8th November 2004: More news emanating
from the Hawthorns today as Scott Dobie's move is confirmed, but to
Millwall not Preston. The one-time Workington Wonder turned down a
move to Deepdale and opted to join former teammate Danny Dichio at
the New Den.
The terms of the deal are the same as the Preston offer, £500,000
up front and a further £250,000 should Millwall win promotion. Scottie
did well in what is now the Championship without really setting the
division alight, but never really looked comfortable at the highest
level despite scoring a couple of memorable goals at Bolton and Tottenham
in 2002. He's a decent player but tends to blow hot and cold, but
I wish him all the best.
As for the manager situation, it seems almost nailed on that Bryan
Robson will be confirmed tomorrow - mind you, we heard that about
Hoddle last week. Ironically, Robson will also face his former club
in his first match in charge should he join this week.
His appointment would leave me with mixed feelings. As a former Baggie,
he certainly has some advantages and, under normal circumstances,
the fans would give him time to settle. Unfortunately, time is something
that Albion do not have and the new man needs to hit the ground running
and get some points out of the next three games.
Robson's record as a manager, however, is not entirely convincing,
but not as bad as many people think. His last role at Bradford was
a hiding to nothing - Houdini couldn't have got out of that one -
but he had a good crack of the whip at Middlesbrough with mixed results.
Like Megson at the Albion, Robson won two promotions to the Premiership
in 1995 and 1998, reached one FA Cup final and two League Cup finals,
although two of those final appearances were accompanied by relegation
in 1997. He eventually lost his job when the expected success in the
Premiership was not forthcoming. Steve Gibson put a significant amount
of money in the club, and he wanted better results. Middlesbrough's
highest Premiership finish during Robson's reign was 9th in 1999.
Since Robson left, Middlesbrough have hardly taken the top flight
by storm - they finally won a major trophy last season beating Bolton
in the Carling Cup final but they've not finished in the top ten under
Steve McLaren. Middlesbrough look more of a force this season, but
the relative reputations of Robson and McLaren hardly seem fair when
you look at the facts.
Robson was able to attract some top quality players to the Riverside,
including Juninho and Ravanelli, although I'm sure Gibson's money
helped, and he retains a high profile within the world game having
captained England with distinction over many years. He may not be
the best manager in the country at the moment, and maybe the Albion
could do better with more time, but as I said earlier, time is a luxury
Albion don't have. We cannot afford to go any longer with the level
of uncertainty surrounding the club, and while it is important the
right decision is made, it needs to be made quickly.
And when you take everything into account, maybe Bryan Robson is the
right decision. Only time will tell.
On a lighter note, I watched a recording of Match of the Day 2 this
evening and was interested to hear Mick McCarthy's comments on a "superb
defensive performance by Manchester City" in the derby match - strangely
different from his comments after that game at the Stadium of Light
in April when a similarly superb defensive performance all but confirmed
Albion's promotion. It's a shame Adrian Chiles didn't bring that up!!
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