The Amex feels like home now but there is still one thing we haven’t done there – win an evening league game. Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Hull City, West Ham United, Millwall and Cardiff have all visited for late kick offs and all have left Falmer with at least a share of the spoils. Tonight the Albion will be looking to make it lucky game number seven as Nigel Clough sits in a dugout at Brighton and Hove Albion tonight for the first time since he was a small boy and his dad Brian was in charge for his ill-fated spell at the Goldstone in the 1970′s.

Who are Derby?
The club were made famous by the already mentioned Old Big Ed. They won the league in 1972 and reached the semi finals of the European Cup the following year losing to Juventus who Clough rather graciously called “cheating bastards”. They won the title again in 1975 but since then have had scant success with a couple of spells in the Premier League when they signed all manner of flair players such as Paulo Wanchope, Georgie Kinkladze and Fabrizio Ravanelli in moves that nearly bankrupted them. A brief return to the Premier League came under Billy Davies in 2007-2008 during which they recorded the worst season on record and we make no appology for referring for the second time in a month to Davies replacement, Paul Jewell, being caught in his own sex tape during the disastrous campaign. Not to mention Tyrone Mears being so desparate to leave Pride Park that he apparently climbed out of a window and crawled past Jewell’s office to avoid being spotted

Their history with Brighton?
Nothing of note due to the fact they have been pretty good for most of their history and we haven’t. Clough is the common bond between the two teams when his shock resignation being accepted by the Derby board saw the even bigger shock of him being tempted to manage a struggling third tier side as his next job. A bit like Jose Mourinho announcing that the reason he was house hunting in London not so long ago was because he is about to take the Leyton Orient job.

Last time we met?
Craig Mackail-Smith scored in a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 victory in November which was to prove not just our last win, but also our last goal on the road until the back end of January when the Will Buckley show took over Peterborough. The Rams last visit to the city was in the League Cup back in 2008 when, after vanquishing Manchester City, we lost 4-1 to Sex Tape Star’s team. Our last win in Brighton came on that fateful rainy day at Withdean when Kerry Mayo popped up with an 89th minute winner against John Gregory’s recently relegated Premier League superstars

Who has played for both?
We’ve just mentioned John Gregory but sod it, he can have another one. He played over 100 times for Derby and was a classy player at The Goldstone but somewhat ruined his reputation with the fantastic line that Dick Knight wouldn’t recognise Gareth Barry if he stood on Brighton beach in full kit with a Seagull on his head when the former chairman pursued compensation for Aston Villa taking the future England international. Liam Dickinson, Lee Hendrie and Darren Currie are also notable former players

Who to look out for?
Frankie Fielding is a former England under-21 goalkeeper who has also made the odd appearance in the senior squad while Theo Robinson has hit the net eight times this season

Prediction?
We reckon it’s time for the Amex evening jinx to end with a 2-1 win for the Seagulls

Yeah, we know. Blackpool, Albion defeat, Donkeys, bla bla bla

On the plus side, only our first defeat of the year in the league, one of the hardest games out of the way, and Vicente is looking different class.

3 points now a neccesity on Tuesday at The Amex against Derby, a chance to finally get our first midweek home win at our new ground! Fingers crossed!

100 partidos ya con el BHAFC, no el mejor resultado para celebrarlo, pero…

— INIGO CALDERON (@I_CALDERON_14) March 17, 2012

Gutted about today’s game…unbeaten league run this year came to a end but we pick ourselves up and go again Tuesday! ⚽ #Seagulls #bhafc

— Craig Noone (@craignoone) March 17, 2012

Vicente holds his head in his hands after going close #bhafc twitter.com/BHASnappy/stat…

— Paul Hazlewood (@BHASnappy) March 17, 2012

Surprising news this.

Managing Director Ken Brown leaves Albion with immediate effect.

Martin Perry steps down as Chief Executive, but remains in charge of Amex expanion plans, as well as the new training ground near Lancing. He’ll retire upon completion in the Summer of 2014.

Full details are on The Argus website.

It’s probably fair to speculate that these changes are largely forced by Tony Bloom and the club’s desire to achieve Premier League status sooner rather than later – and make The Amex as profitable as possible.

Exciting times indeed.

We don’t like to begin match previews with bad news, but we feel it’s our duty to do so. Thanks to the guys at TSLR, we found out earlier today that the donkeys on Blackpool beach (of the animal variety, as opposed to Billy Paynter) can’t carry any riders over eight stone. Yes, eight stone – which is roughly equivalent to a bag of feathers in our eyes. We understand if you don’t want to read on or if this has made the decision over whether to head to Blackpool an unequivocal no, but as a public information website we just felt it was best to share. Let’s just hope the only unbeaten side in the league in the country in the calendar year of 2012 can make up for the fact that, for the vast majority of Albion fans, a donkey ride on the beach is now out of the question.

