Crystal Palace 1-1 WBA

live text replay



as i have said in a previous post (and maybe even more than once): this is the best albion team in years. having already secured promotion, they seem intent on ending the season by making an emphatic claim as to their quality. this was clearly reflected not only in the swaggering, easy win over middlesbrough 8 days ago; but also - and more importantly, in the team selection since their win at doncaster assured them automatic promotion and perhaps a run for the title. however, newcastle won the division a few days later and made the baggies' second place finish in the table a foregone conclusion. but the albion, it seems, have no intention of letting up.

to evidence their commitment to keep their unbeaten streak going, roberto di matteo has stuck with his current preferred personnel: a back four of ried, tamas, olsson and cech; his five man mid-field comprising koren, cox, dorrans, mulumbu and brunt. roman bednar has been the preferred single striker, and only the absence of ishmael miller on the bench was a conspicuous non-selection.

to be fair, the only thing that prevented the albion from winning this one was julian speroni, the palace keeper. it could have been 4 or 5 had the goalie not turned in a really brilliant performance. i mean, there was a moment where he literally willed the ball over the cross-bar from point-blank range off the end of robert koren's boot.

while the baggies were slow to start, by the mid-point of the second-half they were playing very clever control football, and attacking the palace goal at will. speroni's continuous heroics were really all that kept the londoners level, and ultimately with a real chance at victory. deep into injury-time, gabriel tamas cleared a shot off the albion goal-line which would have seen palace snatch the win.



roman bednar's cleverly worked header coming back off the crossbar came at a time when the albion were having long spells of possession, and showing, in very clinical fashion, how effectively they can attack. but just as in their previous meeting earlier in the season at the hawthorns - and despite a much better performance from the baggies on this occasion - the eagles defense was resolute. only a tightly marked gabriel tamas header squeezed home from a graham dorrans corner-kick was able to break through the palace defending and level the score to provide the final outcome.

their intention is clear and to their credit, the baggies want to wrack up their largest ever points total, and the individuals in the squad are still hungry to add to their season goals tally. above all, i think that they want to go into the premier league with a feeling of being in form. the albion are taking advantage of what are essentially open opportunities to play football and get results for the fun of it. roberto di matteo knows that any further successes and ending the season on a high note will only instill confidence going into a premier league campaign.

while i was lucky enough to get actual live TV coverage of this, i still tuned into the ALBION RADIO commentary to see what dave bowler, the club's publications head and ALBION RADIO colour-man - had to say this week. the question was put to him: what division would you prefer to be competing in, the premier league or championship?

to be fair, the question was designed to provoke a response as to the general state of football in england, such as it is. mr. bowler conceded that one really wants to be in the premier league, and from the point of view of being at the outset of a season, this is especially true. we want to believe in the idea of "living the dream" and that our beloved baggies might be able to compete with the likes of manchester united, chelsea and arsenal. but in the end, and as mr. bowler rightly pointed out - and in reference specifically to this idea:

"the trouble is," the albion publications editor explained, "is that it's exactly that: a dream - instead of something that should be a possibility!!!"

the premiership is a league where there are six or seven teams that are able to play at this level in the right way. the rest of the pack stumble around with varying degrees of success and failure at either qualifying for a secondary european competition or settling in and avoiding relegation. this year in the championship, aside from newcastle and the albion, there wasn't a lot - in terms of talent, quality and organization - between the third place and twenty-third place teams. so the championship is the more exciting division to watch, but is limited in the quality of its football.



the football league, in general, is much more competitive. both swansea and leicester city came up from league 1 last year and have competed successfully for a place in the championship top six all year. only a recent slip in form has seen the swans pretty much out of it, while leicester look to have secured a play-off spot.

"and there are people who talk about this like it's a bad thing?!?!" mr. bowler exclaimed.

his point is that people have lost sight of what english football is supposed to be about! the fact that a team like wimbledon, in the 1980s, worked their way up to the top-tier from conference football fairly rapidly, and in 1988 they finished in the top ten as well as defeating liverpool in the FA Cup final. now that's living a dream!

i'm going to be optimistic about the future for the baggies in the premiership. however, i'm not looking forward to celebrating a series of 15th and 16th place finishes and calling it a big success on an ongoing basis. i can only imagine if that became a year after year, long term proposition - as it does for many teams in the premier league - it would start to get on my nerves. i would eventually welcome the prospect of an entertaining championship campaign as opposed to protracted premier league mediocrity.

