Peter Taylor makes the familiar trip to Withdean this weekend, 7 years or so since he told Dick Knight, whatever he was apportioning to the playing budget, wasn’t enough. It was a strange period in Albion history, as everyone expected Taylor to rock up at another club soon after he left the Albion, although he didn’t for quite some time. Albion folklore suggests that Dick’s preferred replacement was former Cameroon manager Winifred Schafer, it is rumoured the pair met at Gatwick and agreed terms, only for Schafer to change his mind (with a little help!) and fly home the next day. Uncle Dick was then left with an arranged Press Conference at The Grand but no ‘star’ manager to unveil, until Mr Hinshelwood stepped in to the breach. Of course like Steve McLaren he was first choice all along, really!

Not many games against Wycombe stick out. I remember we thrashed them at Withdean on our way to a second successive championship, when we beat them 4-0 in March 2002 and then by the same score, around Christmas a couple of seasons later.

It was the spontaneous encore that occurred after the game at Adams Park in February 2004 that will live in the memory of Albion fans. A week or so after some dizzy planning inspector recommended against our now half built stadium at Falmer. Almost 2000 Albion fans, officials and the entire playing squad, let Mr Prescott know just how much the real people of Brighton and Hove wanted the stadium, in their town. Now of course our greatest wish is almost realized.

Talking of officials, this week I have had some nice correspondence with The Football League. We are not quite pen pals yet and I hope we won’t have cause to be. However I received a response to an Email and picture I sent them, regarding Nicky Forster’s missed penalty against Stockport. The picture in question shows, quite clearly that before Fozzie had struck the ball on the spot, the opposing goalkeeper is making a break for freedom towards Hove, that’s how far off his line he is!

Now my concern was that the assistant referee had a clear view of this blatant breach of FA Law 14. The National Group Manager (for assistant referees I presume) suggests that the lino ‘must listen for the thud of the ball and then assess the keeper’s position ‘He goes on to say, this isn’t as easy as it sounds.

However he’s does concede that this lino ‘has made an error of judgement, although not a glaring one’! My friend Alex, who referees at the Sunday morning beer belly and half time fag level, (no, not League 2) is exasperated , after all at least two officials had only two players to adjudicate over at that point, that’s one each. I do hope we can emulate the previous 4-0 thrashings of Wycombe tomorrow, and finally get this season, that promises so much, underway. Let’s forget August, it’s just pre season really, it all starts here.

Finally congrats to Tom (The Complete Badger) who won my NSC ‘Bank Holiday Brighton Quiz’.

Well done, but as they say ‘there are NO PRIZES for guessing’