Owls v West Brom Matchday Thread

[Holmowl]

           SATURDAY 27th APRIL

                   3pm Kick-Off

 

QPR have just stuffed Leeds. If you want something doing properly, do it yourself.
 

A short diversion before we discuss the insanity of the Championship 2024.

 

Saturday 15th September, 1984.

 

West Brom (away) was the 6th game of our first season back in the First Division, under Wilko. The season had started better than any of us could have imagined:

 

Arsenal                                 10pts

West Ham United               10 pts

Nottingham Forest               9 pts

Sheffield Wednesday           9 pts

 

Our home results had been superb:

Forest - Won 3-1

Southampton - Won 2-1

Tottenham - Won 2-1  (video below)

 

 

Unsurprisingly we’d found life away from Hillsborough much tougher, with 2-1 defeats at Newcastle and Stoke.

 

Glowing in the aftermath of the latest home win against fancy-dans Tottenham (do people still say “fancy-dans”?), Nev and I decided we simply had to start going to away matches. However, as I’ve said before, that was easier said than done on our meagre Giro-cheques. 

 

We scraped enough cash together to buy coach tickets. The coach had about 40 blokes, half a dozen ladies and a few kids. It had a tv on which the organiser put a VHS (how old am I?) of the recent Spurs game. 
 

Half way through the journey the coach pulled into some services. The women and kids got off for a pee and a Yorkie, but oddly all the fellas stayed on. No sooner had the ladies entered the building, the organiser put his thumbs up and shouted “We’re on!”, and quickly swapped the Spurs vid for what I can only describe as a nature film. Not because it featured David Attenborough, but because it featured two charming Scandinavian young ladies and a horse. 
 

This Oscar-winning classic was watched with great enthusiasm for 5 minutes, until the ladies emerged from the services, at which point Ingrid, Agnetha and Red Rum were quickly replaced by Varadi, Shelton and Sterland. The ladies got back on the coach none the wiser. Amazing. 

 

Two hours later, at the Hawthorns, we stood behind the goal with thousands of fellow Owls. The match started. Unfortunately the players didn’t. After 6 minutes we were already 1-0 down. The Baggies had a young, tall, powerful athletic centre-forward who thundered a header past keeper Martin Hodge.

 

 

9 minutes into the second-half that same powerful centre-forward scored again. He had us on toast. I was stood there questioning my decision to hitch-hike and contemplating our long journey home.

 

It all changed. The superb Imre Varadi pulled one back after 57 minutes, after which the players were transformed. It was like watching a different team. We were all over them like a cheap suit. We camped in their half and did everything but score….until the 88th minute. Diminutive dynamo Gary Shelton…GOAL…cue Bedlam. 

 

We were all over them for that final few minutes, but couldn’t nick the winner, but 2-2, our first away point back in the big boys league. A fantastic day in a fantastic season.

 

I couldn’t find a pic or a video of the game, but two weeks later we played one of our most famous games in living memory, at Anfield, with the same two scorers, Varadi and Shelton. I don’t need much of an excuse to show or watch THAT game again!

 

 

By the way, we later signed that same young, tall, powerful, athletic centre-forward – Garry Thomson. Sadly he insisted on bringing his banjo and his cow’s arris with him and flopped at S6, but not for want of trying.

 

ENOUGH, ENOUGH…move over 1984. Make way for 2024.

 

I cannot believe that Danny and the players who worked so hard last Sunday, will give up what they have strived for since October. The heart this group has shown against all odds has been phenomenal. 

 

This weekend I honestly think we’ll take another forward stride. This isn’t just baseless footie-fan wishful-thinking. Let’s look at form:

 

Last 4 games – Owls WDDW

 

That puts us 5th in the form table! Crazy.

 

West Brom’s recent form is poor: P6  W1  D3  L2

(and the win was Rotherham!)

 

And their away form is equally poor:

P6  W1  D4  L1

Leicester Lost 2-1

Stoke Drew 2-2

Millwall Drew 1-1

Huddersfield Won 4-1

QPR Drew 2-2

Hull Drew 1-1

 

Their league position commands great respect, they have some terrific players, but right now they are absolutely nothing special. 