and these situations are getting to be more frequent and unsustainable. of the teams relegated from the premiership this year, one is direct result of (or, at least the situation severely aggravated by) a points deduction for entering administration. while a second team is working up a plan to avoid the need to enter into a financial administration in order to clear up a £35 million debt. three or four years of spending premier league money and then being relegated is an increasingly perilous proposition.

luckily, the albion isn't run on the idea that staying in the premier league is worth damaging the club over. i think that's partly why the baggies have yet to successfully establish a relationship with the top-tier since the inception of the premier league.



however, i am very hopeful that things will be different this time. the key to the short-term will depend largely on the current central core of players. it will be in the fact that players like chris brunt, marek cech, robert koren, roman bednar, james morrison, ishmael miller, and even graham dorrans will all want to make a decent showing of this in order to keep the team together. for a player like dorrans, it's a chance to see some real success and establish himself as a premier league player. for others, it may be the best chance that their ever going to get at long-term premier league careers. this team wants to make a go of it and has the basis of personnel to do it with.

when i think of the sides coming down from the premier league, and i look at newcastle and west brom already going up, the premiership is probably going to be a bit stronger and the championship a bit weaker next year than they were this. it may even be a further widening of the gap between "first" and "second" division football in england!?!? all i can say at the moment is that i would rate this particular baggies side as being the best team in years. they will at least be competitive with the likes of wigan, wolves, west ham, bolton, blackburn, stoke etc. - and may go on to find that they are even a bit better than that!

WBA 2-0 Middlesbrough F.C.

live text replay



well, there is very little that could please me more than the baggies still giving it a proper go when it is now all but a forgone conclusion that they will end the season as championship runner-ups; and, more importantly, have already achieved automatic promotion. but for simon cox to add to his season's total and get his goals tally on the year into double figures is something special again.

while the young striker has been at a distinct disadvantage in terms of team selection after the albion committed to 4-5-1 playing formation in the second half of the season, he scored what are arguably some of the club's most important goals this campaign. when the club's other strikers couldn't find any form, the young cox stepped into the starting team and scored 5 goals in as many games; and certainly, the last minute equalizer in the home fixture with QPR was a real turning point when the baggies looked as if they might be on the verge of a really perilous slip in form. however, the single-striker formation is a style that is particularly unsuited to a smaller player like cox, and this was really a bit unfortunate for him. he could have scored twenty and he really deserved a goal today.

once again, and having to listen to the match live through the ALBION RADIO transmission before getting a chance to see the TV broadcast in repeat much later in the evening, dave bowler, in the pre-game show re-iterated many of the points he had made about the state of the premiership and went on to elaborate on the trickle down effect that is accompanying increased television broadcast of football league matches and the recently announced increase in "parachute" payments made to teams relegated from the premiership.

also, as there is only a small percentage of participating teams in the premier league "competition" that are actually able to "compete". for the teams that occupy the bottom half of the table, this means that there are only perhaps 10-15 important matches a year and then 20 or 25 games that amount to nothing more than high-profile "friendlies".

i personally will miss the schedule and extra games of league football. i certainly won't have the opportunity to see 4 or 5 baggies' games in the space of two weeks with a premier league schedule, and i'd sooner visit griffin park or the county ground at swindon as travel to old trafford!



if we finish a premier league campaign in 15th place, it will be considered both a fantastic season and a major success. the problem is - and with this as an expectation, what is there really to look forward to? as one fan pointed out through the text messages, it means that west brom's season in the premiership is pretty much reduced to the black country derby and 36 exhibition games! if we're (un)lucky then the albion might be involved in battling against relegation which would give some meaning and perhaps a measure of excitement to the last few matches of the schedule...

i mean, "the great escape" was fun. but that was only four or five games, and the celebrations on the last day at the end of an otherwise miserable season.

in england - and when i was a boy - we used to feel feel quite superior and scratch our heads at the ridiculous monopoly held by rangers and celtic over the rest of scottish football. this was always taken as a major indicator of the overall weakness of the scottish game and considered a bit of a joke. unfortunately, the same thing has now happened in england with the development of the so-called "big four" and we are no longer in a position to be critical and laugh.

the english premier-league is not the competitive institution that the old first-division was. in 1976, west bromwich albion edged out bolton wanderers on the last day of the season for third place - and the final promotion spot - in the second-division. they then went on - and with pretty much the same squad - finished seventh in the first-division the following year. within two years, and following the acquisition of players like cyrille regis and laurie cunningham, the baggies went on to make a serious challenge for the title, ultimately finishing the 78-79 season coming up a goal short on the runner-up spot, which went to nottingham forest and the title going to liverpool.



