Go West

It's been a while since I last blipped about the footy - of late, my journal has been much more Lanky than Baggie, and with good cause. November is traditionally a terrible month for Albion in our Premier League campaigns, and by and large, this year was no exception. Our incredible start to the season was pretty much cancelled out as the cold set in, and we lost at Blackpool (with more than a little help from the ref), got turned over by Man City at home, drew at West Ham (barely), were pipped away at Wigan and got battered at home by Stoke yet again.

Of course, that's just the nature of football's rollercoaster, and seeing the Albion lose one week will never stop me going back for more of the same seven days later, like the sporting masochist I am. But as with many Albion fans, I lean towards severe glumness after a bad result, and don't always feel like sharing that particular emotional experience on Blip. Basically, this feeling is institutionalised pessimism. I've been convinced for some time that the food and drink at the Hawthorns - or maybe the dye in the the replica shirts, for those of us in exile from the West Midlands - is tainted with some terrible substance that causes us to crash into debilitating depression at the most minor of setbacks, and monger doom like there's no tomorrow. Lose 1-0, and "the wheels have come off". Lose 2-0, and "we're going down". A three or four-goal defeat and "we deserve to be bottom", while five or six-goal hammerings will be accompanied by strident predictions of full economic collapse and global nuclear war within the week. God help us if we lose by more than six any time soon; they'll be jumping off the roof of the Brummie Road like lemmings.

But oh, how inspirational it can be when things start looking up again. Winning 4-1 at Goodison last week was the most positive end to November that anyone could possibly have hoped for, and in spite of a disappointing Carling Cup loss at Ipswich in midweek (which had certain voices pillorying the management with depressing predictability) we achieved a phenomenal win over Newcastle this afternoon. The last time we beat them in the league, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? was number one in the charts, and my chief pastimes were drinking milk and soiling my own nappies. This may give you some idea of how important today's victory was to me and so many of my poor, beleaguered Baggie confederates.

So, what next for the Albion? Well, we've got a fairly low-key fixture against some team called Aston Villa next Saturday, shortly followed by a stroll in the park against "the Wolverhampton Wanderers", whoever they are. In accordance with my newfound optimistic slant on the season, I shall keep you faithfully posted about the wonderful outcomes of these matches. Either that, or I'll be leaping off the nearest bridge with a blue and white shirt stuffed in my mouth, and a hardback copy of The History Of West Bromwich Albion Football Club chained to my leg. Because anything more than that would just be over-reacting.

Boing boing!