Results don’t tell the story at Albion
Monday 22nd August 2011, 4:30PM BST.
Albion blogger Jarrod Hill departs for his holidays a deflated man and still wondering how the Baggies have no points for their efforts in the first two games.
Two games, two losses, but that really doesn’t tell the whole story. We arguably deserved something against Manchester United and we definitely deserved something from our visit to Stamford Bridge.
Shane Long scored his second goal in as many games and, had his passing have been as good as his finishing, Somen Tchoyi would have put us two goals to the good and Chelsea would have faced a long road back.
Nicky Shorey has been our ‘Mr Reliable’ for a while now, the seven out of 10 man, the steady but unspectacular defender everybody likes.
But he had a stinker on Saturday, with both of Chelsea’s goals coming from his poor play, and we deserved so much more.
We created all the best chances, Paul Scharner had a free header which he fluffed and, even in the dying minutes, Peter Odemwingie had a great chance to equalise but shot straight at Hilario in the Chelsea goal.
It all amounted to a thoroughly frustrating day and that frustration was evident from boss Roy Hodgson’s after match comments.
I must admit I thought Roy was a little slow in making changes to a team that urgently needed fresh legs, with the unpredictable Tchoyi a prime candidate to be withdrawn.
I think our Cameroon international will thrill and exasperate us in equal measure this season, Saturday was one of those days he exasperated us, but the lad still caused problems.
His strike partner Shane Long continues to impress me. His work rate is excellent and two goals in two games suggest Odemwingie may have a real challenge being our top goalscorer this season.
Now that we have Manchester United and Chelsea out of the way, Hodgson will be hoping similar quality performances against Stoke, Swansea, Norwich and Fulham will bring the wins needed to move us up the table.
I know it’s only two games but playing catch up isn’t easy and, the longer we go without points, the more the pressure mounts.
The fixture list computer has a lot to answer for and if I ever get my hands on it its hard drive is being ripped out!
We have a league cup game this week against Bournemouth, followed by a visit from the bogey men.
Stoke are our ultimate bogey team and I hope Hodgson doesn’t risk playing any of our key players against Bournemouth in preparation for our league game.
I expect he will give a number of fringe players valuable game time at Dean Court and this week could prove to be very busy.
The summer transfer window closes shut soon and, if we are to do any further business, it will be this week and with two games to squeeze in too it’s all hands on deck.
I miss both games due to being on holiday, but I will be following both games from a far and, if we can reproduce Saturday’s performance on a regular basis, we will win more games than we will lose this season.
Thankfully, the season is a marathon and not a sprint. Sorry for the shortness of the blog but I have got a flight to catch, please go easy on Peter ‘Hilltop Baggie’ Danckert in my absence.
Up the Baggies, adeus.
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
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the title says it all, too true!
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Good luck Albion,the next 4 games will give a clear indicator of wether the team have improved on last season.If Odemwinge plays that could be the difference.Keep Shorey in the team though.
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Agree could have been so much better but its rare that things go right against the big clubs, however plenty of promise showed we could be at least middle table. Did think Roy
should have made changes sooner in Chelsea game We have enough in squad without using main guys for Bournemouth. Whose coming in if
Ibanez goes??.
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Cant stand being bottom any longer, so im off to Benidorm for a cultural up-lift.
Enough already… I love to roll out this old gag, but not against the top boy.
I reckon six points on the board by the time he’s deported.
Albion are too strong to stay bottom for long.
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Speaking as a Wolves fan…I say spot on with this article! You guys were unlucky not to get at least a point from Man U and Chelsea!
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Jarrod,
I thought the ball bobbled as Shane went to centre it, it connected with his shin and he was unable to “weight” the ball and it went too far ahead of Somen. Enjoy your hol’s.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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Have a good holiday matey. I have one thing I would like to see from Scharner in particular.
He gets chances to score because he has the nous to position himself, then shoots hard but predictably at 4ft or so high instead of along the floor. The first one gives the goalkeeper the better odds of a save. The daisy cutter can go in almost regardless of power. (Ref Shane Long and Man.U.). Thomas seems to have taken this on board and will score more this season. As for Shorey, it was a pity he was caught twice and cost us, but there are times when our defenders don’t aim for row Z when they should. Both Man.U. and Chelsea had what was going on the day and certainly two Chelsea players might have seen a red card. But it’s London, it’s computers, it’s FA, it’s what we in the Midlands have learned to live with.
