Everything I am about to say is from my own personal experiences, so please don't think I'm being unfair or deliberately condescending!
As many of you know, the last three seasons I have been regularly attending away games have only missed one this campaign. You tend to get a feel of the usual group of supporters who go week in week out and it makes for a much nicer atmosphere when you tend to know most people around you.
The outcry that the club decided not to take the full allocation of tickets for next week's trip to Everton may be justified in that it has become possibly our biggest game of the season with a race for a European place on the cards (still, it feels funny as an Albion fan to think of Europe as a real possibility!!) when a 3000-strong following could be achieved, much like at West Ham a few weeks ago.
That said, had the London Stadium not been a new ground to visit, would we have sold as many tickets? Maybe not. This season, our average away attendance hasn't been anything to shout about and it isn't like there has been the demand for tickets. Granted, we have had a few lunchtime kick-offs (Chelsea and Tottenham) a Boxing Day fixture (Arsenal) and a game on New Years Eve (Southampton). Some of our other fixtures haven't sold out even when put on general sale (Sunderland, Bournemouth, etc).
It is often said that taking a full allocation helps improve the atmosphere massively and whilst I would love to agree with that sentiment, from my own experiences it hasn't always been the case. I can count on one hand the amount of away games I've been to in recent years where the atmosphere has been electric with a bumper following. Being around people who I recognise and feel comfortable around, as well as enjoying myself and singing loud and proud is what makes the day fun for me. Everton last season when we took around 900 is still one of my favourites (which, may I add, was also a 3pm kick off on a Saturday)!
Our last two FA Cup exits are prime examples of my hesitation in us taking a full allocation for the sake of it. It is obvious that when we are doing well there is the potential for more fans to "jump on the bandwagon", and whilst I feel extremely sorry for those who have genuinely missed out and wanted to go and support the team, sometimes it's worth noting that at least it will be less likely to attract the sorts who caused trouble in those cup games.
Personally I hadn't seen that many supporters had missed out on tickets, but instead those who had already got tickets were confused by the allocation. If so many had in fact missed out it should be noted by the club.
Don't think that I am opposing taking a large away following, as there is no doubt the team love to see huge support when it is needed, but I'm sure whether it would have been a couple hundred or a couple thousand fans we'll do our best to outsing the home crowd.
Just to reiterate, if you don't agree with my thoughts it's fine. They are exactly that: my thoughts.
Tuesday, 28 February 2017
West Bromwich Albion vs AFC Bournemouth
I have been waiting all season to heap praise on Craig Dawson properly, and despite him leaving the pitch prematurely due to injury, he was in contention for man of the match.
Dawson is often considered one of those "Marmite players", where fans either love him or hate him. A select group of supporters have often said that he neither defends well nor gets forward as a modern full back should. I have always disagreed with these sentiments as he has become one of Tony Pulis' most trusted figures since our Head Coach arrived at Albion. Before his departure due to a collision with Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings, Dawson was arguably the best player on the pitch. His fantastic strike in the first half was unexpected and sublime.
Albion and the Premier League's oldest outfield player, Gareth McAuley, poked home the winning goal, bringing his total to seven goals this season and becoming the league's top scoring defender and Albion's joint-top goalscorer. Not bad for a 37 year old!
Whilst the game was effectively decided in the first half, Albion made hard work of the second. Due to the inability to keep possession as we had been earlier in the match Bournemouth were able to get more into the game and threaten. In injury time they would have equalised, if not for the heroics of player of the season contender Ben Foster. Our goalkeeper once again proving his saves are just as vital in securing points as goals are.
Dawson is often considered one of those "Marmite players", where fans either love him or hate him. A select group of supporters have often said that he neither defends well nor gets forward as a modern full back should. I have always disagreed with these sentiments as he has become one of Tony Pulis' most trusted figures since our Head Coach arrived at Albion. Before his departure due to a collision with Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings, Dawson was arguably the best player on the pitch. His fantastic strike in the first half was unexpected and sublime.
Albion and the Premier League's oldest outfield player, Gareth McAuley, poked home the winning goal, bringing his total to seven goals this season and becoming the league's top scoring defender and Albion's joint-top goalscorer. Not bad for a 37 year old!
Whilst the game was effectively decided in the first half, Albion made hard work of the second. Due to the inability to keep possession as we had been earlier in the match Bournemouth were able to get more into the game and threaten. In injury time they would have equalised, if not for the heroics of player of the season contender Ben Foster. Our goalkeeper once again proving his saves are just as vital in securing points as goals are.
Tuesday, 14 February 2017
West Ham United vs West Bromwich Albion
"I love Allan Nyom!"
As does every Albion fan after his string of fantastic displays since arriving from Watford in August. At the London Stadium he possibly gave his best performance to date in the blue and white stripes. Both defensively and particularly going forward, Nyom worked his magic and helped Albion grind out a well-deserved point against West Ham.
Albion started off brilliantly, as they had done in the last two games scoring in the sixth minute. Instead of a third in three games for James Morrison on his 300th Baggies appearance it was Nacer Chadli who found the back of the net, making it three in two against the Hammers for the Belgian!
After a pretty solid first half, West Ham fought back with Albion on the backfoot for the most part. It could be argued that Tony Pulis was simply happy to hold on to a 1-0 with taking off the attacking Chadli, Morrison and Matt Phillips for Jonny Evans, Hal Robson-Kanu and Claudio Yacob, and the negative substitutions could have cost us dearly.
On 86 minutes West Ham had taken the lead to break Baggies hearts. Almost.
In injury time the 3000-strong away support were resigned to defeat until in the 94th minute, a player in blue and white stripes headed a Chris Brunt (who else?) corner home. At the time of writing I'm still unsure of whether it was Evans or Gareth McAuley, however it is fair to say it was a goal made in Northern Ireland! Cue "limbs"!
