21-01-2016, 22:54
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Bomber belts a penalty past Jimmy Rimmer to give Albion the lead against Villa, November 1978
On the evening of 7th March 2015, around what felt suspiciously like my seventy-third pint of the night, I performed a quick thought experiment: when was the last time I'd felt so absolutely sick and miserable as an Albion fan as I did at that moment? No defeats against Villa or Wolves in recent years came close; not even an assortment of relegations in the 2000s could touch it. Two doses of Wembley misery in 2007 and 2008 were nearer the mark, but even they ultimately fell short. I don't think I ever did manage to pinpoint an exact moment in time; there came a point when I realised that I'd have to go all the way back to the 1990s to find one, and that alone summed up just what an abject mess Albion had made of the most important week in the season for us fans.
For those who were lucky enough to be in a coma or drinking their own urine in the middle of the Sahara as the horrific events unfolded, a quick recap of what had happened: twice in the space of five days, an in-form Albion side who had pulled away from relegation danger under a canny and professional manager faced a rudderless, crisis-hit Villa side with no confidence whatsoever, under the stewardship of a loudmouth Cockney chancer who practically delivered the Baggies team talk with a series of arrogant media comments beforehand. And twice in the space of five days, Albion managed to bottle the challenge: first by conceding a last-minute penalty in a moment of goalkeeping madness, then by allowing our former wage-thief Scott Sinclair to knock us out of the cup. It wasn't the first time we'd done this kind of thing against Villa - indeed, we've made something of a tradition of it, to be honest - but to have managed it twice in a week, with every imaginable insult added to every conceivable injury along the way, was the abyss of all known Albion let-downs. It felt like we'd turned hapless derby day boobery into a performance art.
Yes, revenge in September was sweet, and the subsequent Villa implosion a delight to watch. But the ghost hasn't been busted; not yet.
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Cyrille's aerial duel, Albion vs Villa, November 1978
As was always likely to happen, Villa have hit a patch of something resembling form in the run up to this derby, because of course they have. Meanwhile, we've got an injury crisis to handicap us for the game, because of course we have. This is unlikely to be the steamroller job we hoped it might be a month or two back; in fact, it looks increasingly probable that it will be a tight match, and one in which an Albion win is far from assured. But somehow, we need to dig deep and find those three points to push us across the thirty-point line and keep Villa adrift. Doing so would not only give us a first league double over them since the era of the late Don Howe, but also help to seal their fate for the season and give us the kind of utter local supremacy in the top flight that would be unprecedented in history for Albion. It could be Molineux in 2012 all over again. Or then again, it could be Villa Park in 2015 all over again.
It's all in the hands - and at the feet - of the eleven men and their gaffer on Saturday. Come on, Albion. For once, let's have less of the semper te fallant, more of the carpe diem, and a whole lot of defecare ad Villae, please.
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Last-ditch defending at the Brummie Road End, Albion vs Villa, February 1990
"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
