Brighton & Hove Albion

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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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

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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

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Brighton and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Barney: We were dominant. If you asked a Brighton fan who Nottingham Forest's man of the match was, I guarantee you it was the referee Robert Jones. He gave a silly penalty, unintentional free-kicks and was just an all-round terrible referee. Even Morgan Gibbs-White's red card was silly.

Geoff: Back-to-back home games where we had chances to win, but didn't take them. Very similar to what happened last season in games against teams that we just have to win against, if we have ambitions of European football. The referee was comical - consistently getting things wrong and then he totally lost control at the end with the red cards for the managers.

Finley: I believe both teams played equally well, although I think Brighton managed to engage a bit more in the second half. The altercation with the referee and managers shouldn't have been a red card.

Noddy: A game of two teams: one that can stand up with poor tackles coming in and the other that likes to fall down as if they were blown over. It was not a fair result. We can all take losing but not when there are 12 players against 11 from the start. The game was good to watch when all of the players stayed on their feet.

Forest fans

Stefan: We played well yet again. We soaked up their attack when we needed to and made chances for ourselves. Scoring hasn't been a problem so far this season and our defence looks solid. I don't know what Nuno did to this team in pre-season, but I'm loving it! We are still undefeated - still pushing and still improving.

Fosi: A big point. Horrendous refereeing. Why didn't VAR tell the referee that Morgan Gibbs-White got the ball? Is the system not working still? I'm not happy with Matz Sels - three games and three big mistakes. He is costing us stupid goals!

Sean: That game had everything and there were times where the result could have swung the way of either team. Considering how good Brighton are, and how much they were in the ascendancy after scoring, I think we were lucky to come away with a point but that is a sign of our progress under Nuno. We were able to hold on to the point, even with 10 men at the end.

Andy: Good away point. In the last two seasons we have had decisions go against us, especially from VAR. I will take that point all day against a very good Brighton side. Next up is Fulham, another test for Forest.

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Former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given spoke to BBC Match of the Day 2 about Karou Mitoma's performance against Nottingham Forest: "He was the star man today, for sure. He was absolutely brilliant. We always talk about the offensive side of his game, but he defends really well for the team.

"He can go inside, outside and he picks the right pass. Mitoma is at the heart of everything positive that Brighton were doing.

"They [the Nottingham Forest players] were taking turns trying to keep him out. It was a fantastic performance.

"I think they paid something like three million pounds for him. An absolute snip."

Highlights and full analysis from 28'00 on Match of the Day 2

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The main talking point from Brighton's 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest was Morgan Gibbs-White's red card for the visitors late in the game.

Both managers were sent from the dugout in the aftermath of Gibbs-White being shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Joao Pedro.

On BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, presenter Darren Fletcher said he thought Forest were so angry with the decision because referee Rob Jones had signalled Gibbs-White had played the ball, before then dismissing the midfielder.

"He's either got to stick to it [his first decision] or they [referees] have got to be told not to be so rash," said ex-England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

"He does get the ball, but it's the force he goes with and the pace of the tackle where he catches the player and you can understand why the card has been given.

"It's one of those: you can understand both arguments, but the referee has caused himself the problems by running over there and initially making the shape of the ball. Then, that's when everything's gone off because the Forest manager is immediately thinking 'the referee's told me he's got the ball and now he's sent him off, how can that be right?'"

Former Aston Villa and West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker said: "As a referee, you've got to stick to what you did and he did the ball sign.

"When he changed his mind, I knew instantly this is going to be what this whole game is going to be spoken about. We had a brilliant game of football but again we're going to be talking about a refereeing decision."

Listen to more reaction to Sunday's games on BBC Sounds

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's two Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd

• Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest

• Man City 2-2 Arsenal

Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham are interested in 19-year-old Turkey forward Semih Kilicsoy, who is at Besiktas. (CaughtOffside), external

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

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Brighton goalscorer Jack Hinshelwood has been speaking to BBC Radio Sussex following the draw at Amex Stadium: "We went down early but showed great character to get back into the game. We came in at half-time at 2-1 and, from that point, we can't be dropping points here at home. That was really frustrating.

"We need to become winners and be better at seeing games out. It will come but again it is frustrating. The manager has really been drumming that mentality into us and he will continue to, as we've dropped another two points here at home.

"As much as we are unbeaten and we are happy with the start, it is two games that we have come away from where we think we should have six points rather than two."

On scoring another header: "I like to arrive in the box and Joao Pedro has found me with a great ball. I have just tried to redirect it back across the goalkeeper and it was nice to see it hit the back of the net.

"But, again, it is so hard to be happy with that when we have come off the pitch with just one point."

On what they could have improved to get the three points: "I think we were very unlucky not to score the third goal, if that happens then it is a very different game. But, if we don't find that goal, then we've got to be resilient and together.

"For their second goal, there was a big gap in the midfield between myself and Mats [Wieffer]. We needed to shuffle over a bit more. There were just a few things that led to us being too open at the back.

"We need to learn from it and take these things on board to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

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The good news for Brighton fans is their side remains unbeaten in all competitions after a thrilling 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Amex Stadium.

But, just like in their last league game when they dominated at home against Ipswich Town but drew 0-0, there was a feeling among the players that this was two points dropped.

Indeed, two goals in a three-minute spell, a powerful header from Jack Hinshelwood and an excellent Danny Welbeck free-kick, swung the game in Brighton's favour after the visitors had taken an early lead through Chris Wood's penalty.

But the hosts could not hang on to the lead and poor defending allowed Morgan Gibbs-White to race through and set up substitute Ramon Sosa to score an equaliser.

