The Strange Case of Simon Cox

despite the fact that it wasn't much of performance, i was at the hawthorns when simon cox got his first league start for the baggies in a home match with plymouth argyle. the week before, he had scored the winning goal in extra-time in a LEAGUE CUP fixture with rotherham united - his first goal for the club - and that had won him the right to start, partnering roman bednar in a conventional 4-4-2 set up - still the preferred formation for most english clubs at the time.

it wasn't a great debut and he was substituted early on in the second-half after a less than memorable performance. it was not a particularly good time for strikers at the club, and most of the goals were coming for an attack-minded mid-field. graham dorrans and chris brunt, respectively, were the side's leading scorers that season. in this particular match, it was shelton martis who scored the first goal for the baggies, equalizing after going 0-1 behind on an early goal by jamie mackie. even more unusual was marek cech's brace (his only two goals ever for the club) that won the game for the baggies by a score of 3-1.

nontheless, i can always claim to a have seen simon cox' league debut for west bromwich albion.

cox was in and out of the first team that year. he had been targeted by the club when tony mowbray was still the gaffer - presumably to help fill the void left by the previous season's departure of kevin phillips for birmingham city - and i think that he would have gotten more time in the side had mowbray remained at the hawthorns. but it was never to be. when TM moved on to take over at his old club, celtic, roberto di matteo came in as the first man to hold the newly created title of "head coach". despite cox being RDM's first signing for the baggies, even luke moore - possibly the least popular individual ever to play in the navy-and-white stripes - was often a preferred starter to the young man who, the year before and playing for swindon town - had been the FOOTBALL LEAGUE's joint top scorer with 29 goals in LEAGUE 1.

under di matteo and with west brom chasing promotion, cox managed 34 appearances and 10 goals in both league and cup competitions. he still found it hard to break into the first team as a regular starter. however, as an intelligent young man he must have reasoned that his best bet was stay at the hawthorns, with a club where the attitude and atmosphere was positive and who were definitely a side "on the up" - and wait for his opportunity. as a professional footballer he was certainly aware that he could have done a lot worse.

back in the PREMIER LEAGUE for the 2010-11 season, the baggies did well over the first three months, and had been as high as 4th in the league table at on point. however, cox was restricted to only a handful of appearances as a substitute and only getting to start in the LEAGUE CUP. after scoring 3 goals in 2 games, he finally earned himself the right to be included in the starting 11 for a league match away to blackpool. luck did not favour the young striker, though, as he was strategically withdrawn in the 12th minute when pablo ibanez was red-carded.

when results started to elude the baggies, and they went on a long winless streak that started in november (with the blackpool game) and went through into the new year, di matteo's time was up and roy hodgson took over for the last 13 weeks of the season.

this heralded a complete turnaround for the club, and with only two losses in their final 13 fixtures, they finished a comfortable 11th in the standings.

still, nothing much changed for simon cox. although he was very often in the side as a substitute. this led to his first PREMIER LEAGUE goal in a match away to tottenham. he scored what was west bromwich albion's goal of the season as the baggies snatched a late equalizer at white hart lane, putting the team on 40 points and virtually guaranteed their survival in the top-flight.

however, things still didn't get any better for cox during the 2011-12 season. he still could not break into the first team, and when he did get a start he was used almost exclusively as a utility player to make up the numbers when the side was hit with injuries. this meant that he was often played out of position on either the right wing or as a central midfielder, fulfilling the necessary and rudimentary defensive duties that were required of him.

even his usual exploits in the cup competitions, where he scored a hat-trick against cardiff, could not guarantee him the opportunity to get a start in the league.

while cox supplies an above average effort and work-rate, his real talent will never be found on the training pitch. he's not particularly tough, big or pacey. what he does have, though, is a sense for scoring goals. he hits 25 yard screamers, gets on the end of crosses - both on the floor and in the air, and knows where to be to get the tap-in on scuffed shots and loose balls in the box. at a time when teams are playing more and more with a single striker and a five-man midfield, cox is a bit of throw back who is all too easily over-looked and possibly under-rated.

a little surprisingly, the baggies recently picked up the final year option on cox' contract, creating the possibility that he would be at the hawthorns for at least one more year. but with a £2 million offer from blackburn rovers, it appeared earlier this week that cox was on his way to find full-time football in the CHAMPIONSHIP. however, this was quickly scuttled by apparent political problems at the lancashire club. while it seemed that manager, steve kean was anxious to bring cox to the club, his efforts have been undermined by the board who aren't interested.

since then, PREMIER LEAGUE side, swansea city, have emerged as the most likely contenders to sign him, although the rumour-mill also has him linked with interest from charlton athletic, leeds united, middlesbrough and scottish giants, celtic. at this point, any move that gets him a run of full-time football would still be a good move for him and the aspirations he harbours in regards to continuing his international career with the republic of ireland.

i have always liked cox and thought he would have been a bit more valued by the baggies than he has been. a year in the CHAMPIONSHIP would probably be the ideal move for him at the moment. but then who knows? a visionary top-flight side (like swansea) might find some success with him as well. whatever happens, i hope he finds a good club that will at least give him a chance and possibly reveal his potential.

more than anything, i hope he finds the luck which has eluded him since leaving swindon town.

