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entertaining somen tchoyi to lead the line; while the club's latest signing, striker, shane long, played in a slightly withdrawn position and it was quite clear that the gaffer was indeed employing a two striker system.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.

Striker, Striker Burning Bright...

we all pretty much knew it was going to happen, but the wait is finally over. reading striker, shane long, has finally signed with the baggies for what is almost as much as the club have ever paid for anyone, anywhere at anytime: £4.5million. iglesias borja-valero is still the club's most expensive signing at £4.7million.

while borja-valero came highly touted by then-baggies manager, tony mowbray, the spanish international produced only 3 assists in his 31 starts for the albion, and never generally worked out. in fact, he has spent most of time at the albion out on loan with several different top clubs in his native spain.





shane long comes to the hawthorns as the most highly touted player since roy hodgson took over and the gaffer is expecting big things from his young signing. last year in the championship the 24-year-old striker scored 25 times in 51 starts. that's an impressive record in any league and hodgson believes that long has what it takes to be competitive in the top-flight and become a bona fide baggies' legend, along with names like clark, regis, taylor, and phillips.

at the same time, it looked like ishmael miller was going to nottingham forest, and was scheduled for the routine medical on monday. however, forest have since reported that they are close to signing matt derbyshire from blackburn rovers leaving us all wondering where that puts the miller transfer. news stories from yesterday, including a statement from forest manager, steve maclaren, suggest that miller is perhaps a second choice to another target signing.

this has revived speculation that miller might be set for a transfer to middlesbrough, and a reunion with ex-baggies manager, tony mowbray, who has always been one of miller's greatest proponents.





whatever else is happening - and with reports that peter odemwingie is going to be out of the side that will be opening the season at home to league champions, manchester united on sunday - long is probably going to find himself thrown in at the deep end with an opportunity to make his mark in a big premier league fixture almost immediately.

it was long who scored the solitary goal in a 1-0 win for the royals that put west brom out of the FA cup last year.

despite being a near record signing, this was the only significant money the baggies have had to spend on what looks to have been a really successful transfer market. billy jones, gareth macauley, martin fulop and zoltan gera all signed on free transfers; while high-profile goalkeeper, ben foster, came on a loan deal from cash-strapped local rivals, birmingham city. long is the sixth deal of the transfer window and there is still a single loan spot left should west brom need to use it.





so, while there is still room and time to make one or two more deals, the baggies do not feel pressured on the issue, and with shane long's signing, both roy hodgson and dan ashworth feel they've got a complete side and are ready to begin the new top-flight campaign.

as well, there are also three or four top academy players at the hawthorns - in the likes of sam mantom, george thorne and craig dawson - which will not impact on the 25-man team roster that the gaffer will soon have to decide on. the albion have made it clear that there is still room for another defensive player should the right opportunity present itself.

WBA 1-1 Parma F.C.

it's hard to write about pre-season friendlies. especially involving teams with which you are completely unfamiliar. the prime difficulty being that there is no text commentary available. none of the regular sources - like the BBC or the club website - report any of statistics, and you usually can't even find a team-sheet until after the match. what can you talk about with no statistics and not even knowing the oppositions names and numbers?

it is, however, the time of year that fringe players, and players just coming into the club, get some time on the pitch in competitive fixtures and one can begin to make evaluations and read into the manager's intentions somewhat. it's the time of year for speculation and hope. although, and especially with a club like the baggies, who buy carefully and very often don't make their most important signings until the end of the transfer window, things aren't always clear until opening day and sometimes beyond.

for example, peter odemwingie came into the side on the friday before the second match of the season last year. the nigerian striker scored a late winner against sunderland at the hawthorns without even having had enough time at the club to get his name in the match-day programme.

one thing that was clear from this year's pre-season, which included a 3-game tour of the western US, was that the baggies have done things right and will be taking an even stronger team into this season's premier league than last year's squad which managed to achieve a creditable 11th place in the league.





while we may not be able to repeat the same thing next year, we're looking less and less like a team that will struggle, and there is a phenomenal amount of confidence and belief within the environment of the playing squad at the moment.

