It is usually easy to gauge the reaction of fans to a player returning to his former club.

Albion supporters will always adore Bobby Zamora but it is harder to know what Seb Carole can expect on his Withdean comeback.

You suspect a majority will appreciate the dazzling skills often displayed by the mild-mannered Frenchman during his all-too-brief stint with the Seagulls.

A minority will probably never forgive him for abandoning the club after they went down from the Championship.

Halfway through a two-year contract, Carole triggered a relegation release clause which allowed him to join Leeds on a free transfer.

Fifteen months on, Carole is hoping for the best as he tries to help the Yorkshiremen continue their unbeaten start in League One.

He said: "I can understand if some people boo me, because I left after a year and the club needed players to stay to try and get back into the Championship.

"But I think the fans are clever enough to understand that when Leeds phone you then, as a player, you cannot refuse that.

"Leeds are a massive club. I knew that from many years ago. There used to be a football show on television on a Sunday afternoon and when Eric Cantona was here, Leeds were shown all the time. I enjoyed watching games.

"It was the year Leeds won the championship and that is why Leeds are well known in France.

"If Brighton were still in the Championship it is very difficult to say whether I would have left then but relegation made the decision easier."

Not that it has been all sweetness and light for Carole since capturing Leeds' attention by running amok for Albion on the right wing at Elland Road. scoring one of his two goals for the Seagulls and creating another in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Within four months of his switch from Sussex to Yorkshire, Kevin Blackwell was replaced as manager by Dennis Wise.

Straight-talking owner Ken Bates claimed in a programme column - incorrectly according to Carole - that the former Monaco winger was in negotiations to have his three-year contract paid up.

He made just seven Championship starts last season as Leeds, engulfed by financial turmoil, were relegated.

Carole had no release clause in a three-year contract this time. He has knuckled down to emerge as a key figure, on the left rather than right flank, in Leeds' early season surge.

He has missed only one League One match so far and scored in two of the last four to earn a point from 1-1 draws both at Gillingham and at home to Leyton Orient last Saturday.

Carole, 25 last month and now the father of two young sons, is happy he has made the right choice, even if the view is not quite the same.

"I have never regretted it," he said. "I took the decision after thinking a lot about it with my wife.

"Leeds have amazing facilities compared to a lot of clubs in England, a great stadium and everything to be a Premiership club.

"That is a lot different to Brighton but I love football and, as soon as I go on the pitch, I am just happy to be playing.

"As a place to live Brighton is nice, because you have got the sea and the seafront. I loved that, but Leeds is quite nice as well, just a different sort of place."

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