Football often brings up strange quirks of fate and, in 2011, Albion travelled north to take on Stoke City in the FA Cup at the same fifth-round stage of the competition.
In those days, the tables were turned. Albion were an aspiring club, pushing for the League One title, while the Potters had established themselves in the Premier League.
A routine 3-0 victory ensued for the hosts, and while the game will not stick in the memory banks of many Seagulls fans, the same cannot be said for Albion statisticians or, indeed, Jake Forster-Caskey.
At the age of 16, the midfielder’s second-half appearance made him the youngest Brighton & Hove Albion player to ever appear in the FA Cup, and now, some 12 years later, he reflects on a whirlwind period of a career that has now stretched to all four divisions and over 260 games.
“It was all a bit of a whirlwind time for me, to be honest,” he said. “I signed for the club when I was 13, 14 and everything just went in fast-forward mode.
“I remember training with the first team, alongside my stepdad [Nicky Forster], which was strange, and I became the club’s youngest ever player when I made my debut against Yeovil [in May 2010]. Then my next game was Stoke [the following February], who were obviously tougher opposition, being a Premier League team.
“I was fearless though and remember not thinking about the opposition too much. I came on and treated it as if I was playing for my old Sunday league side. I went out there and just enjoyed myself.
“We were 3-0 down at the time but I wasn’t even thinking about the scoreline. As I was so young, it could have been 0-0, 1-0, whatever, I just wanted to be out there playing. When you’re young, you don’t overthink things too much; I just wanted to test myself against a Premier League side, against the best players. I had my first touch, and everything just felt positive from that moment on.”
Stoke boasted established campaigners like Ryan Shawcross, Rory Delap, Jermaine Pennant, Matthew Etherington and John Carew that day. However, such was Jake’s youthful enthusiasm, naivety even, he took little notice of individuals or reputations.
“I can’t remember anybody except the striker, Kenwyne Jones, who came off the bench,” he recalled. “The reason for that is Shamir Goodwin, who came through the ranks with me at Brighton, wanted his shirt, so I remember getting it off him after the game.
“Stoke clearly had a good team when you look at it now, but, like I said, I was so fearless that it didn’t even register who I was up against, and it worked in my favour at the time.
“When I look back now though and you reel off the names, you can see why we came off second best. With the team losing 3-0, I doubt many people remember much about the game, or even care given we were going for the title, but it was a big moment in my career – and it’s nice, of course, to still hold those records as the club’s youngest ever player.”
Forster-Caskey went on to appear 82 times for the Seagulls, scoring nine goals, with the 2013/14 and 2014/15 campaigns being the most productive as he appeared regularly in the team. There were high points – a first Amex appearance and goal in a 3-0 win against Southampton in January 2012 being a standout moment – before he moved to Charlton Athletic in 2017. Now aged 28, he is currently plying his trade with League Two promotion hopefuls Stevenage, but the Seagulls remain very close to his heart.
“I definitely have plenty of love for the club,” he added. “It’s one of the first results I look for and I would love to go back after I’ve finished playing and coach inside the academy.
“I’m doing my badges at the moment and it would be fantastic to give something back, given I’ve come through the Albion system and would be able to pass on my advice to the young players. There are plenty of ex-players who have made that move, Crofty [Andrew Crofts] and Dixie [Gary Dicker] for example, and GG [Gordon Greer] is also back inside the building, so it would be great to follow them and help players who will hopefully follow the same pathway as me.”
- A full interview with Jake, in which he talks in depth about his Albion career, appeared in the Fulham matchday programme. You can purchase your copy here https://shop.brightonandhovealbion.com/gifts-souvenirs/souvenirs/programmes/