while there are always the regular grumblings from premier league "purists" who insist the jeremy peace doesn't do enough in terms of "splashing the cash" to ensure continued and future success in the top-flight, but the baggies major coup over the summer was managing to hang on to their best and most important players. despite concerns that a hungry club with money would come calling for odemwingie, or rumours that have persisted for almost a year now linking chris brunt with a move to liverpool, everyone has pretty much stayed, while both brunt and youssouf mulumbu having signed improved contracts recently.

with peter odemwingie staying on as well, and ben foster coming to the club from a troubled birmingham city side, the albion have been able to keep to their long term schedule for building a successful side in a way that jeremy peace has always envisioned for the baggies: constant and incremental improvement from year to year. it may not be the most exciting or flamboyant management style, but last season's mid-table finish should have gone a long way in vindication of the chairman's conservative approach to spending.





as of yesterday, martin fulop signed with west brom, filling the vacant goalkeeper spot left by the departure of boaz myhill to blues and the search for regular football. so the baggies are now left with only the singular problem of finding a striker.

they are also left with the prospect of needing to sell one or two of the veteran squad members. ishmael miller looks like he'll be going to nottingham forest and is scheduled for a medical there within a few hours. hodgson has said that the deal will be a permanent move for the baggies' striker.

i feel badly for miller. i was very hopeful for him as youngster having to meet the challenges of playing a single-striker set-up in the premier league. but just as he was beginning to show his potential and look like a top-flight player, and on the back of several really good goals, he was injured in a collision with then-pompey goalkeeper, david james, and the albion were ultimately relegated. miller came back to score in his first start in 14 months against blackpool, and then got another important goal three days later in a vital win at swansea.

it was a comeback that was never to be, though, as niggling injuries and increasing difficulty getting into the side under roberto di matteo saw him go out on a loan spell at QPR where he really never featured and only scored once - coming on as a substitute - in his half-season at loftus road.





the sad fact is that the club has evolved, and a player like miller needs to be in the first team somewhere and getting regular starts. the albion can no longer really offer him this, as he would be taking his place in the queue behind peter odemwingie, marc-antoine fortuné, somen tchoyi, simon cox and probably even roman bednar. the club has moved on and developed without him.

another face that was conspicuous through absence on the bench for this one was marek cech. while he was a useful player last term in a utility role - playing for nicky shorey and paul scharner when injured - but like miller is a player who probably needs to be in the starting XI and might do well for his career to move on rather than remain at the hawthorns.

with this coming weekend's opener at home to league champions, manchester united, the baggies are just a striker short of where they aim to be. last year - and on the eve of an opening day thrashing at the hands of chelsea - the albion had yet to sign peter odemwingie, paul scharner and somen tchoyi.

with striker shane long from championship side, reading f.c., as their identified target, west brom are miles ahead of where they were this time last year. i can't help feeling that this all bodes well for the coming season.

Cometh the Transfers - Cometh the Season

with the start of this year's football league competitions just a little over 24 hours away, and the premier league proper ready to go a week from tomorrow, i find myself scrambling to get this article written so that i'm at least up to date before hull and blackpool kick-off tomorrow evening.

i look forward to the prospect of a fourth season blogging about the baggies, digital multi-media, trans-atlantic trips to the hawthorns and televised football from the perspective of supporting a large community based club from overseas.

unless you happen to support manchester city, the talk on message-boards, fan forums and chat-rooms is almost exclusively preoccupied with rumours from the transfer market, ranting and lamenting that your club has not spent enough money or brought in the players so desperately needed to achieve whatever relative success will be on immediate demand.




for the millions who support manchester united, they will be worrying about a lack of depth to compete successfully in both the premier league, uefa champions league, and will be expected to win at least one of the two major domestic cup competitions as well. they will also be contesting the charity shield game against cross-town rivals and current fa cup holders, manchester city this sunday.

fans of both liverpool and chelsea will have similar expectations, while arsenal, tottenham and manchester city will be expecting nothing less than a top-four finish. newcomers norwich, QPR and swansea city will join most of the rest of the league in targeting survival and little else.

of course, if you support an established mid-table premier league side (if indeed, such a thing truly exists), you might also entertain the prospect of a cup run; just as long it doesn't come at the expense of, or create any distraction from getting the necessary results in the league.