 

And there’s another huge factor - 31,000 home fans in a sold-out Hillsborough. It’s going to be electric. Corberan has them playing lovely possession football and will be doing his damnedest to keep us lot quiet by keeping the ball early doors, but Danny is one smart cookie, and he’ll have a plan for that.

 

A measure of the progress we have made, the bookies can hardly separate the team in 21st place and the team who will be playing off for the Prem in a few weeks’ time:

 

Owls 15/8

Baggies 6/4

 

They see this match as the most likely draw in the division this weekend, and I can see why. 

 

Personally, I’m not giving a second thought to next week. For me its all about this weekend. 

 

Elsewhere:

Blackburn v Coventry

Huddersfield v Birmingham

Millwall v Plymouth

Southampton v Stoke

 

Yet again, only someone who’s lived in a cave for the past 2 months would guess individual match outcomes, but it’s a pretty safe bet that there’ll be a mix of good and bad for us. 
 

It would be great to get some help elsewhere, but now it’s in our hands it is overwhelmingly about what we do. And this is where we can help.

 

 

We can do this.

 

Sleep well. Yeah, right.

 

COYO

Danny, Danny Röhl

 

 

 

Edited April 26 by Holmowl

[Geörge Whitebread]

COME ON WEDNESDAY!!!

Edited April 26 by Geörge Whitebread

[REDOWL]

Usual top quality thank you @Holmowl, these trips down Memory Lane are excellent. 

Regarding tomorrow it's in our own hands and we will be victorious. 

 

[Morepork]

"If you want something doing properly, do it yourself." words to live by.

 

Lets do this. 

 

Thanks @Holmowl you're a gem.

[Rev Owl]

Come on you Blue and White Wizards....

[duncanidaho]

a point at least please.

[Ibbo48]

Brilliant , Holmowl 

A classic OMTD 

Garry Thompson ?

Oh dear , how we hoped he’d be THE man 

What a massive disappointment.

2-0 at Anfield , though 

What heady days they were.

Ive no idea what’ll happen tomorrow 

Impossible to call

[Lombardo]

Thanks holmowl. Some good memories there.

Hoping for a win tomorrow and few results to go our way.

Setting off early for this one. Aiming for a bacon butty at Scotch corner for 9 to get to the turnstiles in good time (note for all) 

[Doghouse Daz]

Grandkids will be strapped to their seats. I aint chasing after em at my age come the pitch invasion. 

 

3 - 1 to THE MIGHTY OWLS 

 

COME ON YOU BLUE AND WHITE WIZARDS  !!!

[BRADDO]

Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Wednesday!

[MAL]

Get it done, you Futher Muckers 

[CircleSeven]

No clue what will be the outcome of this weekends fixtures. Other than it will go to the last game…

[maidstoneowl]

 

Strewth, this is it now.

 

[TommyCraig]

Oh deary me, here we go again. I don't think I've not had a thought about this game, at least every 30 minutes, since the final whistle went at Ewood. Why the bleedin' hell so we do it to ourselves?

The least I'm expecting is desire and fight from the lads and I hope and pray that will be enough. 

Well say goodbye to a few but you're Owls forever now. 

UTO. 2-1.

[HIGHERSTATE]

We've got tickets on the bottom of the leppings lane..wish us luck finding our seat safely.

[jamiej]

Was at that West Brom game all those years ago . Wednesday were terrific but missed chances and Thompson looked the real deal, shame it didn’t work out for him at Wednesday but just wasn’t meant to be . On to tomorrow think a draw is most likely but obviously hope for a win and other results go our way but this league is crazy we could lose or win 10-0 tomorrow and still stay up or get relegated 

[33]

C'MON WEDNESDAY 

C'MON LADS

UTO

[DSandersonOWL]

I think that Danny's dream that we win our last 3 games is a possibility

This crazy league means all these other key games tomorrow could go either way,  but chances are a couple will be good 4 us.

This is going to last round of games

What excitement! Much better than mid-table mediocrity!

A side-note: When Ron Atkinson first managed WBA, they became the first top tier team to field 3 black players regularly on a regular basis, so I recently learnt ! 

[Lowry]

Must win

[Prendo's boots]

We'll battle and chase and scrap and scrap some more - We'll win this!! 

Edited April 27 by Prendo's boots