- today
Matt Pole is joined by Brighton writer Derren Howard, Sam Morton, who covers both Albion and the Reds, and Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford.
Pre-season is now in full swing for both Brighton and Crawley. Albion opened their pre-season campaign against Stoke this week, while the Reds continued their friendly itinerary with games against East Grinstead and Dagenham & Redbridge.
This week, we discuss how pre-season has been going for the Seagulls and the Reds, look what’s ahead for both clubs this summer, and bring you all the latest transfer news and gossip from the Amex and Broadfield Stadium
You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at SussexWorld.co.uk/sport.
Pre-season is now in full swing for both Brighton and Crawley. Albion opened their pre-season campaign against Stoke this week, while the Reds continued their friendly itinerary with games against East Grinstead and Dagenham & Redbridge.
This week, we discuss how pre-season has been going for the Seagulls and the Reds, look what’s ahead for both clubs this summer, and bring you all the latest transfer news and gossip from the Amex and Broadfield Stadium
You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at SussexWorld.co.uk/sport.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Garmouth Action Podcast, where we take a look at all the latest goings on at Brighton, Hove, Albion and Crawley Town.
00:07I'm Matt Pohl, and this week I'm joined by Brighton writer Darren Howard, Sam Morton, who covers both Albion and the Reds, and Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford.
00:15Pre-season is now in full screen for both Brighton and Crawley. Albion opened their pre-season campaign against Stoke this week,
00:22while the Reds continued their friendly itinerary with games against East Grinstead and Dagenham and Redbridge.
00:26This week we'll discuss how pre-season has been going for the Seagulls and the Reds, look what's ahead for both clubs this summer,
00:32and bring you all the latest transfer news and gossip from the Amex and Broadfield Stadium.
00:36You can read all the stories we are talking about with videos and pictures online at sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport.
00:42And we will start as ever at Brighton and Hove, Albion, where a once-sought-after talent looks set to be on his way out of the club.
00:48Young striker Evan Ferguson looks set to move to Italian outfit Roma, although as of yet we are unsure if it will be a permanent or lone move.
00:54What are your thoughts on this? It seems like an almost imminent departure now, Darren.
00:59It certainly seems to split the fan base, and do you think it will be a permanent or lone move?
01:05It's split me as well, to be honest, Matt. I'm not quite sure what to make of it.
01:11It's obviously, he hasn't appeared in any of the pre-season camps.
01:16He's not in Spain with the Brighton training camp for the pre-season, and it looks as though Roma is going to be the most likely destination.
01:27I think the thoughts are that it will be an initial loan with an option to buy, and the stumbling point at the moment is the figure on that option to buy.
01:36You always have to be quite cautious with these figures when they're around, but according to the Italian media, Brighton are pushing for 40 million fee with the option to buy, whereas Roma are around about the 20, 25.
01:52So I think talks are ongoing with the option to buy fee after that.
01:58So we're waiting to see.
02:00But as far as Brighton are concerned, I thought when Jal Pedro left, that may open the door for Evan Ferguson just to have another crack at having a really good Premier League season with Brighton.
02:11Obviously, he struggled last year with form and fitness, and then his loan at West Ham didn't work out very well.
02:18And in the meantime, Brighton have brought in Stefanos Tissimas and Cheryl Amposkos-Doulas as well, the young Greek strikers as well.
02:26And it's looking like they're going to be the backup options for Danny Welbeck and Jorginho Routet going forward this season.
02:34So it seems as though Ferguson is out on the fringes.
02:39It looks as though this move to Roma is going to take off.
02:43But Brighton, obviously, they got burnt a bit in the past with Victor Goikarez when he left Brighton to join Coventry for a relatively cheap fee.
02:52He went on to have, you know, an outstanding time at Coventry and then sporting.
02:56And now he's looking like moving to Arsenal.
02:58So Brighton want to avoid a blunder like that.
03:00That's why they're pushing for a high fee, similar to what they did with Denison.
03:04They didn't have when he went to Stuttgart on loan.