a seventh place finish nowadays means qualification for the europa league and is a measure of success that will take a team like west bromwich albion many years, management that transcends genius, and a lot of cash to achieve. it is also about the most we can ever expect given the current structure of top-flight english football.

i'm not a fan of the "living the dream" ideal that the premier league promotes. this does nothing save provoke the supporters of its less prestigious clubs to harbour unreal expectations and creates animosity towards the club's management and directors. i know, for example, that jeremy peace always comes under, what can be, some pretty nasty supporter attacks for his good sense, business acumen and financial prudence when the baggies are involved in a premiership campaign.

i'm sure he looks forward to the day to day affairs of running the club in the premiership as much as he does getting a quick, unexpected and violent kick in the teeth.

what i think we all might be overlooking about next year's premiership, is that this is a much better baggies team than has ever gone into the premier league before. the trick to survival will lie in the ability of the management team to use its resources and adjust to what waging a "successful" campaign might mean and how it might be possible.



while they did well enough in all regards to win a great number of games in the championship this year, and with the talent that they have going forward, there won't be a problem in that regard. but, they shipped more than a few goals this year where the defending - while being adequate in the championship - just wouldn't cut it at top-level. i think, however, that with a change in tactics, the addition of one good centre-half, and the development of a more sophisticated defensive game they would do well enough to survive.

which brings me back to the quality of the albion attack. i thought, after seeing the TV repeat, that both simon cox' and roman bednar's goals (and certainly a lot of albion goals that i've seen this year) would make it in any league. the touch that simon cox showed on the first goal would've beaten a premier league defender of the first order just as it did gary o'neil and jonathan grounds.

roman bednar has already shown that he can score in the premier league, he just needs to improve on his last top-flight season. he was as good yesterday as i've seen him, and his lay-off from gabriel tamas long ball that set up the simon cox goal was brilliant. chesting the ball into the youngster's path was simple, effective centre-forward play at its best.

Notes on a Winning Streak (part 4)

WBA 1-0 Coventry City

live text replay


while i was a little sad that this would be my last trip to see live football in england this year, i was completely and utterly unconcerned about the result of this one. i knew the baggies were going to win. i had seen west bromwich albion at home four times and once away since i came over on my first trip in september, and had never seen them held to a draw or beaten. i was secure in the knowledge that providence would play me no trick and i would leave the country boasting about my great fortune at having seen west brom victorious on every occasion at which i had attended.

as night games are just an hour or two beyond being able to get back to me mum's place in chilcompton - and after having mistakenly booked late on my last trip and ended up staying at the premier inn in dudley, i had the foresight to book a room at the holiday inn just behind new street station well in advance, and in order that i could make a quick getaway in the morning.

i had less than 48 hours left in the country and my heart was heavy with an inevitable feeling of let-down. this had been a special year and something i had been waiting for all my life - and in more ways than one. this was a season of english football, such as it is, that i will never forget.

i had seen coventry city on TV in their away match to leicester city on sunday. while i had been cheering their heroic comeback victory over the foxes, i certainly did not want them coming to the hawthorns in form, on a high and frustrating the baggies the way they had in the reverse fixture back in october which had ended in a disappointing goalless draw.



i checked in to the hotel at around 3.00 PM. i don't know where the time went, but i puttered around online for a while, prepared and uploaded my last two match reports before it was time to put on the colours and venture out accross the city centre for snow hill station and the short trip to the hawthorns with which i was becoming more and more familiar.

"hawthorns. return, please."

"£1.80."

"which platform is the next one leaving from?"

it was a drizzly night in the west-midlands, and as i came down halford's lane, repeating once again another step of the ritual that was now becoming routine, i rifled through the coins in my pocket readying my £3 change for the programme vendor at the smethwick gate. i entered the ground, had one last wistful look around the club-shop, a last pre-match cigarette outside the east stand and headed inside.

as i got to my seat, i realized that the two older gentlemen who had been sitting next to me for the last two home matches were not there. nor was the fellow who had been sitting directly to my left. when the attendance was announced at 20,000 some-odd, i realized that significantly less people attend week-night matches than the saturday afternoon games.

a peculiar waste of season's tickets, i thought at first.

but then what horrors, miseries, disappointments and mediocrity had these obvious veterans had to endure in a lifetime of supporting the albion?

being a dedicated football supporter requires both a physical and emotional stamina that those who are not fans would never suspect.



