[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Jeff Astle scores at the Shed End, Stamford Bridge, 1st March 1969

After a relatively relaxed Christmas and New Year schedule, January propels us into the realm of some serious fixture congestion.  Wednesday night brings us the first of four Albion matches within a week and a half, and it's probably the hardest of the bunch, even if our opponents are (hilariously) three points and two places below us in the table.

Our squad - if defined as 'players who are actually likely to ever be handed a place in the starting line-up' - is threadbare, and you have to wonder how this will affect selections in the coming fixtures.  Is it time to rotate a couple of young names in and give them a chance?  Would doing so at Stamford Bridge be chucking them in at the deep end (or giving Abramovich ideas about who to go plying with free ice-creams and blank contracts)?

The result for me is pretty much secondary in this one; we lost to Chelsea back in August when they were awful, and now they seem to be getting their act together, so a customary defeat wouldn't come as too much of a surprise.  If we can take something from the game, all the better.  But above all, we need to avoid injuries and suspensions and keep the lads in the best possible shape to play: in the offing is a more winnable away game, a continuation of our cup run... oh, and a certain nail to hammer into a certain coffin.  Priorities, Tony.  Priorities.