1
Albion Matchday Forum / Re: Pre Match Chat
« on: August 08, 2015, 12:41:51 AM »So will they make a very public (but under value) bid for Saido on Monday morning... just to unsettle him?
That suggests that he's settled
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That suggests that he's settled
2
Albion Matchday Forum / Re: Pre Match Chat
« on: August 08, 2015, 12:39:11 AM »Couple of yacob crunchers will deter them.
I just hope he stays on the field until half time
3
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: New Head Coach - PEPE MEL
« on: December 16, 2013, 10:27:56 PM »not a suprising outcome to be honest after resultsYou make some very sound points S5, JP isn't prone to making mistakes; this is why we're in such good shape as a club.
di matteo all over again
peace must have a manager lined up as he's sacked keen aswell i highly doubt he would have made this decision without a backup in mind that's just not peace surely?
i havent got a clue who's going to be next but i hope it is someone with calibre who demands respect
The problem with "gravitas" is that it usually costs quite a bit of money.
Value for Money is the order of the day as far as Mr Peace and Mr Garlick are concerned; hence RDM and Clarke, both were evolving young coaches and not too expensive.
With this in mind, I'd like to see Chris Powell (currently at Charlton) as the next appointment, Martin Jol is shot to pieces and needs a rest as does Ian Holloway, Owen Coyle is AVB light (paralysis of analysis) Appleton isn't ready yet and Glenn Hoddle is enjoying the sunshine.
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Morgan Amalfitano Joins On Loan
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:46:56 PM »It was not just the "cheeky chip" that was incredible, it was the audacious feint before the chip that completely foxed the goalie.All very true, but didn't he nearly hit the corner flag with a penalty against the gunners in the cup?
5
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: How well would we do in Europe?
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:44:52 PM »Ok, compelled to post.
Just watching Chelsea and Arsenal tonight who are both winning comfortably in Europe.
Given a recent good record again bigger EPL sides, I'm compelled to wonder just how well our current crop would fair in a europeon competition?
Of course, there are many considerations like strength and size of squad and increased number of yearly games.
However looking at other teams like Napoli and Steau I personally reckon we would compete quite strongly against the majority of European teams. (obviously Real and Barca are another matter).
What do you think?
And given our performances recently, are we capable of reaching Europe this year? (something i'd thought only a few weeks ago highly unlikely).
Why don't we just eat what's "on the plate" for now and calm down?
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Steve Clarke Sacked by Albion
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:42:02 PM »Good thread mate (sorry I took a word out), I think they'll be a few skirting past it thoughSome speak as if the first 5 games of any season are the be all and end all, I'm so sick of the knee jerk brigade!, having listened to & read a lot of his interviews the one thing that struck me was he never lost faith in himself & his staff, maybe that was picked up on by the players, the last few games for me has shown the players believe in the Coach & are buying into his idea's, really positive signs emerging & todays result (totally justified #nofluke) proves we should fear no one for the rest of the season.
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: have we ever done the clean sweep
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:39:15 PM »No!
That's not Football at all; it's media driven, knee jerk paranoia - hopefully we have cooler heads amongst the Hawthorns faithful
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Lukaku and the truth
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:35:22 PM »Many reports say lukaku wanted to come to albion over everton even then. But chelsea could not turn down the 5 million for him so told him he had to go to everton.
Shame but im a very happy baggie
And why wouldn't he want to come back?
We loved the guy - and the team was set up for him to wreak havoc - the guy's a dreadlocked wrecking ball
!There are some times in life when you just have to go for it - and we've passed up on this opportunity IMHO.
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Lukaku and the truth
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:29:32 PM »Im sure we did do that, in the endTruth is we dropped the ball on this one
10
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Does who sits by you affect your enjoyment during a game?
« on: October 02, 2013, 02:06:03 PM »I am a nightmare to sit by at home or away games, I am constantly backing the referees and try and educate some of the fans that sit by me on the laws of the game. If they dont agree with a decision i try and explain it to them, most of them enjoy it and we have some great banter!!!You don't sit in the West Stand do you
11
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Lukaku and the truth
« on: October 02, 2013, 01:52:39 PM »I'd rather us not keep relying on a player who's not ours. At least with the loan deals of Amalfitano and Sinclair we have an option to buy. It was great to have Lukaku last season and I'm sure he'll do very well for Everton but after this season they'll be left with a difficult job to replace him just like us this season.All very good points...
