Matt Pole is joined by Sam Morton, who covers both Brighton and Crawley Town, Albion writer Henry Bryant, and Red Devils expert Mark Dunford.
Brighton go into the final day of the Premier League season still in contention to qualify for European football for only the second time in their history after an excellent come-from-behind win over Liverpool at the Amex on Monday.
We look back at that victory, and bring you all the latest team news ahead of Albion’s final game of the season at Spurs, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town.
Brighton go into the final day of the Premier League season still in contention to qualify for European football for only the second time in their history after an excellent come-from-behind win over Liverpool at the Amex on Monday.
We look back at that victory, and bring you all the latest team news ahead of Albion’s final game of the season at Spurs, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Golden Mouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all
00:03the latest goings-on at Brighton, Hove Albion and Crawley Town. I'm Matt Pole, and this
00:07week I'm joined by Sam Morton, who covers both Brighton and Crawley Town, Albion writer
00:11Henry Bryant and Red Devils expert Mark Dunford.
00:14Brighton go into the final day of the Premier League season still in contention to qualify
00:19for European football for only the second time in their history, after an excellent
00:23come-from-behind win over Liverpool at the Amex on Monday. We'll look back at that victory,
00:27plus we'll bring you all the latest team news ahead of Albion's final game of the
00:30season against Spurs, as well as all the latest from Crawley Town. You can read all the stories
00:34we are talking about in videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash
00:37sport, and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. You
00:43may also be watching on latest TV, so thank you very much for tuning in.
00:47A superb 3-2 win over champions Liverpool, in which the Seagulls fought back from 1-0
00:51and 2-1 down, took Fabian Hatzeller's side eighth in the Premier League. Hatzeller's
00:55substitutions proved key, with Cairo Matoma scoring within five minutes of his introduction,
01:00and Jack Hinshaw netting 78 seconds after coming on when he headed in from across to
01:04Matt O'Reilly, another sub. It was a memorable win for Albion in front of a rocking Amex
01:10crowd, Sam. Sum that game up for us, and how big of a win is that for Brighton?
01:14Yes, a massive win for Brighton. It was a tough one to predict, actually, because you
01:20felt that Liverpool would probably be on the beach a little bit after already winning
01:25the league, it was already confirmed, and there very much was a bit of a party atmosphere
01:30before the game started amongst the Liverpool players, and they had a guard of honour from
01:34the Brighton players. So, yes, it was a difficult one to call, but Liverpool actually did start
01:39really well. They started on the front foot, Harvey Elliott scored. It was some sloppy
01:43Brighton defending, actually. They allowed Conor Bradley to get to the box far too easily
01:47to set up Elliott for his half-in. But Brighton responded really well and scored a superb
01:53equaliser. Yassine Iari, his second goal for the team, obviously scored a cracker against
01:57West Ham, and this was brilliant in a different way. It was just a fantastic team goal that
02:00was set up by Brian Gruder, who was my man of the match. I thought he was fantastic in
02:06the game, and he set up the equaliser for Brighton. It was a great finish from Iari,
02:12and he felt there would be good scores taken into the half-time break, so they can build
02:17on that in the second half. But they were hit by a bit of a sucker punch. Dominic Szabozlai
02:21equalised a bit of a fluky cross that definitely wasn't a shot that kind of caught Verbruggen
02:27out. It was not great goalkeeping in that moment, and they were 2-1 down at half-time.
02:33But, yes, again, they responded really well, and it was two substitutes, as you say. Karim
02:37Otoma, who was fantastic when he came on, scored a great equaliser, and Jack Hinchwood,
02:43literally one minute after coming on the pitch, scored the winner. It was initially ruled
02:47out as offside, but a check of VAR showed that Matt O'Reilly was onside as he crossed
02:53the ball in. So, yes, a fantastic win for Brighton, and it really was a superb atmosphere,
02:58as Brighton obviously knew they really needed to win to secure, or to look like they would
03:02secure, the eighth position, which we hope will be enough for a European place, which
03:07we'll discuss a bit later on. Yes, absolutely. It all sounds like it'll be a bit complicated,
03:11but as you said, Sam, we'll run through that later on. But that 85th-minute winning goal
03:15from Hinchwood was the fourth-quickest by a substitute in the Premier League this season,
03:19after he came on with his 17-year-old cousin, Harry Howe, who became Brighton's youngest
03:24ever Premier League player. Henry, how highly is the teenager rated internally at Albion?
