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Albion sweat on Moore's fitness
(28/2/02) |
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| Gary Megson is hoping Darren Moore is fit for Saturday's trip
to Wimbledon and admits Albion have struggled to defend set pieces without him.
The 27-year-old has missed the last three games with a calf injury and Megson
believes Millwall's winner at The New Den last week and Preston's single-goal
victory on Tuesday came about as a direct result of Albion's inability to deal
with dead-ball situations. He said: "We lost two of our last three games to
poor defending at set pieces. This makes our game at Wimbledon as important as
any we have played this season. "They're a good set piece team and we have got
to make sure we tighten up at the back if we are to get the result we want."
The Dons have had a fairly mediocre season treading water in mid-table although
they are unbeaten in February and won 1-0 at Millwall in their last outing.
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Preston NE 1 v 0 West Brom Match report
>>
(26/2/02) |
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| West Brom missed their eighth penalty of the season and the
chance to go second in the table as Preston sealed a 1-0 win over Gary Megson's
men. Scott Dobie was the unfortunate man as his spot-kick came back off the bar
early in the second-half and the home side also fired a penalty against the
woodwork minutes later through Richard Cresswell. Dickson Etuhu's bullet header
midway through the second-half was enough for Preston to seal the win, but The
Baggies failed to move above Manchester City, who can extend their advantage to
five points against Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow, and remain in third spot.
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Late tests for key duo
(26/2/02) |
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| Darren Moore and Danny Dichio face late fitness tests, while
Andy Johnson and Des Lyttle are available for tonight's trip to face Preston.
Albion can move into second spot behind local rivals Wolves if they can do the
double over The Lillywhites, but Gary Megson knows it will be a tough game with
Preston desperate to keep their own promotion push alive. |
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Sigurdsson's contract admission
(25/2/02) |
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| Larus Sigurdsson insists he would "love"
to stay at West Brom but admits there is still "a big difference" in his
ongoing contract negotiations. The highly-rated Icelandic defender is out of
contract at the end of the season and boss Gary Megson is desperate to tie him
to the club for the foreseeable future. However, Sigurdsson has revealed that
initial talks with The Baggies boss have failed to resolve the differences
between the two parties - but insists he is desperate to stay in the West
Midlands and is hopeful an agreement can be reached soon. He said: "There is
still a big difference and, at the moment, it is not looking too promising. But
I would love to stay with West Brom - nothing would please me more. Hopefully
something will be sorted out in the near future." Sigurdsson is now a regular
in Albion's defence having previously been out in the cold at the start of
Megson's reign, and he would be vital to The Baggies' hopes of Premiership
survival if they can achieve promotion this season. |
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Boss philosophical despite big win
(24/2/02) |
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| Gary Megson believes Albion's chances of gaining automatic
promotion are still very slim despite yesterday's 5-0 win over Portsmouth. The
Baggies easily saw off Pompey at The Hawthorns to keep them in the play-off
hunt and move within two points of Manchester City, who drew 0-0 at Walsall.
However, City have two games in hand over West Brom, while local rivals Wolves
have played the same amount of games as Megson's side but are seven points
ahead at the top. Megson said: "We've now got 11 difficult games left to play
against teams around us in the table. "I think it's going to take an almighty
slip by the top two if another club is to take advantage. "We've got more
points at this stage of the season than last season, but at the moment we are
still trying to consolidate our position in the top six." The Baggies boss was,
though, delighted with his side's effort in the 5-0 win although he felt they
could have won by an even greater margin. "That was a good performance with a
lot of good individual performances," he added. "That's my biggest win since I
took over at the club, but at the end of the day it should have been more.
"Andy Johnson and Jason Roberts both missed good chances but I thought Johnson
was fantastic today. "He has been a credit to the club since he finally got
himself fully fit, and he's doing everything we knew he could." |
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West Brom 5 v 0 Portsmouth Match
Report >>
(23/2/02) |
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| Jason Roberts grabbed a brace as promotion-chasing West Brom
put struggling Portsmouth to the sword with a 5-0 win at The Hawthorns today.