Brighton have won two and drawn three of their first five league matches as well as progressed into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup.

However, they now have a daunting run in their six fixtures, including matches against Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester City - games which will give us a better indication to the strength of the Seagulls this season.

Boss Fabian Hurzeler will not be on the touchline for the game at Chelsea on Saturday as both managers, along with Gibbs-White, were dismissed in a chaotic finale to a thrilling afternoon.

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Brighton forward Danny Welbeck has been speaking to Sky Sports following the draw: "Considering the position we were in at 2-1 up, the feeling is disappointment. It is really hard to take. It is a harsh lesson for us, but it is one that we have to analyse and work through on the training pitch.

"We need to make sure that if we are in this position again, it doesn't happen again. The game has ended in a draw again today, when really we should have closed it out, so it is really frustrating.

"There's a lot of disappointment in the dressing room and in the whole club, fans included."

On scoring his goal: "I have had a couple of close ones recently and it fell nicely for me. It was in a spot where I fancied my chances and it was a good free-kick, one that I'm happy with. We move on to the next one now."

On the Seagulls' unbeaten start: "We have got a great culture in the dressing room, where everyone wants to improve and elevate the levels. We can take the positivity of being unbeaten, but also take the disappointment of today and last week to fuel us to get better.

"There are moments where we have been naive, but we can look back on that and improve that."

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Brighton coach Andrew Crofts has been speaking to BBC Sport following the draw with Nottingham Forest: "Late in the game, where we are trying to push to win the game, and there is a foul right by our bench. The player is going for the ball but it felt like a foul - their bench felt differently.

"I didn't see too much of it, but the referee sent the managers off. I'm not 100% sure why and I haven't seen it back. I will ask him [Fabian Hurzeler] when I see him.

"We are frustrated. We felt we should've won the game. We created lots of chances. We probably would have wanted to create more chances but we scored two very good goals. A fantastic header and a top free-kick.

"We felt on top in the second half and tried to get a third goal to kill the game. We can definitely defend those moments better. On the whole, we defended very well because they didn't have many opportunities, but it is about trying to do it 100% of the time."

On working with Fabian Hurzeler: "He has been great to work with. I have learned so much from him in a short amount of time. He has brought a lot of new ideas into the club. He is really ambitious. It is a nice place to be."

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Danny Welbeck struck his 70th Premier League goal, but his first ever in the competition to come as a direct free-kick.

It is only the fourth direct free-kick goal that Brighton have scored in the competition with each coming from a different player (Lewis Dunk, Pascal Gross, Alexis Mac Allister and Danny Welbeck).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album, Common People, is out now.

Brighton host Nottingham Forest on Sunday at 14:00 BST...

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

It is hard to predict a defeat for Nottingham Forest now because they were so good at Liverpool and their backline of Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Alex Moreno and Ola Aina were just tremendous.

Forest also had James Ward-Prowse just sitting in front of their back four ticking things over and Ryan Yates alongside him getting on everyone's nerves with his tenacity.

Their substitutes came on and impacted the game at Anfield as well and the whole team had such composure.

So, while I look at Brighton and think they are capable of scoring, based on what I saw from Forest, why would I say they will lose?

I don't think Brighton will lose at home either, so I am really sorry, but I am going to have to go for another draw.

James's prediction: 2-2

This is an interesting one... they have both started well, so I am going to go for another draw.

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While Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler accepts Joao Pedro is Albion's "key player," he insists have side have many other weapons with which to cause problems for opponents.

Hurzeler refused to rule Pedro in or out for Sunday's Premier League match against Nottingham Forest but was keen to highlight the attacker's importance to his team, having missed the draw with Ipswich last weekend.

"Every team in the Premier League has this key player that makes a difference, and in our case, it's Joao Pedro," he said. "But we also have other great players who can make the difference.

"We have [Kaoru] Mitoma, Simon [Adingra], and [Yankuba] Minteh. Danny Welbeck has already scored and we have now Georginio Rutter, [Evan] Ferguson, and young players in midfield like Carlos [Baleba] and Yasin [Ayari], that all have the ability to score.

"We have to make them score. We have to help them increase their percentage of making assists and of making goals. That's our job: to develop them and to make a team that is not only fixed on one player.

"It's very important that not only we know but also the opponent knows that we have several players with the ability to score, with the ability to make the difference."

Tyrese King
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Midfielder and £25m summer signing Brajan Gruda is set to return to training with the squad in the next few days.

• Matt O'Riley is also in "very good shape", though unlikely to take part in the next game, while James Milner is also progressing well.

• Hurzeler said: "I'm happy that all the players are working really hard for their comeback and I'm hoping they'll be back soon."

• On Joao Pedro: "It will be easy as a coach to say we missed him, and if Joao Pedro was playing against Ipswich we would have won, but in my philosophy it's important to create chances. On top of that, every player wants to score and they don't want to miss on purpose."

• Pedro will train on Friday with the team and "see how it goes".

• Hurzeler on his side's goalscoring problem: "My solution is that we need to create some chances, attack the box with more players and change our attitude. We missed a step in not creating more chances against Ipswich and we're trying to work on that."

• He said Nottingham Forest have had an "impressive start" to the season and picks out Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga as key players.

• Hurzeler said: "We have to stop their transition moments and we have to stop their counter-pressing. It will be a challenge for us but we did it very well against Ipswich."

• On Carlos Baleba: "He's a great player and he's improving fast because he understands the ideas. But I always say he still has so much potential. Our job is to help me and provide an environment where he can improve. It's very important for youngsters to get feedback and not stagnate."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news