Sunday 27 November Middlesboro 2 - 2 West Brom Due to the game being played on a Sunday, it meant I was unable to travel up to Boro to watch the match, so I had to settle to listening to it on the radio. Knowing Boro's record at home after playing in the UEFA Cup and the fact that our team's confidence must have been sky high after beating Everton 4-0 last Saturday, I was quite confident and knew that getting 3 points was not impossible. We had much of the early pressure but when Mark Viduka scored with Boro's first shot of the game I wondered if we was in for another beating at The Riverside, but a few moments later and our in form striker Ellington riffled home from the corner of the penalty area after a bit of luck and good play by Kanu. These two seem to have forged a partnership together and with Kanu able to supply the killer ball and Ellington able to read it, these two could become very dangerous for us. When we broke away and Kanu finished it off I was hoping that we could get
our first away win of the season but after a dubious penalty decision
against us a draw was probably a fair result as both teams could have won
and lost the game towards the end. With our team now settled and our front two partnership found we must push
on and take as many points from these next two games as possible, with a
chance to take the scalp of Man United in the cup as well. With the passing of George Best on Friday after noon, tomorrows Carling Cup
match against Man United was always going to be the game chosen for his
remembrance as its United’s first home game since his passing last week. And
how Ironic that his debut was made against West Brom, and his send off for
United fans will be against the same team.
R.I.P George Best. Saturday 19th November: West Brom 4 - Everton 0 Well pre-match thoughts on the game weren't very optimistic, especially knowing Albion's record against fellow relegation strugglers last season. With the game been screened on Prem Plus and kicking off at 5.15pm in the freezing temperatures that were Saturday night, it was understandable that the attendance was only 24,784. But full credit to the Everton fans that travelled down to the Midlands to see their team perform disgracefully in such an important game. When the team was announced before the game my expectations rose slightly and I felt that this game was definitely winnable. So I put a bet on, Ellington to score the first goal, Albion to win 2-0, this was more with hope than anything. So having had a lot of early pressure and not really creating a chance of any real significance and Everton not troubling our defence at all, we were approaching half time with the scores level at 0-0. With Horsefield limping off after 36 minutes he was replaced by the impressive figure of Kanu, and straight away you could see the quality that when on top of his game the man posses by threading balls for Ellington and Kamara to run on to. And it was one of those balls that caused Ellington to break through only to be brought down inside the box and a penalty awarded (it was really outside but who cares, it's about time we had some luck). After a dispute about who was going to take the penalty, Ellington stepped up and ice coolly passed the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net sending Martyn the wrong way and Albion fans into raptures. So the second half started and I knew Everton were going to come at us and after an early bit of pressure from them, Albion broke away and with one of his many moments of brilliance in the match Kanu dummied the defender to brake free on goal only to be tackled and win a corner. Kamara swung it in with precision to plant it straight on the head of an unmarked Neil clement to give us a 2-0 lead and make my bet very much a reality. Everton were getting desperate by now and they'd thrown on Big Duncan Ferguson and immediately he made a difference by winning 2 headers, so much to every fans relief when Kanu once again collected the ball on the by line and cut inside to square it to Ellington who had nowhere to go, but a dummy and one swift swing of his left boot and the ball was once again in the back of the net. An outrageous goal and a fitting tribute to his wife and child in his celebration by doing the Bebeto ‘rocking a baby’. By now the victory was sealed and my bet null and void but there was still time for little Earnie, on as a sub in the last few minutes, to break clear thanks to a misjudged pass by ex Baggie Kilbane and to slot past an advanced Martyn to make it 4-0 and the biggest ever win in the premiership. Having beaten a very average Everton side with the help of having every little thing go our way, it was one of those days when we just weren’t going to lose and Everton weren't going to score in a month of Sundays. A big confidence booster for the team and now a selection dilemma for Robson, but a good one for a change. Let’s hope we can go to Boro and do the same again and start putting some results together to climb away from the relegation battle that I think will see one of the three Midlands clubs relegated. Let’s hope it's not us! Boing Boing Sat 5th Nov: West Ham 1 - West Brom 0 People were expecting this game to be one of the six pointers of the season, but the way West Ham have played so far this campaign we were going into the match, against a team who won promotion only a few months ago, very much the underdogs. Having spent three hours on the coach we arrived in east London just after 12 'o' clock, and as soon as we stepped off the coach we all pilled into an empty pub called 'The Central' and within seconds it looked like the whole place had been painted blue and white, but for a few claret and blue shirts over in the one corner. I felt quietly confident before the game and thought that we could maybe snatch a 1-0 win but it wasn’t to be. Having been bombarded with an onslaught on early chances for the home side we finally settled into a rhythm and it wasn't long before we had the ball in the net only for it to be disallowed for offside. All threw the first half Kamara looked the most likely to score, he ran their defence ragged and had he squared the ball twice when he had broke through it could have been a completely different story come the final whistle. He should also have scored just before half time with a free header but it was directed straight at Shaka Hislop. With a promising start made to the game I was hoping that the players could push on and when the time was right they could snatch the goal that was going to win the game. But Albion true to their colours this season played yet another game of two halves the first very promising and full of positives the second in which can only be described as dull and lacklustre. This as an Albion fan is very frustrating as we know that the team can do alot better than they are. I was disappointed with the result after the match and got quite angry and
baffled when I heard Robson's post match comments saying that how we played
in the second half we deserved to get something out of the game. Was he even watching the game we were? Or did he have a T.V. next to him with highlights from another game on? I haven't jumped on his back yet and I believe that he can get us out of this mess, but Bryan Robson has got to be the most confusing manager in the world. He says that Ellington is fit and ready to play before the Arsenal game and we haven’t seen anything of him, he says that the club is right behind Wallwork and then the next match he drops him and now his post match comments aren’t making sense. Everton is very much like the Crystal Palace match from last season and I think we need to win to stand any chance of avoiding relegation. Let’s hope we can start putting some results together at home and start climbing the table, along with Blues and Villa as it's not looking to good for Midlands clubs at the moment. Sunday 30 October 2005 West Brom 0 - 3 Newcastle With the first real injury hit period for the club since Robson's appointment a year ago, it was understandable that I felt that a point before the game would be an excellent result. But due to the injuries it meant that after Wednesday's victory over Fulham in the cup that Inamoto was going to get his first start at home in an Albion shirt. His named was greeted with a huge ovation and every touch he had he was urged to shoot,
unsurprisingly after his thunder bolt at Fulham. After a pretty average performance from both teams in the first half it needed one team to step it up in the second half, but the last thing you expect when your team kicks off is that 26 seconds later you'll be picking the ball out of your own net. The players hadn't regained their concentration after the break and all it needed was a class finish from Owen to make it 1 - 0. I wasn't at all surprised as he seems to like playing the Albion. Albion could and should have drawn level but after a number of squandered chances it wasn't surprising that Newcastle broke away and scored a second and third in exactly the same way. Overall I was disappointed with the result but very pleased with the
performance of the players, if we'd have taken our chances we could have maybe taken something from the game. With some crucial matches coming up it's vital that we get all our players back fit and ready to fight, but if we don't take points from these sorts of games then it's definitely going to be another long season. Bring on West Ham and another away day out; let’s hope we can bring something back from London with us. Boing Boing. | 
