The Premier League: Modern Times

in assessing what has been the most successful season to date for the baggies since their initial return to the top-flight a decade ago, i find it's time to face up to the facts of life in the most popular football competition in the world. despite finishing 8th in the table - and laying claim to being the best of the second grade sides in the almighty, bloody PREMIER LEAGUE - it was actually a very uneven season for the baggies, at least in terms of overall results if not actual footballing performances.

west brom started the season as the one of the league's form teams and were on the verge of going top of the table when a poor performance away to swansea signalled the beginning of a slump from which they never quite recovered. however, similar scenarios were played out at norwich, fulham, west ham and swansea, so the baggies kept pace with their immediate competition and their run of excellent results during the first half of the season carried them through to find success as the "best of the rest".


in actual fact, for a club like west brom to have distinguished themselves as such, is a more significant achievement than it is for manchester united to have won the league, and there is one big difference between these two sides that can't be overlooked. as one of the world's most popular and richest clubs, united can go with whatever they did this year, take stock of their resources and look to improve on it for next season. the albion, however, are left with a much more challenging set of problems and whatever they were able to achieve this season may end up having very little bearing on what they'll be able to achieve next season.

only the top five or six clubs in the PREMIER LEAGUE can look forward to the coming season with some degree of expectation. the rest of the league is left having to deal with varying levels of reorganization and often have to scramble to put together a competitive side ahead of each and every campaign. with chairmen and boards that are made up of businessmen who do not come from a football background, this is often a recipe for disaster.

it is possible - as with QPR this last season - to spend a great deal of money on expensive players who have experienced winning trophies both domestically and in europe. but this is no guarantee of success - the whole set-up often being no more than a high-priced gamble. you need look only as far as wolves - who had been both league champions and several time domestic cup winners in the old FIRST DIVISION - to see what damage the PREMIER LEAGUE can do to a football club.


also, as we saw with newcastle united this year, a good season is no guarantee that you will be left with adequate resources to build on for the next. the toon went from last year's excellent 5th place finish - and qualification for the UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - to a side that struggled to get results and only just managed to stay ahead of being involved in a scrap at the bottom of the table this year, finishing the season in 16th and only 5 points ahead of relegation.

the baggies had the good fortune of having had what has to have been the league's best loan signing, in the likes of romelu lukaku. with 17 goals in the league, the overall performance of the chelsea teenager was a major component in the baggies' success this year. when it comes time to replacing his attacking input west brom are left with no small challenge.

as a supporter who lives overseas and does not support manchester united, chelsea, arsenal, liverpool or manchester city, i am a member of a peculiarly esoteric fraternity. there is almost nothing in the way that the PREMIER LEAGUE is promoted here in north america that takes into account that someone like myself, who doesn't follow one of the top 4 or 5 sides, might even exist.

there are, of course, fringe elements that support big sides like aston villa, newcastle, everton and tottenham, but even these affiliations can be fleeting and there is nothing to encourage anyone to dedicate their support to a side that might fall out of the top-flight and disappear into the netherworld of the FOOTBALL LEAGUE. in fact, where SPORTSNET (and SETANTA SPORTS before them) used to carry at least one CHAMPIONSHIP game a week, this year, they wanted to save a little on the licencing budget (i would imagine) and opted for a weekly SPL game instead.


this was the first time in years - at least going back to the 2006-07 season - that the FOOTBALL LEAGUE (including the play-offs) was not seen at all on television in the particular broadcast region where i live. consequently, anyone following the english game on TV will not have seen any football that is competitive at the top end of the division.

i don't know what deals they're making for next year, but it is unlikely that the view of english football in toronto will become any more expansive very soon, and the average viewer who considers themselves a "fan" won't be looking for anything more than to follow a team that wins 85-90% of its matches. i know one guy - with claims of being a casual supporter - who says he used to support arsenal, but now they are "no good" (not having won anything recently in trophy competitions is what i think he meant), so he has switched allegiance and now follows chelsea. while this is hardly traditional behaviour, it is an attitude that is more and more prevalent with the supporter who follows the game through international TV broadcasts.

in this context, it is more and more the job of teams like west brom to drop enough points in the PREMIER LEAGUE to see to it that the status-quo is maintained, and that sides like manchester united, manchester city, arsenal, chelsea and liverpool perpetually compete as an elite mini-league who occupy the top places in the table, and thus hang on to their fan bases in the international TV market.


