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Withdean's Greatest XI Vote - Right Wing
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 right side of midfield.
The right wing poll has proven
to be one of the hardest to produce, thanks to the consistency
we've been blessed with down that flank over the years.
The dominant force has of course been Gary Hart, he made
the position his own for the first five seasons at Withdean.
Since then we've had only a handful of other players which
has culminated in the excellent Elliott Bennett, which
means we have only managed to string together five, yes
five, genuine candidates for the spot out wide on the
right in the Withdean Greatest XI
Please
remember this is a vote for the player you thought to be
the BEST Albion right winger - not your favourite!
Gary Hart
1998-,
372 appearances, 45 goals |
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Oh Gary
Hart makes his second entrance into the polls
at right midfield, the position where he had
arguably his greatest time as an Albion player.
He first occupied the position towards the end
of 1999-2000 when a certain Bobby Zamora arrived
on-loan and was used as a lone striker, and
he stayed there for the next five years before
switching to right back. Hart racing at people
with his electric pace and head down became
one of the many trademarks of the back-to-back
championships of the early part of the 00's
and although a broken leg sustained at
Peterborough at the end of 2001-2002 slowed him down,
he remained a permanent fixture on the right
wing until 2005. |
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Rod Thomas
1998-2001,
48 appearances, 4 goals |
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A sign
of just who low into the barrel we've had to
scrape comes with Rod Thomas making the list.
Bought by Brian Horton in 1998 using the supporters
buy-a-player fund money, he was a tricky winger
who loved to dance down the right. Despite
his time at the Albion being marred by injuries,
he still managed to put in 48 appearances and
get the crowd buzzing whenever he received the
ball. Unfortunately, his work ethic was best
described as slightly lazy when it came to tracking
back which obvious didn't sit well with Micky
Adams, and with Gary Hart converted to a right
winger, Thomas saw himself released in 2001 with
two years still on his contract. |
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Sebastian Carole
2005-2006,
2009, 2010, 60 appearances, 2 goals |
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Carole first
arrived at Withdean from Monaco in 2005. His
direct running and ability to cause full backs
problems meant he only lasted at the club for
one season as Leeds United took advantage of the
Albion's relegation to snap him up on a free
transfer in the summer of 2006. Carole was only
gone for three years before Micky
Adams bought him back to Brighton in January
2009 and he played 15 games as Russell Slade
mastered a great escape. Remarkably, he then
returned to the club for a third time under
Gus Poyet in January 2010, but unable to dislodge
Elliott Bennett from the right wing, he was
released at the end of that season. |
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Elliott Bennett
2009-, 82 appearances, 12 goals |
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Arriving under Russell Slade in August
2010, Bennett became an instant favourite
among the Seagulls support and his now
rightly considered the key man of the
team. Before the midway point of the current
campaign, he was already responsible for
over twenty of the Albions goals through
either assists or scoring them himself.
This resulted in a seven figure bid from
Norwich City which was turned down by
chairman Tony Bloom. If Brighton are to
go up this season, then it is impossible
to put a price on Bennett's contribution
and every single fan will be hoping he
is still here next season to perform his
magic at the Amex in the Championship. |
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