But why can't we just PUSH THE BOAT OUT!
BTW: EVERYONE AND EVERYTING has it's price.
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: best moment in premier league?
« on: October 02, 2013, 01:50:25 PM »We have some special memories from the premier league now do we not?
Beating big teams ie 2-1 versus arsenal at home
beating the vile home and away was special
beating liverpool at home for first time in a long time and then to win at anfield too
beating arsenal 3-2 at the emirates
the never to be forgotten 1-5 versus wolverhamptonshire
Surely though yesterdays effort away at the champions after 35 years was our best moment (great escape aside)?
For me, it's a straight choice between beating the Vile at Villa Park or Beating Arsenhole with JT and Jara scoring; I was in the home end for that game and nearly $h1T a brick trying to keep quiet, this lasted until just after leaving the ground, it was then that the moment became too much and a massive yell of BAGGIES!!!! flew out of my gob
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Lukaku and the truth
« on: October 02, 2013, 12:45:43 PM »
Listening to TalkS***@ Radio after Everton v Newcastle game unveiled a revelation...and it goes a little like this...
Deadline day...Lukaku phones or texts (a source) at the Hawthorns saying he's on his way back...them...BHAM!
£5 Million pounds later?
He's wearing a Everton shirt
FFS! Why don't we just BUY Lukaku.
Deadline day...Lukaku phones or texts (a source) at the Hawthorns saying he's on his way back...them...BHAM!
£5 Million pounds later?
He's wearing a Everton shirt
FFS! Why don't we just BUY Lukaku.
14
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Peter Odemwingie Joins Cardiff City
« on: September 16, 2013, 10:40:34 AM »Only a couple of days behind the rest of the forum thenSorry mate..
Some time ago I moved to the dark side aka Mill Hill and have thus been out of the loop
In all seriousness though, I'd really liked for all parties to have worked it out...but cest la vie eh?
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: john giles, how is he remembered
« on: September 16, 2013, 09:41:13 AM »remi moses, thought he could have been as good as robson but for injuries
I completely agree mate, sadly Remi has been lost to the game - doesn't he coach a Roller Hockey team or something?
Johnny Giles was head and shoulders arguably the best midfielder to play for us in a generation...IMHO the board should have torn up some trees in an effort to keep him at the Hawthorns.. they really P!$$%d me off at the time
16
West Bromwich Albion FC / Peter "the truth" Odemwingie
« on: September 16, 2013, 09:34:34 AM »
A very enlightening interview - Peter's departure owes a lot to a lack of professionalism on all sides 
Enjoy..
Peter Odemwingie: 'My fall-out at West Brom was with a few people'The Cardiff City striker is happy to put his troubled time at The Hawthorns behind him
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Stuart James The Guardian, Friday 13 September 2013 21.04 BST
Peter Odemwingie feels free after his move from West Bromwich Albion to Cardiff City. Photograph: Gareth Phillips for the Guardian
The elevator doors at the hotel slide open and Peter Odemwingie emerges with a spring in his step. He is on good form, laughing about spending a few nights with his wife and young son in the penthouse suite where Madonna once stayed and expressing his surprise that he has seen so little rain since arriving in south Wales. It is his new club, though, that has done most to put a smile back on his face. "I'm like a bird that has been let out of the cage," Odemwingie says.
Freedom came in the form of a £2.25m transfer to Cardiff City at the beginning of last week, bringing an end to a West Bromwich Albion career that started so promisingly three years ago but ended in such bitter acrimony. The deal went through a few minutes before the 11pm transfer window deadline, after Odemwingie agreed to sign the compromise agreement that Albion insisted was in place before releasing his registration.
The relationship between the two parties had long broken down and it is a measure of how bad things had become that a couple of weeks before the window closed Odemwingie served notice to terminate his contract citing constructive dismissal. He claimed he had been alienated from the first team, excluded from the pre-season tour, made to train on his own for a week on two separate occasions and forced to change in a private dressing room. Albion appealed.
"What the chairman [Jeremy Peace] did was very clever," Odemwingie says. "At the beginning of the transfer window he told me he wants to keep me but he needs to speak with the manager. I waited for three weeks. Nothing. He said he was on holiday, he had just got back. He kept saying: 'Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll speak to the coach [Steve Clarke].'