03:09Darren's mentioned there, Sam, that it's potentially a loan to buy.
03:12But would selling Ferguson be a mistake?
03:13We've kind of run the rule a little bit over Albion's past regrets.
03:18But he's clearly very well thought on, isn't he, by Albion fans.
03:20But injuries have killed him, haven't they?
03:23Yeah, it's a real shame because those early signs from Ferguson when he was first on the scene were fantastic.
03:28And all Brighton fans thought they had another absolute gem on their hands.
03:31And there were some big claims being made about him and all sorts of names that he was being compared to.
03:37But when you look at him, he has 17 goals and six assists in 80 appearances for Brighton in total,
03:42which is a pretty healthy return for any young striker breaking to kind of a mid-table Premier League team.
03:47And as Darren said, his fitness was an issue last season and his loan at West Ham didn't go to plan at all.
03:52It was kind of seen as the perfect place under Graham Potter, where if he was going to be a success,
03:59it would be under Graham Potter, whether he did so well under at Brighton.
04:01But it just didn't work out.
04:04But his clinical finishing hasn't gone anywhere, you'd think.
04:07If he's got that talent, then you'd imagine that's still there.
04:10And it's just about trying to rediscover his confidence and fitness.
04:15And if he can start to impress Hurtster, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to find that again and to get into the Brighton team.
04:24So part of me does hope that it's alone rather than permanent, just to try and get that confidence back.
04:29Maybe in new surroundings in Italy, we've seen McTominay go there and be a revelation.
04:34And Gilmore's done well as well.
04:36So maybe you can go there on loan and maybe rediscover some form and then come back to Brighton.
04:41But it's a difficult one because obviously there's some fans, I think, after Jal Pedro's exit,
04:47it'd be a perfect opportunity for Ferguson to kind of stake a claim.
04:52And it's obviously, you'd say, with Brighton, the sign to forwards in Kostoulas and Simlas as well.
04:58So they're going to be pushing for starts.
05:00So there's lots of competition.
05:01And Danny Welbeck's going to be looking to continue his form from last season.
05:04And he's showing no signs of slowing down as well, because he scored four times in the first half.
05:08As Brighton fresh, Wickham 6-1 in a behind-closed-doors-doors friendly.
05:12So you can see why Ferguson's probably looking at that and thinking he needs to move on.
05:16But as I say, I still think there's a real player there.
05:19And if we can go to Roma and rediscover that, then that'd be fantastic.
05:23Well, one player who has moved on is winger Simon O'Dingra.
05:28The Ivorian, who joined Brighton from FC Nordsjylland in 2022, has joined Premier League Newboys Sunderland for a fee of £21 million plus add-ons.
05:36O'Dingra made 29 appearances for Abbey in last season, scoring and assisting twice.
05:40What did you make of the move, Darren?
05:42Surprised to see him go?
05:43And what did Hurt Ziller have to say about his exit?
05:47I wasn't surprised, to be honest.
05:49He almost joined Sunderland back in the previous transfer window in January.
05:53But he just couldn't quite get the deal over the line.
05:55It's all going to be linked with Tommy Watson from Sunderland moving the other way.
06:01Tommy Watson arrived.
06:02O'Dingra has now finally gone to newly promote Sunderland.
06:06And I think it's a case of the needs at different times, that Sunderland need a player who's experienced in the Premier League and can go from day one, basically.
06:17Whereas Brighton, I think with Tommy Watson, they can afford to take their time a little bit more.
06:21He'll probably be understudied to Karam Atoma on the left flank.
06:26So they already have a proven experience left winger in Atoma.
06:30And then Tommy Watson can provide that backup as needed.
06:34Whereas I think O'Dingra, he can go to Sunderland.
06:37He's got a few seasons in the Premier League under his belt.
06:40And he can be, you know, potentially he can be a good player for them.
06:43I wouldn't be surprised if he gets, you know, sort of around 10 to 12 goals, you know, in a season.
06:50He's more than capable of doing that.