03:30I've heard quite a few good things about him, and what did Zela have to say about the player
03:35after making his debut?
03:37Yes, he's such a special talent, and for Brighton to give him that opportunity in quite a big
03:43game, really, and actually got, you know, he didn't get loads of time, but he still
03:47got around over 10 minutes of play, and it was still an important part of the game for
03:52him to come on and to show his confidence. He clearly was nervous, bless him, as you
03:57could see, but he had an air of swagger about him. He knew what he was doing. He's able
04:03to pass and move like he'd been playing in the Premier League for, you know, a number
04:07of games now, and Fabian Hösler afterwards said that he's a special player for his young
04:13age. He always gives young players the chance because it's not about your age if you're
04:17good enough. It's almost a bit of a memento to what maybe some doubters have said about
04:23him because of his age, so it's nice to see that he was able to give Harry Howe a chance,
04:29and in the Premier League too, Harry Howe has made 17 appearances, got eight goals,
04:35four assists, and it's onwards and upwards, really. It's another player from Brighton's
04:40academy that's looking to make a mark, and there's a lot more to come from him, definitely,
04:45for next season.
04:50That's Jamie Howe's son, isn't it?
04:52Yes, I believe so. Former Bognor and Eastbourne borough, I think. Is that right?
04:57He's at Bognor again now, isn't he?
04:59Yes, he is.
05:00Yeah, so we've got Jack Hinshawood, Adam Hinshawood's son. I don't know if Agatha and
05:06De Paola have got kids. Are they going to be playing soon as well?
05:10I think it might be a while before Dom's kids play. I'm still a long way off on that yet,
05:15but you never know.
05:17He likes to get them in young, Hösler, so you never know.
05:22Great Stussex stories, aren't they?
05:25Absolutely, and a great moment for the Hinshawood family as well, as well as for Jamie Howe.
05:30So, yeah, congratulations to him.
05:32Another player who impressed that seller, and Sam Morton no less, in the win over Liverpool,
05:36was Brighton midfielder Brian Gruder. You've said yourself, Sam, I was going to ask you,
05:40what did you make of his performance, but you said he was your man of the match. How did he
05:45impress you, sorry, and what did the Albion boss have to say about Gruder in his post-match press
05:50conference?
05:51Yeah, no, he was superb in the game. I think he was the one that really was taking it to the
05:56Liverpool defence throughout that first half, and he was kind of everywhere. He was just
06:01popping up in all sorts of different positions, and as I say, he played a brilliant one-touch
06:07chipped ball into Iari for the equalising goal. That was kind of a lovely team move from Adam
06:14Webster playing it from the defence to Welbeck. Welbeck touched it back to Gruder, and he's
06:18played it through to Iari. It was a really great one-touch passing and a lovely goal,
06:22and Gruder could have had another assist, actually, in the second half, where Istopinian
06:27did a lovely one-two, burst through the left blank, and then played it into Gruder, who did
06:33a lovely kind of bit of control, and then a backheel to Welbeck, who had a shot really well
06:38saved by Alisson. It was such a free-flowing, brilliant move from Brighton. It was really
06:43their best in terms of the great attacking football that we've seen from them so often,
06:47and it was really great to see. Gruder was really the heart of that. He was really good
06:51throughout the game. He got a standing ovation, as he was replaced with about 15 minutes to go,
06:56and deservedly so as well. I did ask Fabian about it in the press conference, about his performance,
07:01and he agreed it was definitely his best performance so far. He obviously got his first
07:05goal for the club away at Wolves, and you could see how much confidence he had coming away from
07:10that into the Amex against Liverpool. As I say, he's had to make some sacrifices, but he's a young
07:17lad coming to a new country. It was always going to take time for him to settle down,
07:21but he's really showing the benefits of the patience and the sacrifices that he's made to
07:27get to the point he's at. It's not just Gruder, it's all the young players that have really done
07:31well for Brighton. It's really great to see. Henry, you're a Brighton supporter as well as
07:37a Brighton writer. I know that Gruder has maybe not necessarily come into some criticism, but
07:41his start of the season, we'll say, was quite slow. How impressed have you been
07:45with Gruder in recent weeks? He really seems like he's flourishing at the moment.
