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2007-08: Where It Ended

“Back where we belong”. These are the words that adorn the home page of West Bromwich Albion’s website, after they reached the “Promised Land” thanks to winning the Championship last season. Prior to the 2007-08 season everyone expected the Baggies to set the division alight and run away from the other contenders. However, this simply wasn’t the case.

At times throughout the season it appeared as though the stylish play of Albion would see them reach that next level and leave the competition behind, but a good result was often followed up by a bad result. They just couldn’t really maintain any kind of consistency and thankfully for West Brom, nor could the rest of the league. Stoke City and Bristol City were the main culprits: they reached the summit of the division and then seemed to hit the proverbial wall.

Despite the Baggies failing to string a number of impressive results together they all but sealed promotion with one game to go when they drew 1-1 with Southampton, giving them a three point lead over their rivals and a far superior goal difference. Albion then confirmed their place in the Premiership by beating QPR on the final day of the season, beating the London outfit 2-0, thus claiming a spot in the Premier League and finishing as champions, lifting their first trophy in forty years.

In addition to Albion’s fine league season, they also had very impressive cup run which would have exceeded the expectations of the club and fans alike. Sadly, for the West Brom faithful they fell short in the semi-final against Portsmouth, even though they played the far superior football. Albion were plagued by their usual downfall of not being able to take their chances.

Summer Activity

In the past the Baggies could easily have been accused of not giving everything in the off-season towards staying in the Premiership. This time round it seems to be a very different story, having spent around £13.5 million on new signings. Obviously, none of that matters if these expensive signings aren’t of a high standard but so far West Brom manager, Tony Mowbray, appears to have been very shrewd in the transfer market.

Knowing that Albion suffered from some serious defensive frailties last season, Mowbray immediately set about trying to bolster the back line. Something that especially needed to be done as star centre back Curtis Davies completed his move to Aston Villa, after having spent the season on loan at the Birmingham club.

One impressive signing is that of Gianni Zuiverloon, the Dutch Under-21 international who was named in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship “Team of the Tournament”. Zuiverloon is a competent right back who is not afraid of getting forward in order to support the midfielders and attackers, he had gained a lot of attention from clubs around Europe after his performance in the aforementioned tournament but he decided on plying his trade at The Hawthorns because he likes the style of football that Albion play.

On the other side of the back four Mowbray has signed Slovakian international Marek Čech from F.C. Porto, therefore he will have invaluable Champions League experience for the Portuguese outfit. Primarily playing as an attacking left wing back he, like Zuiverloon, will get forward at every opportunity.

More recently, the Baggies have obtained the man that they have been after for most of the summer, Abdoulaye Méité. One of the positives of such a transfer is that Méité has been playing at Premiership level for the last two seasons, as well as that, he was involved in a relegation tussle last season for Bolton Wanderers, therefore, he is more than aware of what it takes to battle and stay in the Premiership.

Behind the new defenders will be new goalkeeper, bought from Liverpool on a four-year deal, Scott Carson. While the front line has been helped by the signing of Luke Moore from West Midlands rivals, Aston Villa.

With new arrivals come departures, two key losses for Albion will be that of Kevin Phillips who bagged them 22 league goals last season en route to promotion, however there were always question marks as to whether he could still provide goals in the top division. Another loss that will seriously hurt the team is that of Zoltan Gera who has been one of the best and most influential players at The Hawthorns for the last few years.

Analysis & Prognosis

It is clear that Albion have tried to rectify some of their problems, however, despite the array of defensive signings they still appear to be very susceptible at the back. With the likes of Zuiverloon and Čech attacking when there is an opportunity, and sometimes when there isn’t, then you will often find West Brom’s defensive line stretched.

On top of that Méité is often prone to some stupid mistakes and at this kind of level mistakes will be punished on a consistent basis. The one shining light at the back is Scott Carson, no doubt he will have to face plenty of shots in the coming season but it would be fair to say that he is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership. Albion will be relying on him an awful lot to keep them in games and one would expect that more often than not Carson has the shot stopping capabilities to do just that.

Another serious problem is that they have failed to bring in a replacement for Zoltan Gera who would have given everything on the pitch for the club, so replacing a player of that nature is never easy. What is even worse for the Baggies in this situation is that Gera has jumped ship to fellow relegation candidates, Fulham, already giving the West London club an edge over them. With Gera gone, a lot of responsibility will rest on the shoulders of the club’s captain, Jonathan Greening, who will battle for every point and is capable of making a pass with amazing accuracy.