"I phoned the coach myself. I said: 'Coach, the chairman said he wants to keep me, I thought you said I can be sold, we have agreed there is no way back for me.' [Clarke] said he hasn't talked to the chairman and has only spoken to Richard [Garlick, the sporting director].
"They were playing a game to win time. The chairman didn't turn up again and then they said: 'The chairman will call you in the next 24 hours.' I was waiting with my phone. After that I said: 'Enough is enough.' I phoned the lawyers. We sought counsel's opinion, I had a big chance for constructive dismissal. They said: 'The relationship has broken down, you can put in a notice of termination,' so I did that on 16 August and gave them the reasons. On 30 August they appealed. A Premier League panel was set up, we were just waiting on a date."
For Odemwingie, the relief that everything has now been put to bed is mixed with a desire to tell his side of the story. An intelligent and articulate man, Odemwingie accepts that he has made mistakes but he says that he was not alone. He is, though, quick to stress that he does not want to be disrespectful to Albion or tar everyone at the club with the same brush. "The last six months spoilt a lot but it can't spoil everything," the Nigeria international says. "I can't have anything against the whole club when my fallout was with a few people."
When charting how things started to unravel at Albion, Odemwingie goes back to the moment in November 2011, when Roy Hodgson, the then head coach, publicly questioned his willingness to play through the pain barrier. Odemwingie saw those remarks as a stain on his character. He had a knee injury at the time – he posted a photo on Twitter to prove that was the case – and says he had agreed to cortisone injections on numerous occasions to get through games.
"I'm aware of the damage it can do and that it doesn't let you do full healing, but I came to England, I wanted to show everything I have got and I knew the team was normally one that could get relegated, so I said to myself: 'Anything it takes I'll give it,' and that's why it was very painful to take when Roy said it. But it was not only Roy, I felt it from the so-called hierarchy, that they were trying to put me under added pressure.
"My response was: 'Let me get well and I'm going to show it on the pitch when I'm fit.' I came back and started scoring and assisting goals, player of the month in February, scored the winner at Liverpool. But during that same season personal issues kicked in with a few team-mates and with one member of staff, Dean Kiely. He was nasty. We didn't say good morning for one and a half years. I don't want to have that in my life. Nevertheless, I always stayed professional – I want to play. Then Steve [Clarke] came and my feeling changed from a player that the manager was so desperate to have."
By the time January came around, Odemwingie wanted out and on the final day of the month he was confident he was about to become a Queens Park Rangers player. After meeting Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, and Garlick, who was about to take over in that role, Odemwingie was "100% sure the deal was happening. I said my goodbyes to everyone, even those who were not nice to me, I hugged it out before leaving."
The rest has gone down in deadline-day history. With the clock ticking down, players often drive within close proximity of a club before permission is granted – Gareth Barry admitted that he did exactly that last week with Everton – but Odemwingie's mistake was to advertise his presence by parking up outside Loftus Road and giving a live television interview at a time when Albion had not reached an agreement with QPR.
It was, the 32-year-old admits, an error of judgement, although he insists that he was not trying to force the deal through. He says he "would not even move a foot from Birmingham to London" if he had known it was crucial that Junior Hoilett moved in the opposite direction. He also feels that he was let down by his agents at the time.
After two hours sleep, Odemwingie drove into Albion's training ground. "On the morning of 1 February, Dan Ashworth apologised to me in front of Steve Clarke and Richard. He said: 'Peter, if I gave you the impression the deal was done, I'm sorry. Here is my phone with calls to Canada. I tried for it to happen.' I'm not going to claim I had written permission [to speak to QPR] because I didn't. But we were this close," Odemwingie says, holding his thumb and forefinger close together.
What Odemwingie did not take kindly to was Clarke's description of his actions. "The manager comes out and says it was 'total lunacy' [to drive to QPR]. In the country where I come from, with these kind of words, we don't take them lightly. The word lunacy cannot be associated with me. I am an absolutely normal person. 'Total lunacy' means you want to say that out of the blue I just appeared there without discussing [anything]."
