r00fie1
Well-known member
(Its early today folks - tomorrow will be a busy day. There are further articles to add later)
Saturday November 6th and we go again!
With just over a third of the league season behind us, we have picked up 21 points out of a possible 48 - on that form we will be looking at mid-table by the end of the season. But "its a funny old league" and we might take off over Christmas - or before. Its a tough call and we dont yet know who might be joining us in the January transfer window? Lets hope today we start that push....
UTMB
Saturdays Fixtures:
The Table as it stands:
Flash back - December 2019:
West Brom - 0 Middlesbrough - 2 [Ayala -17. Fletcher 90+4]
29 December 201929 December 2019.
Remember Fletcher`s Spectacular Goal:
After 25 games - we were 9 points off a play-off place and 9 points off the third relegation spot.
https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-v-middlesbrough-match-preview
West Bromwich Albion will be on the hunt for a fifth successive home victory in the Sky Bet Championship when Middlesbrough come to town on Saturday afternoon (ko 3pm).
The Baggies won 1-0 against Hull City on Wednesday night courtesy of Karlan Grant’s eighth goal of the season, and his fifth in his last four games at The Hawthorns.
That victory followed on from previous B71 triumphs over QPR, Birmingham City and Bristol City, and boss Valérien Ismaël will want his side to keep building momentum in front of their supporters.
Opponents Middlesbrough arrive sitting in the middle of the Championship pack, having taken 21 points from their opening 16 matches.
Neil Warnock’s group have had a mixed bag of results so far, winning five and losing six of their last 11 games.
They’ve suffered back-to-back defeats against Birmingham at home on Saturday and Luton away on Tuesday night.
Middlesbrough head to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon hoping to bounce back from consecutive Sky Bet Championship defeats.
Neil Warnock’s men were beaten at home by Birmingham last weekend and then suffered a midweek loss at Luton.
Boro had won three on the spin before their clash with Birmingham, and Warnock will know adding consistency to their results could prove crucial if they are to secure a top-half position this year.
The Teessiders have finished 10th or higher in three of the past four seasons since their relegation from the Premier League, but only once in that time did they earn a spot in the play-offs.
Tuesday’s defeat at Kenilworth Road ended a six-game run where their matches had finished with a 2-0 scoreline – winning four of those and losing the other two.
Boro's Paddy McNair celebrates scoring against Peterborough in October
Did you know?
The home team has only won one of the last six meetings between the Albion and Boro.
Boro's 1-0 win against the Baggies at the Riverside in August 2018 was the only time it has happened during that period, with the away team claiming two victories. The other three games all ended in draws.
Middlesbrough won 2-0 at The Hawthorns the last time they visited
West Bromwich Albion play host to Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon looking to keep the pressure on the top two in the Championship standings.
Meanwhile, Boro have dropped down to 14th position over the past week, a consequence of suffering two defeats in succession.
© Reuters
West Bromwich Albion Championship form:
© Reuters
Having shuffled his side in midweek, Ismael must decide which players deserve to keep their place in his Baggies XI.
Semi Ajayi could replace the injured Kean Bryan, a move which would allow Conor Townsend to continue at left wing-back.
Jordan Hugill is in contention to get the nod over Matt Phillips in what may be the only other change to the team.
James Lea Siliki may get a chance in the Middlesbrough midfield, potentially at the expense of Marcus Tavernier.
Lee Peltier could also be recalled in a back three with Anfernee Djiksteel dropping down to the substitutes' bench.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Kipre, Clarke, Ajayi; Gardner-Hickman, Livermore, Snodgrass, Townsend; Robinson, Hugill, Grant
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Peltier, Bamba, McNair; Jones, Siliki, Howson, Crooks, Hernandez; Coburn, Sporar
Two, Boro "old boys" in the Baggies squad:
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Saturday November 6th and we go again!
Its bemusing why our game away at Huddersfield on November 27th has sold out?! What does it say that one of the most inconsistent Boro sides of recent seasons attracts such a huge following wherever we go? Is it because we`re still experiencing the post-lockdown "spring", or that we believe in miracles and still headed for the promised land? Its doubtful anyone knows for sure. One thing we know for sure is the collapse in the second half against Birmingham and the utter shambles of Tuesday night at Luton - cant happen again, if we are serious about making a challenge for the top six. It seems a pipe - dream at the moment. What with injuries, referees, the "rub of the green" and inconsistency - things arent looking very promising. Being a forever optimist isnt easy for us fans - but hope springs eternal. We are the Boro after all
Today`s opponents are definitely the "boing - boing" team - too good for the Championship, but always struggling in the Premiership. Today [Saturday 6th November] the Baggies sit in third place - having won 5 and lost three of the last 8 games - preceded by draws against Preston and Derby. They have won each of their last four home games - scoring 5 and conceding 1 goal!!!!! Altogether, Baggies have scored 26 goals in the league [8 more than Boro] and conceded four less goals on 14. Not a particularly spectacular record you may say - but three of those against were to high-flying Fulham [who put 7 past Blackburn this week]. A win by the odd goal appears to be the pattern, but a win is a win, is a win.
Being realistic - we have our toughest test so far this season: coming away with a draw would be a good result. A win....well. But the bookies and the "pundits" predict we will get stuffed! It doesnt really matter does it? We have to show we can be more than just a "first-half" team. We`ve developed a habit of completely collapsing in the second half recently. The collapse against Luton highlighted just how fragile we can be.