whatever the situation, the complaints will always be roughly the same and most supporters will believe their club not to have been aggressive enough about "splashing the cash" in order to obtain what are very often unrealistic signings and expectations.





with manchester city being the one notable and consistent exception to the rule, sunderland has been the one truly aggressive club since the outset of the summer tranfer window. they signed everybody they could, it seemed, and they did it early on. this is no doubt reaction to the drastic drop in form the black cats suffered during the second-half of last season.

as for west bromwich albion, they've done OK. the baggies signed defenders gareth mcauley and billy jones right at the outset - and before their tour of the western US - and action was relatively slow for another week or so while talk of owen hargreaves coming to the hawthorns started to flag a bit. however, they were then successful in their quest for a number one goalie in taking ben foster from cash-strapped and on the rocks birmingham city; while zoltan gera re-signed with the albion and is expected to start playing in september, after serving a three-game ban for a red-card incurred playing for fulham on the final day of last season.

it is no secret that west brom still need another goalie, with boaz myhill having gone to blues, and are also looking for a striker. even with a new stiker - the current target being reading's shane long - i think that hodgson has a few surprises up his sleeve.




for example, he brought roman bednar back for the pre-season, along with a fit ishmael miller, and gave them both regular playing time on the american trip, as well as two friendlies back on english soil - against rochdale and southampton respectively. the two veteran baggies' frontmen were generally rotated in partnership with simon cox and somen tchoyi. peter odemwingie did not make the trip, taking some deserved recuperation time following what was ostensibly two years straight football without a break.

whether he's got another striker coming or not, the gaffer is hedging his bets and looking to maintain his resources in order to manage the inevitable injury problems that will occur at some point in the season.

it won't be the same as last year, and new heroes will have to take on new responsibilities if the baggies are going to see continued success in the premier league. however, things are looking good: graham dorrans will no doubt get a chance to leave his mark on the top-flight, and we could very well see some of the mowbray-era veterans like ishmael miller, roman bednar and zoltan gera getting some time in the side.

with the baggies continuing their off-season with a match away to bristol city, hodgson started to show more-or-less what the starting team is going to look like for the beginning of the season. while ben foster didn't have much to do in his first outing in albion colours, you could sense his quality and the improvement he's going to add between the posts.

stephen reid, gabriel tamas, jonas olsson and nicky shorey made up the back-line. paul scharner and youssouf mulumbu continued their partnership defending in the midfield; while chris brunt and jerome thomas played wide behind a two striker set-up of peter odemwingie and somen tchoyi - a very solid looking albion side.

after squandering their initial opportunities and having a massive edge in possession, the baggies finally prevailed 1-0 on a late goal by substitute craig dawson.

right now the baggies have got one of the best managers in the business and an improved team from last year. it should be another good year in the premier league for west bromwich albion.

Heavy Lay the Judgement

it's been a little less than two weeks now since swansea city brought an end the football season, winning themselves promotion to the almighty PREMIER LEAGUE through play-off final victory over reading f.c., and the transfer market is already starting to buzz with activity and rumour.

in the new world digital millennium, the easiest way to gauge what the supporters are actually thinking is to browse your way through the various websites which host message-boards and fan forums and have a look at what people are posting.

i have recently and regularly been following - and contributing - to several threads at westbrom.com, an independent fan site with quite active forums and a membership of about 4000. while the site is well moderated and there is some surprisingly keen local insights in the writing and contributions to posts, there is still enough ill-conceived thought and unrealistic expectation going on here to support my assertion that the PREMIER LEAGUE can do terrible things to the soul of a football club.





it has long been known that the club's intention - and indeed, its necessity - to strengthen the centre-back positions. with jonas olsson the only defender about whom there is no question as to his place and importance in the squad, the lack of two good centre-backs is otherwise a pretty glaring deficiency in the side. neither does roy hodgson appear too keen on either of the goalies it seems. this is no surprise, as the baggies were simply unable to deal with corner-kicks and set plays going into the second-half of the season, so you can bet there'll be at least a few signings made to address this situation between now and august.

