Very dicey as to whether or not we can hold onto Wilkins - an excellent coach whose remarkable achievements this year must surely have been noticed by other clubs with bigger resources. How on earth does he come back to us after realizing Knight (and several other board members I imagine) must have been plotting and planning amid endless clandestine meetings? I believe that Knight has some work to do if he is genuine in wanting to keep Wilkins, who has been a wonderful servant to the club for... I don't know how long ... somewhere around twenty years I am guessing.

I personally think that any position that Wilkins had at the club is now untenable. I can't imagine a manager with any self-respect would accept such treatment by a club that he worked for so diligently and successfully. As much as I welcome Micky's return, I do think that the Albion have treated Dean rather shabbily.

i told u all 2 days ago my dean would be gone and micky would be back, i hope u cleaned up at the bookies , watch this space for more announcements ....

Just goes to show how ruthless football is. Dean Wilkins has been very loyal to the club and his is how they repay him. However got to be said a cracking bit of business by DK. I think the fans will buy into Mickey being boss. Attendance figures will go up for one. You could sense that alot of fans weren't confident with Wilkins even though he has done well. Defeat against Mansfield at home and at the end when we were in the hunt, you kind of felt we lacked that consistency. Senior first team coach has got to be better than nothing at all!!!!!

"It's like meeting an old girlfriend again," Adams joked.

An old girlfriend who Adams seemed to have had no trouble jilting when someone a little easier on the eye came along in the shape of Leicester City in October 2001.

As the BBC reported at the time...

The revelation came as a shock, with last year's Third Division champions riding high in the table again.

Brighton are currently fourth in Division 2, level on points with leaders Oldham.

Adams explained: "In a way this is a devastating blow because I'm very happy at Brighton. But I want to work in the Premiership.

"I was disappointed I didn't get interviews for a couple of jobs. Perhaps the only way I can get into a Premiership club is doing it this way.

As the man himself made clear "I want to work in the Premiership". I suspect that whether or not he manages it with the Albion is of little consequence to this man. We are now in grave danger of losing a quite splendid servant to the club who had every chance of taking us up next year (2009), only to see him replaced by someone who now blithely states that Championship football is "realistic" by 2011. The man who is now considering his future is someone who has shared every moment on the roller coaster that has involved being an Albion fan over the past twenty years; the relegations, the promotions, the shenanigens with the Goldstone and those God awful trips to Gillingham: his never to be forgotton winner against Ipswich with just minutes to go to take us to Millwall and on to Wembley; his stunning interview post Notts County ("we really stuck it to them",) - stunning of course because it was clear to all the poor man was close to tears himself - and of course the gradual inching of our way to safety under Steve Gritt and that trip to Hereford. Through it all, Dean Wilkins has been involved ... our very own Charlie Webb of the modern age.

BHA fans need to understand that any success on the pitch will inevitably be accompanied by another approach from a much bigger club which we all know and realize "The Special One" won't think twice about accepting.

Any success will feel very hollow now in comparision to how it would have felt to have seen Dean Wilkins in charge at Falmer as the sound of Sussex by the Sea accompanies the team's entrance once more onto the pitch at Falmer as Albion go head to head with the elite once more.

I feel nothing but shame for the way Wilkins has been treated.

"It's like meeting an old girlfriend again," Adams joked.

An old girlfriend who Adams seemed to have had no trouble jilting when someone a little easier on the eye came along in the shape of Leicester City in October 2001.

As the BBC reported at the time...

The revelation came as a shock, with last year's Third Division champions riding high in the table again.

Brighton are currently fourth in Division 2, level on points with leaders Oldham.

Adams explained: "In a way this is a devastating blow because I'm very happy at Brighton. But I want to work in the Premiership.

"I was disappointed I didn't get interviews for a couple of jobs. Perhaps the only way I can get into a Premiership club is doing it this way.

