Worried and Shocked!

It was always going to be difficult for West Bromwich Albion to get something from the game against Manchester City. But relieving Roberto di Matteo of his duties was a huge shock.

Don’t get me wrong 13 defeats from 18 games is a cause for concern but sacking di Matteo after he got The Baggies promoted last season is wrong. I understand recent results have not been great but I believe di Matteo would have got us out of trouble.

I just hope Jeremy Peace knows what he is doing for his sake and for West Bromwich Albion. It is vital Albion survive in the Premiership and I’m sure the fans are starting to get fed up with the club’s yo-yo tag.

West Brom as we all know are struggling for form but when the news came that di Matteo had left the club; I was in absolute shock as I’m sure most Albion fans were. I wish Roberto the best of luck and would like to say thank you for what he did during his time at The Hawthorns.

Getting rid of your manager at this stage of the season is questionable and if I was Peace I would have at least given di Matteo until the end of the season. But obviously the chairman appears to know best.

I don’t recall any West Brom fans this season wanting di Matteo to get sacked and personally I feel Peace has pressed the panic button. Only time will tell if Peace has made the right decision.

The Tevez Show

Its fair to say it was the Carlos Tevez show on Saturday and all the damage was done in the first half. Yet again soft goals conceded and if you are going to compete in this league, you cannot afford to be giving the opposition easy goals.

Yes Manchester ‘money bags’ City have world class players in the squad but it was all too easy for them and you would have liked to have seen Albion come out of the blocks quicker.

Albion did improve in the second half but it was damage limitation and the game was over by half-time.

Worse still, Wigan beat Blackburn and Birmingham won at West Ham to leave the Baggies outside the relegation zone only on goal difference. I have to say I fear for Albion now and I wonder where their next result will come from.

Now is the time for every West Brom player to stand up and be counted and show the fans they have got the character for a battle and steer away from relegation.

The defence must improve drastically from now till the end of the season and if The Baggies continue to concede silly goals then they will get relegated.

West Brom’s next two games are huge and if they do not get a minimum of four points, then I really will start to worry about whether they can get out of this mess.

West Ham have picked up of late but they are inconsistent and this is a game Albion MUST-WIN. Then there is the small matter of a Black Country derby against Wolves.

Two wins could make a huge difference and things will look a whole lot better for West Brom. But like I said now is the time for the players to stand up and be counted and show the fans they can get out of trouble.

New Manager?

So who will be Roberto di Matteo’s successor? It will be interesting to see who gets appointed as Albion’s new manager. I will get slated for saying this but I don’t think Sam Allardyce would be a bad shout.

I agree his style of football is not attractive and has not won many plaudits. However his sides have always been able to grind out results and they have been difficult to play against. Look what he did at Blackburn. Grinding out results at this point of the season I would not mind at all.

Blackburn were down in the doldrums before Big Sam came in and it was Allardyce who turned the clubs fortunes around and he managed to steer the club away from the relegation zone. He also did a great job at Bolton so Allardyce does know how to keep sides up.

Another name who has been linked with the manager vacancy is Martin Jol. The Ajax manager has managed in the Premiership before with Spurs. Jol did a decent job at White Hart Lane and he almost got Spurs into the Champions League.

The former Spurs boss has played for Albion but whether he would leave Ajax is a different matter. But still if he was to be appointed, I feel he would do a good job and keep Albion up.

This is a long shot in my opinion but I wonder if Martin O’Neill would be interested in the Albion managerial vacancy. O’Neill worked wonders at Aston Villa and turned them from relegation candidates to a Champions League chasing side.

Perhaps the way he left the club will be something the Villa fans will not forgive him for. However he did a great job at Villa Park and he also did brilliantly with Celtic and Leicester City. Would he be interested in becoming manager of West Bromwich Albion? I’m not sure he would but you never know.

I would be interested to hear from Albion fans who would you like to see become the next manager? Keep The Faith and Let’s Get Behind The Baggies!

A defeat but plenty of positives to take

Although the Baggies succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Roberto Di Matteo’s side can be rightly pleased with their performance.