what is evident on the message-boards and online forums is that the expectation of the supporters as to who a club like west bromwich albion can attract (or afford) is largely unrealistic. there's enough talk about the idea of bringing a player like christopher samba to the hawthorns, and plenty of commentary about how gareth macauley and billy jones - the first signings of roy hodgson's tenure - are adequate back-up players to the proven "top-grade" defenders that the baggies' management are apparently going to be buying; and how no one seems to rate andy lonergan as a goalie, blah blah blah...

much of fan posting is quite fanciful, to say the least. as a supporter of a large community based club, what you want is one thing; what you get is another and the truth is always somewhat mundane.

christopher samba has been linked with a move to arsenal. even the top clubs have trouble finding defenders of his quality. andy lonergan is, in fact, one of the better english goalies, and at 27, a fairly long career can still be projected for the current preston north end stopper. more than one or two PREMIER LEAGUE clubs will eventually be seriously targeting him to compete for a place in their starting eleven.





whatever is happening and whoever else the baggies sign over the summer, the club's most recent acquisitions are players being brought in to strengthen the first team and no one is being signed with the intention of playing them in the reserves or as a substitute for someone better. make no mistake, billy jones and gareth mcauley have both been brought in to compete for places in the first team.

one subject that really had me shaking my head were the discussions about danny graham. with expectations that he'd be coming to the hawthorns, the general reaction was, for the most part, pretty lukewarm-to-negative with loads of unenthusiastic assessment promoting the old cliché that a player like graham might've done well in the CHAMPIONSHIP, but is never going to be a proper PREMIER LEAGUE player; and again how he might be of some use coming off the bench for some imaginary proven "top-flight" striker.

well, the fact is that we didn't even come close in getting last year's joint top-scorer in the CHAMPIONSHIP and were out-bid (quite significantly, i might add) by both QPR and ultimately, swansea city. like the albion, these two clubs - both new to the PREMIER LEAGUE for the upcoming season - in pursuing graham, would have hope and confidence that the ex-watford sharp-shooter can be an important player in the PREMIER LEAGUE and an asset to anyone looking at the struggle for survival in the world's top football league.





the days when the big community based clubs, like the albion, could compete financially with teams at the top of the league and playing attractive football was the measure, are long gone. as the money continues to get out of hand and the gap between the top 4 or 5 clubs and everyone else gets bigger, expectations of what is possible will have to continue to change. while there is a historical precedent and the baggies are the 15th most successful side in the annals of english football, the right to claim a place as one of the top 20 clubs in the country is something the albion are going to have to perpetually battle out with 10-12 other clubs of similar size and stature.

my only answer is to have faith in our club. as albion fans, let's hope for and try to inspire a little bit of magic. it's easy to project continued success for all our proven and favourite players; like peter odemwingie, graham dorrans and youssouf mulumbu; but let's also hope that simon cox can become a consistent goalscorer in the PREMIER LEAGUE. let's hope that ishmael miller can finally come back from injury and be something like the player that we all hoped he would. let's have faith that our new signings are successful and can make significant contributions to improving the squad. let's hope that we find a good goalie and another quality centre-half. let's just hope...

A Satisfying End

Newcastle Utd F.C. 3-3 WBA

live text replay


in my blog of august 8th of last year, i stated that i no-less-than expected a mid-table finish from the baggies in their upcoming premiership campaign. in the end - and by the grace of somen tchoyi - my prediction happily came true. instead of finishing a respectable 14th in the table (as it well looked they might), west bromwich albion completed doubles over sunderland and everton in the final few weeks of the season before securing this all important single point against the toon to claim a final league standing of 11th.

this is certainly beyond what anyone (i actually predicted 9th...) had expected, and was something that the supporters by-and-large would have felt was a few years overdue. with the pre-season prognostications by pundits of every stripe and stature almost unanimously picking the baggies to finish 19th - one place above what was predicted for blackpool - the season can only be judged to have been a massive success.


while i can feel a certain amount of vindication as to my unwavering faith in the team, it didn't happen quite how i had expected it would; and i certainly had not counted on the phenomenon that was peter odemwingie. the nigerian international scored 15 goals and his efforts can be counted as directly attributable for 27 of the club's total points this season. the baggies were still hardly a model defensive team, and there were variously problems with full-backs, centre-halves and goalies. so it was really the nigerian's scoring ability, more than any other single factor, that made the albion a competitive proposition in the top-flight this year.

