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Professional Footballers from Sussex



Sussaxon

New member
Mar 19, 2014
287
Sussex
My Sussex National XI... How far would they get in this year's World Cup?

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Further than England?
 






Lethargic

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2006
3,511
Horsham
Not an international but Damien Webber played for Millwall and went to Durrington in Worthing.
 


hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
62,763
Chandlers Ford
My Sussex National XI... How far would they get in this year's World Cup?

View attachment 52511

Further than England?


I'd put that side fighting for a play off place, in league one.

I'd drop El Abd for Steve Cook, though.

Back four should be;

Cook Dunk Elphick Martin
 
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BigGully

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2006
7,139
having first hand experience of crawley academy i wouldn't hold your breath:facepalm: AND BRIGHTONS ACADEMY WILL ATTRACT MORE PLAYERS FROM FURTHER AFIELD :moo:

Rubbish, it is not a new phenomenon but it seems this is the policy at present.

In the 80's the youth set up had an influx of Irish, Scots and anyone other than Sussex based players.

Were they better, absolutely not, could hardly compete in the FA youth Cup, history shows that only a Wilkins youth side swept aside higher status sides to gain I fear a never again quarter final place.

You either do the hard graft and work to develop your youngsters, preferably Sussex based or you recruit Premier rejects or pay the dollar for up and coming youngsters and have a bun fight for the latest fashion player.

The talent is in Sussex, it needs support, resources and sometimes a 'leg up' ahead of the general malaise of decent talent from far away with an embellished CV.

If you dont know that .... well you just dont know.
 


mac04

Active member
Nov 15, 2011
387
RH12
Nick Stavrou (born Worthing 1969) had a successful career in Dallas playing in the US indoor league. I believe he retired fairly recently.
 








Sussaxon

New member
Mar 19, 2014
287
Sussex
Surely the make-up of the team would be hugely dependant on how long it would take to gain a Sussex citizenship?

Isn't the FIFA rule you have to have gained citizenship 5 years before you can represent that respective nation!? Or something like that?! In which case any Albion player who has played for the club for over 5 years would be potentially eligible... LuaLua for Sussex next year?! :clap:
 






Monkey Man

Your support is not that great
Jan 30, 2005
3,224
Neither here nor there
It's just not a football area. Never has been.

I don't agree at all. Football is as popular in Sussex as anywhere in the UK and its young players are no more or no less talented.

True, we don't have the pro clubs or the footballing infrastucture of London and big northern cities but the grass roots game has always thrived, the county league has traditionally been strong, and the level of participation must be on a par with most of the rest of the country.

I watch youngsters most weeks in junior football and there is some real talent on display. Some of these kids I've watched come through the ranks have been snapped up by Brighton or the London clubs and many others will go on to play at a respectable level. The Lancing facility will hopefully give more of these kids a chance to develop their full potential, with minimal disruption to school and family life ... I know some parents have had to drag their kids up to London and even further afield for midweek training and games and it's a huge drain on time, money and enthusiasm.

To anyone who thinks that Sussex isn't a football county: start by looking at the crowds at the Amex, then look at the way Crawley and Eastbourne Borough have progressed, take a look at Lewes, Whitehawk and Bognor, maybe Burgess Hill and Peacehaven, see how much people care about the county league, then the smaller leagues like the East Sussex League, and the town leagues, the Sunday leagues, and the many youth leagues and tournaments. The level of participation, whether that means players, fans, coaches, admin people and families, is frankly phenomenal.
 


AmexRuislip

Retired Spy 🕵️‍♂️
Feb 2, 2014
34,773
Ruislip
Please read my thread I tried to start on Sidley FC, on my profile 10-02-2014 20:28 .
I don't agree at all. Football is as popular in Sussex as anywhere in the UK and its young players are no more or no less talented.

True, we don't have the pro clubs or the footballing infrastucture of London and big northern cities but the grass roots game has always thrived, the county league has traditionally been strong, and the level of participation must be on a par with most of the rest of the country.

I watch youngsters most weeks in junior football and there is some real talent on display. Some of these kids I've watched come through the ranks have been snapped up by Brighton or the London clubs and many others will go on to play at a respectable level. The Lancing facility will hopefully give more of these kids a chance to develop their full potential, with minimal disruption to school and family life ... I know some parents have had to drag their kids up to London and even further afield for midweek training and games and it's a huge drain on time, money and enthusiasm.

To anyone who thinks that Sussex isn't a football county: start by looking at the crowds at the Amex, then look at the way Crawley and Eastbourne Borough have progressed, take a look at Lewes, Whitehawk and Bognor, maybe Burgess Hill and Peacehaven, see how much people care about the county league, then the smaller leagues like the East Sussex League, and the town leagues, the Sunday leagues, and the many youth leagues and tournaments. The level of participation, whether that means players, fans, coaches, admin people and families, is frankly phenomenal.
 
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catfish

North Stand Brighton Boy
Dec 17, 2010
7,677
Worthing
Don't forget Brian Yeo - Born in Worthing and played for Gillingham in the 60's and 70's.
 




AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy @seagullsacademy.bsky.social
Oct 14, 2003
13,096
Chandler, AZ
Tony Funnell played for Southampton, Bournemouth and Gills and Brentford, and was born in Eastbourne.
 




AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy @seagullsacademy.bsky.social
Oct 14, 2003
13,096
Chandler, AZ
It seems there are a few more Sussex professional footballers than the OP suggested. Here then is the NSC-compiled list of current Sussex-born players in the Premier/Football league:-

Premier League:

Gareth Barry - b. Hastings (On loan to Everton)
Russell Martin - b. Brighton (Norwich)
Harrison Reed - b. Worthing (Southampton)

Championship:

Steve Cook - b. Hastings (Bournemouth)
Lewis Dunk - b. Brighton (Albion)
Tommy Elphick - b. Brighton (Bournemouth)
Dean Hammond - b. Hastings (Leicester)
Joel Lynch - b. Eastbourne (Huddersfield)
Solly March - b. Eastbourne (Albion)
Marcus Tudgay - b. Shoreham (Nottm Forest)

League One:

Dean Cox - b. Haywards Heath (Leyton Orient)
Joe Day - b. Worthing (Peterborough goalkeeper)
Adam El-Abd - b. Brighton (Bristol City)
Grant Hall - b. Brighton (On loan to Swindon)
Leon Legge - b. Bexhill (Gillingham)

League Two:

Wes Fogden - b. Brighton (Portsmouth)
Rhys Murphy - b. Shoreham (Dagenham & Redbridge)
John Sullivan - b. Sompting (Portsmouth)
Adam Webster - b. West Wittering (Portsmouth, on loan to Aldershot)
David Wheeler - b. Brighton (Exeter)

Of others mentioned on this thread, Dan Harding was born in Gloucester and I believe Shamir Goodwin was born in London.


There are also a handful of Sussex-born players plying their trade abroad:-

Josh Dickens - b. Crawley (Released by Aldershot at the end of his scholarship last summer, he is now playing for Deportes Concepcion in the Chilean Primera B)
Paul Ifill - b. Brighton (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand)
Simon Greatwich - b. Brighton (Loyola Meralco Sparks, Philippines)

Chris Greatwich was born in Westminster, and I'm not sure if Phil Greatwich is currently playing.

Any more?
 




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