Seagull Strikers

Brighton make the long trip up to Joie Stadium on Friday to face Manchester City, a team that beat the Albion twice last season. Both games were tightly contested and I’m pretty confident the 2-1 loss would have been a draw had the game been 5 minutes longer. In that sense, any points against City is an improvement, however, the odds are against the Seagulls with the Opta supercomputer placing City as 2nd favourites for the title.

City had a difficult start away to Chelsea and despite threatening in spells they lacked a cutting edge with many of their shots heading straight for Hannah Hampton. Their goal came from a Greenwood free kick that had a touch of fortune about it and whilst you could be happy with a 2-1 loss to the WSL champions, their finishing left a lot to be desired.

City’s 9 shots off target and failing to score with 5 shots on target is in stark contrast to Chelsea who were incredibly efficient with 2 goals from 3 shots on target. Of course, many teams struggle to create chances so its impressive that City were able to create as many as they did. City will be looking to correct their shooting accuracy against Brighton and will hope to give Nnadozie a harder time.

My concern is that City limited Chelsea to 8 shots and Brighton enter having failed to score from 18 shots against Villa. Ironically, both sides need to be more efficient in front of goal and on paper.

There is a lot more to come from Man City this season. Bunny Shaw spoke recently about how she has only started three games with Hemp and Miedema (on of them to Brighton) due to unfortunate injuries. Hemp was very dangerous ending the season as the top assister (8) despite only playing 10 WSL games. That is a seriously scary front line and hopefully Brighton play them before they can fully click and gel as a unit.

With no Champions League fixtures for City, they’ll have a lot of training ground time to work on attacking patterns of play. Perhaps, its good we face them so early on in the season.

In defence City are waiting on the fitness of Alex Greenwood and Lily Murphy who suffered injuries at the tail end of the Chelsea game. They may still be waiting for Kerolin too who had a shortened pre season due to Copa America.

Man City have had a solid transfer window with Grace Clinton joining for a fee on deadline day to prevent Manchester United losing her for free next season with Jess Park going the other way. Laura Weinrother joins on a permanent basis and Jade Rose joins her in defence as a versatile defender. Last season they conceded 28 goals in the WSL compared to 15 the season before and City will be hoping they pair can help them bring back that rock solid defence. Of course they have lost Chole Kelly permanently and Jill Roord was a surprise loss to FC Twente.

Last campaign, Man City topped the possession stats holding an average of nearly 62% with Hasegawa dominating the midfield. A staple of their play was moving through the wings before cut backs into the 18 yard box created goal scoring opportunities. Our full backs will have be to defensively aware of these opportunities and we’ll have to progress the ball faster up the pitch to make the most of what little of the ball we may get.

In wider news, there are some new changes at the Joie Stadium with a buggy park introduced and alcohol now allowed in certain areas of the stadium. It’ll be interesting to see what new women’s sport specifics the new Brighton stadium pick up.

I hope all fans travelling up to Manchester have a good time. Unfortunately, work and school aged children mean we can’t make a Friday night game in the North.

BBC Sport claimed a 0-0 draw was a fair result for both teams, I would argue it’s more a mirror of Brightons transfer window. A lot of excellent defensive signings were made compared to the relatively few attacking reinforcements which made a clean sheet and a blank at the top make sense.

When you make so many signings in defence it can take a while for a back line to gel but I thought they were excellent, controlled and in control all game.

Minami had a phenomenal debut and showed very intelligent off the ball movement to prevent dangerous attacking play without having to resort to a last ditch tackle. She had a calmness in possession that we lacked at times last season and passed out from the back with purpose.

McLauchlan, Rule and Olislagers also had fantastic games. Even when Rule was caught in possession, her recovery pace enabled her to catch up and regain the ball before it led to a chance. Olislagers was effective at both recycling possession and adding verticality with quick forward passes through the lines. She played positionally with more restraint than we observed last season, often looking to tuck into midfield rather than overlap and this might be part of the reason our attack lacked variety. The back 4 were also fantastic at baiting the opposition attacks into being offside with the flag going up 5 times against Villa.

Nnadozie had a brilliant game as well. She is an imposing figure close up, although at 5ft 8 most people are imposing to me, and showed incredible power with her goal kicks. She wasn’t helped by the wind but she needs to find her range with a minor criticism being her kicks ended up just reaching Roebuck without nearing a Brighton player. She was a commanding presence at corners and set pieces with punches knocking any stray ball that neared the goal. There was a section that gave me a heart attack as she channelled her inner dribbler to bypass the Villa press but it showed a confidence on the ball that I’m sure we’ll get used to.

