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despite being absolutely dead in the second half, this was a really entertaining match by virtue of the the ALBION RADIO audio commentary through the ALBION PLAYER service provided by the baggies' website. it really reaffirmed for me the kind of sense of humour one needs to be an albion supporter. one or two of the text messages that were read online were priceless for their wit and brevity; and when the match was bogged down and at its absolute lowest point, a like attitude in the commentators rose to the occasion.
as the end of the regular 90 minutes drew to a close, ending a truly listless 40 minutes of football and with the prospect of extra-time looming, one of them quipped:
"well, if you're out there listening in on the albion radio just make a cup of tea, settle back and be thankful that you're not actually here."
great stuff! a real lesson on how to look at football and not let it drive you crazy!!! it was a really stark contrast to the tension and the ill feeling generated in the supporters clubs of big four teams, where the experience is decidedly much more about the ritual of victory and any kind of loss - and even some draws - are considered as nothing short of tragedy.
simon cox started the match, and for most of the game he was of little effect. but not for lack of trying; he just couldn't do anything right! after a match of having the ball tangled in his feet, not able to control or pass effectively, and unable to get on the end of anything, a text message came in from a listener during extra-time, whose name i recognized from his posts on the BBC 606:
"simon cox to either score the winning goal, or miss his shot in the penalty shoot-out," was his message.
not only is that quick witted and ironic, but in the end, more than somewhat prophetic as the struggling new-comer - making one of his first real starts, scored the winning goal in the 115th minute! watching this on TV would have been difficult, in this case the "hot" medium wins out with its necessity to create involvement. in a "cool" medium, this match would have been less enjoyable, i imagine.
as for the game itself, with the first team sitting this one out or on the subs bench, the baggies' weaknesses were on full display throughout. i don't know how many times i've said it - and a fundamental lack of skill in the back four aside - the albion don't know what to do when they've got a lead! i thought they had things sorted out in the ipswich game, but only the first goal was defended without response from the millers for any reasonable length of time. when the baggies went 2-1 up they couldn't hang on to the lead for more than a couple of minutes. likewise, rotherham took the lead briefly in extra-time but their ability to hang on to an advantage was no better than the albion's. craig beattie leveled the score for the third time with his second goal of the match after only about 3 minutes. in the end, it was only 7 or 8 minutes - including stoppage-time - worth of defending a 4-3 lead gained on simon cox' late winner, that saw west brom through to the third round.
with the news the next day that craig beattie - after his 2 goal performance in the league cup - is surprisingly being sold to swansea city, we can assume that di matteo believes he has enough strikers. what the baggies need now is someone else in the backline as good as jonas olsson and shelton martis. i don't know what's happened to meite; he started off well last year, but his confidence has just gone. his play has become nervous and tentative. he made two dreadful mis-kicks in this match that saw the ball scuffed uncomfortably away resulting in 2 corner kicks, when the most he should have been giving up was perhaps a couple of throw-ins.
i've heard plenty of people get down on leon barnett, but i think he's shown lately that his play is relative as to who he is paired with in central defense. i think when we've seen him more recently - and playing alongside olsson or martis - turning in some pretty solid performances. he has been quick to clear, he's made good decisions at the back; and on one occasion, at least, his composure and vision set up an effective enough counter-attack to produce a well worked goal. i have thought him a really improved player this year both in confidence and performance; but he obviously needs to be in better company at the back than is sometimes available. the team needs another central back desperately, besides the two regular starters.
the other thing that they've got to get over is knowing what to do when you've got the lead. even though the results have been good so far, it could have been better, and i can't remember one game where a baggies' goal hasn't been proceeded by several minutes of aimlessness, that invariably sees the albion goal come under attack. it even happened against ipswich; after the first goal they just turned off for a few minutes. personally, i just think that they need reminding as individuals that this is west bromwich albion and you need to keep the ball and keep going forward - that's your game!!!
as albion legend john wile once said:
"we just never gave the ball away... we would pass... if you can't go forward, go sideways; if you can't go forward, go sideways again - just don't give the ball away!"
it is something that albion teams have had to keep reminding themselves since the late 1950s and the days of ronnie allen and vic buckingham, when the albion first committed to the idea of attacking, flowing, passing, beautiful football. after all, you can't score if you haven't got the ball. that's not to say that there haven't been good defensive albion teams at various times over the years. in the early 1990's - and as a lower league team - the baggies had a mean defense that racked up a lot of clean-sheets over the course of a couple of seasons; but you still had to have bob taylor and the guys up front putting in the goals to make it work... to make it albion style football!!!
i hope the new gaffer will remember this and strenuously pass the message along.
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