in fact, with the virtual monopoly that the two manchester sides - together with chelsea and arsenal - have established in occupying the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE spots for the last few years, together with similar situations in LA LIGA, the BUNDESLIGA and even now LIGUE UN, the FOOTBALL LEAGUE ONE was arguably the most exciting football competition in all europe last season.

besides my visits to the hawthorns and my primary football interest being invested in the baggies, i have also followed brentford's adventures in the FOOTBALL LEAGUE over the last few years. this year, where west brom began the season as one of the form teams in the top-flight and played some very exciting football in the process, it was the bee's that supplied the majority of my best and most exciting football moments over the second half of the season.

from the final and decisive day in the CHAMPIONSHIP, where hull city drew with division champions cardiff and won automatic promotion to the top-flight; or the final kick of the match at griffin park that propelled doncaster rovers up and out of LEAGUE ONE; through to the play-offs in LEAGUE TWO, league football provides a truly competitive environment that has long since disappeared from the top-flight.


it's really a shame that there was no TV coverage of the FOOTBALL LEAGUE this year. the drama off the final day and play-offs contrasted starkly with the narrow vision of english football as a competitive spectacle that the international supporter is afforded through following the almighty, bloody PREMIER LEAGUE on television, with its heavily biased focus on a handful of elite sides. the competition and excitement that still exists in league football serves to remind those of us who can remember what top-flight football used to be like before 1992.

i visit england twice a year for two weeks at a time and try to get out and watch as much football as i can. all i can say is that i would not be attending PREMIER LEAGUE matches at all if west bromwich albion, the team that i support, were not playing in the top-flight.

Final Day: The Champions at The Hawthorns

WBA 5-5 Manchester Utd. F.C.

match text commentary
in the 1960s and 70s - long before the idea of the PREMIER LEAGUE had ever been contemplated and manchester united were still a popular english club rather than a rich and powerful worldwide commodity brand - the red devils and west bromwich albion played some of the best football seen on english television. this year, in the final game of the season, the two sides revived the tradition and supplied some real entertainment for those who were at the hawthorns for alex ferguson's final game, as well as for everyone who watched the live international TV broadcasts or saw the highlights on MATCH OF THE DAY.


in december, 1966, manchester united visited the hawthorns for a match which saw united edge the baggies by a score of 4-3 in a seven goal shoot-out. it was some of the best attacking football of the 1960s and is well remembered as an early MOTD classic. twelve years later, the two sides contested a match that would become legendary in the annals of english football as well as one of the best games ever seen on the popular saturday night highlights show. this time it was the baggies who triumphed on the day by a score of 5-3.

upon their return to the top-flight of english football three years ago, the baggies emerged as the only PREMIER LEAGUE side to take points at old trafford, when they held the eventual champions to a 2-2 draw.

whether a 4-0 thrashing the year that both teams returned to the first division in 1976, or a 3-2 victory in a third-round FA CUP replay the following year, the baggies have usually done well against manchester united. fixtures between the two sides have always produced competitive and entertaining football. they first met on the 1st of october, 1892 when west bromwich albion and newton heath played to 0-0 draw at the old stoney lane ground in central west bromwich. only since 1984 has the balance sheet tipped in favour of the mancunians, with the baggies recording only two wins and three draws against sixteen wins for united since then.

currently, the baggies have won 40, manchester united 52 with 30 games drawn.

for this particular match steve clarke chose a starting eleven that was designed to limit united's opportunities and would press the ball in all areas of the pitch. with just 5 minutes gone, however, manchester united made the most of an early opportunity on the counter. with an albion attack being broken up in the united penalty area, the red-devils quickly broke out with a few slick, short passes. the move culminating when play was switched with a long raking ball to javier hernandez breaking down the right wing channel. he put in an easy cross for shinji kagawa, who was allowed to take up a central position unchallenged in the middle of the box to head home past the helpless baggies' keeper, ben foster. less than four minutes later, jonas olsson's attempt to block antonio valencia's low, hard shot merely succeeded in redirecting the ball past foster for an own-goal that put the visitors up by two.

then, just on the half-hour mark, and united had another goal. this time, it was scored from an incisive attacking move in the albion final third and a good finish by alexander buttner. united were now up by a score of three-nil. the match was quickly becoming a blow-out and it was clear that the gaffer's plan to contain their opponents was just not working.