Arsenal F.C. 2-3 WBA

live text replay



the baggies have overcome the logic of history and beaten arsenal at home for the first time since the 1983, many years before advent of the PREMIER LEAGUE and the north londoners had relocated to their present home at the emirates stadium. the albion have beaten two of the biggest teams in the world inside the space of 4 days and there is now no doubt that this is the best baggies side since cyrille regis was with the club, and the gunners still played at highbury.

there are those who will long point to the rejuvenation of the club under gary megson as the high point in management at the hawthorns for the last 20-30 years, but roberto di matteo is rapidly proving his worth as a manager of the first order, and his successes have been more than good fortune or a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

there is no doubt that whatever remains of the team that tony mowbray built, it has now been transformed into a more complete footballing side without having lost the original mandate to play good passing possession football with an emphasis on attack.

di matteo has added considerably to the organization of the team and built the best defensive line since the days of john wile and alistair roberton. the baggies have a mid-field that is competitive with just about anyone in the top-flight, and a crew of strikers featuring a target-man who has been scoring freely since his arrival at the hawthorns. where key figures like chris brunt, youssouff mulumbu, marek cech, james morrison and graham dorrans remained to form the central core of the playing squad, this is di matteo's team and plays to his vision of the game.



when he arrived at the club following tony mowbray's departure for an unsuccessful spell as manager at celtic, di matteo's impact was immediate. he reinvigorated the spirit of players who'd become unhappy and didn't see enough playing time under tony mowbray, and began his tenure with a 9-game unbeaten run capped by a superb 5-0 away win at middlesbrough.

still, mowbray had been a very popular manager for taking the baggies into the CHAMPIONSHIP play-off final and then the PREMIER LEAGUE; and he was regarded with a great deal of respect for being a man of principle who would not resort to poor or ugly tactics, was unfailingly loyal to his starting eleven, and stuck to his game-plan. di matteo has proved a more pragmatic manager, ready to take chances, make changes and seeks victory above all. i'm not sure, for example, that either gary megson or tony mowbray would have the vision, nerve or will to make the the half-time changes that di matteo has made somewhat of a trademark in his management style.

after all, it was a change at half-time in a match last year that led to the gaffer's use of the 4-5-1 setup that served the baggies so well in the second-half of last season's CHAMPIONSHIP campaign. likewise, there were major changes he made at half-time against both tottenham and birmingham city that turned the course of the match and produced a draw and a win respectively.

a highly improved defense - stilled marshalled by jonas olsson - and the arrival of nigerian international striker, peter odemwingie, has seen the quality of the team improve. the baggies are playing very much like they did last season, and have a shown a tendency to concede first, only to reply with two or three goals themselves.

i can't really remember how many times they did this last year. i myself was present at three matches (plymouth argyle, doncaster rovers, blackpool) where they went behind early and scored 3 goals in response. although albion teams have been doing this since the 1950s, the PREMIER LEAGUE of 2010 is probably not the ideal place to continue this practice. it does, however, make for the kind of exciting football that west bromwich albion were once famous for.



the overall effect of di matteo's improvements to the team is a side with enough depth and skill that no one is ever conspicuous by being absent from the line-up. last year, for example, alarm bells would have gone off at graham dorrans, chris brunt or youssouff mulumbu being out of the team. this year, every contingency is covered, a consistent feeling of optimism is running freely throughout the entire squad, and they are no longer dependent on the talent of given individuals to spark their game. this has largely been due to the addition of players like steven reid, paul scharner, somen tchoyi and nicky shorey now making the baggies a team of some fair depth.

with that said, the baggies held their own against an arsenal team that had the balance of control throughout the first-half, and avoided going behind as andre arshavin hit the post in the early minutes of the game. other than this - and despite massive difference in time on the ball - the albion held arsenal to nothing but specualtive, long-range efforts throughout the first period.

it was only a missed penalty by chris brunt, in fact, that kept the baggies from taking the lead after odemwingie was taken down in the box by goalie, manuel almunia. the spanish keeper rightfully should have been shown a red card, at this point, and was lucky to have been given the benefit of the doubt.

brunt's penalty was truly poor, and one could see the northern ireland international change his mind at the last moment as he tried to finesse the ball into the corner of the net rather than just hammer it as he had intended.

in the second-half the baggies took the game to the gunners and deserved their lead when jerome thomas cut down the bi-line brilliantly past defender, bacary sagna, sending in a low cross for peter odemwingie to poke the ball home. the albion went on from strength to stength and dominated the game for the next 20 minutes.

with arsenal still reeling from finding themselves trailing at home, chris brunt once again produced one of his moments of brilliance for which he gets far too little credit. with the ball out on the right wing, brunt worked a very clever back-heel on the return ball in a give and go that sent right back, gonzalo jara, in on goal. the chilean defender beat almunia on his inside-post with a shot the spaniard really could have stopped. inside of 10 minutes of the restart, the albion were quite incredibly two goals up.



this allowed the baggies to continually penetrate deep into the gunner's half on attack, and on 72 minutes, chris brunt made further amends for his first-half penalty miss. with the baggies threatening, the ball came to brunt in front of goal, but his first touch was heavy and appeared to be going out for a goal-kick. however, this pulled almunia out of position and a second touch put the ball beyond the now stranded keeper, leaving brunt merely to cross for jerome thomas to blast the shot into an open goal.

it was only at this point that arsenal were able to respond. with the baggies probably still in a state of disbelief at their three goal lead - as well as the reality of a historic victory now well within their grasp - they conceded to samir nasri after he had hit the cross-bar and the gunners were applying relentless and intense pressure on the albion goal. it was a great individual effort as the frenchman took on two defenders and blasted the ball into scott carson's top right-hand corner. with fifteen minutes left to play, you still couldn't count the gunners out of this one.

nasri again scored in the 91st minute to pull the arsenal to within a goal. in a moment where the baggies centre-halfs were pulled out of position by a direct attack on the albion penalty area, nasri got into the open space and was left with just carson to beat from about 6 yards out. the baggies were going to need to weather the storm for a suspiciously long 5 minutes of time added.

it was the greatest of relief to hear the final whistle. while the 2 goals by the gunners late-on certainly showed the quality of some of their individual players - which is a class apart from a club the size of west brom - the baggies were, without a doubt, the better team on the day. the pop pundits and publications will no doubt focus on how poor arsenal were rather than how good west bromwich albion was. but that completely ignores the fact that over the last three weeks of the PREMIER LEAGUE, the baggies have a better record than manchester united, chelsea, tottenham and arsenal. in fact, they have the best record of any team in the PREMIER LEAGUE since the international break.

as i keep on saying: this is a very good west brom side!