A week later Albion issued a statement in which Odemwingie apologised for his actions and the club confirmed he had been disciplined and would resume full training with the first team and be available for selection. But in the wake of a goalless draw at Stoke in March, Odemwingie's patience snapped. He was aggrieved that he had been on the bench for a fourth match in succession and, not for the first time, took to Twitter to vent his anger. "Maybe I shouldn't have done it," says Odemwingie, when asked whether he regrets his tweets. "But nobody wanted to move on from what happened."
He went on to make three more appearances from the bench, the last of which was in the 4-0 defeat at Carrow Road in the penultimate game. "Everybody was unhappy and the manager asked everyone in the dressing room if anyone has anything to say. It was quiet. Then his assistant, Kevin Keen, spoke and blasted the team for a very poor performance.
"Then [Keen] finished. 'Anyone else?' There was nothing and then I said: 'Yeah, I want to say something.' I said: 'I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity again to speak with my team-mates, because I will probably be sold this summer. I want to apologise to Steve for, in his first year as a coach, having to deal with more issues outside of football than he should. But when he took over the job he knew what issues we have in the group and those were reasons why I wanted to leave.'
"And then I just asked a few players why I was the only one they used specific language to in situations and behaved in a way only to me. I only asked. After the players, I said to the doctor: 'You know me very well, my character and my dedication to football, I'm not a prima donna, you inject me all the time. You were very wrong to let Roy say [what he did about me].' And I said to the goalkeeper trainer, Dean: 'I don't know what your problem was since the beginning of me being in this club.' I said if it was the same words and actions towards everyone, no problem. But if it's only towards me, it's personal."
Albion responded by barring Odemwingie from training with the rest of the first-team players in the final week of the campaign and that treatment continued when he returned for pre-season. "The first day I came back, Richard Garlick said: 'There is a special dressing room, a personal dressing room only for you.'"
With no locker to clear, Odemwingie's exit was much more low-key the second time around and he was not about to repeat the mistake he made with QPR. "My agent told me they have the agreement, they are allowed to speak to you, you can come for a medical. I told him: 'Listen, until I have it from West Brom, I'm not going anywhere.'"
It is hard to escape the feeling that everyone has lost out. Odemwingie could have been an Albion legend – he scored 30 Premier League goals in 87 appearances, including a hat-trick against Wolves in a memorable 5-1 win at Molineux in February 2012 – and the club could badly do with the striker who was a breath of fresh air when he arrived from Lokomotiv Moscow.
Odemwingie pauses for a long time when asked how he thinks the public perceive him. "Stubborn maybe," he says. "But you know what, I don't think you can damage a reputation so fast, because until January, for West Brom fans and for the league, I was the perfect person, I like to speak to people, I'm not selfish. I have a temper and lost it maybe on Twitter but it piled up on me and it was too much. The issues were unresolved."
At Cardiff, he hopes to put everything behind him. "I realise that it is a lot of pressure, because I have to show I didn't lose it after six months. But I'm going to be lighter in the head," says Odemwingie, who claims he has not looked at the date of the Albion fixtures. "I'm still a good player for a Premier League club and a good man to have in the club."
Highs, lows and rows
Early years Born 15 July 1981 to Nigerian parents but raised in Russia. A member of the CSKA Moscow youth team, Odemwingie made his big breakthrough at Lille, for whom he scored 23 goals in 75 appearances
Move to Lokomotiv Odemwingie signed for Lokomotiv Moscow for £9m in 2007 but was subject to racist abuse by supporters. He also won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Nigeria
Move to England Odemwingie left Russia for the Midlands in 2010, a move greeted by Lokomotiv's racist element with a banner with a banana saying 'Thanks West Brom'. He scored 30 goals in 87 appearances for the Baggies and won the Premier League's player of the month award three times
Attempted QPR move In January 2013 Odemwingie tried to leave West Brom, attacking the club on Twitter and travelling to QPR for a move he believed was agreed. But no deal had materialised. He failed to make another appearance and signed for Cardiff City for £2.25m this month
Enjoy..
Peter Odemwingie: 'My fall-out at West Brom was with a few people'The Cardiff City striker is happy to put his troubled time at The Hawthorns behind him
Share 133Tweet this
inShare.0Email
Stuart James The Guardian, Friday 13 September 2013 21.04 BST
Peter Odemwingie feels free after his move from West Bromwich Albion to Cardiff City. Photograph: Gareth Phillips for the Guardian
The elevator doors at the hotel slide open and Peter Odemwingie emerges with a spring in his step. He is on good form, laughing about spending a few nights with his wife and young son in the penthouse suite where Madonna once stayed and expressing his surprise that he has seen so little rain since arriving in south Wales. It is his new club, though, that has done most to put a smile back on his face. "I'm like a bird that has been let out of the cage," Odemwingie says.
