15-04-2015, 17:02
Like many people, I thought that Astle Day was going to go down as the most memorable occasion at Albion in years. And so it did; but for all the wrong reasons.
Off the pitch, everyone played their part in making the day a special one, but out on the field, Brunty and Mozza were the only two players to come away with any credit, at least looking like they cared about the result while the rest of the side shuffled to yet another avoidable defeat. Nor is Tony Pulis blameless in the grand tactical debacle, trying to ride his luck to three points on an afternoon when the league's bottom team attacked us with a pace and purpose which fully deserved its eventual reward.
The sad epilogue to a gut-wrenching day is that we now find ourselves in more or less the position Norwich City were in this time last year; perched precariously above the relegation zone with a run-in from hell. The good news is that we have a greater cushion than the Canaries did, and may yet be capable of snatching a point or two to keep ourselves alive. But make no mistake; in the coming weeks, our anxious eyes will be cemented to the full-time scores as we pray that other teams' failures will keep us in the Premier League. Again.
We kick off our disastrous run with a trip to Selhurst Park, where a genuinely rejuvenated Crystal Palace are in imperious form, with pace and guile in their side which makes our previous opposition Leicester and QPR look, frankly, as slow and predictable as us. If there's any hope for us in Croydon this weekend, it's as follows:
1. We always lose the games we're expected to win and win the ones we're expected to lose (except, notably, times when everyone expects us to lose and we do. In style).
2. It's our free travel game, which generally ends positively for us (if there's anyone left who actually wants to suffer watching these players for ninety minutes ever again).
3. Palace have just crossed the 40-point mark, and may yet suffer a dose of complacency themselves (i.e. limit themselves to just the seven goals).
4. Pulis could prove capable of pulling a rabbit out of the hat against a former club, as he did against Stoke (when we heroically romped to an edgy 1-0 win, for a change).
So, the stage is all set for a famous Baggies triumph. In your own time, gentlemen.
Off the pitch, everyone played their part in making the day a special one, but out on the field, Brunty and Mozza were the only two players to come away with any credit, at least looking like they cared about the result while the rest of the side shuffled to yet another avoidable defeat. Nor is Tony Pulis blameless in the grand tactical debacle, trying to ride his luck to three points on an afternoon when the league's bottom team attacked us with a pace and purpose which fully deserved its eventual reward.
The sad epilogue to a gut-wrenching day is that we now find ourselves in more or less the position Norwich City were in this time last year; perched precariously above the relegation zone with a run-in from hell. The good news is that we have a greater cushion than the Canaries did, and may yet be capable of snatching a point or two to keep ourselves alive. But make no mistake; in the coming weeks, our anxious eyes will be cemented to the full-time scores as we pray that other teams' failures will keep us in the Premier League. Again.
We kick off our disastrous run with a trip to Selhurst Park, where a genuinely rejuvenated Crystal Palace are in imperious form, with pace and guile in their side which makes our previous opposition Leicester and QPR look, frankly, as slow and predictable as us. If there's any hope for us in Croydon this weekend, it's as follows:
1. We always lose the games we're expected to win and win the ones we're expected to lose (except, notably, times when everyone expects us to lose and we do. In style).
2. It's our free travel game, which generally ends positively for us (if there's anyone left who actually wants to suffer watching these players for ninety minutes ever again).
3. Palace have just crossed the 40-point mark, and may yet suffer a dose of complacency themselves (i.e. limit themselves to just the seven goals).
4. Pulis could prove capable of pulling a rabbit out of the hat against a former club, as he did against Stoke (when we heroically romped to an edgy 1-0 win, for a change).
So, the stage is all set for a famous Baggies triumph. In your own time, gentlemen.
Classic Match
Crystal Palace 0-1 West Bromwich Albion
Football League First Division: 4th October 1980
Regis grabs the winner as Ron Atkinson relays his in-match tactical thoughts to the commentary box. Can't decide whether that would be a good thing for Tony Pulis or not.
"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