Sussex

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, bbc

Image source, Getty Images

I am pretty sure if anyone at Brighton had been told that by the end of game seven, of a new season, with a new manager and loads of new players, they would still be unbeaten then they would have snatched your hand off.

Seventh in the Premier League, through to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup, 15 goals scored and three clean sheets, the bare statistics are perfectly acceptable.

The problem is that successive home draws against a promoted team and one that has struggled for the previous two seasons is a bit underwhelming - and that some of the new players have not had opportunity to make much of an impact.

Not for the first time in recent years, Brighton need to take a step back.

Fabian Hurzeler is getting used to a new league and, quite obviously, new players. Time is a precious commodity in modern football but that is what Hurzeler needs.

As a club, it felt Brighton underwent a reset in the summer, using finance generated by big-name sales in previous seasons to fund a spending spree that will steer them through the next few years rather than weeks or months.

There are bound to be bumps in the road and Hurzeler is bound to encounter problems he was not anticipating.

Brighton's hierarchy know this and will not rush to judgement. The fans have to adopt the same approach.

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Andrew Crofts says he's "loved" his time working with Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton and believes it's a "really exciting" period for the club.

Crofts made 125 appearances for the Seagulls during his playing career and re-joined the club in 2019 as a coach. He even had a spell as interim head coach after Graham Potter left for Chelsea, but is now assisting 31-year-old Hurzeler as a first-team coach.

Speaking about working with Hurzeler on the latest Albion Unlimited podcast, Crofts said: "I've loved it - he's really demanding, really intense in how he wants the team to play. It's really exciting, I think the fans will have been very excited with the performances so far.

"He's come in with lots of new ideas as well as keeping some of the ideas that we had in the last couple of seasons. He's been really great to work with along with the other staff. I think we've got a really exciting squad with strong competition for places - there's a real buzz."

The former Brighton skipper spoke about his current role at the club and said: "I love it, it was the natural next step in my progression. I've worked with the team for a good period of time and built some really good relationships.

"I feel I'm making good strides to where I want to be and how much I can help the new manager in how he wants the team to play and the environment and the culture. It's something that I love - the more work for me the better."

Crofts also joined Craig Bellamy's coaching team with the Welsh national team last month and speaking about how hard it is to balance his work between club and country, he said: "It's not difficult. It's like a player, when they play for their club and then represent their country. I miss no work here, because most of the players are on international duty as well.

"For my development, for my next steps it stands me in good stead. I've learnt so much the last few years as a first team coach and now an assistant coach and already the time I spent with Wales I've learnt so much.

"It's always good to keep absorbing as much as you can and have as many experiences as you can to hopefully help players and people that you work with."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

The latest Albion Unlimited has landed and in this weeks episode, Brighton assistant head coach Andrew Crofts talks Nottingham Forest, Fabian Hurzeler and Wales.

Hosts Tim Darrens, Seagulls commentator Johnny Cantor and former striker Warren Aspinall have also been chatting to former assistant coach Alan Cork, while journalist Rahman Osman looks ahead to Saturday's game against Chelsea.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

When Brighton signed Danny Welbeck on a free transfer in October 2020, it had the look of a panic signing. The transfer window was closed and Albion had only Neal Maupay and Aaron Connolly as centre forward options.

A striker with a reputation for being injury-prone who had just been released by Watford could fill a spot in the squad until the following summer, when Brighton would seek a long-term answer.

Fast forward four years and not only is Welbeck still at Amex Stadium, but he has made the best start to a season of his career. Three goals in five matches make him currently indispensable to Brighton.

What is behind the renaissance Welbeck is experiencing aged 33 and in his 17th campaign as a professional? Brighton have managed to keep him relatively fit, which obviously helps. But perhaps more important is he appears to be having fun.

Watching Welbeck scoring stunning goals like his free-kick against Nottingham Forest is joyous. Off the ball, he does a hardworking job making clever runs which help create space for others.

Welbeck is one of those players whose intelligence you can arguably only appreciate if you watch him live inside the stadium, doing stuff the TV cameras never pick up.

And then there is what he brings off the pitch. With Pascal Gross having left for Dortmund, Welbeck seems to have taken up the mantle of underrated, experienced professional - a role that becomes increasingly important as the average age of the Albion squad seems to drop each year.

Twelve more appearances will see Brighton overtake Manchester United as the club Welbeck has played the most for in his career. Four goals and he will have scored more for the Albion than he managed at either United or Arsenal.

Welbeck has gone from stop-gap solution to Albion stalwart.

Fingers crossed for another four years yet.

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external