Gone Daddy Gone!!!

sky sports


birmingham mail


well, it's that time of year: the post-season. and first word from the hawthorns is that robert koren is being let go. i don't know enough about football business to evaluate what the worth of renewing his contract in order that we might sell him and make a couple of quid might be; but i do know that the club is freely releasing a skilled and popular player, and - judging from a couple of posts on the BBC 606 - the supporters aren't generally thrilled about it.

i, myself was sad to wake up yesterday morning to the unexpected news, and so apparently was roko. i can't help but feel this is partly a result of the animosity that existed between himself and the gaffer back in january, when koren was consistently out of the team and there was talk of him joining tony mowbray at celtic. however, after jerome thomas got injured and roberto di matteo had implemented a 4-5-1 attacking formation, the slovenian international found himself in the regular starting eleven playing on the right-wing. while not his favoured position, he was an important part of the team going into that second-half of the season, and his contribution to the baggies' promotion campaign was substantial.



the trouble is that under tony mowbray the club picked up a lot of players who had similar skills and played similar styles. even the full-backs, with the likes of gianni zuiverloon, marek cech and gonzalo jara, are skilled footballers who play as well (if not better) at midfield-wing positions as they do their respective wide positions in the back-four.

with mowbray's legacy still evident at the hawthorns, it's safe to say that there is no lack of quality midfielders at the club: dorrans, mulumbu, brunt, thomas, morrison, as well as the out-on-loan jonathan greening and borja-valero are - to a man - comparably skilled all around footballers. striker, simon cox has even been used in central midfield, ahead of koren, to accommodate di matteo's 4-5-1 attacking formation. all things considered, though, i still think koren - by virtue of his intelligent and imaginative play - will be missed; and the club will have to bring back either greening or borja-valero to make up the difference.

i can understand why the club did this, but i don't doubt that it was a difficult decision.

Johnny Too Bad

the true tragedy of last season for the baggies' was without a doubt, the injury that put ishmael miller out for the season. the club not only lost a striker, but due to the constituent nature of last year's team - it lost its focus as well. i think mowbray had put so much time and effort into building a system around the 21 year-old goal-scorer, that when he was no longer available - and with a serious lack of any senior goal-scorers in the club - that it sent the game-plan for the year straight out the window and left only confusion and desperate scrambling as recourse.

this was evident not only in TM having to go looking for whoever he could get on a loan basis, but also left him incapable of committing to any of the other strikers that the club had available. he had the eventual good luck of acquiring fortune - but he turned out to be more of a holding, control forward than an out and out goal-scorer. i can't remember how many times the ball came to him in and around the box, how he skillfully held the ball up, gained control and position and held off defenders, only to find there was no one getting into space on attack. if anyone was going to score, he would have to do it himself - and, indeed, he ended up with a fairly decent record of 5 goals in 17 matches.

simpson never really panned out - although he had his moments - and neither luke moore or roman bednar were really afforded much opportunity by the gaffer; who, and in retrospect, seemed lost for what to do going forward without his pet project. you see, mowbray was setting his team up as a 4-5-1 formation with miller leading the line. although, this formation also saw jonathan greening playing in an advanced position in support of the striker, and in much more of an attacking role than he is used to. once it all started to work - and i think it was probably against wigan and newcastle where this really started to gel - it was like finally seeing the method behind the madness... the idea had been made apparent and had become revealed!

the team saw this development reach its unfortunately early zenith with greening scoring the first goal in the home draw against portsmouth. throughout the early part of the second-half - and with a 1-0 lead - miller was showing menacing pace in several counter-attacks that made it seem only a matter of time before he might score the second and really impress the albion's dominance on the match - as well as vindicate an attacking formation that had long been criticized (and rightly so) for not producing results.





when miller went down under pompey keeper james in an ill-advised, over-enthusiastic tackle that would take him out for the season, there was a sudden and palpable shift in mood on the albion bench. the confusion, loss of focus, and gaps in the playing formation set in as quickly as its development and now apparent and converging success had been long in coming. within minutes, peter crouch - and against the run of play - hit a screamer from about 15-20 yards out and equalized.

i don't know what kind of relationship mowbray had with either bednar or moore; but it was certain that what he'd been working on with miller as the lone striker would not be a role suited to either of these two, and the gaffer even brought craig beattie back from a loan spell while waiting those last few desperate weeks and for the january transfer window to open. in the meantime, mowbray seemed like he just didn't really know what to do, except re-adapt to a 4-4-2 formation, rotate his three strikers in utility roles and target particular games that might be winnable.



even though i have heard no one else make this assertion, but i believe if miller had not gotten hurt the baggies would've stayed up. while mowbray's tactical focus also turned out to be a mistake, in that miller could not be replaced when he got injured - certainly not with the other strikers on the team - it was still tough luck on the gaffer, as he had genuinely invested a lot of time and faith in miller. it took awhile, but at the time of his injury miller had scored 3 goals in 7 games, looked to be on a 4th and really seemed to have hit his stride. the goal against wigan was a perfect example of the exploitation of a defensive mistake at the premiership level. it was opportunistic and finished with a steel-nerve; just as his skill had drawn the newcastle defenders inside with the goalie coming off his line; and then with his pace leaving everyone out of position as he moved the ball outside to the left and placed it neatly into an open goal.



of course, i am excited by the imminent arrival of simon cox. in case you haven't seen him yet, this kid has some really spectacular goals in him, as well as being a prolific scorer. i'm happy that we finally have a manager (or rather more properly now a "head coach") who i think is probably a winner above all, as well as a knowledgeable football mind; and as he is inheriting mowbray's squad more or less intact, i hope he finds a fitting and prominent place for miller in his vision of the albion.