06:51And I think if he can do that at Sunderland, that would be a good return for them and give them a decent chance of sort of defying the odds and trying to stay up in the Premier League.
07:02Because as we know, it's so sort of tough for the promoted teams who come up.
07:06So I think in regards to the fee, I think most Brighton fans and most people at Brighton are quite happy with it.
07:1221 million for a player they brought in for around about 8 million a few seasons ago from Nordisland.
07:18So quite a good deal for Brighton.
07:21He wasn't going to be a regular next season.
07:24And I think quite a few fans were quite happy because when they heard that O'Dingra was leaving, it kind of thought, OK, Matoma is probably going to stay.
07:33So I don't think Brighton would have let him go quite so easily if Matoma had been on his way to perhaps Bayern Munich or wherever he was being linked with.
07:43So, yeah, so I think it all wraps in quite nicely and Brighton are quite happy with it.
07:47I think it's a deal that suits all parties at the moment.
07:53Sam, are there any other incomings or outgoings you should potentially be looking out for?
07:57I know that we've mentioned Pervis Estupinian and Matt O'Reilly in the past.
08:00Just where are they at at the moment?
08:05Oh, you're on mute.
08:07Sorry, Chuck.
08:09Yeah, Estupinian continues to be linked with the summer exit.
08:12As you mentioned, he told South American media last month that he expects to leave actually during this transfer window.
08:17He said, the club know that I would like to keep going.
08:20The club have given me this bit of freedom to be able to make a decision.
08:23Manchester United are said to have a longstanding interest in the 27-year-old Ecuador international.
08:28But Italian giants Asim Lan, also said to be in the running, have made contact with the club.
08:33Estupinian has a guy price of £30 million.
08:36He's contracted with the Seagulls until June 2027.
08:40And he's currently in the Costa del Sol with Brighton.
08:43And Alvin have obviously confirmed the signing of Belgium international Maxime de Kuyper,
08:48which could pave the way for Estupinian's departure.
08:52Interesting to see how that one develops.
08:54And you mentioned Matt O'Reilly as well.
08:56He's been linked with Napoli, Everton, Atalanta and Roma.
08:59Sky Sports in Italy reported this week that Roma are interested as new manager Gian Piero Gasparini put him among his top transfer targets.
09:08He's been a long admirer of O'Reilly and wanted to sign him for Atalanta in previous windows.
09:12And it's another tricky one where he obviously came in from Celtic and was a real promising signing for Brighton.
09:19He got that really early injury and set him back by a number of months.
09:22And when he returned, he just wasn't really able to force his way into the team.
09:27Hurts have mainly preferred Jorginho Rutter in the number 10 role, which often left O'Reilly sidelined or playing out of position.
09:33And he did recently admit to Danish media that he's not completely happy.
09:37It makes it difficult to show off when you're playing a position you're not completely happy with.
09:40I could play better for the team if he plays a number eight position, but he can play well in other positions.
09:45You can say in a way that's not aggressive.
09:46If you're honest with another person, you don't lose anything.
09:49The coach can always say he doesn't agree.
09:51So, yeah, interesting to see how that one develops.
09:53I think it'd be good to see him stay and try and make more of an impact than he had last season.
09:58And it's worth mentioning, Julio Nciso, who's actually just suffered a pretty serious knee injury, by the looks of it.
10:06He missed up to three months of the new campaign, which could hinder his plans to move on.
10:11Because there has been rumoured interest in Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Inter Milan.
10:16He's a guy priced at £25 million and is another player that will be looking to play football, basically.
10:24He's not been able to start games for Brighton on a regular basis.
10:26So this injury, unfortunately, could, for his personal sake, hinder any plans to move on and could stifle his progression a little bit, which is a shame.
10:36But it'd be interesting to see how that develops.
10:38And in terms of incomings, Brighton are said to be following the development of 18-year-old attacking midfielder Rodolfo Aloko.
10:44According to Daily Mail, he currently plays for Croatian side NK Kustodja.
