Sussex

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

Who is flying?: I make no apology for writing once more about Danny Welbeck when answering the question of which Brighton player is flying. Six goals in 11 matches and a place in the history books as the leading Albion scorer in top flight football, breaking a record Michael Robinson set back in the 1980s. Welbz is Dat Guy.

Who is floundering?: This is equally easy. Carlos Baleba. Forget a move to Manchester United; if he carries on playing like he has since being denied a summer transfer to Old Trafford, not even Maidstone United will be interested.

Tactically... I think Fabian Hurzeler should give the 3-4-3 formation he used at St Pauli a go. It is odd that the innovative approach he used in Germany and which helped land him the Brighton job has not been seen once in the Premier League.

I want Hurzeler to give me more... Instagram posts of him riding his electric bicycle around the city. On the subject of Hurzeler, his choice of dugout attire has become something of an obsession - and with good reason. Tracksuit Hurzeler has five wins, two draws, one defeat and 23 goals scored. Hurzeler dressed like he is going ice skating at the Royal Pavilion has one win, two draws, three defeats and six goals scored.

My expectations for the season... were a top-10 finish. I still think it is achievable; but only if the players start delivering over 90 minutes rather than in 20-minute patches as has been the case in most matches.

Season rating so far: 6/10 because we are 11th in the table and out of the Carabao Cup. What has not helped is all the pre-season talk about Europe being the aim, which ratcheted up expectations among supporters.

One sentence on how it feels to be a Brighton fan right now: Frustrating to support a team who are so consistently inconsistent – but at least the manager is a style icon.

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

Image source, PA Media

Brighton are one of five clubs yet to lose at home in the Premier League this season.

They have taken 11 points from their five home matches - but former Brighton forward Warren Aspinall thinks the Seagulls willfeel disappointed their tally is not even higher.

"Fulham was 1-1 with a late equaliser, Spurs was 2-2 when they were 2-0 up - they could be sitting there with five [wins] out of five!" he reflected on BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast.

Brighton play four of their next six Premier League matches at home, including when they return to action after the international break against Brentford on Saturday.

On the Bees, Aspinall added: "They lost the spine of the team and the manager [Thomas Frank] left as well. Keith Andrews has never managed but has been a very good coach and he's done tremendously well."

Listen to the full episode

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Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Brighton are monitoring Real Madrid's 21-year-old striker Gonzalo Garcaa ahead of a potential January loan move to strengthen their attacking options, with Sunderland and Leeds also interested. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Albion Unlimited from BBC Radio Sussex returns as Johnny Cantor and former Brighton forward Warren Aspinall debate Brighton's best-ever Premier League XI.

From era-defining figures to unsung heroes, the pair run through the toughest calls, the standout performers and what the selections say about the club's journey in the top flight.

Journalist and author Sally Freedman also joins the conversation to analyse why Brighton's home form has become such a crucial pillar of their season, while Ian Westbrook from Beesotted offers insight from the Brentford camp before Brighton's return to Premier League action against the Bees.

Listen to the full episode

Explore all Brighton content on BBC Sounds

Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Over the past week, we have been asking you to send in the best Premier League XI your club could have put together.

We know football existed before 1992 but as a Leeds United fan asked our experts on the club to name theirs - using the Ask Me Anything form on the Whites - we stuck with their parameters.

Here is BBC Sport's Brighton fan writer Scott's effort.

And you can ask us about the Seagulls using the Brighton Ask Me Anything form at the top of this page or here

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

We have, roughly, run the numbers and here is the XI your submissions have produced.

There was an even split between 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 but the picks suggested we ensure Danny Welbeck and Glenn Murray both got in the side so we plumbed for the first option.

In midfield, there is the creative genius of Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma and Pascal Gross alongside the steel of Moises Caicedo.

At the back, it is a familiar-looking defence, with the versatile Joel Veltman securing a berth at right-back and Marc Cucurella just edging out Pervis Estupinan.

The best of Brighton - and this team no doubt would be upsetting the big boys on a regular basis.