Tamara Clarkes Travel Blog: Being A Baggie

Friday, 20 April 2012

Being A Baggie

by John Atkinsonin Travel / Destinations (submitted 2012-04-09)

Supporting West Bromwich Albion has always had its highs and lows but recently there have been a lot more highs than there have been lows. This has been since the arrival of Roy Hodgson from Liverpool in January last season to take over the reigns as manager, we have gone from strength to strength and our once fragmented squad has been turned into a united team. This was again evident last Saturday when the might Chelsea visited the Hawthorns and left with their tails between their legs and no points after we were able to beat them one nil thanks to a display that oozed organisation, tactical awareness and defensive solidity. We were able to threaten on the counter-attack thanks to the pace of Odemwingie and Shane Long up front while Malumbu in central midfield was immense.

Though I grew up right round the corner from the stadium and used to go to games every week with my father, these days I live in London and so have to make the journey up the M1 whenever I want to watch my beloved Baggies play. The Chelsea game was one that I certainly wasn't going to miss and I booked myself into a Shrewsbury hotel so that I could catch up with a few old school friends after the match. I hadn't predicted a win and so was expecting to be drowning my sorrows so it was a pleasant surprise to find myself celebrating a victory over Roman Abramovich's collection of global superstars. Following our victory it looks as though Villas-Boas' reign as Chelsea manager could soon come to an abrupt end despite the £13.5 million that Abramovich paid Porto for his services, and should this be the case it will not be completely undue to the fact that the Portuguese manager has failed to spark Fernando Torres into goal-scoring form: the Spaniard has yet to score since his goal against Swansea in September, which was directly followed by him being sent off and then suspended for three games.

It looks like we will comfortably avoid the relegation zone come the end of the season and so I can look forward to looking for a Liverpool centre hotel next season when we go to visit Anfield. My brother is a Liverpool fan despite having grown up in West Bromwich so my father and I always give him stick for being a glory hunter and if we can get a result at Anfield then we'll undoubtedly be ribbing him for weeks. About the Author

John Atkinson is a London-based freelance journalist with a mission to make you a better and happier human being. Drawing attention to the peculiarities of life in the modern age is all part of the package. Check out his other articles for everything you need to know about travel destinations and Shrewsbury hotel

John Atkinson