10:51It's a value debt approximately £4.75 million and a probably collabed with face competition for the likes of Sevilla, Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig.
11:00So another one to keep an eye on.
11:02Easy for you to say, Sam.
11:04Easy for you to say.
11:07Meanwhile, Brighton kicked off their pre-season schedule on Tuesday evening with a 3-1 victory over Stoke City in Spain.
11:13Summer signing, Diego Coppola was on target with the Seagulls against the Potters, as was Caro Mitoma and Jorginho Ruta.
11:18What did you make of Albion's performance, Darren?
11:21How did the new boys equip themselves and who else stood out for you as well?
11:26Yeah, it was a good run out.
11:28It was roasting hot in Costa del Sol.
11:31So it's always hard to sort of assess exactly where they're out in these type of matches.
11:37They played a first half 11 and a second half 11 as well.
11:41And there were some encouraging displays.
11:43We've got the player ratings up on the Sussex World website at the moment, which runs through the full list of people who played and how they got on.
11:52But I was particularly impressed.
11:54I thought Mitoma looked quite fresh on the left flank.
11:56He got a goal, albeit from a heavy deflection.
11:59I thought Yassin Ayari looks very good in midfield as well.
12:02But there were two youngsters that caught my eye as well.
12:04It was Caelan Vickers who came on in the second half, played down the left wing and he teed up Diego Coppola for his first goal for the club on his debut.
12:15I thought he looked lively down on the wing.
12:17And Harry Howe as well.
12:19He sort of featured a little bit in the Premier League squads towards the back end of last campaign.
12:24And he's a very promising young talent who's coming through.
12:27He played off on the right flank and looked pretty good to me.
12:32So, and I think in the second half, it was all changed.
12:36Malik Yaukoui, who came on as well.
12:39He's, oh, is that one?
12:41He's, oh, there's anybody else.
12:44Yeah.
12:50Sorry.
12:51I have no idea what that was.
12:53But, yeah, there was a midfielder that came on, Malik Yaukoui.
12:56He's been on loan at Sturmkratz last season.
13:00And I thought he looked very promising as well.
13:03What's going to happen to him is going to be quite interesting this year to look in there, looking ahead.
13:09So, all in all, a decent run up.
13:11They've got a few more pre-season tune-ups before the Premier League action kicks off on August 16th.
13:17They've placed Las Palmas in a behind closed doors friendly in Spain.
13:20And then they return to the UK, but they've got a friendly against Southampton and then against Wolfsburg at the Amex just a week before the Premier League kicks off.
13:30So, there's going to be quite a bit more to do before we get to that stage.
13:35We'll probably see some of the new signings bedding in a little bit more in those matches before the kickoff.
13:42One thing I did want to mention as well is Bart Verbruggen, he hasn't appeared in any of the pre-season matches.
13:48He's got a bit of an injury at the moment, or so they say.
13:51And Karl Rushworth, who's been linked with Rangers, Manchester United and Coventry this week, he's been playing in pre-season.
14:01So, yes, I'm quite interested to see what's going to happen with the goalkeeping situation at Brighton at the moment.
14:07So, one to keep an eye on.
14:08Yeah, absolutely. Watch this space. Sam, of the friendlies, Deryn's mentioned there, any of them get your pulse racing or is it standard pre-season fair for you?
14:16Yeah, pretty standard, I think. They've got a behind closed doors game against Las Palmas on Monday, July 21st.
14:23And on Saturday, the 2nd of August, has to take the team to the St Mary's Stadium to face, obviously, Southampton are relegated from the Premier League last season.
14:30And then Albion's final pre-season clash and their only game at the Amex is against Wolfsburg, obviously, the German outfit on August 12th.
14:39So, that would be an interesting one and a good chance for the fans to see how the players have progressed, obviously, during their timeout in Spain,
14:49see how they're getting on and just have that first look at the team before the Premier League gets underway.
14:53And, obviously, Brighton kick off their campaign against Fulham at the Amex on August 16th.
14:58So, it's not far away now. It's very exciting.