this was a big improvement on the previous week's performance away to swansea city, and was a game dominated by defensive play, good goalkeeping, set pieces and missed opportunities. scott carson (who i must admit, has never been my favourite) showed, over these last couple of matches, that he is a much improved player from the man who was humiliated and hung out to dry by john terry in his last international appearance for england, and endured the unendurable in what must have been a true nightmare of a season as albion's starting goalie in the premier league.

while he had been shaky, nervous and painfully tentative about coming off his line to clear against swansea city, back at the hawthorns he was controlling his area, making assured clearances and exhibiting his primary talent as an athletic shot-stopper with terrific reaction time. after a good game against preston north end on saturday, this was a well deserved clean-sheet for the baggies' captain.

an early attack down the left-wing by chris brunt produced an acutely angled cross that appeared, for a split-second, as if it were going to dip into the top left-hand corner of the city goal, but only managed to curl away just inches wide and no albion players in the box. the baggies looked again as if they were going to dominate the match through going forward.

the key to this match was the way in which the good defensive midfield of coventry city pretty handily negated the baggies' predominantly attacking midfield; and the difference on the night - and not surprisingly - came from a set play. albion newcomer, steven reid, playing in the right full-back position, scrambled a loose ball into the coventry goal when the city defenders' marking failed badly on a chris brunt corner kick just past the 16 minute mark.



the only really contentious moment of the first half was on robert koren's effort which was bobbled by coventry goalie, keiren westwood, and for all the world looked like it went over the line before he really got a firm grip on it. some good passing also produced a quality opportunity for ishmael miller who, turning on the coventry defenders, shot wide.

in the second period, city were much more effective, especially from set pieces and throw-ins. right to the end the baggies were forced to scramble away some dangerous opportunities created by several coventry city free-kicks.

with somebody behind me constantly moaning that the albion were in trouble and that leon barnett would come off the subs' bench and snatch the equalizer, the coventry finishing just wasn't there, and the albion defenders good positional play forced several key misses allowing the baggies to hang on for an unusual 1-0 victory.



i returned to the hotel sadly resigned to the fact that i would not be back this season. i had, however, the good fortune to have been present for the end of one winning streak and the outset of another. i had never seen the baggies lose or draw - which is something, i'm sure, that few albion supporters anywhere can boast.

i also knew, at this point, that promotion to the premier-league was all but sewn up, and - with the shorter schedule and the lack of night games in the premiership - i wouldn't have the same opportunities to attend the number of live matches that i had had this year. i certainly wouldn't have a block of five games in 2 weeks to schedule my trips to england around!

however, i will renew my club membership and i will be back. but whatever comes to pass for the baggies in next year's premier league, i will never forget this year. there is nothing in my entire life, outside of work, that has turned out so well, not let me down and been as much of a joy as going "up the albion" has this year.

the lord is my shepherd,
i'll not want,
he makes me down to lie,
in pastures green,
he leadeth me,
the quiet waters by.

Doncaster Rovers 2-3 WBA

live text replay


with their ultimate fate on the season completely in their own hands for the second week running, west bromwich albion won a fourth promotion to the premier-league and the right to wage a fifth campaign in england's top-flight next season. this now sees a decade straight - starting with the promotion play-off loss to bolton wanderers in 2001 - in which the baggies have been directly involved in competing for either relegation or promotion.

last week - and prior to the baggies' 1-1 draw with watford - i woke up, as usual, just after 9.00 AM (EST) in order that i should be awake and coherent when the baggies kick-off at around 10.00. i showered, got my coffee and connected to the ALBION RADIO transmission on the club website. i was just in time to catch the regular colour-man (as well as the club's director of publications), dave bowler - and anticipating the baggies imminent return to the top-flight, delivering a lengthy diatribe about the relative pointlessness of competing in the premier league, with its ridiculous financial structure(s), horribly over-paid players, and lack of opportunity for any modest club, such as the albion, to be competitive at top-level anymore.



while making a series of fascinating points, he concluded that - and west bromwich albion aside, for the moment - that the premier league needs a major over-haul. while it has managed to establish itself as the top football competition in the world, it runs the danger of financially, and structurally destroying itself. in a year that saw the first premier league competitor enter financial administration as the direct cost of an FA Cup title and 7th place league finish two years ago - his observations are not only timely but evident.

he went on to point out that alex macliesh is a definite candidate for manager of the year for leading birmingham city to a respectable mid-table finish, illustrating that in the premier-league even genius is very often reduced and limited to nothing more than a kind of relative yet admirable mediocrity.