realizing that they had no recourse but to attack themselves, james morrison pulled one back for the baggies with a little over five minutes left in the first half. with united carelessly giving the ball away deep in their own half, the baggies produced a quick incisive scoring move. youssouf mulumbu astutely played the ball out wide to graham dorrans who put in a low hard, cross to morrison, waiting in the middle to slot home the goal. they had caught the united defence completely off guard and unprepared.

i think that steve clarke probably learned an important lesson about how to turn a game around when it is getting away from you. abandoning his original tactic, the gaffer substituted a striker for one of the fullbacks, with romelu lukaku coming on for liam ridgewell after the break. within five minutes the gambit had payed off and the unstoppable belgian youngster scored to pull the baggies back to within a goal and it looked like game on!

but the the match took another dramatic turn before the final score was to be played out.

manchester united went up 4-2 on a goal by robin van persie within four minutes of albion's second goal, and javier hernandez made it 5-2 just ten minutes later. both goals came from low, hard crosses played into the box from wide positions. the cross came in from the right wing for van persie and from the left for hernandez, and both efforts took advantage of jonas olsson's tentative defending in what was probably the worst game that the swedish centre-half has ever played in an albion shirt. this was underlined in the 66th minute when the defender found himself on the end of a perfect cross from james morrison, which resulted from a short corner kick. unmarked and the goal gaping in front of him, olsson managed no better than to volley the ball hopelessly over the cross bar and sailing up into the seats of the birmingham road end. while there was still over twenty minutes to play, i'm sure that this was the cue for the first wave of early exits to make their move and start heading for home.

i feel sorry for anyone who did leave early, as the best was yet to come despite all indications to the contrary.

romelu lukaku had been nearly unplayable since his half-time introduction and the albion striker changed the momentum of the game when he scored the baggies' third goal in the 80th minute.


within another five minutes, youssouf mulumbu had scored again for the baggies who now looked the better team and the game was completely turned on its head from the where it had all started with manchester united's first two goals. with the pace at which the goals were now going in, an albion victory began to look a distinct possibility and the hawthorns faithful could feel it.

so it was no surprise then when romelu lukaku completed his hat-trick in the 85th minute, drawing the teams level at 5-5. the possibility of a baggies victory was now very real and the hawthorns crowd urged them on. had there been another two minutes, i imagine the baggies would have found the winning goal, but a 10 goal draw was how it ended. in truth, and after all the turns this match had taken, it was probably a fair result all around.

this was a really good way to end the season for the baggies, and is a match that will be remembered as a PREMIER LEAGUE classic and seen on highlight reels for years to come.

Great Expectations and Grand Delusions

QPR 1-1 WBA

match text commentary
despite a recent drop in form that has seen the baggies take only seven points from their last eight fixtures, their blistering start to the season has assured that they begin the new year still in the top 7, as well as now having a third-round replay at home to QPR in the FA CUP.


while this still represents what is so far the best campaign that west brom has contested in thirty-some-odd years - and any albion supporter would have happily taken their current standing in the table at the outset of the season - the reaction to their recent home loss to fulham gives some small insight into the decidedly unhealthy attitude that the modern football fan now brings with them to the park each and every saturday afternoon.

thankfully, matches are no longer plagued by the large-scale hooliganism that sometimes made attending football in england a terrifying experience in the 1970s and 80s; but something has changed in the mindset of the average, shirt-wearing, scarf waving, anthem singing fan in these early years of the 21st century.

WBA 1-2 Fulham F.C.

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with the whole side being booed off the pitch at half-time against fulham - and club captain, chris brunt, singled out for individual abuse when substituted following a sub-par peformance - the level of psychological anger that has replaced the old feelings of disappointment at a poor result was fully exposed for all to see.

even modest success now seems to create a sense of entitlement in the modern supporter and the right to harbour unrealistic expectations that necessarily require a scape-goat when not properly met.


last year it was james morrison who was singled out for supporter animosity.

to illustrate this tendency at its most dramatic, and after a long run of poor results up the road at wolves, manager stale solbakken's car was vandalized outside his staffordshire apartment back in november. the disturbing fact about this incident is that it wouldn't be the work of "hooligan" elements looking to create social disorder. this type of activity would hold little, if any, interest for them. rather more likely, is that it was disgruntled season-ticket holders, emboldened by some small intake of liquor and beer, and angry at seeing their team's drastic drop in form with the ever impending prospect of a relegation scrap at the bottom end of the CHAMPIONSHIP looming.

