Wolves 0-3 Brighton: Time to sell the Amex and play every game away?

Voting for the first ever Albion Fan Advisory Board began on Friday and in the light of Wolves 0-3 Brighton, WAB would like to offer one possible policy idea to all the candidates that could help secure their place on the panel.

Surprisingly, this does not involve lobbying for a reduction in a £3.20 bag of Starburst. No, we think that Tony Bloom should be told to sell the Amex for £150 million.

Bloom should use the money to buy Karim Benzema or Robert Lewandwoski and the Albion could then play every game away from home.

The 2022-23 Premier League title would be guaranteed for the Brighton trophy cabinet, which because we no longer had a ground could be kept in The Sportsman pub at Withdean or something.

Fans could flock there to view it as a reminder of how far the Albion have come to be champions of England from playing for 12 years at the Theatre of Trees, at the same time as having a £4 carvery. Win-win.

Wolves 0-3 Brighton made it 28 points won on the road this season, compared to 16 at the Amex. The Albion have the fourth best away record in the top flight and the 17th worst home record. Champions League form on their travels, relegation form at the Amex.

This split personality can make it hard to judge Graham Potter. To the home crowd, Pep Guardiola lauding Potter as the best English manager in the world makes it seem like Guardiola has lost his mind as well as his hair.

To the travelling support, Potter is a tactical genius capable of outwitting some of the greatest coaches in the world. The difference in results, performances and opinions is quite incredible.

Of all the Albion’s impressive showing away from home this season, Wolves 0-3 Brighton was up there with the best.

Before the game, the Old Gold were the proud owners of the best defensive record outside of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Only 1996 Coca Cola Cup winners The Leeds United had put three goals past the Wolves defence this season.

Brighton could and perhaps should have had more having been totally dominant, recording nine shots on target and restricting their hosts to just one – and that came in the 85th minute when the game was up and Molineux was emptying. A free header straight at Robert Sanchez that was barely even worth mentioning.

The Albion could even afford to miss a penalty and still win handsomely. With Brighton’s terrible record from 12 yards, it almost felt like VAR was taking the piss a bit when it found Romain Saiss had handled a Solly March cross into the box.

You could imagine the team at Stockley Park communicating the decision to Simon Hooper: “Hey Simon, remember the last time Brighton had a penalty when they drew 0-0 with Norwich and Neal Maupay sent the ball into orbit? Yeah, it will give us all a good laugh if we award them one here to see how the manage to cock it up, so go and look at the screen please.”

And cock it up the Albion duly did. Alexis Mac Allister was the designated taker this time and like Maupay against the Canaries, his effort was off target as he struck the post.

It looked like it might be another one of those days at that point. Enock Mwepu had driven a couple of efforts from range at Jose Sa but neither goalkeeper had been truly extended.

Sa made a decent stop from Leandro Trossard after Mac Allister’s miss and then five minutes before half time, Brighton were awarded another penalty.

Danny Welbeck was felled by Wily Boly and Mr Hooper pointed to the spot, something which would lead to wild celebrations amongst the fanbase of any other football club in the world.

Not Brighton, though. There was as much of a collective groan as there was joy at being given an unchallenged shot from 12 yards with which to score.

“We cannot miss two penalties in the space of nine minutes, surely?” Well, why the hell not? Memories of Pascal Gross blazing over the bar followed by Welbeck hitting the post a few miles down the road from Wolverhampton during last season’s visit to West Brom are unlikely to ever be forgotten.

The Albion switched penalty takers that afternoon at the Hawthorns. Mac Allister showed remarkable confidence to take the second spot kick on this occasion, even though Leandro Trossard was pretty determined to have a go himself.

Mac Allister got this one on target and although Sa got a hand to it, the ball was struck with too much power for the Wolves goalkeeper to keep it out. Brighton led 1-0 and on the balance of play, it was deserved.

For a side who struggle to score goals even more than the Albion, it seemed odd that Bruno Lage had kept Raul Jimenez on the bench in what Wolves must have viewed as a winnable home fixture.

Jimenez entered the fray at half time but Brighton were so good defensively that he had little impact. Potter reverted to a back three of Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk and Marc Cucurella having dallied with a four in the 2-2 draw with Southampton and the change worked to perfection.

Cucurella in particular was excellent. Having never played as a centre back in his life before Dan Burn was sold to the Saudi Sportswashers, he has become so comfortable in that role in the space of five months that he even has the confidence to combine it with those swashbuckling runs forward that were his calling card when he made such an early impression at left wing back.

Cucurella was involved in the third goal with one such charge up the pitch. The second goal came from Trossard, scoring his third in five matches to continue his best run of form in a Brighton shirt… just as he prepares to enter the final year of his contract.

The Vampire of Genk had began at left wing back but a knock to Mwepu had seen Adam Webster come on and the Albion shift formation.

Trossard was now more central and Welbeck found him making a run across to the right side of the penalty area.

Some neat footwork took Trossard away from Joao Moutinho before he fired a clinical low effort into the far corner.

Somebody needs to take Trossard hostage and force him into signing a new deal. And do the same to Welbeck too – two assists at Molineux for Dat Guy, in case you were not keeping count.

Brighton wrapped up the three points in the final five minutes. Trossard threaded a pass left to Cucurella and although the Spaniard’s cross was cleared, Wolves only managed to get the ball as far as Yves Bissouma.

Bissouma stepped around one Old Gold shirt and fired in from the edge of the box. It was his first Premier League goal since scoring in a 4-2 defeat at Everton in October 2020 and despite that long wait, Bissouma barely celebrated.

Depending on your viewpoint, that was either because the game was up or because he remains in a sulk about not being sold in January. With the score now Wolves 0-3 Brighton, it was hard to care too much either way by that point.

Potter had said before the game that he wanted to give the away fans more memorable moments from their travels. Brighton certainly did that, moving onto their best Premier League points haul since winning promotion in 2017.

The challenge now is to get a home win. Would it not be fantastic for those of us who grew up surrounded by Manchester United fans at school if that first victory since Boxing Day came against the Red Devils and their glory hunting supporters?

And if not, then just sell the Amex.