Brighton FA Cup hero Gary Stevens will be cheering Seagulls all the way from Thailand where his new goal is self-improvement
Former England defender scored a famous late equaliser for Seagulls in the 1983 FA Cup final, forcing a replay against Man Utd
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THE memory of a 2006 jolly at the races strikes Brighton legend Gary Stevens as he considers today's Wembley mismatch.
“I went to Lingfield Park for a day out with a mate and in one of the races there were only two horses competing,” Stevens recalls.
“You could only bet on a winner. So I said to my mate, ‘You bet on that one and I’ll bet on that one, and then we’re guaranteed.’
“The outcome? It was a dead-heat. We hadn’t covered that base. My point is, the unlikely does happen.”
Here, the unlikely is Chris Hughton’s humble Seagulls beating Pep Guardiola’s mighty Man City and emerging as Cup finalists for the first time since Stevens’ heroics in 1983.
Should that become a reality, the former England defender, known for his elegant passing, won’t be able to control his celebrations despite the final whistle expected around 1.30am local time.
For Stevens now lives 50 yards from the beach in Hua Hin, a royal seaside town in southern Thailand, having spent four years in busy Bangkok.
He briefly coached at two Thai clubs, but over the past three years most weekends have been spent in Kuala Lumpur working as an analyst covering the English Premier League.
Stevens returns to the UK annually to visit his 82-year-old mother Shirley in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and daughters, Dani and Millie.
The former Spurs man spends the rest of the year swimming in the sea, walking along the beaches and eating local delicacies such as Pad Thai with new girlfriend Irin.
These surroundings, plus a little professional help, have seen Stevens’ spiritual side emerge.
“I have a lifestyle coach I’ve worked with for the last five years,” he explains.
“I’m into self-improvement. By controlling my thoughts and thinking through my beliefs I’m in a much better place than I’ve ever been in my life.”
Beliefs? “In a nutshell, my belief is that when we’re born we are basically pure, and from a very young age we get programmed by people close to us.
“Generally speaking, we get negatively programmed. By working with a lifestyle coach, what you do is unprogramme all that negativity with positive beliefs and thinking.”
It appears to have had the Benjamin Button affect on Stevens.
The 57-year-old, whose thick hair is only tinged with grey, said: “I’ve just had my birthday and I tweeted: ‘Really enjoying my 47th birthday.’ A few people picked up on it and said, ‘Are you sure? Aren’t you 57?
The truth of the matter is I feel 47 because I told myself I’m 47. I’m not living a lie as such.
Gary Stevens
“The truth of the matter is I feel 47 because I told myself I’m 47. I’m not living a lie as such, but I’m living how I want to live and believing the things I want to believe.”
That doesn’t stretch to re-writing history, though. Brighton, Stevens accepts, were battered 4-0 in the FA Cup replay against Man United 26 years ago, but most memories are happy.
“We used to get changed at the Goldstone Ground and clip-clop up the old Shoreham Road in our boots to train in Hove Park,” Stevens, who won the 1984 Uefa Cup with Spurs, remembers.
“It was a public park and some lady and her dog would walk through our game. All the squad lived in Brighton and Hove so we socialised together.
“We went up to Selsdon Park Hotel in south London on the Friday and flew to Wembley in a helicopter — which had been used to transport the pope — on the Saturday.”
Brighton’s start was blessed as a Gordon Smith header provided an early lead in front of 100,000 fans. But United’s Frank Stapleton’s bundled in an equaliser which was followed by Ray Wilkins’ iconic strike.
Brighton were heading out with only three minutes left when they won a corner.
“I looked over to the touchline and [manager] Jimmy Melia was on his feet and waving me forward,” Stevens remembers.
“I’ve gone up and Jimmy Case is taking the corner. He pulls it back to Tony Grealish on the edge of the area and, although Tony claims it was a disguised pass, he’s scuffed his shot and I’m running onto it.”
There was no high-fiving or Hueng-min Son and Dele Alli doing their shuffles and shakes
Gary Stevens
One touch killed the ball and the other lashed it past United keeper Gary Bailey. “The problem for me was how to celebrate,” Stevens laughs.
“There was no high-fiving or Hueng-min Son and Dele Alli doing their shuffles and shakes — they rehearse their celebrations these days. A couple of the lads grabbed me, I’ve shaken a few hands and that was it.”
What Stevens does envy about the modern game is the decision to abolish Cup final replays and introduce a penalty shootout, something he believes will benefit Hughton’s team.
“I think penalties against Manchester United in 1983 would have given us a better chance than the replay the following Thursday,” he says.
“What Brighton need to think is that it’s an FA Cup semi-final played on neutral territory and it has to be decided on the day. Penalties are a great leveller.
“The tough bit is how Brighton stay in the game. We’ve seen teams try to get behind the ball and Man City have broken them down, and we’ve seen teams go toe-to-toe and Man City have outplayed them.
“Brighton need to be at their best, Man City need to be off-colour and lady luck needs to be on Brighton’s side.”
Stevens’ concern is that history could repeat itself. His 1983 team was celebrated for reaching Wembley, but they were also relegated from England’s top tier that year.
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Hughton’s team remain in a relegation fight with seven games remaining of the season.
“There is huge glory with being in the FA Cup final but, as a business model, Brighton and Hove Albion is geared up and dependant on Premier League football,” Stevens says.
“If there was a choice to make it would be for survival rather than reaching the final.”
Fortunately for Brighton, there are more than two horses in that race.