as a positive tonic to any negative critique of the premier-league - and for anyone who missed it on the midlands' edition of BBC's LATE KICK OFF show of two weeks ago, jeremy peace articulately and with evident intelligence outlined the structure of the club, and explained, in very general terms, what the club's goals might be going into the premier-league:


BBC interview with jeremy peace


this was not a great match, but the baggies score goals and that is what wins them football games. however, i get the impression - and having been to the hawthorns on five different occasions this year (and one away match at swansea) - that this has not been as loved, and possibly not as well respected an albion team as some other sides of the recent past. but then, maybe folklore requires time - and the onset of its psychological aspect, nostalgia - for legend to become manifest? perhaps it's just the nature of humour in the black country character? i don't know...



my visits to the hawthorns and the liberty stadium showed me - and much as i had already surmised - that west brom supporters are among the most loyal, intelligent, knowledgeable and passionate fans in the country. they are also some of the most negative, apprehensive, pessimistic and critical supporters you'll find anywhere. they look back to their various golden eras and revere the names of astle, brown, cunningham, kevan, glidden, richardson, pennington, robson (bryan and bobby), regis, taylor and phillips with a fanatical pride; and although the occasion sometimes few and far between, they know how to celebrate their success's in style. they can also be painfully negative:

"well that was a terrible game of football, wasn't it?"

this might be a typical hawthorns' reaction at the final whistle to one of the best games played in the country that day.

"i think brunt looks like he's just about given up!"

this said about a man who scores every three games and delivered a stunning perfect through-ball for ishmael miller that set up the first goal in the game about which the remark was made.

and nothing makes a west brom supporter more nervous and edgy than the baggies entertaining a one-goal lead.

"i don't like the look of this!" is a quiet and constant utterance heard around the hawthorns when the baggies do have a single-goal lead.



with west brom now unbeaten in 9 games running and automatic promotion to the premier league assured, it's time to put talking comic, black-country misery on hold for a moment and assess the season and speculate about next year.

i actually believe that this is the best west brom side in years. it's the best albion side since i've been following the team, anyway. it's one thing to be a good championship side relying on kevin phillips ability to score 25 goals a season in order to assure success, but this year was a true team effort and the overall quality of the club is at a whole new level altogether.

there is no doubt that chris brunt, robert koren, roman bednar, ishmael miller, scott carson, graham dorrans, abdoulaye meite and perhaps a few others are all better players than the last time that west brom was in the premier league. they have also strengthened the centre-half positions with the addition of gabriel tamas, and have a better defensive foundation than during their last top-flight campaign, as well.



roberto di matteo has proved himself a young, astute, forward-looking, current and up-to-date coach and manager. he inherited a side which, while having intelligently retained a core group of players, saw the new gaffer starting the season at the same disadvantage tony mowbray had ended last campaign with: that is, the long-term injuries to james morrison and ishmael miller; as well as the unresolved suspension of roman bednar which left the baggies playing without either of their top strikers at the outset of the season.

the most notable thing about di matteo, though, and right from the first match, was that he had re-invigorated a number of individual players who had become unhappy or went under-used by tony mowbray. he coaxed a couple of goals - as well as several good games - out of luke moore. robert koren, marek cech, and chris brunt all became integral and important players in the team after each had been linked to moves away from the club. and when the other strikers struggled for scoring form, simon cox came into the first team and scored 5 times in as many matches.

while it was unusual for the albion, di matteo introduced a very successful 4-5-1 playing formation that supplied a very entertaining and successful attack element. it was a very astute adjustment for the gaffer to have made given where the team's all around talent lies.

where tony mowbray had tried the same type of thing with ishmael miller, he abandoned the formation for a standard 4-4-2 with a rotating selection of utility forwards after the young striker was injured and out for the rest of the season. the new gaffer, however, used any striker he had on hand, including luke moore sometimes, in a purely positional role, realizing that the scoring strength he had on the team was - and in a team rich in mid-field talent - going to be as much with the mid-fielders as anywhere.



i think this demonstrated that di matteo seems to know where football and management tactics are going; where tony mowbray was a prisoner of his beliefs and ran the team too much on ideals, form in training, and a commitment to faith in a pure passing game which was sometimes a little one-dimensional and single-minded. this was most clearly illustrated in a league match at home to chelsea last year in which the albion thoroughly controlled the match for the first 20 minutes. with the baggies unable to make anything from their superior possession, however, chelsea scored on their first opportunity to counter and the match ended in a 3 or 4 goal drubbing.

i believe that this albion side will make more out of a full complement of strikers and a good passing game in next year's top-flight competition than it has in the past. what is most desperately needed for them to be a competitive side in the premiership is improved tactics and positioning of the defensive setup. if they can tighten things up, buy at least one more top central defender and a second goalie (in light of dean keily's move into coaching), cut out a significant percentage of mistakes at the back and capitalize on their scoring opportunities, the baggies will find survival in the top-flight at least possible.