Freedom came in the form of a £2.25m transfer to Cardiff City at the beginning of last week, bringing an end to a West Bromwich Albion career that started so promisingly three years ago but ended in such bitter acrimony. The deal went through a few minutes before the 11pm transfer window deadline, after Odemwingie agreed to sign the compromise agreement that Albion insisted was in place before releasing his registration.
The relationship between the two parties had long broken down and it is a measure of how bad things had become that a couple of weeks before the window closed Odemwingie served notice to terminate his contract citing constructive dismissal. He claimed he had been alienated from the first team, excluded from the pre-season tour, made to train on his own for a week on two separate occasions and forced to change in a private dressing room. Albion appealed.
"What the chairman [Jeremy Peace] did was very clever," Odemwingie says. "At the beginning of the transfer window he told me he wants to keep me but he needs to speak with the manager. I waited for three weeks. Nothing. He said he was on holiday, he had just got back. He kept saying: 'Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll speak to the coach [Steve Clarke].'
"I phoned the coach myself. I said: 'Coach, the chairman said he wants to keep me, I thought you said I can be sold, we have agreed there is no way back for me.' [Clarke] said he hasn't talked to the chairman and has only spoken to Richard [Garlick, the sporting director].
"They were playing a game to win time. The chairman didn't turn up again and then they said: 'The chairman will call you in the next 24 hours.' I was waiting with my phone. After that I said: 'Enough is enough.' I phoned the lawyers. We sought counsel's opinion, I had a big chance for constructive dismissal. They said: 'The relationship has broken down, you can put in a notice of termination,' so I did that on 16 August and gave them the reasons. On 30 August they appealed. A Premier League panel was set up, we were just waiting on a date."
For Odemwingie, the relief that everything has now been put to bed is mixed with a desire to tell his side of the story. An intelligent and articulate man, Odemwingie accepts that he has made mistakes but he says that he was not alone. He is, though, quick to stress that he does not want to be disrespectful to Albion or tar everyone at the club with the same brush. "The last six months spoilt a lot but it can't spoil everything," the Nigeria international says. "I can't have anything against the whole club when my fallout was with a few people."
When charting how things started to unravel at Albion, Odemwingie goes back to the moment in November 2011, when Roy Hodgson, the then head coach, publicly questioned his willingness to play through the pain barrier. Odemwingie saw those remarks as a stain on his character. He had a knee injury at the time – he posted a photo on Twitter to prove that was the case – and says he had agreed to cortisone injections on numerous occasions to get through games.
"I'm aware of the damage it can do and that it doesn't let you do full healing, but I came to England, I wanted to show everything I have got and I knew the team was normally one that could get relegated, so I said to myself: 'Anything it takes I'll give it,' and that's why it was very painful to take when Roy said it. But it was not only Roy, I felt it from the so-called hierarchy, that they were trying to put me under added pressure.
"My response was: 'Let me get well and I'm going to show it on the pitch when I'm fit.' I came back and started scoring and assisting goals, player of the month in February, scored the winner at Liverpool. But during that same season personal issues kicked in with a few team-mates and with one member of staff, Dean Kiely. He was nasty. We didn't say good morning for one and a half years. I don't want to have that in my life. Nevertheless, I always stayed professional – I want to play. Then Steve [Clarke] came and my feeling changed from a player that the manager was so desperate to have."
By the time January came around, Odemwingie wanted out and on the final day of the month he was confident he was about to become a Queens Park Rangers player. After meeting Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, and Garlick, who was about to take over in that role, Odemwingie was "100% sure the deal was happening. I said my goodbyes to everyone, even those who were not nice to me, I hugged it out before leaving."
The rest has gone down in deadline-day history. With the clock ticking down, players often drive within close proximity of a club before permission is granted – Gareth Barry admitted that he did exactly that last week with Everton – but Odemwingie's mistake was to advertise his presence by parking up outside Loftus Road and giving a live television interview at a time when Albion had not reached an agreement with QPR.