07:48Yeah, he reminds me of almost a young, more technically gifted Pascal Grosso,
07:53what he could become to be. If he can become that engine for Brighton,
07:58then it seems like maybe that backbone issue that Brighton have had might be gone. Because,
08:04as we've seen in some of the games at the start of the season, getting these leads and then
08:08not being able to dominate in midfield and see out games was a big issue and still remains to be
08:15at some points for the Albion in terms of the way he's been able to come in and adapt. He's
08:21not been one of those top players in terms of like Jorginho Ruta, who made a big impact from
08:27coming from a championship side in Leeds, but he's been able to really flourish. It's nice to see
08:34because he's still such a young player and there's a lot really for him to show and prove
08:40at the Albion. It's really nice to see. Yeah, and if he can have half the career at
08:45Brighton that Pascal Grosso did, I think Albion fans will be very, very happy with that indeed.
08:51Negative news, unfortunately. Now, Joel Pedro missed the final home match of the Premier League
08:56season after a training ground altercation. That is according to The Athletic. Andy Naylor,
09:02who works with Athletic, said the Brazilian had a bust-up with team-mate
09:05Jan-Paul van Gekker. What did you make of this news, Henry, and do you think we've
09:11potentially maybe seen the last of Pedro in a Brighton shirt off the back of this news?
09:16Well, I think if this is the end for Joel Pedro, then it's a really disappointing way to go out,
09:22really. We know how much quality he's got. I mean, this season we've got his 10 goals,
09:29six assists. He's been a real quality element to Brighton's attack, probably one of the only
09:35sort of starlets of that Brighton attack, as well as Ruta. But in terms of the way his attitude
09:43shines across the pitch at times, I mean, we've seen it with the Brentford game, with the violent
09:49conduct that was a few games ago. He just lacks that little bit of discipline, that little bit
09:56of a cool head in key situations. When it comes to selling him as well, when we know that there's
10:03a number of clubs looking to get his signature for the summer transfer window, I don't think
10:08that this news is going to be positive for Brighton. I think it will actually devalue him
10:13as a player. And I've been looking at X recently, when this news broke out, and a lot of supporters
10:18think the same. They think that this is actually going to hinder negotiations for a higher fee
10:24for João Pedro. But we'll see. I mean, he's been a really important quality player for the Albion.
10:30And if he's leaving on this note, then it's a real shame. But you can't have sort of bad eggs
10:36and bad attitude in the team. They need to keep it good. And Van Geck is a captain role figure.
10:43He's a real important leader in the team. So for him to have fallen out with Van Geck is a major
10:49thing really. In the open training they had as well recently, I did notice that João Pedro did
10:57sort of have some off the ball moments that maybe Brighton didn't want the fans to see.
11:03But yeah, it's clearly there. There's an attitude problem there, I'd say.
11:07Do you think football clubs looking to win football leagues and cups and that,
11:11do they think they really care about that kind of stuff?
11:14I think so. I think if you're looking to get a player in, you don't want them to
11:20get the red card that's going to influence the game. I don't think they want someone that's
11:25going to make that rash challenge. I understand your point, but I think that if you're...
11:30Oh, I'm just playing devil's advocate. I agree. I wouldn't want him working in my sports team.
11:35No. No, he might attack you. But yeah, you don't want someone like that. You don't want someone
11:42like that that's going to sort of make the difference between the game when you really
11:45need to get the win. You forget people keep signing Neil Morpay.
11:51Yes. Well, I was going to say...
11:54At what point as a manager would you tolerate, say you've got a player who can get you 20 goals a
11:59season, but he's constantly trying to lamp people in training. Do you go, well, he may be a bit of
12:04an idiot, but he's winning us games. At what point do you accept that? Or can you accept that,
12:10as Henry said? I think Henry does make a very good point. I think people may be put off
12:16Jal-Pedro. I don't know if you agree, Sam. Would clubs, prospective clubs, be put off Jal-Pedro if
12:21this is the way he's projecting himself in training? Yeah, you'd think they would, but I
12:27think it just always seems to be the talent that supersedes it. I think especially obviously the
12:32top clubs, they just like to bring in the top quality players regardless, and they feel like
12:37they can help obviously the attitude problems. You've seen it so many times with people with
12:42kind of supposed bad attitudes and whatnot, and they've gone on to big clubs. And we saw a very
12:47similar situation with Trossard when he kind of backed Brighton. He had a bit of a falling out
12:51with Roberto Di Servi. Di Servi wasn't having any of it, and he obviously brought Matoma
12:57in early in the season, and Trossard obviously didn't like that, and obviously just wanted to
13:01be the starter and had big ambitions to win the Champions League. And fair play to him. He's gone
13:04and done that at Arsenal regardless. So, you do see it quite often where players have kind of had
13:11a public falling out of their club, perhaps trying to force through a move, and they've gone on to
13:16be successful and get the move they wanted all along. So, it's not the way you want to see players
13:21doing it. You'd rather see it much more, yeah, kind of just a nicer way of leaving, especially
13:28with Jal-Pedro. He's been such a servant to Brighton. He's done incredible for them, got them
13:33to the Europa League and scored an incredible amount of goals in the Europa League as well. So,
13:37just a lot of brilliant memories for Brighton, and you kind of want it to end on a good note,
13:42really, rather than how it looks like it might be ending if he is to move on this summer. Because
13:46if he is to move on, we've seen the last of him at the Amex, which is a shame. And for him not
13:51to play that last game, which was a really big one, one of the best performances of the season,
13:55and if he has missed out on that because of a stupid incident in training, it's really disappointing.
