Derby heaven next season for Albion
Wednesday 28th April 2010, 6:01AM BST.
Albion blogger Jarrod Hill is looking forward to the battle of the big four in the Premier League next season – against their derby rivals from the West Midlands.
If you ask Albion fans what they are most looking forward to next season a few might mention seeing Wayne Rooney, some may say going to places such as Old Trafford, Anfield or the Emirates, but most will state without having to think twice about it – the derby games.
I am in that latter category myself and next season we will be able to gorge ourselves on local rivalries that date back years and years.
Depending on your age and where you were brought up, you will view either Wolves or Villa as our most bitter neighbours.
For me it’s Wolves and, although I will begin with congratulating them on their season so far in securing Premier League survival, I am already looking forward to renewing our long running saga of games with them next season.
Truth is I have friends who are Blues fans, Wolves fans and Villa fans and next season will be a season dominated by one-upmanship,but I can’t wait. I always feel sorry for clubs that have no arch enemy, football is very much like a pantomime and what good is a pantomime without an arch villain?
If we put the rivalries to one side for a minute there is a serious aspect to the fact next season’s Premier League will include us, Birmingham, Villa and Wolves.
Six games against our fiercest rivals is a fair chunk of our total points up for grabs, some 18 points. Although I am not prepared to go as far as saying they will decide our season, I do believe they will have a large bearing on how our season shapes up.
The fact is it will be good for the area and for a number of reasons. The national spotlight will be welcome but further than that I see the biggest possible positive knock-on effect relating to our very own youngsters.
The positive vibe coming from West Midlands football and the hysteria that greets every local derby could well help swing some of our youth towards supporting one of their local clubs, instead of simply popping down JJB Sports to get the latest Manchester United shirt.
It may even help get kids into actually playing football again. I was horrified to read a report last month on the dwindling number who now play in organised leagues, especially as I come from an era when nearly every kid at school dreamed of playing.
I apologise for getting so excited about next season when this season hasn’t even finished, but for me it feels like it already has.
I was immensely proud of the team on Monday night at Selhurst Park. It would have been easy for them to roll over and let a Crystal Palace team desperate for Championship survival take all three points, but the fact is that both head coach Roberto Di Matteo and the players remained professional in their approach and execution.
RDM chose to play his strongest side and the boys really should have won the game with the amount of chances we created, but the draw has helped set up an absolute cracker of a game next Sunday when Palace go to Sheffield Wednesday needing to avoid a loss to secure their place in the league for next season.
The topic of conversation this week has been who we would want to go up through the play-offs and join us in the greed league, and who we think will go up through the playoffs.
I personally want Blackpool to go up for purely selfish reasons, because it’s a great away day location!
But I think Nottingham Forest will go up, they have been the third best team all season and, although that guarantees nothing, it is where my money would go.
Lastly just another quick reminder of the end of season pub crawl this Friday, we are meeting in the Vine between 7pm and 8pm and all are welcome.
I hope to see many of you there.
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Likewise for me too, it’s Wolves, Bomber, you would’t have guessed would you?.
To me the W.b.a. \V/ W.W. games are CUP finals as there is more than points at stake. If you lose it’s a defensive 4-5-1- at work.
You’re right, no one can say we shirked our duties
Monday-night,not like Wolves at Man Utd…
Bomber, I would like Liecester to be promoted because of Nigel and Shakey’s ALBION connections.
it’s also another Mid’s derby.
Thanks for another smashing blog and roll on next seaon! I’m wishing my life away!.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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Well done, Baggies!
Pundit and supporter alike, all who seem to feel they are “in the know,” think you lot are already tipped to be even stronger than Wolves for next season! Despite our senior tenue, to boot! And, it looks like you will be loaded to the gills with many more proven Premiership players, in comparison to our pedestrian endeavors, thanks in part, we always hear – if we put our ear to the rails – to the hidden war chest your board has hidden under the Hawthorns pitch!
Even more so, you’ve an attractive playing team, seemingly score goals for fun, and have a personable manager that likes to get out on the town and occasionaly do a cat-walk or two, whereas our humble and esteemed no-nonsense manager eludes the spotlight, likes to stay in or go for a long mountain bike slog, just as with his worker-bee playing staff, who he watches over like a big brother…so I can see some of the easy to like dividing lines between our respective setups, all to spark a good and friendly rivalry1
Welcome back, Albion! We missed you, really, we did, and we look forward to renewing one of England’s best derby clashes ever!
UTW!