Who are Blackpool?
The only Football League club in the country to wear a proper orange kit (and not amber or some other wanky shade of yellow before any Hull fan pops up) in the country. One of the most romantic stories of football in recent seasons has been Blackpool’s rise to the Premier League. Unlike last weeks opponents Portsmouth, they didn’t bankrupt themselves to do it and nearly managed to defy all the odds by staying up last season despite having a wage structure that is strict even by Championship standards, let alone in the world of the Premier League. The man responsible for the triumph was Ian Holloway and he remains at the helm of the Seasiders and despite having to sell a number of their better performers last season, they look to be in contention for another tilt at the play-offs.

Their history with Brighton?
We haven’t crossed swords much in the past. In the midst of the petrol crisis of 2000 when blockades over the scandalously and barely imaginable high price of 80p a litre, over 300 Albion fans managed to make it to Bloomfield Road on a Tuesday night. And Steve McMahon once suffered a complete and utter meltdown, turning a more violent shade of orange than that sported by his team at Withdean once he was sent to the stand. Apart from that, memorable moments are few and far between.

Last time we met?
The second league game at The Amex saw Brighton storm into a 2-0 lead before Blackpool rallied back to take a point earlier in the season. Our last visit to the place of the poor mans Eiffel Tower was a typical Dean Wilkins Brighton and Hove Albion performance as we drew 0-0 in March 2007, while our last win there was the aforementioned petrol crisis game (80p a litre? Can you believe it?!) when a 2-0 win was secured by the eventual Division Three champions.

Who has played for both?
Liam Dickinson has been through twelve clubs in his career already – two of which are Brighton and Blackpool. He netted four times in seven games in a loan spell that couldn’t persuade the Seasiders to blow £300,000 on him unlike a certain club…..other players to have played for both include Lee Hendrie and Zesh Rehmann.

Who to look out for?
There could potentially be two LuaLua’s on the pitch with the original, Lomana, now plying his trade for Blackpool. He is reponsible for an even more spectacular celebration than Kazenga’s as well as a simply ridiculous song recorded in his honour. Kevin Phillips continues to bang in the goals at this level as one of the leagues most dangerous marksmen and Matt Gilks impressed in the Premier League last season and is a fine goalkeeper at Championship level.

Prediction?
Len Goodman is a regular at Blackpool ballrooms but we don’t think his catchphrase of “SEEEVVVEEEENNNNNN” will cover any predicitions for this one. Unfortunately, this is the sort of tough away fixture we can see being responsible for the end of our unbeaten run so we will go with a 2-0 win for Blackpool. Still, it should be a good weekend anyway. Even if we can’t go for a ride on a donkey!

There we have it then, the match preview done, and just the one comparison between donkey’s and particularly woeful ex-Albion players! Colin Hawkins, think yourself a lucky man!!

Sort of. After winning last nights Outstanding Achievement award at the Football League awards show, Gus Poyet has said he believes he is now ready for the top flight – and if that Chelsea or Tottenham made an approach then we “would have a problem.”

Both vacancies are, in all likelihood, going to be up for grabs in the summer with Chelsea having parted company with Andre Villas-Boas last week and Dodgy ‘Arry the front runner for the impossible job as England manager which would open up the hotseat at White Hart Lane.

Everybody knows that Gus is an ambitious manager and that he wants to reach the top of the game and it is not the first time that he has come out with this sort of thing that could be taken as a disparaging remark about the club – his constant gripes about money back in January despite being given a budget that is unparalleled in the history of the Albion. Not forgetting his denial of any interest in the Wolves job – despite the fact they apparently had no intention of appointing him.

Poyet said to Sky Sports news:

“When the chance comes to manage in the Premier League, I am ready, because it is a different challenge. I think it is easier to deal with the challenges now with Brighton. I have got a long-term contract, everything is fine, I’m relaxed, I can do my work, and if in a few years we don’t make it then of course you try to move on.”
Regarding any approach from Chelsea or Spurs, he added: “I would say we would have a problem – the chairman knows that. I am not saying I am leaving but we have got a problem for sure. I think these clubs that you played for in my case, Spurs and Chelsea, normally you are closer to them and it is easier because they know you – they know your personality and how proficient you are.

Thankfully, we can’t see either side making an approach for Gus soon. Both have genuine aspirations of at least the Champions League, possibly even the title, and when you consider that the likes of Champions League winners Jose Mourinho, Rafa the Gaffer Benitez, Fabio Capello and Pep Guardiola are names being linked with the two posts, it’s hard to see them settling for a manager whose achievements so far add up to a League One title – no matter how impressive the turn around since his arrival.

There will obviously come a time when Poyet will get the chance to manage in the Premier League if he keeps going the way he is and it’s been obvious from day one that is what he wants – but he doesn’t need to keep banging on about it in the same way that Micky Adams did back in 2001 when he was overlooked for the Southampton job. And, if he concentrates on the job in hand and with the backing he has from the boardroom, the players and the terraces, then fingers crossed it will be at The Amex.

Olé Olé Olé,Vicente, Vicente!

Need we say more?

Well, yes actually. We’re STILL unbeaten in 2012, and we’re up into 5th with 10 games to go. Looking good isn’t it?

Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more of Vicente on our late charge for the play-offs.

Sunshine, Amex, 3 points – doesn’t get much better than that!

