Chelsea win set the standard – now Brighton need result at Wolves
So enjoyable was Brighton 4-1 Chelsea and so much debate has the reception afforded to Graham Potter caused that you could almost be forgiven for forgetting that the Albion have to play another Premier League game away at Wolves.
Hopefully, the players have remembered. Because they have now set an almighty high standard for what can be achieved under Roberto De Zerbi, delivering one of the most impressive results and performances in Brighton history in only the Italian’s sixth game in charge.
The challenge the Albion face is proving it was not a one-off. That they were not simply fueled into hitting scarcely reached heights by the presence of Glow Up Graham in the opposition dugout, the head coach who walked out on them and took his entire coaching team with him.
Or that – whisper it quietly – they simply played so bloody well because they all want Potter to buy them in January.
This would particularly apply to Leandro Trossard, who with grim predictability was linked with the Chelsea asset stripping project almost immediately after the final whistle blew at the Amex last weekend.
But hey, according to most of the national media, us Albion fans are meant to turn a blind eye to our club having its best talents pillaged by Potter.
Just be grateful that such an amazing manager stuck with us for three years, yeah? And remember to worship the ground he walked on. Anything else is a disgrace.
If you could pick any stadium and opponents in the Premier League for Brighton to back up such a statemen victory as dismantling Chelsea 4-1, it would be Wolves at Molineux.
For reasons nobody can understand, the Albion have enjoyed an unnatural hold over Wolves from the first moment the club’s crossed swords in the league back in 1979.
Brighton have lost just six games out of 36 against the Old Gold. That is despite Wolves finishing higher than the Albion in the footballing pyramid – meaning they were proven to be the better team over the course of an entire year – in 107 out of 121 seasons that Brighton have existed.
We probably aren’t supposed to mention this seeing as it counters the narrative being pushed since Potter walked out that he is the greatest Brighton manager in history, but Glow Up Graham oversaw two of those defeats.
The percentages therefore show Potter as the man responsible for 33 percent of Albion losses against Wolves since 1901. Another free history lesson, courtesy of WAB.
Potter’s only win as Brighton manager against the Old Gold came back in April. It also happens to be Brighton’s biggest ever win at Molineux, a 3-0 success delivered by Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Trossard and Yves Bissouma.
It could have been more, Mac Allister missing a penalty nine minutes before he successfully converted the second spot kick the Albion were rewarded in a truly dominant display.
Wolves were in contention for Europa League football at the time. Being hammered by Brighton did something to Wolves and they did not win any of their final four matches afterwards, sliding to a 10th placed finish.
The rut has continued into the current campaign. The Old Gold have beaten only Southampton and Nottingham Forest so far, sit second from bottom and have no manager after Bruno Lage was sacked for the dismal run.
Their search for a successor has hardly been smooth; QPR boss Mick Beale turned down the Wolves job on account of not being able to leave London as he looks after brother Ian’s fish and chip shop in Walford in the evenings.
Nuno Espírito Santo was linked with a return to Molineux, which would have been quite an about turn after Wolves fans said they were happy to see him move on 18 months ago as he was too boring. Even after he brought Europa League football to Wolverhampton.
If that makes Wolves fans sound a bit entitled, then that is because they are. One recalls an interesting train journey from Wolverhampton back to Birmingham after Chris Hughton’s Albion had drawn 0-0 at Molineux on the hottest April day in recorded West Midlands history.
Numerous Wolves supporters spent the entire trip telling any Albion fan who would listen how boring Brighton were. How we deserved to go down.
Coming off the back of Amex defeats to Plucky Little Bournemouth by five goals to nil and Cardiff City by two goals to nil, most of us were too bloody pleased with a point at Molineux to argue.
That and there was utter relief to be leaving Wolverhampton, where the majority of pubs were still operating a 1980s home fans only policy.
The boot is very much on the other foot now. And in any case, how much do Wolves supporters really know about football? They don’t like Mark McGhee, after all.
Lage lost his job largely because of an utter paucity of striking options, to the point where Wolves have scored only six Premier League goals all season.
If you thought Brighton had problems up front, spare a thought for Old Gold fans. Or not. Now they are the ones who support a boring football team. Live comes at you fast, sometimes.
At Molineux then we have Brighton who have always been a bogey side to Wolves, taking on managerless opponents who cannot score for love nor money, against a defence with Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster vying for a place in Gareth Southgate’s final 26 man England squad for the World Cup, in an Albion team who should be on cloud nine after humiliating Potter.
The conditions seem almost too perfect for the Albion. Under normal circumstances, this has Typical Brighton written all over it. “Get it on the Twitter list”. An almighty cock up waiting to happen, the sort which makes us love this football club.
But such a hold do the Seagulls have over Wolves that not even Typical Brighton applies to this fixture. The only worry would seem to be finding a pub in Wolverhampton you can enter without having to order using a questionable Jasper Carrott accent in an attempt to blend in with the locals.
(Narrator: After the most positive WAB match preview written in the 13 years this website has existed, Brighton would go onto lose 2-1 to Wolves)
