April 2009 Archives

TRANSFER speculation? Don't you just love it?

Sheffield United, then managed by Bryan Robson, wanting Jason Koumas was a particlar classic of recent years. As was Danny Dichio making a return to Albion during the Play Off losing campaign. I don't think so somehow.

And now the latest one.

Tony Mowbray, while being linked for the 42nd time with Simon Cox, was bemused to find himself supposedly chasing Dynamo Kiev striker Artem Milevskiy on Sunday.

So is he a target or isn't he?

I asked the question this morning. The reply: "Someone told me about this Kiev striker.

"I was at the Blackburn v Wigan game and an agent came up to me and said 'what's this about you and the lad from Kiev?'

"Apparently he's on the same level as Arshavin, so I said: 'well that's definitely us then - £15million. Yes we'll be having him'"

That'll be a no then.

Mowbray is definitely looking at strikers.

Luke Moore will probably be taking his designer limp onto pastures new (though finding a buyer may be a challenge). Jay Simpson sees his future at Arsenal. Yes, I know what you're thinking. And Marc-Antoine Fortune sees himself playing top flight football. Although Albion will be trying to convince him otherwise in the event of relegation. What an addition he would be in the Championship.

In the worst case scenario it could leave Roman Bednar - will his agent posture for a move? - a fit-again Ishmael Miller and rookie Chris Wood.

So it could be an interesting summer on the striker front. It could be the one area of the pitch most in need of surgery.

One other thing - these rumours about Morrison and Greening heading to Sunderland. A reporter from our sister newpaper in the north-east informed me on Saturday that it basically a rumour simply made up by a 'football news' website. No truth in it whatsoever.

IT was one of the more popular questions of my recent live chat: Who's leaving this summer?

Let's have a stab.

Of course it's not that simple.

Albion, for starters, have gone to great pains to point out that no big-hitters are for sale 'unless silly money is offered'.

Ron Atkinson, when given a similar response by Albion at the time Manchester United asked about Bryan Robson in 1981, went onto describe such an answer as the 'biggest get-out clause you can get'.

And it is.

What do you class as silly money? We'll see in the summer. The Baggies don't need to sell. That much we know.

The departures are obvious. Luke Moore was someone they would have been prepared to listen to offers for in January had Miller not been ruled out for the season.

The fact Moore no longer gets brought for the ride while a 17-year-old does says it all. Tony Mowbray simply rolls his eyes when asked about Luke these days.

Another problem with Moore is getting a fee somewhere near the price Albion paid for him. He's also their highest earner. Again, it won't help.

Kim, I suspect, will be gone. As will Marek Cech, who, while unfortunate to find himself left out for the Villa derby, has not helped his cause with some disciplinary lapses. Again, he doesn't get to board the coach these days.

Ryan Donk? Probably more likely to leave than stay - more for non-footballing reasons.

Filipe Teixeira is a strange one. Clearly rated by Tony Mowbray last season, the Portuguese play-maker has lost his way since returning from injury. Where he was once a favourite he now seems to have lost favour. He's been made publicly accountable for the odd slip here or there, while other and more frequent offenders have escaped criticism. It doesn't bode well. He's been marginalised more and more. Graham Dorrans and Chris Brunt are leaving him behind.

Pele and Carl Hoefkens tend to merely make up the bench numbers when they do emerge onto the radar. Leon Barnett has been out injured for a while although I suspect he would have played little part anyway following the manager's frustrations at his display at Fulham. Again, he's one of those who seems to attract more criticism than others when he does make errors.

What of Chris Brunt, James Morrison and Robert Koren? Albion will seek to keep them.

Brunt has certainly played himself back into favour. Two or three months ago I'd have cast doubt over him but he's blossomed since. All three will attract attention. Bids for those three will test Albion's resolve. Mulumbu? Too early to say. He has the next five games to show something.

How about Borja Valero? Strange one. Again, he's lost his way - did he ever find 'his way'? - but Mowbray rates him highly. Yet somehow I can't picture Borja playing at Doncaster next season. But, as with Luke Moore, Albion will struggle to get their money back. His stock has never been as low. The best solution may be to try and loan him out to a Premier League club for a season with a view to him returning to The Hawthorns 12 months down the line in the event of Albion returning to the top flight. The experience would help him. You just need to find a club who would be interested.