Up front, Luke Moore will more than likely cause opposition defences problems due to his outstanding pace that will trouble any defenders who are even slightly flat-footed. As well as his pace, many believe that he has it in him to find the net more often than he does, however, to date he hasn’t really fulfilled the promise of his youth days at Aston Villa.

In conclusion, one would expect that West Brom will struggle in the upcoming campaign as they still have some major weaknesses despite being busy in the transfer market. Major weaknesses that will probably see them relegated from the Premier League on yet another occasion, nevertheless, the Baggies will no doubt stay in touch with their adversaries and will push for survival all the way until the end of the 38th game of the season. Also, if Mowbray adopts the 4-5-1 formation he utilised in their last friendly against Mallorca then there is little hope, but he did change to 4-4-2 at half time, which brought with it better play and an equalising goal. 4-5-1 has been Albion’s downfall in the past, particularly under Bryan Robson, you have to hope that Mowbray has learnt from past mistakes

Coach: Tony Mowbray

Stadium: The Hawthorns (27,877)

2007/08 Position: 1st (in the Championship)

2007/08 Record: P-46 W-23 D-12 L-11 GF-88 GA-55 Pts-81

Players In: Luke Moore (Aston Villa), Kim Do-Heon (Seongnam Ilhwa Shunma), Gianni Zuiverloon (SC Heerenveen), Graham Dorrans (Livingston FC), Roman Bednar (Hearts), Marek Čech (FC Porto), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Abdoulaye Méité (Bolton Wanderers)

Players Out: Luke Steele (Barnsley), Zoltan Gera (Fulham), Martin Albrechtsen (Derby County), Curtis Davies (Aston Villa), Kevin Phillips (Birmingham City), Stefan Morrison (Swansea City), Luke Daniels (Shrewsbury Town)

Possible Line-Up: Carson – Zuiverloon, Barnett, Méité, Čech – Morrison, Greening, Koren, Kim – Bednar, Moore

Ref From Luke Broadbent - goal.com

Fulham have completed the signing of defender Fredrik Stoor from Rosenborg.

The 24-year-old, who played for Sweden at Euro 2008, has signed a four-year deal with the Cottagers and joined for an undisclosed fee.

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson told the club’s website: “Fredrik is a player I have followed for some time through my contacts with the Sweden team.

“I watched him closely with his club side and we did a lot of research on him. I am delighted he has joined us.”

Stoor has won eight Sweden caps, with the most recent of them coming in the European Championship.

Hodgson added: “I had the opportunity to see him at close hand in the three matches that Sweden played in Euro 2008 and we decided that this was the player for us at right-back.

“Certainly with John Pantsil and Fredrik Stoor we have excellent cover for that position for the coming season.”

Pantsil joined from West Ham earlier in the summer, along with Bobby Zamora, as part of a £6.3m deal.

Fulham are also expected to sign striker Andrew Johnson from Everton in the near future after agreeing an eight-figure fee for the England international.

Last week Stoor said he was looking forward to playing in Hodgson’s side.

“This is very exciting and feels like a great challenge,” he told Expressen newspaper last week.

“This is the toughest league in the world. It will be hard but I have the chance of becoming a regular.”

Stoor has become Hodgson’s eighth capture of the summer following the signings of Mark Schwarzer, Andranik Teymourian, Zoltan Gera, David Stockdale, Toni Kallio and West Ham pair Zamora and Pantsil.

Ref From BBC SPORTS

Fulham have made their fifth and sixth signings of the summer with Bobby Zamora and John Pantsil arriving from West Ham United for a joint fee of £6.3m. The 27-year-old Zamora departs Upton Park 4½ years after joining from Tottenham while Pantsil, the Ghana defender, moves west to Craven Cottage after two seasons in east London where first-team opportunities have been limited.

The acquisition of Zamora, who scored 39 goals in all competitions for West Ham, is a welcome boost for the Fulham manager, Roy Hodgson, who has been looking to strengthen his forward options, particularly in light of the departure of Brian McBride to Major League Soccer in May.

“Bobby is a talented striker who not only has a desire to score goals but always looks to involve the rest of the team with his intelligent play,” said Hodgson. “His quality has allowed us to strengthen our attacking options.”

Pantsil, 27, represented Ghana at three African Cup of Nations tournaments and played all his country’s games at the 2006 World Cup. But he made only nine starts since arriving at West Ham in 2006.

Hodgson has also signed Zoltan Gera, Mark Schwarzer and Andranik Teymourian on free transfers, as well as David Stockdale from Darlington for £600,000.

Spain have appointed the former Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque to replace Luis Aragonés, who quit to join Fenerbahce after leading the national team to victory at Euro 2008 last month.

Ref From Chris Barrett guardian.co.uk