Mark Lawrenson was the greatest player I ever saw play for Albion.

In 32 years of supporting my beloved Brighton no other player has possessed the class that Lawrenson oozed.

It was no surprise he went on to enjoy success with Liverpool and just a shame that he choose Ireland, rather than England, as his international arena.

Oh, what might have been if England had Lawrenson facing Maradona in 1986 rather than Terry Fenwick.

But was Lawrenson the man who made me part with my hard-earned pocket money? Never. It was Wardie every time.

Peter Ward is my all-time hero, the man who made a Saturday afternoon come alive in those halcyon days of the Seventies, the man who made this 40-year-old act like a schoolboy when I saw him at Kerry Mayo's testimonial.

Football fans need a hero and Albion have been short of one since Bobby Zamora left.

That is why I have a really good feeling about Glenn Murray.

Withdean needs someone to make the stadium come alive. A series of wins always helps but some fans can be fickle and just as quickly as they come along they stay away if victories turn to defeats. What they want is a hero.

Before his sudden departure Bas Savage was the man Albion fans heaped their adulation on. Savage was never going to be a Ward, Nelson or Zamora but he was different with his unorthodox style and nifty dance move after scoring.

Fans like someone who is different but the best way to stand out from a crowd is to have the ability to ram in 30 goals for fun.

I don't want to heap too much pressure on Murray, he is a young man still trying to find his way at this level but the early indications are positive.

Four goals in your first five starts is the way to introduce yourself and, while some chances have gone begging in the last few matches, Murray is learning all the time from a seasoned pro in Nicky Forster ... you could say in the same way that Ward benefited from playing alongside Ian Mellor.

Maybe I am getting too old for adulation. I never had the same hero-worship for Bobby Zamora as I did for Peter Ward but that is age for you.

Yet the younger generation, the people Ken Brown and Co. want to bring back through the gate, need someone and Glenn Murray could be that man.

Some will say Dick Knight pushed the boat out too far by spending £300,000 on a striker from Rochdale. I tend to feel he could turn out to be a bargain.

What do you think?