Why the Net has the advantage in the ‘Undies world’
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Albion blog: If only’s and what if’s
Tuesday 14th April 2009, 9:45AM BST.
The latest peg-back for the seemingly doomed Baggies at Portsmouth got Albion blogger Jarrod Hill thinking about what could have been.
Saturday’s game may well have been entertaining for the neutrals, but for us Albion fans it was just another dose of what ifs, maybes and if only.
It was heartening to see the team play well and, for large parts of the game, dominate a Portsmouth side who sit comfortably in the Premier League table.
A win may have stirred a hope buried very very deep that a footballing miracle could happen, but yet again our inability to defend has cost us the win.
Portsmouth’s first goal, although finished well, was typical of our powder puff defending all season. Younes Kaboul went past both full-back Paul Robinson and skipper Jonathan Greening without a challenge, then smashed his shot past goalkeeper Scott Carson.
The game had a lot of quality on display including two excellent free kicks. Albion winger Chris Brunt has had his critics this season – including me – but he has chipped in with goals and his 25 yard rocket highlighted his dead ball capability.
My frustration and other fans frustration with ‘Brunty’ has been his lack of consistency, but again he is not alone on that score.
On a positive note the performance has helped to nurture hope within fans and players alike that with some tinkering we can bounce back next season.
Baggies boss Tony Mowbray cut a rather forlorn character at the post-match press conference and, for the first time this season, it looked like the struggle was weighing heavily on his shoulders.
I think, as fans, our frustration often prevents us from realising how our manager must also share our own feelings and disappointment.
I believe it is important that Mowbray learns from this season and garners strength from the disappointment of not achieving this season’s target.
Other clubs fans are a little bewildered at the support Mowbray still holds amongst the Baggie faithful, but the truth is many of us look beyond the league table and still believe he can take us to where we want to be. Time will tell if it is blind faith unwisely placed.
We still wait to see what the remainder of the season holds for us. Having taken a look at our remaining fixtures we still have winnable games to play, so we may still have a few results to cheer.
But ultimately the season will end with everybody connected to the club muttering the words if only.
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I failed to mention in the blog how pleasing it was on Saturday to see Chris Wood make his debut. Over the years we have seen few players come through the youth set up to reach the first team, i hope to see more of him.
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Hello,hello,hello, what’s going on ’round here then? David Bartley, Tipton.
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7 points and 6 games – I can’t believe I’ve STILL not given up hope!
Everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – tells me that we’re down, but I look at our fixtures and there’s only really Liverpool that should appear daunting to us.
I fully agree that the season review DVD should be called “If only” – there’s been so many this year.
If only we’d ended our Stoke hoodoo.
If only one of those efforts against Arsenal on the opening day had gone in.
If only we hadn’t turned so many 3 point positions into 1′s or zeros.
If only we hadn’t gone to extra time in the Cup.
If only Gabby Agbon’s shot hadn’t squirmed through.
If only we could play Middlesborough every week.
If only we’d bought a decent striker.
If only we’d played Cech more than twice(?).
If only the Dingles could throw it away again………..! :)
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Haaaaaaa… 3 points from promotion and David “Rainman” Bartley (Tipton) makes his first appearance of the season….
Post when your winning, you only post when your winning….
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7 Supermaths.
Just to say there’s no need to worry about not giving up hope as I,and i suspect 99.99% of others Baggies fans have given it up on your behalf!
As for only the Liverpool game seeming daunting (!) it’s all a matter of personal opinion BUT seeing as we can’t defend, and our goal scoring ‘record’ is somewhat limited (!) virtually every game appears to be out of our reach.
Especilly Spurs away when as usual Robbie Keane will receive a stupid, totally pointless, 90 minutes of jeering from Baggies fans before slotting home his usual goal, or goals in reply to the taunts!
Hoping you ARE proved right but sadly i can’t see it happening. Can anyone?!
“Come on you Baggies”
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Jarrod.