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One or two have criticised Tamas. I thought he played well.
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Weakness on leftside as I consider Shorey & Morrison are too lightwieght. Need for physically stronger players to compete successfully against top teams. Have not strengthened defence in this transfer window. Hope its not regretted as season proceeds.
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As ever spot on mate, might argue about replacing Tchoyi, as i thought he remained a threat all game, but i do believe come the end of september we will be in a much more realistic position. Have one round the pool for me !!!
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i dont believe in this bogey team stuff, its coincedence, you make your own luck so come on baggies, break the hoodoo!!!!!!! does that mean i believe in hoodoos?????
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I hope that the team don’t get too nervous thinking that they have to beat Stoke.
Its important to keep a clear head and not panic when involved in a relegation battle.
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I remember Newcastle and West Ham
saying the same thing and they still went
down. Yow can play loike Barcelona every
week but youm kidding yourself. It’s
points what yow need.
Yours aye
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Nice to see fair minded comments from some fair minded Wulfies. Particularly Lone Wolf, always welcome on these boards mate.
Boing Boing!!
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Agree with you Cyril i thought Tamas was superb,Brunt needs some dead ball practise,Shorey gets cought to often time to give Cech a go and he offers more going forward,we got to stop being nice and put a few tackles in,aye boing boing
enjoy your hols mate
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it seems everytime a game is played the dingles drop down a place wont be long before thum in there rightful position BOTTOM aye boing boing
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I know that a lot of Wolves fans are making a big deal over being second or third and writing us off for being eighteenth or nineteenth. People that know me and, hopefully read what I what I write will know that I’m not one of Wolves bashers. I’m all for friendly banter, but hate the bile that comes from some fans on both sides. Now I said that I will move on to my point. The first time league position is taken into consideration is around Christmas because its then that the January window opens and players you may need to keep you up find somewhere else to go. Trust me, we’ve been there. The next time is the run in to the season end, say about March. Last year any team from eleventh down could have been relegated.
So lets keep the “you’re going down” comments closer to when they actually mean something and remember that it’s the Black Country teams against the media pundits.
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Sorry people but i cannot agree with the comments of some above. Shorey has one off game and suddenly he a’int good enough. He was Mr Consistency last season as Bomber alluded to and those calling for Cech are barking up the wrong tree IMO.
I hate to say it but some of the comments about Shorey smack of Wulfism , lets not go down that road for pity’s sake.
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(17)
Medway,
Sniping is all part of banter fun. When one club is doing well the other gets the flack. When we start to pick up points and wolves start getting hammered, you will see what I mean. My gripe is,Dingles are allowed to post what they like on our site, But we are censored when we post on theirs and sometimes even on our own site. Count the wolves posts on our site and our posts on theirs. No need to count the disguised Dingle posts. I hope this post is not censored or my explanation will all be for nothing.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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JACK THE HAT
Totally correct there mate , i have posted to Tim Spiers about his pathological dislike of the Albion many times , only one or two have been printed , of course when they have , Tim has never had the courtesy to answer.
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Sorry guys this post should be on the dark side.
Mick states if anyone comes in for Doyle he will tell them to get lost. Now Mick, If Juventus come in with big money, I don’t think the other two Ms will be agreeing with you.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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Jock the bonnet
‘Fraid i can’t agree with you there, the posts are not blocked because of Sandwell/Dingle affiliation, if your name don’t fit and you are not a regular poster on here then you don’t get through 9 times out of 10.
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22 ODD FELLOW
Have you got proof of that fact mate , because when i started on here a couple of years ago i never experienced any problems . Mind you there are many who wish i had.
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(22)
Odd Fellow,
How on earth do you post anywhere then, with all the nom de guerre’s you posses. Have you and Laughingwolf posted your condolences for Frankie yet?.
Joke-up,
Mick states he celebrated with a beer whilst watching match of the day, over wolves 100% start. Then states there is nothing to celebrate!. Fully understand your blog Mick!, der der.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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After watching United destroy Tottenham last night I don’t think any doghead such as the poorly disguised 12 or Lady Regina at 13 can say we didn’t play well. the next 7 games are all winnable and if we can get another CB and Hargreaves on board then I’ll feel even more confident
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Just goes to show my point. I posted on here using my normal handle and it didn’t go through.