Watford 1-1 WBA

live text replay




"that was a terrible game of football, wasn't it?!"

other than chris brunt's late equalizer this was a dead match even as audio commentary, a format which - and due to its constitutional nature as a "hot" medium - can make the most pedestrian match feel exciting. the only thing i can say to the baggies' credit, is that they once again showed themselves to be a team composed of superior individual and top quality players at championship level; and in that respect, they are indeed neither a premier nor championship side, but rather something like the relative level of football that used to be played in the old pre-premier-league second-division.





i'm two weeks behind in my chronicling of the season, as such, so i won't waste too much time on what was a really a pretty poor match. it is interesting to note, though, that with this single point won, this year's baggies side surpassed the entire season's points total of the championship winning team of two years ago by a full two points and with 4 games still to go.



with as much time wasted in this match as there actually was, six minutes of stoppage time was ridiculously short, and ten minutes would've been more like it. the baggies then would have had a chance to go on and win this one.

Note on a Winng Streak (part 3)

WBA 3-2 PNE

live text replay



another day-trip to birmingham... a match involving two of the football leagues original founding members, and - as far as the first-half goes - probably the best 45 minutes of football i have yet seen at the hawthorns.

the match started off as a high-spirited affair that temporarily took on a kind of carnival atmosphere as the baggies went up 2-0 within the first ten minutes. fast, flowing football saw both sides creating good attacking opportunities early on asking serious questions of both goalies and their respective back lines. however, it was the albion who made the initial breakthrough.




ben watson scored his first goal in west brom colours through a build-up of long-range inter-passing between robert koren and ishmael miller. the return ball from koren deflected off a north end defender, sean st. ledger, and broke opportunely for the on-loan wigan mid-fielder to pounce and blast home from about 5 yards out, just on the 6 minute mark.

a few minutes later, and with the hawthorns beginning to buzz, graham dorrans, taking the ball just inside his own half and leisurely advancing, spotted chris brunt open and in space upfield. he delivered a brilliant and casually placed ball forward into space, and brunt, timing his run to perfection, caught out the lily-whites' off-side trap and easily beat andy lonergan for the second time in 5 minutes. it was beginning to feel as if we were going to be treated to a vintage baggies' goal-scoring clinic.

the first half would eventually provide the five-goals that made up the final score-line, and within minutes we were all brought back down to earth with a thump as the lily-whites mounted an effective attack requiring scott carson - playing well and back on home turf after his ironically poor performance in earning a clean-sheet against swansea - to make an athletic diving save on an open header following a dangerous cross from ross wallace to palm the ball away to safety. on the ensuing corner-kick, however, preston full-back, sean st. ledger, shook off his marker to head home wallace's in-swinging delivery from point blank range. 2-1 to the baggies...



just past the half-hour mark, and the team's playing good stuff at both ends of the pitch, graham dorrans restored the albion's two goal lead scoring one of the goals-of-the-season on a spectacular free-kick from 35 yards out that flew into the top right-hand corner of the net, leaving andy lonergan again with no chance whatsoever. the carnival atmosphere and prospect of a high-scoring win for the baggies was back on.

this was re-enforced as dorrans - making the finest individual move of the match - weaved his way to the bi-line down the left wing and delivered a cross that ishmael miller really looked like he might have done better with, ultimately heading the ball wide of the preston goal. the baggies looked to be just buzzing with attacking menace at this point.

however, just before the end of the first half - and similar to chris brunt's goal at the other end - preston striker, neil mellor, found himself in space and on the end of a through ball that split the baggies' defense and beat the off-side trap. finding himself one-on-one with albion goalie, scott carson, the preston striker pushed the ball to the outside, past the sprawling keeper and shot home from a sharp angle to restore the lily-whites single goal deficit.



despite conceding two-goals in the first half, scott carson, had a much improved performance from the mid-week match at swansea, and was responsible for several fine saves as well as being quick and decisive about coming off his line to clear - something which had given him definite problems at the liberty stadium on the previous tuesday.

