Brighton & Hove Albion Fans’ Forum 2022 Round up
The Brighton & Hove Albion Fans’ Forum is always an incredible evening. But even by the high standard of an annual event which is utterly bizarre from start to finish, 2022 will go down in the history books.
For those unfamiliar with the Brighton Fans’ Forum, Paul Barber, Graham Potter and sometimes Tony Bloom subject themselves to an hour of questioning from Seagulls supporters about important issues like wine selections at the Amex, leaving two men up from corners and broken toilets in the East Stand Upper ladies.
There is an unwritten rule that before asking a question, you must state your name, where you live, where you sit at the Amex and then offer optional thanks to Paul and Graham.
BBC Radio Sussex commentator Johnny Cantor does his best to try and turn it into a serious and insightful Q&A session as host.
Which is easier said than done when Maria from Haywards Heath and the West Stand wants to know if Graham likes living in Sussex and where he best enjoys taking his dog for a walk?
That was a question from 2021, made to seem eminently sensible compared to what we heard in 2022. Here is our round up of the latest Brighton Fans’ Forum.
Rather cheekily, it was host Johnny who got us underway. He asked Barber the second most important question on the minds of every Brighton fan after whether the club could buy their own trains to run on matchdays. What was the situation with Marc Cucurella?
Barber said Brighton did not want to sell Cucurella in an ideal world, but that they are realistic about players wanting to move to clubs who can offer European football and improve their hopes of playing internationally.
He added that for a transfer to happen, the buying club needs to meet Brighon’s valuation. That has not happened yet, despite what was reported on Twitter the previous evening.
It was not fair on supporters to think that the Albion had completed the sale of one of their star players, which is why Barber authorised the “unprecedented” statement saying that Cucurella had not been sold, contrary to what Fabrizio Romano amongst others were claiming.
Interestingly, Andy Naylor confirmed less than two hours after Barber said all this that Cucurella to Chelsea was done.
The deal is expected to be announced by both clubs soon, which makes you wonder how true Barber’s words about no fee having been agreed were – unless things were moving bloody quickly behind the scenes whilst the chief executive was busy answering questions about toilets and forks.
The microphone was too low to hear the name of the first lady asking a question from the floor. She did follow protocol though by saying she was a season ticket holder from Hove, without sadly thanking Graham and Paul for their fantastic work. Her question was what was the realistic target for 2022-23, given that the Albion finished ninth despite a massive dry spell in the previous season?
Potter said he and everyone at the club was very proud of finishing ninth. Even in an historic season, there were periods in which the team had to suffer but that is life in the Premier League.
The six games lost in a row was something Potter said he had never experienced before. He was grateful for that as a chance to develop and learn. Potter added for him to say that will not happen again would be a lie as it is part of competing at the highest level.
He said he had two achievements in mind. One was getting enough points on the board to survive. The other was the ambition to beat the system and secure another finish that overachieved compared to the club’s financial position, which is the bottom half of the table.
Potter then added that sometimes results are a bigger achievement than league position. He will remember beating Manchester United 4-0, winning away at Spurs and winning away at Arsenal far longer than he will Brighton finishing ninth in the table.
Good news for those of us who would like Potter to have a real go at a cup competition this season for another day out at Wembley, you would hope.
Theresa and her husband have season tickets for both the men and women’s teams. She asked if the club had any say over the broadcasters moving fixtures, citing the number of 5.30pm kick offs through October. A question every Strictly Come Dancing fan would like an answer to given the difficult choice between watching the Albion and the dancing when they clash on a Saturday evening.
Barber said the club have no influence unless there is a very good operational reason to request a different kick off time, such as Pride being on. Sadly, it does not look like seeing Dianne Buswell dance the jive is a very good operational reason.
With regards games moved for television, Barber said the Premier League and the broadcasters do their best to give enough notice of fixture changes for supporters.
We will remember that one when trying to book the 7.05am Sunday morning train out of Euston after Manchester City gets moved with three weeks notice.
Barber added that broadcasters pay billions to show games and that is the price that comes with being in the most popular, richest league in the world. He understands the frustration when fans cannot get to matches, but the club have to comply.
