The Diary

21 September 2005: Evening Folks - It's The Kamara And Kanu Show!

Well, you?d certainly have pretty solid cause for calling tonight?s emphatic 4-1 victory over Bradford City ?The Double-K Show?. First of all, it was Kiomansy Kamara that ran City ragged over on the left, then, after he?d left the fray injured just before half-time, a further second-half subbing of Greening saw the other architect of the Yorkshire side?s destruction, Kanu, delight the home crowd with an exhibition of delightfully-intricate ball-trickery that hadn?t been seen at The Hawthorns since the days of Willie Johnston in his prime. Predictably, both the Brummie and those supporters in the Halfords fell upon such footballing riches like starving people seeing the arrival of the food truck at long last: fed to repletion they were, and about time too.

Our evening commenced, as ever, in the Hawthorns Hotel, but The Noise had been waiting for us to show up in our normal parking spot. Having missed the last home game versus Wigan ? a sister?s wedding, what sort of damnfool excuse is that, for heaven?s sakes? ? as you might expect, Stoke?s contribution to the noise pollution problem was eager to hear the latest gossip, including what happened en route to Sunderland last Saturday. About the only Baggie not to know, but we soon filled him in.

Once inside the Supporters Club hidey-hole, some more stuff about Saturday?s awayaday fiasco. Apparently, the coach company that fell down on the job, Johnstones, were no longer the coach company of choice for supporters ? after what happened, the club ditched ?em like a hot rivet. I?m now given to understand that Leons of Stafford, who formerly had the job before getting elbowed out by the other lot, have been returned to grace once more.

We didn?t tarry long in the Hawthorns, though, as ?Im Indoors had a pressing date with Steve The Miser ? various bits and bobs being swapped, apparently ? so once that had been sorted out, we made to go into the ground. An interesting exercise, that one: for some reason unfathomable to neither man nor Baggie, the entire ticketing exercise was a paper one only tonight ? and it threw up some interesting results. Put the perfectly-good bit of card into the little slot provided, and the LCD screen flashed up ?Ticket Invalid ? See Ticket Office In East Stand?.

Clearly, everyone was experiencing similar problems, because no sooner had that appeared when we tried to get in, a steward descended upon the errant bit of electronics with a card overriding the thing completely. And that wasn?t all; after the game, we heard from Norm Bartlam of complete and utter confusion in the East Stand, and for the same reason. There, the ticket readers were letting in those who?d brought tickets on the night with no fuss whatsoever ? but refusing entry to those who?d purchased those dinky bits of paper days or weeks before the game!

Luckily, our stewards seemed to have matters well in hand in the Halfords, so our entry into the place wasn?t held up unduly. And, as we made for our seats ? my goodness, the ground seemed empty, comparatively speaking - the team changes were being announced on the PA system. Dean Windass ? just how old is he, now? ? turning out for Bradford, while our team-sheet had some unfamiliar names on it. The Pole in goal, as we?d thought, and an emphasis on speed up front, Earnie and The Duke taking on the spearhead role. In the middle was Chaplow and Carter, for a change. And, at the back was former Bradford player, Big Dave, clearly relishing the prospect of a run out against his alma mater.

One moment?s puzzlement as we kicked off ? a massed exodus of Bradford supporters from their block on the far side of the Smethwick to a ?better ?ole? nearer the centre. A commonsense move, from what I saw of it ? the far side only offered a restricted view, so someone had used their head for once, and let their followers sit where there was the better view to be had. The inclusion of both fast men up front was a pretty mouth-watering prospect, and their presence, plus that of Kamara on the flank, certainly gave the visitors ample food for thought in those opening minutes. And, for their part, Bradford were giving it as big licks as they could, with what one might argue were two ?warnings? before we opened our account, although their ability to do us real damage seemed relatively minimal.

The breakthrough, though, came in the 22nd minute and, appropriately enough, by Albion?s Number 22, The Duke. What finally happened we?d been threatening to do for quite some time, but on previous occasions, the offside flag had frustrated our best efforts to introduce the lad to the ranks of Albion goalscorers. This time, a beautifully-judged ball from Carter enabled The Titled One to squeeze between two City defenders, and that was all he needed, really. Albion 1, Bradford 0, and on the balance of play, deserved.

It?s always the same when a striker manages to get off the mark for a new club: having done so, the lad was unstoppable, adrenalin levels hitting the roof, seemingly possessing newly-crafted wings, but the shot hit a Bradford player and ended up out of bounds, much to the relief of the visitors, no doubt.

And then, in the 31st minute, it was Kamara?s turn to add to the demolition job his Ducal colleague had started. Greening was upended, so Carter took the free-kick, positioned quite near the right-hand corner flag. Over the ball sailed, and no less than three City players on what they perceived to be the main threat, Big Dave. Oh whoops. Shame they didn?t notice Mister ?K?, then, totally unmarked elsewhere. Up he rose for one of the easiest headers he must have had in his entire career. 2-0 it was, and City looked dead, dead, dead.

Albion were cruising comfortably, now, and as injury-time loomed, I decided to put my notebook away preparatory to ding down to the bog once the half-time whistle went. Big mistake, that, in more ways than one. Trust our lot ? think of the impossible, and they do it every flaming time. As I?d said, we were running on cruise-control by then, but we?d somehow neglected to remove all the pus from the wound. It didn?t help, though, to lose the services of Kamara just before the interval. His gallop had been stopped earlier but he?d tried to soldier on. Finally, in the 43rd minute, he came to a complete and utter halt, and gave the ?rolling-over hands? signal to the bench indicating he couldn?t carry on, Scimeca coming on in his place.