Manchester Utd. F.C. 2-0 WBA

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i have always been an admirer of chris brunt's. he's the best dead ball man at the club by some distance. from open play he is capable of cutting apart a defence with a singularly acute and accurate through-ball or scoring with a 25-yard screamer to the top corner. he is a real professional who has strived to continue and improve; and whether you believe that he is an adequate top-flight footballer or not, replacing him would be much more difficult and costly than some might think. so i don't understand why some of the home support turned on him as they recently did.


i wouldn't suggest that things have gotten too far out of hand just yet, but the PREMIER LEAGUE can do terrible damage to the soul of a football club.

while it was not a particularly distinguished performance (especially the first-half) against fulham, it is a mistake on the part of the average west bromwich albion fan to take it for granted that the baggies should necessarily and routinely be beating this level of competition. especially when you consider that the cottagers have been in the PREMIER LEAGUE for the last ten years running, they almost won the EUROPA LEAGUE two years ago, and in dimitar berbatov they have a top international who costs 5 times what albion's most expensive player does. you can't sniff at that.

QPR 1-2 WBA

match text commentary
the baggies have recently developed the habit of starting slowly, and this has lead to poor performances in the first half of their most recent matches. whatever it is, they are definitely reserving their better football for after the break. my suspician is that this is a by-product of single-minded adherance to the principles of counter attacking football. nowhere was this more evident than their recent trip to old trafford.

to be fair, they looked a little stunned at the occassion and consequently their play throughout the first-half could only be described as "timid". however, they came into the game in the second-half and dominated the play for long periods.

in fact, with the baggies threatening to equalize, and coming more and more onto the front foot in the final stages of the game, united were ultimately forced to bring on their £22.5 million substitute, robin van persie, to ensure the victory.

while disappointed with the result, especially after the baggies looked like they might repeat their achievement of two years ago, i was happy with the performance in the second-half. if they had shown anything at all in the first-half, they just might have gotten something from this game.

WBA 2-1 Norwich City F.C.

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this tendency of playing poorly in the first-half of a match was understandable at old trafford. i can imagine going to play there can be quite overwhelming, even if you've been there before. but this issue has been something that has concerned me since the swansea game.

i think it's a big problem at the moment, and the side needs to go out and start matches much more aggressively, try and get on the ball and not rely so heavily on the counter attack. especially at the hawthorns, and particularly with claudio yacob out at the moment and chris brunt playing in central midfield.

WBA 0-0 West Ham Utd.

match text commentary
the home fixture with norwich was a solid home win and marked the first time this season that the baggies have taken all three points after having gone behind in a match. it was also significant that after three losses on the bounce, the albion were able to then go three games unbeaten, starting with a draw against a visiting west ham side, followed by a home win over norwich and an away win at QPR. confidence still seems high at the club, and shrugging off a poor run of results like this is another testament to the quality of steve clarke's leadership and a newly found resilience in the team's character.


against west ham, the baggies played well in the second-half after the hammers dominated their visit to the hawthorns in the early going. while the east london side had the better chances from open play, the baggies looked the more dangerous from dead ball situations. it was, however, the usual problem with a scoreless game. where a 1-0 victory snatched at the death can transform 90 minutes of otherwise mediocre football into a supremely exciting spectacle, the 0-0 draw that is at its foundation - regardless of the quality of football - is almost always a disappointment for the supporters on both sides.

Arsenal F.C. 2-0 WBA

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one of the defining characteristics of the average albion supporter is their supreme pessimism and how, over the years, they have come to expect the worst. only a few weeks ago, baggies' fans everywhere were entertaining notions of european qualification and the outside possibility of challenging for a top-five finish in the league. now they are bracing themselves for a relegation scrap. the truth of the matter is probably somewhat less dramatic than either of these possibilities.

it's time to just cool it down a bit and have a little faith.

