If Dick Knight wants a dramatic career change he could always find work in a circus as a novelty juggler.

Albion's chairman is doing a pretty good job of balancing three footballs in the air with only one leg!

He is trying to provide manager Micky Adams with enough money to build a successful team, deal with the inhibiting costs of playing home games at Withdean and prepare an expensive planning application for a new stadium at Falmer.

No wonder Knight hailed the compromise reached with Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis over former Seagulls Gareth Barry and Michael Standing as "a very good deal."

Albion have gained £500,000 to add to the £600,000 they had already received for Barry and Knight's great nephew Standing, a tidy sum when resources are limited and being stretched to the limit.

They could lose a lot more if, and it is a big if, the pair end up playing for England and make big money moves to other clubs.

Albion have given up £25,000 if Barry plays for England under 21's, £200,000 if he wins a full England cap and 15 per cent of any sell-on fee.

The deal was agreed shortly before Barry made his 60th appearance for Villa, when another £250,000 installment became due. That seems, on the face of it, financial suicide by Knight, but it is much more complicated than that.

Villa had previously left Barry out of the side one just before an installment was due, arousing suspicions that the long-running feud with Albion was having a direct effect on Barry's career.

The circumstances in Standing's case were similar. Villa regard him as a good prospect, yet he is still waiting for his first team debut.

There are also all sorts of other factors influencing the future development of a player, such as injuries and loss of form, which suggest the deal struck by Knight with 'Deadly Doug' represents a shrewd piece of business.

It came completely out of blue though and the timing of it is interesting. Rumours have abounded in recent weeks that Albion are experiencing serious cashflow problems.

These have included the late payment of players' FA Cup bonuses, disputes with a couple of players over relocation expenses and a director who allegedly wanted some of his money back but was told he couldn't have it.

There was even a suggestion that Knight dipped into his own pocket before Christmas to help pay the wages.

Kevin Keehan, Knight's nephew, was recently appointed to the newly created post of commercial manager in a bid to boost the club's income.

Former captain Gary Hobson is moving to Chester after agreeing a deal with Albion for the rest of his contract - due to expire at the end of the season - and Ross Johnson has gone on loan to Colchester.

Albion travelled to their away game at Torquay last month on the morning of the match, a move almost unprecedented for such a long distance.

Adams says he has not been under pressure from the Board to cut the wage bill. He also insisted the Torquay decision was designed to give the players a kick up the backside, rather than save money.

Could it be though that the manager is aware of the same rumours about Albion's cashflow situation and has taken it upon himself to tighten his belt accordingly?

He may not know too much about the nitty-gritty of Albion's current financial situation. I understand Adams has not been at the last couple of Board meetings.

That usually means one of two things, according to a former high-powered source at a leading League club. The Board are unhappy about results or they do not want the manager to know the extent of their financial predicament.

The Lorenzo Pinamonte saga has added to the intrigue.

Likeable Lorenzo's exit to Brentford must be put in perspective. They have paid over the odds for the Italian on the evidence of his performances for Albion.

Nobody can blame him for accepting a £75,000 move on a three and a half year contract, believed to have tripled his wages. But he wanted to stay and Knight pledged to pull out all the stops to keep him.

The Seagulls' tabled an undisclosed bid for Pinamonte just before the first month of his loan expired, which must have been considerably less than £75,000.

If Albion were so keen to hang onto him why did they not respond to Brentford's offer by at least matching the bid and improving his personal terms enough to persuade him to remain in an environment he clearly preferred? The answer, presumably, is that they could not afford to.

The deal with Aston Villa was sealed before Pinamonte's departure, so where is that £500,000 going?

The 1998-99 accounts, covering the last season Albion played home matches at Gillingham, are due to be published by April. They are expected to make grim reading.

Those three balls Knight is trying to score with: the team, Withdean and Falmer, are becoming heavier by the day.

It would be quite a hat-trick if he pulls it off without major new investment.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.