Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Is the grass greener for Albion?
Friday 27th November 2009, 9:10AM GMT.
Albion blogger Jarrod Hill has a question for his fellow Baggies fans as he is forced to sit out the trip to Sheffield Wednesday and rely on the ‘Hilltop Updates.’
Unfortunately I cannot make it the trip tomorrow, which means I will be relying on a combination of local radio and the more trusted informant, Pete ‘Hilltop Baggie’ Danckert for regular updates.
Sheffield Wednesday are having a poor season, but as we all know anyone can beat anyone in this division and we need to be on top of our game to avoid a slip up.
Last Saturday’s game against Bristol City witnessed something not seen for many a year, I guessed the starting line up and got it spot on! Maybe that tells more of a story than first meets the eye.
Under our previous manager Tony Mowbray we never knew what formation would be deployed, or what names would appear on the team sheet. I often cited continuity as a problem, although injuries obviously played a part he did like to tinker.
I always believe that a settled team develops an understanding that can prove invaluable, and now our injury crisis has eased we are now reaping the rewards of having an almost complete squad to choose from.
Combine that with head coach Roberto Di Matteo’s simplicity of not changing a winning team and all of a sudden the results are starting to come.
The fact is we have one of the strongest squads in this division. If we can keep players fit, and the team we put out can play well, there are only one or two teams that can live with us in this division.
Baggies fans are certainly starting to warm to RDM, results breed confidence and I do get the feeling that we are beginning to build momentum. One word of caution is the fact we have suffered at the hands of perceived lesser teams this season, but with renewed confidence and a team who are fighting for places in the starting XI I have confidence we can continue or recent good form.
Next summer’s World Cup in South Africa could actually work out to be a useful tool in our fight for promotion. With so many players looking to impress their national coaches and book a flight to South Africa, it can only be good for us.
All in all everything has conspired to bring my confidence to never seen before levels. I have realised that I actually feel more confident of promotion under RDM than I did under Tony Mowbray and, although it may only be a temporarily blip in my persona, it feels great.
Which brings me on to my question for today. A friend this week asked me, would you rather be romping it in the Championship or struggling in the Premier League?
My response was somewhat muddled, obviously I would prefer us to be in the top-flight, but I must also admit that last seasons struggle was both frustrating and very tiring.
The Championship brings with it its own trials and tribulations. Football and consequent results do bring happiness, but it’s a happiness that comes from the fact we are on a journey to where we want to be.
As I said, somewhat muddled? In other words I don’t know. Do you?
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Jarrod, and this is no way meant to be a statement of one upmanship, I think most Fans would rather watch premiership football week in week out however hard the struggle than the occasional good one in the Championship.How boring it must be for Celtic/Rangers fans to have only 4 games to look forward to per season.Established premiership sides have a more reallistic chance of winning the FA CUP or any other trophies and it about time the West Midlands had something to look forward to such as Premiership local derbies and the long awaited return of the FA CUP to this area.
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Good question to finish on!
Persoanlly I think that it feels better to ‘romp home in the Championship’ but in order to be able to do that we need to shuttle between leagues to support the financial demands that a squad like ours brings.
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To be honest I enjoy being able to experience both!
The silver lining to the Premier League cloud is always that we know we’re in for a good year in the Championship!
It’s great fun trying to guess how many we’re going to score each week. 4? 5? 6? 7…? And who’s going to get their names on the scoresheet!!
Then when we get to the Premier League again it’s looking out for the “winnable” games and hoping beyond hope that we can snatch a point here and there.
Brilliant!!
To be honest I wouldn’t swap our situation for that of the Evertons, Boltons, Wigans, Sheffields, Coventrys, etc that are either mid-table obscurity in the top flight, or in the same position 20 places lower down the leagues ladder.
It’s fun being an Albion fan.
Never a dull moment over the last decade!
