Brighton Fan Would Take Draw Against Leeds ryanlufc September 22, 2011 Away Fans Views 17 Comments Thanks to Mark Potter from We Are Brighton for taking part. You’ve got off to flying start this season, what have you made of life Championship so far and do you believe Brighton’s good start can continue? You’re right, it’s been a great start, better than anyone could realistically expect! Our defeat at Leicester last weekend shows we do have some weaknesses though, a reminder to some supporters that we’re not quite the finished article. But it’s promising stuff, and as long as Gus hangs around, there’s no reason we can’t keep it up and finish the season challenging for play-offs at the very least. What were your hopes/expectations for this season? Have they changed considering your good start? Most of us would have been happy with survival (especially if we beat Palace on the way!), although some optimists spoke of replicating Norwich last year. After our start though, most supporters are hopeful of at least a top half finish, and if things continue as they have been, then a promotion push certainly looks a possibility. Again though, this entirely depends on Gus staying with us! It will be Leeds’ first visit to the new Amex Stadium on Friday, what can we expect from it? Well, at the moment there’s a few teething problems getting supporters to and from the stadium. We’d advise you take the train, but don’t expect to get out straight away – hang around for a beer afterwards if you can. The ground itself though is fantastic. Away concourses are lit up to match the colour your team wears, and real ale and locally made pies are available too. We highly recommend the pies. The stadium is noisy, and a million times better than Withdean. Fans might notice a few gaps in the stadium that we hope to fill in at a later date to make the stadium even bigger. Some away fans have complained that the view from the away end is too low however. Clearly, they never made it to Withdean! Oh, and you can expect a powerpoint presentation of Leeds United legends on the concourse walls as well! Leeds fans will be familiar with Casper Ankergren in goal for Brighton, what have you made of his time at Brighton and who else should we be keeping an eye out for on Friday night? After dropping a clanger on his home debut, most Albion fans have warmed to Casper now. He’s a big part of our pass and move play as he’s so comfortable with the ball at his feet. The facts don’t lie, our defense has looked superb with him between the sticks, both last season and this season. Having said that, he doesn’t look too confident coming from crosses, and when he does have to play it long his kicking isn’t the greatest. But it does seem strange that Leeds didn’t think he’d be up to The Championship. Other players to look out for? Craig Noone is our tricky winger who has been on fire this season, while Mackail-Smith’s energy and LuaLua’s pace are capable of terrorising any defence Gus Poyet is another familiar face after his time as assistant manager at Elland Road. He’s obviously done exceptionally well in his time so far at Brighton, what do you personally make of him as a manager? There’s not an Albion fan who doesn’t love the man. The whole club revolves around Gus, and his philosophy of pass and move football. It took supporters a while to get use to all the short passing around our defence, but after the success of last season nobody could criticise it now. He’s been a total revelation. The only worry is that it’s surely only a matter of time before a big club come in for him. If you could sign one current Leeds player for Brighton, who would it be? We still haven’t forgotten the way Snodgrass tore us a new one at Withdean a couple of years ago. Yep, probably him, although obviously any club in the league would want Becchio up front. Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? I’ll take a point! I think we’d take a point also, as long as we don’t have any injuries for the match against arch rivals Crystal Palace next week. We might be a little tired after facing Liverpool on Wednesday as well, so 2-2 doesn’t sound an unlikely scoreline! Thanks to Mark Potter for answering the questions this week, you can read a reciprocal interview with David (TSS) answering the questions here.