Of course there is nothing to celebrate, in the long term, with our 2 wins but for the short term may we bask in the glory of being only one in 3 teams with a perfect record thus far.
Yes there will be ups and downs for us all this season but its the banter that matters most on these forums. I seem to remember some time ago when you went down to the tune of ‘well we played well!’ sound familiar?
I reckon your roll over and let them tickle me belly approach is a bit sad though. The excuse of ‘well they are the best teams in the league’ don’t cut it any longer.
From your own managements mouth ‘We enter three competitions as a club and there are only two that we can win’. The only cup you’ll be lifting is when looking for inspiration at St Michael & The Holy Angels.
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18.Max. I didn’t think Shorey had a bad game at all, in fact they all played well. My comment was that both goals came from him getting banjaxed twice and on occasion he could have disposed of the ball in Division 4 fashion instead of trying to be classy. We shall be fine as long as the lads remember to keep doing the new system.
Banter is good. Bile is bad. Being a ‘spy’ is childish. If you’re a Wulfie, say so in your title. That’s honest at least.
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27 CYRIL RANDLE
Morning Cyril , i hope you are well . To be honest mate it was not your post that started me off . Its just that i have noticed that there seems to be an anti Shorey/Morrison campaign starting and i am pretty sure you like myself do not want any of that starting to take a grip.
All the best.
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26) I thing your wrong to say ‘well they are the best teams in the league’ is an excuse, when for once it is clearly is a fact, or are you claiming the current champions and runners up are not the best teams in the league? that would be silly, wouldn’t it?
Now if we were claiming it was because of injuries, all season long, when all the data says its not, that our average injuries were no better or worse than most teams, or in fact, our injuries were no where near as bad has 15 teams that finished above us, that really would be an excuse, wouldn’t it?
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13 reggie-
‘you can play like Barcelona every week’-
so it looks like you’ve at least been watching the Baggies then?
It’s either watch that,or sit in the recycled mol. getting your excitement from watching the top coat of yella paint dryin’.
Hmmm….tough one,I’ll get back to you on that one….,…..
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26 lonely and odd-
I remember last season when wolves drew a mid-week game,and some of your guys came here to say ‘on current form (1 point),we are the Joint top prem. club’.
So it’s no wonder you’re ‘basking in glory’ after two wins.
Will another one set a new club record?
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Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I wonder how many professional players watch replays of games and think to themselves, “If only I had done X and not Y”.
On the pitch at Premier League level there is rarely time to dwell on the ball and therefore decision making is less a case of ‘reasoning through’ what to do; it is more about employing ‘prior knowledge’. This is partly why some players find the “step up” difficult but young players with little experience learn to fit in quicker. Within this context I question whether or not Shorey was guilty or “poor play” or poor decision making eg. not using his experience.
In my opinion it is this side of the Albion game that’s been improved under Hodgson and the reason he was so annoyed on Saturday.
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WHB, I aint slating Shorey its just that i think Cech dident do alot wrong,but as with Carson soon as he made a mistake you was on his case, so how can you defend one player for costing us the game then slate another ie Carson aye boing boing
see ya sundee
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33 SIR TERRY
A fair point you make , however Shorey has had one bad game , whereas Mr Carson had many over a three year period , to prove the point Hodgson did not waste time in moving him on at the first opportunity. I personally would pick Shorey over Cech everytime but you are entitled to your opinion as always .
Anyway , lets hope we finally beat the Stokie boys Sunday, with or without Shorey.
Aye Boing Boing .
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i thought brunt was off his game ?
his corners wer terrible .
they never got anywher near our players ?
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Title of the story speaks volumes on both sides of the fence, yes Albion played well against two champions league sides but lost. Wolves on the other hand played well against 2 probable relegation candidates and won but we can only beat what’s put in front of us, of course we’re a little excited 6 points from 6 is a dream start but most of us are not getting carried away survival is priority again this season.
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(26)
Odd Fellow,
I have never used another nom de guerre and I’m proud of that fact, even when I know my post will be binned. Now stop squirming while making excuses for others, lay down and have a rest. You and Laughingwolf do not personify true wolves fans, as you cannot be bothered to mark the passing on of one of your own. That says all there is to know of you two.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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29 WONOH.
You’ve forgotten the other excuse ‘if teams weren’t allowed to score against Wolves in the last ten minutes of games they would have finished much higher.’ LOL.