——
Off topic a little, I logged on to the Fantasy Football that you set up this season – apologies for knocking you off 2nd by the way!
It seems that I need a password for the transfers but living in Cardiff I don’t have access to the E&S paper.
Any ideas how I could get it please?
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Bomber
In the two and a bit years i`ve known you……
Jarrod the optimist, is a previously unseen trait.
PACK IT IN, YOU MAKE ME NERVOUS !!!
Premiership also rans or championship`s upper echelons ?
Yes, without question winning feels good and losing feels like guvno, but EVERYONE has to aspire to ply ones trade at an higher level as is possible, without that there`s no point.
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Everyone likes to see a victory but we do have them occasionally in the Prem – 4-0 against Everton springs immediately to mind.
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Things dont look to good on the injury front with
Mattock,Martis,Thomas,Teixeria,Koren,and Bednar
all likely to miss out, this may give a
chance for some of our decent reserve players
to get involved and see what they can do.
Roberto Di Matteo is really down to the bare
bones but Albion should just about have enough
quality left to win this game against a decent
Sheff Wednesday team.
Possible Albion 11:
CARSON , ZUIVERLOON , MEITE , OLSSON , JARA ,
BRUNT , MULUMBU , DORRANS , CECH , COX , MOORE.
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You play in the Championship to get into the Premier League, so I’d rather be up there personally. However, it is a lot more fun being the best team in the league instead one of the worst ones in another league!! :-)
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Good question – I think supermaths summed it up for me perfectly – the good year followed by the bad year has kept most fans happy overall – especially when added to a few wembly visits.
However if we were to become a wigan or Bolton in the prem we would obviously be winning enough points to stay up – which makes all the difference to the experience.
So I prefer the promotion seasons to the relegation ones (big suprise) – however, if we could win enough points to stay up each year, and maybe even get towards mid-table in the prem then I would really enjoy seeing us compete at the highest level.
That said – I love these seasons where we are the big fish – however can we really keep yo-yoing or will there come a time where we start to miss out ??
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thats a real good question Bomber…Its a bit of a double edged sword question really without the struggling in the premiership we would not have the money and players to be a success in the championship.
But winning games in the Championship has to be better than struggling in the prem but the prem is the place to be!!!!!!
Why could you not pose an easy question like “what is the meaning of life” or what came first the chicken or the egg!!!!!!!
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The only reason promotion is needed is for money !!…which has ruined the game.
ITs a very hard question to answer….win 30 odd games or win 8 games max.That is not what football should be about.
We can all see that we’re gonna go close this season..and prob make it…but we can also see that we’re going to win only 8 games max next season.It is not right..
we get mid table prem(maybe)..what next?….i really hate todays football… sometimes..lol
I’m confused…
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I notice that there is an eye catching display taking part at the Wolves on Sunday with 11,000 fans asked to hold cards above their heads to create a montage. I wonder what it will read? I think its either ‘Mick Out’or ‘You’ve let us down again’
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I’m enjoying this season for the simple reason the teams are equally matched, each has the opportunity to do well under good management. We are fortunate that we have, yet again, a successful team and ‘Head Coach’ so we are winning games. The Premiership is a distorted type of League, Sky pulls the strings as to when a game is played, the oil barons buy anything and everything as one would toys at Christmas, the salaries paid border on the obscene, the fans don’t count at all in the final analysis. You are there purely to make a noise for TV. We are seeing some change up there, Liverpool are wobbling, Man.U. will eventually lose their Messiah to old age, Arsenal are vibrant but winning next-to-nothing right now, leaving Chelsea and emerging Man.City to buy all the ammunition for a battle. Now that scenario may intrigue, but personally it sickens me to the pits of my stomach. If only EUFA and FIFA would MAKE these clubs balance their books every season and dock POINTS when they don’t, the game would be somewhat healthier. Sport, and football is still a sport to us, should be between equal combatants. When it isn’t, it loses the thrill of NOT KNOWING who will win.
