West Bromwich Albion v. Barnsley (6 May) [R]

[DevilDave]

It all comes down to this.

We control our own destiny. Only a plucky team from Yorkshire stand in our way.

Win against Barnsley, and we still have life. We can add at least two more matches to our fixture list.

Lose... and others will decide our fate for us. Should our season end Sunday, I expect we will see massive changes round the Hawthorns in the close season... some which will not be positive, I'm certain.

We went into this season aiming for no less than promotion. One manager change and a bit of dabbling in the transfer market have brought us to this point. There's no use crying about having automatic promotion within our grasp months ago.

I honestly don't care who our opponents will be in a play-off semi-final, be it Derby, the Dingles, Saints etc. Our priority must be to just HAVE THAT CHANCE.

Our lads seemed to have lost their way in recent weeks. Will we somehow find that elusive vein of form that will carry us back to the promised land this weekend... and in the weeks to come?

[DevilDave]

An outright thrashing of our opponents came just at the right time to give our promotion hopes life. Take a properly-motivated Albion and pit them against a Barnsley side safely above the relegation places, and you have the ingredients for the perfect storm. The result: a Kevin Phillips hat-trick; a brace for Ellington; Koren and Gera getting the names on the scoresheet.

This is the kind of performance we will need in the play-offs.

In other news on the day... it's still unbelievable that Sunderland are champions given their start to the season. Kudos to Roy Keane for dispelling his doubters. Blues had the title in their hands, but failed to score at Preston. Still, they will be joining the Mackems.

On to the play-offs... and what an opponent in the semi-final. We will be facing the Dingles for the fourth and fifth times this season. Never was the saying "familiarity breeds contempt" more appropriate than now. Bring them on!!!

[TheOrator]

It'll be sweet when we eliminate your scum arse in the playoffs.

[DevilDave]

It'll be sweet when we eliminate your scum arse in the playoffs.

As usual, the Wulfs only come out of their holes when they've got a bit of diarrhoea (of the mouth, in this case... :rolleyes: )

I won't make a prediction myself... except to say that your last result against us was an aberration that does not reflect the gap between us. :p

[kwik1980]

That was a decent result by Albion today, but I'd almost toss out all of those results from the playoff-bound sides. 7-0 and a pair of 4-1s, and I'd be stunned if we get results anywhere near like that in the next week and a half.

So, we have a couple of weeks of much sniping from both sides of fans, and more carping about the ticketing programs of the folks down Molineux way. For those who haven't yet heard, away fan allocations will be cut for both legs of this tie, as the South Bank at Molineux raised enough bloody hell to get the police convinced that moving them for the benefit of having all the visiting supporters in one stand isn't really worth it.

The one concern I might have is that the Birmingham game a couple of weeks ago showed that Wolves can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as it were. It'll be close, 1-0, 2-1 something like that, still can't say definatively that we can pull it off though. Home field will be a huge advantage though, so I will say that we'll go to the Hawthorns with a lead in the tie. From there...who knows?

[DevilDave]

That was a decent result by Albion today, but I'd almost toss out all of those results from the playoff-bound sides. 7-0 and a pair of 4-1s, and I'd be stunned if we get results anywhere near like that in the next week and a half.

I don't see either you or us getting more than three goals in each leg. I agree it's going to be a much tighter affair than either of our results today; nobody will want to make that crucial mistake. Conversely, Mowbray & McCarthy are managers who will want their teams really going for it from the opening kick-off.

So, we have a couple of weeks of much sniping from both sides of fans, and more carping about the ticketing programs of the folks down Molineux way. For those who haven't yet heard, away fan allocations will be cut for both legs of this tie, as the South Bank at Molineux raised enough bloody hell to get the police convinced that moving them for the benefit of having all the visiting supporters in one stand isn't really worth it.

I read about that this morning, and the tit-for-tat regarding the away allocations is hardly unexpected. If W***es don't want us in their South Bank, fine. (But to say Albion's FA Cup result was partly due to our being in the South Bank is ludicrous.) I suppose there was no possibility of us getting more of the Steve Bull stand as well. So you can't really expect for us to allow you more of the Smethwick End in the second leg. What I wouldn't give to be an Albion fan on the other side of the police line in the Smethwick that night...

The one concern I might have is that the Birmingham game a couple of weeks ago showed that Wolves can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, as it were. It'll be close, 1-0, 2-1 something like that, still can't say definatively that we can pull it off though. Home field will be a huge advantage though, so I will say that we'll go to the Hawthorns with a lead in the tie. From there...who knows?

Albion have done the same recently... lost games we should have won given either early leads or chances on goal. I honestly don't know what to expect next week after the last few weeks. Should be a good pair of games, though.

[kwik1980]

I read about that this morning, and the tit-for-tat regarding the away allocations is hardly unexpected. If W***es don't want us in their South Bank, fine. (But to say Albion's FA Cup result was partly due to our being in the South Bank is ludicrous.) I suppose there was no possibility of us getting more of the Steve Bull stand as well. So you can't really expect for us to allow you more of the Smethwick End in the second leg. What I wouldn't give to be an Albion fan on the other side of the police line in the Smethwick that night...


I actually thought that the Albion statement on the situation on their website was a nice little bit of gamesmanship to kick off the festivities of sniping at each other we're sure to get over the next week or so:

http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10366~1021824,00.html

For some reason, when the real big matches come up, Wolves can't seem to set up ticketing without ticking off at least half their fanbase and sprouting a weeks worth of newspaper articles on it. The playoff final a couple of years ago right on through.

So, we're off and running. Sunday at Molineux, Wednesday at The Hawthorns, and then someone's off to Wembley.