There was then a brief talk about the women. Season ticket sales are up over 200 percent and Barber added the club were looking to move more Brighton Women games to the Amex.
This depended on availability of the stadium and not clashing with the men, pitch condition and it being financially viable to host games.
Barber said whilst season ticket sales were fantastic, it still left a huge number of matchday tickets which needed to be sold for it to make financial sense to hold every women’s game at the Amex – which is the club’s long term aim.
The solution seems pretty simple. The more of us Brighton fans who attend the upcoming WSL matches against Aston Villa and Reading at the Amex, the more likely the women are to play further matches at the Amex. Get along on those two Sundays in September if you can, Seagulls supporters.
Marion from Brighton was very pleased to be a season ticket holder. She then gave us the traditional Brighton Fans’ Forum round of thanks, saying she was proud as proud can be that Euro 2022 came to the Amex after Alex Scott listed the number of Premier League clubs who would not allow their grounds to be used for the tournament. She then took on another traditional Brighton Fans’ Forum topic – loyalty points. She wanted to know if loyalty points could be awarded for women’s games, Under 23 games and disabled games?
Barber asked if Marion could work in the Albion’s marketing team. He said that he would ask head of supporter services Jenny Gower to take the idea away and see if it could be looked at in the future.
A young girl sporting the new “crimson” away kit was not pulling any punches – Graham, will Brighton play in Europe?
Potter said why not? Brighton are a well-run football club who want to keep progressing. To reach Europe would need bigger, richer clubs to be less well-run, underperform and not make the most of their financial backing.
But that happens and you have to have ambition in football. Get your passports out people, Albania on a Thursday night here we come in 2023.
Graham had emailed in a question about whether Graham Potter the player would be a better player under Graham Potter the coach?
A lot of Graham going on in that one. Potter said he was not a miracle worker whilst scratching his beard and looking very awkward.
Tony was up next, following Brighton Fans’ Forum protocol by saying he was from Lewes and the North Stand. Tony asked what were the chances of the three new signings, without naming any names – Undav, Enciso and Mitoma – all playing regularly?
Superb work from Tony in not wanting to name any names, then reeling three off straight away. Potter said all three were taking a step up in their careers to play in the Premier League, so there would be a period of adaptation.
All three were competing for a place in the squad, they have added interesting qualities and Potter said they had shown good character so far. We can therefore expect Enciso to be on loan at Stoke City within a couple of weeks.
What followed next was simply incredible. Dave had written his question in the form of a poem which he read from a sheet of paper. As far as we are aware, this was a Brighton Fans’ Forum first. It went as follows:
My name is Dave, I’m here tonight,
To talk about something, I think is not right,
The extra charge I face each year,
for something that I have right here,
*Dave holds up a physical season ticket card*
Twenty pound at the mo, but could be more,
The following year fifty, or maybe four score,
That’s eighty to you younger folk,
And there’s the rub, it must be stated,
I fear this charge, is age related,
For the older one is, more likely not to own,
A modern, all singing, all dancing, smart phone
For cup matches and ladies and friendlies I use,
An option always free, but here’s the news,
This year, unannounced, a new charge that’s nifty,
To print at home is now two pound fifty,
To use my home printer, my paper, my ink,
I now have to pay, what a rip off I think,
Finally, let’s talk about this last weekend,
And the Espanyol match, I came with a friend,
We arrived at the Amex, and this we found,
Big queues to get in, around the ground,
When I got to the front, I put paper under light,
And straight through the gate,
Unfortunately not the same for the phone of my mate,
He waved it and scanned it,
Scrolled it but no way,
Was that phone letting him into the Amex that day,
Eventually with help, he did appear,
I was just waiting, and drinking my beer,
The queues now enormous, I felt sorry for the staff,
Easy smart phone entry, you’re having a laugh
At this point, Johnny tried to cut Dave off. Dave held up his hand to quieten the host. Johnny responded with “Hurry up if you can, because this is going on for quite a long time now.” Neither man nor beast nor BBC Radio Sussex presenter could stop Dave…
Three o’clock was fast approaching,
And would kick off be delayed?