while goals and attack were the theme of the first-half, defense and good goalkeeping were served up as second-half fare. while the baggies have never been famous for holding on to single-goal leads, scott carson and company did an admirable job at doing just that for the last 45 minutes. with a good deal of fine football played in the middle of the park, neither team was really able to penetrate deep enough in attack to cause any real danger in the final third, and the sure hands of both scott carson and andy lonergan picked out anything that came their way.



as i made my way back down halford's lane to the hawthorns station and the trains back to west birmingham, i was feeling an exaltation at my team's performance since i had been in the country and attending matches. i couldn't remember anything in my life having gone so well. i had come hoping to see at least two victories and perhaps a draw. i had no worries about the next fixture, which would be my last live match - and my last visit to the hawthorns - of the season. i had been to the hawthorns four times now and attended one away match. i could boast that i had never seen the baggies beaten or played to a draw. in looking forward to the coming match with coventry city i knew - and with a sense of absolute assurance - that providence would not betray me now.

WBA 3-0 Leicester City F.C.

live text replay


when these two teams met in the reverse fixture back in the early months of the season, newly promoted leicester city were a surprise form team and - along with newcastle united - were the best footballing side that the baggies had had to play up until that point. west brom won that encounter by a score of 2-1. it was one of their rare single goal victories and one of the toughest matches won.

as the two met this last week at the hawthorns, the albion were now the form team of the division, who may still challenge the mighty toon for the division title, and leicester city are a club that have surprised the critics, over-achieved on the season, and are now desperately clinging onto a place in the playoffs despite a recent run of poor form.

whatever happens, both teams can be proud of their accomplishments this season, and both have been a real credit to english league football. leicester city for bouncing back from the curse of having tried to compete in the premier-league then suffering the increasingly frequent double-relegation that follows; and the albion for being the only real "second-division" club left in england - and thus, for both better or worse - a team in a class all their own.



while the 3-0 score-line - provided by the returning james morrison with a contribution of two goals from baggies' stalwart, robert koren - was certainly flattering to the albion, and unfairly diminishes any good football city played on the day, the baggies probably deserved this - but more for the good fortune that becomes part of a winning team's habit and character than anything else.

it is quite normal for football fans (and albion supporters more than most, it's probably fair to say) to hit the panic button at two games lost in succession, or a three or four game winless streak. they tend to imagine the worst and faith in their team is always at its lowest when entertaining a 1-0 lead; but the baggies did, in this match, transcend the usual pressure and pessimism that comes with the possibility of imminent success in professional football.

a month or so back, when west brom lost to bristol city and QPR, then were knocked out of the FA Cup by reading, the online albion message-boards started filling up with negative posts about both the team and gaffer, pointing out how roberto di matteo's MK DONs had suffered a late season loss of form, which cost them missing out on automatic promotion and ultimate loss on penalty kicks in a first-round promotion playoff to swansea city. i even saw posts on the BBC 606 which were direly predicting that that the baggies wouldn't even make the playoffs at this rate, and that they just weren't good enough!



my fellow supporters confound me sometimes, as i have never doubted for a moment that the albion were going to finish second if not win the division outright! you can be as negative as you like, but roberto di matteo has done a brilliant job at managing the resources available to him this season. for the most part - and with rare exception - his team selection, attacking formation, and real-time match tactics - although occasionally baffling to the average punter - have been a superb example of economy and intelligent management. he's developed a good system, has inspired both the team in learning how to win in style, and re-invigorated the spirit of many of its individual constituent components, as well.

i hope, at very least, with the baggies now looking more likely challengers for the division title than playoff candidates, that the supporters can relax their customary pessimism and really enjoy the last few games of the season, looking expectantly to the day - which is soon to come - when the baggies clinch automatic promotion back to the premier league. because i seriously have my doubts as to how enjoyable that's actually going to be!

Notes on a Winning Streak (part 2)

Swansea City 0-2 WBA

live text replay


there is a kind of sameness to football stadiums nowadays. where highbury, loftus road, upton park and stamford bridge of the 1970s were distinctly different places, each with its own character and every stadium around the country had its own unique qualities, the liberty stadium reminded me of a three-quarter size, claustrophobic hawthorns with a surprisingly small washroom facility. the colours may vary, as well as some of the smaller details, but it seemed to me that the modern football ground is now just a variation on an architectural theme.

the security - and in special regards to tickets and match admission - was much tighter and strictly run than at the hawthorns. where match-day admission is available to away supporters for west brom home games, you can only gain entrance to the liberty stadium through purchasing tickets from your club of origin - and visiting supporters are limited to one ticket per membership. there are no match-day ticket sales for the visitors end either.

