Welcome to another episode of Sussex Sport weekly podcast. Brighton and Hove Albion writers Derren Howard and Frankie Elliott, Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and and Steve Bone who covers all things sport in Sussex for our newspapers and online at sussexworld.co.uk, discuss Crawley Town's brilliant start to the season, Brighton's start and who will replace Moises Caicedo after his transfer to Chelsea and the Lionesses as they prepare for the World Cup final.
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00:00 Okay, welcome to another episode of Sussex Sport Weekly Podcast. I'm Derren Howard and
00:08 this week I'm joined by Crawley Town expert Mark Dunford and Frankie Elliott plus Steve
00:13 Bone who covers all things sport in Sussex for our newspapers and online at sussexworld.co.uk.
00:20 Brighton had the perfect start to their Premier League campaign with a 4-1 win against Luton,
00:25 but it's the Moises Caicedo transfer which has dominated the headlines for much of the
00:30 week. We will look at who might replace the midfielder and other transfer news as well
00:33 as looking ahead to their trip to Wolves on Saturday. It's also an FA Cup weekend with
00:39 10 Sussex clubs still in the famous competition. Steve Bone will talk us through that along
00:45 with how our local sides are doing in the National League South and the Ishman Premier
00:49 League. But this week we're going to start with Crawley Town. They beat Milton Keynes
00:54 Dons 2-1 on Tuesday night to go third in the league. A great start Mark. They're most people's
01:02 favourites to go down, but what has happened? What are the good results down to do you think?
01:08 Well it's from what I saw on Tuesday, that was my first game I'd actually watched them
01:12 live. I'd seen the highlights of the previous games when they beat Bradford and drew with
01:15 Salford but it's just down to really good football. They were absolutely superb and
01:23 this might be a bit hyperbolic but Danilo Orsi, the winning goal scorer of the second
01:29 goal on Tuesday night, he said it was a little bit like Barcelona at times and it was. If
01:34 you get a chance to see both goals, Nick Saruda's first goal and Orsi's strike, they were absolute
01:41 quality passing moves. Like just one touch inside the full backs, down the left hand
01:47 side and then yeah, brilliant finishes. Scott Lindsay's put together a really good team
01:53 and there's obviously the fans, they've had their say over the summer about all the players
01:59 leaving etc. But he's got a team he has put together that are able to play the football
02:06 he wants to play I think and that's how they're doing it. Against Salford, they only drew
02:14 but they apparently should have been four or five up at half time, killed the game off.
02:19 Against Bradford, they should have scored more and against MK Dons on Tuesday night,
02:22 they could have scored more. So that's the only worrying aspect at some point. If they
02:28 start putting away their chances, they could be hammering teams but it could cost them
02:31 at times as well.
02:32 Yeah, yeah. No, it's a great start. You said last season and quite a few times over the
02:38 summer that they finally had the right man in charge in Scott Lindsay. How much success
02:45 is this down to him?
02:47 Pretty much, I'd say about 99% of it. I suppose you can give 1% credit to Wagmey for appointing
02:55 him but it really is down to him. Like I say, at the end of last season, obviously when
03:03 he came in in January, they were in a lot of trouble and he did what he had to do to
03:07 get them safe and he did that. But this year, over the summer, he's had a clear out. Nick
03:14 Sarula is the only player left from the team that beat Leeds, famously beat Leeds 3-0 in
03:22 the FA Cup two, three years ago. So it's a completely new team. There are still some
03:27 players from last season, the likes of Dion Conroy, Raf Khalil, etc. But the majority
03:33 of the starting 11 in the last few games have been new signings and he's got them playing
03:40 some amazing football already in such a short space of time. He said over the summer that
03:47 they wanted to get a more younger, fresher squad and it seems to be working. It's incredible.
03:54 And yeah, he knows what he wants but he's fully aware it is just a start. He knows,
04:01 yes, they're great results, but he's not getting, he's making sure the players keep their feet
04:06 on the ground and that because it's only three games, isn't it? But they, like I said, people
04:12 thought they were the favourites to go down. Last year, it took them 12 games to get six
04:16 points. They've got seven points in three games this year. So incredible. And yeah,
04:22 we're speaking to him this afternoon at the press conference at the Gillingham game. So
04:25 it's going to be interesting. Yeah, what the mood's like at the camp because it can only
04:30 be very positive at the moment.
04:32 No, it's good to see. Looks like the right man for the job. Obviously, Wagme are still
04:37 the owners and the fans have been very vocal with their feelings on them. Has that changed
04:42 at all given the results at the start of the season?
04:46 It's been a bit mixed really. On Tuesday night, even when they were winning, fans were still
04:51 chanting. Well, I can't repeat on a family podcast like this what they were chanting,
04:56 but they were chanting Wagme out and telling them to go away in a very expletive way. And
05:03 also they were targeting Preston Johnson. I believe he was at the stadium on Tuesday
05:08 and they were targeting him specifically with some personal abuse. So no, there are sections
05:15 or not, but on social media, you have a look through and there are some fans who are saying,
05:18 look, enough is enough. It's time to start really getting behind the team now they're
05:23 winning and nobody's questioning that all the fans weren't behind the team.
