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My
views on each match were recorded in the match reports, but this
is an overall view on my thoughts and memories as I look back on
Albion's third Premiership season.
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August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
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August 2005
Won 1 Drew 1 Lost 1.
Manchester City (A) 0-0, Portsmouth (H) 2-1, Chelsea (A) 0-4.
Looking back at how Robson's summer signings have performed through
the season, it is easy to be critical, but at the time, I believe
that most felt that he was in the process of building a squad good
enough to compete in the top league, with the added bonus of some
young players to be brought into the the first team gradually. The
biggest loss from the Great Escape squad was Kieron Richardson,
who opted to return to Manchester United to fight for his place.
Coming into the Hawthorns were Darren Carter from Birmingham City,
Diomansay Kamara from Modena, Steve Watson from Everton and Chris
Kirkland on loan from Liverpool. And as the window drew to a close
at the end of the month, they were joined by Nathan Ellington from
Wigan and Curtis Davies from Luton bringing the total summer spend
to more than £9 million.
On the pitch, a good point at the City of Manchester Stadium followed
by three points over Portsmouth at the Hawthorns left Albion in
an unfamiliar sixth place in the table before they were brought
back down to earth by a 4-0 thumping at Stamford Bridge. That game
sowed the seeds of discontent amongst some Albion fans as Robson
appeared to be resting key players for the midweek trip to the Champions
ahead of a more winnable game at home to Birmingham the following
weekend. However, the game itself was more or less decided by two
dreadful first half errors by two of the supposed first team regulars
in Robinson and Gaardsoe, and Albion more or less matched Chelsea
for much of the game in spite of the changes, and the 4-0 scoreline
was particularly harsh on the Baggies.
One suspected that the defeat in west London would be forgotten
providing Albion earned three points against Blues.
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September
2005
Won 1 Drew 1 Lost 3.
Birmingham City (H) 2-3, Wigan Athletic (H) 1-2, Sunderland (A)
1-1, Bradford City (H) 4-1 (CC2), Charlton Athletic (H) 1-2.
Unfortunately, those three points proved elusive as Albion crashed
to a 3-2 defeat thanks to some truly dreadful defending. The central
defensive pairing of Clement and Gaardsoe that had looked so solid
in the second half of last season was looking anything but. It was
the first defeat in a month that, in hindsight, could be said to
have gone a long way to deciding Albion's season. September's fixture
list looked like an ideal opportunity to get some early points on
the board, with the distinct possibility of getting nine or even
ten points from the four games. Instead, they netted the Baggies
a single point from the Stadium of Light as their three home games
all ended in defeat. The defeat to Wigan was particularly galling
coming so late in a game which was even throughout - that result
was as instrumental in gaining momentum for Wigan as it was frustrating
for Albion. The only bright spark of the month was the convincing
win over Bradford in the Carling Cup win which the partnership of
Kanu and Ellington seemed to offer hope for the season.
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October
2005
Won 2 Drew 0 Lost 3
Blackburn Rovers (A) 0-2, Arsenal (H) 2-1, Bolton Wanderers (A)
0-2, Fulham (A) 3-2 aet (CC3), Newcastle United (H) 0-3
Blame for the two away defeats in the north west during October
were laid squarely at the feet of Bryan Robson by many Albion fans.
A lack of ambition away from home was becoming a recurring theme
and in both these games, a defensive Albion side held out for much
of the game, but ended up losing both. It was particularly frustrating
given that, when given the freedom to get forward and play attacking
football, the team showed their ability to produce a performance
when they won a thrilling Carling Cup tie at Craven Cottage. That
match was seen as a vindication of many Albion fans' calls for Junichi
Inamoto to play on a regular basis. The Japanese international had
not figured in the starting line-up since the opening day but produced
a match-winning performance against his old club and the goal of
the season with an astonishing strike in extra time.
In fairness to Bryan Robson, Ina never really found those heights
again and, despite one or two decent performances, Robson's lack
of faith in his ability to produce consistently high quality displays
was perhaps not as misplaced as many thought.
The other high point of the month was, of course, the unexpected
victory over Arsenal. It was Albion's first (and still their only)
victory gained after going behind and it was won by another fabulous
striker, this one from substitute Darren Carter. The much-maligned
midfielder produced his one truly memorable moment of an otherwise
forgettable season to score a second half winner and provide Albion
fans with the hope that they could drag themselves into mid-table
obscurity.
Unfortunately, it was one of the isolated high points that punctuated
an otherwise drab season, and the next home game saw Albion lose
again thanks to another excellent Hawthorns performance from Michael
Owen.
October also saw Albion suffer severely on the injury front. Many
players had been the victim of niggling injuries in the early part
of the season missing the odd game here on there, but Zoltan Gera
finally admitted defeat and opted to go under the knife once again
having struggled with fitness all season. The other main victim
was Chris Kirkland who suffered a back injury at Bolton that, combined
with the excellent form of Tomasz Kuszczak, meant that he would
not play another Premiership game for Albion for the rest of the
season.
