What a difference a year makes. West Midlands fans reckon the football’s getting better and can’t wait for the new season to begin.

That’s up-beat conclusion from today’s final installment of the West Midlands Football survey, commissioned by the Express & Star and conducted by the Football Fans Census in an on-line poll involving more than 1,000 supporters across the region.

A year after gloom and doom were the dominant tones of the 2006 survey, the outlook has been transformed by the revival in fortunes at Villa, Wolves and Walsall and the prospect of a new-look force emerging at Albion under the direction of their go-for-goals manager Tony Mowbray.

You will notice the one club missing from that summary. In one of the more intriguing exposures from the survey results, it is clear that Birmingham City fans are a little less enthralled about another season in the Premiership than they were on first gaining promotion under Steve Bruce five years ago.

But elsewhere, there is a clear opportunity for clubs to continue the strides taken this season.

In 2006, for example, the poll found 76 per cent of all the supporters contacted rating more than half of the games or above boring. That figure this time around is cut dramatically to just 12 per cent.

Wolves and Villa are clearly identified as the most resurgent clubs on the patch with the figures revealing a dramatically different outlook to that of a year ago.

But the trend is continued when supporters are asked about how optimistic they were for the new season. 

Across the region in 2006, 38 per cent feared 2007 would be worse or even much worse while a hefty 28 per cent felt it would, at best, be the same – and that in a campaign which saw Blues, Albion and Walsall relegated and Villa and Wolves brought to a grinding halt.

One year on, and the smiles are back. Only 13 per cent feel they are in for a worse time this season while 71 per cent are looking towards a better or much better campaign.

Today’s poll also shows a creeping growth of concern in the number of foreign players packing out the game at a time when a new report has outlined the increasing threat to England’s international performances posed by too many overseas players.

It’s not just the restrictions on English players so much foreign labour has encouraged. 

One of the key influences it is blamed for bringing into the game is “simulation” – cheating to you and me.  

The survey shows that 67 per cent of all fans still see their own club’s players diving to win free-kicks and penalties between one and 15 occasions. 

Although there was slight improvement in the number who saw none at all – from 25 per cent in 2006 to 28 per cent this year – the figures suggest diving is still prevalent in our game. 

And Rupert Murdoch will be less than impressed to discover that, according to our survey, one of the terrestrial channels has taken a nibble into Sky’s domination of ‘Planet Football’. 

OPTIMISM 

Q: How optimistic are you about your club next season?

Having just reported an amazing 227 per cent increase in season ticket sales from the same time last year, it’s no surprise to see Villa fans recording a remarkably high level of optimism for what is to come.

Fans were asked to rate their prospects for the year ahead in five categories starting at “much better” and from there to better, much the same, worse and much worse.

And in 2006, with Randy Lerner unknown to them and ‘O’Learygate’ yet to break out, Villa fans feared for what lay head – 16 per cent saying it would be much worse, 32 per cent saying worse and 34 per cent expecting more of the same. Not any more. 

Ninety nine per cent now reckon Villa will have a better or much better season after finishing 11th with not one vote registered in the negative areas.

Despite promotion, an unusually high 40 per cent of Blues fans are expecting either more of the same or a worse season, although at least 44 per cent are betting things to be better and 16 per cent even think it will be much better.

Saddlers fans are not so sure. Some 64 per cent expect their League One campaign to provide the same or a worse experience with only 35 per cent backing Richard Money’s League Two champions to serve up a better campaign.

And what of those old Black Country rivals? 

Well, Albion fans remain reasonably optimistic even as the offers for their star players continue to threaten the maintenance of The Hawthorns’ fax machine.

Only 13 per cent put the season ahead down as likely to be worse or much worse; the bulk expect either parity (26 per cent) or back Tony Mowbray to fashion an even better campaign.

The real enthusiasm for the Championship scrap is at Molineux, however – and the announcement of new ownership before the poll was conducted can only have firmed up this result.

In a direct reverse of last season’s findings, 68 per cent of Wolves fans expect better and 27 per cent much better. 

It seems after a one season break, expectation is back on the agenda at Molineux .

ENTERTAINMENT

Q: What percentage of games that you’ve seen involving your club this season would you describe as “boring?”