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Jarrod you have friends that are wolves fans?whats the world coming to,aye boing boing
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I hope blackpool win the play offs(if they secure play off spot)though every time we go there its freezin cold n snowing,but i think cardif have come into form at the right time and thats where my money would go,as for monday night it was a great game great atmosphere proberly best of the season, just glad we wont be making that trek again for many years to come,aye boing boing
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Good blog again Jarrod. For ages I have been looking forward to a Black Country Derby in the big league. Let’s hope they become regular fixtures for seasons to come.
RDM will need to stay sharp, be focussed and do even more homework on the opposition. As for the players, we’re not quite sorted but I believe that RDM won’t make as many dodgy purchases/loans than the previous managers have.
Would also like to see Leicester come up but the Ollie factor in the Prem could be interesting if the ‘Pool make it. Besides, I always like a trip to the coast! Let the Welsh boys and the tree people slog it out for another season in the Chumpionship.
Going back to Monday night, I was midly pleased with the performance but Palace dragged us down to their level on occasions. Olsson got sucked in to their mentality and he needs to avoid that type of scenario when we make trips to grounds where teams use muscle before brains. Yes, be competitive but assertion should come before aggression. Palace are poor and deservedly are battling it out to stay up in my opinion.
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Dingles for me too.
Although I strongly disliked The Vile while Collymore was there – he scored right in front of me in the Brummy Rd End while he was playing for Forest and flicked the bird in my direction.
Hated him since then.
I’d take 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats from the derbies next year (and I think it’s fairly easy to see who I’d like us to beat!).
As far as who I’d like to come up – for purely selfish reasons I’d like Cardiff up there.
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1. Seriously Jack, I am starting to think you are a Wolves fan or just very worried about playing us!
Wolves and Albion is the derby. It got voted the fiercest rivalry in the country. Villa do not see Albion as their derby its Blues.
Derby day is like no other and one that both sets of supporters can look forward to, the tides have changed now from recent seasons. Albion got the better of Wolves when the parachute payments ended, Mick took over and the building of a young squad. Now we are the Premier league side and these youngsters are coming of age, Albion are newly promoted and although they have Dorrans the likes of Gera, Phillips, Robinson, Greening and the nucleas of the previous team has gone. Massive step up for Albion and you will need at least 5 new players to stand a chance of staying up.
Very difficult to attract quality players to a newly promoted squad, David James has already turned Albion down but you are desperate for a new Goalie. Good luck to the Baggies but my word you need it!
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I hope we play the dingles last match of the season at home and send um down aye boing boing
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As a Wolves fan I have to say fantastic blog and many congrats to the Albion for coming up. Yea Yea we’re meant to hate eachother but couldn’t agree more that football is like a pantomime and you are the big bad wolf…or is that meant to be us???
Personally though, my most hated rivals would have to be Birmingham. All my family support them, my friends support them, and I personally just think they’re a nothing team.
I’d like Forest to come up as its another midland team and maybe, just maybe one day Walsall to come up for a season…very doubtful I know but that would be class.
Best of luck for next season, see ya down the “Custard Bowl”
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Definitely going to be Wolves for me as well. I was born in West Brom and derby football is the pride and passion of the Midlands. I really hoped Wolves stayed up so we have the opportunity to have more derbies and I am glad they now have. The atmosphere is going to be electrifying but even now I still believe we have better players than our local rivals and if we can get around 12 points from 18 next season that will be a good achievement.
Personally I think Nottingham Forest will make the Premier League as they have been the third best team and they are strong defensively and score quite a lot of goals.
BOING BOING!!
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Although I do like the Albion V Wolfies it has to be Vile for me… Obviously being the age I am (dont let the “boy” in Baggie Boy fool you lol) It has to be Vile as the derby
1. We never really played the wolfies when I was growing it was always Vile.
2.not sure but as the crow flies Vile is nearer than wolfies (sure someone will prove me wrong).
but on a serious note how good is it to have 4 Black Country/west midlands sides in the biggest and best league in the world. and hopefuly LCFC come up too
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Morning Jarrod.
Yeah it was like the season finished at Doncaster wasn’t it.
I think it depends on age and where you come from. I grew up in Smethwick in the 50′s and 60′s and had never seen a Wolves fan in captivity til I was a teenager. Villa were the big rivals because they were local and there were a lot of Smethwick Villa fans. People tended not to go to many away games because they couldn’t afford it. Villa was easy to get to. St Andrews was just about manageable but Molineaux was the other side of the country.
Also in those days Albion and Villa were regarded by each others fans as their main rivals in the top division.