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November
2005
Won 1 Drew 2 Lost 2
West Ham United (A) 0-1, Everton (H) 4-0, Middlesbrough (A) 2-2,
Man Utd (A) 1-3 (CC4), Fulham (H) 0-0
November produced a little more hope for Albion fans as, for the
first time since the first two games of the season, Albion managed
to stay unbeaten for two league games. Following the 1-0 defeat
at West Ham, Albion produced their best result of the season with
a 4-0 win over Everton. A brace for the Duke in that match plus
another at the Riverside in the 2-2 draw seemed to be the start
of a promising goalscoring streak and a possible Albion recovery.
There was even hope of a quarter final appearance in the Carling
Cup despite being draw against Manchester United - Ferguson had
vowed to play the kids in that competition up to the semi final,
but the untimely death of George Best put paid to those plans, and
there was no way that United could afford to lose that game.
But the Duke did manage to extend his scoring streak and, while
the goalless draw with Fulham was disappointing, it at least extended
Albion's unbeaten league streak to three games.
^ Back to Top
December
2005
Won 2 Drew 0 Lost 3
Manchester City (H) 2-0, Portsmouth (A) 0-1, Manchester United (A)
0-3, Tottenham Hotspur (H) 2-0, Liverpool (A) 0-1
December provided further hope for Albion as they produced another
two excellent performances, although one other result was ultimately
far more significant.
An excellent performance against Man City saw Albion extend their
unbeaten run to four games and lifted them four points clear of
the drop zone. The tough tough holiday programme produced more points
that most Albion fans were hoping for as defeats at Old Trafford
and Anfield were punctuated by a fantastic win over high-flying
Spurs as Kanu produced a masterclass in finishing against the side
he most likes to score against.
But it was the game before Christmas that was perhaps the most significant
as Albion went down 1-0 at Portsmouth - Harry Redknapp was back
in charge and that result was the first spark in their recovery,
although it was a couple of months before it would really get underway.
Had Albion won that game, the outcome of the season could have been
very different.
Nevertheless, the season ended with hope with Albion in 17th place
and a favourable fixture list in January and February giving them
the opportunity to pull away. Surely it was a case of bottling those
performances against Man City and Spurs, and producing them week
in week out?
^ Back to Top
January
2006
Won 1 Drew 2 Lost 3
Aston Villa (H) 1-2, Reading (H) 1-1 (FAC3), Wigan Athletic (A)
1-0, Reading (A) 2-3 aet (FAC3R), Sunderland (H) 0-1, Charlton Athletic
(A) 0-0
With the first game of the New Year, the hope started to drain away
as the team produced a lacklustre performance and lost to local
rivals Aston Villa. With Kanu and Kamara off to the African Cup
of Nations, and Gera still dogged by the injury that had seen him
miss much of the season, there was a feeling that some serious strengthening
was required in the transfer window. A brief appearance by Gera
in the Cup match at Reading offered a little hope for the return
of the Magic Magyar, but he broke down again and it was to be his
last appearance until late March.
There was a little hope on the pitch when, down to ten men after
a rash challenge by Darren Moore, Albion somehow managed their first
away league win of the season at Wigan thanks to a wonderful performance
from Tomasz Kuszczak. But then, a youthful side surrendered a 2-0
lead at Reading to crash out of the FA Cup before disaster struck
at home to Sunderland. It was the worst display of the season and,
while it was a fortuitous goal, it was the visitors first win for
some time and meant that Albion were the only Premiership team not
to beat Sunderland at least once this season.
Off the pitch, it was little better as a series of supposed targets
failed to join. Ugo Ehiogu and Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink were mentioned
as was Kiev striker Maksim Shatskikh, but in the end, only Nigel
Quashie joined permanently from Southampton coupled with two loan
signings Jan Kozak and Williams Martinez. Meanwhile, Geoff Horsfield,
who had ironically just got back into the side having been frozen
out since an early season scoring burst, went on loan to Sheffield
United with a view to a permanent transfer in the summer and, as
the side prepared to face Charlton on the last day of the month,
the news emerged that Robert Earnshaw was also on his way out of
the Hawthorns, joining Norwich for £3.5 million.
There had been plenty of rumours about Earnshaw having handed in
two transfer requests after becoming frustrated at a lack of first
team opportunities, but Robson had maintained he wanted to keep
the diminutive Welshman. A disinterested performance at Reading
seemed to have sealed his fate as far as Albion fans were performed,
but it wasn't until the last day of the window that the bid from
Norwich came in. It left Albion with little time to find a replacement
and, with Horsfield also leaving, it left Albion very short of strikers,
a fact that many Albion fans blame for the club's ultimate relegation.