on the management side, the accomplishment of a solid mid-table finish was as much the work of roberto di matteo as it was of both roy hodgson and jeremy peace. i don't really know what happened, or why specifically (and other than the obvious answer of "results") the club decided to change managers? especially as there has always been a tradition of sticking with the present gaffer during a PREMIER LEAGUE campaign at the hawthorns. so the circumstances under which the baggies succeeded was essentially roy hodgson leading roberto di matteo's 25 man squad to PREMIER LEAGUE respectability.

whatever the case, the decision to bring in a new regime, while being unpopular at the time of di matteo's sacking, was celebrated the moment that we learned that the job had been given to roy hodgson. it was a better fit than anyone could have anticipated or hoped for. the new gaffer turned it around completely and went on to lead the baggies through an eight game unbeaten run, and posted only two losses in their last twelve matches.


absolutely everyone knew what he had done at fulham, and west brom was much the same kind of assignment: take a club in danger of relegation and keep them in the division. we'll see what next year brings and will be better able to assess whatever is achieved relative to what the gaffer accomplished in his time at craven cottage. but this was a more compact, emphatic and decidedly less dramatic survival campaign than the final day heroics at fulham required three years ago.

the baggies had clinched survival against sunderland , really, and their victory at home to everton, as well as the ridiculous and sublime last day efforts of somen tchoyi to rescue a point away to newcastle, were relaxed and ultimately entertaining matches that earned west brom their 11th place finish.

WBA 1-0 Everton F.C.

live text replay


after their best season in over thirty years, and their place in next year's PREMIER LEAGUE competition cemented, the baggies posted their third "double" of the year on the strength of their second clean-sheet of the campaign.

yuossouf mulumbu, no doubt buoyed by his selection as albion's "player of the year" - added to his scoring account with his 9th goal of the season with less than 10 minutes gone in the game.

while this was a decidedly better defensive effort on the part of both teams than had been in the reverse fixture - which ended a 4-1 win to the baggies - everton didn't take their chances and west brom managed to hold out for a clean-sheet to bookend their season's home fixtures with two 1-nil victories over sunderland and newcastle respectively.



the real surprise in the last two games was, without a doubt, somen tchoyi's spectacular second-half hat-trick against the toon on the final day.

the cameroon international has scored several goals earlier in the season and certainly can look dangerous going forward, but his tactical play as winger has always been in question and he has been the butt of more than a few jokes and subject to hard criticisms on the ALBION RADIO commentaries; and, judging by what has been written about him on various websites and fan forums, the supporters' opinion of him was generally pretty negative as well.

"i'm trying to figure out what position tchoyi's playing?"

"i'm not quite sure that he knows!"

followed by a quick round of laughter.

"he likes to run with the ball does old somen," the commentator adds, chuckling to himself, "he's just not too keen on passing it!"

while i have to admit, tchoyi had been uneven as a winger, despite looking a danger going forward and scoring several good goals when given the opportunity. however - and i'm unsure how anyone missed it - the cameroon international is a natural centre-forward. i had had my suspicions, but as to how good he can be, i was surprised and thought that albion may have found one of their missing strikers for next season.



no doubt, hodgson will bring in some of his own players, especially defenders and a goalie. i imagine that would be the boss's first order of business. you're always looking for strikers anyway, and the big job of the summer will be to keep hold of peter odemwingie. i think the gaffer also might have ishmael miller and simon cox in his plans for next year; so, we may have a few surprises yet, as well a search for another right-winger.

we will also have the return of graham dorrans to look forward to. while it was testament as to the general footballing talent in the side that the all-important attacking central midfield position was played so effectively by a rotating, patchwork crew of wingers and strikers. having the young scottish international back in the side will see a boost in quality to the albion's attack, and should supply a few more goals from central midfield. dorrans' ability to score from both open play and set pieces is well know to the baggies faithful but still a fairly unknown quantity in the PREMIER LEAGUE.

with part of the first team - including odemwingie - having gone home already, and the baggies 3-0 down early in the second-half thanks to an out of character own-goal by jonas olsson, tchoyi single-handedly got the baggies back in the match with two goals in ten minutes. the baggies were left with 20 minutes in which to find the equalizer and perhaps even go on to win the game.