Perhaps the one shining success against Luton was the goal scored by our own Josh Coburn?! The young lad from North Yorkshire is coming into his own and looks like he is knocking louder on the Gaffa`s door to be on the starting blocks. He is reminiscent of a cert Paul Wilkinson - inside or on the edge of the box - ready to receive the cross and get it in the onion bag. Lets hope so - because hes putting others to shame at the moment.Today`s opponents are definitely the "boing - boing" team - too good for the Championship, but always struggling in the Premiership. Today [Saturday 6th November] the Baggies sit in third place - having won 5 and lost three of the last 8 games - preceded by draws against Preston and Derby. They have won each of their last four home games - scoring 5 and conceding 1 goal!!!!! Altogether, Baggies have scored 26 goals in the league [8 more than Boro] and conceded four less goals on 14. Not a particularly spectacular record you may say - but three of those against were to high-flying Fulham [who put 7 past Blackburn this week]. A win by the odd goal appears to be the pattern, but a win is a win, is a win.
Being realistic - we have our toughest test so far this season: coming away with a draw would be a good result. A win....well. But the bookies and the "pundits" predict we will get stuffed! It doesnt really matter does it? We have to show we can be more than just a "first-half" team. We`ve developed a habit of completely collapsing in the second half recently. The collapse against Luton highlighted just how fragile we can be.
With just over a third of the league season behind us, we have picked up 21 points out of a possible 48 - on that form we will be looking at mid-table by the end of the season. But "its a funny old league" and we might take off over Christmas - or before. Its a tough call and we dont yet know who might be joining us in the January transfer window? Lets hope today we start that push....
UTMB
Saturdays Fixtures:
The Table as it stands:
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Flash back - December 2019:
West Brom - 0 Middlesbrough - 2 [Ayala -17. Fletcher 90+4]
29 December 201929 December 2019.
Daniel Ayala's goal was his second of the season for Middlesbrough
West Bromwich Albion boss Slaven Bilic urged his side to rediscover their "freshness" for the New Year's Day showdown with Leeds United after losing top spot in the Championship following a home defeat by Middlesbrough.
Bilic's men ended 2019 in disappointing fashion as their 14-match unbeaten run was ended by a revitalised Boro side.
Centre-back Daniel Ayala headed home from Lewis Wing's cross, the first serious attempt on goal in the game, and Ashley Fletcher sealed Boro's third successive win with a spectacular late strike.
It meant Albion dropped to second on goal difference as rivals Leeds won 5-4 in a thrilling contest just five miles away at Birmingham City.
"We've got to pick ourselves up and come back as soon as possible to where we were a few weeks ago," Billic told BBC WM 95.6.
"Are we a little bit tired? Yes, we are. But the whole league is a little bit tired. We have to get that freshness back. A few of the games recently we haven't started well enough.
"The good news is that we have a big game, massive game (against Leeds) in a couple of days' time. It's a great opportunity for us in front of the home crowd to make up for what we missed today.
"It's an ideal game to show the character, to show the quality, to show the determination, basically to show everything."
The Baggies carried more of a threat in the second half, but Jake Livermore, substitute Charlie Austin and Matt Phillips all had efforts saved by Aynsley Pears as Middlesbrough earned the three points.
The victory was their first in 12 games on the road since Jonathan Woodgate was appointed head coach, following five draws and six defeats.
And it was deserved reward for an enterprising performance against a West Brom side, beaten only once previously this season and featuring Gareth Barry in the starting line-up for the first time since March.
"No, (the performance) wasn't good enough, especially in the first half when we were everything we didn't want to be. We were basically flat," said Bilic.
"We were a bit disjointed, when we didn't have the ball we gave them time, we gave them space to keep the ball. We were nowhere near them.
"We were not good in 50-50 challenges. And up front we simply weren't dangerous enough."
Boro's Marcus Tavernier clipped the bar after Ayala had given them the lead from close range and Sam Johnstone had to be alert to deny George Saville and Wing.
Austin was brought on at half-time by Albion, who had only won one of their four previous games, and he tested Pears with a header from Darnell Furlong's cross before being booked for a foul on Adam Clayton.
But Boro continued to look dangerous on the break and Fletcher received Saville's knockdown before giving Johnstone no chance with a dipping 30-yard shot as Boro climbed three places to 16th, nine points adrift of the play-off places.
Middlesbrough head coach Jonathan Woodgate told BBC Tees:
"I think it was a top performance by every single one of the players. We deserved the win, we deserved to get that result today.
"I said to the players before the game, the teams who have come here and got results are Reading, Barnsley, Charlton and Brentford and we've beaten three of those teams.
"If you don't believe you can win in sport, there's no point in doing it."
West Bromwich Albion boss Slaven Bilic urged his side to rediscover their "freshness" for the New Year's Day showdown with Leeds United after losing top spot in the Championship following a home defeat by Middlesbrough.
Bilic's men ended 2019 in disappointing fashion as their 14-match unbeaten run was ended by a revitalised Boro side.
Centre-back Daniel Ayala headed home from Lewis Wing's cross, the first serious attempt on goal in the game, and Ashley Fletcher sealed Boro's third successive win with a spectacular late strike.
It meant Albion dropped to second on goal difference as rivals Leeds won 5-4 in a thrilling contest just five miles away at Birmingham City.
"We've got to pick ourselves up and come back as soon as possible to where we were a few weeks ago," Billic told BBC WM 95.6.
"Are we a little bit tired? Yes, we are. But the whole league is a little bit tired. We have to get that freshness back. A few of the games recently we haven't started well enough.
"The good news is that we have a big game, massive game (against Leeds) in a couple of days' time. It's a great opportunity for us in front of the home crowd to make up for what we missed today.
"It's an ideal game to show the character, to show the quality, to show the determination, basically to show everything."
The Baggies carried more of a threat in the second half, but Jake Livermore, substitute Charlie Austin and Matt Phillips all had efforts saved by Aynsley Pears as Middlesbrough earned the three points.
The victory was their first in 12 games on the road since Jonathan Woodgate was appointed head coach, following five draws and six defeats.
And it was deserved reward for an enterprising performance against a West Brom side, beaten only once previously this season and featuring Gareth Barry in the starting line-up for the first time since March.
"No, (the performance) wasn't good enough, especially in the first half when we were everything we didn't want to be. We were basically flat," said Bilic.
"We were a bit disjointed, when we didn't have the ball we gave them time, we gave them space to keep the ball. We were nowhere near them.
"We were not good in 50-50 challenges. And up front we simply weren't dangerous enough."
Boro's Marcus Tavernier clipped the bar after Ayala had given them the lead from close range and Sam Johnstone had to be alert to deny George Saville and Wing.
Austin was brought on at half-time by Albion, who had only won one of their four previous games, and he tested Pears with a header from Darnell Furlong's cross before being booked for a foul on Adam Clayton.
But Boro continued to look dangerous on the break and Fletcher received Saville's knockdown before giving Johnstone no chance with a dipping 30-yard shot as Boro climbed three places to 16th, nine points adrift of the play-off places.
Middlesbrough head coach Jonathan Woodgate told BBC Tees:
"I think it was a top performance by every single one of the players. We deserved the win, we deserved to get that result today.
"I said to the players before the game, the teams who have come here and got results are Reading, Barnsley, Charlton and Brentford and we've beaten three of those teams.
"If you don't believe you can win in sport, there's no point in doing it."
Remember Fletcher`s Spectacular Goal:
The Championship Table - As It Stood:
| Team | P | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 25 | 22 | 51 | |
| 2 | West Brom | 25 | 20 | 51 | |
| 3 | Fulham | 25 | 11 | 42 | |
| 4 | Brentford | 25 | 17 | 40 | |
| 5 | Nottm Forest | 24 | 8 | 40 | |
| 6 | Sheff Wed | 25 | 12 | 39 | |
| 7 | Preston | 25 | 6 | 39 | |
| 8 | Bristol City | 25 | 3 | 38 | |
| 9 | Swansea | 25 | 1 | 38 | |
| 10 | Cardiff | 25 | 3 | 37 | |
| 11 | Millwall | 25 | 0 | 37 | |
| 12 | Hull | 25 | 5 | 36 | |
| 13 | Blackburn | 25 | 1 | 36 | |
| 14 | Reading | 24 | 4 | 32 | |
| 15 | QPR | 25 | -9 | 32 | |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 25 | -8 | 30 | |
| 17 | Birmingham | 25 | -11 | 29 | |
| 18 | Charlton | 24 | -1 | 28 | |
| 19 | Huddersfield | 25 | -9 | 28 | |
| 20 | Derby | 24 | -10 | 27 | |
| 21 | Stoke | 25 | -12 | 21 | |
| 22 | Barnsley | 25 | -15 | 21 | |
| 23 | Luton | 25 | -22 | 21 | |
| 24 | Wigan | 25 | -16 | 20 |
After 25 games - we were 9 points off a play-off place and 9 points off the third relegation spot.
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https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-v-middlesbrough-match-preview
Baggies View:
West Bromwich Albion will be on the hunt for a fifth successive home victory in the Sky Bet Championship when Middlesbrough come to town on Saturday afternoon (ko 3pm).
The Baggies won 1-0 against Hull City on Wednesday night courtesy of Karlan Grant’s eighth goal of the season, and his fifth in his last four games at The Hawthorns.
That victory followed on from previous B71 triumphs over QPR, Birmingham City and Bristol City, and boss Valérien Ismaël will want his side to keep building momentum in front of their supporters.
Opponents Middlesbrough arrive sitting in the middle of the Championship pack, having taken 21 points from their opening 16 matches.
Neil Warnock’s group have had a mixed bag of results so far, winning five and losing six of their last 11 games.
They’ve suffered back-to-back defeats against Birmingham at home on Saturday and Luton away on Tuesday night.
.@karlangrant scores goals.
Check out the action from The Hawthorns as we secured our fourth successive home victory.
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) November 4, 2021
OppositionMiddlesbrough head to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon hoping to bounce back from consecutive Sky Bet Championship defeats.
Neil Warnock’s men were beaten at home by Birmingham last weekend and then suffered a midweek loss at Luton.
Boro had won three on the spin before their clash with Birmingham, and Warnock will know adding consistency to their results could prove crucial if they are to secure a top-half position this year.
The Teessiders have finished 10th or higher in three of the past four seasons since their relegation from the Premier League, but only once in that time did they earn a spot in the play-offs.
