Is this the time for the Seagulls to land again?

FA Cup Fourth Round

“The Seagulls have landed.” Not, as you might think, the title of the next James Bond film – but the words of Brighton & Hove Albion’s helicopter pilot as he touched down near Wembley Stadium before the 1983 FA Cup final.

It was an unusual, some would say outrageous, way to arrive for the showpiece finale of the football season – and yet somehow in keeping with the quirky-ness of the English south coast city, the character of the team’s extrovert manager Jimmy Melia and the flamboyant atmosphere of a by-gone era.

Maybe there was something in the sea air that made Albion – who face Arsenal tomorrow dreaming of a return to Wembley 32 years on — a bit different to your average FA Cup finalist.

Melia insisted, for instance, he invited local comedian Bob ‘The Cat’ Bevan to travel with the team and tell jokes to keep his players relaxed ahead of the game of their lives against Manchester United.

These days comedians don’t often make it into the dressing room – and you couldn’t possibly arrive at Wembley by helicopter. Where on earth would you seat the team nutritionist, the video analyst, the sports psychologist, the masseurs or the media team?

You’d need a Chinook just to get them all on board. But, nevertheless, Brighton, nicknamed the Seagulls, are dreaming of going back to north west London, by whatever transport is available, as they prepare to face the Gunners in a fourth round tie.

It’s a fixture that has special meaning for Steve Gatting, who began his career at Highbury as a young defender, making 76 appearances, but who made his name playing in that final for Brighton against United three decades ago.

These days he still lives in Hove, but makes the commute to London Colney to fulfil a role as Arsenal youth team coach, looking after the club’s much-heralded U21 side. So there will be mixed loyalties tomorrow.

“Arsenal are my club, my employers, and of course I’ll be looking for them to win; but there’s no doubt Brighton are in my heart too.

"I spent 10 years there, the best of my career, and I’m delighted to see the way the club has grown in recent years,” he said. “I’ve obviously watched Brighton’s progress with interest .

"They now have a Premier League stadium, a Premier League training ground and 27,000 fans every week. The fans need to be patient but I’m sure they will get promotion in the end because the building blocks are there.”

Gatting is putting in building blocks of his own at Arsenal, helping bring through the stars of the future and instilling them with the same values he found as a youth teamer at Highbury in the days when Liam Brady and not Alexis Sanches was the darling of the home crowd.

“Once you have played for Arsenal it is always in your blood, and especially if you start your career there as a young player,” he said. “What I remember is learning values not just about football but about life – there was always talk of doing things ‘the Arsenal way’.

Going back as a coach I found those values were still there, and that’s very special. A lot of the coaches are former Arsenal players and the club still tries do things the right way, so it’s something that stays with you forever.”

The 1983 final is fondly remembered in Ireland as well as in Sussex, because, on reflection, the occasion had rather an Irish feel to it.

United boasted Frank Stapleton and Kevin Moran, together with Belfast man Norman Whiteside in their side; while Brighton were captained by Tony Grealish, who won 45 caps for the Republic and also included Michael Robinson up front, Gary Howlett on the wing and Gerry Ryan on the bench.

Of those Brighton men, Robinson perhaps enjoyed the most celebrated career – he won a European Cup with Liverpool in 1984 – but Grealish, tigerish and forthright, stands out as the driving force for both club and country.

In fact one of the most memorable images of 1983 was the sight of the bearded midfielder striding out as captain at Wembley in place of suspended Steve Foster, wearing Foster’s headband as a visible tribute to the man who missed out. So it is no surprise that Grealish’s death in 2013, at the age of just 56, hit his friends and former teammates hard.

“You never expect that to happen,” said Gatting, who played more than 300 games for Brighton.

“Tony was such a great character – the team that year was full of them, with Steve Foster, Jimmy Case and Robinson too. He was a Londoner but also, if you don’t mind me saying, very Irish! He was inspiration on the pitch but also off it – the type of person who worked hard at football but just as hard at life.”

Every Brighton fan will tell you they came very, very close to winning the Cup under Grealish’s captaincy, too. The first match at Wembley finished 2- 2 against a United side led by Bryan Robson – and was anything but one-sided.

In fact Brighton went ahead through Scotsman Gordon Smith after 14 minutes and then recovered from Stapleton and Ray Wilkins goals to equalise late on through Gary Stevens, set up by his captain Grealish.

Famously, or infamously, Smith then had a wonderful chance to win it at the death when put through by Robinson. Sadly for Albion supporters, and despite commentator Peter Jones’ exclamation that ‘and Smith must score’, his scuffed effort was dramatically saved by Gary Bailey.

It was a costly miss (although in fairness the chance was far tougher than Jones implied), because Brighton lost the replay five days later 4-0 thanks to two goals from Robson and further strikes from and Whiteside and Arnold Muhren.

“People sometimes say ‘would you have swapped winning the cup for staying up’, but you have to remember the FA Cup in those days was huge, probably even more prestigious than the league.

"The coverage on television stated at 10am and went on all day! So to play at Wembley in front of 100,000 – and against Manchester United — was the moment of a lifetime, and for pretty much all of us I think was the only time we did it.”

Brighton – currently fighting to move away from the Championship relegation zone under new manager Chris Hughton – are again underdogs tomorow and will view the match in much the same way; so the cup holders have been warned as they bid to reach the fifth round.

There will be no helicopters, no comedians and no disco suits at the Amex; but maybe it’s time for the Seagulls to land again?