Brighton 6 - 1 Wycombe
Pre-season - 12th July, 2025
Wycombeyourhair? Wanderers? Eh, sure. Let’s dive into some coaching, biomechanics, how to make the most of what you’ve got, and a bit of play-by-play analysis.
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Jacob Slater and making runs as an offensive fullback
Jacob Slater made some pretty good runs to combine with Mitoma. He sees the space early and moves into it, then quickly releases a cross without stuttering, meaning his movement is smooth and, more importantly, efficient.
On a similar note, his overlapping runs are pretty good, and I think this run was probably the best thing he did all game:
Firstly, it’s a smart run. He sees Mitoma slowing down considerably and adjusts accordingly. Slater then does well to bend his run. Most runs in football are curvilinear, and changing direction at speed isn’t necessarily easy when you’re a) young and b) tall, but, Slater does well to reach the ball and play a first-time cross. It’s good work offensively.
I think Slater was quite unlucky to concede this goal:
Light on his toes, allowing him to shift his body weight and change direction quickly
Does well to shift the ball outside and create space from his marker
Takes an extra [balancing] step with his left foot, giving the marker just enough time to make an interception
Really, it was solid defensive work overall, aside from one big(ish) error. More on defending:
Jockeying on toes; enables quick changes of direction
Bends body well to stay over feet; aligned with center of gravity and hard to knock over
Uses arm to [further] create separation between Welbeck and the ball
Charlie Tasker and defending 1v1s
Similarly, Charlie Tasker’s 1v1 defending stood out to me:
Light on his toes; steals the ball and changes direction in one movement
Tries to close his legs and stay compact, reducing the space available for Georginio to dribble (nutmeg)
Tilts on toes while jockeying and changing direction; shoulders aligned with feet, eyes on the ball
Commits to the tackle and swoops the ball away in one movement again (eyes on the ball)
Nimble and agile, good signs for a fullback
Overcommits slightly, allowing Mitoma to go around
Bends his run and chases after Mitoma at speed (speed of transition between jockeying and chasing). Eyes still on the ball
I’d maybe like to see Tasker lean forward a bit more while jockeying because it keeps his momentum moving forward, making it easier to steal the ball. That said, with a long enough reach, staying neutral is *fine*
Yankuba Minteh
If you know me, you know how much I like Yankuba Minteh. And with ability like this, it’s hard not to like him:
A couple of things stand out to me here:
— Minteh is rapid (shocking, I know). But everything he does is quick — changing directions, getting the ball off his foot — and that matters more than just raw pace.
— He bends his run early to cut across his marker, getting his shoulders and arms ahead of him, which puts him in a stronger position to stay on the ball and avoid being knocked off. He stays (literally) one step ahead.
— High, high cadence. Very agile, very adaptable
I think Minteh sometimes rushes things, but either way, you’re looking at a brilliant footballer.
Georginio Rutter and OOP shapes
Georginio was pretty bright throughout the game, especially for someone coming back from a fairly lengthy layoff. He was direct, made good third-man runs (usually crashing into the box a bit late, as a 10 would), and ran his socks off OOP.
His workrate was pretty good, and he had some freedom to roam OOP which left central areas exposed, but I suppose if you’ve got Baleba covering you, it doesn’t really matter anyway.
And Brighton pressed in a regular old 4-4-2.
Facundo Buonanotte and shielding the ball
The other thing about me is that I like Facundo Buonanotte. When it’s time to sleep, do I wish people goodnight in a sing-song voice? No. I just chant “Buonanotte, Buonanotte,” monotonously yet somehow passionately.
But yeah, the main issue most coaches seemed to have with Buonanotte was his physicality (5 ft 9 in and 66.2 kg/146 lbs) which is presumably why his minutes at RW decreased over time. That said, I think Buonanotte has since bulked up, and more importantly, he’s improved how he uses his body because raw muscle and benching 275 lbs won’t necessarily help you outmuscle Virgil van Dijk.
Does well to get his shoulders ahead
Uses his full bodyweight to barge into his marker, but remains upright and composed
Creates separation with his arm while pushing his marker away
Low to the ground and within his center of gravity. A very stable position for shielding the ball
Takes a few too many touches before getting the shot off
The other thing Buonanotte did well was press:
Good tenacity and effort in winning the ball back (possibly a bit brash), and good awareness to actually get a shot off. I think Buonanotte needs to cut down on the steps he takes before shooting (though it’s a bit different in this clip, since the keeper was rushing out), but overall, he’s showing some pretty decent signs of improvement and a real desire to impress. What all this means is that I can envision him getting some minutes at RW again. Hooray!
Carl Rushworth and defending 1v1s as a goalkeeper
Speaking of goalkeepers and rushing out, let’s talk about Carl Rushworth. Rushworth? More like Rushoutandstealtheballpleaseworth. No? No.
Brighton kind of need their players to fit a certain profile, so let’s consider Carl Rushworth to be a sweeper keeper. And he does a few top-class things here.
Mixes crab walking with backing up, allowing him to get closer to his goal without taking his eye off the ball
Gets low to the ground, closing his legs. Covers the near post first, as that’s the most accessible shooting zone from here
Legs closed with the knee, meaning he can still spread them to increase his reach while keeping them closed — like a long barrier in cricket
But I think he reacts a little late to the striker’s movement itself. He does well to close off the angle, but against quicker attackers, this could easily lead to a penalty being conceded.
Cashin and Brighton’s high defensive line
I found Cashin’s choice of angles sort of interesting here, but he does well to (somehow) get in front of the attacker. Maybe that says more about Brighton’s high line than anything else.
All I’ll say is, a Webster-Igor-Cashin defence with a defensive line 10 kilometres up the pitch is certainly a choice.
Caylan Vickers — I’m impressed
Anyway, another thing that stood out to me was Caylan Vickers’ urgency here. It’s a good run in behind and a quick, clean shot.
He was lively all through the game, really. Encouraging signs.
I love your analysis
They are smoother here too