Finally a decision, had to be made,
Throw the gates open, let them in with no check,
Tell them something is broken, oh what the heck,
And for this system, I must suffer,
Extra charges and fees,
For being a silly older duffer,
Money taken with no mercy, or no pity,
It’s as bad as supporting Manchester City.
And with that, Dave returned to his seat to a standing ovation. I had to check that I hadn’t accidentally put ketamine in my coffee rather than sugar. What the fuck had just happened?
Barber grinned awkwardly but you could tell inside he was seething, probably wondering how the hell he was going to justify the £2.50 charge to print a ticket at home when confronted about it by a Shakespearian sonnet.
Potter in contrast loved it, clapping wildly and laughing his head off as though Neal Maupay had just scored a last minute equaliser at Crystal Palace again.
Barber told Dave he could pay £20 to buy a smartphone rather than £20 for a season ticket card, then he would only need to fork out once and not purchase a new card every season. Which seemed to rather miss Dave’s point that some older fans struggle with technology.
He said the club were trying to keep season ticket prices down in the face of rampant inflation. The best way to do that was by using new technology to make the club as efficient as possible.
That was the reason behind using digital ticketing. And over 80 percent of people in this country have a smartphone, apparently.
Barber said the charges were there for the club having to run alternative systems which they do not want to and which otherwise might come out of the playing budget. Unfortunately, that was the price some people had to pay.
He added that although he couldn’t put it into verse, that was his answer. Ladies and gentlemen, we were officially through the looking glass.
The next question posed a perfect follow up. If you could change anything about the Albion, what would it be?
Barber passed up a golden opportunity to answer with “Supporters who write poems to read out at Fans’ Forums.” They instead said they would come back to that question at the end. They didn’t.
Keegan had emailed in a question for Potter. Does he play FIFA and if so, does he buy and sell real Brighton players?
At any other Brighton Fans’ Forum, this would be the headline-making question. Dave though had already stolen the show.
Potter doesn’t play FIFA but his kids do. He watches as they play as Brighton, which he finds weird as he is the manager on the television screen.
Wait until you discover Match of the Day Graham, your mind is going to be totally blown.
Jaye came from the West Stand via Shoreham. He asked what position Potter sees Enciso and Mitoma being used in this season?
Potter said Mitoma is a high wide left player. He is really good one versus one, goes past full backs well and can cut inside on his right foot.
Enciso has spent most of his career playing out wide or through the middle. He has running power, is direct and has a real enthusiasm for the game.
Potter said Enciso is so young that you do not want to pigeonhole him into any position, just let him experience the game in different areas to find out where his strengths are and where he can have the biggest impact.
(Narrator: Potter would start Mitoma at right back against Manchester United and Enciso in goal.)
Paul from the East Stand said the Manchester United and West Ham games were the best two atmospheres at the Amex. He said the atmosphere is normally killed though because the away supporters are behind the south goal. That makes them louder and gives visiting teams an advantage. Paul asked if there were any plans to move travelling fans?
Barber said that if 28,000 Brighton fans cannot outshout 3,000 visitors, then maybe the problem is with the home support and not the stadium.
He then added that the club were looking at what could be done to move away fans. This would probably involve them not having the whole of the South Stand but moved around a corner, presuming there was not too much disruption to home season ticket holders.
Barber said that moving away fans to an upper tier was not an option as they cannot be above home supporters. He doesn’t know how Newcastle get away with managing it, but that he might have a word with Dan Ashworth and see what he can sort out.
Ed from Essex travels down to every home game. He started by saying that would the Albion had given him across the years was unbelievable. He then started talking about the club’s soul, as if he were in an American Baptist Church rather than a room with a few hundred football fans and a poet. We eventually got to the question – how would the winter World Cup impact on the season? He also asked if Potter were England manager, would be swap Harry Maguire for Lewis Dunk?
Potter said a break of six weeks would mean the players getting the opportunity to relax and have some time off. That would be followed by a four week mini pre-season, featuring warm weather training somewhere away from England.
For the second part, Potter said he is thankfully not the England manager and he does not have to worry about which number five to pick.
