22nd
December 2005: Defeat to Portsmouth left Albion with a
very difficult job if they are to avoid dropping into the bottom three
over the holiday period, but after a four match unbeaten run, one
poor result should not be seen as a disaster for the Baggies.
Man Utd away, Spurs at home and Liverpool away is obviously a tough
trio of games to face over Christmas and many Albion fans will be
expecting to lose all three. Albion's much improved home form, however,
means that Spurs will not see the trip to the Hawthorns as a foregone
conclusion and I would hope that the Baggies should get at least
a point from that game. Man Utd and Liverpool are obviously form
teams at the moment and any points from those two games would be
a bonus.
But with Birmingham facing an equally tough run of games against
Spurs, Man Utd and Chelsea, Portsmouth are the only team with a
realistic chance of pushing Albion into the bottom three should
they manage to build on their defeat of the Baggies.
Once we move into the New Year, however, Albion have a run of winnable
games that could see them pull away from the drop zone. Arguably,
the most important game of the holiday period is the game against
Aston Villa on 2nd January. Not only is it a local derby, but Villa
can be termed a fellow-struggler so far this season and victory
could see the Baggies move ahead of their nearest neighbours. This
match is followed (in the Premiership) by games against Wigan (A),
Sunderland (H), Charlton (A), Blackburn (H), Fulham (A) and Middlesbrough
(H) which are all games that Albion have realistic chances of winning.
I'm not saying that the Baggies will win them all, but they are
all winnable. That run of seven games in January and February will
go a long way to determining which division Albion will be playing
their football next season, far more so than the next three.
In early October, Albion languished in 19th position in the table
with only one win all season and the knives were out for Bryan Robson.
An unexpected victory over Arsenal moved Albion out of the relegation
zone and, while the recovery was stuttering to start with, the last
month has seen Albion pick up eight points from five games to build
a small cushion above the bottom three. Moreover, the team is now
settled and playing decent football more often than not.
Furthermore, Albion's most influential player of last season, Zoltan
Gera, is on the verge of a return to fitness offering a further
boost to Albion's chances, and if Albion can make a couple of good
acquisitions in the January window, that nirvana of mid-table obscurity
would look more and more achievable.
One cloud on the horizon is the African Nations Cup which could
deny Albion the services of Kanu and Kamara for up to six weeks.
Kanu, in particular, will be sorely missed now that he has started
producing consistently good performances, but it should give Earnshaw
the opportunity he craves to show Robson what he can do. If so,
I hope that Earnie can make the most of it.
There is no doubt that the defeat at Fratton Park was a blow, and
that the next three games look daunting, but the early part of 2006
seems to offer more hope for Baggies fans.
It is important for Albion to emerge from December with credit,
if not more points, and to approach the New Year with optimism and
confidence. A repeat of last season's post-December points tally
will see Albion break the 40-point mark even if they do lose the
next three games, and I believe that the Baggies are a better side
this season.
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