Albion were so much better in all departments against Liverpool than they were against Chelsea. Despite the defeat, I’m sure many West Brom fans will be optimistic that the Baggies can survive and that there are three teams who are worse than them.

Personally I am inclined to agree with them. From what I have seen so far West Ham and Wigan do look as if they will struggle despite Roberto Martinez’s side beating Spurs at the weekend. Blackpool and Newcastle will also be fighting to survive.

Defensively West Brom were well organised against Roy Hodgson’s side and the Baggies even managed to keep Fernando Torres quiet despite the Spaniard scoring the winning goal.

Jonas Olsson was fantastic at the back and it just makes you wonder why he did not start against Chelsea. But still when called upon the Swede did his job and he put in some crunching tackles.

The only criticism I would have of the defence is that there were times where they were playing football near their own penalty area. If in doubt just hoof it clear or put it out into touch. Apart from that, the defence was solid and debutant Nicky Shorey looked assured at left-back.

One positive was that every time West Brom went forward, they always looked a threat. With Marc-Antoine Fortune up front, he was able to hold the ball and bring others into play. That’s what I like about Fortune and I personally feel he could turn out to be a decent signing.

Peter Odemwingie with his pace was always going to be a threat and there were one or two occasions where he was able to use his pace to good effect. Yousouff Mulumbu also did a solid job in front of the back four.

I did think that James Morrison’s sending off was harsh but that’s football. It was a yellow card offence but a red card was the wrong decision in my opinion.

On the transfer front, I think that Roberto Di Matteo has brought well and with the likes of Peter Odemwingie, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Somen Tchoyi, Nicky Shorey, Pablo Ibanez and now Paul Scharner on board, the Baggies have every right to feel optimistic that they can stay up.

The one thing about the current squad compared to Tony Mowbray’s squad in the Premiership is that it has experience. Fortune, Shorey, Scharner, Myhill and Steven Reid all have experience of playing in the top flight.

I am particularly impressed with the signing of the Austrian Scharner. He can play at centre back, right back, defensive midfield and even in the centre of midfield. We have seen what he is capable of during his time at Wigan and he is not a bad player at all.

Scharner can also pop in with some vital goals so he could also turn out to be a shrewd buy for West Brom.

I do feel that Albion have brought well but the next two home games are crucial against Spurs and Birmingham City. Whenever the Baggies get chances in front of goal they need to be ruthless and put the ball away.

The attitude the players showed against Liverpool was second to none and if they can continue to do that then they will stay up. But the Baggies do need to start scoring goals to stand a chance of surviving.

Let me know what you think. What are your thoughts on who the Albion have signed?

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Home form crucial for Albion

If West Bromwich Albion are to stand any chance of surviving in the Premiership then their home form will be vital.

Albion’s season starts this weekend at home against Sunderland and a win would be the ideal tonic to banish thoughts of their 6-0 drubbing away at Chelsea last weekend.  

A win would also be a perfect way to kick off their home campaign and give the Baggies fans something to cheer about.

West Brom fans will have been disappointed with the 6-0 scoreline but Albion’s season will not be decided when playing against Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal etc.

Fixtures against the likes of Blackpool, Bolton, Wigan, Newcastle, West Ham, Fulham and Wolves will determine whether the Baggies can stay up.

If Albion do end up victorious over the teams who will be fighting it out to survive, then they will definitely finish above the relegation zone. Easier said then done!

With Peter Odemwingie and Somen Tchoyi now seemingly West Brom players, at least Roberto Di Matteo has more attacking options available to him for future games this season.

Odemwingie in my opinion was one of Nigeria’s best players at this years World Cup and he is very quick. At £2.5 million he could prove to be bargain for the Baggies.

I have not seen Somen Tchoyi play so I would be interested to hear from Albion fans about their thoughts on the Cameroon winger.

It will be interesting to see how quick both Odemwingie and Tchoyi settle in at The Hawthorns and whether they can adapt to the Premiership.

