MATT BARLOW: From Bognor to one of Europe’s best, Lewis Dunk is the John Terry of Brighton… he has ridden the setbacks and the Seagulls miss his personality when he is not there

Not everything went to plan for Lewis Dunk between his appearances for England against Scotland and Australia.

Brighton conceded six goals at Aston Villa, an injury ruling him out in the hometown club’s first European draw against AEK Athens, followed by a costly mistake against Marseille in the second.

However, at 31, the defender is at the right end of his career to be able to cope with the setbacks and it is a great asset for any captain to remain clear-headed when the problems arise.

Between those two England caps, he could also point to guiding Brighton to another win at Manchester United and setting up a goal to grab a point against Liverpool.

On Saturday he took on Erling Haaland, the spearhead of the Premier League’s most destructive attacking force. He will face Ajax again on Thursday, leaving the Seagulls supporters in trouble.

It’s a healthy reminder that defenders in particular are likely to mature and improve as they get older and gain more experience.

Craig Dawson is another great example, flourishing at the age of 33. Neither Dawson nor Dunk can boast the effortless aesthetic of Thiago Silva, but they all defy our dual obsession with ‘the next big thing’ and lightning-quick center halves.

Despite all the millions they have spent on new defensive talent, Silva is still Chelsea’s most reliable defender at the age of 39.

Dunk started in League One when Brighton were at their temporary home at Withdean Stadium, and played his first senior football on loan at Bognor Regis Town in the Isthmian League.

Early in his career he was criticized for playing too much in dangerous areas, taking risks with the ball and being prone to emotional reactions, receiving too many yellow cards and bans.

Ten years later, Roberto De Zerbi rates him as one of the top five in his position in Europe.

Brighton’s evolution under De Zerbi has certainly brought greater recognition as he fills a crucial tactical role in a team committed to taking the ball from the goalkeeper and passing out from the back. The modern way, if you will.

After the first eight games in the Premier League this season, no one had completed more passes than Dunk’s 756 and not all of these are just passes rolled safely sideways to his full-backs because he is brave on the ball and always tries to push forward to play. break the lines.

Furthermore, Brighton misses his personality when he is not there, in a way that Chelsea would miss John Terry if new managers swooped in as they did, frowned at his limitations and lack of pace and tried to keep him out.

As hard as it is to accept when data has become so important, some players simply add an intangible ability to it and then make the team stronger.

Whatever the key, Dunk now appears to have convinced England boss Gareth Southgate, who knows the situation well.

Not to the point where he has supplanted Harry Maguire as first choice, of course, but enough for a number of overdue international caps as reward for his years of steady improvement and excellence in the Premier League.

Plymouth icon Leslie has finally told his story in full

The first time I heard of Jack Leslie was when my boss sent a clipping from the 1978 Daily Mail and told me to buy him an England cap posthumously, a challenge I promptly declined.

Plymouth Argyle, where Leslie had been a prolific inside left, and West Ham, where he later spent fifteen years working on the groundsstaff and in the baggage department, liked the idea, but the Football Association dismissed it as a non-starter.

Just like they did when Argyle fan Matt Tiller approached them with the same idea. Luckily, Tiller took no for an answer. Not only did he secure that cap of honor for Leslie, who had been drafted by England in 1925 only to be deselected when the committee realized he was black, but he was also one of the driving forces behind a beautiful statue outside Home Park and a book, on Monday.

Published by Pitch, ‘The Lion Who Never Roared’ tells the life of the Londoner who should have gone down in history as England’s first black international, more than half a century before Viv Anderson achieved that honor. It also offers a glimpse into professional football between the wars, when Leslie had no say in Everton’s transfer interest and when Argyle embarked on a grueling pre-season tour to Argentina. They set sail from Southampton and returned 72 days later, having spent most of six weeks of the summer at sea and the rest of the time in South America, where they defeated Olympic champions Uruguay 4–0.

“The tour will do more harm than good to the players,” said the Devon and Exeter Chronicle, a sentiment echoed almost a century later as Premier League teams circled the world in the name of commercial expansion. Some things have changed, but not everything.

Quiet in Milton Keynes

There were more than 83,000 fans at Wembley to see England reach the Euro 2024 final by beating Italy, so perhaps unsurprisingly there were fewer than 2,000 fans on the same night to see the Under 20s (now called the Elite League Squad) play Portugal seen playing in Milton Keynes. It’s certainly not the kind of intensity that can prepare you for life in the bright light of international football.

England lost 2-1 and there was a first goal at that level for Emran Soglo, an 18-year-old born in France who spent six years at Chelsea and is now on the fringes of Marseille’s first team.

I will return

Former Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe made a return to professional football last week, signing for Ebbsfleet United in the National League.

Ibe, 27, played 45 minutes in an FA Cup replay at Slough Town but was spared Saturday’s visit to Fylde to work on his fitness after almost two years without playing.

And that also applies to Waddle!

Storm Babet suppressed rumors in Sheffield about a sensational comeback for Chris Waddle, at the age of 62.

Waddle has signed up for Hallam FC, founded in 1860 and the second oldest football club in the world after Sheffield FC. They play in the Northern Counties East League and are in the middle of an injury crisis. Former England international Waddle, who lives nearby and still plays with friends, was on hand to answer the call.

But Hallam’s FA Vase game at home to Coventry United was postponed and moved to Saturday.

More aggro in Alkmaar

The quintessential Dutch town of Alkmaar, famous for its cheese market, has become home to one of the most infamous away matches in European football.

Families and friends of West Ham players were attacked after a Conference League semi-final against AZ last season and in the same competition this month, two Legia Warsaw players were arrested and detained after clashes with AZ staff after the match, leading to angry claims and counterclaims about who did what.

Aston Villa is next to take on the Goudse, the bad and the ugly.

Good luck to the Mellons

What a weekend for the Mellon family. Father Micky returned to football as manager of Oldham, starting in a 4-3 win over Rochdale, while son Michael, on loan to Morecambe from Burnley, celebrated his first Scotland U21 call-up by scoring a penalty in a 3-2 win on Sutton. .