West Brom started the game on fire and striker Scott Dobie had the first effort
on goal for The Baggies, but his 25-yarder was tipped round post by Pompey's
veteran keeper Dave Beasant as early as the second minute. |
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MEGSON GIVES CHELTENHAM CREDIT
(18/2/02) |
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| Gary Megson gave credit to Cheltenham after his side won 1-0 in
the FA Cup fifth round. Daniele Dichio scored the only goal of the game to give
the Division One side victory. "They certainly don't look like a Division Three
team to me and can go up if they play like that for the rest of the season,"
Megson said. "They made it difficult for us and we didn't show enough patience
or pass the ball well enough to bring them out of the shape they were in. "But
when you play cup football, its always about the result and we are delighted to
be into the last eight. "We've not been in the sixth round for 20 years and it
means as much to me as it does to the club and the supporters." |
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WBA 1 - 0 Cheltenham Match report >>
(16/2/02) |
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| Gary Megson was understandably happy after he had become the
first manager in 20 years to take West Brom to the quarter-finals of the FA
Cup. The Baggies made it into the last eight courtesy of a 1-0 win over
Cheltenham, as Daniel Dichio’s 64th minute goal was enough to see them
through. “It means a great deal to me, the players and the club,”
Megson told BBC radio. “But most of all it means a great deal to the
support. “The atmosphere today was unbelievable. I’m really hopeful
we can get a home draw. “Not because I would be scared about going away
anywhere from home, but because I think it would be a great thank-you for our
supporters. “When you look and see where we play our football, and the
area we are in, they have a great deal of choice to go and support Premiership
clubs not too far away from here, but they choose to stick with West Brom
through thin and thinner. “They do keep the support going, and that was
the fourth time we’ve broken our record gate receipt.” Now Megson
hopes his club’s quarter-final clash is played at the Hawthorns.
“I’m really hopeful we can give them another home tie in the
quarter-finals.” |
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HOULT
BOOST(15/2/02) |
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| Russell Hoult has handed West Brom an FA Cup boost by
declaring himself fit for the fifth-round tussle with Cheltenham. There were
fears in-form Hoult had suffered a broken nose in a clash with Norwich's Trevor
Benjamin, but he soldiered on after lengthy treatment. Darren Moore is also set
to continue despite needing surgery on a hernia. |
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Wolves fined for the
brawl |
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| Wolves have been fined £2,500 by the FA after being
found guilty of failing to exercise proper control during last month's derby
against West Bromwich Albion. The club were charged with misconduct after a
challenge by Albion midfielder Jordao on Alex Rae led to a mass brawl at the
match on December 2. The flare-up involved around 18 players and led to
bookings for Wolves skipper Paul Butler and winger Shaun Newton. Manager Dave
Jones, who attended the hearing, said: "I am very disappointed and I think the
fine is a token gesture." The Baggies were found not guilty on a separate
charge of threatening behaviour at the disciplinary hearing in Birmingham.
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Johnson withdraws from the welsh squad
(12/2/02) |
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| Andy Johnson has been forced to pull out of the Wales squad
because of a hamstring injury. The 27-year-old was hoping to win his eighth
international cap, against Argentina. Gary Megson says Johnson's below-par
display against Norwich was largely due to the niggling hamstring problem.
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Megson sweats as Baggies march on
(11/2/02) |
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| West Brom boss Gary Megson admits he is living on the edge of
his seat as his side continue to secure narrow victories in their pursuit of an
automatic promotion spot. Sunday's win over Norwich was the Baggies' 12th 1-0
victory of the season and they have now kept clean sheets in six successive
games. Megson said: "We seem to keep clocking up 1-0 victories. We just can't
seem to crack on and make it 2-0, but it's not for want of trying." The win
took West Brom to within a point of Black Country rivals Wolves, and they are
still only four points behind First Division leaders Manchester City. But
Megson is not resting on his laurels and added: "We have got a lot going for us
at the moment, but there are still a number of things we have got to improve on
in the coming weeks. "We are now building a gap over the chasing teams, but the
trick now is not only to consolidate but to improve. We are by no means the
finished article." |
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West Brom 1-0 Norwich Match Report
>>
(10/2/02) |
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| A powerful header from striker Danny Dichio earned West Brom a
fifth successive victory in their determined bid to stay in the race for
automatic promotion. The £1.25m forward - on target for only the third
time in 15 games - secured the points at the Hawthorns with his all-important
