As predicted in my goalfood pre-season article, last season continued a seven year trend of ‘rollercoaster’ excitement down at the Hawthorns. This time, though, Albion fell at the final hurdle – or is that ‘failed to get on the last ride of the day at Alton Towers’ - meaning we face consecutive seasons in the Championship for the first time since 2001/02.
Make no mistake, getting promoted to the Premiership was the be all and end all for most Albion fans in the season just gone. Expectations were high from day one, and continued even after automatic promotion proved out of reach. To fail in the play-off final has left a pall of gloom hanging over the club and its internet message boards – facing another season playing against teams we thought we’d left behind forever; our best players strongly tipped to make their own way to the Premiership; and a feeling that, if it hasn’t left already, the last train to television riches is about to leave for the last time.
This partly sums up my feelings. I want us to be established in the Premiership, who wouldn’t? I want us to be on Match of the Day every Saturday - even if it is only for that token 2 minute ‘graveyard’ slot at the end of the programme - so that even non-football fans may vaguely have heard about West Bromwich Albion. I’d love it for my sons’ Albion shirts to actually get recognised by the locals as we walk round some Mediterranean holiday resort, and for them to say, ‘ah, West Brom, that’s who Darren Carter plays for……’
But aside from a bit of arrogance, a bit of self-justification, and a huge amount of fantasy, when you think about it, what’s the big deal?
Albion have had three seasons in the top-flight out of the last five. The first season was like a first date with the girl of your dreams – massive anticipation, total excitement, and compared to what you’d been used to, bloody expensive. But hey, it was fantastic, and even after you got the elbow, the warm glow continued for ages.
But gradually the novelty of getting beaten every week wears off (I’ve now exhausted my ‘girl of your dreams’ metaphor…..), players lose heart, and it shows, fans get frustrated with the players, the manager, the chairman and themselves, and, in Albion’s case, the club spirals downwards into a culture of negativity, mistrust and recrimination.
Life was simpler when we were shit. But now we’re neither great, nor awful, just caught in no-man’s land between being a good Championship side, and a poor Premiership one. Which leads to swingometer-style shifts in the mood surrounding the club – from super-optimistic when we get promoted, to manic depressive when we either fail at the higher level, or, as now, when we just fail to get there.
As I said before, why the big deal about being in the Premiership? Aside from Villa, all our nearest neighbours have been yo-yo-ing like us, so it’s not local bragging rights that are at stake. Personally, I rather like us winning games and being near the top of the Championship, not getting battered every week in the Prem. It’s easier to buy tickets in the second league (apart from when you get to Wembley!), it’s cheaper to watch the matches, and getting ignored by the nation’s media is arguably better than being patronised.
So, where does that leave me now? Perversely, I do still like the idea of being in the Premiership, but I’m left feeling that the enjoyment and achievement of getting there is actually better than the experience when you arrive.
A bit like the new Wembley Stadium in fact……