Host Johnny requested every Brighton supporter asking a Fans’ Forum question from this point on to keep the introductions short, completely missing the point of why most of us tune in. Barber was questioned about the club’s plans for a Fan Zone outside the Amex, like at West Ham and Wolves.
Yes was the answer. There were plans pre-Covid, but they had to be put on hold when the club lost £60 million due to the pandemic. These were now starting to get rolled out again.
Barber said the club would like to introduce outside toilets, a classic Brighton Fans’ Forum issue that crops up every year. Bars, food outlets and big screens under a covered area were also on the cards.
Sally from Lancing lives quite near the training ground, which she felt the need to share with the room. She has noticed how well the club are scouting players, turning unknowns into superstars. She wanted to know how the club were doing it and is it going to carry on?
Potter said that Brighton have a really good recruitment team which is aligned with how the club want to play. The Albion sign the right personalities who fit into an environment geared to helping everyone improve.
The annual Brighton Fans’ Forum question about pre-season tours came up next. Would the Albion be heading on a global tour anytime soon?
Barber confirmed that the club were looking at heading to the US next summer. This would involve two games on the east coast if possible.
If it is to happen, it would be confirmed later in 2022 and then announced so that Albion fans can make travel plans if they wish to go and watch.
Bill from Worthing asked Potter about whether he felt five subs in the Premier League this season would favour the big teams?
Potter said he was in favour of it as it helps the squad dynamic. More players getting the opportunity for game time creates a happier environment and helps make his job easier.
He feels that he has a really strong squad with players beyond the XI who deserve to play. Now, he can get more of them onto the pitch in a 90 minute match.
Elisha from Seaford was impressed with Leandro Trossard scoring a hat-trick against Espanyol. She asked if Trossard would be starting more this season, rather than on the subs bench?
Trossard started 32 games in all competitions in 2021-22, making this exactly the sort of baffling Brighton Fans’ Forum question to the manager that these events are made for.
Potter said Trossard was a really important player. He enjoyed his best form as an Albion player at the backend of last season when moved out to the left. If he continues that in the coming campaign, then he will have a huge role to play.
Nick from the West Lower asked if Brighton losing three young players from the academy was to be expected, or if the club could do more to hold onto the likes of Zak Sturge?
Barber said as a Category One Academy, Brighton could take players from other clubs. The same principle applied though and other clubs could take players from Brighton.
Compensation is normally agreed when a young player wants to leave, which maybe a football related decision on the part of the player such as better opportunities for progression elsewhere.
Sometimes, a move comes about because the parents relocate. And there are agents and intermediaries who will want to move players on for their own gain.
A question came in about what the club does to support the mental health of players?
Barber provided a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the scenes, the sort of stuff most fans take for granted.
Using Enciso as an example of a young player coming from abroad, he said there were people at the club who help him find somewhere to live, set up a bank account and all the other tasks which a teenager with very little English might struggle with.
The sports psychology team help the players with the mental side of the game, which is finally becoming viewed in equal importance to the physical.
And then if there are specific issues to do with mental health of individuals struggling, there are specialists at the club who can help with that as and when problems arise.
Guy from Peacehaven and Spain said Brighton should come and play a friendly in Marbella in November. He then said that Dunk and Solly March both now qualified for testimonials. Were there any plans to make these happen?
Barber said testimonials do not tend to happen in the modern era. In the old days, players did not earn the money they do now and so a benefit match was a way of giving them an extra payday as a reward for 10 years service.
Testimonials now tend to be about raising money for a player’s charity. It has not been discussed with Dunk or March, but Barber said it is something they might look at if it could be fitted into the calendar.
Keith has been a season ticket holder since the Withdean Days. He provided the first 2022 Brighton Fans’ Forum question to mention length of time as a fan. He wanted better access and stands for bicycles to reduce the traffic problem at the Amex.
Barber said he did not think thousands of fans are suddenly going to jump on a bike to ease the traffic problems. Having fallen off my bike and into a bush by Hove Lawns after one too many beers following the Watford home game last season, I concur with Paul.
He added that the club would look to increase the cycling provision within the confines of the stadium.
