Simon Cox (£1.5m, Swindon
Town),
West Brom have become the definition
of a yo-yo club in recent years. I actually though they might do
well in the premiership last season with a side that played some
fantastic football to get promoted. Tony Mowbray stuck with his principles
and played good football in the Premiership but the decision to
let Kevin Phillips go may be one he regrets as for all the good
football they lacked someone to finish up front and missed tons
of chances and with them any hope of staying up. For a spell in the first half of the season they looked like they would be Ok but a bad run around Christmas time put them in trouble and they could never find enough points to get themselves out of trouble. A defeat at home to Liverpool was the final nail for them but to the fans credit they cheered the team off and despite the relegation seemed to really believe in the football that Mowbray was getting his side to play. From a neutrals point of view
it was a shame to see them go down when weaker sides ended up surviving.
Well here they are again, West Brom
in the Championship and most people's (including mine) favourites
to go straight back up. There have been a few changes this summer
with Mowbray leaving as manager to go to Celtic so former Chelsea
player Roberto Di Matteo has come into the club. It's a big step
up for him from MK Dons but he is going into a club with a pretty
strong squad already. West Brom are like most clubs in needing to hang on to key players to stand a chance but so far the likes of Brunt, Greening and Koren have all stayed put. They have a good defence for this level and Scott Carsen is a decent keeper who is far better than he showed last season. The likes of brunt and Greening are
quality in midfield and it will be interesting to see how Simon
Cox does at this level after signing from Swindon. For me West Brom have the strongest
side in the division and should make an instant return to the Premiership,
the only thing that I fear may stop them is if Di Matteo takes time
to settle at his new club which could open the door for other challengers
but they look strong and really should make a quick return Prediction: 1st in the Championship
Click on the match for a report of the game from this web site.
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