The Baggies break away from their struggles in the Premiership to focus attention on the Carling Cup. And we just happen to have drawn Bryan Robson's former employers, Bradford City. The Yorkshire club have not been the same since their brief stay in the Premiership. The Bantams have fallen down to League One, where they sit mid-table at the moment. All Albion fans, of course, remember that magic day from three years ago at Valley Parade when an Igor Balis penalty in our penultimate match of the season virtually sealed our first promotion to the top flight. In the close season, Robbo had said that the Carling Cup would be one of his targets for the current season, as it could be used as a back door into Europe. But let's be honest. Are any Albion fans really bothered about a UEFA Cup place at the moment? It would be nice, certainly, but I don't relish the prospect of doing what Millwall did last season... compete very briefly in the UEFA Cup whilst toiling in the second tier of English football. Robson has promised to put in players who are fighting for a chance in the side. Normally I would hope we would deal a sound thrashing to the likes of Bradford, but right now, any sort of win - anything more than a draw or a loss - would be a positive for Albion right now.
Good win for the lads yesterday. I was only able to listen to part of the match during lunch, but it seemed like we controlled the tempo and were unlucky to allow Bradford the one goal. Still, it was only a mid-table League One side we beat. We will need to perform at a higher level if we hope to earn more points in the Premiership.