It was, the 32-year-old admits, an error of judgement, although he insists that he was not trying to force the deal through. He says he "would not even move a foot from Birmingham to London" if he had known it was crucial that Junior Hoilett moved in the opposite direction. He also feels that he was let down by his agents at the time.
After two hours sleep, Odemwingie drove into Albion's training ground. "On the morning of 1 February, Dan Ashworth apologised to me in front of Steve Clarke and Richard. He said: 'Peter, if I gave you the impression the deal was done, I'm sorry. Here is my phone with calls to Canada. I tried for it to happen.' I'm not going to claim I had written permission [to speak to QPR] because I didn't. But we were this close," Odemwingie says, holding his thumb and forefinger close together.
What Odemwingie did not take kindly to was Clarke's description of his actions. "The manager comes out and says it was 'total lunacy' [to drive to QPR]. In the country where I come from, with these kind of words, we don't take them lightly. The word lunacy cannot be associated with me. I am an absolutely normal person. 'Total lunacy' means you want to say that out of the blue I just appeared there without discussing [anything]."
A week later Albion issued a statement in which Odemwingie apologised for his actions and the club confirmed he had been disciplined and would resume full training with the first team and be available for selection. But in the wake of a goalless draw at Stoke in March, Odemwingie's patience snapped. He was aggrieved that he had been on the bench for a fourth match in succession and, not for the first time, took to Twitter to vent his anger. "Maybe I shouldn't have done it," says Odemwingie, when asked whether he regrets his tweets. "But nobody wanted to move on from what happened."
He went on to make three more appearances from the bench, the last of which was in the 4-0 defeat at Carrow Road in the penultimate game. "Everybody was unhappy and the manager asked everyone in the dressing room if anyone has anything to say. It was quiet. Then his assistant, Kevin Keen, spoke and blasted the team for a very poor performance.
"Then [Keen] finished. 'Anyone else?' There was nothing and then I said: 'Yeah, I want to say something.' I said: 'I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity again to speak with my team-mates, because I will probably be sold this summer. I want to apologise to Steve for, in his first year as a coach, having to deal with more issues outside of football than he should. But when he took over the job he knew what issues we have in the group and those were reasons why I wanted to leave.'
"And then I just asked a few players why I was the only one they used specific language to in situations and behaved in a way only to me. I only asked. After the players, I said to the doctor: 'You know me very well, my character and my dedication to football, I'm not a prima donna, you inject me all the time. You were very wrong to let Roy say [what he did about me].' And I said to the goalkeeper trainer, Dean: 'I don't know what your problem was since the beginning of me being in this club.' I said if it was the same words and actions towards everyone, no problem. But if it's only towards me, it's personal."
Albion responded by barring Odemwingie from training with the rest of the first-team players in the final week of the campaign and that treatment continued when he returned for pre-season. "The first day I came back, Richard Garlick said: 'There is a special dressing room, a personal dressing room only for you.'"
With no locker to clear, Odemwingie's exit was much more low-key the second time around and he was not about to repeat the mistake he made with QPR. "My agent told me they have the agreement, they are allowed to speak to you, you can come for a medical. I told him: 'Listen, until I have it from West Brom, I'm not going anywhere.'"
It is hard to escape the feeling that everyone has lost out. Odemwingie could have been an Albion legend – he scored 30 Premier League goals in 87 appearances, including a hat-trick against Wolves in a memorable 5-1 win at Molineux in February 2012 – and the club could badly do with the striker who was a breath of fresh air when he arrived from Lokomotiv Moscow.
Odemwingie pauses for a long time when asked how he thinks the public perceive him. "Stubborn maybe," he says. "But you know what, I don't think you can damage a reputation so fast, because until January, for West Brom fans and for the league, I was the perfect person, I like to speak to people, I'm not selfish. I have a temper and lost it maybe on Twitter but it piled up on me and it was too much. The issues were unresolved."
At Cardiff, he hopes to put everything behind him. "I realise that it is a lot of pressure, because I have to show I didn't lose it after six months. But I'm going to be lighter in the head," says Odemwingie, who claims he has not looked at the date of the Albion fixtures. "I'm still a good player for a Premier League club and a good man to have in the club."
