Albion new boy Marek Cech faces one final obstacle to completing his move to England – gaining “international clearance” for beloved dog Barney.
Slovakian international Cech and his fiancee have already picked out a house near Birmingham, after he sealed a £1.4m switch from FC Porto yesterday.
But chocolate labrador Barney faces a spell in quarantine before he is allowed to follow them from Portugal.
He said: “My fiancee will stay with me and our dog Barney will come too but he must stay in quarantine.
“He’s a kid to us. He is two years old and we are trying to find out how long he will have to stay in quarantine.”
The detention of his four-legged friend seems to be the only black cloud on the horizon for Cech, after he sealed the chance to try his luck in the Premier League.
He signed a three-year contract yesterday with an option for a fourth season in Albion’s favour.
He is already itching to slot into Albion’s free-flowing team.
He said: “I spoke with the manager about the style of football and I can see he likes the football that I like.
“He likes to pass and he doesn’t want to play long balls. He likes to have technical football and the kind of play that supporters like.
“My targets are to play good football and show myself in a good light and be part of the team that stays in the Premier League this year.”
Cech may be set to provide some fireworks for Baggies fans after he became famous at previous clubs for his thunderbolt left-footed free-kicks.
He remains a defender at heart, even though recent seasons have seen him play on the left and in the centre of midfield.
He said: “I like to help with attacking but also I never forget that I am a defender when I play in my position as a left defender.
“I also like to play football and not to run for the ball. I am a player who likes to have the ball and pass it. I am a technical footballer.
“They can also expect that I will defend for my side. I took free-kicks for the national team, for Sparta Prague and also for Porto.
“I was one of the goalscorers. I was one of the free-kick takers all the time so I am used to it.”
Cech, who follows fellow Slovakian and former folk hero Igor Balis into The Hawthorns, is convinced the warm welcome he received on his visit to the Albion training ground helped him to know the transfer was right.
He said: “I didn’t have much knowledge of West Bromwich but I knew the club and their situation in the Premier League.
“I didn’t know the club exactly until I visited Birmigham and went to the training ground and the stadium. I was really surprised about the conditions and everything.
“I wasn’t too surprised about the conditions, because I know the Premier League is the best league in the world and it is normal to have good conditions.
“But I was surprised by the people. They were very kind and very nice to me and they didn’t press me to make a quick decision.
“They were very open to me and I would like to return this with my play on the field.”
Now Cech is intent on ensuring his entire Hawthorns contract is spent in the top flight.
He said: “I came here to play in the Premier League, not to go down to the Championship. I will do everything to be part of the team and to stabilise West Brom in the top league.”
28 Comments
Sounds like another quality signing by TM/JP
ARSENAL 9 TESCO BAGS 0 LMAO
Sounds good, however he can’t be that good at freekicks - he has only ever scored 3 goals!
Re No2 - old and smack.. wolver…who?
Win or lose to the Arsenel doesnt really matter..
The point is we are there and you are not…
keep sobbing….
Boing Boing..
2. Orange&black - Plymouth…. well who cares!!!!!!!
I’ve a choc lab too!!!!
Boing boing even players are giving up champions league to join us.. dingles on other hand….
Leicester, bournemouth, charlton what other rubbish have you signed?????
Lol at our poor neighbours…
4. doesnt matter, what great ambition you show for your team.
where is the dog playing in goal. cant be worse than that crap you had in last season.
2.Bet you’re glad you didn’t even make the play-offs!
Plymouth 9 Dingles 0
6. What is going on??? Did we not win the league and you finished 7th??
How many times did your GK pick the ball out his net v us? And ours?
CHAMPIONS BOY.
6.Michael?? The Crap we had in last season? we won the league you fool. comment on your own teams page and look who youve signed. Super Chris Iwelumo and a pathetic defender from a league 1 club. Grow Up and book your train ticket to plymouth
He will have to be kept in quarantine for six months and chacked for disease, mites and rabies.
The dog will have to do the same when it arrives..
Moses Mick - leading us to the promised land.
No 6 Michael,
Think before you post mate
Kiely won Golden Glove last season and your lame bunch of perenial chokers failed to score passed him once.
