The 19,000 attendance was probably higher than expected, but I'm guessing that most of them will have wondered why they bothered. Reading made six changes, Albion four, and neither side could produce any sort of entertaining football. Moreover, with Kamara unavailable and Clement injured, it was pretty much a first choice for Albion which is a cause for concern as they enter a crucial period in the season. Other than three minutes of excitement when the two penalties were given, it was a forgettable encounter, but one which will be replayed a week on Tuesday, an extra game that neither side really wanted.

The loss of Clement and Kamara was countered by the return from injury of the first choice central midfield pairing of Wallwork and Inamoto, and by the news that Zoltan Gera was able to take a spot on the bench. To the dismay of many, Robert Earnshaw was once again left out of the squad completely. Robson rested noone other than Tomasz Kuszczak, and we were all hoping for a morale boosting performance and victory.

The tone was set within the first few minutes when Ellington deflected Kanu's shot onto the post - the ball came back to him and it seemed a simple task to prod the ball home. But the Duke tried to use the outside of his right foot rather than the inside of his left and trod on the ball. Had he been able to take that chance, things could've been so much different - Ellington's confidence, which is suffering badly, and that of the team would've been boosted and it would've been a very different afternoon.

As it was, Ellington's game went downhill; his touch deserted him and he became a passenger - not that there were many drivers on the pitch. It was a lacklustre disjointed first half with neither side able to put any sort of move together. Inamoto seemed unable to find a teammate and the two wide players, Carter and Greening seemed to be in a competition to see who could give the ball away in the most inept manner. Reading were little better as they spurned a number of golden opportunities presented to them by Albion with poor passing and decision making, but at least they had the excuse of fielding a weakened side.

The only players that were emerging with any real credit were Kirkland, Wallwork, Davies and, to a lesser extent, Kanu. It was almost a repeat of the Villa game as passes went astray, balls were miscontrolled and there was an all-round lethargy.

At half time, the only hope was that Robson could instil some urgency into the side and perhaps make an impact with a substitution or two. But with Gera the only player likely to make an impact, it was a faint hope.

The second half was marginally better as Albion controlled more of the possession but still never looked like scoring. Within eight minutes of the restart, Robson made two changes bringing Horsfield and Campbell on for Inamoto and Ellington. Given that neither Horsfield nor Campbell has made any sort of real impact from the bench all season, I wasn't hopeful. And I was right to be so pessimistic as there was little change. Horsfield did try hard but he never really looked like he would trouble the Reading defence, whereas Campbell was a complete waste of space.

After another twenty frustrating minutes, Robson finally brought on Gera. It was a tall order for Albion's talisman to make an impact in such a short time, but he managed it nonetheless. In the only moment of real quality in the entire match, he swung in a wonderful cross for Horsfield, who was pushed as he leapt for the ball and Matt Messias gave a penalty. Gera stepped up and confidently slotted the ball into the corner past the outstretched arm of Graham Stack and it looked like Albion had got away with it.

However, two minutes later, the visitors were level. A long free kick to the far side of the area and with Campbell making no attempt to challenge for the ball, it was nodded down and Albrechtsen instinctively stuck out an arm - Doyle levelled from the spot kick.

Bryan Robson has since said that the performance was simply unacceptable, and he was correct, but one has to ask why it took so long to bring Gera on, and why Earnshaw was not given an opportunity. He may feel that Earnie's game is not up to it, but I cannot believe that Campbell and Horsfield are any better. Horsfield hasn't scored since August and while Campbell scored against Man City last month, neither has made any real impact on a match for many months. I do think his game needs improvement, but Earnie is right to be upset with his treatment given the displays from the strikers who are getting on the bench. With Ellington misfiring as well, he surely deserves a chance.

Albion have a tough game at Wigan this weekend that they really need something from, and then they have the replay at Reading that, if the Royals decide to have a go, could well be another kick in the teeth for the Baggies.

2006 is not looking too good so far; let's hope it changes soon.

Marks

Chris Kirkland - 7 - Good solid performance from Kirkland.
Martin Albrechtsen - 6 - Did OK, but the final ball when attacking was poor.
Curtis Davies - 7 - Another solid performance from Little Dave.
Darren Moore - 5 - Confirmed that we desperately need another central defender.
Paul Robinson - 6 - Decent performance but we've come to expect more.
Ronnie Wallwork - 7 - MOM. A good performance with little support.
Darren Carter - 4 - Simply awful.
Jonathan Greening - 4 - No better than Carter.
Junichi Inamoto - 5 - Out of sorts.
Nathan Ellington - 3 - Dreadful miss and then got worse.
Nwankwo Kanu - 6 - Tried hard but had no help.


Kevin Campbell - 2 - Not only did he contribute nothing up front, his inept non-challenge led to the penalty.
Geoff Horsfield - 4 - Ran around a bit.
Zoltan Gera - 6 - Great cross for the pen; great pen. Does need some match practice.

Bryan Robson - 5 - The bad form of his other three strikers leaves him in a tricky situation as regards Earnshaw; something has to give.


Jon Want, 8th January 2006.