Never at Old Trafford

Manchester United F.C. 2-0 WBA

match text commentary



long gone are the days when a west bromwich albion side could travel to old trafford with every potential of a victory, and for a particularly competitive fixture that would regularly produce some of the best football played in the country at the time.

while the baggies have most certainly been one of the league's form teams over the last month, there isn't anyone on the planet who will find this final score-line as any kind of surprise.



wayne rooney scored from a javier hernandez cross in the 35th minute, and then again with 20 minutes left in the match on a penalty to give the scoreline its proper gloss. it was everything that you'd expect in 2012 AD.

the baggies, however, gave a good account of themselves overall and were quite obviously the better team in the early going.

keith andrews should have opened the scoring in the 5th minute when the baggies, pressing the ball deep in the manchester united half, created the opportunity for liam ridgewell to put in a cross that looked like it should have been a tap-in for the veteran mid-fielder, but was put just wide of david de gea's goal.

andrews came close again from a free-kick about 25 yards out, but his effort was this time put just wide of the inside post by a diving de gea who got down low to make the finger-tip save.

the turning point of the afternoon came early in the second-half, and with score still 1-0 to the home team, when peter odemwingie was denied what should have been a penalty. this might very well have given the baggies the impetus to go on and get some kind of result from their visit, but never materialized.





patrice evra clearly tripped the albion winger as he took the ball into the man. u. penalty area. along with anyone who saw it live and in replay on TV around the world, odemwingie had a pretty clear-cut case for being awarded a spot-kick and was instead left prostrate in the 18-yard box, wringing his head with his hands in disbelief at the lack of any decision and the signal from the ref to "play on". then again, unless it's an absolutely nailed-on red-card offence - and as the visiting team - you're never going to get a penalty decision like that going your way at old trafford. never. they don't call it the "theatre of dreams" for nothing.

typically, united took clinical advantage of the situation and immediately broke on the baggies, only to see javier hernandez' long range effort smack off the west brom goal-post.

in the final bit of play that ultimately lost the match for the baggies, keith andrews, having already forced ashley young deep to the bi-line, inexplicably bundled the united mid-fielder to the ground and conceded the penalty that would make the final score 2-0.





however, the ultimate dissapointment of the afternoon for west brom came in the 64th minute, when jonas olsson was dismissed for a second yellow card and will now sit out next week's game at wigan. the swedish defender was clearly upset with himself and was reported to have been somewhat moody with various members of the local press during the post game interviews.

this was otherwise a good performance by the baggies and the fact of the loss shouldn't affect their current form in the coming weeks.

WBA 1-2 Manchester United F.C.

match text commentary



this was the same scoreline as the last time these two met on albion's home turf, and so too was it a game of similar and familiar fortune. i had a sense that i'd seen the plot unfold a thousand times before. manchester united have always won matches that they don't necessarily deserve to - and i've been watching it all my life!

for the baggies there were plenty of positives and i don't think any west brom supporter can be too disappointed that they didn't manage to hang on for the draw or produce a late equalizer. although they wouldn't be unjustified in being so today.

the red devils started the match in high style and the baggies were under heavy pressure for the first 20 minutes while the champions showed their superior ability in terms of holding on to the ball, passing and scoring goals.

conceding after just 11 minutes, the albion needed to play their way back in to this one. without their talismanic striker, peter odemwingie - who is currently reported as being injured - the baggies had to rely on the ever entertaining somen tchoyi to lead the line; while the club's latest signing, striker, shane long, played in a slightly withdrawn position and it was quite clear that the gaffer was indeed employing a two striker system.





there is no doubt that this is an improved baggies side once again, and well in line with chairman, jeremy peace's, vision of incremental improvement year to year. ben foster is arguably the best goalie the baggies have had since russell hoult, and it appears that gabriel tamas has tightened up his game and earned the starting centre-half position, playing next to defensive linchpin, jonas olsson. while nicky shorey remains at left-back - and one of the most consistent players on the team - the albion are still in need of a right back and are most vulnerable to attacks down the opposition's left wing.

so it was in this match, as manchester united left winger, ashley young, was the key man in the red devils attack. it was the space that he kept finding down the baggies right that lead to both goals, and he had the beating of his cover all afternoon. in fact, it was a hopeful ball that the ex-villa man put across the face of the baggies' goal that took a couple of deflections - the final one off albion's right back, stephen reid - and went on the score sheet as an own goal, that won the match.

it isn't unjustified to say that the baggies were unlucky in this case.

the albion's success story on opening day was the debut of shane long. he did well enough, putting himself about and pressing up front. he also showed that he's not short on confidence, whacking a 25 yard shot several yards wide as his first offering to the baggies' attack. the 24-year old irish international also scored his first goal in west brom colours.

on a ball played outside to him by chris brunt, long cut inside his marker on the edge of the box and his low, rolling, accurate finish beat united goalie, david de gea, at the far post. it was well directed from a sharp angle, nevertheless de gea should have had it and a very basic mistake left the teams on equal terms at the break.





