The Tony Bloom Documentary on Sky a reminder of how lucky we are
What a week it has been in the world of the Albion. The squad were quite rightly praised to the moon for their victory at Old Trafford last Sunday.
This turned out to be the start of a bad seven days for Manchester United. They bowed to the superior football of Brentford on Saturday, despite putting better stats on the board than they had managed against Brighton.
Our own GP – not the doctor of course but Graham Potter – was awarded the LMA Performance of the Week Award for overseeing Man United 1-2 Brighton.
Potter was voted the winner by a prestigious set of judges. Included on the panel were the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Howard Wilkson, Les Ferdinand and a certain Chris Hughton.
When accepting the award, Potter dedicated it to the entire squad and backroom staff who worked so hard to keep the show on the road. So, well done, Gaffer. Excellent work.
A few days after that historic first win away at Old Trafford, a 30 minute documentary landed on Sky Sports about the Albion.
When I watched, it made me realise just how much the club owes Mr Tony Bloom. It is quite cleat that without his foresight and financial input, Brighton would have been in an extremely awkward position when planning permission was received for the Amex.
The documentary was on twice in the week and I am sure it will run again soon. For anyone wanting to search for it, the Sky series is called Premier League Stories and the Brighton edition simply titled Tony Bloom.
And one final announcement before we get to the opening home game of 2022-23 against Newcastle United. My book covering the 2021-22 is now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format.
The Seagulls Best Ever Season can he purchased here. WeAreBrighton.com have written a review of it here and I am hopeful that the Amex Superstore will have it in stock leading up to Christmas.
I am also fortunate enough to be talking to Johnny Cantor on the Albion Unlimited Podcast this week about the book. The show went out on Tuesday evening and you can listen on catch up through BBC Sounds.
Speaking of being fortunate, my wife and I felt lucky that we had booked onto the Seagulls Travel coach from Burgess Hill for the Newcastle fixture.
A fully air conditioned mode of transport on such a scorching hot day was much needed. The only downside was that we arrived at the Amex as late as 2:15pm. There is not quite enough time to really take in the atmosphere and have a good mooch around.
Far from that famous old song “Walking In The Shade of The Old Apple Tree”, we found ourselves “Walking In The Shade of The Old East Stand”.
The sweeping structure of the Amex provided a respite from the beating sun. The players would have no such luck; they really were in for a taxing afternoon.
Both teams emerged from the tunnel to the rapturous sounds of Sussex By The Sea. A number of blue and white firework cannons went off from in front of the East Stand to get the season underway.
I found it really quite strange seeing Dan Burn in his number 33 shirt playing for a different club. He seems happy with Newcastle, which is the main thing. I do hope though that when they inevitably splash more cash on players that Burn is not confined to the bench.
Brighton were straight into it, showing no signs of wilting in the heat. That is an indication of how fit Potter has his players, including the slightly older members of the squad.
Joel Veltman showed real grit and determination as he always does, navigating his way out of some really difficult situations to ensure Newcastle did not get the upper hand on his side of the pitch.
Leandro Trossard soon started to work his magic down the other flank to create a great chance for Danny Welbeck. His header was prevented creeping in by Nick Pope, the England international goalkeeper Newcastle have signed from Burnley.
That set the tone for Pope’s afternoon. He made some excellent saves, which combined with good Newcastle defending was enough to see our visitors leave with a 0-0 draw.
Kieran Trippier just about managed to clear the ball off the line after Solly March got a shot away. From my seat in the West Upper, it looked to have gone in.
Goal line technology said otherwise, showing Trippier had kept it out by a quarter of a circumference of the ball.
Newcastle did manage to get the ball into the back of the net at one point. It was ruled out though as Callum Wilson had his boot over the head of Lewis Dunk, meaning the visiting striker was penalised for a high foot.
Next it was the turn of Pascal Gross to create something. He fed into Adam Lallana who swivelled and hit a shot straight at Pope.
As the half progressed and Pope kept saving from various Albion players, I began to think he was cramping our style.
By all means goalkeep like that for England at the World Cup if you play, but not when you are up against Brighton.
Just before half time and something unusual happened to Adam Webster; he lost a tackle. Miguel Almiron took advantage, racing away and feeding the ball to Wilson for a shot wonderfully kept out by Robert Sanchez before the offside flag went up.
0-0 at half time and Brighton were the better side. Newcastle had managed some opportunities, but the stats showed the Albion to be playing well. A quick drink to refresh the players and then they could set about getting that breakthrough goal, right?
The second half started with a great passage of play by Brighton, working the ball up through the Newcastle half.
A beautifully floated cross was met by the head of Lallana, who was again denied by Pope. Lallana is going to score again at some point in a Brighton shirt, I can feel it.
Pope next touched a March shot over and Burn blocked a Welbeck shot. Burn came close to scoring at the other end with a header just over and Veltman had to do more great defensive work to prevent Newcastle scoring.
The Albion kept battling on, continuing to give 120% despite the heat and Pope. The time soon came for Potter to bring on Kaoru Mitoma for a Premier League debut and he entered all guns blazing.
In the short time he was on, Mitoma showed real ball control and skill. He made some great runs down the left, cut inside really well and was unlucky not to make contact with a pass into the six yard box when more solid Newcastle defending intervened.
One Mitoma moment forced another Newcastle defender into clearing off the line. By this point, I seemed to be up and down in my seat every couple of minutes whenever Mitoma was involved.
His next move down the left saw him drop a shoulder, drift inside and play a great pass to Gross. Gross put the ball an arm’s length wide, the exact sort of opportunity he scored (twice) last week at Old Trafford. Such a shame that one did not go in.
Still, what a fantastic performance even if the result did not match. Play like that against West Ham at the London Stadium and the Albion will have a chance of inflicting more misery on the Hammers, to go with the 3-1 Brighton win on the final day of last season.
We always seem to have luck on our side away at West Ham. There was little against Newcastle, so maybe it has all been saved for Sunday in the East End? Up the Albion!
Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony
