Albion blogger Jarrod Hill waits to lay eyes on Zoltan Gera again, mulls over the homegrown Baggies international prospects and asks you to support a good cause ahead of the game against Fulham at the Hawthorns.
Former Baggie Zoltan Gera played 135 games and scored 21 goals during his four years at the Hawthorns, playing a huge part in our survival in the Premier League and an even bigger part in getting us back there.
This weekend sees his return.
He is back with current club Fulham and I for one will stand and applaud him.
Gera always gave his all for the Baggies and I was sad to see him leave. The mere mention of his name brings memories flooding back.
His winning goal at the Molineux, his first goal against Spurs, his headers against Charlton, but the one image that burns eternal isn’t
actually a goal.
It is the time he chased a lost cause down by the corner flag, he threw himself over the ball while back heeling the ball back into play earning a corner. We consequently scored from the corner, with a Neil Clement header if I remember correctly,
We went on to survive on the last day of the season.
I was surprised Gera left for Fulham, but after four years he felt he needed a new environment and a new challenge. Whether his reasons were football based or financial, I still respect a player who gave us his all. I hope he receives a great welcome from all Baggies fans.
The team he brings with him have had a mixed start to the season, beating Arsenal and Bolton before seeing their form a dip. Fulham manager Roy Hodgson was very busy during the summer and seemed to be signing players every week.
They do have one player amongst their ranks I rate highly. Jimmy Bullard has worked his way up the football ladder the hard way and was recently
rewarded with a call up to the England squad.
His energy box to box and eye for goal means he will need to be watched closely.
On the back of Bullard’s call up and the fact we are entering into another international break, it did get me thinking about our squad and
who would be good enough for our national side.
Well we have Greening, Robinson, Carson, Miller, Clement and Barnett to choose from.
If Carson continues his current form, surely it is only a matter of time before he receives the call to return to the England fold.
The fact he is so young means he is still learning his trade as a keeper and I hope England fans can forgive his blunder against Croatia.
I doubt it will ever happen, but I would also love to see Robinson in an England shirt.
It would certainly be a sight as he grits his teeth and snaps into a tackle with Ronaldhino, the pride bursting from his chest. It would be
nice to see someone wearing the England shirt with some pride, and his all action style would be a welcome site amongst the usual lethargy.
Oh and if Zuiverloon was English!
On a completely different topic, I am completing a rowing challenge for charity.
I am attempting to row 34k (the equivalent distance of crossing the English Channel) on October 25.
I am hopefully completing the distance via a rowing machine (organising the real thing was a little tricky due to something called shipping lanes, the fact I have never rowed before (and the fact I do not own a boat) for a children’s charity called Home Start UK.
If you are kind enough to want to sponsor me you can do it online by clicking on the link below. Many Thanks.
www.justgiving.com/jarrodhill
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15 Comments
Hi Jarrod
Fulham are probably the worst travellers in the Premiership, so I think 3 points is a must!
Always happy to sponsor a fellow blogger. Good luck with the row. I can do 1k in about 3 mins 30 secs, so it shouldn’t take you that long, about 3-4 hours! Rather you than me!
Have a good weekend mate and best of luck at Fulham.
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Gera was a legend for us
he was my fav player for the 4 years he spent with us
good luck to him
just disappointed he left for money
he will get a good reception from me
boing boing come on you baggies!
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Thanks for the sponsorship Nath, the training is going ok but im still not really looking forward to it. I think i need to find a more comfortable seat for the rowing machine at the gym!!!!
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sponsor, just dont ask jeremy peace to help you, he cant find one for a 1 season premiership club! Gera is a very good player but carried albion whilst he was there and needed to go to a club he felt could stay up in the premier league so he could see his career out there. I think his decision will be justified come may, when albion get relegated and fulham finish around 13th. you must win tomorrow they have injuries and AJ is suspended. good luck.
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Gera was something of an enigma. Quality footballer undoubtedly but of the four years he spent at the club we only really got one and a nhalf good years out of him. His first season was a revelation, second season he was pretty much MIA through injuries and poor form, season three, much like season tewo, season four started on the bench and only really got a regular berth in the side due to Tex’s injury. He was superb from that point on tho to be fair.
I hate booing returning players as it invariably spurs them on (Pesch anyone?) so I will give him a round of applause and thank him for his efforts (when he was fit and bothered)
Good player no doubt, Legend? Not a chance!!
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I disagree. Gera didn’t always give his all for the club. He did to help us survive, but the only time he tried from that moment on was from about January time this year when he was putting himself in the shop window !
I won’t boo him, but I won’t clap him !
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laughingwolf
Going to sponsor me then??
Go on with all your financial clout you can afford it!!!
Call it an investment for your soul, and it is tax deductable!!
All the best.
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Thanks for the sponsorship Nedball!!!
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Baggie stu good comment about gera. its easy to remember his influence at the end of last season but as you rightly mention over 4 years i agree he was a good player but not great… good luck jarrod with the 34k row i will put some in the kitty for you. To all baggies, don’t worry if we don’t beat fulham, we will still get enough points in the season to finish mid table.
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Bomber, I always enjoy your blogs but will you please stop mentioning THAT goal. For some strange reason I watched the Central programme on the Baggies last night and it was good to see the win over Everton featured. I always liked Bobby Hope and your namesake and the feature on the Three Degrees era was excellent. It was also great to see the Mancs being thrashed at home even if it was you doing the thrashing. The one sad note, please correct me if I am wrong, but this was the last time any of us lifted the cup. How ridiculous is that?
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Excellent blog as usual, Jarrod.
I’ll be giving Gera a big round of applause on Saturday. He did have periods when he didn’t play well but I think much of that was down to the injury which he carried for quite a long time. When the chips were down, he usually came good for us & that’s good enough for me.
Best of luck with the rowing.
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Hi Bomber - good blog as per.
Hope to get to the Vine sat so hopefully see you there.
Good luck on the rowing !!!
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I certainly won’t be booing him even tho I do believe his move was financially motivated. The best way to make him realise he’s made the wrong decision is to show him tomorrow how much we thought of him, that we’ve moved on and take the 3 points.
Good Luck with the row Bomber
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8 - No problem Bomber. Best of luck with it fella, but definitely get yourself a comfier seat!!
Good to see we’re all pretty much in favour of giving Gera a round of applause pre match, then we’ve just got to get behind the team.
4 - Love you Shadrag, good to see that you can even make doing a good deed into a dig at your beloved Albion!! x
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Come on Bomber - tell us how much LW sponsored you for - given his magnificent wealth I bet he did you proud for such a good cause…..
He gets a rough time on here due to his incredible stupidity and repetitive drivel - here is a chance for you to set the record stright for him as I bet he’s too modest to do it himself.
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