41st-minute strike. Neil Clement chipped a perfect left-wing cross into the
heart of the Norwich defence where Dichio rose superbly to guide the ball past
goalkeeper Robert Green. |
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James will be offered a new contract
(9/2/02) |
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PAUL Thompson has set the record straight over newspaper
claims that Albion have yet to offer James Chambers a new contract. Reports
suggested the break-up of the club’s most famous footballing twins - both
out of contract in the summer - was imminent, stating Adam has been offered a
new four-year deal while James is likely to miss out. But Hawthorns chairman
Thompson insists there has never been any question that the club WILL be
offering 21-year-old James a new contract. And he claims Albion have an
agreement with the twins’ agent, Mel Eves, that they will only discuss
terms with James once negotiations have been concluded with Adam. "The position
is very clear," said Thompson. "We offered James a new contract last season but
he didn’t want to sign it at that point. "We have offered Adam a new
contract recently and we have agreed with Mel Eves that we won’t start
discussions with James until we have dealt with Adam. "We will be offering
James a new contract and we are pursuing the discussions with Mel Eves
regarding Adam’s new deal." Thompson confirmed Adam has been offered a new
four-year deal after emerging as a key squad member with a string of tigerish
displays in the middle of the park. James, however, has made just one League
start all season, despite playing a pivotal role in Albion’s march into
the play-offs last term after featuring in Gary Megson’s XI 32
times. |
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Sigurdsson set for new deal at West Brom(8/2/02) |
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| Larus Sigurdsson is close to putting pen to paper on a two-year
extension to his contract at the Hawthorns. The defender, who joined West Brom
from Stoke City in 1999, has refused two offers of a new deal but is thought to
have accepted the club's latest offer and should sign next week. The
28-year-old, who was voted the club's Player of the Year in season 1999-2000,
had initially expressed a desire to return to Iceland but with West Brom lying
third in division one, the prospect of Premiership football next season appears
to have prompted a change of heart. |
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Megson: John too expensive
(7/2/02) |
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| West Brom manager Gary Megson's search for another striker
continues after Stern John became the latest to slip the Baggies boss's net.
Megson is on the lookout to bring a proven goalscorer to the club in order to
keep Albion's automatic promotion hopes alive. John is on his way to city
rivals Birmingham - pending a work permit - after Megson admitted defeat due to
the Trinidad and Tobago striker's wage demands. "The wages Stern John would
have required were quite high," Megson said. "We inquired about him and knew
what he would want but we couldn't get anywhere near that." Meanwhile the
Baggies boss has made it clear to Northern Ireland's James Quinn that his days
at the Hawthorns are numbered. It was another blow for Quinn, who was also left
out of the Northern Ireland squad to play Poland in Cyprus next Wednesday.
Megson told the club's official website: "Quinny had the opportunity to join
Hull on loan and play some football at the top of the Third Division. "He
decided to turn it down and wait until his contract runs out in the summer. "He
won't be an Albion player after that and it's not my job to run this place for
James Quinn or anybody else." |
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Megson defends goal hero Roberts
(4/2/02) |
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| Gary Megson leapt to the defence of two-goal Baggies hero Jason
Roberts after he ended Sunday's 2-0 win at Burnley in the dressing room. The
Albion boss hauled off his livewire striker after a heated exchange with
Burnley midfielder Kevin Ball and referee Jeff Winter after taking an elbow in
the face. Roberts bagged both goals in the first half to move Megson's side up
to third in the table but he was booked for dissent as he was shepherded off
the field by team-mates towards the end. "Jason is a handful when he is in that
sort of form and he took his goals very well," said Megson. "There were
occasions when Burnley couldn't cope and resorted to pulling him back. At the
end we took him off as a safeguard. "I couldn't see what went on from my point
of view. All I know is that he has had three stitches over his eye. "It was a
big win for us against a Burnley side who had three games in hand on us and who
don't lose many games at home. "We're right in the thick of it now and with a
third of the season to go we're in a strong position." |
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Burnley 0 - 2 Albion >> Match Report
(3/2/02) |
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| Jason Roberts bagged a brace as West Bromwich Albion ended a
run of three successive 1-0 victories with a 2-0 success over Burnley at Turf
Moor. Gary Megson's impressive Baggies moved up to third in the Nationwide
Division One table as Burnley's recent dip in form continued and the Clarets
were unable to climb back into the play-off places after dropping out of the
top-six for the first time this season earlier in the day. |
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