Tuesday’s defeat at Kenilworth Road ended a six-game run where their matches had finished with a 2-0 scoreline – winning four of those and losing the other two.
Did you know?
The home team has only won one of the last six meetings between the Albion and Boro.
Boro's 1-0 win against the Baggies at the Riverside in August 2018 was the only time it has happened during that period, with the away team claiming two victories. The other three games all ended in draws.
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Match Preview
[Courtesy Sportsmole] https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footba...ough-prediction-team-news-lineups_469213.html
[Courtesy Sportsmole] https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footba...ough-prediction-team-news-lineups_469213.html
Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs. Middlesbrough - prediction, team news, lineups
By Darren Plant, Senior ReporterWest Bromwich Albion play host to Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon looking to keep the pressure on the top two in the Championship standings.
Meanwhile, Boro have dropped down to 14th position over the past week, a consequence of suffering two defeats in succession.
Match preview
When West Brom went into half time of Wednesday's fixture with Hull City on level terms, a number of boos were heard around The Hawthorns.
For a team comfortably sitting in third position in the Championship, it felt like a harsh reaction, but Valerien Ismael would have understood the expectation levels when he signed on the dotted line in the summer.
Nevertheless, West Brom eventually claimed a 1-0 win, their fifth victory in eight games, and they now sit just six points adrift of leaders Bournemouth.
While Ismael will recognise that his team are still searching for their best form, he will be content with collecting 31 points from 16 matches in this division.
Karlan Grant was once again the saviour for the Baggies, the forward now having eight goals for the season in the second tier.
During the back end of October, Middlesbrough were doing a brilliant job of riding out their packed injury list by recording three victories in a row.
However, Neil Warnock's team have been brought back down to Earth over the past week, the North-East outfit suffering disappointing defeats to Birmingham City and Luton Town.
Warnock felt the need to tinker with his team at Kenilworth Road, and the introduction of teenager Josh Coburn paid off as he netted his second league goal of the campaign.
That said, just like they did against Blues, Middlesbrough capitulated immediately after half time, and Warnock has work to do in order to lift his team ahead of a game against opponents who are yet to lose at their home ground.
For a team comfortably sitting in third position in the Championship, it felt like a harsh reaction, but Valerien Ismael would have understood the expectation levels when he signed on the dotted line in the summer.
Nevertheless, West Brom eventually claimed a 1-0 win, their fifth victory in eight games, and they now sit just six points adrift of leaders Bournemouth.
While Ismael will recognise that his team are still searching for their best form, he will be content with collecting 31 points from 16 matches in this division.
Karlan Grant was once again the saviour for the Baggies, the forward now having eight goals for the season in the second tier.
During the back end of October, Middlesbrough were doing a brilliant job of riding out their packed injury list by recording three victories in a row.
However, Neil Warnock's team have been brought back down to Earth over the past week, the North-East outfit suffering disappointing defeats to Birmingham City and Luton Town.
Warnock felt the need to tinker with his team at Kenilworth Road, and the introduction of teenager Josh Coburn paid off as he netted his second league goal of the campaign.
That said, just like they did against Blues, Middlesbrough capitulated immediately after half time, and Warnock has work to do in order to lift his team ahead of a game against opponents who are yet to lose at their home ground.
West Bromwich Albion Championship form:
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
Team News
Having shuffled his side in midweek, Ismael must decide which players deserve to keep their place in his Baggies XI.
Semi Ajayi could replace the injured Kean Bryan, a move which would allow Conor Townsend to continue at left wing-back.
Jordan Hugill is in contention to get the nod over Matt Phillips in what may be the only other change to the team.
James Lea Siliki may get a chance in the Middlesbrough midfield, potentially at the expense of Marcus Tavernier.
Lee Peltier could also be recalled in a back three with Anfernee Djiksteel dropping down to the substitutes' bench.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Kipre, Clarke, Ajayi; Gardner-Hickman, Livermore, Snodgrass, Townsend; Robinson, Hugill, Grant
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Peltier, Bamba, McNair; Jones, Siliki, Howson, Crooks, Hernandez; Coburn, Sporar
We say: West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Middlesbrough
Given the inconsistencies of these two teams, there is a feeling that anything could happen on Saturday afternoon. However, we can only back another home win for the Baggies, potentially by the odd goal in three.
Two, Boro "old boys" in the Baggies squad:
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Decisions! Decisions!
www.gazettelive.co.uk
Replacing Crooks & Boro's second half problem - West Brom preview
West Brom are the Championship's best home team
www.gazettelive.co.uk
Replacing Matt Crooks & Middlesbrough's second half problem among Neil Warnock's West Brom dilemmas
By Dominic Shaw.
After two defeats on the bounce, a trip to face the league's best home team isn't ideal.
West Brom are unbeaten in their eight home games so far this season, winning six and only conceding four goals in the process.
They had to be patient against struggling Hull in midweek but broke through in the second half to pick up all three points and bounce back from their defeat at rivals Fulham last weekend.
How Boro could do with bouncing back. Three wins on the bounce have been followed by successive deflating losses against Birmingham and Luton. In what is the final fixture before the November international break, Boro really need a pick-me-up.
So what dilemmas is Warnock dealing with ahead of the game?
Who replaces Crooks?
Matt Crooks has quickly established himself as a nailed on starter in Warnock's side since his summer move from Rotherham.
