WHEN RICHIE TOWELL signed on the dotted line with Brighton on 30 November, they were the only remaining unbeaten team in all four divisions of the Football League.
Sitting top of the Championship table with 10 wins and eight draws from their opening 18 league fixtures of the season, Chris Hughton’s side were looking good for promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s 114-year history.
In the past six weeks, however, the Seagulls’ fortunes have changed considerably. They haven’t tasted victory since the opening weekend of December and their last six results read LLDLDD.
Even more worryingly, they have gone six hours without a goal after failing to hit the back of the net against Wolves (0-1), Ipswich (0-1), Brentford (0-0) and Middlesbrough (0-3).
That poor run of form has seen Brighton drop down to fourth in the table with Boro and Derby occupying the automatic promotion spots and Hull three points ahead of them in third.
Hughton, who celebrated one year in charge of the club on New Year’s Eve, has pinpointed individual defensive errors and a lack of cutting edge in front of goal as the reasons behind the recent slump.
After a promising start to his loan move from Manchester United with two goals in his first three games, striker James Wilson is going through a dry patch while Bobby Zamora hasn’t scored in a month.
They’ve also been hit with a number of injuries, while midfield pairing Dale Stephens and Beram Kayal, who have been excellent this season, have looked tired in recent weeks which isn’t overly-surprising when you consider they’ve both already played 24 times in the Championship this term.
Which brings us to Towell.
Along with fellow recent signing Liam Ridgewell (who arrives on loan from the Portland Timbers after claiming the MLS Cup last month), he had to wait until today before being able to receive international clearance once the January transfer window re-opened.
Handed squad number 29, Towell trained with his new team-mates in December but was given permission to return to Ireland and spend time with girlfriend Kelly and newborn daughter Meadow over the Christmas period.
The 24-year-old has already stated that he intends to push for a first team place as soon as possible and his versatility means he could potentially be tried in midfield, on either wing or in behind a frontman.
Towell may yet have to bide his time but Saturday’s away trip to Hull in the FA Cup third round is the first of five fixtures this month so there will be plenty of opportunities to hand him a debut if Hughton feels he needs to freshen things up.