going in at the half with the score at 1-1, the albion had to be the happier of the two teams, and they came back to dominate the game for long periods in the second half.

however, this is manchester united, and no matter who you are, they will find a way to beat you. even if it's something fluky, it all comes from the extra edge of depth and talent they have in their squad.

still - and as an albion fan - we almost always play well against man united and we have for a long time. one of these days - and we're going to have the opportunity for the next few years, i think - we'll beat them 3-0 at old trafford. yeah, one of these days... anyway, it's not like i wasn't half expecting it.

roy hodgson was seen losing his cool late on the match. but i think it was probably more his team's shape and tactics (or lack thereof) causing him to blow his stack rather than any perceived injustice or misfortune that the baggies had suffered. chris brunt gave paul scharner a good rollicking on a couple of occasions, with captain and manager seemingly on the same wave-length.

it appears as though roy hodgson has come up with a formation whereby the team defends without a central midfielder. this allows for the back four and two defensive midfielders to cover behind two wingers. the strikers are free to press the play up front but can always find space to drop back and defend from the central midfield as the ball comes forward at them.





in attack, one of the wingers comes into a central position and one of the holding players go wide. simple. the only problem is in getting it right as to whose responsibility is what. it seemed as though brunt was designated to come into the central position in attack and scharner who was supposed to go wide on the right. all too often, though, neither scharner on the right, nor morrison on the left were switching position quickly enough. this left the baggies getting caught defending with a narrow box shape in the midfield that was giving far too much space to the united backs and wingers, most notably, ashley young. and that, of course, was the difference on the day.

in fact with a lot of the best football in the match contested in the middle of the park this was a good game on television, but a bit flat in the medium of audio commentary.

as for the fan reaction, most baggies supporters were happy with the performance, and uncharacteristically positive about their team's potential for the year. by the end of the BBC WM football phone-in show on sunday, it was pretty clear that no one - not even the big-time pundits - are too worried about the albion and nobody is really expecting them to struggle this year.

there is definitely a positive buzz in the baggies' camp and an opening day loss to the champions did nothing to dampen that spirit. however, you can bet that roy hodgson will be working out what to do in the case of any and all eventualities.

WBA 1-2 Manchester United F.C.

live text replay

of all the fixtures in all the world... one of the most presitigous clubs in all of football comes to visit on new year's day reminding us of a time when the albion were one of the best clubs in england. it was a time when it was all still possible and the large community-based football clubs could still win major trophies.

the baggies have always done pretty well against manchester united over the years. there is an early broadcast of MOTD from back in the mid 60s where the red devils visited the hawthorns. jeff astle scored a brace, with john kaye adding a third goal which are recognized by almost all baggies' supporters as iconic moments in west bromwich albion folklore. there were seven goals in that match and was won 4-3 by manchester united.

even better known still is the 5-3 match played at old trafford on boxing day 1978. it is debatably one of the best games of football ever played in england and certainly one of the best known and well regarded broadcasts of MOTD ever. it is some of the most extensive footage of how good the 1978-79 side really was.



earlier this year - and after having beaten arsenal at the emirates, the baggies went to old trafford and came back from being 2 goals down to snatch a point with a 2-2 draw. the albion historically find more success against manchester united than they do against stoke city (a well known and long standing bogey fixture to baggies supporters). so in fact - and with three straight defeats threatening to send the baggies into a relegation battle as well as erode the confidence that the team has played with all season, manchester united at home isn't too bad a fixture to have to deal with at the minute.

the baggies haven't played too many games better than this one, and after what seems to be the almost mandatory early capitulation and going behind 1-0 to a wayne rooney goal in the 2nd minute of the game, they regrouped immediately and thoroughly dominated the match. the statistics - including possession and attempts on goal - were more heavily in the favour of the baggies than they had been against blackburn, and was a better performance than the bolton game. but unlike at bolton and against blackburn, where the baggies would have done well to come away with a point, this is a game that they should have won but let get away in desperately unlucky fashion.

graham dorrans announced his return to form and was cruelly denied a penalty when he was brought down in the box by united defender, gary neville. even manchester united manager, alex ferguson, admitted that the baggies were unlucky and they should have been awarded a penalty in that situation, also noting that his own player was lucky not to have been sent off.