The towering midfielder has played in several roles, and was establishing a promising link-up with Martin Payero before the Argentinian picked up an injury.
But Crooks' booking at Luton has ruled him out of the West Brom game, presenting Warnock with a problem. The obvious solution is to bring James Lea-Siliki into the side but the Boro boss has made it clear he doesn't think the Cameroon international is as fit as he needs to be to hold down a place in the Championship. It's a tough game to come in and make an impact but Siliki is a class act when he's up to speed.
If Martin Payero is available then he'll likely come back into the side and join Howson in midfield, but Crooks' physicality will be a miss.
Warnock must also decide what to do with Marcus Tavernier in his midfield. The playmaker hasn't been at his best in recent weeks, which might have something to do with playing in a number of roles. It was Tavernier's loose pass that teed up Luton for their third goal in midweek.
Planning to frustrate?
It's no secret what irks West Brom boss Valerien Ismael after his midweek blast at Hull City.
The Baggies boss slammed the Tigers for their time-wasting and "fake injuries" at the Hawthorns in midweek. Coming up against teams that have set out to disrupt is nothing new for Albion this season, with Derby and Millwall having adopted a similar approach at the Hawthorns, both teams leaving with a point.
This Boro side are at their best when they play to their own strengths rather than trying to contain or cancel out the opposition, but that doesn't mean they can't look to get under the skin of the hosts.
Ordinarily it's something a Neil Warnock side would be good at but Boro are often naive rather than streetwise. Warnock admitted this week that he wants his team to be a nastier.
Second half problem
How to solve Boro's second half problem.
If the Championship table was determined by only the first half of games this season, Boro would be third on 31 points, only behind Bournemouth and Fulham.
The second half of games, however, has been an all together different story.
Boro have only trailed once at the break this season, have scored 10 first half goals and conceded only two.
However, they've lost seven of 16 second halves, and conceded 16 goals, capitulations after the break costing them against both Birmingham and Luton in the last week.
What's the problem? Concentration? Fitness?
It's an issue Warnock must get to the bottom of fast if his side are to set about climbing the table and competing for the top six.
After two defeats on the bounce, a trip to face the league's best home team isn't ideal.
West Brom are unbeaten in their eight home games so far this season, winning six and only conceding four goals in the process.
They had to be patient against struggling Hull in midweek but broke through in the second half to pick up all three points and bounce back from their defeat at rivals Fulham last weekend.
How Boro could do with bouncing back. Three wins on the bounce have been followed by successive deflating losses against Birmingham and Luton. In what is the final fixture before the November international break, Boro really need a pick-me-up.
So what dilemmas is Warnock dealing with ahead of the game?
Who replaces Crooks?
Matt Crooks has quickly established himself as a nailed on starter in Warnock's side since his summer move from Rotherham.
The towering midfielder has played in several roles, and was establishing a promising link-up with Martin Payero before the Argentinian picked up an injury.
But Crooks' booking at Luton has ruled him out of the West Brom game, presenting Warnock with a problem. The obvious solution is to bring James Lea-Siliki into the side but the Boro boss has made it clear he doesn't think the Cameroon international is as fit as he needs to be to hold down a place in the Championship. It's a tough game to come in and make an impact but Siliki is a class act when he's up to speed.
If Martin Payero is available then he'll likely come back into the side and join Howson in midfield, but Crooks' physicality will be a miss.
Warnock must also decide what to do with Marcus Tavernier in his midfield. The playmaker hasn't been at his best in recent weeks, which might have something to do with playing in a number of roles. It was Tavernier's loose pass that teed up Luton for their third goal in midweek.
Planning to frustrate?
It's no secret what irks West Brom boss Valerien Ismael after his midweek blast at Hull City.
The Baggies boss slammed the Tigers for their time-wasting and "fake injuries" at the Hawthorns in midweek. Coming up against teams that have set out to disrupt is nothing new for Albion this season, with Derby and Millwall having adopted a similar approach at the Hawthorns, both teams leaving with a point.
This Boro side are at their best when they play to their own strengths rather than trying to contain or cancel out the opposition, but that doesn't mean they can't look to get under the skin of the hosts.
Ordinarily it's something a Neil Warnock side would be good at but Boro are often naive rather than streetwise. Warnock admitted this week that he wants his team to be a nastier.
Second half problem
How to solve Boro's second half problem.
If the Championship table was determined by only the first half of games this season, Boro would be third on 31 points, only behind Bournemouth and Fulham.
The second half of games, however, has been an all together different story.
Boro have only trailed once at the break this season, have scored 10 first half goals and conceded only two.
However, they've lost seven of 16 second halves, and conceded 16 goals, capitulations after the break costing them against both Birmingham and Luton in the last week.
What's the problem? Concentration? Fitness?
It's an issue Warnock must get to the bottom of fast if his side are to set about climbing the table and competing for the top six.
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There are some issues which have always been prevalent in the English game. The following article was published in 2014 and highlights the overt racism and abuse which Laurie Cunningham, Brendan Batson and Cyril Regis experienced in the 70s.
www.theguardian.com
‘We got off the coach and the National Front was there … People spat at us’
A new book looks at the now unthinkable abuse West Bromwich Albion’s three black players – Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson – were subjected to during the 1978-79 season
www.theguardian.com
‘We got off the coach and the National Front was there … People spat at us’
‘We got off the coach and the National Front was there … People spat at us’
A new book looks at the now unthinkable abuse West Brom’s Three Degrees – Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis – were subjected to during the late 70s
Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis attend the official photocall for West Bromwich Albion's 1978-79 season.
