Gull-Mouth Action Episode 31 - Fabian Hurzeler update and Lewis Dunk prepares for Euro 2024
Mark Dunford is joined by Sussex World reporters Derren Howard and Sam Morton as they discuss all things Fabian Hurzeler and look ahead to Euro 2024 as Albion skipper Lewis Dunk prepares for action.
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00:00Hi there, welcome to another episode of the Goldmouth Action Podcast where we take a look
00:03at all the latest goings-on at Brighton and Hove Albion. I'm Mark Dunford and this week I'm joined
00:07by Brighton experts and Sussex World reporters Darren Howard and Sam Morton. Brighton's search
00:12for their next manager appears to be reaching a conclusion and with 31-year-old German Fabian
00:17Herzela set to be appointed. We've been keeping up to speed with all the latest developments
00:22and you can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online
00:25at www.sussexworld.co.uk and you can check out other great videos on Shots TV and Preview Channel
00:32276. You may be also watching on Latest TV so thank you for tuning in. So let's jump straight
00:38into it. What's the latest and when is the club expected to announce Herzela, Darren?
00:42Yeah, well I think it's going to be any day now really so I hope maybe today but definitely I
00:49would say by the end of the week. So they had talks with Herzela, it all went well as you
00:57would expect. They've offered him a contract reportedly until 2027 which the club and the
01:06manager reached an agreement with fairly quickly about how their terms are going to be and the
01:11length of the contract. The stumbling block came with his club St Pauli and the amount of
01:18compensation that was going to be agreed between the two clubs. That seems to have been resolved
01:24now. We don't know sort of what figures we're talking about but that seems to be resolved.
01:30St Pauli, they didn't have a release clause in Herzela's contract and they were never likely
01:38to stand in his way. They were sort of preparing for him to leave this summer. Apparently they've
01:43got a succession in plan to replace Herzela but although there wasn't a release clause as such
01:49they did want to be compensated by Brighton because he was still under contract to St Pauli.
01:56So that's now been resolved by the looks of it and yeah it should be any day now where Brighton
02:04can announce it officially. It's sort of the worst kept secret at the moment.
02:09Everybody knows it's going to come, it's just a matter of when the official confirmation will come
02:14but it's probably about three weeks now since the search began, since Brighton said that emotional
02:20farewell to Deservey and yeah it looks like Herzela is going to be the man. They looked at Potter,
02:26they looked at Steve Cooper, they looked at Kieran McKenna and Henrik Breitstorm as well from Malmo
02:32but yeah it looks like the 31 year old German Herzela, he's next in line.
02:38He's a very Brighton appointment isn't he? He's quite exciting isn't he?
02:45Yeah he did very well at St Pauli Sam didn't he but he remains untested. Do you think it's
02:49a huge gamble? You say it's a very Brighton appointment but that Tony Bloom normally
02:53makes quite good decisions doesn't he? Exactly yeah I think we were saying the same thing about
02:57Deservey when he was coming in. I remember Graham saying this on Talksport at the time saying it was
03:01a it was a big risk and he wasn't sure how he'd get on and obviously he did prove a lot of people
03:07wrong and it was amazing how quickly he settled into the role really and obviously the foundations
03:13were there for him to take over and it was a solid basis with a really positive start to the season
03:17that Brighton made and it was probably quite a good time for Deservey to take over and to kind
03:22of implement his style of playing, his tactics and it's probably a tougher job now I think with
03:30Herzela coming in. Obviously we're starting fresh with a new season completely and obviously trying
03:35to work out what he wants to do with the team but obviously he has the transfer window
03:40which is obviously a positive to get the place he wants in to make it a team that he sees fit
03:46which is positive but obviously he's got 18 months of management under his belt so that in itself is
03:51obviously a big risk. He's not someone with a lot of experience and the fact that he'll be the
03:55youngest manager in Premier League history just says it all really. He's been dubbed the next
04:00Julian Nagelsmann which gives fans some hope of what he can potentially achieve and also the
04:07chairman of the London Supporting Fan Group so in all these years of watching the club he's never
04:11seen such enjoyable football as under Herzela so that's an exciting kind of proposition really that
04:17Brighton could be yet another exciting manager and that's what the fans want really. You wouldn't
04:21want someone to come in and change the way Brighton play and make it really kind of pragmatic
04:26and a bit slow and wondrous. Someone that can come in and just continue where this derby left
04:31off with that exciting attacking football would be brilliant and they've got the players that
04:35suit that really and so I think that's really exciting and as a player Herzela was taught
04:42at Bayern Munich's second team under the help of Herman Hummels, the father of Mats Hummels
04:50and when he went to St Pauli he took the club on the brink of relegation in Bundesliga 2
04:54and season four last and to then get promoted to the Bundesliga with a game to spare
05:00and he did in style as well and so that's really positive and just shows what he can do as a
05:06manager and hopefully he can transition that into the Premier League but obviously it's a
05:10it's a lot easier said than done really and it'll be interesting to see how he gets on.