Injury time then, and in what had to be their only really dangerous move of the evening, Bradford managed to get one back when Schumaker beat everyone in blue and white stripes to the ball and head home for them. What on earth were we doing at the back ? having a crafty forty winks, or something? Carelessness, complete and utter ? and I wasn?t the only one wondering whether that might cost us in the long run.

So, off we went for the second helping, and as we?d lost our most creative player late in the previous half ? those lovely runs of Kamara?s on the left had totally banjaxed Bradford every time ? we could only wonder what was going to happen next. We started quite promisingly, Earnie, Greening, and Clem (from a free kick that hit the defender), all going fairly close, but we were also beginning to let complacency elbow its way in to some extent. And Bradford, happy because they?d got one back, were stepping up a gear. Daft, elementary mistakes creeping in, and totally unnecessary, too. Then, with 13 minutes gone, another change. This time, it was Greening off, and Kanu on. A strange change, or so it seemed at the time. Since the departure of Kamara, Greening had been our sole provider of width: taking him off would (or seemed to) mean everything would come right through the middle, in time-honoured ?hoof and hope? style.

Just shows how wrong you can be sometimes: Three up front now, and what with all of them being quite capable of light-speed when the mood took them, the change was causing no end of problems for the visitors. First of all Earnie should have netted, but somehow screwed the shot wide when it seemed far easier to send the ball on its merry way over the line. Then, two more chances for the little lad, the first not connecting with his boot in embarrassing fashion, the second foiled thanks to their keeper pulling off a pretty good stop.

But it was his striking partner that finally got the plaudits, the killer pass provided by the incomparable Kanu, who was already putting on a bit of a master-class for the benefit of both the Brummie and the Halfords. Beautifully weighted, the pass found Ellington clear in the box and a Bradford defence beaten out of sight. All the lad had to do was chip over the keeper, and that?s precisely what he did. 3-1, just 18 minutes left, and the joint was a much more exciting place to be, all of a sudden.

As far as Kanu was concerned, the remainder of the game belonged largely to him. Out there on the left, he teased, he tantalised, he bewildered. He ball-juggled, too, much to the delight of his admirers in the Halfords. A real ?crowd-pleasing display? and something I hadn?t seen from any Albion player since the days of Willie Johnston, back in the seventies. And didn?t the crowd love it? A shame the Premiership is such a fear-ridden institution these days ? it?s human nature, really, who wants to lose their place on the gravy-train? ? to allow such flair and individuality its head, but that?s the way it has to be these days, I suppose. But Kanu hadn?t quite finished. Not yet. Only minutes later, yet another exquisite through-ball from the master saw Earnie home clear once more ? and this time, he made no mistake. 4-1, and City most definitely ?out?.

And, it could so easily have been five, the ?goal? being ruled out for an infringement in the box. A shame Malcolm Boyden didn?t realise; even when the Bradford keeper was setting himself up for the free-kick, ?Is This The Way To Amarillo?? blared loudly from the speakers. Whoops! One slightly sour note to the evening, though, the dismissal of Albrechtsen for what one might term ?a robust tackle? on Windass just as he was about to wind himself up for the shot on goal. The Brummie and Smethwick protested mightily, but from my Halfords Lane vantage-point, I reckon it was a fair cop. Too late in the day for Bradford to retrieve the situation, of course, but the player?s coming suspension might well give us cause for regret.

So, there you have it ? job done, and in a highly-satisfactory and entertaining manner, too. Such a pleasant change from the nervous, worried Premier League, and the boring sterility that is the inevitable result of such fearful times. I?d like to think that our goal-fest might provide lads such as Earnie and The Duke with sufficient impetus, not to mention confidence, to go out and do it for us in the Prem, on Saturday. But knowing Charlton as I do, it?ll probably be a case of ?Wham, bam, thank you, Ma?am?, one-nil to the Addicks, very early on, and five in the middle from the visitors thereafter. Oh well, at least tonight?s efforts made a nice change!

And Finally?.. It?s not that often I?m in a position to hand out genuine plaudits in the direction of our football club, but having heard what I?m about to relate, I reckon a big round of applause is in order for them tonight. Apparently, on the Paul Franks Show earlier in the evening, there had been a call (whether direct or on behalf of the person concerned I?m not too sure) about a Baggie who?d really gone through the mill over the past few weeks. First of all his grandmother died, then there was a huge house fire in which both his pet dog and cat died, and which saw an awful lot of Albion-related items of sentimental value go up in smoke also, including stuff from last season?s last-gasp deliverance. Unsurprisingly, the chap was reported as being really depressed, and desperately in need of some sort of good news for once.

Hearing this, WM contacted the club ? and they?ve both come up trumps. The chap?s been invited to the ground for Saturday?s game, and not only will he get a pre-match tour of the ground, including going in the dressing-room and meeting the players, he?ll get to see the game from the press box, Radio WM have also promised to put together a special tape about last season?s last-minute escape from the drop, a replacement for at least some of the stuff lost in the fire. Well done, Albion, and well done WM for this wonderful gesture, which does serve to partially diminish the mile-high head of cynicism I?d been carefully accumulating ever since we made the top flight. Sometimes, it?s lovely to be proven just about as dead wrong as you can be, isn?t it?

A slightly truncated piece from me tonight, as I?ve an early start tomorrow for Chris?s funeral, which is in Essex. Back tomorrow night, with more measured thoughts on tonight?s performance then.

 - Glynis Wright

Contact the Author

Diary Index