10th January 2005: The Baggies
have finally returned to winning ways with the victory at Deepdale,
and have been rewarded with a home tie in the fourth round. It's far
from easy, however, as it is fellow Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur
who will stand between Albion and a place in the fifth round.
Spurs visited the Hawthorns early in the season and left with a point,
although they probably deserved all three. Although they suffered
a dip in form in October and November, their new manager, former Baggie
Martin Jol, seems to have turned things round. After losing his first
two games in charge, he has guided Spurs to an eight match unbeaten
run. On that form, it will be a tough ask for the Baggies to make
round five, but by no means impossible.
Before that, of course, there are two important Premiership matches
at Fulham and at home to Manchester City. Albion may be boosted by
the return of Darren Moore, who is playing for the reserves tonight,
and there may be two new faces on board before Sunday. Robson is still
waiting for Matias Almeyda to arrive at the Hawthorns, although he
is still expected this week, and Everton striker Kevin Campbell has
emerged as a surprise target over the weekend.
Campbell, who turns 35 next month, has seen all aspects of top flight
football. Having won the title with Arsenal, he has also been relegated
with Nottingham Forest and successfully battled against relegation
with Everton. He is also the only player to have scored a Premiership
hat-trick at three different clubs - let's hope he makes it four!
He is currently one of Everton's top earners on around £35,000 per
week, but the arrival of James Beattie at Goodison Park seems set
to further restrict his first team football. With six months left
on his contract, he is available on a free transfer and he seems willing
to take a pay cut and sign an eighteen month contract at the Hawthorns
- the deal is set to be completed tomorrow subject to him passing
a medical.
He's a proven goalscorer in the twilight of his career and, while
I don't see him as the answer to Albion's recent goalscoring problems,
he should be a useful addition to the squad. He's big strong player,
similar in style to Geoff Horsfield, and while there will be question
marks over his fitness given his age, he should be capable of making
a positive impact at the Hawthorns.
It may lead to further speculation regarding the future of Rob Hulse
at the Hawthorns. Hulse has been used relatively frequently as a substitute
by Robson, but he has failed to start a Premiership match and has
been linked with a potential move to Sheffield United, as well as
being touted as a part-exchange for Leeds 'keeper Scott Carson. He
played more than three quarters of the game at Preston after Horsfield
was injured early on and Kanu was unavailable due to injury. Campbell's
arrival would be likely to drop Hulse down to fifth choice striker.
On another note, I was slightly disappointed to see that Inamoto was
allowed to play for Cardiff in the FA Cup on Saturday. That suggests
that he isn't a major part of Robson's immediate plans, which is a
shame as I think he is a very useful player. On the other hand, maybe
Robson felt that, given that Inamoto is only due to be at Cardiff
until the end of January, it would be counterproductive for him to
miss out on much-needed match practice. We will have to wait and see
what happens at the end of the month.
And finally, I was glad to see that Gary Megson and Frank Burrows
are back in work after they joined Nottingham Forest. I wish them
both the best of luck and I believe they will be successful at the
City Ground.
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