The Diary

01 October 2004: Bolton - The Crunch Cometh

It?s the first of the tenth month today, of course, and with the gradual introduction of autumn leaves and gentle mists to the Black Country has come the first real press acknowledgement our leader might not be there come the end of next week. A lot will hang upon what happens tomorrow; the fact that Meggo will probably get the push should we dip versus Bolton must be the worst kept secret in football by now. Suppose we win, though, or draw? Should the axe then still swing?

A ticklish one, that. It?s a bit like debating whether or not to destroy a much-loved family pet, really. You know the animal?s ailing, and to keep it alive would cause further pain, so in the end you have to bow to the inevitable and ring the vet. I?m therefore with the camp that opines Gary has taken us as far as he?s able, and he should go now, while there?s still a chance of extricating ourselves from the mess we now find ourselves in, and our leader can go with his dignity intact. It?s a shame it should come to this; as I?ve said in the past, in an ideal situation I would have dearly liked Meggo to go on and bring the fairy tale to a happy conclusion by securing Albion a permanent place in the top flight, but having had two bites at the cherry, now, we?re still no further forward. Things have to move on, therefore, and logically but regrettably, the next step has to be finding a new manager.

The bookies certainly seem to think something?s in the wind; at least one well-known firm has already stopped taking bets. Additionally, just to fuel speculation further, according to today?s Mirror, Bobby Robson is a possibility for being the next mug ? er, sorry, manager! - after Megson. They reckon the former Toon chief was told by chairman Jeremy Peace that Meggo is definitely going, and he only has to say the word. The Robson ?I?m available!? interview holds pride of place on the inside back cover of the paper, and scuttlebutt is the only thing holding him back from seeking the job is a real reluctance to do the dirty on Megson. Also, according to the tabloid, a meeting between Peace and Robson was due to take place earlier this week, but Robson didn?t turn up.

As for the other likely lads, the Mirror reckons Gordon Strachan, yet another name mentioned in lights, has turned down the post already. The surprise entry to the contest, Houllier, might regard managing Albion as a bit beneath his dignity, they think. Should Bobby Robson not want the post at the expense of Gary, and as Strachan appears to be out of the running anyway, at least publicly, the Mirror thinks Jeremy Peace may turn to Bryan Robson instead. The ex-England and Manchester United captain has been out of work since leaving Bradford in the summer, of course. Robbo is alleged to be dead keen on the job and would snatch it right out of JP?s hand if offered. I?ll bet he would, and, should the opportunity arise, will; the fact he seems to have had no further job offers since leaving Bradford speaks volumes for me. If he came with a vastly-experienced Number Two by his side ? Sir Bobby, perhaps? ? then I might show a little more enthusiasm for the guy, but on his tod? I?d rather see Rasputin installed as manager.

Albion have issued a prompt and angry denial that they?re sounding out anyone for the job, of course, which is logical on the face of things. They?re not exactly going to shout from the rooftops they?ve whispered in the shell-like ears of likely candidates, are they? However, despite this public rebuttal looking like a sop to our present incumbent?s feelings, it could also be interpreted as reassurance to anyone else quietly headhunted for the job they haven?t been ruled out of the running, and the imminent vacancy?s still there should they want it.

Incidentally, what a tease from The Indie! Tonight, I surfed a website that collates Albion news from any source, and quickly found within its contents a headline emanating from the Independent proclaiming ?Albion chairman tells Megson his job is safe?. Oh, yeah? The kiss of death, surely? Curious to know more, I decided to access said site, but when I tried to complete the task, the blurb told me the article was no longer available for me to see. According to the collating site, as soon as a fresh Indie story breaks, they discard the previous one from their website, which is what they reckon had happened in this case. Strange, that, because according to the newsgathering site, the article was but a mere ten to fifteen minutes old! And, even more intriguing than that, I?ve just looked on the site once more, and the Peace piece has now completely disappeared from their headlines! Shades of George Orwell?s 1984, being declared a ?non-person?, and all trace of your existence being expunged permanently from the record, as if you?d never walked this planet at all? Ooer.