05:28 But I think some fans are now just thinking, just focus on the team during the game. Now
05:32 you can have your views. Nobody's asking anyone to change their views on the Wagme, but it's
05:36 just keep it positive during the games and then yeah, do whatever you want to have your
05:41 whatever feelings you want about Wagme. But they have, yeah, I don't think that even if
05:48 Crawley win the league this year, there are some fans that their views will not change
05:52 or even if they finish like in top half in the playoffs, because anything in top half
05:56 or above relegation is successful Crawley this year, I think given what happened last
06:00 year. But I don't think there are some fans that their views will never change. But it
06:05 was interesting today, Wagme had to put out a statement, a very rare statement to the
06:09 fans about how much they're committed to the club, how much they're looking to engage with
06:15 the fans and that because they have a discord for anyone who doesn't know that's a social
06:20 media platform where people can discuss things live, etc. And they had a moderator that they've
06:27 parted ways with and some people thought this was them slowly getting out, like not being
06:34 part of Web3 anymore and all this, but it was literally just, they just parted ways
06:39 with this one person, but they put out this statement saying how much they're behind Scott
06:44 and that they realized they've made mistakes and they're going to start engaging with the
06:49 fans, etc. And that the proof will be in the pudding. They haven't engaged with the fans
06:53 for quite some time now. So it will be interesting to see what happens. But to answer your original
06:58 question, I don't, yeah, I don't think many fans will, will change their views on Wagme
07:04 just yet.
07:05 Yeah. Well, I suppose the big question now is, you know, can, can they keep it up? They
07:11 have tabletop is doing them on Saturday. That's going to be a tough one for them, isn't it?
07:16 It really is. Yeah. I mean, they've had such a tough start because Bradford and Salford
07:20 both in the playoffs last year. Um, uh, and then obviously MK Don's relegate from league
07:26 one will be wanting to go straight back up and who a team who had won their first two
07:30 games of the season and now chilling them who have spent a lot of money. Um, some of
07:35 it going crawly his way with Tom Nichols, Glenn Mott and Ashley Madison. Um, but they've
07:40 won three out of three and they've won all of those games one nail and surprise, surprise,
07:44 Ashley Madison has scored the winner in two of those games kind of thing. So, and one
07:48 of them was set up by Tom Nichols. So it's going to be, yeah, it's going to be a really
07:52 tough game, but the good thing is we know what Tom Nichols and Ashley Madison are all
07:56 about. So Scott Lindsay will have plans in place I'm sure for both of those, but yeah,
08:03 they're not scoring a lot of goals, Jillingham, but they've got events and crawly, as I said,
08:07 a plane, a kind of football that can break down defenses.
08:10 So it's going to be a really interesting game on Saturday, um, whether they can keep it
08:14 up over the season. Uh, if, well, I think they can, they've proven they can beat the
08:19 top sides already or who are deemed to be the top sides and lead to, um, already. So
08:26 it's just a case of fitness over the last two or three years, they have had so many
08:29 injury issues. Um, some of it put down to training on hard, harder services and artificial
08:35 glass grass. Um, but that training on grass all the time. Now the first three games of
08:40 the season league games, they started with the same starting 11.
08:44 And I was trying to find all the statisticians I know in Crawley on Tuesday night. Is this
08:50 the first time? When was the last time they played free same starting 11s and free consecutive
08:55 league games and nobody could remember and nobody, they thought it was a few years ago.
08:59 Now that that would have happened because of the injuries, but Kellen Gordon, who was
09:03 really good on Tuesday night, he limped off at the start of the second half, which was
09:07 a shame. So I think there might be a couple of changes for Jillingham on Saturday, but
09:11 yeah, it'd be great if they could keep it up, wouldn't it? And just, um, shock a few
09:16 teams. Um, I was chatting to someone the other day as well, uh, who said they'd spoken to
09:20 some of the Bradford players after the game of the weekend, after a game of the weekend
09:25 when Bradford were at home and apparently the Bradford players were stunned how good
09:30 Crawley were. Um, and he said they were just absolutely shocked and they said they are
09:35 a proper team who can play. So yeah, I don't think as we get towards the end of the season,
09:42 I don't think it, we look back at these free results and think they are surprises. I think
09:46 they will just be hopefully the norm for Crawley town this season.
09:51 Start something good. Yeah, absolutely. Um, and now I'm going to seamlessly take the hot
09:56 seat as we move on to Brighton. Um, Sam Morton was at the Luton game and Darren, you did
10:01 a separate video with him looking at that game, but, um, it was the perfect start for
10:06 Brighton, wasn't it?
