Seagulls Over Burwash Article – August 2025
Champions, Local Favourites, Benefactors and New Season
While most of their Brighton and Hove Albion colleagues were sunning themselves on a beach during their well-deserved break following the completion of the 2024-2025 football season, Jack Hinshelwood and James Beadle packed their bags and headed off to Slovakia to join the England Under 21 team and compete in the UEFA U21 European Championship. England U21s were defending the title they won in 2023 and, after six gruelling matches, they clinched the Championship by beating Germany 3-2 in a dramatic, extra time final. Beadle was goalkeeper throughout the tournament while Hinshelwood was deployed as a right back where his 120 minute lung-busting performance in the final was outstanding. Congratulations to Jack, James and the rest of the England U21s. Hopefully the senior England team can replicate their success at next year’s World Cup.
Jack Hinshelwood was born in Brighton and joined the Albion Academy at the age of seven. For the supporters of any football club, it is always special when a ‘local lad’ comes through the ranks and plays for the first team. As Brighton and Hove Albion supporters, we have had a few over the years including the stalwarts of our lower league struggles, Kerry Mayo and Adam El Abd, and current players, Solly March and club captain Lewis Dunk. However, in the past, Sussex’s most talented youngsters were lured away by ‘bigger’ clubs which offered more than lower league football and training on the University playing fields in the rain. Since the training centre at Lancing was completed in 2014, this has started to change. Officially entitled the American Express Elite Performance Centre, the training facilities at Lancing are of the highest standard and provide the optimum conditions for young talent to flourish and develop. Not only does the lure of the Premier League and world class training facilities attract Sussex prospects to the club but the club can attract and recruit young players from all over the UK as well as from abroad. Furthermore, the club’s philosophy of trusting young players to perform in the Premier League demonstrates to potential academy scholars that, if they are good enough, they will get a chance of playing first team football at the club.
Over the last few years, the Albion’s academy has really started bearing fruit. In recent months five academy players have made the first team squad. Jack Hinshelwood was a regular in the first team last season and, during the last home game of the season against the Champions, Liverpool, he was joined by his cousin, Harry Howell. At seventeen years and 29 days old, Harry was the youngest player to have played in the Premier League for Brighton. Sussex-born academy graduates also joining the first team matchday squad last season were Charlie Tasker and Joe Knight, both 19 years old and 17 year old Freddie Simmons. Simmons has already had an impact at junior international level and has captained England at both under-16s and under-17s. Whilst the latter three have yet to make their first team debut, the fact that they were on the bench demonstrates that the head coach, Fabian Hurzeler, believes they are good enough to play in the toughest league in the world and it is very likely that they will feature on the pitch during the forthcoming season.
As well as developing players through the Academy, Brighton have been busy in the summer transfer market again. As is the general policy of the club, most of the incoming players are young, relatively unknown and with lots of potential. Attackers Charalampos Kostoulas (18) and Stephanos Tzimas (19), have swapped the Greek sunshine for the Sussex coast while Tom Watson (18), Diego Coppola (21), Do-young Yun (18) and Maxim De Cuyper (24) have arrived from Sunderland, Verona, Daejeon Hana Citizen (South Korea) and Club Brugge, respectively. In addition to these, experience French defender, Olivier Boscagli (27), joined the club on a free transfer from PSV Eindhoven. The cost of these signings was just over £60 million.
So how was such a large sum of money raised by ‘little ol’ Brighton’? Well, simple really. A quick call to their favourite benefactor, Mr Todd Boley of Chelsea, West London, and Bob’s your uncle! Brighton received a fee that, with staged add-ons, will reach £60 million in return for striker, Joao Pedro, who had missed the last five games of last season for violent conduct on the pitch (three match ban) and fighting with a colleague during training (two match club suspension). The sale of Pedro to Chelsea brought the total amount of money received by Brighton from Chelsea buying Albion players and poaching coaching staff to nearly £300 million since Boley and Clearwater took over Chelsea after Roman Abramovich’s ignominious departure.
Before the Premier League kicks off, Brighton play a final pre-season friendly against German Bundesliga team, VfL Wolfsburg, on Saturday 9th August, kick off 5.00 pm. These friendly matches are usually very entertaining and it will be the first time to see the Albion’s new signings play at the Amex. Also, for the avid supporter, it is an opportunity to enjoy a game without the stress exerted by the importance of the final score that is ever present for Premier League matches. Seagulls Over Burwash are running a coach to the game and we currently have a few spare spaces. So, if you would like to come down to experience a match at the Amex, please drop us a note and we will try and squeeze you on board. You never know, you might get hooked!
The following week, the first Premier League game of the season for the Albion will be at the Amex on 16th August against Fulham. Seagulls Over Burwash will again be running a standard coach and a double decker to each home game during next season. Throughout last season we took over 120 supporters from the Burwash and Heathfield area to each game and this coming season looks to be just as popular. We have again sold all of our coach season tickets but we do hold back some seats for match-by-match supporters. Again, if you would like to travel with us to any games, please contact us on the details below.
For further information on joining Seagulls Over Burwash and details of forthcoming events, meetings or coach travel, please visit our website at www.seagullsoverburwash.co.uk or email me at simon.forster@seagullsoverburwash.co.uk. Alternatively, please feel free to contact our Chairman, Mr Teskey O’Neil, on 01435 884344 or tesbar80@btinternet.com.
Simon Forster