For nearly a century now, Tug Wilson has sat at the top of the all-time Albion appearance list. His record of 566 Brighton games has never looked remotely in danger of being broken… until now with a certain Lewis Carl Dunk closing in.
This was an interesting topic of debate in a pub recently. Would Dunk surpass Wilson? And if the current Albion captain does not, will anyone ever play more than 566 matches for Brighton?
Modern-day football would suggest it is Dunk-or-bust. Loyalty is in short supply and money means good players tend to find their way to the bigger clubs in the food chain.
Dunk himself almost did. It is the period of his Albion career nobody wants to speak of. Dunk refused to play in a League Cup game away at Southend United early in the 2015-16 season because he wanted Brighton to sanction a £5 million sale to Fulham.
He even handed in a transfer request. Tony Bloom said no, Dunk was fined two weeks wages and found himself dropped by Chris Hughton for most of the opening three months of the 2015-16 season.
You would have got long odds back then on Lewis Dunk looking a threat to Tug Wilson’s Brighton games record. But will Dunk actually beat it?
Boy from Beighton who played 566 games for Brighton
Tug Wilson was born and grew up in Beighton, South Yorkshire. He was playing as an amateur for Denaby United in the Midland League whilst working in Sheffield’s famous Silverwood Colliery when Brighton came calling in 1922.
After impressing as a trialist in a Becks & Bucks Hospital Cup game against Reading, Albion manager Charlie Webb offered the diminutive little winger a professional contract. The rest, as they say, is history.
Wilson established himself as Brighton’s first choice left winger 11 games into the 1922-23 season. He would hold that position for the next 12 years.
Between 1923 and 1935, Wilson missed just 29 matches in Division Three South, Division Three South Cup and FA Cup. Twice he racked up 99 consecutive appearances only to have the century ruined by injury on both occasions.
Wilson and Tommy Cook – 1920s record setters
The 1920s were a good time for setting Albion records. At the same time as Wilson was building up his 566 appearances, Tommy Cook fired himself to number one on the Brighton & Hove Albion top goal scorers list with 123 plundered between 1922 and 1929.
That Wilson and Cook’s records have been in place for 100 years tells you how difficult it is to break them. Wilson’s has never been threatened; Cook’s was briefly and quite recently too.
Glenn Murray remains the only player other than Cook to score 100 times for the Albion. He might have even surpassed Cook had Gus Poyet not decided signing Craig Mackail-Smith for £2.5 million was a better option than giving Murray a pay rise in 2011. Poyet allowed the second-highest scorer in Brighton history to join Crystal Palace on a free.
Murray eventually finished on 111 goals for the Albion, 12 short of equalling Cook. Murray scored 66 goals for Palace, Reading and Plucky Little Bournemouth during his five years between spells with Brighton.
Had a fraction of those goals instead come in an Albion shirt, Brighton’s all-time scoring list would have a new head of the table.
Challengers to Wilson’s record
In contrast to Murray almost challenging Cook, Wilson has long remained miles clear of any other player in the Brighton appearances list. Nobody else has passed 500 games, let alone 550 or 566.
- Tug Wilson – 566 appearances
- Peter O’Sullivan – 491
- Sir Normal Gall – 488
- Bobby Farrell – 466
- Lewis Dunk – 454
Lewis Dunk is the first player for almost half-a-century since O’Sullivan to play over 450 games for Brighton. The only others to make more than 400 appearances since O’Sullivan are Gary Hart on 417 and Kerry Mayo with 412.
How many more games will Lewis Dunk play for Brighton?
And so to the golden question. Can Lewis Dunk play more games for Brighton than Tug Wilson, rewriting the Albion history books in the process?
Dunk is 113 appearances away from overtaking Wilson. Based on Premier League fixtures alone, he would need to play almost every game for the next three seasons to surpass Wilson.
That is probably unrealistic due to injuries and suspensions. Even taking into account additional appearances in the FA and League Cups (and hopefully Europe), it is more likely Dunk will need four more seasons to go past Wilson.
Will Dunk still be a Brighton regular come the end of the 2027-28 campaign? He will be 37 by then, so will need to show Bruno-like non-aging qualities. Sorry, I know we don’t talk about Bruno-no-no-no.
But there is no reason to think Dunk will not still be playing a part for the Albion. Although there have been some questionable moments this season – mainly caused by Romelu Lukaku – Dunk is putting in consistently good performances for Brighton as he hurtles towards his mid-30s.
He has never been the quickest of defenders, so the natural loss of pace which comes with age is no issue. As long as he remains mobile and keeps reading the game as well as he does, it is easy to see Dunk remaining a mainstay for several years to come yet.
It is also now extremely unlikely that the move to one of the European Super League Elite Six which seemed inevitable six years ago will now happen.
Dunk is almost certain to see out his career at the Amex, however long that will be. There is the possibility that the timing could even work so well as for Dunk to break Wilson’s record in the final few games of the 2027-28 before retiring.
What a fitting end that would be to one of the greatest Brighton careers of all time.