05:16I'm really looking forward to it, I think it'll be really exciting to see what he does with the team.
05:20If I was a Bryan fan I'd be genuinely excited I think because
05:25you hear the names Potter and Brendan Rodgers at some point or Steve Cooper
05:30and then you can imagine it's just like the old Pardew, Allardyce etc and all that just it's a
05:36bit dull and a bit boring and that and it's and I think yeah they will surprise a few people this
05:40year with it so it's very exciting but when he does come in Deron, when he does finally
05:45arrive and is announced, what do you think his priorities are at Albin?
05:49Yeah well he's, I imagine he's had a good chance to already have a look at what's
05:54what the situation is there and what needs to be done. He's got a good squad, he comes into the
06:01Brighton team in a really good place, there's a good young squad, there's good senior players
06:05and there's a lot of players coming back from injuries as well. Carol Matoma, Jack Kinchelwood,
06:12hopefully James Milner will be fit. I think Solly Marsh and Ferbis Estupinian,
06:15they're going to be struggling to the start of the new season but he's got a good squad to
06:21work with. I think his main priority at the moment will be trying to persuade Pascal Gross to stay
06:28for another season. There's already reports that he said he wants
06:34Gross to stay, he's got one year left on his contract this summer. He has previously spoken
06:41about his wish to go back to the Bundesliga for family and professional reasons as well.
06:47I think having Pascal Gross as the hub of that team in the midfield still
06:53will be key for another season at least. I think that will be his priority to get him
07:01in agreement and get a new contract underway.
07:04Do you think the German element will help with that?
07:08Does that make the conversation easier?
07:13Yeah, you would think because they're both Germans and they've both maybe come at the
07:20game from the same way. They grew up knowing the German style of play and they may be able
07:25to relate to each other better because of that. I don't know. I think Pascal Gross has had great
07:30relationships, especially with Deservey. Deservey was a huge fan of Pascal Gross.
07:35Under Graham Potter, Potter was an admirer of him but he used to tweak Pascal Gross.
07:41He'd have a few games and he'd drop out of that team and then be back in. He never really
07:47had the faith in him that perhaps Deservey did. It'll be interesting to see. Herzl has
07:53already quoted as saying that he does want Gross to stay. Hopefully he'll be a big player there
07:59and persuade him. Dennis Undab, another German as well, he's already stated he wants to leave.
08:04The rumours are bright and want him to stay now. Quite how Herzl can negotiate that one as well,
08:11that would be quite interesting. Undab's now preparing for the Euros. He had a great season
08:17on loan at Stuttgart. So, how that will play out as well will be quite interesting for Herzl.
08:22Why has it not worked for Undab when he played for Bayern? Because I saw him when he came on
08:26the semi-final last year. To be blunt, he was awful.
08:33Why hasn't it quite worked out for him, do you think?
08:37It's an interesting one. I actually thought at the end of that season, he actually finished the
08:41season quite well. He had a couple of chances in that semi-final at Wembley and he just came
08:47off the bench and he wasn't up to speed, was he? He didn't quite look sharp enough.
08:52He then finished the season quite strongly. I think he had about six goals at the tail end of
09:01the campaign and he looked quite good. Then the plan was for him to go to Stuttgart, play 20 or
09:0630 matches with Stuttgart and then come home. But then he was on fire there. He was playing in a
09:13good team. They were creating chances. He scored loads of goals. Then he said he wanted to stay
09:19there. It's sort of a problem for Brighton now. He's still contracted until 2027, I believe.
09:26Brighton want him to stay. Undab wants to go. It will be interesting again to see
09:30how the new manager can persuade him. There's a couple of senior players there that he'll want
09:35to keep. For me, what I'm really looking forward to is seeing how he works with Carlos Bolivar
09:41and Valentin Barco in particular. Those two are the real pick of Brighton's up-and-coming talents.
