Bye Bye Berahino

I'd be tempted to chant the title of this post next Saturday if the song wasn't linked with our Black Country rivals but nevermind.

Anyway, it has been exactly a week since the 18 month long transfer saga of Saido Berahino ended, yet the dust hasn't quite settled in the aftermath.

Whilst some have simply wished the young striker well in the next chapter of his career and just want to move on from this sorry story, the majority are still in anger at how this has played out and, most importantly, how the player himself has acted.

It is no secret that Berahino has had his fair share of issues whilst at Albion, the club he has been at since he was a child, and maybe he has been misguided at stages of his time here. However, from the outside looking in from a fan's perspective it could also be said he has had too many chances from the management, playing staff and even us fans who only ever wanted him to try his best, get his head down and score goals. We all know he is capable, which is why there is still a sense of pessimism at his departure (especially given his opponents in a week's time)...

After that infamous tweet back in 2015, many Albion fans did a u-turn on a fans' favourite, understandably after disrespecting the club he played for. We all know football supporters are extremely fickle, but that is part and parcel of the game. Even more so now that social media is involved, where fans tend to find it amusing to throw someone's old tweet back in their face that contradicts their current view. Opinions change all the time, but these days that change is easier to notice and often held against people. Berahino's tweet certainly is held against him.

Personally, I hoped Berahino would simply get his head down, forget all that had happened and tried his hardest to get back to the best he was at at the beginning of 2014/15. Perhaps Tony Pulis' style of play was not as suited to his style of play, but other players have managed to grasp it. I wanted him to stay at the club but if a top six club came coming with the right price, and more importantly we had a replacement lined up, it would have been inevitable and we could have wished him well amicably. To go to Stoke City, however, has befuddled almost every Albion fan.

Yes, Berahino may be able to kickstart his career and start afresh, but the sad thing about it is he could have put everything that has happened behind him here, tried to get into Pulis' good graces (if Pulis could be won over that is) and get contributing to our fantastic season.

So, the chapter has now closed and Saido Berahino no longer has anything to do with West Bromwich Albion. It remains to be seen if he has made the right decision but I think we can all agree we want it behind us now.

And if Saido reads this, I am only one month younger than you and at 23 I know the difference between right and wrong, as well as making my own choices. I wish you all the best in your career. Just don't score on Saturday!!!

Sympathy For Gards...

It feels kind of strange to be writing something like this after the fantastic season we are having (I hope to God I haven't jinxed that before Saturday)!

However, we are now five days into 2017, which means we are also five days into the January transfer window. A time when we can reflect on how well summer signings have fared and whether the squad needs bolstering. For our European push, I think it would help massively! That said, bringing in new faces may also require sacrificing current ones, whether it be to pay for quality additions or so said players can get game time.

Callum McManaman was unsurprisingly sent out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday last week, as was Sebastien Pocognoli back in August to Brighton & Hove Albion; two players who were obviously out of favour and seemingly on their way out of the Hawthorns regardless. Promising youth duo Jonathan Leko and Sam Field have only this morning been linked with Championship loan moves.

What is more shocking, if not unfairly welcomed (which I shall get to shortly), is Birmingham City have enquired about the availability of Tony Pulis' favourite versatile super-sub Craig Gardner. "Gards" may favour this move as a boyhood Blues fan and due to his lack of game time, so if Albion can recruit sufficiently, it would seem like a great move.

Before I continue, I would like to point out that I am far from being Gardner's biggest fan on the pitch!

Now onto the main point of this post. As mentioned above, the news of Gardner's possible departure is being somewhat celebrated amongst Albion faithful, and whilst we can probably all agree he is far from a world class player many seem to think we can attract, he has been at this club for two and a half seasons without making a fuss or acting out, as well as scoring some crackers occasionally.

We currently sit 8th in the Premier League, and while the Craig Gardners, Craig Dawsons and James McCleans of the world may not be names associated with these heady heights, it seems upsetting that players who have gotten us to this level are spoken about in the way they are. Not long ago, the same was said about James Morrison and, to much more extent, Chris Brunt. Before we played Leicester in November. how were we doing when they were injured, and now we can't be without them. Not to mention Matt Phillips, who started the season off poorly and has blossomed into a player of the season contender!

Whilst criticism of players, managers, tactics, etc is always part and parcel of football, the abuse of players from their own fans I find is completely unacceptable. I know for a fact it annoys my Twitter followers if I post photos with players (especially as often as I did) but if anything it shows how approachable and accessible every single one of our players are. For that reason, it makes me quite sad to know why Chris Brunt and Craig Gardner deleted their social media pages.

With our push for Europe (I still smile when I say it!) on the cards and the potential for an FA Cup run, it would of course be amazing if we could bolster our squad with fresh faces to excite us all. But I don't think that should mean our current crop are subjected to the abuse some of them get.