Big Ron Says...

i found the best overall assessment of the baggies performance last season in ron atkinson's latest statements in the press. for those of you who didn't get a chance to see or hear this story:

BBC STORY

big ron, it seems, felt much like the rest of us, that the albion were going up and would be able to consolidate fairly easily after nearly a decade now of false starts and a revolving door promotion/relegation existence. in short, it was a wasted opportunity... a wasted season... a wasted year; and that is the thing that hurts most, i think. life is too short for static activity, and mowbray knew - and despite the fact that baggies supporters are knowledgeable enough to recognize the face of progress and a have sense of the bigger picture - he only really had until november to establish the team as promotion contenders, before his time at the hawthorns would have been up.


to characterize last year as a wasted opportunity... a wasted season, even - is as close to the mark as you get. ultimately, that was the most depressing thing about last year: it looked as though we had finally taken the 2 steps forward that would allow us to be competitive and find a place in the premiership, only to come up a little short on ability to get the job done. this exposed a general naive optimism at the hawthorns, as big ron - being pre-eminently knowledgeable about football - pointed out, that there were problems evident from the first match that were never addressed. the final outcome being that it was the same 2 steps forward and then the same 2 steps back that we've been taking habitually for the better part of this last decade.

i've always been a staunch supporter of tony mowbray's; and the only real criticism of his tenure at the hawthorns, is that he wasn't able to figure out the premier league - and as a result was victimized by his own naivety and the inexperience of his players. i mean, both bednar and miller would have scored more goals if they had merely had the presence and experience of a senior striker in the squad. not even necessarily kevin phillips - just a striker or attacking mid-fielder who's been around and has developed some professional wile and guile, and knows what extra qualities it takes to score goals at the premier league level.

i think because of this, the gaffer was initially spending a lot of time on developing a playing formation based around ishmael miller - as well as the development of miller himself, possibly to the exlusion of other things that needed attention - like the lack of a decent inside right back other than jonas olsson. this was a major problem after olsonn was hurt, and those to whom the duty fell (alternately donk, meite, and eventually shelton martis) were all hot and cold in terms of performance. none really had the requisite experience, and each made critical mistakes in spite of some otherwise good efforts and decent play. mowbray also left scott carson in goal too long, and you could see it was burning out the then england number 2 goalie.


we'll never really know, but i have my suspicions that the "miller project" - which saw the albion playing a most uncharacteristic 4-5-1 setup, with jonathan greening in an advanced position as the supporting attacker - would have worked well enough to produce those extra 2 or 3 results that the baggies needed to stay up. but it was certainly a perplexing and frustrating period and the tactics were only just beginning to work when miller was injured and out for the season. there was evidence of this in the goal that miller scored in a losing cause, against newcastle; and the portsmouth match in which he was actually injured. greening had scored to put the baggies up 1-0, and throughout the 2nd half, miller was menacing the portsmouth back line in a series of fast-breaks on the end of long balls and incisive counter-attacks. it appeared only a matter of time before he would score the baggies 2nd. instead, he was injured and whatever mowbray had been working on was - without adequate back-up - lost, and effectively leaving half the season wasted, right there.



after that, the focus shifted to scrambling for forwards on loan deals, scrounging for goals that would just not appear for love, money, nor skill; and an inability to regularly keep clean sheets. it seemed that throughout the year, as if they hit the woodwork as many times as they scored (maybe more) - and while some of the skills and play at the forward position saw positive development after the acquisition of fortune, the goal-scorer that the baggies so desperately needed never appeared - or rather, appeared too little and too late, with chris brunt finding a hot scoring hand for the last 4 or 5 games only - and was the last baggie of the season to see a shot tipped off the post.

i'm sure that big ron saw what the rest of us did: that the baggies were a superior team in the middle of the park with their control passing game - which always looked so effective until they got into the final 3rd, where they largely opted to try and walk the ball into the goal like an old-fashioned south american club might have done. unfortunately, the overall effect was that of indecision and not taking chances when they appeared. likewise, i'm sure that the ex-gaffer also saw the potential weaknesses in the back four and distracted goalie; but i would love to know the full extent of what old ronnie atkinson saw in those first few games, and what observations and advice he might have to quietly whisper in the ear of the club's incoming manager - whoever that might be?

So What Now?!?!

i was wrong. it now rather appears that the gaffer is going to go manage at parkhead next year - barring any snags in the negotiations, which i am still, in a funny way, half expecting. but then, we would never have gotten this far if TM didn't really, really want the job, now - would we? i really thought that he would have cut out all the speculation a couple of days ago, what with celtic dragging their ass and playing hardball, both through seeking advisement from the english and scottish FA's respectively - as to their legal position over mowbray's contract with west brom, and all the media bullying that they have engaged in. i would have thought that very little of this would have been to the gaffer's taste, and as a result he would stay with the baggies.

but, as has been reported today in the birmingham mail:

Celtic would only confirm that talks with Mowbray are set to begin, with chairman John Reid telling the club's official website: "We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with West Bromwich Albion Football Club and have been given permission to speak to Tony Mowbray and his backroom staff...

It is unlikely that any hitches in negotiations will arise and Mowbray should be unveiled before the Scottish media early next week.

full story

i've been a supporter and admirer of tony mowbray's - and i do think that if he has the right team - and of the necessary talent - he is a great manager. this is simple to draw out merely by comparing the team that won the championship in 08 to the one that was relegated again in 09. in the first case, he had the necessary personnel. in the latter campaign, he most decidedly did not... and that was only just! if he had had a senior striker (i.e. if he had had kevin phillips) then i think the baggies would have been a very different team this year - and would not have stalled on scoring, as they did.

so, in the end - and if he does ultimately go - i shall be disappointed... at least until we all know who the next manager is going to be. i suppose someone like steve coppell seems an appropriate, if unexciting kind of prospect. i really liked mowbray. he was the best thing about being a baggies fan this year. it was a miserable, long and frustrating season where the club played better football than their record would indicate. they lost innumerable matches that they should have won - and the only thing that made me feel better all year was hearing TM's post-game assessments. he had a way of reminding us all about the team's assets and admitted to their deficits as something to be addressed; and he knew - like all of us, and despite the bags of goals they let in during the course of several drubbings - that he was only one goal scorer away from a team that could easily survive the premiership. he was top notch at reminding us of this and helped take a lot of the painful sting out of the season.

