It’s a mark of Albion’s growing confidence, maturity and, overall, quality that without ever really getting close to our best form, and coming out of the shadow of consecutive defeats, this win over Sunderland was every bit as routine for us as Manchester United’s was for them when they were at The Hawthorns before Christmas.
That was the measure of the gulf in class between ourselves and the toiling Black Cats, making the game a relatively straightforward exercise once Chris Brunt had followed up Darren Fletcher’s opener to make it 2-0 after 36 minutes.
There is a gathering storm here at the Albion and, particularly, at The Hawthorns. We are getting the opportunity to watch a team grow and develop into something which, in modern terms, is quite special. It’s still relatively early days, there is still much to be done and it could all be blown off course by events, these are all essential caveats to remember, but at the same time, there is undeniable promise here.
It’s been an anomaly for quite a while that many of Albion’s best performances have come on the road, frustrating given that the bulk of the Throstletariat mostly see us on home turf. But this season promises something different.
This was win number six here this term and already that puts us ahead of three of our 10 previous seasons in the Premier League, level with three more and within striking distance of our record haul of nine from 2012/13. The goals are going in too, at all but two a game, a ratio we’ve never approached since getting back to the top flight for the first time in 2002. In short, The Hawthorns is a pretty good place to be on match days at present.
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Albionship 3000
The Football League resumed just as this season will end, with the Throstles winging their way to Swansea, albeit that back on August 31st 1946, Swansea City were then still just a Town, playing their football on the Vetch Field rather than the Liberty Stadium.
Middlesbrough v Albion
We’ve been here before – notably at Hull and Sunderland – but the conundrum is, was this a point won or two spilled.
Chairman - John Williams
Things get taken for granted very quickly in football, such that very often, credit doesn’t get dished out when it’s due.
Jonny Evans - the way he plays . . .
The transfer market. It’s a difficult beast to handle, one fraught with danger, however good your research, however smartly you approach it. There’s always another club looking to steal a player from under your nose, or the player who looks a sure fire winner only to fail once a move is made. You can bring ten new faces in and watch them queue up to flop, or place your eggs in a solitary basket and still be crossing your fingers as the contract is inked.
albion v derby county
this was a 90 minutes that did have all the hallmarks of a classic fa cup tie but unfortunately those hallmarks tend to include the big club losing out to the smaller one after an impassioned rearguard action, helped by a healthy dose of (mis) fortune. on that score, this was the kind of game that has given the fa cup its huge reputation both in this country and around the world, but to be honest, we’d have much preferred a quiet, uneventful afternoon where, in the finish, the form book was upheld.
Darren Fletcher
‘We were pleased that the supporters at least had something to take home with them after following us in such good numbers in terrible conditions’
Albion v Stoke City
Given the demise of alternative football clubs in the locality, Stoke has become our de facto derby game these days and did this one ever live up to that kind of billing, a feisty, feverish, blood and guts encounter that included home heroes, pantomime villains and a fairytale ending where we all lived happily ever after. Or at least the ones who count did – us.
Albion v Sunderland
It’s a mark of Albion’s growing confidence, maturity and, overall, quality that without ever really getting close to our best form, and coming out of the shadow of consecutive defeats, this win over Sunderland was every bit as routine for us as Manchester United’s was for them when they were at The Hawthorns before Christmas.
Tony Pulis
‘We have given ourselves a chance of having our best season in the Premier League era, and we really want to capitalise on that opportunity over these next three months’
Albion V Crystal Palace
The problem with getting used to the finer things in life is that if, on occasion, you are deprived of them, it stings all the more. And that’s exactly what happened against Palace for, after an amazing run of seven home wins in eight Premier League games at The Hawthorns, a run where we’ve been scoring goals and creating chances aplenty, this was one of those afternoons where we could have played until Sunday and still not scored.
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SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
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Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Incoming
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HyperX SoloCast
Give your live streaming and conference calling an upgrade on a budget
RAPTOR LAKE GETS A REFRESH
Intel to get one iteration in before Meteor Lake
GIGABYTE EMBRACES ARC
ANOTHER GRAPHICS PARTNER FOR INTEL OFFERS SUPPORT
LG'S CURVED BEAUTY
240Hz of gaming perfection
New GeForce Cards
Three new ones have landed, plus a retread
Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Red Leader, standing by