So, with pressure descending upon the balding head of our leader in heaps, what are his prospects of getting us a precious first lot of three points tomorrow? I have to say not all that good, really. As Darren Purse will be commencing that ludicrous three-match ban, we?re going to need a replacement at central defence, for starters. Who will it be, I wonder? Gaardsoe? Big Dave? Albrechtson? As far as the flanks are concerned, the continuing absence of Robinson and Clem?s suspension will also create grave selection problems. Lots of candidates there, of course, and much will depend upon the type of formation we play tomorrow. I suppose. What a ghastly mess. Thank you very much for nothing, Football Association. Now go and do the same thing to a side in the top three, if you dare. No, I didn?t think you had the guts.

Our midfield? There should be little mucking about there. Presumably, we?ll go for Scouse Jase, AJ and Greening, with the strikeforce consisting of Kanu and Earnie. As far as newly-rampant Bolton are concerned, their only real injury worry is the long-term absence of Florent Laville. Jay-Jay Okocha should make his way into the starting line up after his absence due to a groin injury. El-Hadji Diouf is likely to make way for Okocha. Whatever happens, Bolton are no pushovers by any means, and the way we currently play, I really can?t see us getting anything whatsoever from this game. I dearly hope I?m wrong, of course, but you do have to be pragmatic about these things, sometimes. I?ve had to forecast a 2-0 defeat for the purposes of the Boing predictions league, such is my current despair at what?s happening, but I certainly don?t derive any pleasure from doing so.

Liverpool Reserves 4 Albion Reserves 1 That was the score come the final whistle at Wrexham last night, which came as no surprise to me, really, but that little-publicised reserve game was also noteworthy for one other thing - Junichi Inamoto's first ever appearance in a Baggies shirt. Liverpool struck three times in the final 11 minutes, after we?d taken the lead, so it wasn?t a very happy introduction to the great Albion family for the lad. Last night was his first ?proper? run-out since suffering a hairline fracture of his leg against England in June, but despite that four-month injury lay off, he put in a pretty solid first-half display by all accounts before being subbed at half-time as a precaution. Incidentally, the word is there were several Japanese faces to be seen at the ground last night. For a reserve fixture played, to all intents and purposes, in the middle of nowhere? Now that?s what I really call keen!

And finally?..One. As we?ve all heard by now, Tony Blair was taken into hospital yesterday to have minor surgery for his long-standing arrhythmia problem (that?s a very quick heartbeat to you, ducky), thereby increasing speculation he might eventually step down on health grounds. Commented Albion-rumour-weary me to ?Im Indoors, upon hearing the news early this evening, ?Don?t tell me HE?S going to be linked to the Albion job as well??

Mind you, Im Indoors did come up with an interesting variation on the theme. Suppose Jeremy Peace and Tony Blair simply swapped jobs? In other words, Jeremy could run the country, and Tone could run the Baggies. As my other half so rightly pointed out tonight, they?re so alike in manner and style, you wouldn?t know the difference, really. I can just picture it; Brummie Road End Baggies being roped in by Tone to form a time-consuming focus group concerning a likely transfer target? By the time anyone finally came to a decision, the player being looked at would have long since taken their talents elsewhere. Or, what about improving our defence? I can hear the keynote speech now, ?Tough on goals, and tough on the causes of goals!? Or, when formulating policy on the most effective treatment for muscle strains? Easy, that one ? ?Embrocation, embrocation, embrocation!?

Two. Not strictly Albion, this one, but a hearty ?well done? goes out to brother-in-law and long-standing Albion sufferer John ?Victor Meldrew? Maxfield, who bravely abandoned a lifetime phobia (and moans about all the possible disasters that could befall him should he ever take to the air!) by agreeing to fly for the first time ever. The situation arose primarily because an errant (and fully-laden ? gulp!) Greek tanker badly pranged their cruise ship just outside Gibraltar last week. Mind you, when you?re presented with the dual options of either flying from Marbella, Spain, to Blighty in just two hours flat, or taking to a packed coach for three full days, there?s no contest, really. Come on ?Biggles?, now you?ve finally taken the plunge, so to speak, any chance we can get both you and my sister to Oz next year?

 - Glynis Wright

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