I think nowadays it’s more to do with what p****s you off the most. The Villa fan’s natural born arrogance or some Wolves fans massive superiority complex and delusions of adequacy. Note I say some.
I’m not to bothered about the play offs, just so pleased we don’t have to go through them.
My preference would be Blackpool as well. Three reasons.
They came to us and had a go, by playing nice attacking football.
What’s not to like about Ian Holloway?
And last, I’m a bit of a romantic and I remember Blackpool as an established First Division club. It was always exciting seeing the likes of Alan Ball and Jimmy Armfield in the days of more mundane strips wearing their bright tangerine shirts. I was glad to see Burnley get up for the same reason, shame they won’t be there to play us next year.
I see the Transfer Rumours page is going full speed ahead. Jimmy Bullard yesterday, David James again today. I think the only thing I’ve picked up from that page is that none of these deals ever actually goes through. Perhaps they ought to rename it Non-Transfer Rumours.
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Maybe I’m of the older generation, but the 1 – 0 victory at Villa Park in the League Cup and the Regis/Thommo double double strike to wipe out a 2 – 0 Villa lead, are among my fondest memories still.
Okay, sending the Dingles down was good too!
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7 Premier Gold
Are you saying we’re 5 Premiership-standard players worse than you?!!
Jarrod- I might be alone here, but I grew up in Great Barr surrounded by Villa fans (barely any of them actually go I should point out) and I was ridiculed every day of my childhood for wearing Albion clobber. For that reason, I’d do anything to beat them……just once in my lifetime!!!
As a few have pointed out though, Albion-Wolves is a more natural rivalry. We’re both similar clubs in terms of size and history (although a few dogheads will have you think otherwise with their superiority complex). Next year’s derbies promise an even better atmosphere than normal, they could prove crucial in terms of who stays up and goes down.
As for the play-offs, Blackpool please!! Good weekend away (provided we don’t get them on a wet Wednesday in February again), Holloway, and I think they’d probably spend less than any of the others once there. Forest would chuck a load of money at it, and I don’t think I could cope with another season of rivalry with their self-glorifying supporters!!
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Its Villa for me,going back to the early seventies when we were relegated in 1973 and we played them for the first time for years on boxing day.The build up for months when we were at school with a good mixture of albion and Villa fans,before the match with the Villa fans being chased out of the Brummie Road and yes we won 2-0 and then won the return at Villa Park 3-1 I think.Who remembers 1981 when we were challenging Villa for the title and the night game at Villa Park at the of the season when the infamous Brendon Batson backpass more or less handed Villa the title.Leaving Villa Park that night dejected,distraught seeing the smug faces of the Villa fans and the majority of them have not changed to this day!!!
The league cup quarter final in 1982 when we won 1-0 thanks to the Statham wonder goal and then being pelted with chunks of ice as we left the ground.Nicknaming them the Seals and singing VILLA in a girlish voice and welcoming Nigel Spink with the puffy handwave, chanting NIGEL, NIGEL.Like many of my age group of 48+, they will remember these times and usually the Villa had the upperhand and that is why I dislike them immensley.
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gold and black army to take over the midlands next season enough said!!
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Re: 16 – I’m not convinced there’ll be a swarm of wasps over the midlands next winter… Oh, you meant… LOL
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LEIGH WOLF
You lot could not take over a telephone box, ever heard of 2nd season syndrome, thought not but i have a feeling you and the blue noses will suffer this next season. Frankly the Wolves need a road map over the half way line.
See you next season , COME ON YOU BAGGIES.
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Well I was just reading the comments and got to 16 Leigh Wolf….. grow up lad this is a very good blog with loads of good posts if thats the best you can come up I would give up kidda
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I think all the local clubs should allow each other their home win so that we get 9 points as a contribution to staying up and making the midlands area a Prem area for the forseeable future!!!
Leicester to go up. Pearson has got something about him.
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15 Streetly.
As Prof Higgins said ‘By jove you’ve got it, I think you’ve got it.’
I’ve often wondered why the Wolves fans seem to have such a deep seated hatred of us, while we have a mild irritation regarding them.
It’s the same reason we hate the Villa, they’ve had the upper hand over us for so long.
