LiamBaggies

vs Saturday 20th April 2013 As the seasons head into the final straight and with our season petering out, this week we entertain relegation threatened Newcastle United at The Hawthorns. The Baggies had a weekend off last week whilst Newcastle came out on the wrong side of 0-3 defeat to their arch rivals Sunderland - a result which brought Newcastle closer to those relegation places. The last time we were at The Hawthorns saw Champions League chasing Arsenal walk away victorious after seeing out the Baggies onslaught at the end. The previous meeting between the two clubs saw Newcastle pick up the three points after a late winner from Papiss Cisse. At the Hawthorns last season, Newcastle were also victorious winning by three goals to one after being three up at half time. Hopefully Saturday shall be different! For this weeks verision of View from the Opposition, I've headed over to Toon Tastic. What are your opinions on your season so far - has it gone how you expected? Brock Manson: Dreadful, dreadful season. Lack of investment in the summer meant we have shot ourselves in the foot and taken a big step backwards from last season. Players hiding behind their reputations a bit and not gelling together anymore. Pardew can't seem to find an answer to get this lot firing again. A lot of it is down to Colo (allegedly) knocking up a local slapper and wanting to get out of dodge. He was a good captain and we now lack a natural leader, which is really hurting us in this final stretch. Just want this season to be over - we should be alright still as with the players we have, we might get 2 wins that would keep us up. Although the Sunderland result has highlighted how vulnerable this team is when they're faced with opposition who press all over the pitch. Squeeky bum time. The Fish: We had the opportunity to cement ourselves as a top half side if we built on the unexpected success (and good fortune) of last season with some new signings and improvements to the coaching staff. I had expected to see a few new players in the summer, we didn't see enough and we've clearly suffered the curse of too many games and not enough players. The new lads we signed in the January window look decent, but should have been brought in much, much earlier. Overall I'm gutted with our performances and results in the league, but pleased with our progress in Europe. Dr Gloom: it's been worse.we overachieved last season - i didn't think we'd finish 5th again, or even 6th because of the extra fixtures and the lack of summer investment but i was more optimistic than usual and fancied us to carry through some of the momentum from last season and finish around 7-8th. it soon became clear that wasn't going to happen. the winter run killed any real chance of a top half finish and the new signings, while showing some early encouraging signs, have taken a while to gell and the manager isn't getting the best out of key players like cabaye, who is playing way to deep. the fact that cisse is missing chances he was burying last season hasn't helped either. Ayotollah Hermonie: Inept more than not, lucky more than not, still overwhelmingly poor for 33 games. Europe was a nice distraction and we can be proud of the graft and effort we put in but the league has been drastic. Pardew's nosediving. What are your opinions on our season so far? Brock Manson: Over-reliant on Lukaku. You would've been alright without him but he's definitely your main threat in the side. You were flying at the start of the season but it seems your lads have fizzled out a bit. Still, your progress from yoyo club to a mid table side is still going strong. The Fish: You started so brightly, I think I tipped you to lose every week as I didn't think you'd sustain the momentum. All credit to Clarke, he's guided you with minimum fuss and brought some solidity to your playing style and some much needed stability to your club. No longer the Yoyo tag for you I think. ADP: Really well. Rate Clarke highly, definitely think he is one to watch over the next 10 years. Your club seems very stable now. Ant: Done well, think if someone were to offer being within 10pts or so of 5th at this stage of the season before it kicked off, you'd have snapped their hands off. Started well some excellent performances, i knew when Clarke tookover he'd go back for some excellent loans, Lukaku was the one i hoped you wouldn't get! Peter Odemwingie was the attention of many in January. What did you make of him and the way in which we dealt with the situation? Brock Manson: He's acted the t*** because he wanted one big pay off from QPR. Given WBA seem to be in a transition from yoyo club to a mid table prem side at the moment, you have to question his ambition as a player to want to trade that for a relegation scrap. Shouldn't even let him train until he's apologised to the players and staff. Ugly Mackems: Would be good for players like this to be put in the reserves for the duration of their contract. If only eh? The Fish: Honestly? I didn't personally pay that much mind to it. He's been given some shocking advice, but anyone with an ounce of sense should have seen it for what it was. I wouldn't want him lacing the academy player's boots despite him being a reasonable player. Dr Gloom: knobhead, typical of the modern game. nice to see player power not winning for once. ADP: That he became a paragon of where the modern 'footballer' is going. No respect. Glad he didn't get his own way. Though in hindsight with his attitude, him and QPR may have been a match made in heaven. Ant: Thought the club handled it well, you let him hang himself with his own rope, come crawling back apologise and made sure he knew his place. Disgraceful behaviour, i think after his previous decent seasons he thought a big money move was going come calling, it didn't so he tried to force one through and mucked it up. You were also incredibly busy in January - how have your new signings settled in and who should we be wary of? Brock Manson: Started off brilliantly but the premier league has proven a sharp learning curve for them. Sissoko has probably been the biggest impact player signed, but he's shattered from the cup run so might not be at his best. They all should've joined in the summer so they'd be more used to the league by now. The Fish: When they all arrived I couldn't believe it. Moussa Sissoko is an incredibly good player, Debuchy is France's 1st choice full back and brings genuine class to our right hand side that was missing for so long. Gouffran is