29-04-2015, 18:31
(This post was last modified: 29-04-2015, 20:26 by Ska'dForLife-WBA.)
If you want an illustration of just how much can change over the course of two seasons in football, you have only to reflect that Albion's last visit to Old Trafford prior to this Saturday happened under the management of Steve Clarke, on a day when it really looked like the club's steady descent into mediocrity had been halted, and we could all look forward to another ambitious Premier League campaign.
The 2-1 victory in that bright indian summer of 2013 - earned with an astonishing solo goal from our dazzling new signing Morgan Amalfitano, and a winner from fairytale wonderkid Saido Berahino - now seems half a world away. It's fair to say we've been through a lot since. Hopefully the Time of Troubles for Albion may be nearing an end, but in the meantime, we return to the scene of one of our last "great" Premier League triumphs in the hope of delivering another bloody nose and shuffling a little closer to safety.
Louis Van Gaal seems to have weathered his first season as United boss largely on the merits of not being David Moyes; it seems likely they'll hold on to 4th place in the league (thanks in no small part to the failings of the sides below them) which will be considered an adequate return from the Dutchman. Even so, there have been rumblings of discontent at the sometimes-ponderous style of play, and they remain defensively frail by the standards of a top four team; indeed, going into this match, Albion have actually kept four more clean sheets than United this season. The Reds have lost back-to-back away matches at Chelsea and Everton, and will no doubt be looking to stop the rot on home turf, but there remains a reasonable chance that Albion can take advantage of this blip in form and take another unlikely point on the road to survival.
The 2-1 victory in that bright indian summer of 2013 - earned with an astonishing solo goal from our dazzling new signing Morgan Amalfitano, and a winner from fairytale wonderkid Saido Berahino - now seems half a world away. It's fair to say we've been through a lot since. Hopefully the Time of Troubles for Albion may be nearing an end, but in the meantime, we return to the scene of one of our last "great" Premier League triumphs in the hope of delivering another bloody nose and shuffling a little closer to safety.
Louis Van Gaal seems to have weathered his first season as United boss largely on the merits of not being David Moyes; it seems likely they'll hold on to 4th place in the league (thanks in no small part to the failings of the sides below them) which will be considered an adequate return from the Dutchman. Even so, there have been rumblings of discontent at the sometimes-ponderous style of play, and they remain defensively frail by the standards of a top four team; indeed, going into this match, Albion have actually kept four more clean sheets than United this season. The Reds have lost back-to-back away matches at Chelsea and Everton, and will no doubt be looking to stop the rot on home turf, but there remains a reasonable chance that Albion can take advantage of this blip in form and take another unlikely point on the road to survival.
Classic Match
Manchester United 3-5 West Bromwich Albion
FA Premier League: 30th December 1978
It couldn't be anything else.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley
They're a shambles already today at leicester but you know the Albion :/