Although in fairness to Lonely I don’t think he’s ever used either of these daft reasons, they are the domain of Shadrag and BRW.
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36 JR.
Like Rich5Wolves this post as usual from the two of you is good sense and fair. Be careful when you go back on your own side as you may get lynched.
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Max.
Another of those rare occasions that we agree. If we’re going to play football, something most on here take pride in then occasionally like Shorey on Saturday it will lead to a mistake. The alternative is that we do what Stoke do and hammer every ball in our own half aimlessly upfield or into row Z. We can’t have it both ways can we? If Shorey never made a mistake would he be playing for us?
The second goal was down to the fact that Shorey and Morrison were exactly opposite each other, bad luck, bad positioning or bad decision making? Probably a bit of all three but you can’t drop a player every time he makes a mistake, especially one that’s normally so dependable.
Sir Terry mentioned what I’d considered saying re-SC although I’m just glad to see you backing our players. You’re bald statement about him having many bad games over three years would have been fair enough if only you’d added ‘in my opinion.’
I said the other day that it seems very much that there are a handful of players vying for Scott’s crown as butt of the booboys, Morrison, Shorey, Tamas, Brunt etc. All of whom I think are good solid players, have given their all in these two games and we would have drooled at the thought of being Albion players in the Gary Megson years never mind the dark days before then. Julian Darby, Damien DeFreitas, Carl Valentine anybody?
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PS 32 BB.
On the same subject, excellent post.
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26 Lonely.
I don’t think anybody is saying ‘oh well we lost to the best two teams.’ But it’s still a fact that they are the best teams isn’t it? Did I read your post correctly that you think Albion or Wolves could win the League if only we believe in ourselves? Yeah and the British team could win the Basketball in the Olymics in theory.
1) Both Chelsea and Man Ure have benches that any of either of our teams probably wouldn’t get on. They pay more for one player than we do on our squads. They pay wages that we can’t compete with so if we do get a decent player through our youth system we can’t keep them. If we catch them on a bad day mid season when they are tired from or distracted by the Champions League and have a few injuries we might fluke a result. But like when we got thumped by Chelsea last year at this stage of the season they can put their full strength team out.
2) Add to this the unproven but nonetheless true fact that they do get crucial decisions from officials. Despite the pundits poo pooing it you, me, Sam Alladyce, Steve Bruce and all the others on the receiving end know it’s true. They don’t need the ref;s help but they get it anyway.
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17 Medway.
I think posts 12 and 13 sum up your point.
13 Is a bit of a pointless oafish attempt to get a reaction, so that one of us say ‘yeah and Wolves are s**t’ and so it goes on with nothing in the way of wit or thoughtful imput.
12 We all know is Lonely and I may be wrong but it made me laugh, not least because of his own team’s neverending flirtations with relegation but I think that was part of his joke showing that he can laugh at himself. Something we can all learn from.
Happy, Sir Terry and others often put up p**s taking posts on the dark side (on the odd occasions that they get past the censors.) These are usually very funny although the replies are generally abusive. I don’t care how many Wulfies post on here as long as they’re either putting a POV forward or funny. Long may the real banter continue.
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40 TRBH
I take your point about IMO and i will try to take that on board in the future .
You might find it hard to believe but i do try and be fair towards our player’s, however there have been several in the past who i have never had a lot of time for like Luke Moore and Fabian De freitas for instance , perhaps we are all guilty of having blind sides at times .
Anyway look on the brightside we are tending to agree a little more these days , there’s hope yet mate.
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39. TRBH, i could’nt give a monkeys if they did i’m sure i’ve got enough brain cells to throw them a curve ball.
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Max.
I wasn’t saying that you should never criticise a player.
The two you name, Luke Moore I could never actually put my finger on what was the wrong, it’s easy to say he was lazy or had a poor attitude but I was never convinced he wasn’t trying to do his best, I hate to say it but I think the problem may have been in the cranial cavity.
FDF on the other hand was one of the fore runners of a modern type of footballer that can play but only bother when they need a contract.
But I’m loving your new positive attitude, long may it last.
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Cantello.
Keep that address for the pink tent hire handy, I think you’ll be getting a call from Max or Trbhoo shortly, I think they’re planning too run off down Sandwell Valley together.
Adéu
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I echo these sentiments – very impressive in your first two games and very unlucky to have 0 points.
