19th January 2006: This week has
seen two sources of frustration for Baggies fans. A disappointing
exit from the FA Cup has been followed by the collapse of what had
appeared to be a nailed-on first signing of the year, but there is
a silver lining to at least one of those should you look close enough.
No fan should ever want their team to lose, and I am no different.
I would've been pleased to see Albion make it through to the fourth
round of the FA Cup, but given that we did lose, it's worth pointing
out some of the positive things to come out of Tuesday night's defeat
at the Madejski Stadium.
The most obvious plus point from the evening was Richard Chaplow.
A good performance and two goals should raise his stock considerably
and will hopefully lead to a more prominent role for him in the
remainder of the season. Also, first team debuts for Jared Hodgkiss,
Rob Davies and Stuart Nicholson will have given those players valuable
experience and, in the case of Hodgkiss in particular, he grabbed
his chance with both hands and put in a creditable performance,
by all reports.
 The
youngsters were only involved, of course, because of the extensive
injury list amongst the first team squad. That leads me on to one
of the secondary benefits from Tuesday evening. After the crucial
match with Sunderland on Saturday, Albion will have a ten day break
before facing another crunch encounter with Charlton at the Valley.
That will surely help the injured and jaded players recover full fitness.
Charlton have a potentially tough encounter at home to Fulham's conquerors,
Leyton Orient, three days before their game with the Baggies so one
would hope that the Albion players will be physically fresher.
Other than the result, there were a number of negatives to come out
of the game as well, not least the fact that Ronnie Wallwork will
now be suspended for the game at Charlton, rather than a fourth round
tie.
Another was the performance of Robert Earnshaw. Reports suggest that
Robson has now been tempted to finally accept Earnie's transfer request.
His lack of commitment in the match suggests that he has no intention
of fighting for his place at Albion, although such performances must
surely put his chances of finding another Premiership club at risk.
Having said that, Paul Jewell is apparently keen on the Welshman,
as are Southampton, although I'm sure he will want to stay in the
Premiership.
If Earnshaw does leave, Robson will need to replace him, and Jimmy
Floyd Hasselbaink had emerged as a realistic candidate. The Dutch
international looks like being allowed to leave the Riverside on a
free transfer with McLaren under instructions to reduce their wage
bill. Albion surprisingly seem prepared to match his wages of around
£45,000 a week and offer him an 18 month contract, but the latest
reports suggest that Fulham are in pole position to sign the Leeds
and Chelsea striker. However, if Jeremy Peace and Bryan Robson can
lure him to the Hawthorns, it would surely go down as a major coup.
The Ehiogu saga will not go down as one of the better episodes in
Albion's history after the on-off deal finally collapsed on Wednesday
night with Jeremy Peace saying that "The goalposts keep being
moved and enough is enough." In my view, that suggests that the
player's demands increased after the club announced that the deal
was close, and the chairman was not prepared to be held to ransom.
Robson will surely now look to bring in another defender as it is
an area where Albion look short of cover.
There are a number of other rumours circulating including a swap deal
that would see Jason Koumas move to Leeds United in exchange for David
Healy and £500,000, and the club appear keen to sign Slovakian
international midfielder Jan Kozak who has impressed while on trial
at the Hawthorns.
The next week or so could prove to be a busy one.
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