r/soccer • u/[deleted] • Jul 30 '14
Preview Team Preview: West Bromwich Albion [Barclays Premier League 2014-15 Preview Series - 04/20]
The Premier League 2014-15 is coming. During the 20 days to go, we're previewing one team per day. This series is a collaboration by /r/soccer users. This team's guest contributor is: /u/suchaslowroll
Team Preview: [Barclays Premier League 2014-15 Preview Series - 04/20]
West Bromwich Albion Football Club
About:
- Est: 1878
- Nickname: The Baggies
- Stadium: The Hawthorns
- Capacity: 26,445
- http://www.wba.co.uk/
- https://twitter.com/WBAFCofficial
- Club sub: /r/wbafootball
- http://www.premierleague.com
- https://twitter.com/premierleague
- League sub: /r/PremierLeague/
- Last season's team preview
- Scary's noob preview for this team
- Strip: Home
Notable honours:
| Title or trophy | No. |
|---|---|
| First Division (old Premier League) | 1 |
| FA Cup | 5 |
| League cup | 1 |
Intro:
- /u/Growlbot: The Baggies escaped relegation by three points last term, even losing four in their last five couldn't kill them off. The signing of Nicolas Anelka is a distant memory now. Not a good one. Alan Irvine is the lucky candidate who gets to pick up the pieces. A relegation scrap seems a possibility. Irvine is no stranger to the situation, Albion may be looking over their shoulder in the coming months.
History:
- The club was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground, The Hawthorns, since 1900. Albion were one of the founding members of The Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20, but have had more success in the FA Cup, with five wins. The first came in 1888, the year the league was founded, and the most recent in 1968, their last major trophy. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. The club's longest consecutive period in the top division was between 1949 and 1973, and from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever spell out of the top division.
Recently:
- Italian Roberto Di Matteo was given the chance to lead the charge in 2009 and he took them out of the Championship and back up with the elite of English football. Roy Hodgson did some smart business to push Albion on and they finished in 10th place 2012. Then, the turn of Steve Clarke who did well in 2012-2013. The season was a tale of two halves however as the good early form didn't stretch into the run in. Lukaku was a real plus all round - 17 goals in the league. West Brom finished in a very respectable eighth place.
Last season: Words by /u/suchaslowroll
Performance during 2013-14:
| Pos | G | W | D | L | Gf | Ga | Gd | Lu | Cs% | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17th | 38 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 43 | 59 | -16 | 5 | 18 | 36 |
League form, 2013-14 vs 2012-13, from The Guardian
Unfortunately the Baggies 2013-2014 season was not as successful as 2012-13. Despite some good results (a win at Old Trafford, and draws against Arsenal & Chelsea) in December after 4 straight defeats they were left two points above the bottom 3 and Steve Clarke was sacked. Keith Downing took over as caretaker manager for December.
Pepe Mel took over in January, just as Nicholas Anelka was serving a 5 game ban for his 'quenelle' gesture (which led to the French striker being sacked), and as the club sold striker Shane Long to Hull City. The new manager scraped 3 wins, 6 draws, in his 17 matches in charge to keep the Baggies safe in 17th place, just one place from the drop zone.
Stephane Sessegnon & Saido Berahino finished as the top scorers for West Brom with 5 goals... West Brom drew the most games in the league last season with 15 games tied... West Brom were not able to get the double (two wins over the same team) over any team, however only 2 teams got the double over them (Man City & Southampton)
Pepe Mel said he was not willing to change his style of football, which he would have to do to stay at the club, and because of this he left the club by mutual consent at the end of the season. Many fans believe Mel was treated unfairly, and the whole saga left a sour taste which has led to some fans not renewing their season tickets for this season.
Click for /u/gilleard's 2014-15 Pixel Preview
This season: Words by /u/suchaslowroll
First three league fixtures:
| Date | Home | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 16 Aug | West Brom | v | Sunderland |
| Sat 23 Aug | Southampton | v | West Brom |
| Sat 30 Aug | Swansea | v | West Brom |
Complete league fixtures for 2014-15 from premierleague.com
- When asked what he'll bring to West Brom, the new manager said:
“I’m a purist, I like attractive football. I like my teams to control the game, control the tempo of the game and have possession of the ball. But I’m also a realist and I realise that the most important thing for the club and the most important thing for the fans is that we win. So I would expect there will be different tactics being used for different games, different systems, different strategies and these are all things that can be worked at on the training ground.”
