[Official Site] Inside Albion: Jet Set

Albion players board the jet
Image by: Kris Hawes




JET SET ALBION
With three away matches in the space of eight days, Albion once again took to the skies for the trip to Blackburn Rovers. The team and staff jetted off on Monday afternoon from Gatwick, using the same jet used by Chelsea for their away trips. The flight was to Blackpool airport, with a coach waiting on the runway to whisk the players to their team hotel a few miles from Ewood Park. A night flight home meant the team were back in Brighton several hours sooner and therefore fresher for Saturday's trip to Barnsley.
PETROL PROBLEM
While Albion let the plane take the strain, spare a thought for BBC Sussex's intrepid duo Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall. The pair stopped to refuel en route on their way up the M6 on Tuesday's visit to Ewood Park, and each assumed the other had paid for the fuel... It was only when they were a good half an hour further down the road, that they realised their mistake. After much panicking and a few phone calls later, the honest pair had arranged to stop off on the way home to settle their account.*
DREAM STREAM
It wasn't just Oscar Garcia and Nathan Jones who enjoyed the live stream of Monday night's under-21 match at the Amex, which saw Craig Mackail-Smith score twice in a 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic. Several of the players watched the match on laptops and tablets, and were absolutely delighted to see the Seagulls striker come through his 90 minutes with such an impressive performance.


USA SET FOR BRIGHTON
We now know the second Rugby World Cup fixture at the Amex, to be named Brighton Community Stadium for the duration of the tournament - due to the tournamant's sponsorship and partner agreements. After USA's win in a two-legged qualifier against Uruguay, they will face Samoa in Brighton on Sunday 20th September 2015, kick-off 12pm. The first fixture takes place at 8pm, the previous day will be between the winners of the Asia 1 and South Africa. Fans can register for tickets, which are likely to go on sale in September 2014 - although tournament organisers have allocated a significant number for distribution among local Sussex rugby club members and season-ticket holders this summer in May and June.

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SKY'S THE LIMIT
Albion's final home game of the season has been chosen by Sky Sports as one of the two live SkyBet Championship matches that weekend - and the new Friday night slot has been the cause of much debate on social media and internet forums. To clarify, all Football League member clubs are committed to the TV broadcast contracts that are in place. Of course there are sometimes reasons why matches cannot take place, but these would either be on safety or operational grounds - and without a legitimate reason it would be very difficult for any club to say no to a televised game.*
SCHEDULE TO DATE
It's worth pointing out that to date 14 of our home league matches have been on a Saturday. Four have been on Tuesdays: three as per the original fixture list, and the other - Leeds - moved due to our involvement in the FA Cup. We've also played on a Wednesday - New Year's Day v Bournemouth - and on a Monday night - the Watford match, which was originally scheduled for the Friday night - due to the University of Brighton open day taking place on the Saturday - but switched due to TV coverage. With ambitions to be in the Premier League, the club could expect to games being rearranged due to television and other reasons much more frequently.


ALBION SHORTLISTED
Albion’s Safety and Security team are on a shortlist of five for the ‘Safety & Security’ award, while club volunteer Fred Woolven is on a shortlist of seven for the 'Unsung Hero' award. Fred, who received an unsung hero high recommendation at the recent Football League Awards, will be joined by Chris Baker, Adrian Morris and David Baker from the Amex safety and security team for the gala awards evening at the RAF Museum, London, on Wednesday, June 4.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Albion remain in the hunt for a play-off place, and the dates for the end-of-season shake-up are as follows:
Thursday 8th May, 7.45pm – 1st Leg A – 6th v 3rd
Friday 9th May, 7.45pm – 1st Leg B – 5th v 4th
Saturday 10th May, 12.15pm – 2nd Leg A – 3rd v 6th
Monday 12th May, 7.45pm – 2nd Leg B – 4th v 5th
UPCOMING HOME FIXTURES***








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