10:07 Yeah, yeah. You have to say it was very, very impressive. Um, considering all the disruption
10:12 that's, um, that Brighton have had to face, you know, on the build up to the match with
10:17 the Moises Caicedo transfer. Um, so that, you know, that they're two best players from
10:24 their midfields, uh, over the summer, Alexis Mikalas, who are now Moises Caicedo, but yeah,
10:30 Brighton performed very well against, uh, you know, really fired up Luton town, but
10:34 quite a limited Luton town as well. So, so in that respect, it was great for the likes
10:40 of Mo Dehoed, uh, James Milner, uh, Jao Pedro to, to, you know, be introduced into a game
10:47 like that, which probably, you know, they're going to face tougher, tougher challenges
10:52 this season, but it was a really good one to, to get them up and running and Luton caused,
10:56 caused Brighton some issues, some problems early on. They were, you know, very determined
11:01 and they, they actually played quite well. They stuck to, to sort of a good game plan
11:05 that, um, that they came with. Um, and it got to the point where it was a dodgy penalty,
11:10 but they, they got it back to two, one, uh, whatever, a couple of dodgy penalties in the
11:14 match really, but the Lewis Dunk one, uh, should never have been given. Um, but, um,
11:20 but yeah, Luton got their way back into the game and it was two, one, uh, you know, going
11:25 into the closing stages and you just wondered if it, if it was going to get a little bit
11:29 nervy for Brighton, but, um, the impact that the substitutes made, uh, coming off the bench,
11:35 Evan Ferguson and Simon, Simon Odinga, um, looked really sharp and just as Luton was
11:42 starting to tire, um, these two players came on and just took, took the attack to another
11:46 level and gave Brighton something that they didn't have last season, which is, you know,
11:52 real power and real options from the bench in attacking areas. So yeah, it was looking,
11:58 it's looking good, um, I think Mark, and, uh, if they can just get a replacement in
12:02 for Caicedo as well, and another addition into that midfield, I think they're well set
12:08 for the, for the season.
12:09 Absolutely. Yeah. That's been the big news this week, hasn't it, Frankie? Moise Caicedo's
12:13 £114m transfer to Chelsea. Um, you, Darren and Ian Hart did a separate podcast specifically
12:20 on that, um, transfer, but Frankie, where are we in terms of a replacement for Caicedo
12:25 and how hard will it be to replace him?
12:28 Well, it's, um, he's going to be incredibly hard to replace. I mean, I'm hoping this will
12:33 be the last time I ever have to speak about Moise's Caicedo and Chelsea as much as I love
12:38 him as a, as much as I love him as a player. I am, um, sick and tired of talking about
12:42 his potential move. Will he move? He has now moved for a record fee, which is brilliant
12:47 for Brighton, obviously. I mean, they were considering that many people didn't think
12:52 they'd get much more than 70, maybe even 80 million at the start of the summer. I think,
12:56 you know, including people like Chelsea Liverpool didn't think they'd have to pay more than
12:59 that. Brighton have managed to come out the winners of this deal yet again, by getting
13:02 £114m for, for a player that is only 21 years old. So it's, they've done incredibly well
13:08 there. Um, in regards to replacement, we've, I feel it's not necessarily about the player,
13:12 it's about replacing Caicedo because he's, you know, he's not really someone you can
13:16 replace. He is that, you know, I don't think they'll ever, well, they may do, but I don't
13:20 think they'll ever be able to find a player that they can sell again for £114m, £15m.
13:25 So I think they're more looking to bolster their midfield with a number of good players
13:29 rather than one exceptional player, because obviously we know Brighton are going to be
13:33 playing in four competitions this season. That will require a big squad. And I think
13:37 they're focusing on just padding out that squad, like I said, rather than trying to
13:40 find the next Moises Caicedo. Um, so we've already seen that they've got a number of
13:45 midfielders already in place. Obviously people like Billy Gilmore, we expect to step up and
13:49 play a lot more this season. Um, now that Caicedo has gone, people like Alzate have
13:53 come back off loan. He will expect to feature more now that Caicedo has gone. And also the
13:57 signing of Mo Dahoud, who played very, very well on Saturday. And of course, you know,
14:02 the, the, the, the known utility man, Pascal Gros is also very competent in playing central
14:07 midfield. So they've got a number of options already, but they're also looking at one bringing
14:11 in one central midfielder as a replacement, Carlos Belba, the young 19 year old midfielder
14:17 from Lille. He is seen as one of the sort of young up and coming stars from French football.
14:23 He made his debut this time last year for Lille and impressed in a side that managed
14:27 to qualify for the European Conference League last season by finishing fifth. So he is expected
14:32 to cost around or Lille are asking for around 25 million pounds. Brighton's first bid was
14:37 around 16 million pounds. So negotiations between the fee is still ongoing, but the
14:42 player is said to be very, very interested in the move. Um, so that is the one deal we
14:46 can expect to see as a replacement, so to speak for Caicedo, but elsewhere we can maybe
14:52 see Brighton bringing you another player after that. They are also been linked with Valentin
14:55 Barco, the Argentinian left back who plays for Boca juniors. Again, another 18 year old
15:01 player, sorry, 19 year old player meant to be one of South South America's up and coming
15:05 talents. Argentinian fans, national team fans are very, very excited about his potential.
15:10 Manchester City and Juventus have also been linked with him. In fact, Manchester City have
15:14 been said to put in a bid this morning of around 8 million pounds. So whether Brighton
15:18 can compete with that, we're not sure. But again, that's another player that has spoken
15:23 to Brighton and is very, very interested in the move to the South coast of England. So
15:27 Brighton is going to be active in the last at the end of this window. We expect to see
15:31 at least maybe one, possibly even two players coming in. But in regards to the Caicedo,
15:35 they know that's done now and they managed to get the best deal possible for him.
15:39 Yeah, absolutely. One player that we can't imagine ever leaving Brighton is Soli March,
15:44 Deren. He's a goal against Luton, made him the top scorer for Albion under Dzerbi. How
15:48 important is he to Brighton and Dzerbi?
