No substitute for experience, or too old to go up?
Chris Hughton, 57 now, 56 when he took charge, is comfortably the oldest manager ever appointed by Albion.
He has a squad packed with Championship and Premier League nous for the promotion push.
A squad which has just become even more mature with the addition of Steve Sidwell.
The central midfielder, back for a second spell at the club on loan from Stoke, is the tenth player aged 30 or over set to play a significant part in the rest of the season.
They have made more than 2,000 appearances between them in the top two tiers of English football.
Invaluable know-how when the tension mounts, or ageing legs which will be found out by the end of a gruelling campaign?
The evidence so far, two-thirds of the way through the season with Albion fourth in the table and right in the mix for promotion, suggests Hughton has got the age balance just about right.
The blend is key. Between Bruno, Gordon Greer and Bobby Zamora at one end of the scale, James Wilson, Connor Goldson, Lewis Dunk and Anthony Knockaert at the other - with Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal and several others somewhere in-between.
Age is just a number really. Every case is different.
Take the three oldest members of the squad, 35-year-olds Bruno, Greer and Zamora.
Bruno is the only outfield player who has been involved in every league game.
Long-serving skipper Greer is finally showing signs of injury wear and tear. The defence, nevertheless, still always feels that bit more secure with rather than without him.
Zamora, who ran the length of the pitch to volley Albion ahead against Huddersfield at the Amex on Saturday, is being nursed through the campaign, sometimes starting, often on the bench, dipping in and out of training.
"It's just the way I am," he said. "I've got a couple of niggles and if I train I might not be fit for the weekend, so what the point?
"I do bits and pieces in the pool and what ever it is the physios need me to do. It is working okay at the moment."
It certainly is. Zamora's strike against Huddersfield means he is now the Seagulls' top scorer with seven goals in seven starts and 15 substitute appearances in the league.
What of Zamora's great mate Sidwell, 33, signed as engine room support and competition for the pivotal, overworked pairing of Stephens and Kayal?
He said: "I've not really had to curb the way I play, because I'm naturally fit. So, from when I was a youngster and being box-to-box and getting up and down, doing the nitty-gritty in my own box but chipping in with goals at the other end, I can still do that now, no doubt.
"Obviously, you might have to pick and choose the times that you can do it but it certainly won't hinder me.
"It's just more the experience if anything that's changed me, managing games and not being naive, things like that.
"I'm not quite a veteran yet but an experienced pro. That is something you can pass down to people in the dressing room younger than you and galvanise a team to churn out results in this league, because that's what you need."
Albion have a healthy age mix in all three departments of the pitch. At the back, Bruno, Greer, David Stockdale, Liam Ridgewell, Inigo Calderon and Uwe Huenemeier are complemented by Lewis Dunk, Connor Goldson and Gaetan Bong.
In central midfield, Sidwell and Andrew Crofts will be vying with the mid-age Stephens and Kayal.
Liam Rosenior, another of the Thirtysomethings, will offer energy and vitality in midfield or defence once he recovers from injury.
Albion's two temporary signings in the January transfer window, Sidwell and Ridgewell (31), are age-balanced by the permanent arrivals of Knockaert and Richie Towell (both 24).
On-loan Wilson, Knockaert, Kazenga LuaLua, Sam Baldock and Jamie Murphy add zest and pace to the more functional attacking options provided by Zamora and Tomer Hemed.
Albion remain intent on signing another striker to increase their firepower before the window shuts on Monday evening.
Unfortunately, versatile 21-year-old Solly March will not be seen again until next season due to his knee injury.
The absence of March hints at a longer term issue for the club. They need more of his ilk pushing for a breakthrough from the under-21s. Only James Tilley, at just 17, falls into that category at the moment.
This will become more important next season, when there will no longer be emergency loan windows to replenish the squad outside the two permanent transfer windows.
Which division Hughton is guiding his troops in by then is in the balance but, helped by the old guard, they have given themselves a fighting chance.
Dad's Army? Who do you think you are kidding Middlesbrough and the rest if you think Albion are done.
The Age Game
Bobby Zamora (striker): 35, 325 matches
Gordon Greer (defender): 35, 177 matches
Bruno (defender): 35, 126 matches
Inigo Calderon (defender): 34, 150 matches
Steve Sidwell (midfielder): 33, 318 matches
Liam Rosenior (defender/midfielder): 31, 322 matches
Liam Ridgewell (defender): 31, 310 matches
Andrew Crofts (midfielder): 31, 163 matches
David Stockdale (goalkeeper): 30, 172 matches
Uwe Huenemeier (defender): 30, 15 matches
* Premier League + Championship appearances only
Others: James Wilson 20, Solly March 21, Elvis Manu 22, Connor Goldson 23, Rohan Ince 23, Lewis Dunk 24, Anthony Knockaert 24, Richie Towell 24, Kazenga LuaLua 25, Dale Stephens 26, Sam Baldock 26, Jamie Murphy 26, Gaetan Bong 27, Beram Kayal 27, Tomer Hemed 28.
