Terry Wills on a tempestuous few days at the Hawthorns.
Well, what a shambolic few days, leading to Saido Berahino threatening to go on strike after claiming he wouldn’t play again while Jeremy Peace was in charge.
It’s a classic case of throwing toys out of a pram. Grow up Saido; by now you and the bulk of the London-based media can reflect that in Jeremy Peace the Baggies have a chairman who do what he considers best for West Bromwich Albion and NOT Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs’ bid meant that if accepted, it would efefctively see Tony Pulis handed just £5 million to purchase new players (based on the initial payment) with a mere three hours reaming on the aptly named Transfer Deadline Day.
So where to go from here? If Berahino carries out his implied threat and refuses to play (if selected) he’ll be the one to suffer the consequences. Loss of earnings, repeated fines for breach of contract, plus any other conditions he agreed when signing his current contract. Also think on this Saido – your conduct could turn out to be counter-productive when the next transfer window opens.
Enough of this nonsense and on to other matters. For me Pulis has made a mistake by selling Joleon Lescott, our best central defender by a mile, to Villa and I can but hope that Jonnie Evans from Manchester United is as good as a player as our head coach implies?
More importantly, cheers! A first win at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke City, helped by the Potters being reduced to nine men but never mind that. All that matters was the three points, not how poor the performance was – and it was. There was the first of what we hope will be many from Solomon Rundon, namely a winning goal. Supporters were at peace with the world until the Berahino situation reared its ugly head.
There’s no Greed League fixture this week due to the international break. This gives ample time for Jeremy Peace, Tony Pulis and Saido Berahino to get together in what I feel is a vain hope to put this situation temporarily on hold.