15:53 Very important. Just when you think that Albion have brought in a number of new attacking
15:58 options and players, Soli March continues to be Dzerbi's trusted man on that right flank.
16:06 With his goals record since Dzerbi's arrived, it's quite rightly so as well. He scored his
16:16 eighth goal in 28 top flight appearances since Dzerbi came in. Prior to that, he'd just scored
16:22 four times in 148 appearances. How Dzerbi has used him has been quite remarkable. Before
16:31 Dzerbi came in, Brighton were playing some very attractive football and just weren't
16:34 finishing off the chances. There was so much talk about, 'We need this new striker, this
16:40 20-goal-a-season striker to come in so that we can finally put a finishing touch on the
16:46 chances that we're creating.' But Dzerbi looked at it slightly differently. He had a three
16:51 million signing from Japan in Karamatoma and then Soli March, who had just been a midfielder,
16:57 hadn't really looked like a goal threat in the past few seasons. Dzerbi has used those
17:03 two brilliantly and got those in the right positions on the pitch. You can tell that
17:09 March has been working on his finishing in training as well. Now they're a real attacking
17:15 threat off both flanks and also with Evan Ferguson and Danny Welbeck in the middle as
17:19 well. It's great to see that Soli March continues to thrive really. He's going to have a big
17:27 role this season as Brighton go into the Europa League as well.
17:32 What I thought was interesting as well, after the match, there were a couple of questions
17:36 about Soli March in the press conference. Typical Dzerbi, he was like, 'Yeah, I was
17:43 pleased he got his goal.' But he's too slow on the ball. He needs to be faster. He needs
17:48 to move that ball faster. He's always looking for those improvements. He will praise and
17:56 he's doing well. But then there's also this incentive that this is what you can do. This
18:04 is where you can get to. For me, that was just typical Dzerbi really. Not just like,
18:09 'Yeah, he's doing very well. We're so pleased.' It's like, 'Yeah, but let's get it to the
18:14 next level, please, Soli March.' I think that's now the challenge for him coming up this season.
18:20 I think he'll be in the team against Wolves for sure this weekend.
18:24 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, soon forgotten that penalty missing in the semi-final, isn't it?
18:30 Yeah, nobody's talking about that anymore apart from me, obviously.
18:35 Now another young Brighton player, Evan Ferguson, has drawn comparisons with Harry Kane ever
18:39 since he broke onto the scene last season. And now it appears Spurs want him as Harry's
18:44 replacement. Do you think he will be going anywhere, Frankie? And how could Ferguson
18:47 be? And if he did leave, what are Brighton's options in attack coming through?
18:51 Well, first, I don't think Ferguson will be leaving this summer. I don't think Tottenham
18:58 will be wanting to put a bid in for him. And also, I don't think Brighton are in any position
19:03 to let him go. I do, however, feel that Evan Ferguson is Brighton's next big sale in regards
19:09 to the fact that Brighton are still, as much as they are growing and improving as a club,
19:14 they are still a selling club. And Evan Ferguson has the potential to be their next £70m,
19:19 £80m, however much, whatever fee they charge, he is that good. Bearing in mind, he's still
19:26 a teenager and he obviously broke onto the scene last year and looked like a player,
19:32 an experienced pro playing in the Premier League and grabbing, I think it was, over
19:37 10 goals in all competitions, which is a phenomenal achievement for your debut season in the
19:42 top flight. He seems to be going from strength to strength. He got a brilliant goal on Saturday
19:48 against Luton and I feel he will be a key player in Brighton's side going forward for
19:54 the rest of this year and hopefully the season after that. But in regards to how long he
20:00 can stay at Brighton, it won't be for very, very long, I don't think, because as I said,
20:04 there is a real big potential for Ferguson to be one of the Premier League's leading
20:08 goalscorers and leading strikers. And if you look at the top clubs, people like Spurs
20:13 obviously need, you know, the 20-goal-a-season man is much more important for the top six
20:17 teams because those are the players that we normally associate with those clubs with 20-goal-a-season
20:22 man and Ferguson will want to be one of those players. So, where it leaves Brighton, if
20:29 he is to leave now, would be a disaster because it would leave them with just Jal Pedro and
20:34 Danny Welbeck. But I feel that he will be around for at least this season, probably
20:39 the season after as well. And in that situation, I'm sure Brighton would be more prepared for
20:44 him to go by bringing in replacements. But yeah, a fantastic player with a lot of potential,
20:51 playing a sort of style of football that's beyond his years, to be honest with you. And
20:56 I truly believe he'll be one of Brighton's most important players this season.
21:00 Right, and back in action at Wolves on Saturday at 3pm. They're a team that seem to be in
21:07 disarray going into the season with Hulun Lopetegi going, but it looks like Gary O'Neill
21:12 has settled quickly despite the 1-0 defeat to Man United on Monday. It's not going to
21:16 be easy for them on Saturday, is it, Derenham? But they still would be expected to go there
21:22 and win, wouldn't they?