Got to agree about Brunty, a decent CCC player. The frustrating thing is that we can all see that he has the potential to be so much better, perhaps a better coach than Peter Grant might bring it out. He reminds me of Chris Waddle, nowhere near as good but at the time I always thought that he could be so much better as well.
3 Super.
Agree with you and I think every Baggie could add their own top ten if onlys. So near and yet so far.
I’m looking forward to next season although I’m not taking anything for granted. Two clubs will be coming down with us and teams like QPR with a new manager, Derby where Nigel Clough will be bringing his own players in, Leicester back with something to prove as well as a host of others that we haven’t anticipated yet. Despite all of this I’m still looking forward to it, all of them have to worry about us and anyway it wouldn’t be fun and it wouldn’t be Albion if it was easy would it?
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6)TRBH – Disagree about Brunt – I think he’s a decent Premiership player! Never afraid to receive the ball, great left foot and recently, he seems to be “stepping up to the plate”. In a team with better forwards, he would really prove his worth.
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Jarrod,your comments of “With a bit of tinkering, we can bounce straight back”. How long have you been follwing Albion ?
We have been promoted three times in recent years and have failed miserably every time due to lack of investment from the chairman in premiership salaries.What will change if we get promoted again next season?
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mboy
I agree about the forwards, Brunt has often delivered good balls into the box only to see them fly out the other side without our forwards getting on the end of it. Bednar seems the only forward we have that can score headers, and he been stuck on the bench.
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Streetly baggie
I share your frustrations, and i agree investment in terms of salaries is the major contribution to how successful a club can be. Peace has stated he is open to offers but in the current economic climate it seems unlikely anyone will take the gamble. We can only hope that we can either attract major investment form elsewhere or establish ourselves as a Prem club under the current strict financial guidelines set out by Jeremy Peace.
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10. wbabomber.
I couldn’t agree more.
I don’t understand why some fans seem to think Peace is sitting on a big pile of cash that he just refuses to spend. He is wealthy bloke but not in the same league as most other prem backers even when compared to the likes of Stoke & Hull.
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7 mboy.
My point was more about what Brunt could be than about what he is. Anyway, forget that, it’s just great to have somebody telling me off about having a go at a player.
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I just spent about 20 mins writing the best post I’ve ever written, but it hasn’t posted, so I’ll now quickly summarise.
The Albion are infuriating.
THE END
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nedball
yow meck me loff
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Does anyone else think that some dreadful refereeing decisions which have gone against us has made our defenders afraid to tackle? Eg Rob Styles/Paul Robinson and the Donk penalty in the Blackburn game?
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Brierley Hill Baggie – I agree some absolute shockers of referees this season!!! However, that has not really had an impact on the lack of quality in defence. I just hope Tone can sort out the central defenders and build up from there. Really pleased with some of our own youngsters coming through, ie. Dorrans and Woods and lets hope we can rebuild and play some great football again. I know its no consolation but at least we can have a good snigger at the Dingles next season. COME ON YOU BAGGIES!
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Great Streetly Baggie, 3 relegations, 3 different Managers but only 1 Chairman. Spot on who is really to blame, the one & only Jeremy Peace. He does not care about the Football side only the Financial side, he & his sidekick Jenkins are only interested in the money. By the way where were they Saturday, certainly not at Portsmouth. Peace will not sell until it suits him, look at the share dealings last year, how can you value WBA at just £8 million, he did! He now owns about 60% of something that is really worth £30 mil at least, his money has been made out of WBA, he was not that wealthy before but he will be when he sells. Sooner the better if we really want to be a Prem side & not a yo yo.
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Nedball.
Do you think your internet connection is duff like the guy on the BT advert or do you need a new computer??
I have only been refused a post once and that was last week when I included the word “rollocks” in my post!! I have to say that my post was nothing to do with boating!!
I know they can’t spell at the E&S but there you go!
I maybe don’t post as often as you. Maybe they are just tired at E&S!!!