I’m sure many West Brom fans would agree with me that the Baggies do need at least one more striker. Whether it be a permanent buy or someone coming in on loan I don’t know. 

Di Matteo will be looking to bring in some players on loan to strengthen the current squad before the transfer window closes.

Looking ahead to the Sunderland game, the Baggies will without question want to put in a good performance and put the defeat against Chelsea behind them.

However beating Sunderland will not be easy as some fans are making out. The Black Cats will be looking to finish in the top half of the Premiership and they have a quality striker in Darren Bent.

The former Spurs striker was in red hot from for Steve Bruce’s side last season and was unlucky not to make the 23 man England squad for the World Cup.

Bent will fancy his chances of scoring against Albion after the Baggies debacle last weekend.

There will be a couple of things I will be looking out for in the starting XI against Sunderland. Firstly will Di Matteo keep faith with Scott Carson or will he put Boaz Myhill between the sticks? Secondly will Jonas Olsson start and thirdly will Roman Bednar make way for new recruit Peter Odemwingie?

Let’s just see what happens. Hopefully West Brom will be celebrating their first win of the season come 5pm on Saturday.

Baggies must learn quickly

West Bromwich Albion were always going to be up against it after being given a tough opening day away fixture against Chelsea. And so it proved!

The 6-0 scoreline did seem harsh but it may well be a long hard season for Roberto Di Matteo’s side.

I’m sure West Brom won’t be the only side on the receiving end of a thrashing from the reigning Premiership champions.

All the Baggies can do is put this result behind them and look ahead to the home game against Sunderland which is a must-win in my opinion. Not sure what the Albion fans think?  

As Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day, West Brom’s season starts next weekend against Steve Bruce’s side. Bearing in mind that Albion’s next three away games are against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, it is vital that West Brom pick up points at home.

Reflecting back on the game against Chelsea, West Brom really do have to improve in all departments.

I know it was only the first game of the season but I’m sure Di Matteo will be disappointed with some of the goals they conceded.

Scott Carson spilled Didier Drogba’s free-kick which led to Chelsea’s first goal. Looking at the replays, Carson should have held on to it.

Up until Chelsea scored their second goal, Albion were well in it and I thought to myself perhaps this game will not be one sided after all.

But Chelsea’s second goal was a sucker punch and from there it was difficult to see how West Brom were going to get back in the game. Had the wall done its job then, Albion would have been trailing by only one goal at half-time.

Had Albion not conceded on the stroke of half-time, I’m sure the players and the fans would have believed they might have got something out of the game.

We saw that even if you make small mistakes in the Premiership you will get punished. That’s how harsh this league is.

One of our best players on the pitch in my opinion was Jerome Thomas. Thomas gave Chelsea’s right-back Paulo Ferreira some problems and the former Portsmouth player’s pace did give Chelsea something to think about.

Apart from that there were not many stand out performances for the Baggies. It is obvious to all West Brom fans that the Albion do need a striker. But who?

Jason Roberts has been linked with a move to West Brom for a number of weeks now. Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce is looking to offload Roberts and the ex-Wigan striker may well be heading to The Hawthorns for a second spell with the club.

Roberts did struggle in his first season in the Premiership and he did also have a fall out with then manager Gary Megson. Now Jason has had the experience of playing in England’s top league with Blackburn and Wigan, maybe he would be a useful addition to the squad.

He won’t get you 20 goals per season but his experience could come in handy for this season anyway for West Brom.

One striker who I would love to see at The Hawthorns is Stoke City’s Tuncay. The Turkish international has not has the best of times at the Britannia Stadium and he has now found himself behind the likes of Ricardo Fuller, Mamady Sidibe and new signing Kenwyne Jones as well as Dave Kitson in the pecking order.

Albion have been linked with Tuncay earlier this summer and I think he would do a decent job for West Brom. I’m not sure if he is capable of being the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation but he does know where the back of the net is.

Realistically who would you like to see the Baggies sign before the end of the transfer window? Are there any other strikers you would like to see signed up by Roberto Di Matteo?