Fri 25 Jul 2014 13.31 BST
Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis attend the official photocall for West Bromwich Albion's 1978-79 season.
Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 22.22 GMT
Between 1978 and today, there’s been no great change in the rhythm of a professional footballer’s life. It has remained a routine of training and playing that runs through a nine-month long season. Of course, these days the mechanics of that process are very different. At a top-flight club such as West Brom, the act of preparing players for each season and maintaining them through it is now a forensic science loaded with minutiae on such things as heart rates, refuelling and diet. This doesn’t allow for members of the team to slope off for a cigarette and a fry-up at the end of each session.
As a result, the game itself has become faster and more technical. The rapid proliferation of media has also led to an exponential increase in the amount it is broadcast and reported on and in the attendant interest in it. Yet the most evident and substantive change to the game has been to its economics, and the degree to which at the highest level this has separated those who play football from those who watch it. As well, there has been a marked shift in the demographic of football’s support. It is a general rule that the game in the English Premier League of today is played by very rich young men to an audience that is at least comfortably middle class.
In this respect, the football of the late-1970s is wholly unrecognisable. It wasn’t then gentrified or brand-managed. In some regards it was a simpler, purer game, and in others an uglier one too. Clubs such as West Brom retained a position at the hub of their communities. Often as not, these were the areas of the country most affected by Britain’s economic woes. As at most other clubs, the great majority of those who stood on the terraces at West Brom worked in the factories and plants of the town and its surrounding areas. Right then, these were places and people that were commonly clinging on for survival.
Money was tight and the time had passed when people could afford to go to every game. This much was clear that season in the gates at the Hawthorns. More than 33,000 saw the match against Liverpool, whereas less than 22,000 had turned out for Norwich just two weeks earlier. On 29 November, the derby with Aston Villa attracted a crowd of 35,166. A fortnight after that match the fixture with Middlesbrough brought in 19,865. The players were better off, but not by an unimaginable distance. When Laurie Cunningham left West Brom in 1979, he was on little more than £100 a week. Supporters alternately envied, admired and even idolised him and his team-mates, but they nonetheless continued to inhabit much the same world as them.
For home matches, the Albion players parked their cars at a school across the road from the Hawthorns on Halfords Lane. It was a common sight to see one or other of them deep in conversation with a group of supporters on the walk from there to the ground. During the week, the players were just as likely to be spotted out together in a local pub such as the Four in Hand. It was even known for them to frequent the Marksman off Carters Green, one of the town’s roughest boozers. Cyrille Regis was a regular at a quieter pub a mile up the road in Hill Top, the Star & Garter.
“Cyrille [Regis] was an electrician. He’s a man of the people,” says the supporter John Homer. “That was the thing. As a supporter you knew where the players had come from and had an affinity with them. At that time, football still had humanity. The players were of a generation that appreciated how lucky they were to be in the game. Even though the rewards were not as great, they were still getting paid more than my old man was for working in a brickyard in Netherton.”
The manager, Ron Atkinson, nurtured this connection between the team and its supporters. He instituted a rota for having the players attend supporters’ club meetings throughout the season, telling them it was part of the job of being a footballer. One of his most well-used mantras was that none of them should forget who paid their wages.
“Players were more respectful of supporters in those days, because we were on a level,” insists the goalkeeper Tony Godden. “It was a pretty depressed area, but we’d all of us go along together to the pub opposite the ground on a Saturday night and listen to a bloke on the piano, or a live band. It was all part of joining in with West Bromwich Albion.
“Most of the time, we had Wednesdays off. You only had to go into the dressing room on a Tuesday morning and say it was your turn to go down the Dog and Duck to draw the raffle, and you’d have 15 of the lads saying they’d come along. Nothing silly, but we’d have a few beers, us and the fans.”
Outside of this home environment, the same awful, yawning chasm still opened up that separated Cunningham, Regis and Brendon Batson from the others. All of the players expected stick from opposition fans, but the vitriol being directed at the trio was laced with a particular poison. The sound of it was hostile, but also now as familiar to them as radio static.
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This much was true of all of the black players in the English game at the time. Yet their total number was then just 50 or so. In that regard, the collective black presence in the West Brom team made it a magnet for the extremists. At the FA and in the media, the racist abuse continued to go either ignored or unacknowledged. However, it was now so obvious, so prevalent at Albion’s games, that it could be nothing but a fact of life at the club. It even drew the side closer together and gave them a common enemy, albeit one they never did comprehend in the same way.
“How can I say, we talked about it but we also laughed about it,” says Ally Robertson. “The three lads were our mates and we all used to stick together, so it was nothing to us. If they were being called anything, the rest of us would just tell them to try harder to win the game and shut the crowd up.
“I used to say to each of them: ‘If people call you a black so-and-so, then so what? How many times have I been told I’m a Scottish ****?’ I didn’t give two hoots. The thing was we never, ever allowed anyone to call them ‘nigger’. That’s derogative. Anyone that did, I’d be the first to punch them.’
“What shocked me when I joined West Brom was the volume,” says Batson. “The noise and level of the abuse was incredible. At times, it was almost like surround sound in the grounds. But it was such a regular occurrence, you almost got used to it.
