Who are These Baggies and What Do They Want?

I Don't Care About the Premier League

i don't know what to say... maybe i'm expecting too much; but today's loss just left me cold. i guess, truthfully, if i have to come on line here to talk about the "positives", and our desperate need for a striker, i'm only doing it to make myself feel better about what has been a really unhappy season from which we all expected so much at the outset.

so now it's time to face reality, and accept that as like as not, we are going to be in a relegation battle. even if things remain consistent and it ends up being tight at the bottom - we have a poor defensive record with a poor goals against ratio - which would count heavily against us in the event of being drawn on points with anyone. the only way we'll avoid the drop is to win every draw left against bottom-half/mid-table opposition, and then a few upsets on top of that. i'm still going to remain confident (maybe i'll even order another shirt - that always cheers me up), and keep faith in the current squad, but i am in need of reassessment.

i think it's time to define what we are actually dealing with here. the character of the team was certainly changed by the departure of kevin phillips. more than any single one thing that happened to the baggies between seasons, i think this move was pivotal in a way that nobody could have ever imagined. we all know what he gave the team in terms of cold, hard goals; but he improved all the strikers around him by instilling a kind of confidence that always produces results. even when he was just sitting on the bench, both bednar and miller were able to play relaxed, attacking football, knowing that they had phillips to come on when they weren't having a good day - as well as vice versa. in fact, i seem to remember a couple of times last year where they were actually playing 3 strikers(?). this is old news however... not worth dwelling on - but still worth pointing out.

west bromwich albion have found themselves a team transformed from a high-scoring, all out attacking, pass and control championship league side; to something that is a much younger, in need of development, injury-ridden, under-achieving, premier-league rebuilding project - that will need a "one step back to take two forward" resignation to the facts before we can get anywhere. the contrast is stark; and with only the future, injury returns and the development of potentials to look forward to - there may be reasons to remain optimistic about the future, but the present is a real drag.

as a few of you who've read my posts before know, i live in canada and follow the baggies on TV, internet radio, BBC live text scores and any other way that i possibly can! so for me, it's important that the baggies stay up in the premiership, because that way, i can see every game - if not live, then at least in repeat over the course of the next few days. in the championship, i get to see them 3, maybe 4, times a year; and listen to them once or twice on BBC internet radio...

otherwise, i could care less about the premier league, and would rather watch a winning championship side over the misery and desperation of a relegation bound premiership team. i know it must sound like sour grapes, but if the premier league was the only measure of english football (as it often is seen from an overseas perspective) then nobody would care about anything but manchester united and liverpool (as often happens overseas). those of you who've grown up with the albion, can go to matches at the hawthorns, or, at least, can listen to the matches on the radio - are really lucky to be able to be part of such great a legacy as that of west bromwich albion. i'm sure there were many satisfying seasons where the baggies won more than they lost, and everyone felt rewarded for their support in spite of the fact that they spent 16 years straight outside of the 1st division/premier league. this is the time i refer to as having "lost" west bromwich albion. when they were originally relegated in 86, i did not see the team play again until 2001 due to lack of media broadcasts of the lower divisions in north america. this unfortunate situation persists until this day.

Aston Villa 2-1 WBA

i sort of figured we might lose to villa today - they have a real momentum even when not playing well. but the baggies - as they often do, came out looking the better footballing side of the two, and quickly dispelled any negative feeling - until they conceded a goal. the first villa goal came on the tail of some really good defending, with the ball being cleared off the line twice - but with no real committed clearance of the ball, the goal was an inevitability. the second goal was just plain stupid, and i feel real sorry for scott carson - because he was credited with an own goal that slipped through and changed direction under his arm. he was hard done by, i felt, as agbonlahore had no real angle to score from, and there were two defenders who backed right off, allowing a shot that should have been shut down. carson had it covered and made the save, but there was enough pace on the shot, and from close enough range that it squibbed out from underneath his arm as he was moving to get his whole body down and in front of the shot. the responsibility for this goal lies soundly with the two defenders who didn't close the villa striker down. it was dreadful defensive play. i have changed my mind considerably about scott carson recently, and am grateful that we have good goalie who's learning his craft in leaps and bounds. the defenders now have to rise to the occasion and give him decent full-time protection. carson's clumsy mistakes are always somebody else hanging him out to dry (for example, john terry in the england match). the only really bad mistake that i've seen that he was 100 per cent responsible for, was the bosingwa goal in the chelsea game. it was the first goal of the game and you're never gonna' get nothing chasing a game against the likes of chelsea.