i'm disappointed, as well, that he didn't (like owen coyle) blow off this celtic thing the minute they started commandeering the press and went to national FA's asking for judgments on the compensation clause in his contract. i thought that was really ugly stuff - in that, it would have forced mowbray to resign acrimoniously and act in a manner contrary to his nature; so again, i'm disappointed that he wanted the celtic job so badly. on the other hand, he was smart to keep his mouth shut and not make any enemies - and he was loyal enough to the albion by forcing celtic to honour the compensation deal. by the cut-throat standards of modern football management practices, the gaffer's ok!
ossie says
i thought that it was fascinating that ossie ardiles came out publicly and spoke about the situation from his own experience after managing the albion out of the old league 2 in 92-93; and then not sticking around to see the job through to any long-term outcome.

it is a true testament to the quality of the west bromwich albion f.c. organization as a competitive football entity, that he should come out publicly saying that leaving a club just promoted to what was then the second-tier of english football from the third, for premiership giants tottenham hotspur was the biggest mistake of his management career. it is high praise indeed for the organization - and everyone involved with that team knew that they would have seen continued success as long as ossie stayed on as manager. perhaps he's even lobbying for the current post himself, by coming out like this? stranger things have happened at the albion with ex-managers and old players... i'd be as happy with ardiles returning to make amends and take a second kick at it as anybody.

although i don't get the chance to see nearly enough scottish or championship football, the only manager that i could really get passionate about would've been john hughes from falkirk, but as we all know: he's now moved into tony mowbray's old job at hibernian. from what i saw of the scottish premiership last year, he did a terrific job with falkirk, and was dedicated to a style of football completely in sync with the traditions at the albion. timing is everything in this business, eh?

i haven't heard anything as to who might take over at the hawthorns as mowbray heads north and into the high-pressure hurley-burley of old-firm football. surely they must be talking to someone, and unless they've discovered some hidden talent in him that the rest of us don't know about, i can't take the alan shearer stories seriously...

And... It's Worse Than Ever!

well, there goes my last suggestion... john hughes was appointed the new manager at hibs, the morning after i had advised here in my blog that the albion rush out to sign him in the event that TM leaves for parkhead. but, y'know what? i don't think the gaffer is gonna leave the hawthorns.

although, it does still appears that celtic are winning the war in the press - and are playing hardball by going to the respective national FA's and getting a judgment in order to get around the compensation clause in tony mowbray's contract. it's very ugly stuff indeed - i think he will stay at west brom simply because celtic have not handled this the right way, and i can't see TM's principles allowing himself to be associated with something that was approached so aggressively and done so poorly. if, for example, he had spoken privately and off the record (so to speak) and expressed interest in the job to someone at the celtic organization, then i'm sure he must feel somewhat betrayed and the whole thing terribly compromised at this point due to the mess this has become in the news-media; and where most people would feel that they'd now been forced into a position to accept a high-profile gig like managing celtic; TM will feel, quite conversely, and because of the sensational and public nature of celtic's "negotiating" practices in this case, that he is now being forced to stay at west brom, whether he originally intended to take the celtic job or not.

so he will now stay and yet see through the project of taking west brom back to the premiership and having yet another kick at surviving more than one top-flight campaign. while it certainly doesn't look like it in the press - much of which is still treating mowbray's departure from the hawthorns a foregone conclusion - and while his "silence is deafening" is a phrase quickly becoming hackneyed and overworked in the press to characterize the gaffer's lack of input so far - no one is re-iterating his message.

the fact is, that TM has now been put on the spot, so far as i can tell, in that if he wants the job, he will have to formally resign his post with the baggies and simply sign with celtic. beyond that, it's a matter of the club paying off what mowbray will owe - not what celtic will owe (which legally is nothing) - in buying his way out of contract with west brom. at least, that's as much of the story as i am currently able to understand from today's news reports. and i think that that would be asking mowbray to do something that he wouldn't want to do.

so when i look at the scenario, i just can't see it. TM's too much of a straight shooter, and whatever his feelings about his old club - i can't imagine him being too happy with the press "leaks" and public bullying in the british and international news media.

and now this nonsense about alan shearer!?! unbelievable...

Mozza and Robbo

after weeks of speculation about how a few of the players - and especially morrison - would be looking for transfers in order to keep playing in the premier league, it looks like he might be going to bolton - and fan favourite paul robinson with him too - while the most recent albion hero, chris brunt, is set for a transfer to rangers. i think it's just amazing that these guys get one or two years under their belt in the premier league, and then knowing that there are other premiership clubs that would take them, they are thenceforth self-declared "premier league" players and can no longer entertain notions of staying with a team that has been relegated, and are transfered for what is nowadays considered a prudent £2-3 million each.

"I can't face playing in the Championship again. I feel I've proved myself in the Premier League," said robinson in the mirror recently. robbo has been at the hawthorns for 6 years - so that's what? 3 years in the championship and 3 years in the premier league?

when i look at football from years past, and think how the greats like dixie dean, stanley mattews, tommy glidden, w.g. richardson, bobby robson, bobby moore, gordon banks, peter osgoode, johnny giles, tony brown, clive allen and many others all routinely played in the 2nd division, following the fortunes of their clubs as they struggled with football's up and downs, seeing through both the good times and the bad - i can't help but wonder what are the differences between the players of yesteryear and the relative prestige (or lack thereof) of the old 1st and 2nd divisions when compared to that of the modern premier and championships?

the differences - while being symbolically representative of the same two tiers of football - are immense, not least in the area of prestige, and in the public perception. the premiership, through its visionary use of live television broadcasts of its matches, has created a cosmopolitan international football league dominated by the four most popular clubs. before the advent of the premier league, english football was much more competitive at the top-flight.

while other countries like italy, spain and portugal have long had familiar teams that would dominate their domestic competitions year in year out; the english 1st division had a different complexion every year, and it was only possible to really be competitive and win titles for two or three years at a time before another set of teams would, in turn, follow and dominate for the next few years after that. while inter-milan or juventas, real madrid and barcelona - not to mention the stranglehold dominance of celtic and rangers on scottish football - have long been perennial sure-bets to be contesting league titles and domestic cup competitions; the english 1st division was being won by the likes of derby county, nottingham forrest, leeds united, ipswich town - as well as, arsenal and liverpool; with heavy contention coming from clubs like: west bromwich albion, norwich city, QPR, bristol city and manchester city, amongst others.