earnest if a little hit & miss. Mbiwa should be quality when he's in his prime and is highly rated by many across the continent already. As to who you should fear? It depends which Newcastle turns up. If it's the side that beat Chelsea? You should be terrified of Sissoko's overall game, wary of Gouffran's pace and directness, frustrated by Debuchy's assurance and impressed by Mbiwa's quality. If the side that capitulated so meekly to sunderland? Um, well Shola is fucking class from the penalty spot and Steven Taylor might make your attack injure themselves laughing at his ridiculous antics? Dr Gloom: they all started well but have faded. sissoko looks the pick of the bunch - he could go on to be a top premier league player and gouffran is dangerous with his pace if a bit hit or miss with his end product. but at the moment i wouldn't really fear any of them because the team rarely puts in a convincing 90 minutes. there are patches when we play well but we're vulnerable after sunday's result and we often go through spells in games when we look very average. McFaul: Sissoko is going to be a top player but the confidence will be rock bottom after Sunday. Ayotollah Hermoine: They've settled well enough but look completely clueless at times because of the way we're set up. Sissoko is a beast but could still be tired. Gouffran is quick and handy on the break but that requires us to actually get the ball to his feet Ant: Sissoko is a beast of a player and an insanely good purchase, settled in well but has hit the ground running and hasn't stopped and it's starting to show, Haidara has impressed and gouffroun has done ok, wish we had a better option and have him as a good bench backup but well. You won the game at SJP 2-1. What were your opinions on this game? The Fish: I think I predicted us to lose because of your form, either way it was a good home win against what is now a seasoned Premier League side. Dr Gloom: a solid home win given how well you were doing at the time. it'll be our home form that'll keep us up, which is a good thing because our away form has been poor. McFaul: We were luckier than a black porn star with a 13 inch willy who gets paid $1m a year. We were awful, and you were excellent. ADP: A hard fought win against a respectable outfit. I do recall we had a bit of luck mind. Ayotollah Hermoine: We robbed you, basically. Symptomatic of our performances all season that game; Cisse dragging us out the crap at home. Ant: We were jammy...simple as that, if you came away feeling like you'd been lubed up on the sly and we'd taken liberties that'd be fair. Where do you expect Newcastle to finish the season and which clubs do you feel shall be relegated? Ugly Mackems: 16TH. Reading, QPR are gone. One of Villa, Wigan and mackems. Stoke look poor at the moment also. NUFC will do well to avoid the drop. Brock Manson: Genuinely not sure. We're too inconsistent and can't string any results together. We might just scrape 15th but we won't be any more than 3 points above safety. Stoke will go down. 2bias: 13th, QPR, Reading, Sunderland The Fish: I reckon we'll finish about 12th. Which is poo considering where we could have finished if Ashley had got out his cheque book in the summer and if Pardew wasn't as limited a coach as he is. QPR and Reading are down. Other than that? It could be anyone from us to Wigan, really. Sunderland still have tough games, but don't underestimate just how much that derby win means to them. This is literally their biggest result since 1979 and will spur them on. Will confidence be enough to keep them up? I dunno. Stoke are a good rugby side but nobody will mourn their descent into the Championship. Wigan are entertaining and Martinez deserves credit for the way he's repeatedly rescued them from certain doom... however, Mcmanaman is a dirty poo and the bitterness I feel about that result leaves me wanting them to drop, then keep slipping down the league until Whelan's sucking off truckers for 3 quid and a Ginsters steak slice. Villa should be fine, but I'd love to see them **** off as retribution for them sending us down, nothing but a beige nothing club with delusions of importance that's backed up by **** all... After all that, I think it'll be Wigan that finally do succumb to the drop. Dr Gloom: somewhere around 13th-16th. we've not got the easiest run in and our home games aren't what you'd call bankers. squaky bum time until we pick up the required 4-6 points to secure safety basically. Where do you expect West Brom to finish the season? Ant: 8-9th it's going be tight between yourselves fulham and swansea. Christmas Tree: Top 10 Brock Manson: Strong mid table finish. 9th I reckon The Fish: About where you are, 8th position is a fair reflection of your excellent start and your stuttering finish. You'll need money in the summer to repeat this as the teams around you will no longer see a trip to the Hawthorns as somewhere to pick up points. Also, if you can't secure Lukaku for another season you need a quality striker immediately. To be honest, you'll need two as even if you do keep him, he looks knackered and needs more support. What side is Alan Pardew likely to choose? Ugly Mackems: Elliot. Debuchy, Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa, Jonas (ugh) Marv, sissoko, Tiote, Cabaye,HBA, Cisse. 4-1-4-1 - 4-5 -1 You'll be surprised that a team of what look like very good players can be so poor. The Fish: Elliot Debuchy Taylor Mbiwa Haidara Tiote HBA Cabaye Gouffran Sissoko Cisse Probably. However... Sissoko, Cabaye, Mbiwa and Debuchy all need a rest in my opinion. Ben Arfa still isn't 100% and there are rumours that Elliot is stuffed. Ayatollah Hermoine: Same as Sunday with Haidara at full back. It'll have the same midfield problems as always. ADP: Jonas will move to LW and Haidara will fill in for Santon. Other than that, same as Sunday I'd imagine. And finally, score predictions. Brock Manson: 3-1 to you lot, Lukaku will have a field day 2bias: 2-2 Dr Gloom: home win regrettably. 2-1 to your lot. Ayatollah Hermoine: West Brom 2-0 Newcastle United ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A thank you to the Newcastle fans for their answers. To view the remainder of their answers then please Click Here. Boing Boing Here's the link to the article: http://westbrom.com/forum/index.php?topic=11220.0 - our forum is closed for guests though unfortunately but you're more than welcome to sign up. Apologies for the pictures looking crap - your background colour doesn't work with the pictures!

