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West Bromwich Albion v Middlesbrough
The Hawthorns, West Bromwich. 14th November 2004, 2.00pm.
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Match
Preview
Result West Bromwich Albion 1 - 2 Middlesbrough
Scorers Robert Earnshaw (37) Darren Purse (og 32)
Boudewijn Zenden (52)
Attendance 24,008
Teams 4-4-2

1 - Russell Hoult (GK)
19 - Neil Clement
16 - Cosmin Contra
5 - Darren Moore
6 - Darren Purse
2 - Riccardo Scimeca
8 - Jonathan Greening
10 - Andy Johnson
34 - Robert Earnshaw
11 - Zoltan Gera
25 - Nwankwo Kanu 		4-4-2

(GK) Mark Schwarzer - 1
Anthony McMahon - 29
Franck Queudrue - 3
Chris Riggott - 5
Gareth Southgate - 6
George Boateng - 7
Stewart Downing - 19
Ray Parlour - 15
Boudewijn Zenden - 32
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 18
Mark Viduka - 36
Substitutes 29 - Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
4 - Thomas Gaardsoe
7 - Jason Koumas
9 - Geoff Horsfield
17 - Rob Hulse 		(GK) Carlo Nash - 12
Colin Cooper - 23
Guidoni Junior Doriva - 20
James Morrison - 25
Joseph-Desire Job - 16
Substitutions G Horsfield for Z Gera (60)
R Hulse for R Earnshaw (60) 		G Doriva for B Zenden (89)
Yellow Cards None None
Red Cards None None
Referee S Dunn (Bristol)
After 24 or so hours to digest what I saw at the Hawthorns yesterday, I'm feeling a little more positive about the remainder of the season. Obviously, Kanu's miss left me gutted and looking with dread at the next two fixtures, but if you take the match as a whole, the signs are good. Don't get me wrong, I fully expect us to be at the bottom of the table come the end of November, but I believe we are capable of beating teams in this division. If we do get anything out of the next two games, and it's not impossible, it will be a bonus, but if you can judge anything about a manager's impact from a single game, I honestly believe we will kick on and pick up eight or nine points in December.

The main changes made by Robson were all sensible ones. Clement was restored to left back, Greening was moved into central midfield and Cosmin Contra was given his Premiership debut on the right side of midfield with Gera switching to the left.

In the first half, they all worked. Gera didn't have his best game, but he looked good on the ball and always looked dangerous cutting inside - unfortunately, his end product was lacking but we know he can produce, and will do in the future. Johnson was a revelation as he was given licence to push forward and had one of his most effective 45 minutes of football for a long, long time. Clement looked much more comfortable in his natural position at left back and was useful both defensively, and in attack. Contra looked over anxious in the first ten minutes and ran out of position as he tried to get involved and was caught out a couple of times, but once he settled down he had a very effective game and did superbly well to set up Earnie's equaliser.

But the star of the show was Jonathan Greening. He was involved in virtually everything good that Albion did, be it picking up the ball from the back four and pushing forward or linking up with the forwards on the edge of the Boro' box. I've wanted to see him in the middle of the park for some time, I always thought it would be Koumas to come onto the wing - Contra was bought as a right back, so his inclusion in midfield was a surprise, but it definitely worked.

I was also pleased to see Hulse on the bench, and with Horsfield and Koumas it made a very attacking one. I'm not sure I would've taken Earnshaw off, but Robson felt he needed something else up front. To be honest, I think the substitution worked. It took ten minutes to bed in, but Horsfield, especially, looked very effective. Hulse is lacking in confidence, and it shows. His headed effort was a decent one, but he should've got something on the ball that was played across by Horsfield.

One of the biggest differences I noticed was that Albion attacked as a unit. Under Megson, we often saw a huge gap between the midfield and the forwards, but Johnson, Greening, Contra and Gera were all getting into the area, although thankfully not all at the same time. We often saw a midfielder go beyond the strikers which was almost unheard of under Megson.

So those were the positives, but there were negatives as well. Those, however, were down to individual performances rather than tactics. Kanu did OK but that last minute miss will be hard to forget - let's hope we're not a point away from safety come the end of the season. It will be interesting to see what Robson does with the mercurial Nigerian. He's not an out and out goalscorer, but he's definitely got something to contribute with his ability on the ball, to keep possession in tight situations and he does possess great vision. He is perhaps a luxury as his best position is probably just behind the front two. It's be an interesting dilemma for the new manager.

Scimeca blows hot and cold for me. He produced a fantastic shot that was well saved by Schwarzer, got down the right side linking up well with Contra on occasion and defended well at times. But at others, his distribution is poor and he can get caught - mind you, he was playing against one of the best young players in the country in Stuart Downing.

But the biggest disappointment was Darren Purse, who had a but of a 'mare. He scored the own goal - I can't say whether Hoult called or not - and backed off Zenden to give him a free header to score the winner. He got caught out on a number of occasions and it might open the door for Gaardsoe to return - would be a little harsh after one game, but he needs a good display at Highbury next week.

All in all, the result was undeserved and a big disappointment given the chances that we created. It was a good first half performance but they were slow to get going in the second. It was encouraging that Robson saw a problem and made a change that worked up to a point - several chances were created in the last ten minutes and the Baggies were unlucky not to grab one of them. We may be bottom at the end of the month, but if Robson's impact continues in the same manner, we won't stay there very long.




Marks

Russell Hoult - 5 - Still not convincing although had no chance with either goal.
Neil Clement - 6 - Good first half, but he still does stupid things now and again.
Cosmin Contra - 7 - Impressive Premiership debut; likely to be a fixture on the right if he continues in that vein.
Darren Moore - 7 - Solid display from Big Dave.
Darren Purse - 4 - Poor game; very out of sorts.
Riccardo Scimeca - 6 - Mixed display.
Jonathan Greening - 9 - MOM. Superb performance.
Andy Johnson - 7 - Impressive display; maybe Robson can get the best out of AJ.
Robert Earnshaw - 7 - Good finish, lively and unlucky not to get a penalty in the first half.
Zoltan Gera - 6 - Good on the ball, but missing the product in this game.
Nwankwo Kanu - 6 - At times very good, at times very bad.

Rob Hulse - 6 - Did OK but lacks confidence.
Geoff Horsfield - 7 - Very impressive display; definitely well motivated to win back his place.

Bryan Robson - 7 - Impressive start although the result wasn't what was required. I'm sure he's learnt a lot from this game, and he's got some difficult decisions to make.

Jon Want, 15th November 2004.
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