21:23 I think so, yeah, based on last weekend's performance. But it's going to be a much tougher
21:31 test. Wolves are a much more established team. Their players are much more experienced than
21:36 Luton's team at this level. So I expect a very difficult game. And as you say, Wolves
21:43 played very well against Manchester United, but for a VAR decision, they could have come
21:49 away with something. It's been a difficult pre-season for them. They've had a change
21:56 of manager. Quite a few of their top players have left during the summer. But I think Gary
22:02 O'Neill is a good appointment. I thought he was really harshly done by to be sacked by
22:08 Bournemouth at the end of last season. I think he's a manager with a lot of potential. I
22:15 think he respects his Bournemouth teams, how he set his team up last season. Against Brighton,
22:20 I thought they were a real handful and they were just missing that attacking threat. But
22:26 I think they play very well. They get a number of players forward quickly. They're not afraid
22:30 to attack. They won't sit back. They will give Brighton a good game. So I think in that
22:38 respect, bringing Gary O'Neill in is a good move for Wolves. So I think Brighton will
22:46 be up against it. But they will go there full of confidence. I expect Mahoud and Gros to
22:53 be in those central areas again. Matoma and March on the flank and maybe Evan Ferguson
22:59 coming in from the start this time around. And also Jal Pedro as well, who impressed
23:06 against Luton on the opening day of the season. I expect him to play a key role against Wolves.
23:13 But no, it should be a good game. I do expect Brighton to go there and take the three points.
23:20 Which Wolves player should Albion be wary of? Matthias Kooner impressed Old Trafford,
23:29 didn't he?
23:30 He did. He did. Like Darren said, it was a brilliant performance by Wolves. They were
23:35 by far the better team at Old Trafford and should have won the game. Not only by scoring
23:39 one goal, I thought they should have had two or three. But that is the age-old problem
23:43 with Wolves. I think they've got the lowest from the current Premier League teams that
23:47 were there last season. They've got the lowest amount of out goals, not from set pieces in
23:51 the entire league. And that is their problem. They can't seem to put chances away.
23:57 But in regards to the 11 that played, you've got some very, very good players. Matthias
24:01 Nunes is a very, very exciting player. He was playing in a wide left position, but normally
24:06 plays as a central midfielder. Pep Guardiola called him one of the best midfielders in
24:11 the world last year when Wolves played Manchester City. So, he's someone to keep your eye on.
24:17 Pedro Neto, of course, as well, back to full fitness now. They're sort of young. Sorry,
24:21 not young. They're sort of electric right winger Portuguese. He's always a box of tricks
24:26 and will be a real handful down that Brighton left-hand side.
24:30 But that midfield area, I feel, was very, really strong for Wolves on Monday. I thought
24:34 that was the key reason for why they dominated that game, as they were better than the United
24:37 midfield. Lamela and Nunes bossed them from start to finish, sort of cut through them
24:44 very, very easily and showed the power and sort of strength and aggression needed to
24:49 win those sort of battles. So, I think Brighton will have a tough test in that situation.
24:53 Now there's no Kayseri and no McAllister. That midfield wasn't really tested against
24:57 Luton for obvious reasons. It's a team with not much Premier League star power, but this
25:02 is a much more stronger, experienced, quality side that they will play on Saturday. But
25:08 what, as Deron Luton, what Brighton will have in their favour is that they're playing very,
25:11 very well and they're scoring goals, which has obviously been an issue for Brighton for
25:17 many years before De Serbi came in, but it seems to have been eroded away since the Italian
25:22 arrived. So, I still feel Brighton will still go in favourites and still be expected to
25:26 win, but this new post-Kayseri-McAllister era, this will be their first proper test,
25:32 I would feel.
25:33 Yeah, absolutely. Right, as always, we move on to the proper football now, don't we? And
25:39 10 Sussex clubs are in FA Cup action this weekend. Steve, who should we be looking out
25:44 for and how many can we expect to see in the next round?
25:47 Well, I've got breaking news, first of all. It's actually 11. I found another one. I found
25:52 another one down the back of the sofa. So, we've got 11 Sussex teams in the... So, this
25:59 is the preliminary round of the FA Cup this week. Quite a few of these came through the
26:03 extra preliminary round and the teams in this round are looking to get through to the first
26:08 qualifying round, which is when some higher placed teams will join in. So, a quick run
26:14 through the fixtures of interest to us. Badshotley against Lansing, Burgess Hill Town against
26:20 Erith Town, Crawley Down Gatwick v Hamworth Villa, East Grinstead v Hythe Town, Eastbourne
26:25 United v Shearwater, Farnham v Crobra Athletic, New Haven v Spelform Sports, Ramsgate against
26:33 Bexhill, Sheppey against Midhurst and Eastbourne. And the only Sussex derby in this round is
26:40 Stenning against Peacehaven. And just an honourable mention as well for one team that we do follow
26:45 because they're in the Crawley Observer patch. They're not quite in Sussex, but Hawley Town,
26:49 they're at home to AFC Croydon Athletic. So, plenty of interest and lots more Sussex teams
26:55 coming in at later rounds as well. So, FA Cup fever alive and well in Sussex so far,
27:00 hoping that about at least half of those teams can get through and keep the interest going.
27:05 And we always dream of at least one Sussex non-league club getting to the first round
27:10 and we've happened a few times in recent years. So, let's hope it happens again this year.
