The Diary

25 October 2005: Wednesday On Monday, And 'Cottaging' On Tuesday

A belated sort of start tonight, as I?ve been watching avidly the Sheffield Wednesday-Brighton encounter on Sky, which finished 1-1. I have to say the script sounded very familiar: Wednesday took the lead around 15 minutes into the second half when Peacock (I think) latched on to a rebound previously parried by the Seagulls? keeper. (I can?t give the timings etc.with any certainty as I was busily proof-reading for my other half at the time). From then on in, it was Wednesday all the way, with poor Brighton having to resort to desperate measures indeed to keep the home side out. Certainly their keeper well earned his coin tonight; not only that, but on at least three occasions over the remainder of the game, Wednesday should have busted the net, so clear-cut were the chances.

You?ve probably guessed what I?m about to say by now, so say it I will. With around two minutes of stoppage-time gone, and the home crowd whistling like mad for the - erm ? whistle, very much against the run of play, Brighton got hold of the ball, broke quickly from out of defence, took it the full length of the pitch, crossed, and up rose another of theirs to nut the thing in. Scenes of great jubilation from the visitors, of course, who revelled mightily in that little episode of smash-and-grab, but from the home crowd, naught, save an icy and ominous silence. Just sixty seconds later, the ref blew to end it all, with blasts of furious hooting accompanying The Owls on their weary trudge back to their dressing-room roost. Oh, whoops.

Returning to the present, and all things Albion, what of our League Cup prospects at Craven Cottage tomorrow night? No replay for this one; everything gets decided on the night, whether for good or ill. And penalties. If it does come to that, I do hope someone reminds The Horse that sticking his ruddy great hooves right in the middle of forbidden territory at the precise moment when another of his little chums is lining up to take the kick isn?t quite the way we expect the job to get done. And, while I?m in the business of rehashing what went on at The Reebok yesterday, it might also prove a wise precaution to remind Kamara that the crossbar sits around eight feet above floor level, and not somewhere in close proximity to Row Z.

Incidentally, I was most intrigued by Big Dave?s comments apropos Sunday?s game, in which he said ?We don?t think losing 2-0 was a fair reflection of the game.? Quite startled by this, I was, but being the nice little Baggie I am, and not having been there to see with my own eyes, I decided to check out the match stats in today?s Guardian, and this is what I came up with: Possession: Bolton 61%, Albion 39%. Shots on target: Bolton 6, Albion1. Shots off target: Bolton 11, Albion 2. Passing: Bolton 64%, Albion 48%. Fouls: Bolton 14, Albion 17. Corners: Bolton 10, Albion 2. Offside: Bolton 4, Albion 0. Bolton not worth their emphatic victory, Darren? Unless there was something else going on there not covered by what were, by anyone?s lights, pretty comprehensive stats, you care to run that one past me just one more time, mate?

I suppose that if one has to travel all that distance in midweek to see an Albion game, then one could do much worse than Craven Cottage on a mild autumn evening. Close to the Thames, it is, and situated in one of London?s posher environs ? the last time I was there, houses in close proximity to the ground were shifting for a cool half million quid ? the surroundings must rank as a vast improvement on the likes of, say, Burnley. Or the Molineux, come to think about it. I would rather not delve too deeply into the circumstances surrounding the loss of all three vital Premiership survival points the last time me and my little walking stick graced The Cottage; suffice to say they did unto us what Brighton did to The Owls tonight, and leave it at that.

Team selection? After Sunday, I would like to think we?re going to banish all thoughts of negativity and playing safe. Assuming we do want to progress in the competition, of course; if our players have said ?we?d much rather put our feet up in front of the fire, with a nice cup of tea on the go, and Corrie on the box?, then whatever I say is going to be so much literary diarrhoea, but if we?re genuinely going to go for it tomorrow, then the holy trinity of attack, pace, and movement have to be our watchwords. Fulham may be hovering on the brink of being dragged into the smelly stuff themselves, right now ? just one point currently separates then from us in the table - but they?re not daft by any means. And neither side dwells in Olympian aloofness, with which comes the ability to view things from the financial equivalent of a comfort zone, so to make major progress in the competition would come as a bit of a bonus for both clubs.

Remember the previous tie, versus Bradford, and my unmitigated joy in watching an Albion side, for once released from the multitudinous cares and woes associated with the Prem, seemingly hell-bent on providing entertainment, in great big dollops, for once? And Kanu?s role, in the ?hole? at the back of the main strikeforce, and his cameo role, where he turned crowd-pleaser for just one magical spell? As we?re not playing in front of our normal audience tomorrow, I don?t suppose we?ll see a repetition, but please, lads ? anything has to be better than simply shutting up shop (or trying to), and hoping like hell the opposition won?t score. Hasn?t it?

