[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Derek Statham gets the magic sponge at Carrow Road, 7th November 1979

Hard and unglamorous work it may have been, but Albion eventually did the necessary to stop the rot last Saturday against Sunderland.  That 1-0 win (is there any other kind?) bought some much-needed breathing space, elbowing a few other teams into peril beneath us, though we remain five points off the relegation zone due to a thumping Newcastle victory on Sunday.  That first win of the season for Steve McLaren came courtesy of Norwich City, who now find themselves joining fellow promoted sides Bournemouth and Watford in an alarming slide down the table.

From an Albion perspective, with a difficult November ahead, it's crucial to get points on the board in the next couple of matches if only as insurance against Newcastle going on their usual autumn winning streak, and also - with any luck - to deny Norwich a win which would lift them back above us.  Easier said than done, you may think, given what happened to us at Carrow Road just last month.  I'm hoping that Pulis will look to atone for that defeat out of professional pride if nothing else, though the shadow of our tactics at Selhurst Park on the last awayday do loom large in the mind, unfortunately.

It goes without saying that the Canaries need a psychological boost after suffering such a setback on Tyneside last weekend, so I doubt they'll be overly cautious in their approach.  The question is how eager we'll be to hit back.

Peter Odemwingie fires past Declan Rudd to bag three points for Albion, 11th September 2011