Steve Coppell's decision to continue as Albion manager for at least another year made it easier to cope with returning home after a Hart family holiday in Florida.

Last summer's dithering about appointing a new manager was a major factor in the club's relegation. Chairman Dick Knight has made amends and got the right man for the job at the right time.

Give Coppell a workable budget and anything is possible. The chairman said on Southern Counties Radio last Saturday that Albion could be Division Two promotion contenders. That welcome sentiment is echoed by supporters everywhere.

The Bobby Zamora transfer situation is proving tricky. Albion want a decent fee for their prized asset because Bristol Rovers have a 30 per cent sell-on clause. But the market is deflated and potential buyers are not prepared to pay enough to make the transfer financially viable for Albion.

Seagulls can't accept anything less than £3 million but I don't think clubs like Tottenham and Charlton, supposedly the front-runners to sign Zamora, are willing to pay that kind of money on a player who is still unproven at the highest level.

It could be a different scenario in January when the transfer window re-opens, if Brighton are going well in Division Two and Zamora has scored between 10-15 League goals.

The first Albion player of note with a sell-on clause attached to his move from the Goldstone was John Robinson. He has just been released on a free by Charlton, who agreed to that stipulation 11 years ago, and already been linked with a return to his former club.

If only a similar clause had been attached to the deal that took Dean Saunders to Oxford United five years earlier. Maybe, some of the cash crises that plagued Albion during the Nineties could have been avoided.

Good luck to Paul Brooker with his proposed move to Leicester City, nobody can begrudge him the chance of playing at the top level. It is a gamble but then Micky Adams is the Premiership's answer to the Cincinnati Kid.

I was puzzled by Albion's request for a three-month adjournment to the Falmer Stadium public inquiry because I vividly recall being told live on the radio on January 1, 2001, by a senior employee, that the club would not submit any planning applications without the FULL agreement of both universities.

I was led to believe Albion entered the fray with the support of both educational establishments. Clearly this is not the case, so let's hope there are no more unexpected surprises.

Several other issues have been thrown up following the decision to adjourn, including one about the barrister representing the club.

He isn't going to expect full pay during the next three months but will he be on some kind of retainer?

Presumably he is and that's money which could have gone into Steve Coppell's playing budget if full agreement with the universities had been achieved.