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Withdean's Greatest XI Vote - Central Midfield
With the end in sight for Brighton and Hove Albion's
time at Withdean Stadium,
we've decided to put together a poll for the Greatest
XI to pull on the stripes
during our 12 year stay - with this weeks vote being for
the two central midfield slots.
The Albion have had some
cracking central midfielders down the Withdean years.
From experienced heads coming to the end of their careers
like Paul Rogers and Radostin Kishishev to young players
taking their first steps in the game such as Steve Sidwell,
we've been blessed with goalscorers, flair and excitement.
Two captains - Dean Hammond and Andrew Crofts - have claimed
the player-of-the-season crown, and as such we've found
it hard to narrow this one down to twelve candidates,
with good players who only played bit parts such as Steve
Melton and George O'Callaghan finding themselves not even
on the shortlist. Good luck picking this one!
Please
remember you can vote for the TWO central midfielders you thought
were the best to play for the club at Withdean.
Paul Rogers
1999-2003,
118 appearances, 15 goals |
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The
first captain to lead out the side at Withdean,
Rogers was a fixture in the team for his first
two seasons at the club as part of one of the
most impressive midfields seen alongside Charlie Oatway and Richard Carpenter. He lifted the
Division Three and Two titles, scoring some
vital goals on the way to both of them. By the
time the Albion reached Division One in 2002
though he was a fading force, yet remained a
bit part player in the unsuccessful battle against
relegation before retiring at the end of that
season. Never blessed with pace, "Dodge"
used great positional sense to good effect and
went about his business in a quiet, understated
manner. |
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Charlie Oatway
1999-2005,
224 appearances, 8 goals |
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Another
central midfielder to captain the side, Oatway
was never the most talented of players but he
made up for that with his dedication and combatativeness
in the middle of the park. He was a huge part
of the side that won back-to-back titles and
was a mainstay of the team that won promotion
via the play-offs in 2004 as well as captaining
the club to survival the following year after
Danny Cullip's departure. An injury sustained
on Boxing Day in 2005 eventually lead to his
retirement but he
never truly departed the club and is now back having
a successful time as Gus Poyet's first team
coach. |
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Warren Aspinall
1999-2000,
32 appearances, 3 goals |
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Aspinall
arrived a couple of weeks into the 1999-2000
season as part of a swap deal that saw Andy
Arnott go to Colchester. Despite being in the
twilight of his career and as such not as mobile
as he was in the days when he was a member of
top flight squads at Everton and Aston Villa,
his vision with the ball made a huge difference
in the centre of the midfield three being deployed
at the time. Unfortunately, he only lasted just
over a year with the club as an ankle injury
saw him having to retire midway through the
2000-2001 campaign and drink and gambling
addictions led him to the brink of suicide.
Warren is now working as a scout for various
football league clubs. |
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Richard Carpenter 2000-2007,
252 appearances, 20 goals |
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Carpenter
arrived on a free transfer from Cardiff in 2000
and proved to be one of the bargains
of the Withdean era and possibly Albion's history.