when a speculative ball came looping into the newcastle penalty area, rolling harmlessly through and heading for touch, ishmael miller used his pace and wit to keep the ball in play with a smart back-heel to jonas olsson who dinked a in short cross for tchoyi to calmly head home the albion's 3rd goal.

in a way it summed up the baggies' season and was in keeping with old club traditions: if you can score enough goals, you'll do ok. after all, you're only as good as your strikers.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 WBA

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after last week's win over their other great rival, aston villa, just about guaranteed PREMIER LEAGUE football at the hawthorns again next season, this was always going to be made all the tougher a fixture for it. it would be easy to make excuses for this one and even be somewhat cynical, but the baggies played poorly in the first half and conceded early goals on a pair of corner-kicks leaving them 2-0 down within the first half-an-hour. despite rallying and creating several good scoring chances in the second half, it was an insurmountable score-line and wolves' goalie, wayne hennesy, made several key saves that put the issue beyond doubt.



to be fair, the baggies were fielding a squad desperately depleted through injury (as well as paul scharner's single match suspension) and in no need of taking chances or any undue gambles. three key players needed for defending corner-kicks - a particular and conspicuous weakness for the baggies this season - were missing from the line-up, in the likes of paul scharner, chris brunt and steven reid. it almost felt like the fulham away game all over again.

while referee mike dean called a pretty fair game over-all, he was intent on awarding wolves everything in the first few minutes, and didn't look like he would be comfortable until they had a good crack at goal. a second of two fairly soft fouls on the edge of the albion penalty area saw scott carson at full stretch to palm away jamie o'hara's dangerous free-kick. it was on the resulting corner-kick that wolves took the lead.

steven hunt's delivery was well put into a dangerous area and the albion defenders were largely left watching as the ball broke for wolves' front-man, steven fletcher who duly smashed it past a flailing scott carson.



with less than half-an-hour gone, wolves again took advantage of the albion's poor defending on corner-kicks when a similar goal was scored by french midlfielder, adlene guedioura. again wolves lost their markers and terrorized the west brom goal with a largely unchallenged aerial assault which saw guedioura head the ball home for a two-goal lead.

a third goal early in the second-half through a technical error by abdoulaye meite put the game beyond the baggies despite getting a goal back through a peter odemwingie penalty which kicked off the threat of a west brom comeback. at the end of the day, though, it was wolves who both wanted and needed this game more than the baggies did.

i'm sure that roy hodgson learnt a few things about the character of some of his individual players today. abdoulaye meite mis-controlled a routine ball that allowed steven fletcher an easy opportunity to score wolves' third goal. on the back of his unfortunate own-goal against the villa, the technically gifted centre-back - who has otherwise been in sterling form since his re-introduction to the first team - is sometimes prone to mistakes of the most basic nature. likewise, somen tchoyi who is another technically good player, has no idea how to pass a football, and one has to hope he is able to create direct opportunities on goal otherwise his time on the ball can be largely wasted.



simon cox continued to impress and was unlucky not to score. the young striker, who has found a place as a starter in the first team since roy hodgson taking over, looked sure to score only to see his effort saved by a superb reaction from wayne hennessy. somen tchoyi also should have had a goal, but put his opportunity at a free header just inches over the crossbar; while jerome thomas, exhibiting a superb piece of individual skill, sent a screaming shot spinning skyward off the woodwork with an effort that had wayne hennesy well beaten.

it was a rare win for wolves in the black country derby who have been decidedly second-best in games with the albion over the last decade. they were due for the win, wanted it more and needed it to continue their bid for top-flight survival.

it's going to go down to last day. wolves are going to need at least one more win and hope results in other games go their way in order to survive. at the moment, they look like finishing ahead of west ham, wigan, blackpool and birmingham, but you never know what the last two matches will bring, and goal difference is looking like it might come into play in deciding the final relegation places.

i think we all probably want to see the black country derby again next year, and will be hoping that wolves survive for that very reason.

meanwhile, and in all likelihood, the baggies will go into the last day contesting an 11th or 12th place finish with newcastle united away at st. james park.