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wbabomber
As I have stated many times before surely Jeremy Peace could push the boat out a bit further without putting our club in jepoardy like Stokes small gamble on Beattie & Ethrington !!
Who remembers the season we were relegated under Robson when on the 31st of January he sold Earnshaw & Horefield for over 4 million and replaced them with NOBODY !!! That proved his ambition for our club.
In business you have to take gambles to progress and Jeremy never has and never will and so we will continue to yo-yo between the two leagues.
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14 – Bomber, I kid you not, it was spectaclar in it’s style, use of the English language and it’s imagery.
The E&D mod’s were obviously against me though, as it may have put their journalistic reputations at risk!!
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man city for the taking, sunderland beatable, the teams around us get no points,we are back in it, come on you baggies
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in recent years we have had full gates at home, been in the prem for 4 seasons altogether, plus wembley twice,we have let some good players go for good money, and signed alot of players on loan. so where is the money?
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18 – probably just a rubbish computer yes, but let me live the dream that I’m a journalistic legend in the making and the E&D are petrified please?!
How good was the Chelsea – Liverpool match last night? It was like watching the Albion……defend!! ha ha!
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8 Streetly.
You ask Bomber ‘how long have you supported the Albion?’ I don’t know the answer, most of his life I would have thought. I’ve followed them for almost fifty years and I know that Cyril makes me look like a ‘Johnny come lately.’ However I’m sure that both of them will support me in saying that we’ve seen Chairmen and boards at this club sell off the family silver because it was so badly run. We have a Chairman now who runs the club in a sound way within the restrictions of our finances. He doesn’t have the personal wealth of the Wolves or Birmingham chairmen, never mind most others in the Premier League. No doubt his share in the Albion has increased his personal wealth but this is not readily available cash and has only increased because of his prudent handling of the club’s finances.
PS. I hope some of the people making assertions on here have good lawyers.
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I don’t understand this obession with JP and money…. We have spent more than any other CCC team to get to the premier league – where were all the moaners when we were signing £20M worth of players last year ??
B’ham City have three (YES THREE) multi millionaires running them – every one of them probably richer than Peace – and where are they ??? Yep, up and down, just like the Albion.
Streetly baggie 19 mentions Stoke signing beattie and etherington – but forgets that there record signing was ahuge flop and is now back in the CCC – we can’t afford those type of mistakes !!!!!
Reading stayed up without spending millions… it can be done.
Bottom line is top players will not join a newly promoted team – even Wigan and Fulaham are more recognised than Albion, Blues or Wolves !!!!
If you aint quite good enough there is nothing that paying a few extra quid will do about that – GET OVER IT !!!!!
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so e spent more than any ccc club.We also sold more than everybody took,Kamara etc.Net spend not alot!!!
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21. Sid.
Have you been on the happy stuff again.
Where do you get it from by the way???
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17 Forever Albion said …”3 relegations, 3 different Managers … who is really to blame”
Well using your logic, the same person that also brought us “4 Promotions”. We enjoyed those, didn’t we?
Yes, we all want success, yes, maybe we all prefer the Premiership, and yes, it probably hurts us all to now be slipping back again.
Yet, we know what kind of club we the Baggies are; We aren’t rich, we don’t flash high on transfers, we won’t dig deep into debt.
But, we do try to play “football”, our fans do bring cheer to the terraces, and we will be there next year.
That is the team that I support.
I feel that our moderate approach is good given our circumstances, and I hope that one day, the Lord really does Shepherd us into a more permanent position in the Prem.
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carlton 26 – a club like our will have to sell to buy – it’s called balancing the books… but a greedy chairman could have pocketed those huge fees – but JP reinvested them (and more) in new players.
With so many clubs facing financial ruin I am thankful that my club owes no one a penny, is able to compete at the highest level and whatever happens will be around for many years to come.
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29 – Well said Happy
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Just found this site by accident. I’m a Baggies fan in South Africa and I love some of the comments. I would have liked to see a lot more of Marek Cech this season as well as a decent striker…maybe next season! (Maybe Chris Wood?)
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