I think it was The Fast Show's Ron Manager who said football management was like wallpapering because ninth-tenths of it was preparation.

It won't take that long to find out if Albion manager Martin Hinshelwood and his assistant, Bob Booker, have been given enough time to prepare the team.

It is 14 years since the Albion last re-entered what was then the old Second Division with an August home game against Bradford City.

Times have changed. The Goldstone is, sadly, no longer with us. But the one thing that will never alter is the fanatical support the club enjoys.

Whatever the early results, I hope fanatical continues to outweigh fickle.

The expectations of supporters I have spoken to go right across the spectrum.

There are the doom and gloom merchants who are predicting Albion will go straight back down.

A number want Dick Knight to open the chequebook and spend money the club doesn't have on players.

I even met one fan who is convinced Albion will reach, and eventually win, the play-offs. He reckons this time next year he will be looking forward to a Premiership campaign. Now there's confidence for you.

The majority of supporters I have spoken to share the same opinion as yours truly.

As I have stated before, Hinsh is the right man for the job. The current squad is better than at least seven others in Division One. So, barring disasters with injuries, the next nine months will be a very enjoyable journey.

Aside from avoiding relegation, which is a nailed-on certainty anyway, I have two hopes.

They are that we do the double over Palace and hopefully not have to wear that disgusting black away kit, complete with the bat on the front, at Selhurst Park!

When is a drugs test not a drug test? Commonwealth Games men's 100m gold medal winner Kim Collins, from St Kitts and Nevis, tested positive for a banned substance, yet the organisers let the result stand, citing some technicality.

Either he had taken drugs or he hadn't.

Was the decision more to do with organisers not wanting another Ben Johnson scenario to blot what had otherwise been an excellently organised games?

Manchester was such a success that it has re-ignited the almost Walter Mitty-like debate about whether London should apply to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

London is a great city. But it only takes one look at the ongoing farce that is Wembley Stadium, coupled with the horrendous transport problems, to realise a second London Olympics is nothing more than a pipedream.

This country could easily host an Olympic Games but mustn't fall into the trap of thinking London is the be all and end all. Instead, look at either Manchester or Birmingham.

Albion supporters have a chance to question Messrs Knight, Perry and Hinshelwood in a BBC SCR fans forum at Worthing FC, Woodside Road, tomorrow night.

The one-hour show goes out live on the radio at 7pm. The doors open at 6.15pm and tickets are free and available on the night.

Unfortunately, I'm off to see the Wizard, of Oz at the Pavilion in Worthing because one of the Hart children is a munchkin.

Needless to say, I will be close to the Walkman as Dorothy embarks on her first trip down that Yellow Brick Road.