15:02No, it always comes around very, very quickly.
15:04Crawley Town have also been in pre-season action, playing two friendlies since the last pod.
15:08The Reds ran out 5-1 winners at East Winstead Town on Saturday.
15:11Who netted for Crawley East Court, Mark? And who shone for the Reds in that thumping victory?
15:15Yeah, after a goalless first half, I think fans were a little bit worried.
15:20There could be a bit of a shock on that.
15:22But Dion Pereira came on second half, scored two goals.
15:26Adi Adi Yemo scored.
15:30Louis Flower got his third in his first three friendlies.
15:34And Ben Radcliffe scored as well.
15:36So, I think it was, yeah, a bit tougher than it was against Free Bridges.
15:40But second half, Crawley were really, really good and inspired by Dion Pereira.
15:46Will Charlton, who did our player rating, said he wanted to give him 10.
15:50But I don't think he wanted to be that generous.
15:52So, he gave him a 9 out of 10.
15:53But he also said that Charlie Barker and Josh Flynn were really good.
15:58You'd expect the defence to have a comfortable afternoon.
16:01But apparently, they looked absolutely solid.
16:03And Adi Yemo as well, coming on, promising first season with the Reds.
16:12So, and he played well when he came on Tuesday night as well at Dagenham.
16:17So, yeah, no, a good run out.
16:20And, yeah, no, quite impressive.
16:23But Dion Pereira, I think, is someone who is looking like he will become a fan favourite, I think.
16:28Yeah, well, the Reds then followed this up with another 5-1 win, this time at Dagenham and Redbridge on Tuesday evening.
16:34Goals from Harry McCurdy, Harry Forster, Reece Brown and a trialist who bagged a brace
16:38helped the Reds maintain their unbeaten pre-season record.
16:41And you were at this one, Mark.
16:43I know it took you about four days to get there, but you eventually turned up.
16:47Who stood out for Crawley against the Daggers?
16:49And what does Scott Vinzi have to say about the performance?
16:52Yeah, so it was, yeah, they got off to quite a good start.
16:56But Dagenham looked like a really good side, actually.
16:59Much more physical than Crawley would have come up with against Bridges and East Grinstead.
17:04But, yeah, Harry Forster particularly, he set up the first goal, scored the second goal,
17:11and was really, really good.
17:13Him and Josh Flynn linked up really well on the left.
17:15And, yeah, very direct.
17:17Harry McCurdy as well, the two Harrys.
17:20He's a funny...
17:21I know we're going to get on to McCurdy later, but he's a funny one because all the...
17:26With due respect in the world, he doesn't look like a footballer.
17:30He came up and he...
17:32In the sense that his shirt was untucked...
17:36I know a lot of players wear their shirt untucked, but his shirt seemed too big for him.
17:39He looked like a schoolboy playing for an adult's team in that sense.
17:44And he had his sleeves over his hands, so his whole...
17:47I couldn't see his hands.
17:49I don't know, he just didn't look like...
17:50But when he was on the ball, he was fantastic.
17:52And he had some real flashes of brilliance.
17:55But I know we're going to talk about him more later.
17:57But he was really good.
17:58And then the trialist who scored two goals.
18:01We're not sure of his name.
18:02We think his first name is Jude.
18:04And he's 16.
18:05And he stands out quite a lot.
18:07He's got this sort of big block of blonde, curly hair.
18:10And, yeah, he gets involved.
18:14And he was in the right place, right time for two places.
18:17Yeah, for two goals.
18:18Louis Flower didn't score this time.
18:21But he came on as a sub and scored three goals.
18:23That's scored three goals.
18:24Assisted to three goals in the second half.
18:27So, no, he was really impressive.
18:30Yeah, like I said, Harry McCurdy.
18:32Jay Williams, he started off in the first 20 minutes.
18:35And did what Jay Williams does.
18:37As did Louis Watson.
18:38He showed some really good footwork, actually.
18:41Dion Pereira was a bit quieter.
18:43But, again, had moments of brilliance.
