Terry Wills. Not a Happy Baggie.
With strikers ( in name only) giving the impression they HAD had gone on strike, plus midfielders and defenders who apparently couldn’t tell the difference between a blue and white striped shirt and a yellow one judging by the number of times they misplaced passes it was hardly a surprise Baggies supporters were left fuming at the final whistle.
Losing to Manchester City was one thing. But a 2-0 home defeat against the team with the worst defensive record in the Greed League was totally unacceptable.
Norwich were a poor side, looking ripe for the taking, but with Liam Ridgewell unable to curb anything resembling a foray down our right flank, trouble was never far away – proved by the manner of the Canaries opening
goal.
A chorus of half- and full-time boos succinctly summed up a performance that must have left Steve Clarke wondering just how long it would be before Jeremy Peace felt a new head coach was needed in the attempt to avoid the possibility of a rapidly- increasing slide finishing into the delights of Championship football?
Individual performances? Stephane Sessegnon, a true enigma. Pace and skills a-plenty but close too bottom of the class with his ever-growing list of missed chances, especially his second half howler. Liam Ridgewell – only retains his place because he’s the best available. Diego Lugano? Here’s hoping his form against England in the World Cup is as poor as in this game. Why does Steve Clarke prefer him ahead of Craig Dawson? The only reason has to be because he was one of Clarke’s signings, and a poor one at that. Which leaves a large majority of Albion fans rapidly querying the head coach’s judgement in his team selections. He can argue as long and as loud as he likes, but leaving Shane Long and Saido Berahino out of his starting line-up is a completely wrong decision.
Plus points? Billy Jones, Youssouf Mulumbu , Gareth McAuley and ironically, several impressive smooth passing moves that came to nought due to the aforementioned weaknesses that eventually cost three points and a further slump nearer those three dreaded relegation spots.
A series of vital Greed League, games loom, starting with Cardiff City away, featuring a certain Peter Odemwingie determined to put one over his old club, who need the points as badly as Albion. If they succeed and should Crystal Palace and Fulham win, we could find ourselves in the bottom three, a situation never envisaged following the win at Old Trafford. and games, that if the man with the whistle had awarded clear-cut spot-kicks, could have seen us a damn sight nearer a top half league position, as opposed to one nervously scrutinising results of sides in
a similar situation as our under-pressure head coach.
Come on you Baggies.