in fact, i believe that the issue of the card is the reason that the penalty was never going to be given. dorrans had taken a pass from chris brunt, gotten in behind the red devils' defender and had only the goalie left to beat. to foul a man with the ball in this position is an automatic red card. it was fairly clear to anybody on the park, as dorrans was bundled to the ground, that neville never got anywhere near the ball and it was a stonewall penalty. however, referee, chris foy, was not about to put himself in the position of having to send someone off in a big game with live, international TV coverage in a match featuring manchester united. if there was a shadow a doubt, he just wasn't going to do it.



i know from having watched the albion play in the CHAMPIONSHIP, that when you are a distinguished favourite at any particular level of football, you tend to get those little breaks and 50-50 decisions from the referees in order that the balance of the universe maintain its equilibrium.

towards the end of last season, just as albion were ready to clinch the second automatic promotion spot (and set a club record points total), they were awarded two critical and questionable penalties against blackpool and swansea respectively. these were 50-50 decisions that could have gone either way or had different outcome. the baggies were expected to succeed and the decisions were always going to go their way.

this is always going to happen in football. referees too understand that this is an entertainment-based business.

the baggies equalized early and quite deservedly through a tremendous individual effort by james morrison. like his fellow scottish international, graham dorrans, morrison has returned to his top playing form as evidenced by his contribution in the last two albion goals.

from a long and precisely delivered ball by chris brunt which nemanja vidic was unable to clear, morrison blasted the shot on the half volley past tomasz kuszczak for a goal of world-class quality. with not even 15 minutes gone, the baggies looked every bit the equal of their adversary and the equalizer was more than deserved.

with the game poised at 1-1 and the baggies looking the better of the two sides, there was every reason to be optimistic at the half, in spite of the blatant injustice of gary neville's challenge on graham dorrans going unpunished. the baggies certainly didn't look like a team who had just lost three matches in a row. they were playing with a confidence and bearing that completely belied any slip in form in regards to recent results in the league.



in the second half, albion came out with more of the same and continued to control the tempo and set the pace of the match. the baggies were so dominant that they carried a 62% of the possession, and outshot the red devils by a margin of 17 attempts (8 on target) to 5 (2 on target), and were only just edged on the number of corner-kicks by a margin of 1 (5 to 4).

but the baggies pressed and kept the play high, constantly looking for opportunity to attack the united goal. jerome thomas looked that he might have given west brom the full three-points when he was brought down in the box by veteran england international, rio ferdinand. this time there was no dispute or question.

while i was screaming for graham dorrans to take it, peter odemwingie continued as penalty taker. never looking quite confident enough, the nigerian international did well enough to send united keeper, kuszak, the wrong way for an easy sroke-in at the far post, but pushed the ball hopelessly wide. i have come to believe that only under special circumstance (i.e. wayne rooney, carlos tevez) should a striker also be a penalty taker. the psychology of a striker is just too fragile and taking penalties is a job best performed by a strong foot rather than a clever one.

this was a massive miss and might prove a real psychological set-back in the end.

of course, and this is manchester united and the baggies then went behind in the 75th minute. once again, the poor defending on corner-kicks was their undoing as united striker, javier hernandez, was allowed a free header from point-blank range leaving scott carson with no chance whatever.



there are, of course, several contributing factors - not the least of which is injured and suspended centre-halfs - to the baggies current problem in regards to defending set-pieces and especially corner-kicks, but i am starting to lose patience with scott carson. if what is quickly becoming a make-shift back-four for the baggies are lost on set-pieces, then carson is simply going to have to come for the ball and challenge to make the clearances or take the ball himself. it's as simple as that. this goal came through a ball that the keeper definitely could have come for and won easily. seeing a man unmarked and directly in front of you, you should playing to take that ball instead of waiting to make the save. period.

carson is good at what he does. he is a goalie who guards the line and specializes in making athletic saves with a lightning quick reaction time as a shot-stopper. he doesn't come off his line and his positional game is non-existent. he is very much in the mould of another albion goalie, tony godden. but godden had ally robertson and john wile covering the penalty area for him, and the style of goalie and centre-halfs complemented each other to produce a successful method of defending.

without olsson and tamas in the team, carson is all the more inappropriate a choice and his confidence is going to be shot soon, so perhaps it's time that di matteo gave boaz myhill a run in the first team.

it was an otherwise brilliant performance, however, and the albion are to be admired as a side who have continued to play enterprising and confident football despite a string of what is now four straight defeats. this now leaves the baggies needing an away win at fulham to stop the rot of what has been a shockingly dissapointing run without a lucky break in sight.

Man. United 3-5 WBA