18:45But one of the Dagenham media guys was in front of me.
18:49And he's a real big Dagenham fan.
18:51And he turned to me before kickoff.
18:53And he said, have you fallen in love with Dion Pereira yet?
18:56Because he was at Dagenham last year.
18:58And I said, oh, no, I haven't really had a chance to.
19:00And he said, oh, you will.
19:01And didn't quite show against Dagenham.
19:03But if I was at East Grinstead, I think I might have fallen in love a little bit with Dion Pereira.
19:07So, I'm expecting big things now.
19:09Not just on the pitch, but off the pitch if I'm going to fall in love with him.
19:14Let's hope he treats you right, Mark.
19:17You mentioned Jay Williams there.
19:19He made his first pre-season appearance for the Reds at Dagenham.
19:22How did the former MK Dons man equip himself, Mark?
19:25And what did Lindsay have to say about Williams' display of the Daggers?
19:28I bet he's delighted to have him back.
19:29Oh, he really is.
19:31And, yeah, I mean, and Jay Williams looks happy to be back as well.
19:35He's not, he doesn't exude excitement or anything, Jay Williams, as a person, I don't think.
19:40But he did look happy to be back.
19:42He said on his interview when he got back that it felt like coming home again,
19:45even though it was only away for a six-month sabbatical or whatever it was.
19:49But he only played the first 20 minutes because he's recovering from a knee-off, I believe.
19:53And they were always going to play him for 20 minutes, along with Louis Watson.
19:57But they thought it'd be better if they started off rather than waiting around to come on.
20:01So after 20 minutes, they scored their first goal and they took him off.
20:05So, and like Lindsay said, he played that first 20 minutes like it was a World Cup final.
20:11He was everywhere.
20:13And there was a poor Dagenham player who he seemed to pick as his target.
20:17I don't know if he upset him before the game or what.
20:19But off the ball, he wasn't crossing a line or anything.
20:23But if there was a tackle or a shoulder barge or anything, he got involved and he was getting stuck in what the Crawley fans love Jay Williams for.
20:31Yeah.
20:31But he's not just an enforcer like that.
20:34He is really efficient on the ball.
20:36He's, yeah, calm on the ball, breaks up play really well.
20:39And it was, yeah, I think, yeah, in that short 20 minutes, fans got to see everything that they love about Jay Williams.
20:46And Lindsay said afterwards, he's just so inspiring to everyone else.
20:51He just wants to win so much, even a friendly against Dagenham.
20:55He is so involved and in the changing room after the game because they let in one goal against Dagenham.
21:01And it was a, it was a poor goal to concede.
21:03I think Charlie Barker passed it back to Harvey Davis about 25 yards from goal.
21:07And he sort of lost a little bit of control, was dispossessed.
21:10And the Dagenham player rolled it in from 25 yards into an empty net.
21:14But apparently Jay Williams was looking, he wasn't even on the pitch at that time,
21:17but he was on looking at the footage and thinking, how could we have helped Harvey Davis more?
21:23And all that.
21:24And apparently he was just really analysing and sort of speaking to people saying we could have done this better.
21:29Things like that.
21:30So, I mean, Lindsay's just, as soon as I started talking about him to Lindsay, you could see the smile on his face.
21:37He just absolutely, they've obviously got a clearly a very, very special, special relationship.
21:42And I imagine wherever Scott Lindsay goes in his footballing pathway, Jay Williams will be following him and vice versa.
21:49They seem to have this real special bond and it's, hopefully it will be in for Crawley's benefit this year.
21:54Yeah, fingers crossed.
21:56You've spoken at length about Harry McCurdy, Mark.
21:58And as you mentioned, he opened his rent account on Tuesday evening, scoring Crawley's opener at Dagenham.
22:04Sounded like you looked sharp, Sam.
22:05What did Lindsay have to say about McCurdy's performance?
22:09He must be pleased that his new striker's up and running.
22:11Yeah, no, absolutely.
22:12He was full of praise for the 28-year-old.
