25th July 2003: More positive
news to report as Albion will the second appeal for a work permit
for Artim Sakiri. So, assuming he passes a medical, he'll become a
Baggie early next week. I'm pleased to be proved wrong in that I never
expected any joy from the Home Office, although another knock back
would have been particularly galling following the news that Tim Howard's
permit was only granted following a special appeal from Manchester
United.
He'll have a lot to live up to as many Albion fans have seen him as
THE crucial signing of the summer. It will certainly make Gary Megson's
4-4-2 experiment worth another try with a natural left-sided midfielder
(or, dare I say, winger) although there is still no obvious counterpart
on the right.
As for the other signings, Haas, Hulse and O'Connor seem to have impressed
in Denmark and, although I know little about him, the Tractor Boys
seem particularly upset about the prospect of losing Gaardsoe which
bodes well should we manage to sign him.
On a less positive note, a lot has been said about Jason Roberts in
recent weeks. Megson said he was unwilling to come off the bench in
the last tour match because of a slight injury, whereas JR has since
come out and said that he was surprised to be named as a substitute
because GM was aware of the injury. Whatever the truth of it, you
cannot blame Megson for leaving JR as a low priority in his planning
for the forthcoming season, and the player himself obviously wants
to appear professional to attract another club. Personally, I think
JR would've been better keeping his mouth shut about wanting to leave,
as he was more likely to have been picked, and therefore be in the
shop window. Unless, of course, he believed his relationship with
Megson to have deteriorated so much that he thought he wouldn't be
picked anyway.
It's a difficult situation. I still believe that Jason Roberts with
the right attitude would be an asset to any club, and you can argue
whether it is down to the manager to deal with players on a case by
case basis to bring out the right attitude. Megson doesn't work that
way (the same could be said about Alex Ferguson, Graeme Souness and
Brian Clough), and he's Albion's manager. Megson's going nowhere (we
hope), so the fact is the Roberts must either change his ways and
swallow his pride, or find a club that's willing to shell out the
cash. The latter option isn't working too well at the moment.
But Johnson and Dichio both had their difficulties with the manager,
were on the transfer list, but buckled down and became better players
for the experience. JR may consider himself a more talented player,
but in Megson's eyes all are considered equal. You play by his rules
or....don't play.
On a more positive note, I think there are more signings to come,
so there's a couple more interesting weeks before the real action
starts.
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