Division 2 (the so-called Championship), has that attribute so we warm to the coming encounter and celebrate IF we win. Tell me, does the Premiership have those same criteria ?
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Discrace about our sponsor, we are going to have local take-aways, plumbers and newsagents on our shirts. Why cant we get a proper sponsor?
11. with 15 minutes to go last week we only had 11,000 in the stadium everyone went home although we were thrashing Bristol?
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Well I stayed until the end. Yes it is not good this whole sponsor thing. Why can league 2 clubs get a traditional sponsor yet we cannot?
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11 – Rooster
One thing it WILL NOT be is ‘Shirts for Hire’ or ‘Please sponsor us’
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How exactly would you know how many people are in seats at any particular time you thick dingle.
You are getting boring and non of you points seem to relate to football.
And if people did leave early i would imagine it was because of the terrential rain.
You still giving cheap tickets away for the blues game to fill the ground , reminds me of the play off at the custard bowel it wasnt a sell out amongst your so great fans as i recall
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How strange you are poster number 13!!! unlucky for some Laughingwolf thought you would have been on the Kings road (Thats Chelsea)sat BOING BOING found out again
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11 yeah can imagine your last game of season players can have FOR SALE on there shirt fronts lol
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That’s if the Dingles get 11,000 with their Buy one get one free offer and a kid for a quid. Better hope Blues bring a few.
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i prefer to be in the championship or league one cuz we got more chance of playing the dingles,aye boing boing
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17. Mate don’t start the attendance thing again, we lose every time. They get more than us home and away we can’t argue that, but we think our club is better and they think their’s is better…simple as! Lets just hope its not Woolworths online that put a bid in to sponsor us!
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Premiership anyday, the 26,000 gates creating atmosphere, seeing the Rooney’s etc. But our problem is a Chairman who does not want the financial committment of the top flight but one day you have to gamble a little by signing the Prem Centre half who keeps you up or the experienced striker that will score you a few goals. Eventually you cannot keep yo yoing you end up a Coventry if not careful, you cannot guarantee promotion everytime.
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I agree with 8 – Happy
If we are ever going to be a regular premiership team like the Boltons, Evertons, Wigans and Fulhams etc we will be winning more games and needless to say…playing better which makes the whole thing more enjoyable. Plus there will be no stress of constantly worrying about other teams results and when ur next gonna scrape a point!
I suppose in an ideal world what I would realisticly like Albion to achieve is:
To establish in the premiership for a few seasons and compete in a way the likes of Sunderland, Bolton etc compete. But to compete with our own style, with free-flowing football. Attacking at teams rather than constraining & defending against teams like those teams do.
We all saw flashes of that last season, infact in the middle of the pitch we did more than compete… we bossed even the top teams and made them look very silly! But at the other 2 ends of the pitch was the reason for our relegation.
If we could establish & compete in our own style, in the top flight with mid-table security, plenty of goals even if its at both ends. I think WBA will have achieved its goal as a club and the fans will generally be happy & very proud. We would also gain the respect we deserve from all the critics that we deserve and maybe then they wont write us off!
And then maybe after a few years… dare I say get relegated??
As long as we come back up with another great promotion rollercoaster in the championship :) Because I would miss being the big boys!
Thats my idea of ideal world anyway. But i think u will find that is achievable.
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Rafa benitez just been on talk sport he was asked where do you think your next 3 points are coming from,his reply,when do we play wolves,aye boing boing
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(3)supermaths. `Never a dull moment over the last decade´.I moved to Spain 10 years ago, and look what I´ve missed. A successful season balances out an unsuccessful season. Though not ideal, it sure beats mediocrity. Anyway, you guys should do your damndest to ensure I remain an ex-pat, otherwise The Baggies will most probably end up on a serious downward spiral to despair.
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yes Terry just remind us of how many points your shower took off liverpool,or in fact how many times you scored against them
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