“We’d get off the coach at away matches and the National Front would be right there in your face. In those days, we didn’t have security and we’d have to run the gauntlet. We’d get to the players’ entrance and there’d be spit on my jacket or Cyrille’s shirt. It was a sign of the times. I don’t recall making a big hue and cry about it. We coped. It wasn’t a new phenomenon to us.
“From when I came to England [from Grenada, aged nine], I was familiar with people shouting at me from cars or on the Underground in London. With the other players in the side, it was none of their business. It didn’t concern them and they weren’t sensitive to it. I also remember speaking to the BBC and confronting them about when they were going to say something about it. They told me it wasn’t possible to make out what was being shouted. What a load of b***ks that was. All of the excuses I got were a joke.”
The three players were also now accustomed to receiving hate mail. Cunningham got the most, on account of his relationship with Nicky Brown [his white fiancee], which was well-publicised. Yet Bryan Robson also recalls being sent vile letters asking him how an Englishman could tolerate having black team-mates. One of the more regular correspondents to the club was an Everton fan, who’d send in an abusive screed each time Albion were due to play on Merseyside. He directed this at Atkinson, urging him not to select his “monkeys” for the game.
It was Cunningham again who attracted the most menacing heat away from the football stadia. Death threats were posted to the house he shared with Brown in Birmingham. On one occasion, a petrol bomb was thrown through the front door. Brown remembers him calmly stamping out the flames licking at the doormat, as if it were the sort of thing that happened every day. His only recourse remained on the pitch. That season, more than any other, he was able to keep striking back and winning games.
At the end of September, West Brom went to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The west London club was another that had become notorious for the ferocity of its support. As at West Ham and Millwall, this was most apparent when there was a black player in the opposition team.
[The bronze statue commemorates the three great West Brom players]
“I wasn’t a Chelsea fan, but my brother-in-law had a season ticket and he took me along to see the game,” recalls Lord Herman Ouseley, now chairman of English football’s anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out. “Going to football as a black man was then a very uncomfortable experience. You had to keep your head down and your wits about you.
“At the beginning of the game, the three West Brom players got fruit thrown at them. Each time one of them touched the ball, the booing was horrendous. After about 20 minutes, Laurie weaved his way through the Chelsea defence and Cyrille banged the ball into the net. The guys sitting around me were enraged. They stood up and the abuse reached a cacophony.
“Not long after, Laurie went through again and set up another goal. They were even more livid. But then one of these gorillas sitting in front of me turned to another and said: ‘Mind you, the nigger is F***ing good, isn’t he?’ This was a moment of inspiration for me and I sat there with a glow inside. It was saying, whatever the odds, you can win people over by your talent and perseverance.”
This is an edited extract from The Three Degrees by Paul Rees. Published by Constable, hardback £20, eBook £12.99
Between 1978 and today, there’s been no great change in the rhythm of a professional footballer’s life. It has remained a routine of training and playing that runs through a nine-month long season. Of course, these days the mechanics of that process are very different. At a top-flight club such as West Brom, the act of preparing players for each season and maintaining them through it is now a forensic science loaded with minutiae on such things as heart rates, refuelling and diet. This doesn’t allow for members of the team to slope off for a cigarette and a fry-up at the end of each session.
As a result, the game itself has become faster and more technical. The rapid proliferation of media has also led to an exponential increase in the amount it is broadcast and reported on and in the attendant interest in it. Yet the most evident and substantive change to the game has been to its economics, and the degree to which at the highest level this has separated those who play football from those who watch it. As well, there has been a marked shift in the demographic of football’s support. It is a general rule that the game in the English Premier League of today is played by very rich young men to an audience that is at least comfortably middle class.
In this respect, the football of the late-1970s is wholly unrecognisable. It wasn’t then gentrified or brand-managed. In some regards it was a simpler, purer game, and in others an uglier one too. Clubs such as West Brom retained a position at the hub of their communities. Often as not, these were the areas of the country most affected by Britain’s economic woes. As at most other clubs, the great majority of those who stood on the terraces at West Brom worked in the factories and plants of the town and its surrounding areas. Right then, these were places and people that were commonly clinging on for survival.
Money was tight and the time had passed when people could afford to go to every game. This much was clear that season in the gates at the Hawthorns. More than 33,000 saw the match against Liverpool, whereas less than 22,000 had turned out for Norwich just two weeks earlier. On 29 November, the derby with Aston Villa attracted a crowd of 35,166. A fortnight after that match the fixture with Middlesbrough brought in 19,865. The players were better off, but not by an unimaginable distance. When Laurie Cunningham left West Brom in 1979, he was on little more than £100 a week. Supporters alternately envied, admired and even idolised him and his team-mates, but they nonetheless continued to inhabit much the same world as them.
For home matches, the Albion players parked their cars at a school across the road from the Hawthorns on Halfords Lane. It was a common sight to see one or other of them deep in conversation with a group of supporters on the walk from there to the ground. During the week, the players were just as likely to be spotted out together in a local pub such as the Four in Hand. It was even known for them to frequent the Marksman off Carters Green, one of the town’s roughest boozers. Cyrille Regis was a regular at a quieter pub a mile up the road in Hill Top, the Star & Garter.
