Albion Fans’ Forum Round Up 2019

Brighton held their annual fans’ forum at the Amex on Thursday 9th August with supporters able to ask questions directly to Tony Bloom, Paul Barber and new manager Graham Potter.

We love these events, not because you learn anything new – they’re pretty useless for that sort of thing normally – but because they offer brilliant entertainment.

Where else can you get Steve, 45, a bus driver from Peacehaven asking a highly-paid professional football manager with 20 years experience if he’s considered asking Jose Izquierdo to shoot a little bit more?

Or Claire, a season ticket holder for 33 years, questioning why there is no bus running directly from her front door to the Amex?

Throw in the usual gripes from a bloke who thinks it unfair he can’t get away tickets despite his last game being the 1983 FA Cup Final and someone asking about increasing the capacity of the Amex, and you’ve got a night to rival anything showing on UK Gold.

This year’s wasn’t a let down, especially with Potter having to sit through the circus for the first time. Here are some of the highlights from an evening of sometimes enlightening, often ridiculous questions.

The first question came from an old man, who was clearly new to the fans’ forum as he didn’t state his name, age, hometown, how long he’s supported the club or offer his own message of thanks to Bloom and Barber. He wanted to know why we’d had such a quiet transfer window (Brighton have signed six new players and moved 14 on). He also asked about the work permit situation with Percy Tau and Alexis Mac Allister.
An excellent start to proceedings as one fan believes signing six players and spending close to £60m is a quiet window. Barber gave that short shrift, sadly. He then said Tau and Mac Allister represented a long term investment in two young and talented players and the club were working very hard to find a way to get them into the country. Have they tried people smugglers? Brexit (means Brexit) and future immigration laws were adding a degree of complication on top of an already complicated situation, but the club always knew this would be the case.

Tony from Lewes (and the North Stand) said that Chris Hughton was told his job was plain and simple survival, but now Bloom wants us to become a top 10 club. He then asked Potter what job he’s been given for the next two seasons?
Potter was wearing a stunning mustard coloured jacket and he gave an answer nearly as cool as his coat, saying that it was up to the club to set their vision; he just took things one game at a time. He does however want his side to go into every game believing they can win, which would have been music to the ears of some of Hughton’s detractors.

Phil from Southwick wanted to know what Potter thought the steepest learning curves were going to be in Premier League management?
Potter said that was a good question. He believed the scrutiny and the media attention that comes with being in the Premier League would be something he needs to adapt to. As well as stupid questions at fans’ forums, probably.

Another bloke who disappointingly failed to give any unnecessary personal details asked what the difference was between Hughton being billed as manager and Potter’s title of head coach?
Bloom said that Potter being a head coach showed that he was very much in charge of the playing side, coaching the first team and bringing through players from the Under 23s. Bloom added that Potter had been working closely with the recruitment team over the summer to get the new signings he wanted and that would fit his style of play. Based on that, there seems to be bugger all point in the change.

A Scottish man who again didn’t introduce himself asked Potter what difference he thought VAR would make this season?
Potter said the fact that every goal could be now be checked meant he wouldn’t be celebrating until they were confirmed, which would ruin his life a little bit. Other than that, the Albion boss thought it would be a positive in terms of helping referees get things right. We’ll see if he’s so sanguine when it picks up every little shirt pull or niggle that Glenn Murray has at opponents from set pieces.

Paul from Brighton started by wishing Graham all the best for the coming season. He wanted to know if any players would be missing out on the 25 Premier League man squad?
Barber said the Albion didn’t need to name the 25 man squad until the end of the month when the European window shuts. He added that the transfer window closing before the season starts was good in some ways but bad in others. It would work much better if Europe agreed to shut their window at the same time as us. Stick that on the side of your next bus, Boris.

