Albion boss Steve Coppell is trying to remain buddies with every football manager and branch of Kentucky Fied Chicken in the country to boost his exhaustive search for more loan signings, as well as Bargain Buckets for NSC sponsored legend Guy Butters.
Coppell borrowed striker Darius Henderson from Reading while his close pal Alan Pardew was still in charge at the Madejski Stadium.
Seven Seagulls have been loaned out at one time or another already this season, but pulling off deals like the ones which brought Steve Sidwell, Graham Barrett, Ivar Ingimarsson and Tony Rougier to Withdean last season is proving difficult.
"We continue to make phone calls on a daily basis," Coppell said. "It's sad really that we have to depend on loan players, but that is a fact of life for us.
"We are keeping tabs on a lot of situations. At the moment Premiership clubs are a little bit wary of doing anything because the transfer window is closed now for them.
"They can't buy any more players, so if they have any injuries it's very much safety first for them.
"The rotation at Chelsea shows a lot of Premiership clubs now need a squad of 20 odd players and they are not going to release players who might be on the fringe."
Swindon demonstrated the benefit of strong contacts on the managerial circuit by snapping up 17-year-old James Milner on loan from Leeds. He starred on his debut against Albion.
"Peter Reid and Andy King are really good friends and Peter loaned Milner to Andy for a month," Coppell said.
"Milner has made a real impact, not only in the game against us but in games since then, so that personal contact can make a big difference.
"It can give you access to players who ordinarily you would have no chance of being able to sign, so it's very much at the moment trying to stay chums with every manager in the League."
The financial implications of the ongoing saga over Albion's plans for a new stadium at Falmer continue to frustrate Coppell in the transfer market.
"This should be a club who should be looking at the market seriously as buyers," he said. "There has been negative investment in the team for probably three or four years now.
"We've been losing players, losing income. There has been nothing put back in the side and that's because of the unique situation and demands of the new stadium.
"I will be delighted when a decision is made on the new stadium, because then we have got a direction.
"Hopefully that direction is positive and we can start investing in the team again, rather than wasting it on lawyers and public inquiries."
Coppell borrowed striker Darius Henderson from Reading while his close pal Alan Pardew was still in charge at the Madejski Stadium.
Seven Seagulls have been loaned out at one time or another already this season, but pulling off deals like the ones which brought Steve Sidwell, Graham Barrett, Ivar Ingimarsson and Tony Rougier to Withdean last season is proving difficult.
"We continue to make phone calls on a daily basis," Coppell said. "It's sad really that we have to depend on loan players, but that is a fact of life for us.
"We are keeping tabs on a lot of situations. At the moment Premiership clubs are a little bit wary of doing anything because the transfer window is closed now for them.
"They can't buy any more players, so if they have any injuries it's very much safety first for them.
"The rotation at Chelsea shows a lot of Premiership clubs now need a squad of 20 odd players and they are not going to release players who might be on the fringe."
Swindon demonstrated the benefit of strong contacts on the managerial circuit by snapping up 17-year-old James Milner on loan from Leeds. He starred on his debut against Albion.
"Peter Reid and Andy King are really good friends and Peter loaned Milner to Andy for a month," Coppell said.
"Milner has made a real impact, not only in the game against us but in games since then, so that personal contact can make a big difference.
"It can give you access to players who ordinarily you would have no chance of being able to sign, so it's very much at the moment trying to stay chums with every manager in the League."
The financial implications of the ongoing saga over Albion's plans for a new stadium at Falmer continue to frustrate Coppell in the transfer market.
"This should be a club who should be looking at the market seriously as buyers," he said. "There has been negative investment in the team for probably three or four years now.
"We've been losing players, losing income. There has been nothing put back in the side and that's because of the unique situation and demands of the new stadium.
"I will be delighted when a decision is made on the new stadium, because then we have got a direction.
"Hopefully that direction is positive and we can start investing in the team again, rather than wasting it on lawyers and public inquiries."