27:14 Yeah, fingers crossed. There's been exciting news for Worthing this week on and off the
27:19 pitch, Steve. Can you tell us more? I mean, I know they're top of the league, but yeah,
27:23 what's happened off the pitch?
27:24 So, yeah, the big news really, it is big news that they're top of National South. That's
27:30 quite an achievement, three wins from their first three. But off the pitch, they've had
27:33 new, some new investments, significant new investment from a local businessman named
27:38 Ralph Gilbert. He is the boss of the Focus Group, quite well known in the area and further
27:43 afield. They're already the shirt sponsor. He is putting significant funds in and is
27:49 going to join the board. And this is with a view to, there's two things really that
27:54 Worthing are mindful of. They need to keep on improving their ground, their stadium at
28:00 Woodside Road as they move up through the divisions. And I think this investment is
28:05 going to go some way towards doing that in the short term. They're also wanting to become
28:11 a full-time club, a full-time playing squad over time, which of course requires more money.
28:21 And again, this investment will help towards that. So I think when Eastbourne Borough have
28:27 just gone through the transition they've gone through with Simon Leslie taking over, new
28:31 manager, whole new playing squad, they've gone full-time. I think this is a route that
28:36 more and more clubs at that sort of level, step two of the non-league pyramid, are going
28:40 to go down if they can. It's very difficult to be sort of sustainable at that level if
28:48 you want to go full-time because that's a big outlay. But if you've got investors to
28:53 come on the board and to get involved, then it makes life a whole lot easier. But yeah,
28:58 very exciting times for Worthing on and off the pitch really.
29:01 Yeah. And Tor, you mentioned Eastbourne Borough there, how are they getting on?
29:06 Yeah, so not such a good week for them. So after they won their first game at home to
29:12 Hampton Richmond, which we talked about last week, they had two away games this week, got
29:15 a point at Farnborough in a one-all draw, but lost to Averley. They went to Averley
29:20 Monday night, Averley new to this level but have started well. And Eastbourne Borough
29:27 lost two now. So a bit of a setback for Mark Beard and his team who had such a good pre-season,
29:32 didn't lose all through pre-season. So a bit of a check for them. But Mark Beard has spoken
29:40 during the week and he's not too phased by it. It's very early days. There's going to
29:45 be ups and downs and they're back at home this weekend to Bath City. I think he lost
29:51 quite heavily in midweek, so they'll be looking to get back on track in that one.
29:55 Lovely. And the rest of the Eastbourne teams, how did they get on?
29:59 The Eastbourne league obviously kicked off last weekend. Mixed bag for our Sussex teams
30:06 in the Premier Division. Lewis are the ones to watch so far. They've started with two
30:11 wins. They won at home on Saturday and had a good win at Kray Wanderers. No, did they
30:20 beat Kray? I'm getting mixed up into who beat who now, but no. Lewis won at Kingston.
30:24 I think it was Kray.
30:25 Oh, Kingston, right.
30:26 Yeah, and they beat Kray on Saturday. So, yes, six points from six for Lewis. It's a
30:32 good start for them. A lot of new players there, notably Chris Welpdale. They've signed
30:36 from Eastbourne Borough. Eastbourne Borough obviously had quite a clear out in the summer.
30:40 Welpdale has gone to Lewis and has scored in both those games so far. Horsham have played
30:45 two, one win and one defeat for Horsham, so they've done okay. Whitehawk still looking
30:53 for their first win. They've had a defeat and a draw with Hastings on Tuesday night,
31:00 which was quite a bad-tempered game at times. Whitehawk had two ex-Hastings players sent
31:06 off and another five booked. Hastings have had two draws and Bogner have started with
31:13 a defeat and a draw. So, it's a mixed bag, but it's very early days. That division is
31:18 always one where anybody can beat anybody. It will be very close between the teams in
31:24 fourth and fifth right down to 14th, 15th. You would expect all our Sussex sides to at
31:29 least be wanting to be in the top half of that as things pan out. So, yeah, we'll see
31:36 how they all get on this weekend.
31:37 Excellent stuff. And we're just going to go on to cricket briefly and probably best to
31:44 avoid Sussex One Day's Cup campaign. So, in Sussex Cricket League, Cookefield could actually
31:49 win the Premier Division this weekend, Steve, couldn't they? It's been an amazing season
31:53 for them. Incredible.
31:54 Yes. Yeah, as we've said a couple of times, they came up from Division Two last year.
31:59 Most people probably would have predicted them to go back down again, but actually they've
32:05 just been winning week in, week out. A couple of drawn games they've very rarely lost and
32:13 they really have been the team to catch and people haven't been able to work them out.
32:17 So they are at home to East Grinstead this weekend. They are enough points clear at the
32:24 top that if they win this game, or even if they draw it, I think that could be it for
32:29 them. They could get over the line this weekend. If they don't, they've still got a couple
32:33 more chances to do it. Two more weekends of the league left after this weekend. East Grinstead
32:39 have been one of their closest challengers all season, but have just faded a little bit
32:43 in recent weeks. Preston Nomads are still sniffing around there with a chance as well.
32:48 So good luck to all teams this weekend, but it would be great if Cookefield can surprise
32:54 a few and go on to win it.