Highs, lows and rows
Early years Born 15 July 1981 to Nigerian parents but raised in Russia. A member of the CSKA Moscow youth team, Odemwingie made his big breakthrough at Lille, for whom he scored 23 goals in 75 appearances
Move to Lokomotiv Odemwingie signed for Lokomotiv Moscow for £9m in 2007 but was subject to racist abuse by supporters. He also won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Nigeria
Move to England Odemwingie left Russia for the Midlands in 2010, a move greeted by Lokomotiv's racist element with a banner with a banana saying 'Thanks West Brom'. He scored 30 goals in 87 appearances for the Baggies and won the Premier League's player of the month award three times
Attempted QPR move In January 2013 Odemwingie tried to leave West Brom, attacking the club on Twitter and travelling to QPR for a move he believed was agreed. But no deal had materialised. He failed to make another appearance and signed for Cardiff City for £2.25m this month
17
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Have we become spoilt?!
« on: September 01, 2013, 03:10:39 PM »Not at all. We aint nowhere near where we were in the late seventies
Preach brother PREACH
those were great days - teams like Juventus, St Etienne and Real Madrid were interested in our players; this speaks volumes when compared to who's courting the current crop.No disrespect to the guys in the squad, but we're at best a very "tidy" premiership outfit - however we are improving in a nicely organic steady fashion.
No bad thing IMHO
18
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Nicolas Anelka
« on: September 01, 2013, 03:00:00 PM »I think as a club we need to make our minds up.
We either are after players that are out to prove themselves or recruit players that are after a payday and couldn't give a toss about their employers or fans.
Sadly I think Nick falls into the later category.
Listening to the plethora of ex pros in the media, it should be noted that very few of them actually care about their employers or the fans; this is just a fact of life, ask yourself this question.
How much do you love or care about your job and employer over and above the fact that it feeds the family and pays for the roof over ones head?
19
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: When did we become long ball?
« on: August 20, 2013, 02:37:15 PM »We haven't.
On Saturday Southampton were quick to close down the midfield and put pressure on to the defenders carrying the ball out of defense causing them to panic and knock the ball long. If you watch our play we are usually looking to pass the ball to either mulumbu or yacob before going wide or on occasion knocking it over the top.
Quite right triple V ...they did their homework and worked us over - SIMPLES
20
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: 4-3-3 this season - risky?
« on: August 02, 2013, 09:05:25 PM »I hope 4 3 3 works better than at Norwich if we do use it
SC is a very astute and capable coach tactician... don't worry brothers
21
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: McAuley for captain
« on: April 17, 2013, 11:10:05 PM »If we make GMac captain I'm worried that Dawson would want to leave.
Good spot mate.
Dawson is having a great time at Bolton and is from that general neck of the woods, we need to bring him back into the fold before his head is turned, lets face it neither Gareth or Jonas are in the first flushes of youth.
22
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Is there a Clarke/Peace fallout??
« on: February 10, 2013, 10:15:28 PM »I dont think JP is that hands on with the coach anyhow. I think he leaves that to Ashworth/Garlick who report to the board. Only steps in when he feels he needs to.
Absolutely right Bud
Horses for courses....
23
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Problems
« on: February 06, 2013, 11:05:46 AM »No knee jerk , spitting is the lowest of the low.Nothing to do with Olsson or Odemwingie at all.Spitting is bad, but to listen to the sainted Alan "oops was that my elbow" Shearer..you'd think it was hanging offense... 1 weeks salary based fine...enough said???
Popov spat at a fellow player, no excuse at all.
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Quite right, Mr. Reid
« on: February 06, 2013, 10:45:10 AM »I agree, and the strongest one of all needs to be SC. I have a sneaking suspicion that he may be too much Mr NiceGuy. It will be now that we see if he has the leadership and motivational qualities that differentiate being a successful number one from a successful number two. There have been issues this week with Jonas, Odemwingie, and Popov that need stamping on fast, before they escalate even more. Has he got it in him? I dont know, but we will soon find out I guess.
"one is only truely tested in adversity"
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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Steve Clarke Sacked by Albion
« on: February 06, 2013, 09:24:18 AM »
the most sensible post on the matter for me..
The Swansea game changed our season
The "fat Lady" hasn't even begun to clear her throat yet, and you're trashing him already?
Stabilty, patience and continuity will out Bud
...don't lose your nerve.