22:14He said, I love Harry and he brings so much to the team, not just out on the pitch, but in the dressing room as well.
22:21You can imagine what he's like.
22:22Like, he's great for us and I was really pleased with his performance and I thought he was very good tonight.
22:26He described him as flashes of brilliance, is the way he described him.
22:30He said, you know, he might not be in the game for 10 minutes and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he'll be unbelievable for five minutes.
22:34And that's what he is.
22:35He'll create, he'll score up nothing.
22:37And like I said, when we signed him, he's a character.
22:39Opposition fans will hate him and our fans will love him.
22:42It's something, sorry, he said he'll sometimes hate him, but he's a character as well.
22:48So, I think there's, yeah, there's a definite click aside, so obviously the fans will hopefully get on board with there as well.
22:55And he thinks McCurdy is somebody who can play a number of positions really well.
22:58You can see him play wide right and he can play a little bit more inside the pitch as well.
23:03And he can always be a threat to the opposition wherever he plays.
23:05So, yeah, promising, promising sign of McCurdy, it looks like.
23:07And he's really quick as well, which, another thing, he doesn't run like a footballer either.
23:15I don't know what it is.
23:17I sound like this is criticism.
23:19It's not at all.
23:20He's just not, I can see how he's going to put opposition off just by the way he runs, the way he plays.
23:27He's going to be so unpredictable.
23:28But he's just, he's quite sort of frenetic as he runs and that, but he's really quick and he's got such quick feet as well.
23:35And, yeah, he took his goal really well.
23:36So, I just think he's going to be great for Crawley this year and, yeah, fans are going to absolutely love him or hate him.
23:44No middle ground with football fans, is there?
23:45No.
23:46And finally, Crawley hosts Portsmouth and a friendly on Saturday before they play a behind closed doors clash at Southampton on Tuesday.
23:54We'll focus on the Portsmouth game, Mark.
23:56Do you think we'll see Lindsay start with Crawley's strongest XI against Pompey?
24:00And what kind of team will we expect in Portsmouth to bring to the broadfield?
24:05Well, Scott said he'd spoken to John Messenio, the Portsmouth manager, and they are coming full strength.
24:12I think they've had a couple of friendlies this week, one at Farnborough and one somewhere else,
24:17where they've sort of split their first team, apparently, with academy and youngsters.
24:21But I think on Saturday they will go quite strong.
24:26But I think Lindsay will as well.
24:27Lindsay has really had this pre-season schedule.
24:31So, every game they've stepped up the level of team they're playing.
24:35And I think now, after Dagenham, they're ready for the real test now.
24:39Dagenham were a really good test.
24:40And actually, Prop 5-1 might have slightly flattered Crawley on Tuesday night.
24:45But it's not obviously, you're not expecting them to score five against Portsmouth.
24:48But I think we will see their strongest XI play for longer as well.
24:52They did, apart from Williams and Watson on Tuesday night, who got subbed after 20 minutes,
24:58they went to 65 minutes before they made the rest of the changes.
25:02And I think they'll probably look at that again.
25:05And then as we get into the Southampton game and the Crystal Palace game afterwards,
25:09I think you'll see sort of maybe 70 minutes to some even having 90 minutes.
25:14And then we'll get a real flavour of what that starting XI is going to be.
25:18The interesting one for me is who plays up top.
25:21Because Kaby Schemanger was really good against free bridges.
25:25I wasn't that impressed with him on Tuesday night at Dagenham.
25:27But Louis Flower obviously scored in the first three and then three assists when he came on the other night.
25:32I think it's that big decision there.
25:34Because Kaby Schemanger looks really quick, really busy.
25:38But Louis Flower looks like the sort of more effective front man for me.
25:42So that's a really interesting one.
25:44And then if you've got Harry Forster right on the left, Harry McCurdy just behind,
25:48Dion Pereira on the right, it's going to be really interesting to see how he does that.
25:53And we understand that there could be another new signing, a midfielder coming in soon as well.
