Magic of the FA Cup? Middlesbrough v Brighton
In his press conference before Brighton face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, Roberto De Zerbi said: “We have the Charlton experience in our heads.”
Us too, Roberto. Standing around the mean streets of London for an hour and a half in The Queue to collect match tickets and miss kick off was quite the experience.
The Albion then did their best to make the whole exercise futile by getting eliminated from a knockout competition at the hands of opponents four points off the League One relegation zone. What a way to spend an evening four days before Christmas.
There will be no queue at the Riverside Stadium, thank the lord, with a small away allocation in attendance. Not even the prospect of tucking into a chicken parmo has managed to overcome a dull FA Cup draw on a day where there are no trains because of the latest rail strike.
Only the most hardy of Seagulls supporters will be making their merry way to Teesside. And having preached for the past three months of their determination to uphold the integrity of the loyalty points scheme, the club offered the lowest possible five points for the most unattractive game of the campaign.
That has created the impression that the Albion are more determined to stop supporters attending away matches than they are properly rewarding the most loyal, willing to make a ridiculous journey by car or coach to watch a reserve team two weeks after the festive season and in a cost-of-living crisis. Not a good look, if you ask us.
The effort made and the paltry five loyalty points on offer for Middlesbrough will seem more worthwhile if Brighton do as De Zerbi has said and avoid the Charlton experience.
Eliminations at the hands of opponents from a lower division in any cup competition since the Albion won promotion to the Premier League in 2017 have been rare.
Charlton followed in the footsteps of Sheffield Wednesday, who knocked Glow Up Graham Potter out of the FA Cup in 2019-20.
That was a dismal season away from the bread and butter of the Premier League. Potter was rightly criticised for both his selection of a reserve side against Wednesday and sending out an Under 12s team when Aston Villa ran out 3-1 winners at the Amex in the League Cup.
Glow Up did at least learn from that, naming teams strong enough to progress in every subsequent cup match he was in charge of Brighton for.
De Zerbi has done likewise so far. Arsenal in the third round of the Carabao Cup was the perfect blend of youth, experience and pre-planned substitutions at specific points to ensure the Albion always had 11 players on the pitch capable of giving the Premier League leaders a game.
Nobody could fault his selection during the Charlton experience either. He named a strong team including five players returning from World Cup duty.
Brighton were simply unable to put the ball in the back of the net. Once it went to penalties, even the most optimistic of Albion fan must have known our turkey was cooked, given Brighton’s woeful record from 12 yards.
It therefore seems reasonable to assume that De Zerbi will select an XI good enough to win the game against Middlesbrough. He has talked about Leandro Trossard lacking match fitness, in which case The Vampire of Genk might make an unexpected start at the Riverside Stadium.
So too, Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentina World Cup winner was eased back into domestic football with 20 minutes against Everton on Wednesday night.
Middlesbrough would represent the perfect opportunity for Mac Allister to shake off more of the rust built up by two weeks of deserved partying following his return from Qatar.
From helping Lionel Messi win the World Cup to playing in front of a half-empty Riverside Stadium, let it never be said the life of a Brighton & Hove Albion footballer is not glamourous.
De Zerbi has confirmed that Danny Welbeck is available after injury. Expect to see Dat Guy. Andrew Moran made his Premier League debut at Goodison Park, so De Zerbi clearly rates him highly.
Julio Enciso has started every cup game this season, whilst chances maybe forthcoming to someone like Jan Paul van Hecke, who is yet to feature since De Zerbi took charge.
As for Middlesbrough, it is hard to predict what they will do. Boro were struggling just one point above the bottom three until the appointment of Michael Carrick as their manager in October, since when they have climbed from relegation candidates into the playoffs.
Carrick clearly has bigger fish to fry than the FA Cup as he aims to end Middlesbrough’s six year absence from the Premier League.
A weakened Boro side should be easy prey for a Brighton making changes to overcome. Even if Middlesbrough go full strength, the Albion now have the squad depth whereby they can introduce fringe players and still have more quality than a Championship promotion hopeful.
On paper, at least. But football is not played on paper, as the Charlton experience taught us. De Zerbi does not want a repeat and for five loyalty points and 16 hours on the road, neither do Albion fans.
