Match Preview – West Bromwich Albion v Brighton
West Bromwich Albion – the team
It’s been a right season of struggle so far for West Brom and they currently find themselves languishing second from bottom in the table and with the very real prospect that their eight year stay in the Premier League could come to an end. They’ve had a spin on Palace Ex Managers Roulette in an attempt to arrest the slide, sacking Tony Pulis and replacing him with Alan Pardew. Rather hilariously, the dancing idiot is yet to win a game as Baggies boss. Not that this will come as a surprise to Brighton fans – we’ve known he is clueless ever since he couldn’t work out how or why his Reading side were beaten to the third tier title by Peter Taylor’s Albion in 2002 (it was because we took four points off you and finished six ahead, Alan).
West Bromwich – the place
West Bromwich began to grow once coal deposits were discovered in the 19th century and as a result became an industrial centre, specialising in the manufacturing of springs, nails and guns. The town hall is a Grade II Listed Building featuring an organic that is of historical importance (if anyone knows why a town hall needs an organ by the way, please drop us a line) while fans of motorways flock to West Bromwich in their thousands as it is where the M5 and M6 meet.
West Bromwich – the people
West Brom have cornered the market in terms of celebrity fans who present on television and constantly sound miserable, with both Adrian Chiles and Frank Skinner being Baggies supporters. Other notable residents of the town include members of the band Judas Priest and John Byrne, the comic book artist who moved to Canada aged eight as opposed to the popular Brighton striker of the 1990’s.
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of West Brom away
Seeing as every time we went into the Championship, West Brom would win promotion to the top flight and every time they came down from the Premier League, we’d end up relegated to League One, this is our first visit to the Hawthorns for a generation. We’ve never won a league game there, with our sole success coming in the League Cup third round in 1976 when two goals from Peter Ward gave third tier Brighton a shock 2-0 against a West Brom side who would go onto finish seventh in the top flight that season.
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of West Brom away
Having never been there, we’re hoping this section remains empty for the foreseeable future. Birmingham and it’s surrounding areas has been a bit of a nightmare for recent WAB visits in recent seasons, with low lights including splitting a pair of trousers when celebrating Glenn Murray’s goal at St Andrews last year, sick in a plant pot in a nightclub the previous season and receiving police assistance after falling asleep on the edge of a water fountain in the middle of the Christmas Market after Wolves away in 2014.
Played for both
Gus Poyet loved signing a full back from West Brom almost as much as he loved himself. He bought in both Gonzalo Jara and Joe Mattock from the Baggies during the 2011-12 season. Neither was great if truth be told – Jara got caught driving without insurance when he was meant to be serving a ban for drink driving and Mattock missed a game after cutting his testicles while attempting to shave them.
Dangermen
Given our complete inability to defend any sort of cross coming into the box at the minute, you suspect the delivery of Oliver Burke and the presence of Hal Robson-Kanu will be West Brom’s best route to goal. Goalkeeper Ben Foster is normally one of the safest in the top flight but he was terrible at the Amex.
Betting
Glenn Murray has loved an away game against the sides in the bottom three so far this season, scoring at both Swansea and West Ham. Will he complete the set? You can bet on it at a best priced 16/5.
Prediction
Predictably, we are going for the draw – either 0-0 or 1-1.