Up front, Miller's return will be crucial. Elsewhere, Roman Bednar seems to be growing increasingly frustrated and Jay Simpson won't be returning. Marc-Antoine Fortune is liked but he made it clear that he wanted top flight football next season. Perhaps Albion can convince him otherwise.

So there you go. Not a definitive answer because until the offers start coming in then we'll not know how the summer unfolds. Some of those may yet stay. There may be shock departures.

One thing's for sure, we'll see the likes of Dorrans, Wood and a few more youngsters playing a more prominent part next season. And that in itself could be a breath of fresh air following this season's dismal effort.

Chris Wood, by numbers.

1. Not to be confused with an ex-England, Norwich and Rangers goalkeeper. So, for those of who haven't yet realised, please leave out the 's' from his surname.

2. He's possibly Albion's first-ever New Zealander - the 20th different nation to be represented in the current first-team squad.

3. There are no BMW or Land Rover keys to worry about. Chris still takes public transport when he needs to although living in Great Barr is handy for Albion's Walsall-based training ground. Tony Mowbray said: "One of his youth team pals gave him a lift last Friday otherwise he normally gets the bus. I'm not expecting him to come in next week with a big flash car and a big diamond-studded earring."

4. His dad Grant was born into a big rugby family as many men are in the land of the All Blacks. But Chris' father opted for soccer, playing for Onehunga Sports.

5. Chris' sister Chelsey represents New Zealand's under-20 ladies football team.

6. He may end up playing against Spain and Italy in the Confederations Cup this summer having been named in the provisional New Zealand squad.

7. He was drafted into the Albion squad due to Roman Bednar's injury on Friday. Portsmouth's kit department came to Albion's rescue by putting his squad number and name on his shirt.

8. He cleans Kim's football boots. Albion's academy still has a touch of the old school about it and Chris' daily duties include preparing the kit, the cones, bibs and equipment. And cleaning the Korean's soft boots. Chris doesn't mind - he claims Kim left him a decent tip at Christmas. And, I suspect, that particular chore is not taking as long these days.

SIR Bobby Robson played 239 games for Albion, scoring 56 goals during a six year period at The Hawthorns.

As a manager he took charge of England, PSV Eindhoven, Porto, Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Newcastle and led Ipswich to Uefa Cup victory.

He is one of football's national treasures.

These days he is facing a battle of a different sort.

And WBA Supporters Golf Society are organising a special event on the Belfry PGA in support of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation on Saturday May 23.

There are still plenty of places and opportunities for sponsorship, including event sponsorship and hole sponsorship.

The event costs £79.50 for members (teams of four £310) or £87.00 for non-members (teams of four £340).

Price includes a breakfast bap on arrival, 18 holes on the Brabazon Belfry PGA course and a two-course dinner with raffle/auction.

For more information please click here.

SOMETHING has troubled me more and more with Albion this season.

It's not been so much a lack of spending on wages or even Tony Mowbray's tactical quirks or team selections.

It's been a growing realisation that Albion really haven't done too well in the transfer market lately.

Not so much outgoing players - anyone who can squeeze £6million out of Fulham for Diomansy Kamara or get £10million for Curtis Davies is clearly doing their bit.

I'm not even talking about the quality of incoming footballers. Some are hugely taleted, some less so.

It's more about the character and mindset.

Or, to put another way, should we be questioning the process of due diligence?

Obviously some have worked. James Morrison, Chris Brunt, Jonas Olsson, Filipe Teixeira and, looking further back, Robert Koren and Dean Kiely have all proven to be outstanding value for the transfer fees paid.

But there have been too many misses.

Take Abdoulaye Meite. This is a player who effectively refused to go out for the second half during a game for his former club.

The fact Albion had a clear run at him when they signed him, barring a bit of speculation about Hull, was a worry.

What we've seen since has made me wince further. His calf strain took an amazing amount of time to heal and the hamstring he pulled against Chelsea prevented him from playing for most of the game but didn't stop him from running off the pitch as he was subbed. One media colleague, an ex-footballer I should add, claims Meite was actually walking when he grabbed the back of his thigh.

