Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Bednar set for Albion lifeline
Albion are ready to herald the new Roberto Di Matteo era by giving disgraced striker Roman Bednar a second chance at The Hawthorns.
The 26-year-old remains suspended by the club as he awaits the verdict of an FA probe into the drugs scandal which threw his career into crisis at the end of last season.
Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace has shown little mercy to players who he feels have sullied Albion’s name in recent years – but he is ready to offer an olive branch to the Czech forward.
Former full back Bernt Haas and goalkeeper Russell Hoult, who had been a big favourite of the supporters, were both quickly and quietly shown the door after newspaper articles revealed some internet indiscretions by the players.
And Bednar was caught out by even more serious allegations in May when a Sunday tabloid produced an expose of him buying cocaine and cannabis.
Bednar has not kicked a ball or even attended a training session since and was missing when the players gathered this week to meet the new head coach for the first time and begin pre-season training.
But behind the scenes, the outlook is beginning to improve for a player who played such a vital role in Albion’s last Championship campaign.
The police decided not to press charges and instead issued a caution which now leaves the striker sweating on the FA verdict. There has never been a suggestion that Bednar used drugs with the player claiming to have been tested three times in the previous year when the results had shown each time that he was clean.
He could still face a suspension from the FA but Bednar has been suspended without pay since the incident and any ban would be back-dated to then.
Peace said this week: “As regards Roman, we cannot do anything until we have the results of the FA inquiry which we anticipated might be available towards the end of this month. After that, we will have a clearer idea of the picture.”
But Peace and his fellow directors believe Bednar was more foolish than felon and are ready to offer him a route back into football.
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iya ava always err de lika roman, mya wife she lika de shoppings there. but now she ah very happys witha de mailbox and lidl on de bloxywichings high streets. i like de merrys hills, my lovely err new chairings person said i go buy mya tracking suita from err de club de shop. he a nice man, err he say you a wanta playa me a get im for de you. heya say you want cox??? i thinka err this a man de tryings itta onna. but he err say he a good a err playya from the swindon. i saya BUENO, BUENO! go anda err get hims, he a err teams up witha err ishmailing de millers and our own GLADIATOR romano beddingplant. i lika luca less err iya mean err moore too. onna de final notings, err i thinka the mulumbus err is ah err a good playings and i wanta err sign hims, but err menseguezzies musta forget err the a falklandos and come and playa err here, he de new maradonna kebab, but without a de cheating hands. FORZA my baggio friends. bing bong
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Give the lad another chance I say………..Plays his heart out for us!
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He could be a very lucky boy, and if so I really hope he repays the club by playing his heart out next season.
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Disgrace..
What an example to set the younger fans etc…
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get rid of this disgrace …he has over last 12 months slagged the club off and there is no place for drugs withen football … we dont want him or need him.. good luck to ROBBIE and the lads for the coming season
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Leave the boy alone eh…He deserves another chance, he will be watched like a hawk now so i doubt very much he will make the same mistake again.Everyone deserves a second chance..And apart from that he has proved he is a very able striker at championship level…Ive always liked the kid..
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HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE.THE LAD WAS FOOLISH AND DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE.
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And to all those saying that he is a poor role model to our younger fans… who is a good role model in football these days. None of them have any morals; they are all out for the next big contract, they all spit, lie and cheat (usually to their wives.) Professional football generally mirrors society as a whole. THE WORLD IS TURNING INTO DIRTY SLUSH! So holding one small section of society up as role models just because they can kick a ball is just plain daft.
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Why does he deserve another chance? If I was caught doing the same thing I would certainly lose my job! Why should he be any different?!
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I don’t condone his behaviour which was unacceptable and wrong, especially in view of the fact that he’s a role model for young professionals trying to make their way in the game.
However, what he’s done hasn’t killed anyone and he’s been punished by the club (if not he will be once the FA have done what they need to do). Previous random drug tests on the player have turned out negative. He deserves one last chance but if he’s stupid enough to make the same mistake again then we should kick him out – he would then only have himself to blame.
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hi,..this has nothing to do with the Wolves/Albion thing,…but give him another chance, why exactly?…. he holds a very priviledged position, he earns loads of money, lives the kind of life most of us only dream of, is in the spotlight and adored by 100’s of baggie kids,…BUT he is willing to throw it all away by buying drugs for a so called friend!,…well to me he knew exactly what he was doing and what the consequences would be if he got caught. He should have been sacked end of.
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i for one am very happy about this decision,all his drug test were clear,he said he brought them for someone else,i think he’s learnt a valueable lesson,and while were on it i didn’t agree with sacking russell hoult for what he done,i was quite proud that he still wore his albion shirt while sorting that girl out,should’ve made her wear one aswell,just showed how proud he was to wear the shirt.lol!
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I have no patience whatsoever with drug use, young men should get their kicks from scoring a goal, hitting a six, bowling a wicket and cuddling a pretty girl, (hey Sir Tel?), but the Police have issued only a caution, which means there is uncertainty in this case. Now we have to apply the law which says: “A man is innocent until proven guilty”.
There will be no Court of Law for Bednar. We must give him the benefit of the doubt as almost surely will the FA. JP won’t let anyone sully the name of WBA. If he thinks he’s OK, that’ll do for me.
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if falling in love with jodie is a sin then yes i am a sinner aye boing boing giz a brick
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We dont know the real story only Bedner and albion and the FA do. Its no good beleiving what you read in the news of the world.
If albion decide to sack him well all when and good.
Should they not sack then I will be supporting him the next time the ball leaves his foot and ends in the oppositions net!!
Cyril post 13… I totally agree
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bedners tests were all clear,,course he should get a second chance..has everybody forget about willie johnson (LEGEND).GIVE THE BOY A CHANCE AND HE WILL REWARD US WITH THE GOALS TO TAKE US BACK UP…going up the di matteo way..IN STYLE OF COURSE,,OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YES.
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im missing jodie,not the same on here without her aye boing boing im in love
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So the club have three choices – sack him and I think the legal grounds to doing so are pretty strong. Albion can then sue – similar to the Chelsea/Mutu case although much harder to do if he did indeed test negative following the allegations. The second choice is to put him on the transfer list – but his actions will have dented his resale value. The third choice is to ‘forgive’ him and hope he repays the faith put in him. The cynic in me says that the club are acting in the best interests of the clubs finances. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this but it is pooping from a great height on accepting any moral responsibility.
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