A classy midfielder, "Chippy" had
it all - he could tackle, he could pass, and
he could score - usually from his trademark
drilled free kick into the top corner. He was
a regular starter in the line up from the moment
he arrived, playing through three promotions
and two relegations and eventually captaining
the club towards the end of his spell. As a
number of niggling injuries began to catch up
with him, Carpenter agreed to allow some of
the younger members of the squad a chance by terminating his contract in February
2007. |
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Junior Lewis
2002,
15 appearances, 3 goals |
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Signed
by Peter Taylor at every club he managed, Lewis
arrived at the Albion a few months into his
reign as the Albion bid for the promotion from
Division Two. Despite playing for the majority
of his time at Withdean with injury, Lewis was
a decent performer in the middle of the park
with his performance in the vital home game
against Reading being the cherry on top of the
cake. He popped up with three important goals
during his loan spell, but obviously any chance
the Seagulls had of making the move permanent
disappeared after Taylor handed in his resignation,
moving to Hull a few months later and unsurprisingly
taking Lewis with him |
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Simon Rodger
2002-2003, 36 appearances, 2 goals |
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Despite being a Sussex lad, Rodger spent
the majority of his career with rivals
Crystal Palace before becoming one of
Steve Coppell's first signings as Albion
boss in October 2002. His impact was immediate,
scoring a fine goal from distance on his
debut at home to Bradford City and he
became a mainstay of the side that came
so close to pulling off an unlikely escape
from relegation from Division One. Rodger's
form was rewarded with a new contract
for the following season, but unfortunately
just a few games in he suffered a career-ending
injury at a time when the Albion were
flying at the top of Division Two and
he subsequently retired at the end of
that season. |
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Dean Hammond
2002-2008, 136 appearances, 21 goals |
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Despite scoring on his Albion debut at
Ipswich in 2002, Hammond had to wait a
further two years before getting a regular
run of first team games. After being given
a six month contract by Mark McGhee, he
finally broke into the first team in 2004
and he finally cementing his place as the Seagulls
battled to survival at the end of that
season. From then on he was a regular
in the side, often popping up with vital
goals at vital times which lead to him
claiming the captaincy in February 2007
and the player-of-the-season crown at
the end of that year. With just six months
left on his contract, Hammond was sold
by Dick Knight to Colchester in Janaury
2008. |
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Steve Sidwell
2002-2003,
12 appearances, 5 goals |
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Despite being
just 19 when Steve Coppell signed him on-loan
from Arsenal, Sidwell instantly became
a key player. He scored some
vital goals during his three month loan spell
and few will ever forget his two strikes in
the 92nd and 93rd minute of the home game with
Burnley to rescue a point as the Seagulls came
back from being 2-0 down in added time. In
just 12 games he showed that he was destined
for the top flight as his range of passing,
his engine and most importantly his strike rate
helped the Albion to their best run of form
in the 2002-03 season. Unfortunately, the club
couldn't compete with the money of Reading when it came to
a permanent transfer. |
Steve Thomson
2008-2009,
37 appearances, 0 goals |
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Thomson
arrived as Dean Hammond's replacement from Falkirk
in Janaury 2007 where he had been club captain.
The signing was seen as quite a coup at the
time although Thomson always struggled to fill
the former skippers boots particularly in the
goals department despite being made vice captain
to Nicky Forster. He showed glimpses
of class, such as in the away win at Walsall
shortly after joining and the Carling Cup shoot
out victory over Manchester City but he never
really settled in England and with the Albion
facing a relegation battle under Micky Adams,
he returned to Scotland for family reasons with
a transfer to St Mirren. |
Gary Dicker 2009-,
81 appearances, 5 goals |
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With
the Albion facing an uphill struggle in their
battle against relegation, Russell Slade turned
to Gary Dicker in a bid to boost his midfield
options. The move was inspired, as the Irishman
joined on-loan from Stockport and instantly
got the team playing football and as such played
a massive part in the great escape from relegation.
The deal became a permanent one in the summer
of 2009 and since then Dicker has been a regular
in the side, weighing in with some important
goals including that wonder strike last season
at home to Exeter City. Out of contract this
summer, it is not surprising that a
number of Championship clubs are said to be
interested. |
Andrew Crofts
2009-2010,
44 appearances, 5 goals |
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Another
fine midfield signing from Russell Slade, Crofts
arrived on a free transfer from Gillingham and
left for around £300,000 just a year later.
He was finally the goalscoring midfield leader
the Albion had been sorely lacking since Hammond's
departure 18 months early, and it was fully
deserved when Gus Poyet handed him the captaincy
as one of his first decision as boss. With the
armband, Crofts grew into a key man in the side
and was rewarded with the player-of-the-season
gong last year. His progress has been such that
he is now targeting a Premiership spot with
Norwich and has become a regular in the Wales
side. |
Radostin Kishishev
2010-,
31 appearances, 0 goals |
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The
final spot was a tough call between Kishishev and Liam Bridcutt, both of whom have
been excellent this year but Kish just gets
the nod. He arrived in the summer on a free
transfer and following the serious injury Alan
Navarro sustained at the start of the campaign,
became a revelation in the holding midfield
role. While the legs may be going and restrict
just how much football he is able to play, his
class and experience shine through, most notably
when the Seagulls are struggling to break teams
down and he will begin spraying the ball about
with all the talent of a man who has 88 Bulgaria
caps. His
contribution to this seasons current success
has not gone unnoticed. |
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