three years out of five in england saw 2nd division teams in the FA Cup finals, with sunderland and southampton taking the trophy from leeds and manchester united respectively in '72 and '76; while west ham narrowly beat fulham in the 1975 final, to become the only 1st division team to win a cup final against 2nd division opposition during the 1970s.

the premier league - barring the fact that blackburn rovers were the competitions' first champions - is not in this same spirit at all - and is less a "domestic" football competition and more like a first cousin of the champions league than anything else. which means, really, that the championship is a kind of "downgraded" descendant of the old 1st division, and although it has taken a while for some of the really big clubs to devolve and get there, it is beginning to happen. newcastle united being relegated to the championship, for example, really brings a whole level of top-flight glamour to the division, that can't be seen as anything but positive as far as creating added interest in the championship goes - and, as this is going to start to happen with increasing frequency - they are going to have to find a way to increase the value of the whole division. the only way to do this will be with TV - and they are going to have to do something, because, as we have already seen in the recent past with derby county, nottingham forest, southampton and charlton athletic - is that really big clubs who have made the commitment to premier league football, cannot afford to play in the championship for more than a couple of years. so if they are relegated and then unsuccessful in gaining promotion back to the premiership, they then get in trouble financially and often cannot avoid eventual relegation to league 1.

so as the tottenham hotspur, blackburn rovers, bolton wanderers and manchester citys' etc. devolve into fodder for relegation, the nature of the championship will have to change - in order to save the bigger clubs - and as it does, maybe it will develop sufficiently that players like morrison, robinson and brunt - along with their contemporaries and their predecessors of ancient relegations - will be able to stay on and display the loyalty that used to make it possible for a more competitive football environment to flourish.

Keeping the Faith

i've been looking at the west brom posts on the BBC boards today and i'm sticking to my guns and staying positive, despite the massive let-down of not having beaten pompey on sunday; and today's news that ishmael miller is gone for the season. because, whether we like it or not, this is still the best baggies team in years. tony mowbray has managed the club to its first trophy since 1968, and taken them to wembley twice; one of which was for an FA CUP semi-final; which, they probably should have won, and gone on to beat cardiff in the final (which would have duplicated their unique double of 1931). they then went on to have their best start ever in the premiership, before they stalled in a drought, unable to score; and despite playing well, have gone on a tense, frustrating and very unlucky 2 month long winless streak.

the cliches about lack of finishing, lack of strikers, and how the baggies are playing attractive, attacking football, and dominating matches to no effect are piling up and beginning to seem tedious, just when we need to "keep the faith", so to speak, and continue to analyze what we are doing right (if only to keep our spirits up and generate some encouragement) and remember why we are baggies supporters in the first place! then maybe there's the question: why is someone 1500 miles away, and never been to the hawthorns, sitting here, half paying attention to the chelsea-cluj CHAMPIONS LEAGUE match on TV, sitting blogging intently on west bromwich albion?

i love the albion - and i depart from family traditions on this point - with ipswich town on one side; and my nan and her second husband being season ticket-holders at fratton park for many years, on the other. to me, the albion represent something that is lost in the BIG 4/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE world of today. i admire deeply that a club maintains a mandate to play attractive, attacking, passing football and doesn't deviate from its traditions whatever its fortunes. they are a club that generally operates within its means and looks for players and management that share the club philosophy and will continue to promote the ideal of an entertaining, attacking, and intelligent footballing team. they also have the best - and perhaps some of the most knowledgeable - supporters of any large team in the country. for me, the issue of being a baggies supporter has everything to do with the admiration of integrity.

to me, west bromwich albion will always be that team of the late 70s, which - like so many albion teams before and since - never quite saw its potentials fulfilled and fell short of the FA CUP final one year, and then missed out on winning the LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP the next. but it is the memory of that team, and the traditions that the club maintains to this day that make me a baggies fan; and the only reason that i really care at all that they stay in the premiership is so that i can see them on TV each week - as i have never been able to find a hack that allows me to listen to the radio broadcasts at BBC online. last year, i only saw maybe 2 baggies league games all year, and i was lucky enough that they went on a cup run as i was able to see them play on 3 or 4 other occasions through televised cup ties - including the heartbreak of the semi-final. mostly though i had to follow the matches through the live text scores on the BBC, and was eagerly looking forward, all year long, to yet another crack at establishing the team in the premiership, and facilitate their return to weekly television football broadcasts.

i would find it sad - if i thought (and maybe i already do) that a club of the stature and tradition of west bromwich albion might never reach the top of the english football ladder again (or at least, in my lifetime), and re-establish themselves as a consistent top flight team; and that all there is to look forward to is a perpetual up and down existence, with the possibility of more lower league trophies... maybe an FA or LEAGUE CUP run... some time - i dunno'... that would still be great - but something about english football will have changed and sadly, some of its character will have gone forever, its soul consumed by international corporate hype and billionaire hubris.

tony mowbray is a great manager, and if you compare his demeanor and general attitude with that of the other managers dealing with struggling situations in the premiership, there's worlds of difference. i cannot believe that any baggies fan is calling for him to be sacked - and to be replaced by someone so unrealistic and inappropriate as sam allardyce(!?!) or articles calling for jeremy peace to come up with ten-million quid for a tried and true "super-striker". this is just not in the spirit of the albion and we are succumbing to premier league obsession and hype. last year, i remember that gareth southgate came under fire with middlesborough supporters calling for his resignation or sacking very early in the season, due to a string of poor early results. this year, he's got the team up in and around the top half and no one's got a problem. paul ince is looking worried and desperate (even terrified at times), sunderland doesn't even have a manager since keane walked out last week, and zola looks like he's going to manage west ham right down to the bottom of the table with a string of (predicted) upcoming losses and low-scoring/goalless draws - in fact, zola doesn't really look much the part of a manager at all to me. but tony mowbray looks calm, makes fair and generous assessments of his teams situation and performance, and he's sure to be encouraging with his club in spite of the results. i know he's got the team behind him and he might just end up being the reason we'll be able to drag ourselves up and out of last place, and perhaps avoid relegation - provided that that opportunity is still there.