“Cyrille [Regis] was an electrician. He’s a man of the people,” says the supporter John Homer. “That was the thing. As a supporter you knew where the players had come from and had an affinity with them. At that time, football still had humanity. The players were of a generation that appreciated how lucky they were to be in the game. Even though the rewards were not as great, they were still getting paid more than my old man was for working in a brickyard in Netherton.”
The manager, Ron Atkinson, nurtured this connection between the team and its supporters. He instituted a rota for having the players attend supporters’ club meetings throughout the season, telling them it was part of the job of being a footballer. One of his most well-used mantras was that none of them should forget who paid their wages.
“Players were more respectful of supporters in those days, because we were on a level,” insists the goalkeeper Tony Godden. “It was a pretty depressed area, but we’d all of us go along together to the pub opposite the ground on a Saturday night and listen to a bloke on the piano, or a live band. It was all part of joining in with West Bromwich Albion.
“Most of the time, we had Wednesdays off. You only had to go into the dressing room on a Tuesday morning and say it was your turn to go down the Dog and Duck to draw the raffle, and you’d have 15 of the lads saying they’d come along. Nothing silly, but we’d have a few beers, us and the fans.”
Outside of this home environment, the same awful, yawning chasm still opened up that separated Cunningham, Regis and Brendon Batson from the others. All of the players expected stick from opposition fans, but the vitriol being directed at the trio was laced with a particular poison. The sound of it was hostile, but also now as familiar to them as radio static.
\
This much was true of all of the black players in the English game at the time. Yet their total number was then just 50 or so. In that regard, the collective black presence in the West Brom team made it a magnet for the extremists. At the FA and in the media, the racist abuse continued to go either ignored or unacknowledged. However, it was now so obvious, so prevalent at Albion’s games, that it could be nothing but a fact of life at the club. It even drew the side closer together and gave them a common enemy, albeit one they never did comprehend in the same way.
“How can I say, we talked about it but we also laughed about it,” says Ally Robertson. “The three lads were our mates and we all used to stick together, so it was nothing to us. If they were being called anything, the rest of us would just tell them to try harder to win the game and shut the crowd up.
“I used to say to each of them: ‘If people call you a black so-and-so, then so what? How many times have I been told I’m a Scottish ****?’ I didn’t give two hoots. The thing was we never, ever allowed anyone to call them ‘nigger’. That’s derogative. Anyone that did, I’d be the first to punch them.’
“What shocked me when I joined West Brom was the volume,” says Batson. “The noise and level of the abuse was incredible. At times, it was almost like surround sound in the grounds. But it was such a regular occurrence, you almost got used to it.
“We’d get off the coach at away matches and the National Front would be right there in your face. In those days, we didn’t have security and we’d have to run the gauntlet. We’d get to the players’ entrance and there’d be spit on my jacket or Cyrille’s shirt. It was a sign of the times. I don’t recall making a big hue and cry about it. We coped. It wasn’t a new phenomenon to us.
“From when I came to England [from Grenada, aged nine], I was familiar with people shouting at me from cars or on the Underground in London. With the other players in the side, it was none of their business. It didn’t concern them and they weren’t sensitive to it. I also remember speaking to the BBC and confronting them about when they were going to say something about it. They told me it wasn’t possible to make out what was being shouted. What a load of b***ks that was. All of the excuses I got were a joke.”
The three players were also now accustomed to receiving hate mail. Cunningham got the most, on account of his relationship with Nicky Brown [his white fiancee], which was well-publicised. Yet Bryan Robson also recalls being sent vile letters asking him how an Englishman could tolerate having black team-mates. One of the more regular correspondents to the club was an Everton fan, who’d send in an abusive screed each time Albion were due to play on Merseyside. He directed this at Atkinson, urging him not to select his “monkeys” for the game.
It was Cunningham again who attracted the most menacing heat away from the football stadia. Death threats were posted to the house he shared with Brown in Birmingham. On one occasion, a petrol bomb was thrown through the front door. Brown remembers him calmly stamping out the flames licking at the doormat, as if it were the sort of thing that happened every day. His only recourse remained on the pitch. That season, more than any other, he was able to keep striking back and winning games.
At the end of September, West Brom went to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The west London club was another that had become notorious for the ferocity of its support. As at West Ham and Millwall, this was most apparent when there was a black player in the opposition team.
[The bronze statue commemorates the three great West Brom players]
“I wasn’t a Chelsea fan, but my brother-in-law had a season ticket and he took me along to see the game,” recalls Lord Herman Ouseley, now chairman of English football’s anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out. “Going to football as a black man was then a very uncomfortable experience. You had to keep your head down and your wits about you.
“At the beginning of the game, the three West Brom players got fruit thrown at them. Each time one of them touched the ball, the booing was horrendous. After about 20 minutes, Laurie weaved his way through the Chelsea defence and Cyrille banged the ball into the net. The guys sitting around me were enraged. They stood up and the abuse reached a cacophony.
“Not long after, Laurie went through again and set up another goal. They were even more livid. But then one of these gorillas sitting in front of me turned to another and said: ‘Mind you, the nigger is F***ing good, isn’t he?’ This was a moment of inspiration for me and I sat there with a glow inside. It was saying, whatever the odds, you can win people over by your talent and perseverance.”
This is an edited extract from The Three Degrees by Paul Rees. Published by Constable, hardback £20, eBook £12.99
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