Richard Roelich has no regrets over being the Albion ground staffer who, in the early 1950s, stood up to manager Billy Lane.

Richard walked out of the Goldstone without ever knowing he might have made the grade.

He later became a pro at Bournemouth but, for the most part, he played non-League in Sussex and Kent and gained a reputation as a clever and cheeky inside forward.

Today, a half century later, Richard is virtually retired having made his fortune in the heating and plumbing business with elder brother George, also ex-Albion and Bristol Rovers, and later in building and property on his own account.

Had Richard stuck exclusively to football for a living the chances are that he would not enjoy the luxurious life style that sees him and wife Judy putting the finishing touches to a house in Westdene that includes, among other extras, a lift. Next month they are off to Perth for the winter where daughter Justine is expecting an addition to the Roelich clan.

Not bad for a Whitehawk lad born in Twineham Road who this month celebrated his 64th birthday. Instead of knuckling down to the widely accepted regime governing all those at the foot of the footballing ladder, Richard, a headstrong kid, chose a different road when bucking the system at the Goldstone.

He started out on the right foot at St John the Baptist School, going on to play for Brighton and Sussex Boys. Soon the cocky half pint with a natural gift for bamboozling opponents was attracting attention. As brother George was already at the Albion, the way for a second Roelich to train there two nights a week was simple. At 15 he made the under-18 side that knocked Portsmouth out of the FA Youth Cup and leaving school his ambition was on the verge of fulfilment.

Richard takes up the story: "Every Brighton boy had only one goal and that was to play at the Goldstone. When it came time for me to see Billy Lane, the manager, my dad came along. Mr Lane said what a promising lad I was. Dad was reluctant at first for me to go onto the ground staff and asked how much I would be getting. When Mr Lane said £3.16s a week, my old man nearly fell over. He was only getting £4 a week as a cable jointer with the electricity board. So it was agreed. Every time I had a wage packet I gave it unopened to mum and she would give me a pound.

"At 15 I was well off with a knicker. Mr Lane had made me a promise that he would agree to my request to train with the professionals. I wanted to learn. But after six months all I was doing was sweeping the terraces, clearing out the baths, stoking the boilers and this went on for a year or more. I was just an apprentice road sweeper. My footballing education was going nowhere."

A confrontation led to Richard leaving. Whatever talent he displayed, the manager would not budge for his authority had been challenged by the lowest of the pecking order. Ground staff boys were expected to be seen and not heard. Richard wasn't the only lad to quit. Derek Tharme left and signed for Tottenham.

Richard saw more of a chamois leather every week than a ball when having to clean Billy Lane's Austin Seven. Every Friday another chore was collecting a box of cigars from the directors at the Greyhound Stadium for the Albion directors to enjoy at the Saturday match. Richard remembers that cars were a sore point with Billy. When players started to acquire four wheels that put his in the shade he became jealous.

Ground staff employees were expected to help prepare the pitch and Richard was ordered to paint the goalposts an aluminium colour to make them stand out. It wasn't long before they reverted to white.

"That was typical. Billy Lane knew all about attracting publicity. But the players didn't see much of him. He didn't speak to the likes of ground staff boys. I was disappointed at not training with the pros although training wasn't what you might describe as varied. Joe Wilson had them lapping and then sprinting for 20 minutes and that was it."

Now and again Richard got his own back. One of the ground staff jobs was mowing the grass. Then petrol was rationed and Albion secretary Len Holt (an ex-policeman) supervised the filling-up from a five gallon drum.

But, when he wasn't looking, Richard topped-up a lemonade bottle and took it home every week for his dad's motor bike. "When Mr Holt noticed the petrol wasn't going as far as it should I told him the mower had a leak and he was satisfied with that."

There were plenty of laughs when the manager wasn't around.

"We used to water the pitch with a fireman's hose and I soaked the players who got the needle. Frankie Howard, Glen Wilson, Jimmy Langley and Alex South caught me and, from 15ft. Glen put the hose on me and nearly blew me in half. I was only a nipper. That'll teach you, he said'."

The classic sting, however, nearly deprived Albion of one of their best players. Arch prankster Frankie Howard was behind it as Roelich explained.

"Some of the players used to kick a deflated ball case around in the old shed on the north west corner of the ground and knew that when Jimmy Sirrell came in he couldn't resist having a go in front of everybody else.

"Frankie knew he was about to come through the door and said, 'It's my turn to take the next penalty', knowing that Jimmy would nip in and have a go. What Jimmy didn't know was that Frankie had put a brick in the case. In he rushed and sure enough he gave it a terrific belt and collapsed in agony. He could have broken his foot. Luckily he wasn't badly hurt and Billy never found out or there would have been a helluva row."

Richard's boyhood Albion hero was Johnny McNichol.

"Everything he did I tried to copy. He was the best player they ever had."

But once Roelich walked out of the door that was it and he went to play for Worthing on the recommendation of Jack Dugnolle, who had played for Albion. Richard continued to play for them while doing National Service as a teleprinter operator in the RAF, where representative football meant a permanent home posting.

A spell at Canterbury, where George also played, attracted Millwall's interest and manager Ron Gray offered him terms. Gillingham also made an approach. Somehow Gray's offer of a contract at Millwall wasn't sufficiently attractive. The money he was picking up from Canterbury, plus expenses and service pay, made it worthwhile for Richard to stay amateur.

Once out of uniform, Dugnolle made contact on behalf of Bournemouth, then managed by Don Welsh.

"I went for trials and by this time I was courting Judy and I signed pro and we were down there for a couple of years. But my football deterioated and when I left Bournemouth I went non-League for Ashford.