The four players released by Albion offered a massive contrast in age and experience.

Georges Santos was almost twice as old as some of the three youngsters let go.

But the one thing they had in common was they made little to no first-team impact last season and had no obvious prospects for League One in 2007/08.

Marseille-born Santos spent much of last season on loan at Oxford having started the campaign with QPR.

He was hired for Albion by former boss Mark McGhee at a time when both Adam Hinshelwood and Guy Butters were out injured.

The last of his eight starts came in the 2-0 defeat at Yeovil, two games before Butters and Hinshelwood returned against Blackpool.

His fourth and final appearance off the bench was in the win over Swansea in early December.

Santos's chances of first-team football were always likely to be reduced when Butters returned.

For obvious reasons, the two were not really compatible as a central defensive pairing.

The French giant, whose best game for Albion was probably in Dean Wilkins' managerial debut at Millwall, turns 37 in August.

If this is the end of his League career, he will bow out with more than 250 appearances to his name, including spells at Tranmere, Sheffield United, West Brom, Grimsby and Ipswich.

Paul Hinshelwood, Richard Martin and Chris Breach are all still hoping to make a League debut, wherever that might be.

Martin's future looked bright when he had a trial spell at Everton He was on loan at Dorchester last season but by then had slipped behind John Sullivan in the quest to be Albion's top young keeper.

His departure looked more likely when the Seagulls took on youth teamer Chris Winterton recently.

Arguably Martin's finest moment was a fantastic tip-over save in the well-attended firstteam friendly away to Le Havre almost two years ago.

Brighton boy Breach suffered a metatarsal injury in his first season as a pro.

He has played on loan at Bognor and was part of last term's successful reserve team, operating at times as the holding player in a midfield diamond.

Hinshelwood is from Selsey and has helped the youth and reserves to success in the past two seasons.

He can play anywhere at the back, though he is best known as a right back, and last summer told The Argus how it felt to be given a one-year deal.

"I'd been injured and I didn't expect to get a contract," he admitted. "When he (Mark McGhee) said We're going to offer you a year' it was the best feeling ever."