14:00Last one on this. You mentioned potentially forcing a move. Do we think, with pure speculation,
14:06we don't know anything, but is this him looking to move away potentially, or is this just him
14:11being a bit of a div, Henry? What do you reckon? It could be. It could be. And I get Sam's point,
14:17but Jal-Pedro scored 10 goals. If you're scoring 20 goals, I understand it. I understand it. Then
14:25you are a top player. Then you know for sure that you're going to 100% get that move. And I still do
14:32think he will get that move to a higher club this summer, maybe for less of a fee. But that's not
14:39in his interests. His interest is to make himself free and available and to maybe halt the sort of
14:47process and make sure that he does get that move. But yeah, it's a really interesting one. It's a
14:54really interesting one. I think that you can look at it either way, but I do think he is trying to
14:59force that move now. Maybe it's a bit of frustration at the end of the season. It doesn't really look
15:03like Brighton are going to get Europe. So maybe a bit of frustration coming into this, especially
15:08with his talent and his age. He maybe thinks he can do better. So yeah, we'll see what happens.
15:14I'm sure that time will tell exactly what's going on. We'll find out a little bit more about it.
15:19Maybe he's not believing in the way that Fabian's trying to sort of coach the club. You never know
15:26with these sort of things. But yeah, time will tell. I just hope if he does leave, then it's
15:33not as sharp as it's seeming at the moment.
15:36Absolutely. And it's funny you should mention Europe, Henry. And as we mentioned at the top
15:39of the podcast, Brighton going to the final day of the Premier League season, still in contention
15:43to qualify for European football for only the second time in the history. But they've passed
15:48European qualifications. It seems quite tricky to me, Sam. What are the final day
15:54permutations of the Seagulls? It seems like most of it is a little bit out of their hands in a way.
16:01Yeah, it is. But so far, everything has gone for them because after Crystal Palace won the FA Cup,
16:08which was bad in a lot of ways for Brighton. Obviously, I think they were gutted to see
16:13Palace win in the FA Cup anyway, let alone to obviously then seemingly stop them from getting
16:19to Europe as well. It was kind of a stuff-a-nightmare situation, really, for Brighton fans.
16:25But then there was kind of talk about how can they still get to Europe? And it at first seemed
16:30extremely unlikely. So it seemed that obviously we'd have to see Forest beat West Ham, Brentford
16:35to not beat Fulham, Brighton to get at least a draw against Liverpool, Man City to beat Bournemouth.
16:40All of those have happened so far. So now we need Chelsea to beat Real Betis in the Conference
16:45League final, Forest to beat Chelsea on the last day of the season, Aston Villa to get at least a
16:50draw against Man United, Man City to beat Fulham and then Brighton to not lose against Spurs. But
16:57even a defeat could be enough if other results go for them. So it basically hinges on Chelsea
17:01dropping out of the top six and then winning the Conference League, which is
17:07fairly kind of possible. I think they can quite easily win the Conference League final with the
17:12talent they've got. And then if they were to then lose against Forest and Aston Villa and Man City
17:17then win or draw and take over, then Chelsea are out of the top six. And that means Brighton will
17:22then be confirmed to be in the Conference League if they finish eighth. So it is complicated when
17:28you say it like that, but I think it's very doable. It's more doable now than it seemed after
17:33Palace won the FA Cup, put it that way. So I think Brighton have done really well to get that
17:38winning against Liverpool, which puts them in pole position to finish eighth. And so far,
17:43all the results have gone for them, which is funny because they're now rooting for Chelsea
17:47after the last couple of years of hatred for Chelsea and what they've done. They really are
17:52now rooting for them to win the Conference League. And then, and obviously with the Premier League
17:59end, they can hope Forest do the job because it's a bit of a double-edged sword with that one. But
18:03it's, yeah, it's very much doable, put it that way. And it all sets it up for a very exciting
18:10final day of the season, which we will talk about in part two when we return. And then we will also
18:15bring you all the latest from Crawley Town. Brighton travel to Tottenham on Sunday in their
18:20final game of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign. It's been far from a vintage season for Spurs,
18:26but they could salvage a wretched campaign in this evening's Europa League final.
