Southover Street Seagull
Well-known member
From the Argus:
Ian Chapman took his daughters swimming yesterday.
On Monday he is in at the deep end as Albion's new first team coach.
It is a long way from Whitehawk to Withdean, in football terms if not miles.
continued...
Nor is Chapman armed with a bundle full of FA-approved coaching qualifications, yet he is far more likely to swim than sink.
Allow the ripples of surprise to settle and you begin to appreciate that the overworked Dean Wilkins could not have chosen a better man to throw the lifebelt to for the rest of the season.
For a kick-off Chapman bleeds blue and white, a personification of the local boy who made good.
A fan from the age of five, when his stepfather had a season ticket, in ten years as a player for the club he made 331 appearances at leftback or in midfield.
When the phone call came from his former Albion team-mate on Monday morning, his mind was pretty much made up.
"Within seconds I knew I wanted to go there, back to where I've come from," said Chapman, Brighton-born and bred. "It's a fantastic opportunity for me to get back involved with the club.
"It's been ten years and you think that's it. I'd not really thought about going back to Brighton until this cropped up.
"I just wanted to do well in coaching and see where that took me. To be back at the club after this long will be great."
The common sense behind Chapman's appointment stretches far beyond Wilkins giving a former colleague, club stalwart and long-time friend a job.
He knows many of the players already and is well-placed to understand what makes both the young and experienced members of the squad tick.
Chapman was a kid himself when he burst onto the scene with Albion. He became the first graduate of the FA's National School of Excellence at Lilleshall to play in the Football League when he made his debut at Birmingham in February 1987.
He was also, at the age of 16, Albion's youngest ever peacetime player until Simon Fox's fleeting impact seven years later.
Chapman went on to work with the likes of Joel Lynch and Tommy Fraser for two years while coaching at the Seagull's centre of excellence.
"They were excellent," he said. "Obviously they are young men now and I am looking forward to working with them again.
"I think there is a lot of potential at the club with the young lads and hopefully I can help them."
At the opposite end of the scale, Chapman played with Guy Butters and Richard Carpenter at Gillingham.
Kerry Mayo was just breaking through when he left Albion in April 1996 after a decade of service.
He was by that stage an experienced campaigner himself when he was controversially released by Jimmy Case.
"I was devastated to leave the club but as you get older and the more experience you get you take things with a pinch of salt," Chapman said.
"At the time I was disappointed. I didn't really want to leave but that's just the way it goes.
"I don't bear any grudges. Jim made a football decision that he thought was right. As you get older you realise that. When you are young you take things a bit personally."
What else will Chapman bring? Maintaining his part-time job as manager of County League leaders Whitehawk, a post he has held for the past five seasons, should not be misinterpreted.
Rest assured, he will dive into his Albion role with the same gusto he displayed on the pitch. "I'll be there Monday to Friday with Deano," he said. "If he needs me to take any sessions, coaching wise, fine.
"If he needs me to watch a team or scouting for players that's fine. If on a Saturday morning he wants me to go along with the youth team to help Vic (Bragg) out or to take training for the players that haven't travelled that's no problem.
"I'll be helping out with the reserves as well. What ever he wants as the gaffer I'll do.
"The main thing is hopefully to take the workload off Dean and Dean White. They can then concentrate on the really important stuff with the first team.
"My job now is working for Brighton and whatever needs to be done will be done. I'm here until the end of the season. I will give everything I've got for the next six or seven months and then we'll go from there.
"If I feel it (Whitehawk) is jeopardising what I am doing with Brighton then I will have to re-evaluate things. Hopefully that won't be the case."
Excellent news, now Dean gets a bit of help and from someone who bleeds blue and white too.
Ian Chapman took his daughters swimming yesterday.
On Monday he is in at the deep end as Albion's new first team coach.
It is a long way from Whitehawk to Withdean, in football terms if not miles.
continued...
Nor is Chapman armed with a bundle full of FA-approved coaching qualifications, yet he is far more likely to swim than sink.
Allow the ripples of surprise to settle and you begin to appreciate that the overworked Dean Wilkins could not have chosen a better man to throw the lifebelt to for the rest of the season.
For a kick-off Chapman bleeds blue and white, a personification of the local boy who made good.
A fan from the age of five, when his stepfather had a season ticket, in ten years as a player for the club he made 331 appearances at leftback or in midfield.
When the phone call came from his former Albion team-mate on Monday morning, his mind was pretty much made up.
"Within seconds I knew I wanted to go there, back to where I've come from," said Chapman, Brighton-born and bred. "It's a fantastic opportunity for me to get back involved with the club.
"It's been ten years and you think that's it. I'd not really thought about going back to Brighton until this cropped up.
"I just wanted to do well in coaching and see where that took me. To be back at the club after this long will be great."
The common sense behind Chapman's appointment stretches far beyond Wilkins giving a former colleague, club stalwart and long-time friend a job.
He knows many of the players already and is well-placed to understand what makes both the young and experienced members of the squad tick.
Chapman was a kid himself when he burst onto the scene with Albion. He became the first graduate of the FA's National School of Excellence at Lilleshall to play in the Football League when he made his debut at Birmingham in February 1987.
He was also, at the age of 16, Albion's youngest ever peacetime player until Simon Fox's fleeting impact seven years later.
Chapman went on to work with the likes of Joel Lynch and Tommy Fraser for two years while coaching at the Seagull's centre of excellence.
"They were excellent," he said. "Obviously they are young men now and I am looking forward to working with them again.
"I think there is a lot of potential at the club with the young lads and hopefully I can help them."
At the opposite end of the scale, Chapman played with Guy Butters and Richard Carpenter at Gillingham.
Kerry Mayo was just breaking through when he left Albion in April 1996 after a decade of service.
He was by that stage an experienced campaigner himself when he was controversially released by Jimmy Case.
"I was devastated to leave the club but as you get older and the more experience you get you take things with a pinch of salt," Chapman said.
"At the time I was disappointed. I didn't really want to leave but that's just the way it goes.
"I don't bear any grudges. Jim made a football decision that he thought was right. As you get older you realise that. When you are young you take things a bit personally."
What else will Chapman bring? Maintaining his part-time job as manager of County League leaders Whitehawk, a post he has held for the past five seasons, should not be misinterpreted.
Rest assured, he will dive into his Albion role with the same gusto he displayed on the pitch. "I'll be there Monday to Friday with Deano," he said. "If he needs me to take any sessions, coaching wise, fine.
"If he needs me to watch a team or scouting for players that's fine. If on a Saturday morning he wants me to go along with the youth team to help Vic (Bragg) out or to take training for the players that haven't travelled that's no problem.
"I'll be helping out with the reserves as well. What ever he wants as the gaffer I'll do.
"The main thing is hopefully to take the workload off Dean and Dean White. They can then concentrate on the really important stuff with the first team.
"My job now is working for Brighton and whatever needs to be done will be done. I'm here until the end of the season. I will give everything I've got for the next six or seven months and then we'll go from there.
"If I feel it (Whitehawk) is jeopardising what I am doing with Brighton then I will have to re-evaluate things. Hopefully that won't be the case."
Excellent news, now Dean gets a bit of help and from someone who bleeds blue and white too.