The solidity of the team beyond the back five was impressive and it’s clear this is a team that is very much aware of Vidosic’s game plan. With 56.9% possession, there was an element of control that makes BBCs comment about a fair result feel inaccurate. This is a team that can keep the ball and impose control, holding a 63% duel win rate dominating tackles and aerial duels.

However, the attacking stats match the eye test. Despite dominating shots, (18 to 12) and touches in the opposition box (29 to 15) we had the same amount of shots on target (4) which is why it felt the game could have gone either way.

The woodwork saved Brighton from a powerful Daly shot and a beautiful Wilms free kick but equally Villa were highly effective in blocking Brighton efforts.

McLauchlan said post game that she felt Brighton needed more patience when working the ball through the box and she certainly has a point. Ironically, Brighton either needed to pull the trigger earlier when the Villa defence was off balance or be more patient trying to find an opportunity and force the defence into a mistake. In the end, they often rushed attacks without shooting and found themselves in positions where it was hard to recycle the ball out wide and try again. This was compounded by some loose touches and through balls in the final third uncharacteristically many of them by Fran Kirby.

Having said that, Villa did find our attacking play uncomfortable as shown by the sheer number of yellow cards (even when ignoring Grant’s card for an unnecessary tantrum!) and their need to make defensive substitutions in order to combat our play.

I was disappointed but not surprised to see Vidosic hold off until 73 minutes to make a Brighton substitution. Noordam and Rayner certainly added some fresh legs to the press and our attacking play regained some speed with one touch passing. I understand that Vidosic wouldn’t want to throw some new signings fresh to the WSL but 60 minutes seemed like a perfect opportunity to replace Seike with Kafija as her tight control and dribbling might have offered a way to break the deadlock. Equally, Camacho looked sharp, quick and hungry when she entered the fray on 90 minutes and showed she’s quite willing to quickly pull the trigger when she gains a sight on goal.

Agyemang had a good game- certainly her defensive numbers were excellent. There were times, however, where we lacked at focal point because Agyemang was too far back. At one point Haley had the ball on the wing and Agyemang was pretty much in the left back position leaving no one in the centre.I also think we looked better when Cankovic dropped back alongside Symonds to allow Noordam to be further forward. Hopefully, some more flexibility in midfield positions will help create better attacking opportunities in future games.

Overall, I leave disappointed about the result but positive about what the performance and the underlying numbers mean for the season. Whereas, I suspect Villa fans will leave happier with the point but concerned about their prospects for the season. If we can add some more dangerous attacking play to our defensive base I’m quite excited about the next few games!

Fresh from being part of a Euro-winning England side and being named Young Player of the Tournament, Michelle Agyemang returns to Brighton. Given that she made only three starts last season, where does Dario Vidosic plan to play her, and how does he intend to use her?

One of the first areas worth considering is the loan parameters and discussions that enabled Agyemang’s return to the South Coast. Clearly, gaining more competitive minutes was crucial in Arsenal’s decision to open the door for a loan.

With England’s leading striker Alessia Russo and Champions League final scorer Stina Blackstenius ahead of her in the centre-forward position—and Foord, Caldentey, Kelly, Mead, and new signing Olivia Smith (with Katie McCabe also capable of playing on the left wing)—there is fierce competition at Arsenal. These players are also complete or close to fully developed, which means Agyemang would struggle to break into a side chasing their first WSL trophy since 2019.

However, did Vidosic promise Arsenal more starts for Agyemang this season? Despite making 17 appearances in the WSL, she only started three times and was on the pitch for 566 minutes—essentially the equivalent of six full games. It’s hard to imagine Arsenal agreeing to another loan without a clear pathway for her to gain significantly more starts and minutes.

I also wonder to what extent Vidosic had to commit to a specific position for Agyemang in order to secure the loan. Do Arsenal simply value minutes in the forward line regardless of position, or are they hoping she develops as the centre-forward? Any further signings in the window may reveal Vidosic’s intentions regarding her role. Does he believe Agyemang can go from three starts to being the main striker? She’s not an unknown quantity—Vidosic will know whether she can make the step up. Sometimes, all a player needs is an extended opportunity and a consistent run of games.

Last season, Agyemang had a real learning curve and played most of the forward positions. She replaced Madison Haley in against Manchester City, nominally on the left before swapping with Nikita Parris and playing more centrally. This fluidity helped to unsettle the Man City defence. Against Liverpool, she played one half on the left and one on the right whereas against Everton and Aston Villa she played all the minutes she had on the pitch on the left.

A key tenent of Agyemang’s play is her ability to hold the ball up and keep possesion in advanced positions. When playing in the centre she would often drop deep to link up play such as below where she received the ball in a deep position, before giving a lovely touch and go before sending a ball over the top eventually resulting in a corner.