18:30Tottenham play Man United in the showpiece event in Bilbao, which we played
18:34after this podcast is released. Henry, how do you see this trip to North London going for
18:40Albion? Is this kind of a point of view from a Seagulls POV where they would like to see Spurs
18:45beat United tonight in the hope of a bit of a hangover for them over the weekend?
18:50I think so. I think so. It's important that Spurs beat Man United. Sam won't like that
18:57because he's a Man United supporter. So, I do take that into consideration when I say that. But,
19:04yeah, you do hope as a Brighton fan that Spurs do the job and maybe that takes their foot off the
19:10gas for that final game. However, it is at home. So, I think regardless of a win or lose, they're
19:17obviously still a club that are going to look to win in front of their fans. They're going to want
19:23to end the season on a high, especially with the fact they're in 17th position. Because even if
19:28they do win tonight at the time of recording, then you do still think, well, a lot of Spurs
19:35fans have told me that they still see this as quite a shoddy season. But they will be winning
19:41a trophy if they are able to get the victory. It's important for Brighton. It really is. I think
19:49with what you were saying, Sam, about all these little circumstances and who needs to win,
19:54who needs to lose, you could almost put it on a knacker, couldn't you? I'm sure you'd win some
19:59fantastic money. Maybe I will. Maybe I will. I'm not sure yet. I'll have to speak to you about it.
20:03We don't encourage gambling. We don't encourage gambling.
20:06We don't. We don't. We don't. Unless it's exciting.
20:11A pound each way.
20:12A pound each way. £50p. £50p. Let's not get the quote out here. £50p. It's a really tricky one
20:22because I think that Brighton will be kicking themselves a little bit come the end of the
20:25season because there were so many results that ended in draws that could have been wins for
20:31the Albion at the sort of the last moments of the game. Their heads dropped and Fabian
20:35Huizer actually did a recent feature with two former Brighton managers and one of the biggest
20:41points he was talking about was game management and the fact that that's been the sort of biggest
20:47sort of lesson he's learnt this season of trying to deal with that, trying to cope with that in
20:52the Premier League. And yeah, regardless of if Brighton win or not, whether they get into Europe
20:59or not, there'll be a lot of learning and talking points to go over. But yeah, I'm positive. I'm
21:05positive for a win against Spurs on the Sunday. Very quickly, Sam, how do you see it going?
21:13Spurs-Brighton?
21:15I think Spurs are going to be, depending on how things go in the Europa League final,
21:22they're either going to be on a massive high or on a massive low, which I think will benefit
21:27Brighton either way. And you can say the same for Man United against Aston Villa. I think,
21:32yeah, it's exactly the same thing. It's just such a huge gain. Both Spurs and Man United have had
21:36pretty embarrassing Premier League campaigns, to be honest, and they've obviously put all their
21:41eggs in the Europa League basket. And if they win it, it's going to look like genius and everyone
21:46will forget the season they've had. But one of those teams are going to lose it and it's just
21:51going to be dreadful for the fans of whichever club that is. And if it's Spurs that lose,
21:57I think they're going to be still suffering from the effects of that against Brighton. But to be
22:03honest, Spurs have been so poor in the Premier League anyway, Brighton should be looking at
22:06this game. They should go there and kind of easily win regardless. So yeah, I can see Brighton
22:11winning this one.
22:13Yeah, fingers crossed. Moving quickly on to transfer rumours, Brighton are reportedly
22:17closing in on a major summer signing. It has been widely reported that deal is done for PSV
22:22Eindhoven defender Olivier Boscagli. What can you tell us about him, Sam? I must admit,
22:27it's a player that I don't recognise.
22:30Yeah, so it's come a bit out of the blue in terms of the announcement. But we do know that Brighton
22:36have had a longstanding interest in him. He made 30 league appearances for PSV en route to securing
22:43the Eredivisie title this season, courtesy of a final day 3-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam.
