|
West Bromwich Albion 2 - Queens Park Rangers 2WBA promoted to the Premier League, just!
Hippothirteen:We're back! Ok we stumbled over the finish line. Make no mistake the Chumpionship is not easy to get out of. Over 46 matches we were good enough. Hats off to Slaven and the whole team. Every last member of the squad. Inc Sam Johnstone who has been better than many people have given him credit for... what a midfield: Sawyers, Matt Phillips, Diangana, Pereira, Krovinovic and the legend that is Chris Brunt. I have never been happier supporting the Albion. Brendan Clegg:Well we've done it! I think I've learned a lot from this 2 year experience. I love the Championship and I'll never fear EPL relegation again. Tonight was total madness but surely it's what it's all about. Jeopardy, danger, the unknown. I thought Bilic took a few gambles. As someone who thought Robinson should have been our first choice centre forward since seeing his first game even I thought it was risky starting him there tonight, and playing with not natural left footer across the back four and dropping Krovi in over pace were also big calls. As it goes most of them came off for most of the game - we dominated 60-70%, should really have scored 3 or 4 but drew the game due to profligacy in front of goal and a soft underbelly that seems to reoccur even when we dominate matches - I don't think SJ made a save all night although both QPR finishes were of top flight quality. Generally our level was high - the pressing was relentless, we created decent situations and we did lots right. As with so many games, and especially since lockdown, we should've been out of sight. At the end of the first half and for the first 20 of the second in particular we were so on top it was embarrassing but we didn't have the killer touch. I thought the same of the last 15 minutes. In the end it's natural I think that the pressure got to everyone but in all honesty I can only think of 3 or 4 performances where we deserved to lose this season - Huddersfield being one. The table doesn't lie and it would have been a travesty had we not done it having been in the top 2 for so long... and playing all season with a dodgy 'keeper and no stand-out striker. Some thoughts on the players for tonight and the season -
Credit to Bilic and his staff. The consequences of not achieving promotion were probably severe and I go into next season with low expectations and ambitions, content that if we're sensible and see this as an opportunity to invest and rebuild even if it means another relegation then I'm fine with it - I genuinely feel like the future of the club for the next decade or more was at stake. Best wishes to everyone - I hope you all have a great break and that we'll be able to enjoy some football back at the Shrine soon. Boing Boing! oshawabaggie:In a word, excruciating. Despite the bottle of cheap Cabernet Sauvignon I polished off during the game, I was a bag of nerves, like Baggies fans all over the world, I'm sure. To borrow a cliche, over the last four games Albion have been like a Marathon runner blowing a 500 yard lead over the last mile and staggering over the line to win by a head. I was going to do a critique of the players, but after watching Livermore's emotional post match interview, it wouldn't be appropriate. I'll just say well done to the players, recruitment staff and, of course, Slav. We have a core group who should do well in the premiere league, but we need to recruit at least half a dozen quality players, starting with a couple of strikers. I'm getting too old to withstand promotion and relegation battles every year. Enjoy the moment you Baggies!! Boing Boing!! Kev Buckley:Would echo Brendan's last of yet another season's worth of excellent reports, in that the starting XI looked a bit weird but at least our loan players got us over the line and you can't really ask for more from your loan players, especially with the Albion's history of taking players on loan and then not even starting them but merely preventing the younger contracted squad members from getting on the bench. Still seems odd that Robinson appeared to be brought in to make sure we had three covering players for every wide attacking spot, but then starts as a striker in his final game, and scores, though the BBC report suggests the chances he didn't convert might tell you why - hmmm? Hadn't realised/remembered that we were seven points clear of Leeds at the end of Feb, and yet we finished 10 behind. Here's to blowing most of that EPL money on a 15-goal-or-more-a-season striker who will start every game, and play most of each one facing the opponent's goal. Maybe our owner will be paying Rondon a visit over in China? Finally, as people on here know, I've never been quite as infatuated with "The Wand", since he stopped being a deliverer of balls from out wide on the left with it, as many of you, but I was delighted to have seen that he was out on the pitch as we got promoted. Just a shame that he couldn't have given his shirt to a young fan in amongst the crowd again, and taken the applause of a BOING-ing Hawthorns on a massively deserved lap of honour. Chris Brunt: I salute you. aito:There were times I could hardly watch but we are back in the big time Premier league! Next up Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal and so on... It's been some season and what a night to end it. My hat off to Swansea and Barnsley and all the other teams who made the last games so exciting. However painful and for some last night it was excruciatingly so, this is why Football is the most popular and incredible game in the world. We need to lose some dead wood and bring in some quality new players, none more so than a striker capable of taking many of the endless opportunities we create. I'm not talking about individual players today, my congratulations to the team, manager and club. Come on you baggies Boing Boing |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All text, pictures and graphics are copyright of BOING unless otherwise stated For details regarding your personal information, please read our Privacy Policy |