talkSPORT co-host Rory Jennings refused to apologise to Brighton fans for his belittling comments about the club.
In fact, he double downed on them instead.
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On a recent Overlap fan debate, Jennings put forward his controversial opinion to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher about the large amount of money Premier League clubs have in comparison to European teams.
He used Brighton as an example, calling the south coast club ‘two bob’ and saying the fact they are competing with historically big clubs on a European stage is ‘everything that is wrong with football’.
He said: “I had an epiphany. It was a couple of years ago and I just thought as good as it is and as proud as Brighton should be on the European run that they’re in, this result is a microcosm of everything wrong with football.
“I looked at my phone off the back of a score notification and it came up Ajax nil Brighton two. I was like, it’s broken isn’t it? Ajax! You think about what Ajax represents. Think about the history, the glory, the stature, the prestige of that club.
“Brighton are two bob, aren’t they? They shouldn’t be playing each other.”
Carragher didn’t dismiss what he said, either, as the Champions League winner responded: “I understand where you’re coming from – that these European giants of the past just can’t compete with the money in the Premier League.”
Jennings was later given the opportunity to apologise to Brighton fans on talkSPORT by co-host Ade Oladipo.
But, instead, Jennings backed himself and replied: “No, I owe them nothing. I wasn’t rude, I was accurate. The terminology was slightly rude, potentially.
“You need to consult your OED [Oxford English Dictionary] for the word ‘great’ if you think Brighton are a great football club.
“Tony Bloom may be a genius. I like their recruitment, I like the way they do things but as a football club, as an entity let’s be totally frank, Brighton are very insignificant.
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“They’re a very good team. They’re running in an impressive way. They’ve done some remarkable things as of late but in terms of the institution and what they represent, do you care?”
He continued, admitting the language he used was “flammable” and “close to the bone”… but that he “stands by every word” of it.
The Chelsea fan explained his Brighton vs Ajax example was a demonstration of “the weight and the might of the Premier League creating an imbalance in European competitions”.
Jennings might want to have a look at his own club, though.
Ironically, Enzo Maresca’s side are testament to this, too, after an 8-0 thrashing of Armenian side Noah in Europe’s third tier competition, the Europa Conference League.
It should also be noted that last season no English team won a European trophy. Real Madrid secured their 16th Champions League, Atalanta lifted the Europa League and Olympiacos were the Conference League victors.
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![British duo Paul Barber [CEO] and Tony Bloom [owner] have turned Brighton into one of the country's best-run clubs](https://talksport.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/11/GettyImages-669469436.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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And as Jennings said himself, the Seagulls are ran very well by majority owner and chairman Tony Bloom.
Very often they recruit cheaply and sell at high costs, with their club record transfer being the respectable £40million purchase of Georginio Rutter from Leeds United in August 2024.
Marc Cucurella cost the club £16m and was then sold to Chelsea in a deal worth in excess of £60m.
But the best example was when Brighton plucked Moises Caicedo from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle for just £4m and then sold him to Chelsea for a British record fee of £115m just two years later.
Yes, Brighton benefit from being in the Premier League, but it is a club that rose from the ashes of English football, nearly crashing into non-league decades ago, to become a top flight staple.