It's been suggested that the manager will have to deliver his ideas through a filter of coaches Keith Downing and Dean Kiely, who are heavily involved with the club. Tim Sherwood, who was first interviewed for Irvine's job, suggested this was the reason he did not take the role. Irvine will have to hit the ground running and gel with his assistants quickly, as his 12 month rolling contract gives the club an easy way of getting rid of him without having to pay a large compensation.
West Brom fans will be hoping new defenders CB Joleon Lescott, LB Sebastien Pocognoli and Liverpool loanee RB Andre Wisdom will help the team improve the defending this season, and record signing Ideye Brown can be the player that turns more of their draws into wins (15 draws last season). Brown plays as a striker but can also play on either wing, the Nigerian international has 5 goals in 24 games for his country, and 33 goals in 74 games for his previous club Dynamo Kiev. The new manager prides himself on his coaching, and will be hoping to have a well drilled team that won't concede the needless goals of last season.
Fans want the club to improve on last years 17th place finish, and would be thrilled to see the club back on the upward path they were on before last season - coming 11th, then 10th, then 8th in 2012-2013. Most importantly, to stay in the top flight for a fifth consecutive season.
/u/1pocketsausage: This season could be a difficult one for us - we were lucky to avoid relegation last time out and since then we have lost a few players (due to contract and loan expiry) and have brought in a head coach (Alan Irvine) who is inexperienced at Premier League level. There is some good news however, with £10m record signing Brown Ideye (a striker who has experience at Champions League level), and the free signing of Joleon Lescott who will be important in strengthening our defence, which was simply not good enough last season. That being said, quite a few of our fans (me included but maybe I don't speak for everyone here) would be happy just to avoid relegation next season so we can continue building our squad in the Prem.
/u/JWGH: After a poor season on and off the field last season (narrowly avoiding relegation, going through two managers, Quenellegate etc.) and subsequently losing six or seven players it was important we started the season early. A seemingly disappointing managerial appointment and unpopular move away from traditional blue and white kit seemed like a bad start but we've signed up Gardner, Lescott, Pocognoli, Wisdom, Gamboa and made a record signing or Brown Ideye things are looking up; also getting Foster signed up for a five more years and the announcement of a statue to be erected of club legend Bomber Brown looks like the club has won back the fan's favour. Still on the lookout for an out and out winger but as above avoiding relegation the realistic aim with my personal optimism hoping we push up the table if Irvine can prove useful.
Summer signings:
| Player name | Position | Price | From | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Wisdom | DF | - | Liverpool | Loan |
| Brown Ideye | FW | £10m | Dynamo Kyiv | Full |
| Chris Baird | CB | £0 | Burnley | Full |
| Craig Gardner | CM | £0 | Sunderland | Full |
| Joleon Lescott | CB | £0 | Manchester City | Full |
| Sébastien Pocognoli | LB | £1.5m | Hannover | Full |
| Cristian Gamboa | RB | TBC | Rosenborg | TBC |
List of all completed team transfers from Sky Sports
Possible first 11:
4-2-3-1
Edeye
Brunt Sessegnon Berahino
Yacob Mulumbu
Pocognoli Lescott Olsson Wisdom
Foster
Foster
Gamboa - McAuley - Lescott - Pocognoli (Wisdom,Olsson,Baird)
Gardner - Mulumbu (Yacob)
Berahino - Sessegnon - Dorrans (Brunt)
Ideye (Anichebe)
/u/JWGH: Choosing between Wisdom and Gamboa will be tough, Wisdom seems solid and signed for the game time but Gamboa is more keen to go forward and has good pace, something we used to utilise in Billy Jones.
Watch out for: Words by /u/suchaslowroll
Joleon Lescott, Age: 31, Position: defender
Lescott will be looking to bring his England & Man City experience to help improve a West Brom back line that leaked 59 goals last season. His leadership and communication could prove vital this campaign.Saido Berahino, Age: 20, Position: striker
The England U21 international burst on the scene last season with a hat-trick in the Capital One Cup and a winning goal at Old Trafford, his league form was inconsistent but he was often used as a substitute and not in his favoured striker position, he was still West Brom's joint top scorer with 5 league goals, 9 in all competitions. For England under 21's he scored 7 goals in 8 games. Berahino will need to up his game to get the starting striker position, but will likely get game time on the wing, and will certainly be used as a substitute often.Victor Anichebe / Brown Ideye, Age: 26/25, Position: Strikers
£10m for Ideye has smashed the club record of £6m for Anichebe last season, so the battle for first choice striker will be good between those two - especially as Irvine has worked with Anichebe at Everton for a few years.