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As a child, (about 200 years ago), it was always Villa as No.1 derby with Wolves No.2 and Birmingham (no ‘City’ bit in those days, that was added later), as No.3. The wartime games were often as we played each 4 times a season with the occasional cherry of a Cup Game too. The old bald heads of Cummings and Callaghan of Villa, and boy, could they play. Then there was the young, blond, superb Billy Wright with a hairstyle that looked like a staircase to the stars. Walsall matches were good too as they had a young Bert Williams and Johnny Hancocks in their team. Many said Walsall were the ‘nursery’ for Wolves. In the 50s it had to be Wolves who were No.1 derby. Some of those matches were made in Heaven, but I don’t recall ever being scared of trouble starting. We were all mates then, hard grafting Black Country folk. One wish from me. Trouble free encounters, exciting football, the West Midlands alive again. May the best team win, US of course! Oh and Villa Park is a 2mile walk from the Hawthorns. Public transport was always packed solid but Shanks’s pony always turned up.
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“Oh and Villa Park is a 2mile walk from the Hawthorns.”
and such a delightful walk too, like the French Riviera!
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the villa for me…
i think the only reason the wolves derby has become bigger is because both us and wolves were so poor for so long and we couldnt play the holte end sopranos!
weve spent so many years outside the top division all the younsters hear about is past glories from pre the mid eighties.
anyone with half a brain wants all four big boys pushing each other for the next twenty plus years.
bring on the vile..(can we wheel tommo out again please!)
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Growing up in the early 70s it was always albion / villa, but because of our decline in the 90s it ended up we played wolves more often – and I also think the fact that Steve Bull did so well for wolves added spice to the rivalry.
If I was a villa fan I would hate having so many derby games as form tend to go out the window in these games and passion can often win the war.
There is little doubt that villa currently have the edge over the other local teams, but this will mean nothing when we all meet.
I remember having to watch Andy Gray score a hatrick in a 4-0 drubbing one year, and I also remember John Trewick scoring the only goal in a win at Villa park.
Can’t wait for next season – its gonna be great !!
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I started watching the Albion as a very small boy in the fifties in the halcyon days of Ronnie Allen and Ray Barlow. The Wolves were full of international players and both clubs were at the pinnacle of English football for some time. Although Villa Park is closer to the Hawthorns the big derby then as it is today was the Wolves. Some of these Wolves fans talk as if they are an established premier league team but I would remind them that we were relegated after surviving for one season. In reality we have more recent premier league experience than the Wolves. With RDM at the helm we will assert ourselves again to be the undisputed pride of the Black Country.
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I wanted to post earlier, but kept getting wrapped up in some of the trips down memory lane that have been posted by some of the guys who have 1 or 2 years on me.
For me, the derby has always been the Dingles, that’s cos I grew up in Sedgley and was surrounded by Wolves fans as a kid.
Also, we’ve played the Wulfies a load more than the Villa since I started going to matches with my Dad in 1992 at the tender age of 10, so having to watch us beat them several times growing up has heightened the dislike of them lot down the road.
I’ve got loads of Dingle mates, and Villa mates and for me, the main thing is the banter and friendly rivalry that comes with the derby matches…..gotta love it!!
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(7)
Sorry, dingle you are wrong on both accounts. Always have been a Baggy and why should I be scared of a team that never attacks?, please explain. Have you read any Wolves reports this season?. They’re better than counting sheep if you want to get to sleep. Being Staffordshire
farmers I bet youve counted a few. ALBION will
have no problen recruiting players with a Head Coach like Di Matteo. Mick-Mac wants to follow
in the Stoke footsteps. What decent players will want to join your club?. Are you ready to be taken apart?.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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I heard a sneaky rumour today that Albion are trying to lure a certain Thierry Henry back to the Premiership!!
As Man City are apparantly willing to meet the £12M asking price for Graham Dorrans and are ready to make a bid, we would easily have the money for his wages!!
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Bring it on steptoes and we will see who is the best team at the end of next season, I somehow think you’ll be in for a bit of a shock, as you ain’t as good as you lot are making out to be, dorrans will be gone by the start of the season and you want to sign rob hulse lol well says it all really.
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‘Aklahomo where the wind comes right behind the rain’. Oh the times I’ve sung that. ‘Curly’ I was with hair straight as a die. In fact, only my legs qualified me for the part. That 2 mile walk was smoky, dusty, noisy, swarming with people,but safe as houses.In fact safer than the very old houses that lined the streets then.
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(30)
Cyril,
Who dae ayt is crusts when e woz a kid, ay.
I remember Gerry Hitchins what a great Centre-forward he was.
(27)
Nedball,
I lived on Hurst Hill Untill I was fourteen years of age and been a fan of the only professional
Black-Country football club since I was about five years old. Derek Kevan was my hero in my late teens.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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