09:49Who could have a great season this year. It will be really interesting to see as Herzele
09:56coming into the Premier League, a new manager, finding his feet. But he's also got a big
10:01responsibility to develop these players as well. I think Bolivar and Barco, how they work with
10:08Herzele, I'm really looking forward to watching as well. There's going to be plenty for him to do
10:16when he comes in.
10:18Absolutely. How do you think the fans are going to take to him, Sam? Because
10:21Deserby was very popular, wasn't he? But how do you think he is before we go for a break?
10:25Yeah, I think they'll give him the time that he deserves. I think it's going to be,
10:31obviously time will tell how quickly he can settle in, but I think it'll be a lot to expect
10:34for him to come in and get things right straight away. So I think the fans will appreciate that
10:38and really kind of give him the time to understand the team and to implement the style that he wants.
10:44I have read that a previous issue at Sporting was that when they attacked,
10:48their defence was a little bit porous. So his task was to try and get that to be balanced.
10:53I think he had a goalless draw one week and then the following week they had a 4-1 draw.
11:01Exactly. So I think it could be an interesting one, really, how he does at Brighton. Because
11:06obviously we have seen a similar kind of thing, really, that when Brighton go all out attack,
11:11they are a little bit leaky at the back. De Servi was constantly asked about that. He was like,
11:16are you going to try and be a little bit more disciplined in defence and try and
11:20limit the attack a bit more? But he was not someone that liked to do that at all. He really
11:24was attack-minded and he wanted to outscore the opposition every game, really, and he was very
11:30keen on that. So it'll be interesting to see if Pertzner has a similar approach to the game and
11:35what he goes with. But as I said before, really, it's an exciting preposition. Yeah, but I think
11:40the fans will give him plenty of time to come in and implement the style and hopefully he can
11:45bring in the players that he wants as well. And as Derek mentioned, that German connection can
11:50hopefully convince Pascal Gross to stay, which would be huge, and even Denis Hendoff as well.
11:54I mean, those two players can have a huge part to play.
11:58Yeah. Does it help that Brighton had a poor end to last season with the expectation this season?
12:03Does it give Hazard an easy sort of entry into it kind of thing, if you know what I mean?
12:08Yeah, I think it does. I think it does definitely ease those expectations, really. I think if he'd
12:13come into it on the back of a really positive end to the season, then he's kind of got a lot
12:17to live up to in that sense. But yeah, it was a bit of a slow end, wasn't it, in that sense?
12:22And the fact they haven't got European football and he can just focus on the league. Obviously,
12:27he'll have lots of time on the training ground to get to know his players and to get them up
12:32to speed with what he wants. I think the signs are positive, really. I think, yeah, it's a clean
12:39slate, really, for everyone at the club to impress the new manager and to see what he can do.
12:45Excellent. Right, we're going to take a break and join us where we'll be discussing Brighton
12:48transfers, all things Lewis Duncan England, plus looking at the Germany versus Scotland,
12:52where Billy Gilmore will be up against his Brighton team-mates, Pascal Gross and Denis Hendoff.
12:57Who should Brighton be bringing in during this summer's transfer market?
13:05He will need a few additions, won't he, Deren?
13:09Yes, I think he will. I think he will need a few players to come in. The way I look at it,
13:15I think in defence and in midfield, they certainly need some extra quality in amongst those areas.
13:24I think up front, they're okay. If they can get Denis Hendoff to return. They've also got
13:29João Pedro, Evan Ferguson, Danny Welbeck coming back as well. So, I think striking-wise, they're
13:36okay. They've got some good talent on the flanks as well, with Matoma, Idinga, Solih March would
13:42be coming back, Julio Enciso, hopefully he'll come back from the Copa America flying as well.
