 |
West
Bromwich Albion v Norwich City
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 16th October 2004, 3.00pm. |
| Back
to Previous Page |
Match
Preview |
 |
 |
| Result |
West Bromwich Albion |
0 - 0 |
Norwich City |
| Scorers |
None |
None |
| Attendance |
26,257 |
| Teams |
4-4-2
1 - Russell Hoult (GK)
14 - Martin Albrechtsen
4 - Thomas Gaardsoe
22 - Bernt Haas
5 - Darren Moore
2 - Riccardo Scimeca
8 - Jonathan Greening
10 - Andy Johnson
11 - Zoltan Gera
9 - Geoff Horsfield
25 - Nwankwo Kanu |
4-4-2
(GK) Robert Green - 1
Simon Charlton - 16
Adam Drury - 3
Marc Edworthy - 17
Craig Fleming - 5
Damien Francis - 20
Gary Holt - 8
Mattias Jonson - 9
David Bentley - 10
Darren Huckerby - 6
Leon McKenzie - 14 |
| Substitutes |
29 - Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
16 - Cosmin Contra
3 - Paul Robinson
7 - Jason Koumas
34 - Robert Earnshaw |
(GK) Darren Ward -
21
Thomas Helveg - 26
Youssef Safri - 15
Paul McVeigh - 18
Mathias Svensson - 19 |
| Substitutions |
R Earnshaw for N Kanu (58)
J Koumas for J Greening (69)
P Robinson for Z Gera (80) |
T Helveg for M Jonson
(74)
P McVeigh for D Bentley (75)
M Svensson for L McKenzie (80) |
| Yellow Cards |
Darren Moore (42)
Andy Johnson (59) |
Leon McKenzie (63)
David Bentley (71) |
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
P Crossley (Romley) |
One positive that can
be taken from this performance is that Albion kept their first clean
sheet of the season, but that was more because Norwich failed to
take their chances rather than a solid defensive display.
All in all, Albion were poor. Megson blamed the international break,
and there may be something in that, but the Albion team failed to
get going and never really got into the game. They looked bright
early on and kept Norwich pinned back, but a long range shot from
Gera that was a foot wide was the only real reward.
Norwich should've gone ahead in the ninth minute when Bernt Haas
went to sleep and allowed McKenzie time and space to get on the
end of Huckerby's cross, but the former Peterborough striker fired
his volley over the bar. From that point on, Norwich dominated the
first half and could've scored three or four.
Albion seemed unable to keep possession, Albrechtsen and Gaardsoe
were caught too often on their heels as the Norwich forward players
looked much more mobile. Huckerby had a shot saved by Hoult, before
a rare mistake from Big Dave saw him dispossessed by McKenzie who
put Huckerby through. Fortunately for the Baggies, the former Coventry
striker fired his shot closer to the corner flag that the goal.
Albion had a few forays forward but the left hand side of the Albion
defence was looking particularly vulnerable and Jonson was given
time and space from Huckerby's throughball but fired into the side
netting.
Albion's best move saw Gera and Haas combine and the Swiss full
back fired a low cross into the box that was deflected goalwards
by Gary Holt only for Robert Green to produce a superb save.
Albion looked better in the second half as Big Dave got to grips
with Huckerby and made him look very ordinary for the remainder
of the game. After the break, it was a much more even game although
a goal never looked imminent for either side.
Hoult made a good save low down from a Jonson header and Scimeca
fired just wide from long range before Megson made the first of
his head-scratching substitutions. To be fair, Kanu was struggling
with an injury picked up playing for Nigeria before the game, so
his replacement was more than likely enforced. Otherwise, the disappointing
Horsfield would surely have been the man to be brought off for Earnshaw.
Earnie had little opportunity to influence the game as the service
from the Albion midfield began to dry up, not that there was much
to begin with. He was lurking with Horsfield when Green spilled
a fierce shot from Greening, but the Norwich 'keeper redeemed himself
by getting a hand to whip the ball away before either Baggies striker
could pounce. For the first hour, Albion were using Big Dave as
a target man for set pieces, and he won most of the ball only for
it to drop into space that Horsfield and Kanu were not reading.
It was crying out for Earnie. Once he came on, the tactic was never
employed - very frustrating.
Megson had apparently said that Koumas and Gera couldn't play in
the same side, but he went against that when he brought the Welshman
on for Jonathan Greening. Greening's withdrawal was a surprise given
that he'd been Albion's most influential midfielder. The game was
now petering out, and Megson appeared to be settling for a point
when he withdrew Gera for Robinson, switching to a 3-5-2 for the
last ten minutes.
It was painful to watch as Albion conceded possession time and time
again. Hoult's goal kicks were falling between the midfield and
attack without a challenge from an Albion player - whether that
was down to Hoult's kicking or poor positioning, I'm not sure, but
the last quarter of the game was dreadful.
After the encouraging performance against Bolton, this was hugely
disappointing. You can't blame Megson for starting with the same
team, but he seemed to lack ideas on how to change things. Each
substitution made the situation worse and questions will continue
to be asked about his future if such tactical failures persist.
There are no more international breaks until March and without the
distraction of the Coca Cola Cup, we have one game a week until
Christmas. So there should be no more excuses and the opportunity
to get into a routine for the players. Optimism remains with Purse,
Clement and Inamoto to come into the side, although it's vital to
pick up points in the next two away trips at Palace and Southampton
as we have Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United to come before
the end of November.
Disappointed but not downcast, but I now see the trip to Selhurst
Park as another must-win encounter.
Marks
Russell Hoult - 7 - Not called on too often, but made some good
saves when necessary
Martin Albrechtsen - 6 - One or two good moments, one or two poor
ones.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 6 - Similar to his Danish teammate.
Bernt Haas - 7 - Lost McKenzie early on, but otherwise did OK.
Darren Moore - 8 - MOM. Good solid display, made Huckerby look stupid
in the second half.
Riccardo Scimeca - 6 - Decent showing.
Jonathan Greening - 7 - Best of the midfielders; unlucky to be subbed.
Andy Johnson - 5 - Lots of running, lots of effort, little product.
Zoltan Gera - 6 - Great when on the ball, but didn't show himself
often enough.
Geoff Horsfield - 4 - One good run spoiled by a poor finish; otherwise
anonymous.
Nwankwo Kanu - 6 - Obviously not 100% fit, never got going.
Robert Earnshaw - 6 - Little service to work with.
Jason Koumas - 4 - His lack of form, and maybe interest, is very
worrying.
Paul Robinson - 6 - Did OK.
Gary Megson - 5 - Don't blame him for the line-up, but the substitutions
simply didn't work. And switching to 3-5-2 was simply flabbergasting
when it was a game we really needed to win.
Jon Want, 17th October 2004.
|
| ^ Back to Top
|
|