Yeah, right ? dream on. So, in the absence of our gaffer having a conversion of Damascene proportions ? or one to North Sea Gas ? what might be our options tomorrow? I hate to find myself saying this, but the Wigan approach to games does have much to commend it, and so did Everton?s yesterday. Come out fighting, attack the buggers, don?t give them a minute on the ball, let them do the worrying, for a change ? and, as we saw in both cases, it sure as hell worked. Wigan stuffed our blubbery and bewhiskered chums down the road, and on their own bit of beach, as well which really rubbed great lumps of salt into the wound, while The Toffees well and truly chewed up Chelski, who seemed rendered paralysed with shock, almost, by the Merseyside outfit?s stubborn refusal to follow the script. And a little bit of consistency as far as team selection goes wouldn?t go amiss either; as I said yesterday, how can you honestly hope to progress with a side that constantly chops and changes its striking options?

As far as available personnel for tomorrow?s jaunt down the Smoke is concerned, our lover?s tryst with Sam Allardyce?s lot seems to have left its mark on our lot. Kirkland is rated ?doubtful?, a rib injury being the problem there, and our little chum Albrechtsen is also a dodgy bet to start tomorrow. In his case, it?s a hamstring problem. And, surprise, surprise, Zoltan is still out of the reckoning with that groin problem of his; he?s also considered ?doubtful? for Newcastle, next Sunday, such is the extent of the malady. Also hors de combat is Steve Watson, whose groin is giving the lad gyp; what with all that lot, and the news Curtis Davies is cup-tied, anyone out there got any GOOD news for a change?

At least all the various lumps and bumps amassed on Sunday will mean the addition to the squad of Junichi Inamoto, Nathan Ellington, Thomas Gaardsoe and Kevin Campbell. And, should Chris Kirkland not be sufficiently recovered by tomorrow, then the Pole will be most certainly in goal. Presumably, Big Dave will be carrying on where he left off on The Sabbath; as for the rest, I?d be highly delighted if we do go for broke and stick both Ellington and Earnie up front, with Kanu in the ?hole?, but the way things are going, I reckon I?ve got more chance of seeing The Second Coming take place in Dartmouth Square. And, just to add a little more into the mix, the last time we won at Craven Cottage was also in the League Cup, on September the 5th, 1980. Our current gaffer was the bloke who netted the winner, as he did during the first game, at the Hawthorns, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Previous to that, we have to take our time machine back to 1967, when the King and The Bomber struck to see us take all the points ? it was two only, then - in a 2-1 win. A time of peace and love it may have been back then, but clearly, no-one bothered to remind either Messrs. Astle and Brown of that salient fact!

And that, then, is my lot for tonight. Back tomorrow, with my thoughts on Fulham.

And finally?.. One. Without wishing to make comment either for the prosecution or the defence, strange goings-on indeed at Yeovil Town where Nottingham Forest lost 3-0. Strange, because after the final whistle, Gary Megson took the unusual step of inviting into the dressing-room a couple of Forest?s incensed travelling band. This, it appears, stemmed from the fact that during the course of the game, a considerable number of their supporters had indicated in no uncertain terms precisely where both Megson and the team could go, and afterwards took the trouble of spelling out in words of one syllable the probable itinerary for both parties.

What did surprise me about the Guardian report, though, was their assertion this course of action was ?unprecedented?. Oh no it wasn?t ? just ask any Albion supporter of long-standing attendance. Back in the early nineties, when Bobby Gould tenanted the hot-seat, we played Bournemouth away, the game ending, also, in a defeat. So incensed was The Mad Hatter by our players? distinctly (as he saw it) underwhelming performance that day, he too invited a supporter into the Inner Sanctum in order for him to have ample opportunity to disseminate free and frank opinions about that day?s performance. While the Guardian account says that the supporters concerned were ?constructive in their views?, from what little I do know about the stunt Barmy Bobby pulled that day, the same couldn?t be said about the chap ? yes, I do happen to know him, still, he lives not far from where we do - who got a similar invitation that day.

Two?. More light now shed on what Conan Doyle would probably term ?The Perplexing Case Of The Underachieving Goalkeeper?. Aw, you remember, the lad who did so well between the sticks for Alfreton last Saturday? Well, I?ve since discovered ? or my little spy Cyril Randle has ? that his name is Adam Legsdins, and he?s a teenage member of the Birmingham City Academy. Certainly explains a lot, that. Having been brought up on the likes of John Osborne between the sticks, and our football club having been seemingly well-blessed in the goalkeeping department over the intervening years, I do reckon I have a bit of an eye for a good ?un ? and this young lad genuinely was the biz.

 - Glynis Wright

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