13:48But for me, I think the defensive areas, they need some attention. Lewis Dunk is brilliant
13:54as he is. He's one that plays every week, every week, even if he's injured. You just wonder how
14:02long he can keep playing through these injuries for. Adam Webster, he was a bit in and out last
14:10season. Van Hecker, he had a really great season as well. But I just think that area
14:16in central defence is not really a problem, but it's an area that needs strengthening before it
14:22becomes a problem, really. So, I'd like to see Brighton invest in that area and right back as
14:29well. John Burton, he's another player where they're going to have to make a decision because
14:35they've got Jack Kinchelwood who can play at right back. Tarek Lamptey, but both of those
14:40suffered injuries last season as well. James Milner can slot in at right back, but again,
14:46he was injured last season. Joel Veltman is reliable, but he's again now 32. Maybe,
14:54I don't know how his future will be. So, I'd like to see a right back, centre-back and then perhaps
15:01centre midfielder. They're looking at ML Smith-Rowe, apparently. Kieran Dewsbury-Hall
15:05keeps being linked to Brighton. I think any of those two, both Dewsbury-Hall and Smith-Rowe,
15:11would be great additions for Brighton as well. So, yeah, it'd be nice if they can
15:18welcome Perzilla and say, you know, welcome to the club. Here's a couple of £30m players.
15:26He would be very happy with that.
15:28Definitely. Any other double-barrelled midfielders you want in the side, Sam?
15:37What positions does Brighton need to strengthen? Have you heard of any deals in the pipeline,
15:41Sam? I fully agree with what Darren was just
15:44saying there. I think, yeah, definitely right back would be good. Obviously, yeah, give Veltman
15:49some support, obviously, because his injuries as well as Anantia as mentioned. Yeah, I think,
15:55obviously, the injury situation could potentially affect whether they want to bring another striker
16:00in. So, obviously, we've got Jal-Pedro, Evan Ferguson. They've got kind of options and,
16:06obviously, players that can play out front in lots of positions, obviously, really kind of
16:11diverse players there. But I think an extra attacker can always help, really, as we've seen,
16:17obviously, with Anthony Fatty leaving the club as well. So, I think you can't have too many
16:20attackers, I don't think. But in terms of midfielder, they've had a link with Yasser
16:26Asprilla, who's a 20-year-old midfielder from Colombia.
16:32And he's at Watford at the moment and he's had six goals and seven assists in the Championship
16:37last season. So, he could potentially come in. He's kind of that age that Brighton love to
16:43sign players at, really. They can really develop. I think they could just add another young player
16:48that they can bring into the team and see how he gets on. But I think that's a really exciting
16:52one. But he's also been linked to Manchester United as well. So, yeah, I thought we'd see
16:58some interest around him. So, it'll be interesting to see what Herzog thinks if he comes in and
17:01try and bring him in. But, yeah, I think it's exciting that a new manager can come in and
17:06I'm sure he'll have some ideas if he wants to bring in as well. And I'm sure we'll see some
17:09German players linked, even from Seppoli or other teams in the Bundesliga and teams like that,
17:15really. So, yeah, excited to see how it progresses.
17:19So, tomorrow, very exciting. The Euros are underway and it opens up with Germany versus
17:24Scotland at the Allianz Arena. But Louis Dunck was in front of the press yesterday,
17:28ahead of their opener against Serbia. How did he come across, Darren?
17:32Yeah, he was. He was in front of the press and he looked very confident. He was quite
17:41bullish in some ways. They were asking him questions about whether, you know, there has
17:47been a bit of a reaction, you know, should he be in the team? There's Eric Diard who missed out,
17:52there's Braithwaite at Everton. And he said, look, I'm here. I'm going to bring what I know.
17:58I'm going to bring everything that I can bring. Gareth Southgate's got trust in me. I wouldn't be
18:02here if I'm not a good player. They asked him as well about the mistake against Belgium,
18:08against Lukaku. And it came just after the one in Rome, didn't it?
18:16And he was very honest and he just said, look, I made a mistake. No one wants to make them,
18:22but it's about how you react afterwards. And his comeback was that he played very well for the rest
18:28of the match. He said, you are going to make mistakes, but it's how you recover. And yeah,
18:35I thought he looked really good. He looked very confident. He's got six caps and he's really in
18:42contention to add to that at the Euros, particularly with the injuries to Maguire.
18:47Stones looks a bit iffy at the moment with his illness and injuries that he's had. So he could
18:53be playing a really big role for England at a tournament, which perhaps at the age of 32,
19:01he probably thought that he wouldn't get this opportunity. He'd been in the England squad
19:06left out by Southgate for almost six years. And it looked as though there was never going to be
19:11a way back for him. And now here he is, he could be one of the more experienced players in that
19:18defence now as well. So yeah, really good turnaround for him. Having watched him for
19:24the last five seasons at Brighton, seen how consistent he's been, I'm really pleased for
19:30him. And I hope that he gets a chance to show how good he is and perform at his best
19:36on the biggest stage for England. I think it would be great for him and great for Brighton to see that.