one of the things that nobody has really mentioned anywhere that i look, is the fact that there are no out and out bad teams in the premier league this year. without someone like derby was last year, i can see a team perhaps needing as much as 40 points to avoid relegation. that's a much more competitive competition than it was last year - and we have had no luck at all this last couple of months. we're going to have to go on a couple of short winning runs, consolidated with some draws - before we can realistically start talking about survival; and it just might be too late already.

it's a cliche to say so, but the chinese word for "crisis" and "opportunity" are the same. looking at today's news that ishmael miller is out for the season is definitely what i call a crisis. i'm not sure that i would keep with the single striker formation that the albion has been playing lately, as it requires miller's pace to work (as became evident to me in the portsmouth match) and could be quite effective, especially with greening pushing into a forward position on the controlled, passing, possession attacks. i had been critical of this all year, thinking that surely 2 strikers is more in keeping with the albion style (i remember them playing 3 strikers at times last year). but the incisive passing and miller's pace had me seeing what mowbray had been working on, and i really enjoyed the play, especially in the first half. tony mowbray was right when he said that it would not be possible for a team to keep playing as high a quality of football as the baggies are and not start to win eventually, and we are so overdue for a win that i can't see us not beating sunderland this weekend - and that would be a start and create a much better feeling about last weeks performance against pompey as well.

which brings us around to the question: who are we going to do it with? i'd give keily a start in goal for one thing, just as a way of shaking things up; as carson looks unsure of anything other than high-crosses coming at him in the 6-yard box. it's pretty obvious that we'll see luke moore, at some point - and i imagine that that will be sooner than later. i don't really know what to expect from him, i haven't seen enough of him, that i can remember, to have any real impression. he looks good enough on paper, but the lack of time that mowbray has given him makes me a bit suspicious. but then again, i have a suspicion that TM was paying too much attention to ishmael miller, as it is obvious the belief that he has in him; and i suspect if TM has a weakness, it is too much attention payed to his works-in-progress. of course, i'm hoping moore comes on and makes some immediate and heroic impact - but that is just probably wishful thinking. i have to believe that they're going to go for a standard 4-4-2 with moore and bednar up front. but then again, we're down to just the 2 strikers so they may keep working on the single-striker formation with jonathan greening pushing forward into the box on attack. actually i think that a more consistently attacking greening is the key to getting the team going, and i think mowbray probably knows this too and gets on jonno's back about it - i hope that greening is listening and realizes what he's got to do. because if he starts scoring more regularly, so will morrison, brunt and koren, all of whom are capable of spectacular goals if they can get into space. if luke moore can score and set people up in space, and meite, olsson and robinson can keep carson from having to deal with too much at the back. we might start to turn it around.

Miller Gone for the Season

well, that's it... the gods of football are just not with the albion this year. the scans on ishamel miller's knee have revealed that the injury he sustained in sunday's match with pompey is not the medial ligament damage (with a minimum of 6 weeks recovery) that TM was expecting immediately following the match when talking to the press. it is much worse. the scans showed that the injury is actually cruciate knee ligament damage that will put miller out for the rest of the season, with a projected recovery time of 6-9 months.

the saddest aspect of this, i think, is that it looked a ball he should never have gone after so vigorously. but to his credit, i think he felt that a goal was coming and he was on pace, looking the most likely to finish in a series of fast breaking moves at goal that the baggies fashioned in the last 20 minutes of the game. his enthusiasm got the better of him and was mangled in going for a ball that always looked to be the portsmouth keeper's, david james. miller got his leg stuck under the sprawling, outstretched james as his body twisted awkwardly forward, causing him to take a head-over-heels tumble with his right leg still trapped, causing the injury. he also required a few stitches in his head.

the great shame of all this is that miller, after a slow start to the season, has scored 3 goals in 7 matches and has been improving with each subsequent performance. he was positively menacing and had been getting by far the better of the play against veteran pompey full-back and england international, sol campbell all day. you could see that he felt that he was on a goal after forcing a good save from david james; and had also managed to get on the end of a couple of good balls into the box. the biggest disappointment, i think, is that it takes miller out of the game at the worst possible time - not only to the baggies season; but as a professional footballer, it's possible that the development, experience and playing time he will miss could have a permanent affect on seeing him reach his true potential as a premier league heavy-weight. he will have lost an entire year now, in a profession that by nature sees generally short careers at the very top-flight. for his own sake, i hope he keeps his head together, but for a 21 year old - and in the game of football, 9 months is an eternity. there is only a certain number of years in your 20s that you can be as big, strong and fast as miller is right now - and he is at one of those crucial junctures where learning his craft is of the essence, and timely recovery and a good head-space is going to be critical for him.

as for the rest of us, i hope he comes back to the game and fulfills his potentials with only some time lost. i've seen too much football in my time that featured short careers and unfulfilled potentials. although it's far too early to be even talking about writing a guy off at 21, there is no telling of what the long term consequences might be, especially psychologically. there's the rest of the season gone - and with whatever might happen to the baggies from here on out - miller will not be a factor and will never know what he might have contributed and gone on to from his recent and developing goal-scoring form.

