Vote now for your December 2020 WAB Brighton Player of the Month
Putting together a shortlist of players for our WeAreBrighton.com December 2020 Brighton Player of the Month was a task more painful than childbirth.
Yves Bissouma. Solly March. And that was it. We were utterly stumped for candidates after just two players. Not only had December been a winless month, but it had been a spectacularly poor one too as the Albion failed to beat the likes of fellow relegation candidates Fulham, Sheffield United and Arsenal with a set of performances devoid of inspiration and fight.
Southampton, Leicester City and Arsenal all picked up three points from Brighton. Fulham and the Blades may be two of the three teams below Graham Potter’s side in the table, but the Albion had to settle for draws against them and at West Ham United.
That little sequence of results gave Potter a few unwanted spots in the history book. He has now overseen the worst top flight start and the joint-worst winless home run in Brighton history. Winning just once at the Amex from 17 attempts in 2020 set a Premier League record for the lowest total of victories on home soil for a club who completed a calendar year.
Anyway, once we had finished marvelling at this ineptitude, we eventually managed to scrap together another four players to battle for the positions after Bissouma and March, both of whom continued their excellent seasons so far.
Robert Sanchez had some big moments in goal after replacing Maty Ryan for Fulham away, making the number one shirt his own. Adam Webster has looked much more comfortable since Graham Potter decided it might be a good idea to use a right footed centre back on the right side of a back three.
Danny Welbeck makes the list solely because his 84th minute equaliser against the 10 men of Sheffield United prevented the considerable embarrassment of Brighton becoming the first side to lose to the Blades this season.
And United’s John Lundstram rounds off the six as without his first half red card, the Blades would have played for the best part of an hour with only 10 men and chances are the Albion would probably have lost to Chris Wilder’s hapless outfit.
The candidates for WeAreBrighton.com December 2020 Brighton Player of the Month
Yves Bissouma
One of the few Brighton players to come out of December with the reputation enhanced. He seems to get better and better with each passing game, saving his best two displays for last when outshining both the Arsenal midfield and the considerable talents of Declan Rice in the 2-2 draw with West Ham United. It was hardly a surprise to hear he is a attracting very real interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
John Lundstram
Sometimes, these shortlists end up going a bit off-piste. This is one of those times. John Lundstram’s horror tackle with Brighton v Sheffield United just over 30 minutes old meant that the Albion’s task was made a little easier as they spent the majority of the game with a man advantage. Given that they barely scraped a draw in the circumstances, it is logical to conclude that had Lundstram not been sent off, Brighton would have struggled even further and could well have lost. So cheers, John.
Solly March
The left wing back was voted as our WAB Player of the Month for October and then followed that up by winning in November too. Chasing a hat-trick of Brighton Player of the Month victories, he was consistently good again throughout December 2020, including a man-of-the-match turn in the 0-0 draw away at Fulham.
Robert Sanchez
Replaced Maty Ryan for the 0-0 draw at Fulham with Potter confirming in the immediate aftermath of the draw at Craven Cottage that Sanchez was now his number one. Made a series of excellent saves throughout December but struggled against West Ham, serving as a reminder that he is far from the finished article when it comes to goalkeeping at Premier League level.
Adam Webster
His form dipped so much throughout October and November that he was dropped for the first time in his Brighton career for the trip to Leicester City. It was almost like Potter insisting in playing him on his weaker left side was impacting on his performances. The Albion shipped three at the King Power, Webster was instantly restored to the right of the back three and he has looked like the Seagulls’ best defender ever since.
Danny Welbeck
For an indication of how bad the Sheffield United draw was, Dat Guy Welbz topped the WAB Player Ratings despite only being on the pitch for 24 minutes. His late leveller against the Blades spared a lot of blushes and he was one of the better performers against Southampton, earning the penalty from which Pascal Gross scored the Albion goal.
Loading ...Poll closes at 8pm on Sunday 10th January