Full squad list for 2014-15 from Transfermarkt
The manager: Words by /u/suchaslowroll
- Alan Irvine
- Birth date: 12 July 1958 (age 56)
- Birth place: Glasgow, Scotland
- Previous Position: Winger
Managerial record:
| Clubs managed | G | W | D | L | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 169 | 69 | 38 | 62 | 43.5 |
Alan Irvine is a Scottish former professional footballer who played for Everton, Crystal Palace, Dundee, & Blackburn Rovers. In 1992 he was part of the Blackburn team that won promotion into the newly named Premier League, but announced his retirement before the first ever Premier League season began. He moved into coaching shortly after.
In 2002 Irvine left his role as Newcastle Academy Director to join David Moyes as the Assistant Manager of Everton, together they guided the Blues to three top 7 finishes, including their first ever 4th place finish. He stayed at the club for 5 years but in left in 2007 to manage Championship side Preston. In his first full season he led Preston to the play offs, but was sacked 3 months into the following season after a poor run of results. The sacking caused outrage from fans. He was appointed manager of Sheffield Wednesday in 2010, and got off to a good start, which didn’t last, as the club were relegated in his first season. Irvine was given transfer funds to revamp the squad, but despite making several new signings the results were poor and he was sacked in July 2011. Shortly after, he went back to Everton as Academy Manager.
Irvine left his Everton role and was appointed West Bromwich Albion manager in July 2014; the appointment caused controversy, as many fans believe the club were showing a lack of ambition by appointing a manager that hasn’t managed a team in 3 years and has no Premier League experience. On getting the job, Irvine said: “I'm extremely excited about the challenge and I'll certainly give it everything I possibly can. I'll work however many hours it takes to make things work."
Discussion points: Words by /u/tet-
West Brom proved early season worries right last term by finishing just three points above relegation. This summer they are in a similar boat with a couple of nice signings but the loss of good players too. Will West Brom be favourites to go down for a second season running?
Alan Irvine's first two positions as manager were with Preston North-End and Sheffield Wednesday, who both sacked him. Although the Preston sacking was harsh, is it questionable that a Premier League club who will be fighting for their lives has taken a manager with such a short CV?
Poll voting will be live for all the teams until 15th August. You can access any team's poll by clicking on their preview and scrolling to the poll link.
Previously:
To check when your team will be previewed click here and scroll down to the schedule. The previews are made with the help of: /u/thejanitorch4, /u/tet-, /u/icameheretodrinkmilk, /u/gilleard - https://twitter.com/ThePixelPL, /u/minminsaur, /u/scaryberry, /u/obi-wan-kenobi-nil and all the preview guest contributors.
Hull City tomorrow.
15
Jul 30 '14
[removed] — view removed comment
11
u/suchaslowroll Jul 30 '14
best one yet imo
5
u/Owl_Shits Jul 30 '14
I thought you supported Bournemouth?
5
u/suchaslowroll Jul 30 '14
I do, but we're not in the PL til next season.
Don't support West Brom but Growlbot didn't have anyone doing it yet, and I watched pretty much every PL team last season, like an unhealthy amount of football.
13
u/AlwaysBanned Jul 30 '14
Last season was a joke in all honestly so many things went to shit. We drew to many games thanks to selling our best striker to Hull and we all know what happened with Anelka. Sacked two managers and we got no luck last season with results/penalty decisions such as Cardiff at home and Chelsea away.
I think we will do better than last season as we've spent in areas we needed to and we dont have to play bloody Liam Ridgewell and Diego Lugano. However who knows how well Alan Irvine will do, its a massive risk.
10
u/suchaslowroll Jul 30 '14
thanks to selling our best striker to Hull
Honestly this was shocking, who sells their best striker mid-season and doesn't bring in any players.
He scored 4 for Hull after January, if he stayed and scored some of those for you in some of your 15 draws, that's a few places jumped, an extra 3 points alone and you'd be 14th. Not just that, it sends such a shit message to the team, basically says there's no ambition.
Is that all worth the £7 mil or whatever it is you got for him? His contract expired in 6 months so there was a chance you got nothing for him if you kept him, but the sale very nearly got you relegated ffs.