No prizes for guessing the biggest turnaround in this section. Last year, so unimpressed were Wolves fans with the labours of Glenn Hoddle’s team, nearly 80 per cent of them classed half the matches or more that they had seen as boring.

It meant Wolves finished bottom of the West Midlands table in the entertainment stakes and by quite some distance. Today they are top as far as their supporters with a dramatic reversal of fortune – 41 per cent found no games boring and another 50 per cent put only 1-20 per cent of the schedule in that category.

Big gains here, as well, from Villa, whose disenchantment with David O’Leary a year ago was every bit as keenly felt as their neighbours’ feelings towards Hoddle.

The latest results show that, a year after 72 per cent of the votes found half or more of the Villa matches uninspiring, only 10 per cent now occupy that territory.

Villa had their struggles through the midway point of the season but will still feel the 46 per cent who found 1-20 per  cent of games boring and the 33 per cent who felt the same about 21-40 per cent of the programme a big step in the right direction.

And while they may have missed out on promotion, Albion fans enjoyed watching the football. 

The bulk of their fans (74 per cent) put boring matches into the 1-20 per cent category and their 18 per cent who reckon no games left them distracted is the second highest ratio behind Wolves.

League Two’s uncompromising battlegrounds is no place for fairytale football which is why Walsall’s battle to promotion gets a mixed bag of results in terms of entertainment. But Blues fans found their successful march to promotion no more exciting than their relegation the season before, recording strikingly similar results in entertainment value.

Those are results which reflect one of the biggest grumbles about manager Steve Bruce’s team. The man himself will point to the outcome of the season but there is no doubt he still needs to reclaim some grace and favour from his public.

CHEATING

Q: How many times this season can you recall an incident when you believe a player from your club has deliberately taken a dive to win a free-kick or penalty?

It’s getting better – but only marginally. 

Mick McCarthy and Martin O’Neill are managers who publicly declare their disdain for underhand tactics so perhaps it is no surprise to see the biggest improvements recorded at Wolves, Villa and Albion.

A 45 per cent chunk of Wolves fans responded to this question by saying they had seen none at all (37 per cent in 2006) while Villa’s advance was even more dramatic – 33 per cent under O’Neill where only nine per cent answered  “none at all” a year ago.

While Walsall and Birmingham’s results were in line with a year ago, there was a dip in the number of Albion fans who said they had seen no diving at all from their players – from 20 per cent down to nine per cent.

But the truth is the biggest percentages were all recorded in the category for those who had seen diving between one and 15 occasions.

FOREIGN PLAYERS

Q: Are there too many non-British footballers playing in England?

Simple answer? Yes – roughly speaking, three out of four fans in these parts believe the “foreign invasion” has got out of hand.

These findings come as another survey published yesterday by Grant Thornton, a leading business and financial adviser in football, suggested that neglecting the development of home-grown players by Premiership clubs was now having a direct bearing on England’s performances.

It revealed that 53 per cent of registered players in the Premiership at the start of last season hailed from abroad, compared to just 26 per cent in Serie A, the top division of world champions Italy.

Their research into the 15 Champions League finals since the tournament was revamped in 1993 showed that England have managed to produce only 16 of the 410 players who have appeared in the showpiece end of season occasion, again trailing behind the Italians who top the table with 90. 

The fact that Steve McClaren’s men are currently struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 will add further weight to the theory that there are too many imports plying their trade in this country and blocking the progress of home-grown talent.

In the West Midlands, the concern is mirrored by supporters. The “yes” answer to this question was ticked by 70 per cent or more of all the fans polled.

TV CHANNELS

Q: On which TV channel do you prefer to watch football?

There’s a 10 per cent drift here between Villa and Blues fans, who watch more than half of their televised football on Sky, and Walsall, Albion and Wolves supporters who favour the Beeb a little more.

Surprisingly, last season’s Championship highlights on Sunday morning did not do anything for ITV’s share of viewers which remains below four per cent at all our clubs.

But in overall terms, the survey showed that Sky’s 53 per cent of the region’s audience in 2006 had dipped to 49 per cent – with the BBC mopping up the extras with a rise of 33 per cent to 38.

It’s probably all down to Baggies nut Adrian Chiles . . . 

Now we want to know what you think. You can either post your comments on the form below (please include a name and address) or email: sports@expressandstar.co.uk