25:59So it's going to be, yeah, because Max Anderson played really well on Tuesday night with Jay Williams.
26:04So, yeah, he's got a lot of good selection headache.
26:07But that's what Lindsay wants.
26:08He wants people battling for those positions.
26:11And there's going to be a lot of games early on in the season with the Carabao Cup here for our trope.
26:15So I think everybody will get a go.
26:17But, yeah, I think you'll certainly see it.
26:19And I think you'll probably get Portsmouth in their new kit on Saturday
26:23and Crawley in their new home kit on Saturday.
26:25So I think the new kit derby will be happening on Saturday.
26:30It'll be a great occasional round at the Broadfield, DeMarco.
26:33I don't doubt that at all.
26:35Yeah, I think that's it for us this week.
26:38We'll leave it there.
26:39Any other business, anything that people would like to mention before we sign off that we might have missed?
26:43Getting to Dagenham was horrible.
26:46Go on then, tell us a little bit about Dagenham then.
26:48Two hours it took me to get to Dagenham.
26:51And it should have only taken just over an hour.
26:54Two hours, I was stuck somewhere on the A23.
26:57Then I was stuck on the M25, stuck near the Dartford Tunnel.
27:00It was horrible.
27:02But when we got there, it was nice.
27:03But as soon as the final whistle went, it absolutely hammered down with rain as well.
27:06So I got wet going back to my car.
27:09So, yeah, horrible.
27:12But you got to see Andy Carroll?
27:14I got to see Andy Carroll.
27:16And what a magnificent specimen he is.
27:19He is just a big, big man.
27:23And he came on for the last 30 minutes.
27:26Didn't do a lot.
27:27He won a couple of headers, as you'd expect.
27:28He was running around a lot.
27:29He looked really fit, I'd say, as well.
27:31I think, I mean, in that, because, what, are they National League South?
27:34Yeah.
27:35Imagine someone like Andy Carroll.
27:36But what I did notice is that in the first half, I think they played really well, Dagenham.
27:42And they played a certain way.
27:44But when you bring Andy Carroll on, you have to play a different way.
27:47Yeah.
27:48It was a little bit more get balls into the box.
27:50So whether that worked against them or not, I don't know.
27:53But, yeah, the fans were absolutely loving it.
27:56The noise when he came on and every time he touched the ball was amazing.
27:59So, yeah, no, it was great to see someone of that sort of standard playing at that level.
28:07How old is he now, Mark?
28:08I think he's 36, 35, 36, something like that.
28:13Well, maybe a little bit older.
28:15But he's, like I said, he looked really fit.
28:19And, yeah, I know they've got Qatari investors at Dagenham.
28:23So, yeah, I don't think, I mean, I think I've read some bits somewhere that he hasn't gone there for the money
28:28and he's not getting big wages or anything.
28:31But he probably is.
28:34But, yeah, no, Dagenham, I think they, because they went down from the National League last year to the National South.
28:42They did.
28:43I think they've got quite big ambitions.
28:44They've got Lee Bradbury, former Crawley assistant manager.
28:47Oh, yeah.
28:48Manager now.
28:49Eastbourne Borough, yeah.
28:51And Eastbourne Borough as well, yeah.
28:52So, yeah, he's there because Lewis Young was there before him, obviously, former Crawley man.
28:57So, a lot of, and Raph Khalil was playing for Dagenham as well.
29:02So, Crawley connections everywhere, narratives everywhere.
29:07Excellent stuff, yeah.
29:08I think Dagenham are going to do some damage in the National League South.
29:10Yeah.
29:11Yeah.
29:11Yeah, I think they'll do it.
29:1220 goals for Andy Carroll this year, I reckon.
29:15You reckon?
29:15Yeah.
29:16Yeah, we'll have to wait and see, I suppose.
29:17Well, brilliant.
29:18Thank you very much for this week, chaps.
29:19Don't forget you can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today.
29:23The Sussex World at co.uk forward slash sport.
29:25Thank you very much for listening and or watching, and we will see you all next week.
29:29Cheers, guys.
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