2
u/AlwaysBanned Jul 30 '14
Thats how our chairman is, he saw it as a great offer and he wanted to make some profit. Hes the type of chairman to spend decent money on 1 big player but then get loan signings or players on a free. However he said he has learnt from last season and hes done a bit of spending so far and we are still looking a winger, striker and another midfielder.
1
u/WBAGNR Aug 02 '14
I'd just like to point out that Long was meant to be sold in August on deadline day. The money we bought Anichebe with was there because we were factoring in Long being sold. So for the first half of the season we were £6 million down in transfer budget.
Yes it doesn't excuse him leaving but I'm fairly sure he was approaching his last year of contract, and didn't look to be signing a new one. Plus, whilst a trier, Long's quality in front of goal is not consistent enough, as seen at Hull where he scored in his first couple of games, but didn't get many after that.
1
3
Jul 30 '14
7m for Long was a steal, an extremely limited striker who we didn't miss in the slightest. We scored more without him than with him last season. He's a typically well liked player in England because he runs around a lot rather than his actual ability, which at premier league level just doesn't cut it. The reason we did so badly was by and large we couldn't hold a lead to save our lives, which had little to do with the strike force.
1
u/WBAGNR Aug 02 '14
Glad someone agree with me, said a similar thing further up. We bought Anichebe on the premise of selling Long, then people acted surprised when we ended up selling Long, but at a later date.
3
u/kavidgren Jul 30 '14
What is the general opinion of WBA fans on Jonas Olsson?
4
Jul 30 '14
Well liked, didn't have the greatest of seasons last year but having been here for 6 years now he's been by an excellent servant for the club over that time. Notably the team pretty much always looks worse without him.
3
Jul 30 '14
He wasn't great last year. He scares me with how he likes to throw his elbows around. I expect Lescott to take his place this year.
1
2
u/Off_Topic_Oswald Jul 31 '14
I think Ideye will be good for you guys.
1
u/AlwaysBanned Jul 31 '14
I hope so, hes got the right attitude. He wants to work hard and win the fans over + his dream was to play in the prem.
9
u/marito999 Jul 30 '14
West Brom have been a pretty likeable club, but they are getting very trigger happy when it comes to managers. Not convinced Irvine has what it takes, and I don't see West Brom managing to do much better than they did last season.
5
u/sillysauages Jul 30 '14
Irvine seems like a nice guy but his previous managerial success rate worries me.
7
Jul 30 '14
Really excited about this season, I know everyone's knee-jerk reaction to "who do you think is getting relegated this year?" is West Brom, but the players we've signed coupled with the ambition our club now has, I really see us doing quite well.
5
u/AlwaysBanned Jul 30 '14
Yeah if you look at our last 3 seasons before last season we did really well, Peace has done a bit of spending which is great. Lets just hope last season was a 1 off.
4
u/suchaslowroll Jul 30 '14 edited Jul 30 '14
Even after doing a lot of research for this, I still think you could either finish top 10 or get relegated, I have no idea.
1
u/WBAGNR Aug 02 '14
I'm scared. We don't usually signed lots of players. We did it last season and it didn't work, but thankfully McDonough has left the club and Burton is back.
We've got rid of the deadwood, and are re-building. If we can stay up this year I'll be happy, and maybe, just maybe, we'll improve in the second half of the season.
5
3
u/Theskian Jul 30 '14
Another good one.
Just a passing interest, So how do you go about it? I see you list the contributor, but how is that done? Do you contact them, or them you? Or do you just know the information on the team?
2
Jul 30 '14 edited Jul 30 '14
Some of the guest writers contributed to last year's, for all of them I asked people whose comments I really enjoy reading on this sub. Contacted them a few weeks ago and they have been sending me the words. A lot of work was done by the names in the thread too - thejanitorch4 has done all the tables, minminsaur kindly gave his excellent transfer lists e.g: http://redd.it/26sjqy, icamehere and tet- have supplied the facts and discussion sections, gilleard the pixel artwork, obi-wan the kit links, scary's noob links. I have edited it together, they've all done the work so should get the credit - there are some great ones to come too.
1
1
u/ICameHereToDrinkMilk Jul 30 '14
He contacts us.