22:48He's established himself as a pivotal figure since his transfer from Nice in 2019. And he's
22:54attracted a decent level of transfer interest in recent years, as I say, including from Brighton,
22:58whose interest dates back to last summer when they had an £8.5 million bid rejected by PSV.
23:04But it actually seems like they're going to get him on free transfer because he's coming to the
23:07end of his contract. And the Seagulls have jumped in quickly to get him in, which is really good.
23:15They've obviously done their due diligence on the contract situation. And obviously,
23:20they didn't go too guns blazing with their offer last time out. And they know, obviously,
23:26that they can get him in this summer, which is good transfer business, which you've seen from
23:30Brighton plenty of times before. And they've seemingly done it again. So he's capable of
23:36playing a centre-back or a left-back. And his versatility, as well as his proficiency in ball
23:41distribution, will certainly come in handy for Fabian Herzl's team as he prepares for his second
23:46year in charge. Because we know that defence has been a key problem this season. And obviously,
23:53with Lewis Dunk struggling to perform in fitness, Adam Webster has been really good, but he's also
23:59missed key parts. Igor's missed a huge chunk of the season. Joel Veltman's been out. Tarek Lamptey
24:05is seemingly always injured as well. So they've got lots of kind of problems in defence and injury
24:12problems and stuff like that. So any reinforcements they can bring in is going to be vital.
24:18Absolutely. Well, I'll end it on that note for Brighton. Best of luck to them at Tottenham
24:22this weekend. We will now move on to what's happening at Croydon Town this week. And
24:26we really are still waiting on any form of exciting news from the Reds. But we have seen
24:32Vice-Chairman Ben Levin step down, haven't we, Mark? Were you surprised for this? I saw that
24:37he penned an open letter to the fans. What did he have to say for himself to the supporters?
24:42Yeah, it's a sad state of affairs, but this is the most exciting Crawley Town news, isn't it?
24:47Yeah, I was a little bit surprised, actually, because he seems to have sort of, he seemed
24:51really settled in at Crawley Town. And I've had a few meetings with him and that. And
24:57he does, he cares so much about the club and he's so passionate about the club. And he's
25:02going to talk about some of the stuff that he's helped introduce and off the pitch to sort of
25:07improve the club facilities and infrastructure, etc. But yeah, no, I was genuinely surprised.
25:14I know he's going off to get married, so I wish him all the best there. He's getting married in,
25:17on a beach in Delaware, apparently. So that'll be lovely. But yeah, but it was interesting in his,
25:25he was talked about, obviously, how proud he was of what he's achieved
25:29in his year as a vice-chairman. I mean, he was involved before he was vice-chairman. He was,
25:33he's always been part of Wagme, but last year was when he was installed as vice-chair.
25:38But in his letter, he's talking about how there needs to be unity and support from across the
25:43fan base. He, along with Preston Johnson and the rest of Wagme, have got stick during the season,
25:48as they always do when Crawley aren't doing very well. But he said in his open letter to the fans,
25:56we need unity and support from across the fan base to continue on this journey of growth and
26:00competitiveness. The divisiveness of the season detracted from an amazing run at staying in
26:05League One. If any number of small things have gone their way, we would have survived against
26:10all odds. So, and then he's encouraging the Red Army to continue to sharpen every match. And he's,
26:16I mean, I think we've said it before. I mean, I know football fans, they're fickle.
26:20And there are, there's a certain minority that are just intent on going against whatever Wagme
26:26do. And yes, they've made some funny decisions. They've made some wrong decisions and they'll
26:31admit that themselves. But Levin and that, they only care for the club and they want it to be
26:37better and they want to improve. So yeah, he's right in what he's saying. And yeah, I hope that
26:43everyone gets behind it. But with Scott Lindsay in charge now, that's going to be the case anyway.
26:49Scott Lindsay's the hero, the saviour. So as long as he's there, I think the majority of the
26:54fan base will be happy. And if Wagme let Scott be the voice of Crawley Town, then they'll be happy.
27:00So yeah, no, I'm a little bit sad to see Ben go because I did like him. I got on quite well with
27:05him, but obviously there's reasons for his departure. So yeah, I wish him all the best and
27:11it'll be interesting what happens next. I think my main takeaway from that is that Delaware has
27:16beaches. I genuinely had no idea that Delaware had beaches. I'm worried I've got that wrong now.