Couple more would be handy but thank you very much for your replies. I'll get the article typed up for you tomorrow.

Hi. This worked very well with yourselves in the clubs previous meeting so I'm back for the final edition of the season. Firstly, apologies if this has broken any forum rules. If you could complete the questionnaire I would be most grateful. The final topic shall be posted in this thread later on this week. Q1. What are your opinions on your season so far - has it gone how you expected? Q2. What are your opinions on our season so far? Q3. Peter Odemwingie was the attention of many in January. What did you make of him and the way in which we dealt with the situation? Q4. You were also incredibly busy in January - how have your new signings settled in and who should we be wary of? Q5. You won the game at SJP 2-1. What were your opinions on this game? Q6- Where do you expect Newcastle to finish the season and which clubs do you feel shall be relegated? Q7. Where do you expect West Brom to finish the season? Q8. What side is Alan Pardew likely to choose? Q9. And finally, score predictions. Thank you to those which take part and I wish those which are making the journey on Saturday a very safe journey. Thanks.

Not really, no. Black Country me.

Not as good as mine. I had correct prediction and first goalscorer: http://westbrom.com/forum/index.php?topic=9544.0 And I'm not a Brummie.

I'm 17 so as of yet, don't really do banking as such.

The simple reply would be don't read it And how very nice of you.

He is an absolute rock in our side and every week he is consistently good. I don't see why you think he's a bell end. Is that because he wins his aerial dules and does his job successfully? At the end of the day, he isn't going to let forwards mug him about. He's a centre half and I hope he continues to ruffle more feathers.

Congratulations on your victory - Can't believe I'm saying it though. I thought we were by the far the better team and it's a mystery how we haven't got something from the game. I've never left a ground so gutted at conceding a late goal. I thought last week was bad against Man City but the manner of todays goal and how the game had panned out makes this even harder to bare. Couldn't fault any of our boys, they were very good, got amongst your lads and were very good in possession. Shame Lukaku fluffed our best chances. Thought you lot looked incredibly poor, however.

Finished article: http://westbrom.com/forum/index.php?topic=9600.0 Thanks for your replies.

Anymore? Would be extremely grateful if we could manage a couple more. Cheers lads.

Hi, First of all I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules and I hope I've placed this topic in the correct place. I am a moderator on www.westbrom.com and we run a weekly View from the opposition where I ask questions to the opposing fans and they respond with their answers. I then take the answers and create a finished article which shall be posted in this topic later on this week. For an example of what we do click the link: http://westbrom.com/...hp?topic=9533.0 1. What have you made of your start to the season so far? 2. What are your opinions our our start to the season so far? 3. We've recently seen Alan Pardew given a new eight year contract, what are your reactions to this? 4. Mike Ashley always seemed an unpopular figure around your parts, what are your opinions on him? 5. What are your opinions on WBA as a football club alongside its supporters? 6. Which players in your side should we look out for, and which players in our side do you fear? 7. What are you expecting for the remainder of the season? 8. What are you expecting from WBA for the remainder of the season? Do we have a chance of Europe? 9. What side is Alan Pardew most likely to put out? 10. And finally, score predictions. Thank you for taking part and here's to an entertaining game.