Original article
Chris Hughton, 57 now, 56 when he took charge, is comfortably the oldest manager ever appointed by Albion.
He has a squad packed with Championship and Premier League nous for the promotion push.
A squad which has just become even more mature with the addition of Steve Sidwell.
The central midfielder, back for a second spell at the club on loan from Stoke, is the tenth player aged 30 or over set to play a significant part in the rest of the season.
They have made more than 2,000 appearances between them in the top two tiers of English football.
Invaluable know-how when the tension mounts, or ageing legs which will be found out by the end of a gruelling campaign?
The evidence so far, two-thirds of the way through the season with Albion fourth in the table and right in the mix for promotion, suggests Hughton has got the age balance just about right.
The blend is key. Between Bruno, Gordon Greer and Bobby Zamora at one end of the scale, James Wilson, Connor Goldson, Lewis Dunk and Anthony Knockaert at the other - with Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal and several others somewhere in-between.
Age is just a number really. Every case is different.
Take the three oldest members of the squad, 35-year-olds Bruno, Greer and Zamora.
Bruno is the only outfield player who has been involved in every league game.
Long-serving skipper Greer is finally showing signs of injury wear and tear. The defence, nevertheless, still always feels that bit more secure with rather than without him.
Zamora, who ran the length of the pitch to volley Albion ahead against Huddersfield at the Amex on Saturday, is being nursed through the campaign, sometimes starting, often on the bench, dipping in and out of training.
"It's just the way I am," he said. "I've got a couple of niggles and if I train I might not be fit for the weekend, so what the point?
"I do bits and pieces in the pool and what ever it is the physios need me to do. It is working okay at the moment."
It certainly is. Zamora's strike against Huddersfield means he is now the Seagulls' top scorer with seven goals in seven starts and 15 substitute appearances in the league.
What of Zamora's great mate Sidwell, 33, signed as engine room support and competition for the pivotal, overworked pairing of Stephens and Kayal?
He said: "I've not really had to curb the way I play, because I'm naturally fit. So, from when I was a youngster and being box-to-box and getting up and down, doing the nitty-gritty in my own box but chipping in with goals at the other end, I can still do that now, no doubt.
"Obviously, you might have to pick and choose the times that you can do it but it certainly won't hinder me.
"It's just more the experience if anything that's changed me, managing games and not being naive, things like that.
"I'm not quite a veteran yet but an experienced pro. That is something you can pass down to people in the dressing room younger than you and galvanise a team to churn out results in this league, because that's what you need."
Albion have a healthy age mix in all three departments of the pitch. At the back, Bruno, Greer, David Stockdale, Liam Ridgewell, Inigo Calderon and Uwe Huenemeier are complemented by Lewis Dunk, Connor Goldson and Gaetan Bong.
In central midfield, Sidwell and Andrew Crofts will be vying with the mid-age Stephens and Kayal.
Liam Rosenior, another of the Thirtysomethings, will offer energy and vitality in midfield or defence once he recovers from injury.
Albion's two temporary signings in the January transfer window, Sidwell and Ridgewell (31), are age-balanced by the permanent arrivals of Knockaert and Richie Towell (both 24).
On-loan Wilson, Knockaert, Kazenga LuaLua, Sam Baldock and Jamie Murphy add zest and pace to the more functional attacking options provided by Zamora and Tomer Hemed.
Albion remain intent on signing another striker to increase their firepower before the window shuts on Monday evening.
Unfortunately, versatile 21-year-old Solly March will not be seen again until next season due to his knee injury.
The absence of March hints at a longer term issue for the club. They need more of his ilk pushing for a breakthrough from the under-21s. Only James Tilley, at just 17, falls into that category at the moment.
This will become more important next season, when there will no longer be emergency loan windows to replenish the squad outside the two permanent transfer windows.
Which division Hughton is guiding his troops in by then is in the balance but, helped by the old guard, they have given themselves a fighting chance.
Dad's Army? Who do you think you are kidding Middlesbrough and the rest if you think Albion are done.
The Age Game
Bobby Zamora (striker): 35, 325 matches
Gordon Greer (defender): 35, 177 matches
Bruno (defender): 35, 126 matches
Inigo Calderon (defender): 34, 150 matches
Steve Sidwell (midfielder): 33, 318 matches
Liam Rosenior (defender/midfielder): 31, 322 matches
Liam Ridgewell (defender): 31, 310 matches
Andrew Crofts (midfielder): 31, 163 matches
David Stockdale (goalkeeper): 30, 172 matches
Uwe Huenemeier (defender): 30, 15 matches
* Premier League + Championship appearances only
Others: James Wilson 20, Solly March 21, Elvis Manu 22, Connor Goldson 23, Rohan Ince 23, Lewis Dunk 24, Anthony Knockaert 24, Richie Towell 24, Kazenga LuaLua 25, Dale Stephens 26, Sam Baldock 26, Jamie Murphy 26, Gaetan Bong 27, Beram Kayal 27, Tomer Hemed 28.
Original article