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while it probably wasn't something too many of us were expecting, and certainly wasn't much of a concern with the challenge of the PREMIER LEAGUE once again upon us, but with one more victory in this particular competition and the albion are on a cup run!while the LEAGUE CUP has become, more and more, an unwelcome addition to the fixtures list, it is a good gauge as to how and where football is going (or maybe has already bloody gone!) in the early part of the 21st century.
the baggies beat the "richest team in the world" (and as such, one the few that actually needs to win this competition) in front of a pathetically small crowd of just over 10,000 at the hawthorns. having had 23,000 at the hawthorns for the league match on the previous saturday, this is overwhelming evidence that in the era of the season ticket culture, there is less and less interest in the domestic cup competitions, except as a back door to europe for the bigger clubs who might need it.
i think there is probably a general opinion that when it comes to the LEAGUE CUP, players, supporters and pundits of all kinds would say that there is too much football played in england today, and that a second domestic cup competition is superfluous and unnecessary. even with the incentive of a place in european competition to the winner, the point is largely moot as the CUP usually goes to a top-5 team anyway.
roberto di matteo made ten changes to the side that beat blues on the weekend - and if nicky shorey weren't the only fit left-back in the first-team, it would have been a fully changed starting eleven. it's a far cry from the 1970s when albion legend, john wile, would start all 60 fixtures in a season for the club.
i think it's fitting to invoke the footballing heroes of yesterday, as the baggies now look like a top-flight team capable of a cup run at any time, just as they were in the days of cyrille regis, tony brown and under the tenure of manager, ron atkinson.
the best player of the first-half was without a doubt semon tchoyi. making a series of terrorizing runs at the sky blues' defense down the left wing, the new albion man showed himself to be a player of pace and strength as, on several occasions, he took on multiple defenders and continually created problems for the city backs and their goalie, shay given.
in many ways, this was pretty classic cup fare. the first goal was a moment of world-class football that one might expect from a team with £100 million of talent sitting on the subs bench. brazilian striker, joao alves "jo", sent the ball flying into the albion net with an unstoppable shot on the turn from 20 yards out. it was the final product of a routine break on the heels of an albion corner-kick and could hardly be blamed on the baggies' defenders. a well directed flick saw the brazilian get the bounce of the ball on the edge of the box and it was simply a moment of top class finishing.
but the baggies are not the team that was here in 2008-09. even though its early days, there is a confidence in the side right now that a west brom side has never taken into the premiership before and it has pervaded in the first few cup games as well. a few more weeks and we get through the arsenal, bolton and manchester united fixtures, we'll know a little better where we are. but already, this is a good footballing side who've remained unfazed by going a goal down to both blues in the league and manchester city in the LEAGUE CUP and possess a sense of poise and top-flight stature that looks to be growing by the minute.
after the city goal the baggies came back with both semon tchoyi creating an opportunity for giles barnes which required a truly quality save from given; while a mesmerizing run by graham dorrans and a cross in for the head of roman bednar saw the ball go a few inches wide of the city upright. the veteran sky blues keeper showed why he has been one of the top goalies in the english game over the last ten years, and made it seem for awhile as if there might be no breakthrough for the baggies on a night of top class goalkeeping.
undismayed by the goalkeeping heroics and half-time deficit, the albion kept up their domination in possession and shortly after the restart, gianni zuiverloon took advantage of a slip by a manchester city defender on the edge of the box and blasted home for a more-than-deserved equalizer.
while it was clear that without having had any match-time this year both strikers were a little rusty, and this - along with shay given's superb performance in the manchester city goal - was also a factor in the baggies not running up a two or three goal lead. but there is something special about simon cox and i hope that di matteo can find use for him in the line-up on a more regular basis. in fact, he may have a very bright future as an impact player wherever his career takes him. without being the best player in the world, cox has the ability to consistently score goals at any level of football you might care to mention - the PREMIER LEAGUE included.
while there is still a long way to go, the baggies have started the season out really well, and have surprised more than a few pundits as well as some of their own hard-core supporters.
if the baggies can manage to get a good draw and make it into the last-eight teams, it will probably be worth focusing a little more effort into this particular competition. especially as cup runs will continue to give players like cox, bednar, tchoyi, meite and zuiverloon a chance to be involved in the team, playing competitive football and bringing real depth to a side that isn't the biggest squad in the first place.
i was really impressed after this performance. last year, i would worry about certain players not being in the side through injury or suspension; namely graham dorrans and chris brunt, but there were also time last year when the club was really struggling with the fitness of its strikers. this year, i think that the gaffer has done a first rate job with bringing in the players needed and keeping the core team from last year together around which to build.
while the practical outcome of this match is progression to the next round of the LEAGUE CUP, the performance of the albion second-team reverberates and speaks to their potential in the league as well. jerome thomas looks doubtful for saturday but i expect most of the squad who beat blues at the hawthorns last saturday to be starting at the emirates on the weekend.
BBC football prognosticator, mark lawrence, has predicted a 3-0 win to the gunners. while it is possible, the albion have nothing to lose going into this match and whatever they do (short of losing by 4 goals or more) there isn't much expectation for too many teams traveling to the emirates to take on the gunners in any competition anyway!
the last time the albion went to play arsenal the match ended 3-1, with chris brunt scoring a late consolation goal from a free-kick. i had always been impressed by that goal, as the baggies were on the wrong end of a lot of scoreless losses that season. i remember thinking, wow! what a great goal. if only they'd kept out the 3 at the other end they would have won that one!
there was little consolation in the last premiership campaign, but even arsene wenger knows that the albion - by virtue of how they've played their last three matches - are potentially one of the most difficult sides that the gunners will have had to face so far.
i look forward to seeing who we draw for the next round of the LEAGUE CUP too.
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