Red mist descends on sorry Seagulls
Reporter: by TONY BUGBY
Date published: 23 October 2009
NICKY FORSTER . . . hoping to return for Brighton after a hamstring injury.
IT’S hardly surprising that manager Russell Slade has seen red over Brighton’s disappointing start to their Coca-Cola League One campaign.
The sixth-from-bottom Seagulls, who play hosts to Athletic tomorrow, have the worst disciplinary record in the division with six dismissals.
And Slade believes had they managed to keep a full complement of players on the pitch their fortunes could have been far different.
In the five matches in which they have been reduced in numbers – Brighton had two players sent off against Stockport - they have dropped 14 points out of 15.
The roll call of shame reads Michel Kuipers, Colin Hawkins, Adam El-Abd, Tommy Elphick, Adam Virgo and Glenn Murray.
In the case of Murray, his sending-off was arguably the most bizarre as both of his bookings in last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Tranmere were for deliberate handball.
Murray is ruled out of tomorrow’s match at the Withdean Stadium through suspension which makes it important that Nicky Forster returns after injury.
The 35-year-old tweaked a hamstring in the home win against Gillingham a fortnight ago, but could be in line for a recall.
Forster, with seven goals in only nine league starts, was named League One player of the month for September after scoring five times.
The absence of both Murray and Forster would leave Brighton with Gary Hart and Liam Dickinson as the club’s only two available strikers, as former Athletic player Craig Davies is still on loan at Yeovil.
Dickinson, who has scored three goals, is a player with local roots, having gained his big break in November, 2005, following a £10,000 move from non-league Woodley Sports to Stockport County.
The part-time player, who worked as a graphic designer at that time, seized his chance and in the summer of 2008 landed a £750,000 transfer to Derby County.
Amazingly, Dickinson never made a league appearance for the Rams and last season had loan spells at Huddersfield, Blackpool and Leeds before completing a £300,000 move to Brighton.
Dickinson is one of five players with Stockport connections at Brighton.
He is joined by Gary Dicker, James Tunicliffe, Jim McNulty and Davies, who had a spell at Edgeley Park from Athletic last season.
Brighton have won only two of their six home league matches and have lost to Walsall, Stockport, Southend and MK Dons.
That will provide Athletic with the belief that they can triumph at the Withdean Stadium which is far from the near-impregnable fortress it has been in recent seasons.
Ironically, the Seagulls are among a handful of clubs which have collected more points on their travels than on home soil.
Athletic have also been relatively successful on the road so far, winning at Leyton Orient and Southend and drawing away to Brentford and Charlton.
The goalless draw at Charlton in their last away fixture was the product of a highly-disciplined performance in which they might even have snatched victory.
Athletic have lost on their last two trips to Brighton, but in 13 visits over the last 30 years they have managed three wins and three draws.
FIXTURES
TOMORROW - Brentford v Stockport, Brighton v Athletic, Bristol Rovers v Yeovil, Carlisle v Southend, Colchester v Walsall, Exeter v Wycombe, Gillingham v Charlton, Hartlepool v Tranmere, Huddersfield v Leyton Orient, Millwall v Leeds, Norwich v Swindon, Southampton v MK Dons.
