West Brom win helps fuel fans' great expectations

Nov 23 2009 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

IN A bizarre way you have to feel sorry for Roberto Di Matteo.

Consider the expectation.

Here’s a man who arrived at The Hawthorns in the summer with no previous affiliation with Albion or feel for the club’s culture.

And why should he? When he came to England to play for Chelsea during the 1990s Albion were a mess.

To outsiders they were an old Second Division club, low on joy, devoid of inspiration, with a giant drip tray trying to gather up the monies leaking from all places.

And then along came the Baggies’ resurgence.

There was the drama of the 2002 promotion campaign, which owed a lot to determination, persistence and end-of-season cliffhangers. That was followed by the pragmatic, no-thrills second place in 2004. Both celebrated. Both very much of their time.

Tony Mowbray then submitted his own entry to the “how to win promotion” manual with a masterclass in ball retention and the need to outscore, mainly because he failed to stop them from conceding.

All of this means Albion fans have promotion absorbed into their blood. It’s become a cycle. This decade will only be appreciated in many years time, even though it’s been a ten-year journey based around adrenalin, with a bit of apprehension and occasional fear.

Where Gary Megson’s team rolled up their sleeves, Mowbray’s rolled them back down and played with a maverick disregard for conformity.

And Saturday’s victory against Bristol City summed up their strengths under Di Matteo.

With Mowbray, there was an emphasis on keeping the ball. Play would often be stretched out across the pitch. It was pretty. But, occasionally, also pretty useless. Championship sides struggled to defend against it, yet Albion struggled to defend against opponents’ physicality.

Relegated Leicester conceded six fewer goals than title winners Albion in 2008. This frailty was never addressed.

These days Albion don’t delay. The ball is played with more purpose and there is more activity in the final third where they try to close deals with a great deal more urgency.

Pace is king. Whereas once Jonathan Greening would twist left, then right, then left again, before releasing the ball across the pitch, the likes of Graham Dorrans or Gonzalo Jara play the ball forward, with more purpose. If they lose possession, then one of them is on hand to win it back. Not so two years ago.

Jerome Thomas races past people, Dorrans powers from midfield, Simon Cox and Luke Moore peel away to open up space in the middle for the likes of Dorrans to race into for returns. Defenders struggle with it. It’s methodical and proving a problem for Championship rivals. Albion break with speed. Their counters are deadly.

Albion should have kept a clean sheet against Bristol, as they should have against Leicester. Both goals came from free-kicks, with the Foxes scoring from a follow-up to Scott Carson’s save from a set-piece. Albion haven’t actually conceded a goal from open play since Craig Beattie scored for Swansea five games ago.

And when they conceded on Saturday, Chris Brunt and Jonas Olsson walked back to the centre circle pointing fingers at each other, cursing. This is a good thing.

This side is like Mowbray’s team but with someone leaning on the x2 button and remembering to include a bit of Megson ruggedness through its spine.

And Albion didn’t waste time against a Bristol side who had only lost twice before Saturday. It was Thomas who opened the scoring when he latched on to Dorrans’ pass and slipped a low shot past Dean Gerken.

The City keeper was to be beaten again in the 12th minute when Dorrans, again, showed commendable vision to spot Brunt nipping past Bristol’s defender 40 yards in front of him. Brunt stepped past Gerken to score.

The third came from Cox’s persistence just 50 seconds into the second half. Gianni Zuiverloon capped his impressive play on the edge of the City box by threading the ball through to Cox and the striker’s dink over Gerken was helped into the net by Louis Carey.

If the scorer of Albion’s third was in question, there could be no denying the fourth. Cox raced into the box to slide home Thomas’ ball.

It could have been more. Moore, Cox and Brunt had chances to increase Albion’s lead. Likewise, Carson denied City for long periods, though he had little chance with Paul Hartley’s free-kick.

Dorrans’ energy and vision, Jara’s sparkle – he makes football appear simplistic – and Brunt’s range of passing were Albion’s plus points. The defending was impressive, especially Carson’s form. Albion are starting to look like a Di Matteo side, rather than a Mowbray side that’s not fully functioning.

A four-point lead between themselves and third place maintains the breathing space they need.