Albion should send a bill to the FA at their plush headquarters in Soho Square, for the attention of the England under-21 coach.

An accidental misspelling on the envelope would not go amiss, since David Platt has eroded the reputation and market value of the Seagulls' prized asset.

It would be appropriate if the postman failed to do his job properly and delivered the letter to one of the more disreputable addresses in that part of the capital.

Bobby Zamora was, after all, the victim of a sleazy blunder by Platt at Hull on Tuesday night.

Zamora has made his name for Albion as a goalscoring centre forward.

So how did Platt deploy the young talisman on his first start for his country on home soil? As a left-sided midfielder.

Surprise surprise, our Bob looked out of place, but Platt didn't need a friendly against Serbia and Montenegro to discover Zamora cannot defend.

Any fan who watches Albion week in week out could have told him that.

What Zamora does, to great effect, is cause havoc to opposing defences.

He has a sweet left foot, is dangerous in the air, drifts into space and, of course, has that valuable knack of knowing where the net is.

Seventy six goals in 125 appearances for Albion over the past three seasons at all levels in the Nationwide League is testimony to that.

One incident in the first half on Tuesday night encapsulated the damage he can do.

Zamora peeled off his marker to loop a header from a free-kick by former Albion team-mate Steve Sidwell across the face of goal.

The outcome was reminiscent of what supporters at Withdean have witnessed so many times, courtesy of Zamora's telepathic understanding with the Seagulls' set piece expert Paul Watson.

Chaos ensued inside the Serb's six-yard box and the ball ended up in the back of the net via the boot of Shola Ameobi.

It is these type of attributes which have demanded the attention of Premiership managers such as Glenn Hoddle, Alan Curbishley, Micky Adams and, presumably, Platt in his role as guru to the nation's finest young talent.

Correct me if I am wrong, but players are selected for their country first and foremost on the basis of their club form.

Why then use them in a completely foreign role?

Platt could argue he is merely following Sven Goran Eriksson's lead. We have seen the same thing happen all too often at senior level.

It's madness, square pegs for round holes. Part of the art of good management must surely be to exploit a player's strengths, not expose his weaknesses.

The counter argument is that a player of international calibre should be capable of adapting.

This stance would have more substance in Zamora's case if he was already established at international level.

He's not. He's a kid with a handful of appearances behind him attempting to make his mark.

It would have made far more sense if Platt had employed him as a left-sided striker alongside Ameobi and Jermain Defoe.

Zamora often drifts wide left for Albion. That is entirely different to operating as a left-sided midfielder in a 4-4-2, with responsibility for tracking back.

Zamora does not know how to tackle properly and he does not react like a defender.

He spent most of the first half trying unsuccessfully to stem the flow of attacks eminating down his side of the pitch from Marjan Markovic, the visitors' accomplished skipper and rightback.

As half time approached Platt eventually cottoned on to this flaw in his tactics.

He responded by switching a bemused Zamora to the right flank. Unbelievable!

Zamora was finally rescued from further punishment when he was replaced after an hour of hell by Darren Ambrose, a natural winger.

It was painful viewing for those of us accustomed to appreciating Zamora's talents and gave unfortunate credence to the doubters, who include Adams' sidekick at Leicester Dave Bassett.

Tuesday's misleading 3-2 victory was only the fourth in a dozen matches for the under 21's in the care of Platt, a fitting addition to the well-populated tray marked 'fine player, failed manager'.

Platt was quickly found to be out of his depth in Italy at his old club Sampdoria, where he played under Eriksson. He also sentenced Nottingham Forest, now so vibrant under Paul Hart, to a couple of seasons of mid-table mediocrity. Heaven forbid if the suits at Soho Square are grooming him as Sven's successor.