As the man himself made clear "I want to work in the Premiership". I suspect that whether or not he manages it with the Albion is of little consequence to this man. We are now in grave danger of losing a quite splendid servant to the club who had every chance of taking us up next year (2009), only to see him replaced by someone who now blithely states that Championship football is "realistic" by 2011. The man who is now considering his future is someone who has shared every moment on the roller coaster that has involved being an Albion fan over the past twenty years; the relegations, the promotions, the shenanigens with the Goldstone and those God awful trips to Gillingham: his never to be forgotton winner against Ipswich with just minutes to go to take us to Millwall and on to Wembley; his stunning interview post Notts County ("we really stuck it to them",) - stunning of course because it was clear to all the poor man was close to tears himself - and of course the gradual inching of our way to safety under Steve Gritt and that trip to Hereford. Through it all, Dean Wilkins has been involved ... our very own Charlie Webb of the modern age.

BHA fans need to understand that any success on the pitch will inevitably be accompanied by another approach from a much bigger club which we all know and realize "The Special One" won't think twice about accepting.

Any success will feel very hollow now in comparision to how it would have felt to have seen Dean Wilkins in charge at Falmer as the sound of Sussex by the Sea accompanies the team's entrance once more onto the pitch at Falmer as Albion go head to head with the elite once more.

I feel nothing but shame for the way Wilkins has been treated.

I completely agree with J. I have supported the Albion for twenty five years and I never thought I would be ashamed of the club - I am now. Of course Adams will go at the first opportunity if he doesn't take us down and further into debt- has has never suggested that he has any loyalty to this club. Wilkins treatment is shameful and the selection of Adams because of some naive association with past glories is ridiculous. Shame on you Dick Knight for a decision that devalues service and loyalty and is also stupid in the extreme.

Really guys some of you need to move on This aint a charity. We dont have the money to keep on staying in this league. When we get into the championship then the attendance will go up. Wilkins is a nice but this is life.

J, I feel sorry for anyone you get close to if you are going to hold something they said seven years earlier over them for the rest of their lives.

Woohoo, look at you, digging something up from 2001! It makes you look so CLEVER to all of us. I doff my cap in your direction.

Now get on with life. I suspect Micky has...

MICKY ADAMS IS A LEGEND! WILKINS HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB AND DK SHOULD OF PULLED HIS FINGER OUT WITH CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS AND WE WOULD OF MADE THE PLAYOFFS!! HOWEVER MICKY ADAMS IS A LEGEND, WITH A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND TOOK A SKINT LECIESTER BACK INTO THE PRIMERSHIP!! HE IS THE MAN TO TAKE US FORWARD UP THE ALBION WELCOME BACK MICKY!! ALL IS FORGIVEN XX

THIS IS WRONG I THINK IT IS VERY BAD THE WAY THEY TREATED DEAN WILKINS I DONT BLAME DEAN IF HE DOES NOT STAY ON.

I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET.

Mark Venables wrote:
THIS IS WRONG I THINK IT IS VERY BAD THE WAY THEY TREATED DEAN WILKINS I DONT BLAME DEAN IF HE DOES NOT STAY ON. I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET.

CORRECTION......

I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET IF WILKINS GOES

Mark Venables wrote:

Mark Venables wrote: THIS IS WRONG I THINK IT IS VERY BAD THE WAY THEY TREATED DEAN WILKINS I DONT BLAME DEAN IF HE DOES NOT STAY ON. I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET.

CORRECTION...... I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET IF WILKINS GOES

Get a grip. If you haven't renewed it already then you were never that serious!

So if White is to be Adams' number 2, Wilkins will even be in an inferior position to White! Incredible. Get White out now, for God's sake. How the hell is he staying?

Trun wrote:
Really guys some of you need to move on This aint a charity. We dont have the money to keep on staying in this league. When we get into the championship then the attendance will go up. Wilkins is a nice but this is life.

So, moving on, is in going back 7 years to someone who dumped us? I have the utmost respect for what Micky did first time round and he will always have a place in our hearts, but Dean had done a fantastic job, considering, and this all leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I wish Micky all the best as it is not his fault this has happened. he has taken an opportunity that was presented to him. We all know where the blame lies, but some people are too blinkered to accept the truth aout DICK.

Micky Adams was the best manager we have had in years. Yes he left for what he hoped was bigger and better things and you cannot blame him for that. It didn't work out quite as he wanted but he did a great job at leicester. I for one am glad he is back. He has a proven track record at this level...nothing against Dean but Micky is a class above...and we all know football is a cuthroat business.