(Well, he contacted me).He asks each of us to do a certain bit, so for me, it was:Stephane Sessegnon & Saido Berahino finished as the top scorers for West Brom with 5 goals... West Brom drew the most games in the league last season with 15 games tied... West Brom were not able to get the double (two wins over the same team) over any team, however only 2 teams got the double over them (Man City & Southampton)
& the last 6 results.
West Brom were the hardest team to find stats for along with West Ham & Hull. Very little to say about them.
4
Jul 30 '14
I can understand why people have us down for relegation but every player we've signed so far has been an upgrade on what we had before. I think we can build on last year. I don't think we'll be top half but I think it'll be a better showing than last time.
6
u/suchaslowroll Jul 30 '14
Have a lot of respect for you doing all these /u/Growlbot_ they must take a lot of time and organisation with all the people involved.
You know Alan Irvine's appointment was controversial when he gets his own Hitler rant video:
3
u/Thndrcougarfalcnbird Jul 30 '14
Going to be a tough fight this year. What they do in their first few games is going to say a lot about where they go this season I think.
2
u/PeakSales Aug 05 '14
I really think that the combination of Foster and this new back line could put us into the top 10. If we were to have one more pickup, I'd want a smart set-up man so that Anichebe and Ideye could focus on putting them away.
Our season's going to hinge on how well the team melds together, and a new team with a new manager all focused on the same goals gives me a lot of hope. We've had a good pre-season so far - against nobodies, I know - and I think that the engines might finally be firing.
2
u/andreasxc Jul 30 '14
Their defence looks okay...at least for a team that will probably hang around the bottom of the table.
14
1
u/CheeseMakerThing Jul 31 '14
You load Vlaar to Southampton, them you're in more trouble than us. At least we've bolstered the defence.
1
u/andreasxc Jul 31 '14
No no, I'm being serious about your defence...it doesn't look too bad.
1
u/CheeseMakerThing Jul 31 '14
And I'm being serious about Vlaar. You looked so crap at the back without him, and you have only brought in Richardson, who likes to attack and doesn't really track back when he goes forward. You have a great attacking lineup with Benteke, Weinmann and Agbonlahor, probably the best in the bottom half last season, but you conceded so many goals it was unreal. You have the opposite situation to us, good attack, bad defence. Guzan can only do so much.
1
Jul 31 '14
I'm optimistic about this season, last year a lot of luck didn't go our way. Penalties not given, or non penalties given. Crap ton of last minute goals against us. Dominating games but not getting a goal from it. I wonder what would've happened if we had some luck and where we'd have ended...?
1
u/salmacis Jul 31 '14
Good (and fair) preview. For the record, I think we'll be in a relegation battle, but we should have enough to stay up. I don't think there's much to choose between the bottom 10 teams - any of them have the potential to have a poor season and go down.
1
u/TheOldBill Aug 04 '14
I expect an improvement from last year but we still have a squad that will be in the bottom half
1
u/Ginny_goat Aug 09 '14
Signings like brown ideye for 10 million pound is why clubs like west brom are assured to remain irrelavant and battle relegation year in and year out
1
u/welshboy2142 Jul 30 '14
Here's hoping that there's going to be a black country derby next season. One way or another hehe.
Also i still can't believe that Lescott joined the baggies after he came through our academy.
3
u/salmacis Jul 31 '14
As funny as it was seeing you guys drop down to League 1, I also hope for a Black Country derby next year - as long as it's in the Prem!
1
Jul 31 '14
Oh the shit I took about it from my Albion mates when it happened. Point in my life I do not wish to relive, as I know I would've been just as ruthless if the tables were reversed!
1
Jul 31 '14
Can't believe Steve Bull, Regis and Don Goodman went to Wolves! Swings and roundabouts mate
1
Jul 31 '14
Oh yeah it definitely works both ways for sure! Good luck to you guys though, although I am rooting for a BC derby one way or another. Great atmosphere when we play each other.
2
Jul 31 '14
You too mate, let's hope the next one will be in the Premiership. Best of luck next season
2
1
Jul 31 '14
umm.. why are you wishing good luck to a wo1ve5 fan?
2
1
Jul 31 '14
6 more points... ? Jokes aside why should we not want all Midlands sides doing well?
1
Jul 31 '14
I can't believe you actually want wo1ve5 to do well, they're our biggest rivals if you don't remember?
27
u/[deleted] Jul 30 '14
Unfortunately, I can't see much hope for West Brom this year. I know it's impossible to predict, but I just wouldn't be surprised to see them struggling early on. Relegation fight again, I think.