradford City this Saturday.
44:02 The Reds rounded off their preseason with a 2-1 win at Nolan League Bromley last weekend.
44:07 Ahead of the Bradford game, the Reds have signed defender Will Wright from Gilligan, but because the club can never have nice things,
44:12 they bid farewell to Ashley Nadeson, who has moved in the opposite direction.
44:16 Best of luck to Crawley Town, Eastbourne and Worthing in their League campaigns and best of luck to all the Sussex competitors in this week's,
44:23 I think, extra preliminary round of the FA Cup.
44:25 You can catch all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk/4.
44:32 Anything else you'd like to talk about, chaps, that we may have missed or are we all good?
44:36 Sorry, just wanted to quickly pipe up that England's performance against China at the World Cup on Tuesday morning showed that they were real contenders to go far in this tournament.
44:48 Their first two group games have been slightly underwhelming.
44:52 They beat in Haiti and Denmark 1-0, but weren't particularly impressive,
44:55 despite the fact that Haiti were a particularly good side and gave them a good run for their money.
45:00 But there were a lot of question marks, obviously, with the injuries and further injury to Leah Welsh, their central midfielder, their talisman.
45:07 And they've come back with a bang. They played brilliantly against China.
45:10 Rhys James's sister, Lauren James, is looking like a superstar.
45:15 And I believe eventually she will be now known as Lauren's brother rather than Rhys's sister.
45:21 So it's looking good. They've got Nigeria in the last 16, which I believe is going to be on Monday.
45:27 I might have got that wrong. But yeah, they play Nigeria on Monday.
45:30 And with Germany in danger of going out, they're drawing, as we're recording this,
45:35 they're drawing one-all to South Korea, needing to avoid defeat.
45:39 With one of the big fish out there and Brazil obviously exiting the competition as well, there's a real chance for England to go all the way.
45:45 So, yeah, very, very promising performance on Tuesday night.
45:49 Has anyone said it's coming home yet?
45:54 I should have done that. I missed an opportunity.
45:57 What I was very going to quickly ask is that it seems between England and Japan, from what I've seen at the World Cup,
46:01 they seem to be the two best teams that I've seen so far.
46:04 I don't like the fact that they have been the two best teams because I don't like England playing under any sort of pressure.
46:10 Do you think they will go on and win it? Because America have been poor, France haven't looked great, Germany, have you said, are struggling?
46:17 It's a real opportunity.
46:18 It's a real opportunity because it's that beautiful blend which England had at that 20, the men's team at the 2018 World Cup,
46:25 where they're playing, they're starting to play well.
46:28 They seem to have found a system that's working now that they're missing all their key players.
46:32 And they've got that person that's, well, probably the form of tournament in Lauren James.
46:37 They've got all those utensils there and the teams surrounding them, apart from Japan, are playing really poorly.
46:43 They've had some really, really poor performances and people haven't stepped up.
46:48 So I think now is the time for England to capitalise.
46:51 They've got a lot of, you know, they've got a lot of experienced tournament winners there.
46:54 Let's not forget, you know, they were, this squad won a European Championship last year under an immense pressure of playing in front of their home crowd.
47:01 So it's there for them to do.
47:03 It's about following through.
47:05 Now that the pathway is there, they've got a nice draw going through from the last 16 onwards.
47:10 Some of the big fish are already out of the competition.
47:12 So, you know, maybe, Steve, it is coming home.
47:16 I think that's a good point.
47:20 I was going to add that because they know how to win in these tournaments under pressure because the group games, there's not quite so much, you know, on it.
47:28 But now that they get into the knockout stages, you think that experience will really, really help them with this.
47:34 Yeah, I think the way they've got wing backs now with Bronze and Declan, I think that looks really good.
47:41 Yeah, I agree.
47:41 If England do beat Nigeria, who will they play?
47:45 Oh, God, I'm sorry, I haven't looked that far ahead.
47:49 Taking it a game at a time, Frankie, that's what I like to hear.
47:51 Indeed, indeed.
47:52 Sorry, I haven't got that information to me, unfortunately.
47:55 That's OK.
47:56 Well, brilliant.
47:57 Thank you very much for your time, chaps.
47:58 Thank you all very much for listening.
48:00 As I said, you can read everything about what we talked today at Sussex World at Coda UK/Sport.
48:05 Thank you very much for listening.
48:06 And it's coming home.