IT WAS NICE to hear such magnanimous comments from Birmingham City boss Lee Clark after his side’s 1-0 defeat at the Amex on Saturday. The former Newcastle reserve boss was extremely praiseworthy of Albion winger Kazenga LuaLua, with whom he’d worked closely with at St James’ Park. He also praised Albion’s style of play and admitted he’s been an admirer of the club from afar in recent seasons. Of course it wasn’t so long ago that Clark was at Huddersfield, competing with Albion for promotion from League One (and in the transfer market for LuaLua, the following summer). His Terriers team were the last visitors to Withdean, before Albion’s summer 2011 move to the Amex. Supporters at Withdean for that last-ever match will also recall Clark’s players forming a guard of honour for Albion, who’d already won the championship.
ALBION HAVE LARGELY gone unnoticed by the pundits this season, but since entering the play-off places for the first time on Saturday, both Steve Claridge (on the Football League Show) and QPR boss Harry Redknapp have tipped the Seagulls to be part of the play-off mix come the end of the season. Claridge has an Albion connection, having made four appearances in the Championship for Albion under Mark McGhee, but what Albion fans may not know is that Redknapp too almost ended up with the Seagulls after finishing his playing career – and could have been part of the Wembley party who went to the FA Cup Final in 1983. The former Spurs and West Ham boss reveals in his autobiography Always Managing that he was approached to join the coaching staff under Jimmy Melia in the FA Cup Final season.
OSCAR GARCIA FOUND out last night that Albion will face a trip to Port Vale in round four of the FA Cup - meaning a reunion for fans with former boss Micky Adams rather than a trip to Devon to face Plymouth. Albion’s women’s team are also waiting on the result of a replay, but they know for sure that they will be heading to Devon in round three on the FA Women’s Cup. They have been drawn away to the winners of the tie between Argyle ladies and Exeter City, which was postponed last Sunday. When he knows which opponent his team will face on Sunday 9th February, Albion women’s boss John Donoghue might be able to tap into the knowledge of Chichester City Ladies FC, as the unbeaten Sussex side are also in the South West Combination.
THE LADIES’ THIRD round tie with Spurs, a thrilling 3-2 win for the Seagulls, was broadcast live on the club’s official YouTube channel on Sunday. The club has broken new ground this season by broadcasting under-21, FA Youth Cup and now FA Women’s Cup fixtures live on the internet. Keep an eye on the website for future live broadcasts – while early discussions have begun with the Football League about possibilities of beaming first team games to our fans outside of the UK. Meanwhile, Paul Barber has raised the possibility of a more traditional style beamback of the Burnley game later this month. The club would need our hosts to sanction the move and the Football League to give permission, but the Albion chief executive wants to make a January midweek fixture in the far-flung north as accessible to as many fans as possible.
MANY MAY WISH to make the trip to Turf Moor to say thanks and farewell to now-departed striker Ashley Barnes. The former Plymouth man made a brief debut as an 88th-minute substitute at Huish Park last weekend – but before training on Friday morning and travelling to Yeovil with his new team-mates that afternoon, Barnes took time to telephone a number of club staff members to say thank you and farewell. He also took time out for an interview with Albion’s media team in order to thank the Albion fans via the club website.
ANOTHER AREA OF technological progress this season has been the development of the Digital Stadium App, which has been developed by a team from Sussex University. The Android-platform app (an iPhone app is still in development) uses ground-breaking technology in order to work in condensed areas, where mobile signal and wi-fi typically struggle to cope. The peer-to-peer techonology employed by the app actually thrives on higher volume of users – and has impressed those on the tech deak at The Observer, as the Digital Stadium App and Tribehive team behind it featured in last Sunday’s paper.
Original article
ALBION HAVE LARGELY gone unnoticed by the pundits this season, but since entering the play-off places for the first time on Saturday, both Steve Claridge (on the Football League Show) and QPR boss Harry Redknapp have tipped the Seagulls to be part of the play-off mix come the end of the season. Claridge has an Albion connection, having made four appearances in the Championship for Albion under Mark McGhee, but what Albion fans may not know is that Redknapp too almost ended up with the Seagulls after finishing his playing career – and could have been part of the Wembley party who went to the FA Cup Final in 1983. The former Spurs and West Ham boss reveals in his autobiography Always Managing that he was approached to join the coaching staff under Jimmy Melia in the FA Cup Final season.
OSCAR GARCIA FOUND out last night that Albion will face a trip to Port Vale in round four of the FA Cup - meaning a reunion for fans with former boss Micky Adams rather than a trip to Devon to face Plymouth. Albion’s women’s team are also waiting on the result of a replay, but they know for sure that they will be heading to Devon in round three on the FA Women’s Cup. They have been drawn away to the winners of the tie between Argyle ladies and Exeter City, which was postponed last Sunday. When he knows which opponent his team will face on Sunday 9th February, Albion women’s boss John Donoghue might be able to tap into the knowledge of Chichester City Ladies FC, as the unbeaten Sussex side are also in the South West Combination.
THE LADIES’ THIRD round tie with Spurs, a thrilling 3-2 win for the Seagulls, was broadcast live on the club’s official YouTube channel on Sunday. The club has broken new ground this season by broadcasting under-21, FA Youth Cup and now FA Women’s Cup fixtures live on the internet. Keep an eye on the website for future live broadcasts – while early discussions have begun with the Football League about possibilities of beaming first team games to our fans outside of the UK. Meanwhile, Paul Barber has raised the possibility of a more traditional style beamback of the Burnley game later this month. The club would need our hosts to sanction the move and the Football League to give permission, but the Albion chief executive wants to make a January midweek fixture in the far-flung north as accessible to as many fans as possible.
MANY MAY WISH to make the trip to Turf Moor to say thanks and farewell to now-departed striker Ashley Barnes. The former Plymouth man made a brief debut as an 88th-minute substitute at Huish Park last weekend – but before training on Friday morning and travelling to Yeovil with his new team-mates that afternoon, Barnes took time to telephone a number of club staff members to say thank you and farewell. He also took time out for an interview with Albion’s media team in order to thank the Albion fans via the club website.
ANOTHER AREA OF technological progress this season has been the development of the Digital Stadium App, which has been developed by a team from Sussex University. The Android-platform app (an iPhone app is still in development) uses ground-breaking technology in order to work in condensed areas, where mobile signal and wi-fi typically struggle to cope. The peer-to-peer techonology employed by the app actually thrives on higher volume of users – and has impressed those on the tech deak at The Observer, as the Digital Stadium App and Tribehive team behind it featured in last Sunday’s paper.
Original article