on the other hand, the baggies played their usual game, which is good control of the midfield, useful and attractive passing, and gorgeous buildups that never get around to the shot. in fact, i think this is a tendency of the team, that when they do penetrate the opposing defense and work the ball into dangerous positions inside the box, they wait too long looking for the shot, almost like an old south american style team that expects to walk the ball into the net. the talk all year long - and especially since the ishmael miller injury - was about the lack of strikers. but given the situation, i think that it's about time that they put this out of their minds and start to look to the mid-fielders as the source of goals. morrisons goal today, illustrated this perfectly. this is the kind of shooting opportunity they should be taking more often, as well as pushing the mid-fielders further forward in attack. jonathan greening's (who happens to be my favorite player) current role in the middle of the park, pushing around short passes designed to retain possession is a role that any number of the current mid-fielders could perform. jonno should be busting a gut to push forward into the box with his mind set to attack, and working to set up shots for the forwards and find opportunities to take shots at goal himself. although i think as person, he probably makes a good captain, other than the fact that he seems to think of it as a playing position rather than bureaucratic function; and might actually be a distraction for him. he should be scoring 10 more goals a year than he does. that's how much i believe in his talents, and wish he would start using them. i had no problem with the team selection today; other than i think that tony mowbray should be starting cech, but not as a full-back. i think cech looks most natural in the mid-field, and i have a suspicion that he might be able to supply some of the quality that the team is lacking in terms of attack. evidenced in that he had a hand in both goals in the tottenham match.

the only way that this particular baggies squad will start to see some success is if the mid-fielders start scoring regularly. with morrison, greening, cech, brunt, and koren, between them, responsible for producing 1 goal a game. bednar needs to start - with moore or simpson in regular rotation, maybe even see how he starts paired with beattie. the permutations up front are not really important as long as TM can find something that works and can produce (as with the aforementioned midfield attack) at least one goal every game.

WBA 1-1 Peterborough United

if it were my choice, i would throw more into the FA cup than the team has, as illustrated by the 1-1 draw with peterborough. the baggies are famous for winning FA cups, and are still one of the top FA cup teams and rank third in all-time semi-final appearances. i read a post that proposed that we abandon the FA cup competition by sending out the reserve squad and lose intentionally, so as to concentrate on the premiership. this is a point which really defines west bromwich albion for me... what kind of club is it? what is its character? the albion has always been a successful FA cup team, first and foremost - it is the basis of our fame. if we had gotten into the final last year against cardiff, we would have won that as well as the championship. it may just be that the baggies are an anachronism and it may take them a long time to figure out a way to adapt the organization to the premier league, or at least find its relationship to the premier league. remember, the last time that the baggies were at the top of the old first division and making european cup appearances, the game was played by footballers. it is now played by athletes and the pace of the game is now twice what it used to be. i admire that west brom has remained a club that puts football first - even though we live in an age when that may not be a particular advantage.

i didn't get to see this game - or even listen to it on the online BBC radio stream (available to UK users only); but i did follow it on the BBC live text report - where the important action of the game is reported and updates every 2 minutes. coupled with the fact that i read the statistics and, on paper, everything about the game was ridiculously one-sided. west brom had twice the possession, three times the shots on goal, and three times as many corner kicks; yet, by all accounts from people who posted on the BBC 606 forum - especially those who were there, as well as the news reports - west brom played terribly and were menaced by the peterborough striker all night. they had been playing really well in the league the previous couple of weeks, but not in this one, whatever the numbers said.

it would be a shame if the baggies turned their backs on the very competition that is the basis of their fame and success. maybe therein lies the problem. when the thing for which you became famous ceases to be or is diminished in stature - so is whatever success or prestige that thus you had derived from it. to what extent does that diminish your history? how well does this answer who you are as a historical collective? west bromwich albion should always intend to win the FA cup, because the less they do, in a funny way, the less they will be west bromwich albion. while a perspective may change, and time marches on, at least you know who you are and from where you came. i look forward to the day that west brom can consolidate its place in the premier league and fight for the opportunity to play in europe again. but the FA cup is the only thing that we have even the most remote chance of winning, and should be as committed to winning it as anything else we do. i know that's not in step with the reality of the modern world, but then again maybe so is living abroad and trying to remain a west bromwich albion supporter.

i probably won't get to see it, but when the albion make this tuesday's trip to london road - i will be following live... SOMEHOW... just busting for the albion to win 3-0!!!