LMAO Nice 1 Tipton Baggie. Sounds like a good signing keep em coming mogga
Would that be the winner of the Championship “Golden Glove” award and current Irish No 1 as selected by Geovanni Trappatoni?
9. he won the golden glove because of you ability tio play attacking football not how good a keeper he is.
you were all slagging him off last season.
if you are going to slag players off at least try to remember.
8. oh yes you scored past us once last season.
and our keeper a saved a penalty against you.
my point was to the idiot who said it doesnt matter if you lose 9-0 to Arsenal because you are in the prem.
9. i know you won the league.
but you lot were all on these same E&S pages saying he was crap and blaming him for everything.
so does that make me a fool or you…(you obviously)
i dont need to grow up its called banter and you obviously cant take it.
“PATHETIC”
6
haha you’ve been made a 10 carot pr@t of there pal.
gosh id be red faced by now if i were you.
and for your info Michael, i didnt slag of Kiely once last season, nor have i ever concerned myself with visiting your pages.
gold&black said: Jul 16th, 2008 at 2:56 pm ARSENAL 9 TESCO BAGS 0 LMAO???
Enjoy Doncaster, Swansea, Blackpool… We’ll enjoy a proper derby against our real rivals Villa
YOU STATE YOU ARE A CLUB BIGGER THAN US WE ARE A TOWN YOU ARE CITY SO WHO PLAYS IN THE BIG LEAGUE TRUMPET BLOWERS
anyway lets talk prem and not grass roots footie bye bye dingle
Now I know why Moses Mick takes so long signing up players. Their contracts are carved in stone! Which would also explain the phrase ‘dropping a brick, Mick’. Michael: Somewhere in there I think you praised Albion,”because of your ability to play attacking football” (I’ve corrected the typos to avoid embarrassing you).
Michael, you are the one that needs to grow up. Comment on your own under achievers and leave us to enjoy the big league. Kiely is rubbish but good enough to win the Golden Glove. If anything our attacking lay left him mor exposed you ill advised dingle.
You wolves lot take are unbeleivable!! Michael, why don’t you run along and finish of those ‘you’ve let us down again posters’. You can kid yourselves that you’re winding us up when really we don’t care.
What we are trying to say is that results against Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool and Chelsea won’t decide our fate. It’s how we get on against Bolton, Wigan, Hull, Stoke etc that will. Course we don’t want to lose 9-0 against anyone.
But I’ll tell you something we’ll get to find out!! That’s the one thing that’s grating you lot the most.
PREMIER LEAGUE BOING BOING AND LOVING IT!!
Dean Kiely/Carl Hoefkens/Gianni Zuiverloon/
Neil Clement/Paul Robinson/Marek Cech/
Robert Koren/Jonathan Greening/James Morrison/
Luke Moore/Roman Bednar
Michael Danek/Leon Barnett/Pedro Pele/
Chris Brunt/Kim Do-Heon/Ishmael Miller/
Bartosz Slusarski.
HEY WOLVES FANS TAKE A LOOK AT A DECENT TEAM!
Do us a favour Michael. Get on your own teams blog and comment constructively on the teams you’ll be competing against next year. We’re a different league now mate …. in more ways than one !!
BRISBANE BAGGIE SAID. SO THE SEASON IS ABOUT TO START POOR OLD GOLD & BLACK AT THE END OF THE SEASON IT LOOKES LIKE COLD & BLACK
if it didnt wind you all up you would ignore my comments.
never had a you let us down banner myself.
i back the team no matter what.
Come on Brian (26)….you know the chances are that we’ll pass you going up as you tumble down unless Mowbary can get more players in. You seem to have lost Carson and your foreign players may ‘not cut the mustard’ early on because the premiership is the hardest league to debut in.
Your chairman should be investing the cash you’re going to get and making sure you stay up. Sunderland spent 20 + millions last year and only barely stayed up.
I’ve got twenty quid on you staying up but when I took that bet I assumed Mowbary would be buying like mad by now. I hope he starts soon cos I want Wolves to be beating you in the Premiership…