Bobby Zamora will get another chance to upstage a fellow Albion goalscoring legend on his birthday at Blackburn Rovers.
Whether that is from the start or from the bench is a judgement call facing Chris Hughton on Zamora's 35th birthday at Ewood Park tomorrow.
Zamora's last goal, in the Seagulls' last win against Charlton at the Amex in early December, lifted him level with Peter Ward's tally of 81 League goals for the club.
It took Zamora 55 appearances fewer to reach the mark and was his fifth goal in the space of eight outings.
The minutes - and goals - have dried up for Zamora and Albion since then.
He was in the starting line-up for the comeback victory against Charlton.
His only start in six subsequent outings was against Wolves at the Amex on New Year's Day, when he was substituted midway through the second half.
It has otherwise been a diet of second half substitute appearances as Hughton tries to nurse Zamora through the rest of the promotion challenge.
Hughton told The Argus: "At this moment Bobby's fine. It has been one we've had to manage but we knew that.
"It happens in the game that you get the occasional players you have to treat a little bit different because of their circumstances, whether that is age or injury.
"Andrew Crofts has come back in fully fit and has been fully fit for a while now but we have to make sure his training schedule is right for him, so it's not unusual to have players you have to be a little bit more mindful of.
"Bobby falls into that category but we knew that when he came (back) here.
"We have to work very hard here with the sports science department, making sure he gets the right loads.
"It is also that balancing act of making sure he does the correct type of training but also manages to maintain a level and that he can be effective for us."
Zamora could have overtaken Ward at Rotherham on Tuesday after replacing a subdued James Wilson but planted a header wide from Bruno's cross.
It is a case of when, rather than if, he rises to fifth by himself on the all-time scoring list - behind Tommy Cook, Albert Mundy, Bert Stephens and Kit Napier - by bagging his 82nd League goal for Albion.
New signing Anthony Knockaert will have a key role to play at Blackburn if Albion are to end a goal famine spanning 9hrs 35mins since QPR keeper Robert Green made a mess of former loan signing Rajiv van La Parra's slightly deflected effort from long range in the wasteful 2-2 draw at Loftus Road in mid-December.
The diminutive French right-winger, bought from Standard Liege via Leicester, offered attacking spark in patches on his debut at Rotherham.
Bruno said: "His performance was good. He has a big personality and that is important. He knows the league and is a hard worker. He has adapted very quickly to the team and that is good for him and us."
Rovers could be spurred on to halt Knockaert. Tommy Spurr has earned praise from boss Paul Lambert for his performance at left-back in Tuesday's 1-1 home draw against QPR, when he was preferred to Markus Olsson.
Lambert said: "I thought Tommy was excellent. I had to see Tommy play and what you see is what you get.
"He's exactly the same in training, up and down. He put some terrific balls into the box and I thought he thoroughly deserved his man-of-the-match. So it gives me that little bit of a problem of having two good left-backs."
Original article
Whether that is from the start or from the bench is a judgement call facing Chris Hughton on Zamora's 35th birthday at Ewood Park tomorrow.
Zamora's last goal, in the Seagulls' last win against Charlton at the Amex in early December, lifted him level with Peter Ward's tally of 81 League goals for the club.
It took Zamora 55 appearances fewer to reach the mark and was his fifth goal in the space of eight outings.
The minutes - and goals - have dried up for Zamora and Albion since then.
He was in the starting line-up for the comeback victory against Charlton.
His only start in six subsequent outings was against Wolves at the Amex on New Year's Day, when he was substituted midway through the second half.
It has otherwise been a diet of second half substitute appearances as Hughton tries to nurse Zamora through the rest of the promotion challenge.
Hughton told The Argus: "At this moment Bobby's fine. It has been one we've had to manage but we knew that.
"It happens in the game that you get the occasional players you have to treat a little bit different because of their circumstances, whether that is age or injury.
"Andrew Crofts has come back in fully fit and has been fully fit for a while now but we have to make sure his training schedule is right for him, so it's not unusual to have players you have to be a little bit more mindful of.
"Bobby falls into that category but we knew that when he came (back) here.
"We have to work very hard here with the sports science department, making sure he gets the right loads.
"It is also that balancing act of making sure he does the correct type of training but also manages to maintain a level and that he can be effective for us."
Zamora could have overtaken Ward at Rotherham on Tuesday after replacing a subdued James Wilson but planted a header wide from Bruno's cross.
It is a case of when, rather than if, he rises to fifth by himself on the all-time scoring list - behind Tommy Cook, Albert Mundy, Bert Stephens and Kit Napier - by bagging his 82nd League goal for Albion.
New signing Anthony Knockaert will have a key role to play at Blackburn if Albion are to end a goal famine spanning 9hrs 35mins since QPR keeper Robert Green made a mess of former loan signing Rajiv van La Parra's slightly deflected effort from long range in the wasteful 2-2 draw at Loftus Road in mid-December.
The diminutive French right-winger, bought from Standard Liege via Leicester, offered attacking spark in patches on his debut at Rotherham.
Bruno said: "His performance was good. He has a big personality and that is important. He knows the league and is a hard worker. He has adapted very quickly to the team and that is good for him and us."
Rovers could be spurred on to halt Knockaert. Tommy Spurr has earned praise from boss Paul Lambert for his performance at left-back in Tuesday's 1-1 home draw against QPR, when he was preferred to Markus Olsson.
Lambert said: "I thought Tommy was excellent. I had to see Tommy play and what you see is what you get.
"He's exactly the same in training, up and down. He put some terrific balls into the box and I thought he thoroughly deserved his man-of-the-match. So it gives me that little bit of a problem of having two good left-backs."
Original article