27:24He might have said Baltimore. Is Baltimore near Delaware?
27:27Well, just in case any mad Crawley fans want to crash his wedding, he's getting married in either
27:31Alaska, Delaware or Hawaii. So we'll leave it up to you to decide which one it is. As Mark said,
27:37Sam, Levin believes the club has made a lot of progress off the field this year
27:42while he's been in his post. Do you agree with that overall assessment?
27:46Yeah, and I think he has done a good job. And just some of the things he listed himself,
27:51breaking records for season tickets sold and match day attendances. He's communicated directly with
27:57the fans, including the formation of the Devil's Advocates, publishing a weekly newspaper and
28:02producing a miniseries podcast of the characters around the club. He's improved relationships with
28:07key community stakeholders, including the Borough Council and Man of Royal, launched a club-branded
28:12beer, renovated the club shop to improve the merchandise and match day ticketing experience.
28:17And he's designed and initiated a North Fan Zone and enhanced the South Fan Zone.
28:21And he also signed the largest kit sponsorship deal in the club's history. So lots of things
28:26there. I'd say the communication with fans is a big one, especially. That's definitely improved.
28:30And that was a key issue, definitely, obviously, with Wagmey and knowing kind of what their plans
28:36are and what's going on. So communication has been a big one. And the match day experience,
28:40the fan zone is brilliant as well. It's a really great addition to the club and the match day
28:48going experience for the fans. So I think he's done a good job. And as Mark said, it's a shame
28:52to see him go. I was just going to say, when you're talking about the match day experience in
29:00particular, when you go there now before a game, there's a couple of times where I've gone out
29:04just to speak to the fans before games and that, especially when like Scott Lindsay returned,
29:08trying to do some box pops. And yeah, just the atmosphere around the place is like you get the,
29:14I think there is that American experience coming into that, the tailgating you get at
29:21baseball and NFL, et cetera. And I think they've tried to bring that ethos into it. And it does
29:27make the whole place feel better on a match day. So yeah, they can look at that as a real positive
29:32that he's helped bring in. Where does this leave Crawley Town
29:37in terms of their progress? Will it hold anything, Mark, as far as you're aware,
29:41is it still all things go? I think it's all things sort of steam ahead with everything.
29:47I mean, Ben signed off his letter saying the club is in good hands with Preston Johnson and Scott
29:53Lindsay. So, I mean, I'm assuming they will appoint a replacement for him. And what you'd
29:59like to think is that they bring someone with this is, yeah, well, it is a criticism, but
30:05someone with a bit of English football experience because Ben Levin, lovely bloke,
30:10really passionate, but didn't have all that experience in English league football. You look,
30:15I've watched all of welcome to Wrexham, the series on Disney plus. And the first thing they brought
30:21in was this chief executive who ran the club who'd known English football, the EFL, he knows it
30:26inside out. And I can't remember his name now for the life of me, but, um, but he, and for,
30:33if you watch the whole series, the, his, he is such a key role in it and having that know-how
30:40and that experience just to temper. And if someone to say to Preston Johnson or the Wagme board,
30:46no, that's a ridiculous idea. You can't do that. They've had no one to do that. And that's why
30:51there is a lot of criticism for them. So, um, no, I don't think it will hold. I think
30:56I'm with Scott Lindsay in place. As we've said, he, hopefully he's going to be partly that voice
31:01as well saying, no, I don't want that to happen at this football club. We need to do it like this
31:06or something like that. So, um, yeah, I don't think, I don't think it's, um, going to be a
31:10major issue. Um, they are losing someone who was very passionate about the club and wanted
31:15the best things for the club. So hopefully they get someone in who will do that.
31:20Fingers crossed. And finally at this week's or a celebration of life service for lifelong
31:24quarry town fan and volunteer, uh, Ken Blackmore, um, you were there, Mark. Um, I'm sure it was
31:30very well attended by a friend's family and members of the club. Um, I'm guessing he got
31:34the sendoff he thoroughly deserved. He really did. It was, it was a lovely, lovely service.