Guy from Peacehaven was grateful for everything that Hughton achieved but also grateful to have a more ‘front foot’ manager in Potter at the helm. He had noticed something during Friday’s friendly against Valencia though – we don’t leave any attackers up the pitch when defending corners. He then reeled off a list of teams who did this and asked why we don’t?
Our favourite type of question as Guy from Peacehaven reckons he has come up with a clever tactical innovation that Potter, with 30 years experience in football, hasn’t thought of. Potter said that he could get Pep Guardiola to explain it as Manchester City do the same thing and it works quite well for them. Take that, Guy.

Andy wanted to know if the club had turned down any offers of pre-season tours and whether heading abroad is something that may happen in the future?
Barber revealed that the club had looked into playing in New York and Philadelphia (the city, not the cheese) this summer but logistical reasons prevented it happening. Obviously, Crawley and Birmingham weren’t bad as second choices go. The club wants to play games on the east coast of the United States to tie in with the new sponsorship deal with American Express and that is currently the plan for next summer. Get your passports and your bullet proof vests ready people, we’re off on an American tour.

Monica from Warninglid thanked Tony for his investment and continued support and welcomed Graham to the club. She then said last season wasn’t fun and she’d been abused by opposition supporters for having such a boring team. She asked Graham if he could bring some excitement into her life?
Steady on, Monica. The new Albion boss appeared to go very red and then said that he’d be trying his very best, but it wouldn’t be easy. Funnily enough, that’s exactly what I tell my missus.

Graham from sunny Windsor spoke about Potter’s productions of Swan Lake and the rock concerts he had put on during his time at Ostersunds. He asked if Potter would be doing anything similar with the Albion squad?
Potter said that they weren’t actually his ideas, but the Ostersunds’ chairman. He wouldn’t advise anybody taking over a new football club to walk in on their first day and start telling the players they needed to sing and dance more. It worked in Sweden but that’s a different culture, although the idea of putting players on a stage where there are no hiding places and helping them become more rounded was one that does have proven benefits. It remains to be seen if we’re going to get Shane Duffy performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 or Glenn Murray in the lead role in Carmen anytime soon.

A lady said the problem last year was that we didn’t score enough from open play. She’s watched a few pre-season games, and that still seems to be the problem. How was this going to be addressed?
This lady can’t have watched too much in pre-season. We put four past Birmingham City. Five past FC Liefering. One past Fulham and two past Valencia – who are the fourth best team in Spain. That’s 12 goals in four friendlies. Absolute nonsense question.

John from Worthing had a question about the development squad. He wanted to know who had impressed Potter most and what chance was there of any of them getting onto the first team bench this season?
Potter said that Steve Alzate was still training with the first team, as were Aaron Connolly and Max Sanders. Now it’s about finding the right opportunities for them and the right time to help them break into the first team squad, although it is a big step up. His plan involves having them train with the senior players every day so they are exposed to that level of quality, as you can’t jump straight from Under 23 football to Premier League football.

Mark from Hurstpierpoint wanted to know how the Albion decide whether to sell or keep players, with specific reference to the Lewis Dunk to Leicester City speculation
Potter started by saying that from his point of view, you have to think of the players and whether a move is right for their careers or family. But ultimately, the club decides as they own the player which makes it a bit of a balancing act.

Russell from North London was pretty happy with how the transfer window went and you could see Bloom looking visibly delighted that he’d at least pleased our Russ. Russell then wanted to know if the club were as happy as he – or did they feel they needed a right back?
Potter said he was delighted with the window, although given that he was sat next to a guy who’s written cheques to the tune of £60m over the last four weeks, he couldn’t really say anything else.

Yet another unnamed individual asked how long it has been in the Albion’s plans to send so many young players out on loan to the Football League and abroad and what are their hopes for the future?
Interestingly, Bloom said that part of his vision for the Albion is to buy good young players, loan them out to other clubs to get experience and then bring them back to the Amex as an option for the head coach to use. If successful, it can bypass the need to pay huge transfer fees for those same players at a later date. We’ve written about this previously, comparing the £18m paid for Adam Webster with the £3.5m paid for Matt Clarke. Webster was worth that amount after one good Championship season with Bristol City, which means that should Clarke prosper in the same way on loan at Frank Lampard’s Derby County this season, next summer he could be worth four times as much as we paid to Portsmouth before he’s even kicked a ball in a Brighton shirt. Some fans may not like it, but it seems very much the way we’re going to do business going forward.