Great win 2 day! Puts us right I’n the mix! #latecharge4playoffs

— Adam el-abd (@aelabd6) March 10, 2012

Got booted left right and centre today but was worth it to let Vicente come on and do the business! He’s too good makes it look so easy! ⚽

— Craig Noone (@craignoone) March 10, 2012

What a day 4 every1 involved with the #bhafc, great atmosphere once again, great team performance, and what a player vicente is #toeasy4him.

— alan navarro (@alannavarro31) March 10, 2012

Brighton and Hove Albion have today announced the details for season tickets at The Amex stadium in 2012-2013 – with the good news being that, on the surface, prices have been frozen at the same levels as they were for this season.

There will however be a £30 increase to the cost of tickets in order to cover travel. This is because of the total balls up that the current travel voucher system is. Read the rest of this entry »

Pay up Pompey, Pompey pay up!

Who else will be wearing black on Saturday then? It could be the last time we ever Portsmouth in their current guise as, in a shock that was comparable to Vladamir Putin securing the Russian presidency, the club is again financially ruined and probably heading out of business come the end of the season. They’ve had more points deducted than Britain has won at Eurovision in the last ten years and enough owners with dodgy pasts to fill Lewes prison. Still, I’m sure that FA Cup was worth it.

Who are Portsmouth?
They were the South Coasts top side until a few seasons ago. After rising from the Championship under the guidance of Milan Mandaric, Harry Redknapp and Rosie 47, they became an established mid-table Premier League team. A number of owners who were more crooked than Chesterfield’s spire took the helm and the club began paying silly money and even sillier wages for players despite having one of the smallest grounds in the Premier League. Redknapp performed a “miracle” guiding that team to the 2008 FA Cup after facing just one Premier League side along the way, before leaving for Spurs. The whole sorry mess then began to untangle, with Pompey now in administation for the second time in three seasons and facing a future in League One at the very best. The likely outcome? Local derbies against Havant & Waterlooville and Weymouth to look forward to. Poor old Mr Portsmouth Football club.

Their history with Brighton?
Pompey hate Southampton and we hate Palace. But there is still no love-lost between the two sides despite the fact we have hardly met each other in recent years what with the Albion having no money to spend until Tony Bloom came along and Pompey spending money they didn’t have. Things kicked up a notch on the last couple of meetings with Dave Kitson in particular enjoying himself, being sent off in the FA Cup at Withdean last season and then having a superb five minutes after being introduced as a sub at Fratton Park back in August during which he smashed Casper Ankergren, took a swing at Liam Bridcutt and then got booked for shoving Lewis Dunk.

Last time we met?
Craig Mackail-Smith netted the only goal on the stroke of half time as the Albion made it two wins out of two on their return to the Championship at Fratton Park in August, with the added salt in the wounds being Liam Lawrence hitting a post with a last minute penalty. Their last visit to Brighton was the already mentioned FA Cup game when we triumphed 3-1 while they last triumphed in Sussex back in March 1986 in an Easter Monday 3-2 thriller.

Who has played for both?
Abdul Razak had a spell at Fratton Park earlier in the season before deciding to move on loan from Etihad Stadium to The Amex in January. Brighton cult hero Andy “fall over thirty yards out of goal while running back to leave the net wide open in the last minute” Petterson had a less-eventful spell at Pompey than he did between the posts for the Albion, while Guy Butters also played for both. And yes, Portsmouth is yet another team which allows us to cram Ian Baird into the this section – is there any team in the current Championship he hasn’t played for?

Who to look out for?
Money buys success, so let’s look at the high earners. Despite going into administration just two years previous, Pompey have managed to build up a wage bill for the smallest squad in the football league of over £12m a year. Tal Ben Haim must be delivering the goods to justify his £36,000 a week wage, while a January move for Dave Kitson by Gus Poyet broke down because the Beaker from the Muppets look-a-like wasn’t willing to drop from his bargain £18,000 a week.

Prediction?
They may be bottom of the table, but that is mainly down to the ten point deduction. Still, we’re confident of completing a double and sending Pompey fans back on their rail replacement buses (nice one Network Rail) with nothing to show from their first visit to The Amex. 2-0 Brighton!

Cardiff’s tactics revealed:

Don’t know how we didn’t win that game, so frustrating when teams come 4 just a pnt, defo feels like a defeat, still a long way 2 go, #bhafc

— alan navarro (@alannavarro31) March 7, 2012

That’s called Anti football!

— Gai(@GaiAsulin) March 7, 2012

Brighton Skipper Gordon Greer has won the WeAreBrighton.com Fan’s Player of the Month Award for February – polling 23% of the vote.
It’s the second monthly prize that he’s claimed this season. The Seagulls renewed challenge for a play-off spot has been built on a sound defence and it seems that no matter who Greer plays alongside he excels with Gus Poyet quite rightly now talking about him being easily Premier League class – with that header off the line at home to Ipswich being one of the best clearances seen in a Brighton shirt in a long long time.

Adam El-Abd was second in the vote with Alan Navarro coming in third.

You can see all the previous winners of the monthly award here….
http://www.wearebrighton.com/features/potm-2011-12.html