StevenSeagull

What a thoroughly decent bloke Dan Burn is. I think if you ask any Brighton fan to list their top 3 favourite current PL ex-players it's a close contest between him and Mac Allister, and for different reasons. Mac Allister's attitude plays a big part in why he's still so popular but also his performances on the pitch. No disrespect intended but aside from a comedy goal against Man City and Chelsea at home when he had Lukaku in his pocket, Burn's other games all merge into one - he was solid, reliable. He's always going to get a warm welcome at the Amex because he's such a lovable humble bloke who quite clearly knows he's living the dream and would never take it or us fans for granted. His sign language celebration was class. Dunno how he was able to control his emotions at that moment. When I celebrate a goal, it's all I can think about. The joy on those kids' faces was just lovely. To misquote Kipling you're a better man than I am, BDB. Must admit, I was worried that Newcastle's new owners would forget that your club is rooted in the community and you'd become just another soulless corporate club like Man U and Chelsea. Never been happier to be proved wrong.

Yes and no. It definitely gives us an edge and we were using it long before Ashworth came on board but it was still hit and miss because we were relying too much on stats and not enough on the things that can't be put on a graph (player attitude, background, influences, motivation, even drinking habits). Ashworth built a much more sophisticated system that had the data at the start of a much longer process. Our success rate since we started using his system has improved dramatically. He also changed the way our U21 and youth teams were being developed. They're now coached to play the same style of football as the 1st team and we've now got many more youngsters breaking through.

Talking of serious chops, kudos to the bloke who now cuts Gordon's hair. It was really starting to annoy me

Brighton fan here. A huge part of that U21 success is down to the work Dan Ashworth did when he was at the FA. I don't know if you think he's making a difference right now at your club but it'll be crystal clear in 5 to 10 years and for a long time after he's left. He's the best at what he does. There's not a sporting director at any club, anywhere in the world that comes close. I'm so glad that we had him at Brighton even for a short time.

Just popped on here to give a neutral's perspective after seeing the Simeone/Howe comparison on social media. Considering Arteta's relentless touchline histrionics AND yet another absolute kicking my beloved Brighton received from the Scousers yesterday AND witnessing decades of Chelsea and Man U players bullying the ref, the media have got a f*cking cheek to start accusing Eddie Howe of being a master of the dark arts. And you can bet your house that they wouldn't be saying these things about Newcastle if you were still no threat to the Big 6 domination. How dare Newcastle play them at their own game, eh?

Brighton fan here. Great to see Pope, Wilson & Trippier getting the call-up, they fully deserve it but I have serious doubts as to whether Southgate will actually play them. We all know he's never been one to pick players based on form, it's all about which club they play for esp. if it's Villa, Liverpool or Utd. How else can it be that he has Maguire, TAA, Dier & Shaw ahead of Dan Burn and Lewis Dunk? By any measure, those two have been consistently better and Southgate bloody well knows it. As long as the FA continue to employ ex-Palace muppets, we'll never win anything. Best of luck for the rest of the season. Would love to see both our clubs smash the Big 6 stranglehold. You lot to win it outright & Brighton to finish in top 6, ideally above Chelsea.

It's brilliant all-round being a Brighton fan right now. I still can't get my head around the fact we're a mid-table PL team. When I started taking my 2 sons to Withdean, we sat in temporary stands/ Crowds of 5,000 watching us lose regularly to Oldham, Swindon, Walsall. I've got a lot of good memories of that time - my two lads defiantly and proudly supporting their local club, a feeling that you knew either personally or by sight every other Brighton fan & cracking away days at Orient, Millwall, Southend, Plymouth, Darlington but it was v.dark days for the club. Even up to 2008, I was afraid we could go out of business. And if you want a throw-back to signing obscure players - here's a photo of Jonny Dixon signing for us in 2008. God knows why we signed him or even how we found him. Played only a couple of times and was bloody awful even by our standards. He quit football shortly after and became a DJ. He's best remembered for two reasons: That jumper he's wearing in the photo and because he was dating Holly Vallance at the time.

Cheers for that. Never heard of them before but that's right up my street. A cross between Hank Williams III and Hayseed Dixie.

A very good point about our failure to buy a decent striker. I don't know the reason for that. It could be because Potter changes formations so frequently, even during a match and we've never had & never will have a striker with that versatility. Or it might be an unintended consequence of our 'no dick-heads' rule - it's hard enough trying to scout for decent strikers, restricting that to only the ones without an ego or streak of arrogance makes it much trickier.

Apparently, Man United are looking to table a bid for Pervis Estupinan after the left back impressed during his medical at Brighton *I'll get my coat

Brighton fan here. Hope you don't mind me posting on this thread. We all know Dan Ashworth has a v.good reputation for scouting players but I think there's a misunderstanding about what exactly he's done to earn that rep. He's not involved in identifying players - that's up to the scouts and esp. with clubs like Brighton & Brentford, data analysis. And the reason why those clubs have the best databases is because the data comes from the owners' gambling syndicates which has made them both billionaires. Brighton had a data-led approach before Ashworth joined us but even with all the data, Brighton's recruitment was very hit and miss. What Ashworth did was to use data as a starting point not end result. He made sure scouts placed as much emphasis on things like player attitude, lifestyle as much as their football ability. Players must fit the club ethos. Us Brighton fans call it the 'no dick-head rule'. Our transfer success rate improved beyond measure. But Ashworth's talents don't stop there, he's a brilliant administrator. When he joined the FA in 2012, England national team was in the doldrums. A disastrous WC followed by a mediocre Euros. It's largely thanks to his restructuring that led to the success of England U18 & U21 and senior squad getting to a WC semi & Euros final. His time at Brighton was just as successful in its own way. Brighton is now a club where everyone: players, management, executives, admin staff - all have the same objective - maximise success of the first team. Our youth & U23 teams use the same coaching & management approach as our 1st team. We now have more youngsters coming through than we've had for years. All the admin staff at the club now get bonuses at the end of the year based on 1st team success. There's no two ways about it, there's no-one better at what he does but it will take a few years before you lot will really see the benefits. Best of luck for the rest of the season and lots of love to Big Dan Burn.