^ Back to Top
February
2006
Won 1 Drew 0 Lost 2
Blackburn Rovers (H) 2-0, Fulham (A) 1-6, Middlesbrough (H) 0-2
The disappointments of the transfer window were temporarily forgotten
as Albion started February with an excellent display against Blackburn.
The added bite of Nigel Quashie in midfield seemed to make all the
difference and, with Kanu, Kamara and Gera still to return, hopes
of a recovery were rekindled once again.
But once again those hopes were short-lived. A suspension to Paul
Robinson and an injury to Steve Watson meant a recall for Thomas
Gaardsoe at Craven Cottage- it all went horribly wrong. Gaardsoe's
mistakes were obvious, but Clement, Davies and Albrechtsen must
all share the blame for an abysmal defensive performance. That result
meant that all the pressure was on for the visit of Middlesbrough
ahead of a tough run of games against the top four clubs and rivals
Birmingham City.
It was once again a poor performance at the back which was made
worse by Nigel Quashie's inexplicable decision to stamp on George
Boateng that ultimately led to a five match suspension. Defeat left
Albion still out of the bottom three, but precariously close given
the fixtures coming up in March.
^ Back to Top
March
2006
Won 0 Drew 1 Lost 3
Chelsea (H) 1-2, Birmingham City (A) 1-1, Manchester United (H)
1-2, Tottenham Hotspur (A) 1-2
March 2005 had been the real turning point for Albion's season last
year, and so it was this time - although it turned the wrong way.
The first month that Albion didn't win a game, it was perhaps ironic
that Albion played probably their most consistent football. The
team produced good performances in all four games, but mistakes,
either defensively or in front of goal, meant that only one point
was added to Albion's total and relegation was becoming a distinct
possibility.
The Chelsea game will be more remembered for Drogba's diving and
the row between Robson and Mourinho than it will be for the two
awful errors that cost Albion the game. At St Andrew's, misses by
Kamara, Campbell and Ellington meant that what would have been a
valuable three points was turned in a solitary one from a match
that Albion dominated. But perhaps the most disappointing moment
was the mix-up between Kuszczak and Robinson that gifted Spurs a
late winner at White Hart Lane after an excellent battling performance
from the Baggies.
With Portsmouth now beginning their remarkable run of form, Albion's
charmed position outside of the bottom three was looking ever more
precarious.
^ Back to Top
April
2006
Won 0 Drew 2 Lost 3
Liverpool (H) 0-2, Aston Villa (A) 0-0, Arsenal (A) 1-3, Bolton
Wanderers (H) 0-0, Newcastle United (A) 0-3
The defeat to Liverpool was not as "heroic" as those against
Chelsea and Spurs, but with games against Villa and an out of form
Bolton side coming up, there was still some hope, but it relied
on Albion finding some goalscoring form.
And therein lay the problem. Albion fans only chance to celebrate
in March was Nigel Quashie's unexpected equaliser at Highbury, but
even that was short-lived as the home side were back in front some
four minutes later. Villa and Bolton were both there for the taking
but Albion's lacklustre strike force could not find the net. A dreadful
display at St James's Park was the final straw for many Albion fans
as the side seemed to be surrendering their Premiership status with
little more than a whimper.
Portsmouth's win on the last Saturday in April confirmed Albion's
relegation with two games still to go. The only remaining unknown
was the strength of the fans' protests in the last two games.
^ Back to Top
May
2006
Won 0 Drew 1 Lost 1
West Ham United (H) 0-1, Everton (A) 2-2
As it turns out, the protests were fairly muted. The strength of
feelings expressed on internet forums and radio phone-ins suggested
that a majority of fans would wish to show their feelings of discontent
in the final home game of the season, particularly in front of a
television audience. In actuality, there were some white flags waved,
some banners calling for the heads of Peace and Robson, but there
were also some in support of them. And with a match offering little
in entertainment, the fans kept themselves amused with old songs
and Mexican waves to create something approaching a party atmosphere
- quite surreal.
At Goodison on the last day, Albion took a two goal lead with the
second goal coming from Williams Martinez in his first, and only,
start for Albion. The atmosphere was positively exuberant and, although
Albion surrendered their lead late on, there was a sense of acceptance
and maybe some looking forward to a campaign when Albion win more
than they lose once again.
And so a dreadfully disappointing Albion season came to a close.
Blame can be applied to the chairman, the manager and the players
and, in truth, all deserve their share. The squad assembled should
have been good enough to stay up, but a combination of poor tactics,
poor individual displays and the not insignificant influences of
injuries and the African Cup of Nations means that Albion will play
their football in the Championship next season.
At the time of writing (late May), it remains unclear how many of
the current squad will stay to fight for promotion, but if the majority
can be kept at the Hawthorns and some key additions made, there
is surely a good chance that Albion can bounce back at the first
attempt once again.
Boing Boing!!
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