If Brighton beat bogey team Bournemouth, anything is possible

Beating Liverpool twice in 15 days was expected. Hammering Chelsea 4-1 easy. Winning at Manchester United a piece of cake. But Brighton facing Plucky Little Bournemouth at home? A terrifying prospect.

And not just because the Albion have a long and proud tradition of beating the best and losing to strugglers. Brighton fans can tell you of eliminating Manchester City from the League Cup four days after losing at home to nine man Walsall and beating Northwich Victoria 8-0 before losing 1-0 at home to Tranmere Rovers a week later.

Playing Bournemouth brings the added complication of Brighton largely having a woeful record against the Cherries over the past 30 years.

In that time, the Albion have failed to beat Bournemouth in every which way imaginable. Hammerings in which they have been totally outclasses. Poor management. Terrible refereeing decisions. You name it, it has happened against the Cherries.

Sometimes, I still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat about that afternoon when Bournemouth won 5-0 at the Amex in 2019.

Anthony Knockaert being sent off, Chris Hughton refusing to budge from playing one up front and the players appearing to down tools.

It was the result that convinced Tony Bloom that Hughton had come to the end of the line, paving the way for that greatest and most popular of Brighton managers to depart with a whimper rather than in the blaze of glory he deserved. Thanks, Bournemouth.

After replacing Hughton, Graham Potter was always good for a questionable team selection. At the Vitality Stadium in January 2020, the second half saw the most absurd tactics of his three-and-a-half years in charge of the Albion.

Dale Stephens was switched to right back. Leandro Trossard and Solly March came out wide and started delivering crosses into the box.

Their targets were the hobbit sized strike duo of Neal Maupay and Aaron Connolly, whilst Glenn Murray sat on the bench as an unused substitute.

The final score of Bournemouth 3-1 Brighton gave the Cherries their first home win in four months. Their previous 12 matches had returned just four points from a possible 36 and they had scored only once in their past six games. Of course they beat Brighton, though.

Glow Up is not the only manager to have made baffling decisions against Bournemouth centring around Murray. Nine years earlier in January 2011 and Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named rested his top scorer for the visit to what was then called the Fitness First Stadium. Brighton lost 1-0.

In the meeting at Withdean that season played three months previously, the Albion were superb and looked set to secure a rare three points over Bournemouth.

They led 1-0 right up until the final minute, when an aerial ball forward hit the arm that Cherries striker Steve Fletcher had stuck in the air whilst stood outside the box.

Somehow, referee Darren Sheldrake and his assistant awarded Bournemouth a penalty which Marc Pugh converted for 1-1.

Poyet was left raging in a typically wonderful post-match interview; even in that spectacular 2010-11 League One title winning season, Brighton could not beat the Cherries.

We could sit here all day talking about Brighton v Bournemouth and how ghastly it all is. The refereeing performance at the Amex on New Year’s Day 2014.

Or when Mike Dean got Yves Bissouma and Lewis Dunk confused, issuing a second yellow card to the Albion captain after Bissouma committed a foul.

Or when the Cherries all but confirmed Premier League promotion at the Amex as Brighton failed to score for a third game running in 2015. You get the picture.

But as harrowing as past experiences against Bournemouth have been and as frightening the idea of facing them often is, it also presents an opportunity for Roberto De Zerbi and his Brighton class of 2023.

If they manage to secure a rare and precious three points from the Cherries, then that should be seen as a huge milestone in their development.

To achieve De Zerbi’s dream of European football, the Albion have to overcome their problems in beating sides towards the bottom of the Premier League.

They also have to start getting results against opponents who they have previously detested playing, such as Everton, Chelsea and Bournemouth.

With the Cherries ticking both those boxes, it makes them doubly tough opponents. A win at the Amex in a game Seagulls fans have become accustomed to being disappointed from would show this side are made of something different to many of their predecessors.

Different enough to spend Saturday evening in the pub Googling the best karaoke bars in Pozan on a Thursday night for autumn 2023.

The good news is De Zerbi has already masterminded only Brighton’s second ever victory at Goodison Park. The 4-1 humiliation heaped upon Potter and his new employers was the first time the Albion had ever beaten Chelsea in a league game.

De Zerbi does not care for the ghosts of the pasts. His impact on Brighton since replacing Glow Up has been to remove fear from the players and change their mindset. They now go into every game believing they can win. Liverpool. Chelsea. Everton. Yes, maybe even Bournemouth.

Much of the focus will be on Moises Caicedo in the first game since the January transfer window slammed shut. Caicedo was back in training on Wednesday morning having been given four days off whilst the Arsenal saga played out.

With Alexis Mac Allister suspended, Brighton could really do with Caicedo on top form in the midfield engine room. De Zerbi has said Caicedo has his full backing and has asked supporters to get behind the midfielder.

De Zerbi has done enough in his short space in time that his words deserve to be listened to by Brighton fans, providing Caicedo gives his all on the pitch.

If he plays to his best over the next five months and helps the Albion into Europe, then he can depart in the summer on good terms with the Seagulls – just as Elliott Bennett did in 2011 after failing to force through a move to Norwich City in the January window.

Whilst Brighton spent January trying to hold onto their best player, the Cherries were making six new signings in an attempt to give Gary O’Neil the tools he needs to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

Following a 9-0 September humbling away at Liverpool which proved to be the undoing for Scott Parker’s time in charge, Bournemouth improved massively once O’Neil was placed in interim charge.

They climbed as high as eighth in the table at one point, meaning that the Cherries had little choice but to give O’Neil the manager job on a permanent basis.

As so often happens however, caretaker becoming permanent resulted in a drop off in form. O’Neil’s position was confirmed during the winter break, since when Bournemouth have lost six and drawn one of their seven matches, slumping into the relegation zone.

They desperately need a result. History suggests that they can get one at the Amex. If De Zerbi and Brighton can prove otherwise, then Europe really might be on the cards.