In all probability, you’ll stay up with room to spare, Hodgson is an excellent manager and I’d be very surprised to see you down there.
I remember when Wolves were equally unlucky to get 0 points out of Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea towards the beginning of our last season. We were really impressive in each game and (despite beating Citeh in between) desperately unfortunate to be beaten three teams. We had Bolton on the Saturday and many Wolves fans (myself included) practically assumed we’d pick up an easy three points against a “lesser” team.
They were 3-0 up within an hour!
My somewhat laboured point being that commendable performances against the big boys doesn’t necessarily mean the “lesser” teams will roll over in your next outing. The big teams can afford to give you time on the ball, whereas the Stoke’s/Bolton’s of this world will harry you at every point and, in some cases, provide sterner oppposition.
That being said, I hope you smash Stoke – I must be the only Wolves fan who considers Birmingham as our main rivals, not to mention my intense dislike for Stoke!
Hope to see another good year for West Mids football in the Prem this year. Two very similar teams, complete with sustainable and impressive long-term plans.
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17) Excellent post.
I fully agree with you. While I must admit that football isn’t football without a bit of rivalry, I’d MUCH prefer to see West Brom do well than I would the likes of Fulham/Man City/Arsenal/Any London Club (!)
Football is having its heart ripped out by billionaire owners and millionaire mercenaries. The fact that our two great clubs are able to avoid this pitfalls is cause for celebration in itself. I truly hope we both have good seasons.
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49 Greg
Thanks, its West Brom, Black Country, West Midlands and England in that order. Yes lets have rivally, yes lets have banter and take the mick, but we need to remember that the media believe that us Black Country types are knuckle draggers and I take great delight when the three of us, yes I include Walsall, prove them wrong.
I really hope that you do well. I like you as a team and a lot of my wife’s family are Wolves supporters. I enjoyed a good conversation with one of her uncles last month and, once we got the good natured jibes out of the way, talked about our teams. He is of the opinion that Wolves won’t do well under McCarthy. That may be true, but we both feel that you should be okay this season.
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47 Kev-
you know how it is,two people meet across a crowded chat-room,and at first there’s a mutual dislike,bordering on hatred.
But,as they get to know each other,emotions change,eventually turning to deep affection,and they end up living happily ever after.
Sandwell Valley?- I hope not.
Next time I go fishing there,I don’t want to see Max and Bully skipping through the buttercups together.
Yuk!
Adeu.
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Cantello.
You’ve just reminded me of my own young love mentioning buttercups.
It doesn’t paint the same picture in my mind as my first girlfriend and I but I can see them now, Trbhoo holding a buttercup under Max’s chin to see if he likes butter, while playfully giggling.
Adéu
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And Max with his thumb stuck ,god knows where!
Adéu
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52 Kev-
I think they’ve both read these posts,but the Mods. have blocked their replies.
I can hear the chainsaw being started up now.
Adeu.
p.s.- that image you’ve painted of ‘em has just put me off me lunch………
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38)RBH on the subject of BRW, I was having a “debate” with him Saturday on his pages, and apparently he knows we have quadrupled Odems wages? I asked him for his source, but as of yet its not forthcoming?
Still, never let the facts get in the way of a good rant, eh BRW?
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55 WONOH-
whenever i’ve read BRW’s posts,he usually says ‘Albion WILL go down this season’,or ‘Albion WILL struggle’,etc.
He also likes to end with-FACT.
So far,he’s always been wrong,so he knows diddly-squat.
He lives inside a bubble,sharing a make believe world with laughingwolf,and usually snaps at us when we tell him how things are in the REAL world.
Try not to wake him up.
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56) CR78, yes, his “facts” can be, and lets be polite here, utter crap, I have had several “debates” with him, which he seems to like to do a lot, I suppose you could call him a mass debater!
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CR78 and Kev.
Ooh you are awful!
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I don’t get why people are making such a big deal out of league positions after only two games, it means nothing, nothing has been won yet and no one has been relegated yet, Wolves deserve to have 6 points as we played well and deserved to win both games, albion didn’t deserve to lose both games as you played well and deserved something from both games and to be fair it won’t be long before you get your first win. So lets just wait and see how the next few weeks and months pan out before making conclusions on where both clubs will finish. Good luck against stoke, what a horrible boring hoof it team and I hope you do them and hopefully we will get something from vile. /\_/\
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