The Day After Miller's Injury

well, now we have to deal with the aftermath and look at some hard facts. it was all just talk and speculation immediately following the match yesterday, but ishmael miller - who has looked better and better with each passing game, and was positively menacing in yesterday's unlucky draw with portsmouth - is going to be out for at least 6 weeks. for one thing, that forces the club to go looking for a striker this january (something they were probably going to do anyway) - and its going to give us a chance to have a look at luke moore. who knows? while it appears to be a devastating blow (and i for one believe it is), it could be one of those strange blessings in disguise.

i have absolute belief in tony mowbray, insofar as he is completely in tune with the club's philosophy and style; but, i have my suspicions that he might sometimes spend too much attention to his works in progress, which distracts him from giving a look to other things - and most certainly, miller is his biggest and most potentially promising project at the moment. don't get me wrong! i'm a huge miller fan and i would probably give him the same attention if i were in TM's place - and he was really playing his part in making the single striker formation, that i have heretofore been critical of, start to work really well. but i have to add, while it's miller's pace that makes this type of attack so potentially dangerous, it is the element of jonathan greening getting into a forward position on attack that makes it really work. it was so evident in the first half of the match with pompey, and i hope both manager and player realize it!

although yesterday's draw felt like a loss rather than a point gained - there were plenty of positives (as there have been with more than a few lost or drawn performances this year) to take from yesterday's encounter. so much so that it is becoming a maddening cliche to say so. i mean, even against the big teams like chelsea, where i sat for the first 20 minutes just thinking it a matter of time before albion scored the first goal, the team often dominates the play but doesn't score. i've heard too many varying opinions on the subject, and too many ridiculous ideas about what should be done.

there's been so much talk about strikers this year. but i think the scoring problem goes further than that. the problem is, that we're not scoring enough from anywhere. our total tally of goals scored isn't much bigger than our list of actual goal-scorers. with greening pressing forward into the box - they should be looking to make scoring opportunities for brunt, valero, koren, zuiverloon and morrison, as well. with greening now, this is the first new scorer to add to the list since olsson scrambled that winner against fulham the first weekend of october! that now makes 6 goal-scorers in all - and i think that 5 of them should be working harder to be regular contributors (and koren needs to pop one in now and then) when it comes to finishing - especially greening. he should be like old tony brown and right up there in the box on attack. perhaps with miller unavailable, one or two true heroes can step up and get things turned around.

i was also heartened to hear greening in the press today, saying that there is still good feeling around the club and they're pretty confident about avoiding relegation. that i think is another testament to tony mowbray's style of management. he'll be very sure to keep letting everyone kow how well they are playing despite the poor results - and the players probably know it too.

as i write, the tottenham/west ham match has just ended and i've changed my mind since yesterday. i think it's more likely that we will find ourselves in a four-way battle to avoid the drop with blackburn, sunderland and west ham. so we could still be in for some excitement yet.

WBA 1-1 Portsmouth

today's match with portsmouth showed all the team's strengths - as well as (at least in some small measure) its weaknesses too; and tells us pretty fairly where we stand. i feel vindicated - as a long time supporter of his - that greening played so well in the first half and got the goal. i can't understand any of the knocks that he's gotten from fans this year. personally, i think he's the only one on the squad, at the moment, who consistently looks a premiership player week in and week out. despite dropping back into a midfield position in the second half, where he seemed to disappear a little bit he was effective enough - as always doing his part in the series of quick, incisive breaks that the albion created in the latter part of game.

even though there were the wasted finishes that we have all become used to seeing this year, the real problem that i could see today was, that going into the second half with a 1-0 lead, the baggies just weren't quite sure on how to play it. i mean the peter crouch goal, it was really quite a spectacular, and unstoppable shot - especially with the unfortunate flick it took off meite, redirecting the ball enough to send it over the outstretched carson; but it was the evidently less decisive and controlling play on the part of the albion at the the outset of the second half that allowed crouch the opportunity. that is really what led to the pompey goal. the baggies just didn't seem to know how to carry on straight-off with the way they had played in the first half - and it took the first fifteen minutes or so to re-establish themsleves when what they needed to do was keep going straight at pompey with miller and greening pushing forward looking for the second goal to put game beyond reach.

there's been so much talk about strikers with the faithful lately, as miller is still learning his craft and bednar is having trouble adjusting to the tempo of the premiership game, but i felt after watching today, it is our defensive play that is weakest - and especially in goal. i think meite played well on the right, and there were no real dangerous mistakes by robinson - although he has been displaying some bizarre decision making, and his outbursts probably don't help - but i have real questions about carson. a goalie should be directing things at the back and being decisive about indicating who should be coming for and taking the ball. i think that with the line-up at the back as it was today, mowbray's got it just about right with meite, olsson and robinson covering the central positions, but there's just nobody running the defense and we came within inches of repeating last week's performance when he bobbled that cross on the line. he also doesn't seem to have much of an eye for starting any moves forward. he is the main reason why our best defense is to stay on the attack and control the ball in midfield.

that's not to say that we don't need to start scoring more goals, but a clean sheet today would have preserved a victory - even though it never looked to be a low-scoring game, that's the way it turned out - and successful teams know how to win in the end on the unluckiest of days. yesterday's man. united match was a perfect example. they just could not put the ball into the sunderland net when they might have had at least 2 or 3, and they only just managed to win in injury-time.

we'll have to see about miller - i havent heard anything yet about his injury (and i'm checking the BBC every few minutes at this point) but he's going to be sorely missed if he's out for any length of time, and i thought he had a great game today. he should never have gone after that ball, but i guess that's just reflects his youthful enthusiasm and really wanting to score.

there's no doubt pompey played pretty abysmal football in the first half, and the baggies looked better than the 1-0 scoreline, and i still i can't really understand why greening didn't keep pressing forward in the second half, as it was the inability to get the second goal before the pompey equaliser that cost them the win. i think that TM should encourage him to go forward, in the tradition of tony brown - whose style (which was thought revolutionary at the time) was always to play the midfield as an attacking position. koren and valero, i thought were adequately improved at winning balls in the midfield; and koren looks to be adapting to the speed of the premiership, and that should leave greening free to go forward more.

brunt and morrison provided some really good wing play throughout (on the left and right respectively). it was of course brunt's brilliant free-kick that led to the greening goal, and i was surprised that morrison was so effective playing down either side - as i noticed him more and more coming down the left wing when greening had moved back into midfield. late in the game, he played a tremendous left-footed cross-field ball for bednar in a buildup that ended with brunt missing a great opportunity for a second goal... really entertaining stuff - just not winning stuff, yet.

again, on terms of performance of passing football it was a heartening display and i can see yet further improvement today at getting the ball into the box; but the baggies are now beginning to look pretty firmly established as the bottom team in the league, and i can't see anything more than a fight with blackburn and sunderland as to the order of finish for the bottom three. but more on their long term fate later...