Solly March voted WAB October 2020 Brighton Player of the Month

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020 WeAreBrighton.com 0 Comments

A winless October made coming up with a shortlist for WAB Brighton Player of the Month a difficult task – and that seemed to translate to the final vote too where winner Solly March needed less than 30 percent to take the crown.

March’s 29.59% represents the lowest share that a victor has had for some time. It was just enough to hold off the challenge of Adam Lallana back in second whilst third place eventually went to Ben White, although just 2.4% separated him from September 2020 Player of the Month Tariq Lamptey in fourth and Yves Bissouma back in fifth.

Since Graham Potter switched to a back three system at the start of the 2020-21 season, March has been the main beneficiary and him winning our Brighton October Player of the Month award highlights just what an important part of the starting XI he has become.

He was the Albion’s best player in the 4-2 defeat at Everton which started the month, gave a livewire showing in the 1-1 with Crystal Palace and was one of the few individuals to emerge from the West Bromwich Albion home game with any credit.

Rumours are now swirling that March could be in line for a shock England call up for November’s international matches with the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland.

The Three Lions have struggled to fill the left wing back slot with a dearth of options for Gareth Southgate to pick from. March would provide an intriguing answer at the same time as going some way to proving that Southgate does not have a hatred of Brighton following his consistent overlooking of Lewis Dunk for a place in the squad.

If March wants to pick up a bit of advice about playing for England, then he should ask the man who came second to him in our WAB October 2020 Brighton Player of the Month award.

Lallana has 34 international caps and although his international days are probably now behind him, he remains a quality operator as his recent performances for Brighton show.

He had to settle for a place on the bench at Everton before being the best player on the pitch at Palace, displaying vision and control which was a level above anyone else on show at Selhurst Park.

In the West Brom game, the Seagulls were comfortably in control until Lallana was withdrawn on the hour mark. His substitution was the point that it all started going wrong for Brighton as they allowed the Baggies back into proceedings in an alarming manner.

Another man who could one day play for England is White. His first appearance in the top three of a WAB Player of the Month award came in an October in which he was largely used as a defensive midfielder rather than the centre back berth which is considered his natural position.

White had struggled as a defender when Brighton shipped four at Goodison Park, so his move into midfield was not a complete surprise. It worked as against Palace, he gave a mature display alongside Yves Bissouma in the middle of the park.

There were plenty of questions about whether Potter was right to persist White in midfield when West Brom came to the Amex. Whilst using a defender as a central midfielder in a must-win home game against one of the relegation rivals might have seemed like a negative selection decision, White again performed admirably in his new role.