How about Ryan Donk? AZ Alkmaar coach Louis Van Gaal's comments at the time of Albion signing him were, well, galling.

He spoke about Donk's talent but alluded to his inability to take on board training ground instructions and was worried about issues in his private life. How have you rated him?

Marek Cech. A talented footballer, no question and shouldn't have been dropped for the Villa game. But the alarm bells should have been ringing last summer when he was told by Porto to not report back to pre-season training, despite still being under contract. I'm told that, disciplinary wise, all isn't well with his conduct and hasn't been for a while.

Scott Carson is a different story altogether. He has the ability, no question. But Albion surely knew they were dealing with a goalkeeper who needed a major overhaul to his confidence following a dramatic loss of form last season. And, let's face it, he won't have got much confidence from playing behind the Baggies' backline this season. A case of the right goalkeeper at the wrong time for Albion. As it happens he's probably been a relative success story and, at 22, can only get better. Assuming this season doesn't do more damage than harm.

And speaking of which, it's fairly clear that Borja Valero is a talented, tidy player. But surely someone should have questioned whether a footballer of his kind was ready for the brutality of the Premier League when a club who were always going to struggle were perhaps more in need of a touch more brawn and definitely more know-how.

Someone may even tell me what the point of Menseguez has been? Rumour has it he's still at the club. And why were Villa so keen to sell Luke Moore? Was this questioned before Albion parted with £3million for a striker who has scored once in 14 months?

Albion employ a sporting and technical director. They have a vibrant and active scouting network along with a database that allows them to know all about a player's attributes and qualities. Albion have the technology which allows them to type a player's name into their system, knowing that they will get an automatic recording of any game featuring that player. That can be edited down to give a visual analysis of the player's performance which will inevitably prompt Tony Mowbray whether to check him out or not.

But sometimes you have to ask why such players become available on the market. What are they like as people? What is their background? Why, in some case, are they no longer wanted by the club or available for a knock-down fee?

A lot was made about Gary Megson's one-man-and-his-dog scouting system - which was effectively his father and a select few contacts he had. He fell out with two chairmen over it. Yet his signings were, albeit not always the greatest footballers, generally made of the right stuff. He made mistakes but the side he built to win promotion in 2002 was either inspired judgement on his part or an incredible fluke. My money's on the former.

In his latter years at the club, Megson will claim that Albion stopped him from signing some players he had picked out by his methods. The club have claimed that Megson turned up his nose at some of their suggested names which came via their scouting projects or through contacts - some current England stars are among that list - but it was a period when Albion were bringing in players of spirit and a strong mental calibre, regardless of the methods.

All managers/clubs are guilty of poor signings. Yet Albion's season has been dictated by a succession of players who haven't worked out.

Something, somewhere isn't quite right with Albion's current transfer policy and that's a worry.

On another note, I'll be doing my live chat tomorrow between 11.30am and 12.30pm. The link is www.birminghammail.net/live or just click here.

ALBION, as you well know, are one of the 12 founder members of the Football League.

But what's the significance these days? Not much.

In fact there's a good chance most people would struggle to name all 12.

But Baggies fan Dave Chapman - owner of the landmark Albion pub in London - has penned an idea which would mean all 12 clubs being 'honoured' for their part in footballing history.

Dave was contacted the Football League suggesting that each one of the dozen clubs should be allowed to display a gold badge of the original championship trophy.

He said: "It dawned on me that perhaps the most important piece of football history was in danger of being lost forever.

"Countries that win the World Cup have taken to wearing a gold star on their shirts to denote their success, but without those original twelve they would not be competing at all.

"My suggestion is that the Founding Twelve should be allowed to have a gold badge replica of the original league championship cup on their shirts to commemorate their overwhelming contribution to world football as we know it.

"This would ensure that wherever in the world these teams play fans will be reminded of the origins of the game we love."

The FL have replied to inform him it's been referred to the League executive committee and to their commercial department for consideration.

So if it does happen, you'll know where the idea came from...

Those 12 clubs, in case you didn't know, are: Albion, Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke City and Wolves.