Brighton head back to Bramall Lane to battle Blades
And another fun week on Planet Brighton comes to an end with a trip to Sheffield United, the second time the Albion will have taken on the team the Great Sean Bean supports in as the space of three weeks.
The past seven days have seen Simon Adingra crowned an African Champion via a man-of-the-match performance for Ivory Coast in the AFCON final against Nigeria. That was the good.
Then came the bad. Chelsea launched their latest tri-annual raid on the Amex, wanting to appoint Brighton head of recruitment Sam Jewell just 15 months after appointing Brighton head of recruitment Paul Winstanley.
For a billionaire, Todd Boehly remains mighty thick when it comes to a lack of realisation that it might not be the people responsible for the Albion’s success, but the systems in place.
Kaoru Mitoma could be off to Barcelona or somewhere else in the Premier League. And the weekend brought news that Roberto De Zerbi would leave Brighton sometime soon. Which is not really news at all.
Every Albion fan must by now realise De Zerbi is destined for bigger and better things, like one of his rumoured destinations Barcelona.
It is a case of when rather than if the charismatic Italian departs the Amex. There is little point in worrying about it.
Just enjoy Brighton playing an innovative style of attacking football under one of the most in-demand and talented coaches in the world.
All of which leads us into Sunday afternoon, Bramall Lane. Will Seagulls supporters enjoy themselves or will it be another horror show in the same mould as last time the Albion took on hosts in the Premier League relegation zone?
De Zerbi himself referenced the debacle at Luton Town which came just three days after Brighton won 5-2 against Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
“I would like, and I told my players this morning, we have to think about the Luton defeat,” De Zerbi said in his Saturday afternoon press conference.
“To prepare the best against Sheffield United, we have to keep the memories of the Luton defeat. Because I am able to feel the same pain that we felt on that day.”
You and us all, Mister De Zerbi. One of the more fascinating aspects of DeZerbiBall is of course that when it works, it works brilliantly. Brighton prove to be a match for the best teams in the world.
But when it does not work, it tends to go terribly wrong. As we saw at Luton. And when the Albion were hammered 6-1 by Aston Villa. Or getting turned over 5-1 at the Amex by relegation threatened Everton.
What then will happen against the Blades? Another horror show akin to Kenilworth Road? Or a repeat of the excellent victory Brighton enjoyed in the Steel City 22 days ago?
The answer to that question is who actually knows? Two weeks ago and United fans appeared to have given up on their side, many heading for the exits at Bramall Lane before half time as the Blades headed towards a 5-0 defeat against Aston Villa.
Fast forward seven days and the same Luton team playing in the same ground who humbled Brighton 4-0 were beaten 3-1 by Sheffield United.
The Blades are seemingly not done yet in the battle to avoid an instant return to the Championship. Even as Chris Wilder seemingly used his own pre-game press conference to prepare home fans for a difficult afternoon against the Albion.
“The knowledge of the crowd is incredibly important because I could set my team up just to go and get after Brighton,” said Wilder, effectively telling United supporters not to expect overtly attacking football.
“I could say we’re going to go full press, man-for-man, stop them playing out from the back, we’re going to get after them and stand on the halfway line – and I know what’s going to happen.”
“The way they play, the way they move the ball, the way they want the game to be. They want that game. That’s the game they want. You have to make sure you get your game plan right and you are patient.”
Except of course, it is not always the game the Albion want. Luton pressed and targeted the Albion through the middle, stopping Pascal Gross and Billy Gilmour from dictating the game just as Villa had.
And just like at Villa Park, such positive tactics highlighted just how much Brighton miss a natural ball winner like Moises Caicedo sitting in front of their defence.
The advantage the Albion have now compared to the Luton game is that their wingers are returning. Adingra is back, Ansu Fati available after injury and Mitoma made his first start since December in th 2-1 defeat to Spurs last weekend.
Brighton are a very different beast playing 4-2-3-1 with their flying wingers in form. And that should give everybody confidence that despite Jewell leaving, De Zerbi leaving and Mitoma leaving, the Albion show can keep on rolling.