19:42And do you think, Sam, that he should start? I mean, the fact that he's up for press
19:47suggests that he might even be, well, I suppose with the Stones injury,
19:50I suppose he could be a frontrunner.
19:52I think he might be. Yeah, I think definitely with that Stones injury and the fact that Maguire's
19:56not there, and obviously Maguire and Stones are the preferred two defenders, the fact that they're
20:00both out means that that position really is up for grabs. And there's been talk that he could
20:05maybe line up alongside Mark Gahey as well, obviously in Brighton and Paddy's joining forces,
20:10which you don't always see. So that could be an interesting one. But I think the attributes
20:16those two players have could really complement each other nicely. And it's a tricky one, isn't
20:22it? Because going into a European tournament, you kind of want a kind of partnership in defence
20:27that you can trust and rely on, that you know can work. So it's a little bit of a risk to try
20:31something different that we've not necessarily seen and can only hope for the best from. But
20:36I think if Dalt was to start, he would hopefully perform really well and can show the world what
20:43we know he can do. Because unfortunately, on those big occasions, obviously, as we saw against
20:48Lukaku on those two occasions against Roma and Belgium as well, he obviously was embarrassed a
20:54little bit on those two occasions. So he wants to really kind of make up for that and to show
20:58the world what we know he can do in a Brighton shirt. And we know how composed he is and how we
21:03can bring the ball out from the back. And I think in games at Brighton, sorry, games that England
21:08are dominating possession, that can really help. Just obviously, it'll be a different proposition
21:14if they come up against a France, for example, you tend to defend up against a Kylian Mbappe or
21:18some kind of player like that. It's a completely different preposition, isn't it? But we've seen
21:22him deal with some of the best strikers and forwards in the Premier League. So you can't say
21:26you can't deal with the best out there. But I think, yes, time will tell. I'd love to see him
21:31start and see how he gets on. And I really, really hope that he does make amends for those mistakes
21:35he made before. Excellent. Right, we're running out of time. So I'm going to combine the score
21:40predictions with a bit of Germany-Scotland. Yeah, what are the Scotland interests for Brighton
21:48and Germany as well, Sam? And what's your prediction for the game?
21:52Yeah, obviously you've got Billy Gilmore, Pascal Groves, Dennis Ndabu all lining up
21:56probably in that game. So lots of Brighton interest and I hope they all perform well.
22:01I think Germany will probably come out on top. I'm really excited to watch Germany,
22:05actually. I think they've had a difficult few years and their players are ageing a little bit.
22:10They're starting to get some young talent through now. I think Florian Burt,
22:16Mousiala, two players are examples of how brilliant their talent is in that squad. And
22:22then you've obviously got the experience of people like Pascal Groves as well that could
22:25complement that. So, yeah, really exciting team. I think Germany will come out on top of that one,
22:293-1.
22:31Can Scotland upset them?
22:35They can, but I don't think they will.
22:39Yeah, I agree with Sam. I think Germany look at that coming together. They've got a good team,
22:45Tony Groves as well, Pascal Groves and some of the others at the back as well, Rudiger and
22:52Tarr. Scotland, I think they've got a few injuries. What worries me a bit, I think they've
22:58got some good players, but I just think they're a bit lacking up front and also perhaps defensively
23:05as well. But I think Billy Gilmore could have a good tournament. Scott McTominay is obviously a
23:09good player, but I'm going with Sam, 3-1 Germany, I think.
23:14That's exactly what my prediction was going to be as well. So, clean sweep there, 3-1.
23:18And Florian Burt, spoiler, he's in my dream team, Sam, just so you know.
23:24And quick one, fellas, the England-Serbia predictions.
23:32I'm going to go 1-0 England, Lewis Dunkheader.
23:37I'll go 2-0 England. I watched England against Iceland at Wembley last week and that was a
23:42horror show. But I think they've only got to improve on that and I think they're saving
23:46themselves for this big game and they'll come out top 2-0.
23:50I'm going 2-1. I think it'll be tens, but 2-1.
23:53Very much like the Tunisia one in the World Cup when Kane had to score at the end.
23:58I think that was 2018, wasn't it?
24:00Anyway, yeah, so thanks, guys. Thanks for joining us. You can catch up with all the
24:04latest sports covering everything we have talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk.
24:08And you can also watch more excellent videos on Shots TV and Freeview channel 276.