First it was Roy Keane and the prawn sandwich set at Old Trafford.

Now we have Micky Adams lambasting the burger brigade of the South Stand at Withdean.

Albion and the side they should have beaten in the FA Cup final 18 years ago are now, of course, worlds apart.

But the debate in this particular instance is in essence the same. Why are fans not more supportive of a team enjoying success?

I can see both sides of the argument.

The fans frequenting the South Stand are an unprivileged majority at Withdean.

For them it is burger kiosks rather than the high class cuisine dished up in the corporate hospitality boxes at Old Trafford.

The minority sit under cover in the North Stand, but the 4,000 within earshot of Adams have no roof to protect them.

They pay a lot of money and are surely entitled to moan and groan if they don't like what they are seeing.

The flip side of the coin is that Albion under Adams are having their best season for years.

Those same fans have not seen his side beaten at Withdean on a Saturday for nearly 14 months and only twice at all in the League over that period.

Who better to ask what it's like to be facing the flak than Charlie Oatway, whose wholehearted approach to every match supporters readily identify with.

"To be honest it's sad," said Oatway. "Everyone is giving it their all, including the fans.

"But when you have tried your best and you get certain sections booing you that's when it is sad.

"I finished bottom of this league with Torquay and they still wanted to clap us there.

"It's about the whole season and we are still on course for promotion.

"Every player has to clap the fans to thank them for coming. We do that and then we get certain sections booing us, which is a shame.

"I didn't play well, a few of us didn't, but we are an honest bunch of lads. Over the season we have set our sights quite high, but we are Third Division footballers and sometimes it doesn't work out right.

"You couldn't fault any of the players, management or staff for their effort and commitment."

There was not too much for another near-capacity crowd to get excited about until Adams brought on Paul Brooker for Kerry Mayo towards the end of the first half.

The enigmatic ex-Fulham winger quickly forced Alan Fettis into a couple of fine saves.

The momentum Brooker's introduction provided approaching the break was maintained with Gary Hart's first goal for two months ten minutes into the restart.

His initial shot from Andy Crosby's low cross was blocked, but the ball broke back for him to score left-footed from ten yards.

The attacking promise York showed in the opening half-hour had petered out by that stage, so it came as something of a shock when skipper Steve Agnew levelled 13 minutes later.

The former Premiership midfielder ghosted through a static defence from Wayne Hall's left-wing cross to calmly beat the unprotected Michel Kuipers from close range.

Adams blamed but did not name "one of our midfield players" who "let Agnew run".

The instantaneous substitution of Paul Rogers rather gave the game away.

Albion didn't give the game away after that, as was the case several times at Withdean last season, leaving Adams to reflect: "We have gained another point.

"We would have liked three, but it wasn't to be. York were very committed.

"It could have been worse. We could be Rochdale."

Hart, now second in the scoring charts behind the below-par Bobby Zamora, admitted: "We didn't play well and we know that.

"It's not very nice to be booed off. We should be on a high in our position, but at the end of the day the fans pay their money and they have a right to moan.

"Let's just hope we can reward them with promotion."

That is one sentiment the manager, players and their detractors should be able to agree on.