31:39Um, it was at the, uh, Sussex and Surrey crematorium in Boulkham road. And, uh, when I
31:45got there, it was the car park was rammed and the amount of people, and it was standing room only in
31:51the, uh, in the thing that was must've been nearly 50 to a hundred people standing outside the room
31:59listening because the service was being played out on the speakers, um, to anyone who couldn't
32:04get in. But, um, Preston Johnson was there. All the staff at the club were there. Tom Allman,
32:09Sam Gatson, et cetera. And then we saw Glenn Morris. John Yems was there as well. Um, Paul
32:16Faley, the free bridges, um, chairman, uh, just anyone who basically cares about football and
32:22Crawley seemed to be there. Um, so it was, uh, it was just a really nice service. They played,
32:28uh, uh, it was a lovely, um, the eulogy was given by the celebrant had shoes. His name was,
32:33and obviously he'd spoken to his son, Ben. He was a, Ben was his only son.
32:37Um, and they've got some great stories about Ken over the years. And then he talked about
32:42him doing the commentary with Gary Smith on BBC and that, and they taught the music was, uh,
32:48he loved the white ladder album by, um, David Gray and they played Babylon while everybody had
32:54a little quiet moment of reflection. And then as we all saw, as, um, we also left and that was
33:00here comes the sun by the Beatles. So it was, it was just rare. It was just a really lovely service.
33:05And, um, you know, I had a quick chat with his son, Ben afterwards, and he was just so pleased
33:09with the way he said, I just hope we gave him a good send off and we all reassured him that he
33:13really did. And that, and I'd, well, I mean, I had to wait about 20 minutes to speak to him.
33:17And there was so many people who went up to the family. His wife, Carol was there as well.
33:21And it was, it was just, it was just a lovely service and it was great to see so many faces
33:25who knew and loved Ken. It's just a shame that it's happened when it has in some aspect,
33:30because like Scott Lindsay wasn't there. None of the current players were there. All players that
33:35love Ken Blackmore, they couldn't be there because obviously it's their holiday time,
33:39but, um, I'm sure their thoughts were with, um, with the family and that.
33:43Absolutely. As are ours, we'd like to send all our best wishes to Ken and all his friends and
33:46family as well. Um, and as per usual, um, we'll wrap up the score predictions and it'll be our
33:51last one for a while. Um, Spurs against Albion on the final day of the season, Sam, I'm gonna
33:57put my neck out there and see and say that I reckon Albion might rack up quite a big score
34:01line against Spurs. I don't know how you see it. I think it would be a comfortable win too.
34:05I think, yeah, they'll, they'll finish the season in style. I will say three now.
34:10Oh, Henry, what'd you, oh, Henry, oh, Henry, what'd you reckon?
34:15That's rather greedy, Sam. That's so greedy. Um, I reckon, I reckon it will be 2-1. I think it'll
34:22be a harder game. Um, and I, I do think Tottenham will score first and Brighton will sort of come
34:26back in the later stages of the game. A Nuna reverse card of what they've been doing all season.
34:33Mark, I've, I'm basing this on the fact that I reckon Spurs will beat United in the Europa League
34:37final. Um, what do you reckon will happen on Sunday with Spurs-Albion?
34:44I think there's two ways it can go and it all depends on tonight. If Tottenham win tonight,
34:49I think they beat Spurs on Sunday. I'd beat Brighton on Sunday.
34:52And if they lose tonight, they will get absolutely battered as Sam says.
34:58So I think if they win tonight, Spurs, I think they will go on and beat,
35:03are going to go for 1-0 if Spurs win tonight and 4-0 Brighton if Spurs lose tonight. So,
35:09I was just going to ask, does he think, do you think Chelsea are going to win there?
35:14Or do you think your boy Anthony is going to carry on being the best player in Europe?
35:20Um, no, I think Chelsea will win. I think Anthony will probably score from 50 yards,
35:24um, like he seems to be doing every day. Um, but Chelsea will win. And then if,
35:31yeah, and I think Forrest will also do the job at Brighton to get to Europe.
35:37So does that mean that if Chelsea do win, they qualify for the Europa League anyway?
35:41I get very confused with who qualifies.
35:43Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So Chelsea's, Chelsea's, um, European spot will go down to eighth place
35:49because they've already got it through winning the conference day kind of thing.
35:53It's all very complicated.
35:54I see. Well, up the blues then, I guess, is what we're all in unanimous,
35:59unanimity in saying then. Um, yes. Um, better wrap it up here then. Uh, yeah. Thank you very
36:04much for joining us this week, chaps. Um, yeah, we will review, uh, next week, uh,
36:09Albion's final game of the season at Tottenham. You can catch up with the latest sports news
36:13covering everything we have talked about today at sasquare.co.uk forward slash sport,
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36:20Thank you very much for listening and watching, and we will see you all next week.