David from Portslade wanted Potter to let everyone know in advance if there was an upcoming ballet as he’d definitely buy a ticket to see Shane Duffy in a tutu. He asked about whether the women could play more games at the Amex as Crawley is a nightmare to get to?
Not only is it a nightmare to get to Dave, but it’s a shithole as well. Barber said it’s difficult to have womens’ games closer to Brighton due to the regulations surrounding the standard of stadiums that must be used. Opening the Amex isn’t economically viable either. He revealed that we help maintain the pitch at the People’s Pension Stadium due to the fact that both the women and the Under 23s use it.

Richard from Polegate is disabled and the only way of him getting to games is via Seagulls Travel, which the club have increased the prices for in the coming season. He wondered how it was fair for the club to whack up door-to-door coach travel, but not make people may more for trains or the park and ride?
This question gave us undoubtedly the best quote of the night as Barber inadvertently told a bloke in a wheelchair that he could come to the stadium “via busses, via trains, via a push bike”. He started his response by saying that the club didn’t actually run Seagulls Travel, so it wasn’t anything to do with them. He then gave the sort of detailed answer you’d expect from a man who does in fact run Seagulls Travel. The club felt that Seagulls Travel users were getting a double subsidy as they were receiving a door-to-door service which the club were paying for, yet which the majority of supporters don’t use. It would be like paying for travel for those outside the travel zone, paying for fuel for those who drive or offering free parking. Barber said they are evening the playing field by asking those who benefit from the direct service to pay a little more for those additional benefits. Seems fair enough.

Jonny from the North Stand wanted to know if the club were going to introduce safe standing at the Amex, given the success it has had at other clubs?
Barber pointed out that there is still no legislation for safe standing in the Premier League. He added that when the club consulted with fans about the idea, there was a lukewarm response to it. People didn’t want to move to make the necessary room required for a safe standing area and he questioned whether it was worth altering a fantastic stadium of 31,000 seats – hopefully a few more in the future (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) – to install something that only a vocal minority of supporters are in favour of. Somewhere in a corner, John Baine was writing a furious poem.

Tim from Haywards Heath had a quick question about why the ball boys and ball girls were positioned behind the advertising boards? This meant that players had to run and get the ball themselves rather than have it thrown back to them.
Can’t say we’ve ever noticed the position of the ball boys before, so credit to Tim for raising this. Barber said that the advertising boards cannot be covered (even by a child), otherwise the club get angry messages from the Premier League about their partners logos not being clear. As a former Withdean ball boy, I can say with authority that this was never an issue during our days in the lower leagues, although presumably American Express are paying a lot more to have their brand seen than Gametrader in Burgess Hill used to.

Phil from Southwick had so impressed with his earlier question about Potter’s learning curves that he got a second one. This time, he asked Bloom if he’d had any approaches from rich foreign investors and what would his approach be if they came?
Seeing as Bloom manages to hide his true wealth remarkably well, nobody knows quite how much money he has and how far he could take us. Interestingly, he said he had a few offers in his first few years of owning the club but he’s got no intention of selling in the foreseeable future – which drew a large round of applause and even a few whoop whoops from back.

Katarina from Lindfield told us she’d been coming to the Albion for some years now. She was really excited about the journey that the Albion are on, but wondered if we could have a few more goals and have some forks on the concourses?
Barber responded by telling Katarina she always asks a great question every year, which he somehow did with a nearly-straight face. He said he couldn’t guarantee anymore goals, but he’d see what he could do on the fork front.

Alan from Lancing did what all great radio presenters do and picked up on an early comment that Barber had made about the capacity of the Amex before 31,000 plus a few more. Alan asked Paul if he could elaborate on how many a few more could be?
It’ll be a few more, Alan.