During pre season, Brighton scored a lot of goals from midfield runners, Noordam’s headed goal from midfield as a classic example, and Agyemang’s hold up play and strength could be a perfect way to amplify our midfield and spread goals around the squad.

Equally, Agyemang is a good outlet to receive long and high balls. When she started on the left in the away fixtures against Everton and Aston Villa she was an outlet to receive long balls and maintain possession by breaking through the first line of the press. Indeed, Brighton produced a long raking cross field ball to Agyemang a total of eight times in the first half alone showing how she is used a valve to release the pressure at the back. This is a trend that happened in any game she played.

When Brighton beat Arsenal 4-2 they used the 6ft defender Caitlin Hayes in a similar way. Hayes would start in the forward position to receive the ball before moving back into defence. Agyemang couldn’t play against her parent club but I can see Brighton using Agyemang in this way as opposed to Hayes having to trek up and down the pitch all the time.

When Agyemang played on the wings, she held the width of the pitch whilst Brighton were in possession and often defended deep off the ball. In the shot below against Liverpool you can see Agyemang is in line with our defence almost acting like another wingback.

Agyemang is not afraid to support the defence and would frequently drop deep to support the midfield or defenders before moving back into forward positions.

One of the downsides of playing across the front line is it is harder to learn attacking positioning. There were several occasssions where Parris and Agyemang would seem to occupy the same spaces in the centre of the pitch seemingly clashing or crowding their own attack.

However, this does not mean they had a dysfunctional relationship as Parris and Agyemang would often swap positions and be fairly fluid in their movements which, when it worked well, would offer an element of unpredictability about their attacking play.

Interestingly, when Agyemang spoke about her equaliser against Italy, she said how she was meant to be at the far post but found herself just outside the main throng of players which hints at a lack of fluency in what her coaches want from their forwards when attacking.

Regardless, Brighton have an intelligent player on loan who has experience across the forward line. If we can hone her experiences into a more central area, we can use her as a way to beat the first press with an aerial ball, a mechanism for midfield runners and a source of goals. She has the experience to play on the wings and after Madison Haley’s hatrick we may find a more fluid front line this season that changes dependent on opposition. It’ll be exciting to see how Vidosic uses Agyemang and how she continues to progress this season.

This rather large blog will analyse the squad in its current state ahead of the new WSL season kicking off on the 6th/7th of August. While the transfer window remains open for a while longer, Brighton have already been busy. So, where are we strong, and where do we have gaps?

Goalkeepers

Last season, the goalkeeping position was a tightly contested battle between Melina Loeck and Sophie Baggaley. Despite Baggaley starting the season as the club’s number one—and reportedly attracting interest from Sarina Wiegman for an England call-up—she lost her place to Loeck after a string of strong performances. Baggaley only started against Arsenal due to Loeck picking up an injury in the pre-game warm-up. This season, Loeck has signed a new contract and been loaned to Swedish side Hammarby.

However, this hasn’t cleared the path for Baggaley, as Nigerian international Chiamaka Nnadozie has joined the Seagulls. A regular for Paris FC, Nnadozie is a towering presence at 6ft, a WAFCON winner, and was named best goalkeeper of the tournament. With Champions League experience, she’s likely been signed to be the new number one.

As an aside (and not that it matters much), she would be our highest-rated EAFC 25 (FIFA 25 in old terms) player at 85—Fran Kirby is rated 82.

Nnadozie looks to be an excellent addition, raising the ceiling in terms of quality, while Baggaley offers solid depth in a key position. Hopefully, we’ll see greater clarity in the goalkeeper role this season, with Nnadozie becoming the established starter.

This is without mentioning Hannah Poulter, who remains highly regarded and performed well on loan at Portsmouth last season. We’re currently well-stocked with quality goalkeepers, and Loeck’s loan might suggest Poulter will stay and compete with Baggaley for cup minutes. We shall see!

Defence

As I’ve written previously, our defence will look very different this season. We certainly have the numbers and can field two players in each position—assuming we play a back four, which I suspect Vidosic is leaning towards.

Charlie Rule should provide more competition for Rachel McLauchlan, who will hopefully put her hip injury behind her. Vanegas and Olislagers offer two distinct options at left-back, and we have four strong centre-back choices in Carabali, Hayes, Auee, and Minami. These defenders are versatile too—Olislagers epitomised total football last season, playing in midfield, left-back, left centre-back, wing-back, and even as a winger. When Auee returned, she slotted in at right-back, and Hayes’ heat map against Arsenal showed her as both a target-man-style outlet and a dominant defender.