32:55 Yeah, absolutely. We just hope the weather stays off on another weekend which was disrupted
33:01 by rain. Luckily they all finished, but it's just been one of those seasons this year.
33:06 Incredible.
33:07 But we can't finish this podcast without mentioning the Lionesses. Frankie, how good
33:12 were they yesterday against Australia? And what can we expect from Spain, who they play
33:16 in the final on Sunday? I think it's 11 o'clock kickoff. Spain seem like a team with a few
33:20 issues at the moment.
33:21 Yeah, no, it's been, it's been, well, it's an amazing story for any team to come from
33:29 the highs of just this, well, just over a year ago when they won the European Championships
33:34 at Wembley. I think we all remember those scenes. For a team to come back from such
33:38 a euphoric high, you know, just 13 months later, missing four or five key players, you
33:44 know, Ellen White, Fran Kirby, Leah Williamson, Beth Mead as well. All four of those players
33:50 not playing at this World Cup due to injury or retirement. You would probably, I think
33:54 a lot of people went into this World Cup not expecting an awful lot from England, truth
33:57 be told. And they didn't start brilliantly. Those first, you know, the third, their group
34:01 stage, they didn't really get going. There were some sort of poor performances against
34:06 Haiti and against Denmark and Kiera Walsh got injured, one of their talismanic centre
34:10 midfielders. It was still, you know, their backs were against the wall. Penalty shootout
34:14 against Nigeria, they're incredibly lucky to get to a penalty shootout. Nigeria could
34:17 have easily won that game. And so they're into a quarterfinal. But since then, this
34:20 is, I think this is what England are. They've got a load of big game players, experienced
34:24 players that don't do it, don't do it, you know, don't play the best, they're not the
34:29 prettiest football all the time, but they get the wins. And when the big moments matter
34:33 against Australia, a host nation with the one, well, with the best player in world football
34:37 in Sam Kerr, you know, they outplayed Australia. They thoroughly deserved, she scored an unbelievable
34:44 goal. That was, you know, I mean, to get that goal and get Australia back into the game,
34:48 won all the momentum behind them, the whole, you know, the whole stadium behind them, a
34:52 sellout crowd. You would normally associate that with Australia going on to win the game.
34:55 But England, the experienced professionals that they are, saw out the game, you know,
34:59 got a goal back. And then with less than five minutes to go, obviously Sam Kerr misses a
35:05 golden opportunity to level the game. But a brilliant bit of football from Laura Hemp
35:10 and Alexander Russo. And they go up the pitch and score. I think we can all agree that third
35:16 goal was a beautiful, beautiful goal to do at such a high pressure situation. So they've
35:21 found their form at the right time, which again, which is what all great teams do. And
35:25 they go into this Sunday's finalists favourites because this Spain team is a young team with
35:30 lots of exciting players, but again, a team that hasn't played brilliantly this World
35:34 Cup, haven't really hit the heights of the European Championship actually last year when
35:39 I think they were England's toughest opponents up into the final. They played them in the
35:43 quarterfinals and pretty much outplayed England for 75 minutes. It was the substitution at
35:48 the end of the game that got England the victory at the Amex Stadium, obviously for back in
35:53 June last year. But England will go in as favourites. They're a more experienced side.
35:57 They've been there and done it, which I think is also such an important thing. Sarah Wijnman
36:02 has really set this team up brilliantly to deal with the big occasions. And although
36:06 they can't take Spain lightly, as I said, there's a lot of very, very good players on
36:09 that side and a lot of exciting footballers that play some really, really good football,
36:13 as we saw in glimpses against their semi-final against Sweden on Tuesday. You really do have
36:18 to favour England this one. This opportunity has come about because all the other big teams
36:22 have faltered. Germany exited early, the United States of America, the team that no one could
36:26 feasibly beat out in the last 16, Japan have been knocked out in the quarterfinal. This
36:31 is England's time with this group of players as they've never had a better opportunity
36:35 to win a World Cup. So I'm very, very excited. I really hope they do it. And it would be,
36:40 they would have to go down as one of Britain's all-time best ever sports teams because not
36:43 many can say they won a European Championship and then a World Cup in the space of two years.
36:48 It would be a fantastic achievement. I really hope they do it.
36:51 Yeah, Darren, you mentioned in our little group chat after the game about Hemp's performance.
36:56 How good was she? She was fantastic, wasn't she?
36:59 Yeah, I really enjoyed her performance. I just thought she was, it just epitomised the
37:03 whole of the England team, really. And as Frankie said, when we were playing in the
37:11 Euros, you kind of knew what to expect from England. They had a set game plan and they
37:15 went for it. Whereas this tournament, they've had to adapt and grow into the tournament
37:20 and tweak it and change it as they've gone along. And I think that's what's made it more
37:24 impressive that they've been able to do that. And I think Lauren Hemp has been a player
37:29 who has done just that. And against Australia, I just thought she was absolutely everywhere.
37:36 She had the work rate and then she had the skill and the quality at the key times as
37:41 well. And you're sort of watching the game, you're like thinking, 'Oh, who's that tracking
37:44 back and getting the ball? Oh, it's Lauren Hemp.' You think, 'Who's that that's just
37:48 played that killer through pass? It's Lauren Hemp.' And then she got the goal as well.