Royster wrote:

Mark Venables wrote:

Mark Venables wrote: THIS IS WRONG I THINK IT IS VERY BAD THE WAY THEY TREATED DEAN WILKINS I DONT BLAME DEAN IF HE DOES NOT STAY ON. I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET.

CORRECTION...... I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET IF WILKINS GOES

Get a grip. If you haven't renewed it already then you were never that serious!

I agree that he probably had no intentions of renewing his ST. And I'm sure there are a thousand or so like him who haven't renewed which is why such drastic action has been taken.

Time to get a grip people-at football clubs managers come and go, players come and go, true fans have a life sentence and get no time off. This is just another of those times when the ship needed to be put back on course.

Trun wrote:
When we get into the championship then the attendance will go up.

Trun, fans are fickle and the prices are not cheap in comparison to other forms of entertainment.
Attendances will only go up and remain higher if The Albion are winning games consistently and potentially challenging at the top of the table.
If we are struggling to stay in the division, the crowds will drop off again.

Trust me, I've seen the ebb and flow since the sixties....

Mark Venables wrote:

Mark Venables wrote: THIS IS WRONG I THINK IT IS VERY BAD THE WAY THEY TREATED DEAN WILKINS I DONT BLAME DEAN IF HE DOES NOT STAY ON. I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET.

CORRECTION...... I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY SEASON TICKET IF WILKINS GOES

good,there will be another seat for a
true fan.

I am absolutely delighted in the appointment of micky adams however i feel incredibly sorry for dean wilkins who has been a great servant to this football club. micky adams though has far much more power in the transfer market and i believe that will be reflected in the signings we make this summer.

If I were dean wilkins then I would accept the role of first team coach. He would probably stay on the same wage as he is now. Yet without all the hassle of being manager. Surely the job of first team coach is a lot more secure than that of manager in any case. A few poor results as a manager or one bad season and you're fired. If it was me, I'd prefer the job of first team coach any day. If it all goes wrong then sombody else gets the blame.

Football has nothing nowadays to do with loyalty, whether it is players, Managers or the clubs themselves. The absolute bottom line and I have read all the arguments on the last few stories about Mickey Adams but Football is an Entertainment Industry and results are not the only thing being looked at, but bums on seats as at the end of the day it is a business not just a sport.

Since Wilkins took over attendences have fallen dramatically. Many will say this is the cause of being fed up at a temporary ground but hold on we were fighting for promotion as far as league position was telling us but having been only to around 12 games this season due to work committments the standard of football whether we were 7th or not was some of the most tiresome I have had the pleasure or displeasure of watching. Key games and turning points was being defeated by Mansfield in the FA Cup and the loss at home to Port Vale. Two MASSIVE games yet the team didnt lose by bad luck, they lost due to an extremely poor and inept performance. This brings into question the possible inability of Wilkins to be able to motivate his players. I also remember from the last tenure of Mickey Adams that he took no prisoners and I belive that a lack of discipline in the dressing room and pitch has been our downfall.

Anyhow with Mickey Adams I also feel that he will bring in the crowds and I agree time only will tell and as for Dean Wilkins I hope he does stay, but hey we must all remember that he too grabbed the job from under Mcghee and would have been approached prior to Mcghee probably knowing he was leaving so lets get accepting the key fact Loyalty. There aint none.

Just one final point with certain same old contributors having a dig at Dick Knight.

1) We all know how Dean Wilkins was like on the pitch but none of us know what he was really like behind the scenes apart from reading this paper.

2) Everyone blames Dick Knight? What we may never know is who actually was really behind this. As Chairman he is the designated one to make these sort of announcments but most probably the big investors of the board wanted Dean Wilkins out of the top seat, so lets not all rush to conclusions as if the blame does go to anyone it should be the board and not to Knight himself.

3) Recently we lost £2.8m of which all of it has been backed by the board and top supporters of this club, whom without them piling their hard earnt cash into the club the moaners and whiners that all day long criticise them we would not have a club!!! They have EVERY right to do what they want to this club. Yes we are all fans but sadly it is a buisness and they are the owners, so basically tough we have to listen and put up with some of their decisions whether good or bad.

4)Cheap ticket prices, special offers on season tickets, Falmer incentives all have not worked at this stage to get in the punters?? Why??? Basically as said already the entertainment on show and we know how Abromovich did this to Mourinho was not the exciting type of football however successful it was to bring bums on seats and with Adams it is anticipated this will change.

