Brighton set to play pre-season tournament in USA
Get your passports ready. According to The Athletic, Brighton are set to be one of six Premier League teams who head to the USA at the end of July for a pre-season tournament.
Dan Sheldon revealed news of the competition, which is also expected to involve Saudi Sportswashers Newcastle United, Chelsea & Hove Albion and 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United – depending on if the Peacocks can avoid relegation.
Two other clubs will be added a later date for the round-robin format with games taking place in Philadelphia, Atlanta and New Jersey.
An Albion trip to the United States has been on the cards for sometime now. Paul Barber has discussed it on a couple of occasions at Brighton Fans’ Forums, between spates of poetry breaking out criticising the club’s decision to charge season ticket holders £20 for a physical card rather than one loaded onto a smartphone.
Brighton already have links with the USA through their sponsorship deals with American Express and Nike and so a pre-season visit to the east coast would strengthen those ties, as well as helping to grow the Seagulls’ fledging fanbase Stateside.
There is already a thriving Albion fan community in the country through the Stateside Seagulls, whilst the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Pervis Estupinan, Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento are turning a growing number of football supporters from Latin America into Albion followers.
It has been a number of years since Brighton embarked on a pre-season tour where supporters were welcome to follow. Most recent expeditions to Europe having featured training camps and behind-closed-doors friendlies.
Following Brighton abroad is rarely dull. In 2010, Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named’s Albion side were involved in an abandoned match against Portimonense in Portugal following a fracas.
Then there was the famous Battle of Longford in 2001, a “friendly” between Micky Adams’ Division Three champions and League of Ireland side Longford abandoned after 44 minutes following a mass 40-man brawl.
Steve Melton sparked the fight with a horror tackle after replacing Richard Carpenter, who himself had been subbed for nearly coming to blows with his own teammate Matt Wicks.
Melton was sent off, as were Charlie Oatway and Longford’s Alan Murphy for their role in the punch up. Oatway then decided to chase Murphy 30 yards down the pitch to “have a quiet word” which resulted in an even bigger melee as coaches and even the Longford chairman waded in.
Said chairman took a punch in the face from one of his own players in the second brawl as bodies and fists flew everywhere.
Once Adams finally managed to pull his players into the changing room, he told them: “Well done lads, get your gear on, we are out of here.”
Brighton incidentally went onto win the Division Two title 10 months after the Battle of Longford and were crowned League One champions following the abandonment in Portugal.
Clearly there is something about being involved in a pre-season brawl that results in the Albion winning the league come the end of the campaign. Something for Roberto De Zerbi to consider in the United States come July?
