IS your glass half full or half empty?

That was the question posed in Albion's last matchday programme alongside an article by chairman Dick Knight, reflecting on his grilling by fans in a post-match radio phone-in.

A fortnight on, with the January transfer window now closed, that glass reflects how Knight's handling of the club is splitting opinion among Seagulls supporters.

For those whose glass is half-full, Knight can sit back with a bottle of his favourite red wine, satisfied at a job well done.

Some greedy players with greedy agents have left the club and he has more or less delivered his promise of five new signings Albion have splashed the cash too. Glenn Murray, bought from Rochdale for £300,000, is their biggest purchase for a quarter of a century. Another £75,000 has been spent on Jonny Dixon, Steve Thomson and Shane McFaul.

A hat-trick of transfer targets - Peter Leven, Darren Currie and Dave Martin - slipped away on the final day of trading but that is the way the ball rolls sometimes.

Albion have emerged with a £60,000 profit and Dean Wilkins' revamped team are only nine points off the play-offs with three games in hand.

For those whose glass is half-empty, Albion have lost skipper Dean Hammond and other key players in Alex Revell, George O'Callaghan and Bas Savage.

The squad is weaker than it was before the window opened, with a crisis in the centre of midfield and no wingers to supply the new strike force.

Wilkins now has to rebuild confidence and cohesion midway through the season.

Games in hand count for little when your are in a poor run of form and the Seagulls are only five points clear of today's visitors Crewe, who are in the relegation zone.

Whether half-full or half-empty, Albion's season has undeniably unravelled.

The Argus has pieced together the behind-the-scenes story of a turbulent six weeks since the 3-0 victory at Swindon in mid-December.

That result lifted the Seagulls to seventh in the table, with a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup beckoning and a potential trip to Wembley in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final, after one defeat in 12 games.

Little did we know then that, when Savage threw his shirt into the travelling supporters at the end of Albion's next match, a lame 3-0 defeat at Millwall on Boxing Day, it signalled dressing room disillusionment and the start of such a sharp decline in fortunes.

Savage's farewell gesture confirmed he would not be signing a new contract. He dug his heels in after an abruptly delivered and derisory initial offer.

What Knight regarded as an opening gambit to negotiations was regarded by Savage as an insult after the goals which saved Albion last season and his contribution to Nicky Forster's scoring spree in the current campaign.

The affable, Moonwalking marksman's positive impact on dressing room morale was sorely missed.

O'Callaghan, unprompted, warned prophetically in an outspoken post-match interview at Millwall that Albion's season was in danger of falling apart, because Knight had been too slow to sort out contracts and loans.

The on-loan Ipswich midfielder's timing was unfortunate, following such a dismal result and performance, but his message resonated with his team-mates.

They were furious that Knight publicly blasted O'Callaghan and Savage and undermined Wilkins' authority by declaring Savage should not have been selected for the Millwall match.

The rumbling mood of discontent would not go away. Forster, again unprompted, was next to speak out, leaping to Hammond's defence in his contract dispute.

Forster questioned the club's ambition. Coming from such a senior figure as the top scorer and stand-in skipper, it was hugely significant.

Murray's big money arrival temporarily took the heat off but Hammond's £250,000 move to Colchester and the simultaneous failure to further bolster the ranks has raised more question marks.

Why, as Hammond revealed yesterday, did serious contract negotiations not start much earlier, once he had passed an appearance-related clause which guaranteed him a new deal midway through last season?

While Hammond was going, nobody else was coming in, although it was not for the want of trying.

With the need for further strengthening exacerbated by long-term injuries to Paul Reid and Tommy Fraser, Albion doubled their offer for Chesterfield captain Peter Leven from £50,000 to £100,000 but the League Two club held their ground.

A late attempt to bring Darren Currie back to Withdean was also scuppered by Luton's financial problems.

Knight was blameless but, in other instances, his abrasive negotiating style has caused problems.

He despises most agents, which can be unhelpful in an age when, like it or not, they are an integral part of the game.

The small profit Albion have made from their January window shopping is irrelevant. Major shareholder Tony Bloom was happy to make funds available, without the books being balanced.

What players and fans alike wanted to see was a continuation of the momentum which promised so much prior to the Christmas collapse.

The rest of the season will determine whether that has been irrevocably lost and whether Knight's "already over half full" glass has been shattered.

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