also - and unlike at the hawthorns - the entire north stand is designated as the visitors end, and is accessed only by the most remote and isolated of all the park's entrances. passing through two seperate gates in the space of about 50 yards under the watchful eye of several swansea stewards, who are required to ask if you are indeed a supporter of the visiting club - the segregation of home and away supporters is much more rigorous than at the hawthorns.

this was my first away match as a baggies supporter and i felt as if i had been thrown into the cauldron of seething football lunacy.



when i go to the hawthorns i sit in the upper tier of the east stand. it's generally more laid back, family-oriented and probably the best place to actually watch football from in the whole place. here in south wales - and much as i had expected - the atmosphere among the traveling albion faithful was much closer to that of the smethwick end home supporters corner than anything else.

while it is an indispensable and necessary component in regards to the atmosphere of live football, i'm not much one for continuous singing and chanting, and i think it can actually be a terrible distraction to watching the match. for example, there was a fellow sitting a few rows in front of me whose continuous efforts to get a chant or song going required a constant, long-distance conversation with one of his mates sitting about fifteen rows back and in the next block of seats over. he was so engaged in this activity that i'm sure he actually only saw about half the match. still and all, i appreciate that someone's got to do it.

"get on the bawl, moore, y'lazy fookin' bastid'!!!" a guy in front of me yelled in vain frustration at the albion's starting striker.

"that's it," the guy next to me reacted sarcastically, "let's get behind the club!!!"

having drawn an ugly glare in response to his comment he waved his hands in front of him to diffuse any escalation of hostility.

"just kiddin', mate," he quickly explained, "just kiddin'!"

swansea, while having no ability to finish, are the only team that i've seen this year to really badly outplay the baggies in terms of extensive possession, and only their lack of a goal scorer had kept the teams level at half-time. the swansea mid-field was excellent and held the ball for long periods of time during a first-half where both youssouf mulumbu and graham dorrans were struggling badly with their first touch and the most rudimentary ball control seemed to elude them. scott carson looked more than a bit shaky through being dangerously indecisive about coming off his line for the ball on a couple of potentially critical occasions, and he was lucky enough when a swansea cross into the box came directly back off his near post and fell safely for the baggies to clear.



the best player for the albion on the night was probably ben watson. while far from having an exceptional game, the on-loan wigan midfielder was much less tentative both on and off the ball than any of the the rest of the visiting team, and was the only albion player who was consistently able to control the ball and get any kind of move started for the baggies.

the second half was better stuff from the albion, but it was a match which was like one of those long nights in europe when both teams are forced into shutting up shop early and hoping for the one bit of chance needed to snatch a single goal, and then play to hang on for the final whistle. almost the entire game was played in the middle of the park with neither team exhibiting any incisive build-up in the final third.

i really couldn't see a goal coming in this one, and i doubt that anyone else present at the liberty stadium could imagine a winner emerging here either. however, and in much the same fashion as on the previous saturday, giles barnes, who had come on as substitute for chris brunt, made a direct run at the swans penalty area, then cutting in from the left flank, the midfielder went down and a penalty was subsequently awarded.

the west brom supporters, all seated behind the swansea goal instinctively went mad with delight. unlike the penalty on saturday, where i think everybody knew it had been a case of winner's luck, this was a stonewall penalty. although the TV replay was less convincing, when viewed from the perspective behind the goal in the liberty stadium's north stand, there was no doubt that angel rangel had clipped barnes with his right knee and at very least given the albion midfielder an opportunity to go down and win the spot kick.



graham dorrans summarily put the baggies ahead from the spot and with only 12 minutes remaining it wasn't long before the swans fans started making for the exits. i spread my arms wide and sang psalm 23 along with the other several odd-thousand albion supporters who'd made their way down from the midlands to south wales that evening.

for the baggies, however, there was one more turn to redeem what had otherwise been a most unmemorable and uninspired game of football.

as swansea went forward in an attempt to find an equalizer, the albion were left an opportunity to counter-attack, and in the 89th minute ishmael miller found himself with enough space deep down the right-wing with a chance to run the ball straight at goal from an acute angle. with everyone anticipating and getting ready to defend on the goal-line, miller pushed the ball to the outside and around the sprawling swans keeper, maintained possession and composure before ultimately burying it in the back of the net for a goal that exhibited a cool, mature sense of patience and wonderful individual skills.

happy enough with the victory - and without a taxi in sight - i walked back to the hotel confidently musing at how the baggies were now going to beat preston north end on saturday.