The big weakness in our backline is the lack of left-footed players, especially at centre-back, which affects our ability to beat the press. Brighton struggled down the left side last season, conceding several goals due to a lack of specialist wing-backs and cohesion.

This issue isn’t unique to us—the Lionesses played most of Euro 2022 without a left-footer in defence and struggled most against Spain, who pressed them onto the left side. Arsenal addressed this by moving Steph Catley from left-back to left centre-back to improve press resistance.We need to improve our build-up play on the left, and a left-footed centre-back should be top of our shopping list. For now, we’ll rely on coaching and tactical tweaks to shore up that weakness.

It’s also hard to predict our first-choice defenders. McLauchlan was a consistent performer last season, so Rule will need strong cup performances or an injury to break into the starting XI. Vanegas seems likely to start due to her pedigree, but Olislagers is more accustomed to the WSL and Vidosic’s style, so she may begin the season at left-back, with appearances further forward later on.

With last season’s most-used centre-back pairing gone, predicting the central defence is tricky. Hayes and Auee offer aerial presence and could partner Carabali or Minami depending on the opposition’s attacking style. If Vidosic sticks with a back three, we may be one centre-back short—unless he plans to use a left-back in that role.

Overall, defence is an area with fewer concerns. We have a good mix of depth and quality, and most players have been signed by the manager himself.

Midfield

Like the defence, our midfield evolved throughout last season due to injuries, formation changes, and our search for the best build-up structure. Losada rarely had a consistent partner.

Right now, our likely starting trio is Symonds at the base, with Noordam and Kirby ahead. These three complement each other well—Symonds is an ideal number six with a relentless engine, solid passing range, and a sharp tackle. Noordam was a smart January addition, offering versatility, energy, and line-breaking passes. And Kirby… well, there’s little left to say! Her presence in the middle will elevate the team and support younger players like Carla Camacho and, hopefully, Rosa Kafija.

Cankovic and Rayner provide attacking midfield depth and can replace Symonds or Noordam against low blocks. Cankovic showed her finishing and spatial awareness against Arsenal—we need to see that consistently.We do have the same left-foot issue in midfield, with all players preferring their right. We also lack depth in holding midfield, unless Vidosic sees Olislagers as a viable backup.

Oddly, despite no new midfield signings (except Libby Bance’s return), this area still feels strong in quality, even if light in numbers.

Forwards

This is the area that probably concerns most Seagulls fans. With Nikita Parris moving to London City Lionesses, Michelle Agyemang and Bruna Vilamala returning to Arsenal and Barcelona respectively, and Pauline Bremer heading to Köln, we’ve lost significant attacking firepower.

Parris leaves the biggest hole, contributing seven WSL goals and assists. The others were mostly used as subs, with Vilamala hampered by injury.

Currently, we have Seike, Haley, and Masaka from last season, with Real Madrid’s Carla Camacho as the new addition. This is light in terms of numbers, and depth could be a concern if injuries mount. Camacho is an exciting prospect, having played extensively in youth tournaments for Spain, but it’s a big ask for her to lead the line in her first WSL season.

We need more attacking reinforcements. A short-term experienced forward would help, especially with Haley being the oldest attacker at 26. This would allow Camacho to develop without undue pressure.

If no new striker arrives, Vidosic may see Camacho and Seike sharing the central role, or use Haley’s physicality as a traditional number nine. Haley will want a stronger season after a disappointing output last year.

Swedish journalist Amanda Zaza and Arseblog News both report that Rosa Kafija is close to signing for Brighton on loan—a quality addition if it happens.

Aisha Masaka is almost like a new signing, having had her first season ruined by injuries. She’s acknowledged it wasn’t a good year, and her perseverance is admirable. If she can stay fit, she could be a breakout talent.

Overall

Brighton have had a strong transfer window so far. The old adage “quality over quantity” feels apt, and it’s telling that we’ve competed with clubs like Everton for experienced internationals.

The club’s backing—paying fees and offering longer-term deals—is impressive. Women’s football often sees frequent moves due to short contracts, but reported three- and four-year deals suggest a shift toward building a longer-term squad. Compare our current squad to three years ago—it’s drastically different, while clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal retain their core.

Last season, we had a large squad but inconsistent availability and a mix of players suited to different systems. This season’s squad feels much more aligned with Vidosic’s vision. We’ve also significantly lowered the average age, losing four players over 30 (Losada, Bergsvand, Thorisdottir, and Parris), with Minami being our oldest new signing at 26. Age isn’t a problem, but good squads blend youth and experience.

In essence, we’re just a couple of quality additions away from having a squad that can regularly challenge to be the best of the rest.