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Tottenham v West Brom – The Opposite View
I seem to get caught out every year with the festive schedule, it’s like a Stoke City throw in, we all know what is happening but seem unable to prepare for it. Hence why at around 10am yesterday morning I was scrabbling around for a West Bromwich fan after being unable to raise Adam Penn, who has enlightened us with his awesome West Bromwich Albion knowledge for the past couple of years.
Lucky for me Twitter came to my rescue once again, introducing me to John Rudge. So as our rivals are falling all around us can Spurs do something they rarely ever do and capitalise on the failings of others? Standing in our way is the usual reliance of West Bromwich Albion and John is here to give us the Black Country low down.
WAFR: Welcome to What A Fantastic Run – as this is your first time could you start by introducing yourself?
JR: Thanks for inviting me onto your smashing website. Well, my name’s John and I’m a (very inconsistent) blogger over at www.balletofthemasses.tumblr.com and can often be found tweeting about graceful central midifelders with an unhealthy passion at @Johnny_Rudge
WAFR: How long have you been a West Brom fan and how did it all come about?
JR: I’ve been supporting the Baggies for about twelve years now. Being a nineties child I was a loyal member of The Fergie’s Fledglings Fan Club up until about the age of ten.I had always kept an eye on the Albion results because my dad is a lifelong supporter. Not long after my tenth birthday the old man decided it was time to drag me up The Hawthorns to watch us beat Stockport County and I was hooked, it must have been Sean Flynn’s swashbuckling midfield display. We were promoted the next season and the club has been on an upward trajectory ever since so maybe I’m somewhat of a good luck charm!
WAFR: We are now at the half way point of the season with West Brom sitting in 12th place, what is your assessment of the season so far?
JR: We made a stuttering start to the season, playing well against the big sides like Chelsea, Manchester United and your very own Spurs side but coming away with nothing and struggling for consistency against the teams around us. We managed to beat Wolves and Villa in consecutive games which obviously bouyed the supporters but then had to face, and lose to, Liverpool and Arsenal so this season has been defined by the struggle to maintain any sort of momentum.
WAFR: You are currently averaging a goal a game both home and away – yet have only scored 7 goals at home so far this season. Is the lack of goals a worry?
JR: It is a worry, particularly when over the past few seasons we’ve had the reputation as somewhat of a freewheeling, attacking team but we’ve had injury concerns in the creative department. Zoltan Gera was a real bright spark in his first two games, winning a man of the match award in his first home start for the club since his return from Fulham and looked like he would be a real creative driving force behind the strikers but he has been laid out with a season-long injury, meanwhile Graham Dorrans who was our creative hub in the last few seasons has really struggled with overcoming an injury and doesn’t look quite the same player. Long started really well, scoring five goals and while his overall play is still good he has stopped scoring now Odemwingie is playing alongside him. After his great debut season last year he is really struggling this year since, in terms of technical ability he is probably our worst player, and Premier League defenders have wised up to his main (only) threat, his pace.
WAFR: It seems like you are going to sign Scott Allan from Dundee United, what, if anything do you know about him?
JR: Not an awful lot really, and I’m not sure anyone else does either. He’s only made seven first team appearances for Dundee United so I think our scouting network has identified him as a talent we could nurture for the future. Dan Ashcroft who set up our current scouting network has worked wonders with cheap, left-field signings that have excelled at the top level like Mulumbu, Dorrans (who also arrived from the SPL with a small price tag) and Odemwingie so fingers crossed he could be an interesting prospect for the first team in a couple of season’s time.
WAFR: Do you think there will be any more additions to the squad?
JR: There hasn’t been much talk from Hodgson regarding potential transfer activity, apart from the possible signing of Tim Ream who trained with us for a short while. He is contracted to New York Red Bulls and a number of other clubs including Everton are interested in the USA international defender. Put it this way, I don’t think Jim White will be excitedly shouting our name very often come the final hours of the window.
WAFR: What are the fans perception of Roy Hodgson as Manager?
JR: I think there was a period of shock following Di Matteo’s departure last season as all but a small minority of the fans were more than happy to give him to the end of the season, but Hodgson came in and as the cliché that follows Uncle Woy around goes: he concentrated on organisation and made us more solid. It worked well, as under RDM we had a tendency to lose a lot of points after taking the lead. Liverpool fans aside I think every supporter of any team Hodgson has managed warms to his affable and composed mannerisms and he is regarded as ideal for the more continental heirarchy, with a head coach rather than a manager, that has been in place at West Brom for quite a few seasons now. Personally I’ve begun to worry over the course of this season about his desire to turn draws into victories with our last game against Everton being a perfect example. He rarely likes to shake up the side with substitutions or formation changes, preferring to let the prepared gameplan run it’s course, appearing content just not to lose. In what was a very flat match he never even sent a sub to warm up whereas Mad-eye Moyes threw two strikers on and that won them the game in the dying minutes. His face-rubbing and head banging has also seen me post several ‘Advice on Self-Harm’ leaflets to the club in the hope of curbing his violent touchline tendencies.
WAFR: Where do you think West Brom will finish this season and what would constitute a good season for you?
JR: I think we’ll probably finish around 14th and I think that is about the level we are at. A top half finish would constitute a magnificent season for us but I think most of the fans would take anywhere above 18th place.
WAFR: What are your thoughts on Spurs this year?
JR: I’m not going to lie to you, I’m not the biggest fan of Harry Redknapp’s on a personal level but the technically good and fearless collection of attacking players he’s amassed at White Hart Lane really are a joy to watch. Not only have you got a good young squad and a truly gung-ho mentality to admire but you’ve got the ever changing hairstyles (and refreshingly frank opinions) of Assou-Ekotto too. There’s only one thing that I would ask of you: Any chance you could lend us The Pav and Krancjar? They’re wasted on the bench. Yeah, I’m totally Team Pav.
WAFR: And finally what is your score prediction for our match?
JR: I’d be tempted to go for the same scoreline you beat us by at The Hawthorns but I’ll put the pessimism to one side and say you’ll only put two past us this time. 2-1 Spurs win.