37:53 I just really enjoyed her performance. I liked her interviews afterwards as well and how
37:58 enthusiastic she was. And I just thought she was brilliant. She was a bit of the bridesmaid
38:03 really at the Euros. There were other players that perhaps overshadowed her. And I think
38:07 she's just really gone on another level at this World Cup and has been one of England's
38:12 most important players. So, yeah, really enjoyed the whole game and her performance in particular.
38:18 I think, sorry, Darren, that's the most exciting part about this is that a number of these
38:23 players that are playing so well, obviously before she got sent off, Lauren James was
38:26 one of the ones that was very exciting. But Hemp, people like Greenwood, Kit Walsh, Stan
38:32 Waite, and Toon, all these players were a part of the Euro squad, but weren't, like
38:37 as Darren said, they were sort of more on the bench or sort of fringe players. They've
38:40 stepped up into a role that's needed to be filled because, as I said, there's been a
38:44 big changing of the guard in the last year. And that's really, really promising signs
38:48 for England, that they've managed to almost move on from that team that won the Euros
38:52 and are still as strong as they were. So it's very, very exciting for all fans of England's
38:57 women's football.
38:58 Yeah, absolutely. And we will start our score predictions this week with the Lionesses for
39:04 the World Cup final. We'll start with you, Frankie. What's your score prediction?
39:08 For the final?
39:10 For the final, yeah.
39:12 Yes, I think England are going to win. I really fancy them. I'm going to go for another 3-1
39:18 win, actually.
39:19 Wow. Steve Bone?
39:20 Yeah, I'm confident too. But because this is an England team, you just know they won't
39:28 go easily. They'll put us through, won't they? Bound to. Make us sweat. I think it's going
39:34 to go to extra time, but England to win 1-0 extra time.
39:38 Darren?
39:39 Yeah, I'm going to go with Steve on that as well. I'm not sure extra time, but I'm going
39:45 to go for a 1-0. I think it's going to be quite tight, quite cagey. Spain gave England
39:50 a really good game, like we've mentioned back at the Amex, where England had to come back
39:55 for that one. So they've got a lot of quality in their team, Spain. And I think it's going
40:01 to be very cagey, but England just seem to have the right mentality and I think they're
40:06 just going to get over the line.
40:07 Yeah, I think I'm going to go tight as well. I'm going to go 2-1 England. So England definitely
40:14 winning the World Cup because we've said so. We'll start with you Darren this time. Will
40:19 they be Brighton?
40:20 Yeah, I can see Brighton winning that one. As I mentioned earlier, I don't think it's
40:26 going to be easy. I think Wolves would be a good team and I think Brighton will get
40:30 a couple of goals. I think it's going to be either 2-0 or 3-1. I'll go for a 2-0.
40:35 Yeah. Frankie?
40:36 Yeah, I yet again famously said that Luton would give Brighton a really close game and
40:43 it would be 2-0 last week and they got battered 4-1. So again, my Mystic Meg predictions still
40:49 need to be slightly fine-tuned. But I'm going to go for... I still think Wolves are going
40:54 to struggle to score. So I'm going to go for a 2-0 Brighton win.
40:58 Yeah, Steve?
41:01 I'm going to continue one of my themes from last week as well, which weren't very successful
41:06 admittedly. But I did say that Wolves, and I do think Wolves are going to do better this
41:11 season than a lot of people think, I think they're going to be quite hard to beat, as
41:15 they've shown already in their first game. I like Gary O'Neill, ex-Pompey player of course.
41:21 Gary O'Neill.
41:22 Of course, of course.
41:23 I'm going to go for 1-1 between Wolves and Brighton.
41:27 Fair enough. Always bringing it back to Pompey. I'm going to go 2-1 Brighton. Like you say,
41:34 it won't be an easy one for them, but I can't see them not winning there.
41:39 Final game, Crawley versus Gillingham. I'll start this one off. I think Crawley have proved
41:44 that they can compete with teams that are playing well, certainly with MK Dons on Tuesday
41:48 night. But it will be a very tough, tough game. And I think Ashley Nadesan and Tom Nicholls
41:54 will have the bit between their teeth coming back to Crawley.
41:58 But I think Crawley can hold their own against them. And I think it will be a draw. I'm going
42:01 to go for a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Frankie?
42:06 Yeah I think Crawley are in a really, really good place at the moment on the pitch. So
42:11 I'm going to go for a 2-0 Crawley win.
42:16 Steve Bone?
42:17 Yeah, I mean I think Barcelona, I mean Crawley Town, sorry I keep getting lost here. I think
42:24 Crawley Town will have a spring in their step after the first three games. But Gillingham
42:29 have had a strong start. At the top of the table I'm going to go 2-1 to Gillingham. Sorry
42:37 Crawley fans.
42:43 You're not welcome in West Sussex, Steve. Darren?
42:48 Yeah I think Scott Lindsay's got them going. It's going to be, there's quite a bit of needle
42:53 between both teams. And I think they'll be quite a feisty game. And I think Crawley will
42:58 come out on top. 1-0 Crawley.
43:01 Excellent stuff. Brilliant. Well thanks guys. Really good chat there. You can catch up with
43:06 all the latest sports news covering everything we've talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk
43:11 and we will be back again similar time next week. Thanks a lot chaps.
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