As does every Albion fan after his string of fantastic displays since arriving from Watford in August. At the London Stadium he possibly gave his best performance to date in the blue and white stripes. Both defensively and particularly going forward, Nyom worked his magic and helped Albion grind out a well-deserved point against West Ham.
Albion started off brilliantly, as they had done in the last two games scoring in the sixth minute. Instead of a third in three games for James Morrison on his 300th Baggies appearance it was Nacer Chadli who found the back of the net, making it three in two against the Hammers for the Belgian!
After a pretty solid first half, West Ham fought back with Albion on the backfoot for the most part. It could be argued that Tony Pulis was simply happy to hold on to a 1-0 with taking off the attacking Chadli, Morrison and Matt Phillips for Jonny Evans, Hal Robson-Kanu and Claudio Yacob, and the negative substitutions could have cost us dearly.
On 86 minutes West Ham had taken the lead to break Baggies hearts. Almost.
In injury time the 3000-strong away support were resigned to defeat until in the 94th minute, a player in blue and white stripes headed a Chris Brunt (who else?) corner home. At the time of writing I'm still unsure of whether it was Evans or Gareth McAuley, however it is fair to say it was a goal made in Northern Ireland! Cue "limbs"!
Thursday, 9 February 2017
Two Current Heroes
When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (again, I don't mean Voldemort) returned to the Hawthorns on Saturday of course the eyes of the crowd, and actually the footballing world, was inevitably drawn to him. It is fitting, however, that the game was to be decided by one of Albion's most loyal and long-standing servants in James Morrison.
Whilst He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could not wait to leave West Brom, Morrison has been a constant and consistent figure in our rise to prominence in the Premier League and is currently in what could be considered in the form of his life. This Saturday coming, if he is selected, he will join a 45-strong club known as the "300 club". The last player to be inducted into this exclusive group was a player who joined merely a week after Morrison: Chris Brunt.
Brunt has been just as vital, if not even more so, as Morrison in establishing Albion in the top flight and making the current squad arguably the best we've had in over 30 years. Today Brunt signed a well-deserved new contract to keep him with us over the ten year mark and in the modern game this is a fantastic achievement for not only one but two players.
In the summer both Morrison and Brunt will be due for a testimonial. The former is about to surpass our record Premier League goalscorer Peter Odemwingie, whilst Brunt has been involved in the most goals (scored or assisted) than any other Baggies player in the same league. A magnificent feat.
Not long ago, Brunt in particular was hounded as the scapegoat whenever anything went wrong on the pitch and sometimes off the pitch. Those days are well and truly behind us now, although it is interesting to know where exactly those "boo boys" have disappeared to. Never one to hide or shy away from criticism, taking responsibility for his actions and handling losing his captaincy with dignity are part of what makes Brunt a very special player and person, not even taking his talent into consideration.
I seemed to cause quite a stir when I suggested that these two players were the closest our generation would be able to call legends. I should have clarified that they are legends to me. I've said in the past that it was the Tony Mowbray era that really gave me the Albion bug, and it was in fact James Morrison and Chris Brunt who played a huge part in that. It has been a privilege to watch them don the blue and white stripes with pride for the past ten years and for over 600 combined games. Their hard work, passion and loyalty is rare in this day and age, and every Albion fan should appreciate them whilst we can.
Tuesday, 7 February 2017
West Bromwich Albion vs Stoke City
It would be quite predictable to talk about a certain former striker of ours but finally it seems we can put a long and sorry saga to bed. Albion got the last laugh.
It was 8th vs 9th, a Midlands derby of sorts and plenty was at stake at a vital stage of the season. A win for the Baggies would have been an opportunity to pull away comfortably from the chasing pack. In an entertaining fashion, the job was done.
Every man in blue and white stripes did a fantastic job, particularly first half when the atmosphere could have been considered electric. Every time Albion went forward the crowd roared the team on in optimism and the early goal from James Morrison, his second in a week, was taken well with the roof coming off the Hawthorns!
Craig Dawson has slotted in at his much-preferred position of centre back in the last few games whilst Jonny Evans recovers from injury; doing an impressive job and at one point showing off some fancy footwork and dribbling to bemuse He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (not Voldemort).
On his first start Jake Livermore ran the show. He was everywhere, linking up well in the midfield and chipping in both defensively and going forward. He could have capped off a fine performance with a goal in the dying minutes if he'd taken a shot earlier.
How does the chant go? "We always beat West Brom"? Albion are unbeaten in five of our last six meetings against the Potters...
It was 8th vs 9th, a Midlands derby of sorts and plenty was at stake at a vital stage of the season. A win for the Baggies would have been an opportunity to pull away comfortably from the chasing pack. In an entertaining fashion, the job was done.
Every man in blue and white stripes did a fantastic job, particularly first half when the atmosphere could have been considered electric. Every time Albion went forward the crowd roared the team on in optimism and the early goal from James Morrison, his second in a week, was taken well with the roof coming off the Hawthorns!
Craig Dawson has slotted in at his much-preferred position of centre back in the last few games whilst Jonny Evans recovers from injury; doing an impressive job and at one point showing off some fancy footwork and dribbling to bemuse He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (not Voldemort).
On his first start Jake Livermore ran the show. He was everywhere, linking up well in the midfield and chipping in both defensively and going forward. He could have capped off a fine performance with a goal in the dying minutes if he'd taken a shot earlier.
How does the chant go? "We always beat West Brom"? Albion are unbeaten in five of our last six meetings against the Potters...
Friday, 27 January 2017
Bye Bye Berahino
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!!!
Thursday, 5 January 2017
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.
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.
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