Kevin Phillips

what a disappointment! it's been a hard year, and the whole thing was actually blown the moment they let kevin phillips leave. it's always been my opinion that both parties made the wrong decision in this affair: phillips should have been able to see the opportunities that a season in the premier league would have brought him - not just in terms of the immediate prestige of premier league football - but also, for the sake of his own legacy as a player. the albion, on the other hand, should have realized that "exception" deserves to be extended to "the exceptional". perhaps there is a policy at the albion about not giving 2 year contracts to 35 year old players - but phillips importance to the club in winning promotion - and what chances he might have given them in terms of premier league survival - deserved consideration on a different level altogether. because, replacing him would have been impossible (how many available 35 year old top-flight strikers are there playing in england?) or prohibitively expensive; as would have been the case with a younger man of similar talent.

i had a bad feeling throughout the whole negotiation period - as kevin held out for his 2 year guarantee, and the club stuck to their guns (offering a single year contract with a conditional 2nd year ensured if he stayed healthy) hoping that the lure of premier league football - and kevin's well-known reluctance to move his family from the birmingham/black country area - would be enough to keep him at the club. as the season drew nearer - and all major considerations known - i woke up one morning realizing that he would sign with the blues. two days later, he did. while i was pleased at my own powers of precognition, i was upset and concerned for the team that kevin phillips would not be a baggie in the premier league.

the albion then signed gianni zuiverloon, a right winger/fullback, as the most expensive defensive signing ever by a west bromwich albion team. as i read this on the BBC website, i was hit by a feeling of impending top-flight mediocrity. we needed to replace kevin phillips and the news of signing a potential superstar fullback, while definitely a positive move going into the premiership - coupled with the acquisition of england's number 2 goalie, scott carson, and a tough central defender in the likes of jonas olsson - all being welcome news; but none of it addressed the concerns that i was beginning to develop about the lack of a senior striker.

of course, tony mowbray still had his two junior strikers, in ishmael miller and roman bednar, and the highly skillful midfield of greening, koren, morrison, and brunt. the season started off well enough. i mean, one can't complain a 1-0 away loss to arsenal, followed by a 2-1 home loss to everton. but when i saw that in their third match of the season, they were knocked out of the league cup in extra time, 3-1 by hartlepool united, i knew that something was amiss.

a desperately dull 0-0 with bolton raised little concern one way or the other. but a solid and exciting 3-2 home win against west ham, and a narrow 2-1 loss to the villa; followed by the only back to back wins all seasons: two 1-0 victories against middlesborough and fulham, had me thinking that the season had finally begun, and the albion were on their way to a mid-table finish and certain survival in the premier league. that is when the weaknesses started to show. the albion were involved a couple of drubbings - at the hands of manchester united and hull; but for the most part, the team was competitive and playing well, except that it was getting harder by the week to score and harder to keep from being scored against. besides the 3-0 and 4-0 drubbings at the hands of the top form teams, the albion were involved in a series of 1 goal losses and draws in which they were very often giving up losing and equalizing goals late on in the match; instead of what kevin phillips would've done, which would have been to score late winners and equalizers.

Read BBC article here