Everton v Brighton? Oh god, it’s Sean Dyche again
Just the thought of Brighton playing a team managed by Sean Dyche is enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. Brighton 1-5 Everton last season. Brighton 0-3 Burnley the year before.
Two God awful, relegation threatened (or in Burnley’s case, actually relegated) sides who despite their lowly position in the Premier League standings absolutely wiped the floor with the Albion. Why does Dyche have such a stranglehold over the Seagulls?
It is to this context that Brighton will arrive at Goodison Park for the final time (FA Cup draw depending). The Toffees will move into their new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium for next season, bringing to an end 134 years of football at their famous old home.
Whilst modern day football grounds are all the rage and venues like Goodison are criticised for their archaic facilities, it is still a shame to lose such an historic stadium.
Between the shit views and the cramped concourse, Goodison is one of those places you can feel history pulsating off. From Dixie Dean to Wayne Rooney, it has been home to some of the greats of the English game.
Many footballing ghosts will lose their home when Everton leave; including Dean, who did actually pass away at Goodison in 1980 after suffering a heart attack during the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool.
Goodison will be missed as football heritage… and I say that as a man who was denied entry by an overzealous steward in November 2018 who said I was too drunk.
Note to self – do not drink two bottles of Prosecco on the train to Liverpool, six pints on arrival and eat only a small pack of M&S sushi before a game.
Still, there are worst places to be stuck for an afternoon with no football to watch. Blackburn springs to mind. And whilst Brighton were busy losing 3-1, I was in the Cavern Club enjoying life music and more (unnecessary) beer. Ask yourself who the real winner was?
Not the Albion, which hardly came as a surprise at the time. Goodison used to be as much of a graveyard for Brighton as facing teams managed by Dyche. It was not until 2022 that the Seagulls won a game there.
Glow Up Graham Potter ended that 121 year wait with a 3-2 victory in which Alexis Mac Allister scored twice. In doing so, Mac Allister finally established himself in the starting XI two years after arriving at the Amex in the process.
One year later and Robert De Zerbi secured win number two in even more impressive fashion. Everton might have been a mess under Frank Lampard, but it was still astonishing to see Brighton rock up on Merseyside and waltz to a 4-1 victory without ever really getting out of third gear.
That night made history as the Albion scored four times in a top flight game for the first time ever. It also set the tone for what was to come over the next five months, culminating in sixth place and Europa League football. More history, of course.
And so Goodison has gone from graveyard to a place where life is breathed into Brighton players and the Albion as a whole. Mac Allister kick started his career in England there, becoming a World Cup winner within 11 months.
The Seagulls had been good under De Zerbi following the return of the Premier League from the winter break, but hammering Everton turbocharged that via a huge statement win.
Could this latest and quite probably last visit to Goodison be used to propel the Albion forward again, by ending a run of four Premier League games without victory, the joint-worst run of the De Zerbi Era?
It was part humorous, part baffling and part interesting to see the BBC website talking of this barren run Brighton were on after last week’s 1-1 draw with Fulham in almost crisis terms.
“Brighton find themselves in a rut domestically. That’s not to suggest that manager Roberto de Zerbi is under any pressure whatsoever, but Sunday’s draw at home Fulham means they are without a win in four league outings.”
A rut? My learned friend, a rut is 11 games without a victory. Or six defeats in a row. Or three months without a goal at the Amex. Or a club-record 14 winless home games. Ruts happened all the time under Glow Up. Not four winless matches whilst sitting seventh in the table.
And nobody in their right mind would even think to suggest De Zerbi is under any pressure. Most Brighton fans accepted this season was going to be far more challenging than the last due to the additional workload from the Europa League.
A top 10 finish and a decent time in Europe would represent an excellent campaign. To sit seventh when the clocks change and having played Manchester City, Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool is a fantastic place to be.
Failing to beat Everton would be no disaster, either. Beyond the Dyche factor, the Toffees have won five of their last seven games in all competitions. They are actually in better form than Brighton.
If the Albion do come away from Goodison with all three points, then in the circumstances it would rank as one of the best results of the season.
De Zerbi said in his pre-Everton press conference that he was not happy with recent performances. “We are in seventh place in the table, competing in the Europa League. I could be happy, pleased with the performances at the beginning of the season.”
“No, it’s not like this. I’m not happy. We can compete stronger, everyone can do something more. It’s not a problem if we lose a player in the transfer market if we are competing in three games. We are Brighton and we have to play better.”
Better would certainly come from the Albion overcoming their Dyche kryptonite and getting their season back on track (if you believe it is off track). Three wins at Goodison in a row, a fantastic way for Brighton to say their own personal goodbye to a ground which was once luckless for them.
Just don’t drink two bottles of prosecco on the train up.