5) Adams coming back is not a problem with me or the majority of fans as I dont think I have ever known a past manager to have still kept tabs on the Albion and sorry we all say Wilkins has his heart in the club and for that I dont doubt but Adams is still and was in the past a true Albion Legend as well so the doubters should give him a chance. As for quoting past comments times change and sadly J none of us are perfect and I also once left a company for greener pastures only to realise my mistake and I was lucky they took me back so give the guy a break.

Anyhow the shockwaves are still reverberating but hopefully we can ALL now get behind Adams and hope that Wilkins will accept a Coaching role for which he was at his best and hopefully we can all move forward.

After recovering from the initial shock I can't say I'm exactly over the moon about the re-appointment of Micky Adams. First and foremost it's a step backwards. "Glory days" under a successful manager cannot be re-won simply by bringing him back. Of more concern is his lack of success at Leicester and Coventry since (note) he left us. No wonder he didn't hesitate to take the job, the guy's basically been out of work for eighteen months!
Let's not forget the shameful treatment of Dean Wilkins either. Results weren't brilliant and he lost, or more to the point didn't win the important games last season, but seventh place hardly makes the guy a loser.
If I were Deano I'd tell Dick Knight to stick the director of coaching job right back up where the sun don't shine!
So, 08/09? League One is basically crap (from what I've seen) and any half-way decent manager with a good squad at his disposal is going to be right up there at the business end. Micky is of course under pressure right from day one as anything short of a top- six finish is going to be seen as failure.
Has our Chairman thought this through? Are there things going on behind the scenes that we don't know about? Results will tell. Fingers crossed for a happy ending.
Some relevant statistics:
Micky Adam's Win Percentage:
Fulham - 47.6%
Brentford- 27.2%
Us,1st time- 45%
Leicester- 36.9%
Coventry- 33.3%

By comparison;
Deano- 37.8%.
Brian Horton- 32.5%
Peter Taylor- 55.2%
Steve Coppout- 36.7%
And to get it in perspective, Alex "Hairdryer" Ferguson at ManUre- 58%.

Tokyo Pete wrote:
After recovering from the initial shock I can\\\'t say I\\\'m exactly over the moon about the re-appointment of Micky Adams. First and foremost it\\\'s a step backwards. \\\"Glory days\\\" under a successful manager cannot be re-won simply by bringing him back. Of more concern is his lack of success at Leicester and Coventry since (note) he left us. No wonder he didn\\\'t hesitate to take the job, the guy\\\'s basically been out of work for eighteen months! Let\\\'s not forget the shameful treatment of Dean Wilkins either. Results weren\\\'t brilliant and he lost, or more to the point didn\\\'t win the important games last season, but seventh place hardly makes the guy a loser. If I were Deano I\\\'d tell Dick Knight to stick the director of coaching job right back up where the sun don\\\'t shine! So, 08/09? League One is basically crap (from what I\\\'ve seen) and any half-way decent manager with a good squad at his disposal is going to be right up there at the business end. Micky is of course under pressure right from day one as anything short of a top- six finish is going to be seen as failure. Has our Chairman thought this through? Are there things going on behind the scenes that we don\\\'t know about? Results will tell. Fingers crossed for a happy ending. Some relevant statistics: Micky Adam\\\'s Win Percentage: Fulham - 47.6% Brentford- 27.2% Us,1st time- 45% Leicester- 36.9% Coventry- 33.3% By comparison; Deano- 37.8%. Brian Horton- 32.5% Peter Taylor- 55.2% Steve Coppout- 36.7% And to get it in perspective, Alex \\\"Hairdryer\\\" Ferguson at ManUre- 58%.

statistics are just numbers, coppel has forgotten more than wilkins knows about winning games, thats not a dig at dean, but his tactics were rubbish when we should win a game, his results against the sides above us were a joke. his love of martot and robinson on the right wing this year cost us, they must have been dropped for the other ten times in a row! we all know robinson cant score or beat a fullback and cross. but lets keep hoping!! i expect 5 players in, and robinson gatting fraser to be out of squad by xmas.

Adams was a cheap option (scouting for Stoke !)who will get bums back on seats ready for Falmer.