Last season was West Bromwich Albion’s best in the English Premier League. The Baggies are on a high, so can they maintain momentum?
What happened last season
A stunning 3-0 opening day home win over Liverpool suggested the Black Country side meant business.
By the time the Baggies had recorded an incredible 5-5 draw at home to Manchester United on the final day of the season – in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game, no less – West Brom had registered their highest ever Premier League points tally.
Their form at their atmospheric Hawthorns home was impressive, with the likes of Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea all dispatched as Steve Clarke’s side went on to tally an impressive 14 wins in total.
An eighth place finish was no less than West Brom deserved on the back of 17 goals from on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, as the Baggies finished eight points clear of bitter local rivals Aston Villa.
What happened in the off-season
In somewhat of a blow for the Baggies, powerful Belgian striker Lukaku rejoined parent club Chelsea.
That means West Brom will need to look elsewhere for goals and they’ve turned to one of the most enigmatic strikers in the business to score them, as 34-year-old Frenchman Nicolas Anelka returns to the Premier League following a brief spell in Chinese football at Shanghai Shenhua.
The Baggies have also looked to shore up their defence, with veteran Uruguayan defender Diego Lugano drafted in from French moneybags Paris Saint Germain in a bid to add some experience at the back.
Fan favourite Zoltan Gera is expected to sign a new one-year deal after his previous contract expired, however fellow veterans Jason Koumas and Jerome Thomas have both moved on.
Why fans should be excited about the 2013/14 season
The Baggies took the Premier League by storm last season – or mid-table, at the very least – as they brandished an attractive, free-flowing style of football.
Much of that was built around the mercurial midfield talents of Gera and the goals of the powerful Lukaku, however with the Hungarian out of contract and still recovering from a serious knee injury and Lukaku’s loan now over, West Brom may struggle to replicate that blistering form.
Nevertheless, with a solid spine – which includes England goalkeeper Ben Foster, experienced defender Jonas Olsson, the creative Graham Dorrans and mercurial striker Peter Odemwingie – the Baggies still possess a solid core of talent.
Much will depend on whether coach Clarke can get the erratic Odemwingie to focus on the job at hand.
Last season, he bizarrely attempted to report for duty at Queens Park Rangers, despite the London club having not even signed him.
The main man that can carry 2013/14 hopes
Odemwingie is the man who should logically shoulder the burden of hope for Baggies fans, however last season’s comical attempt to force a mid-season transfer suggests the former Lokomotiv Moscow frontman doesn’t always have West Brom’s best interests at heart.
That means Anelka could well prove the key player for a club shorn of last season’s top scorer, Lukaku, some 18 months after the Frenchman left fellow Premier League side Chelsea.
Often characterised as a brooding, sullen striker, what the enigmatic Anelka lacks in the goals-per-game department he more than makes up for with a superb football mind.
If Anelka can lay on the goals for fellow strikers Shane Long and Markus Rosenberg and the likes of Dorrans, Odemwingie and potentially Gera all fire, then West Brom should prove capable of reprising their 2012/13 exploits.
Verdict – Mid-table
Many pundits expected West Brom to struggle when popular former manager Roy Hodgson departed to take over as England coach.
Instead, former Chelsea legend Clarke brought a new-found swagger to the Black Country, as West Brom brushed several pedigreed outfits aside in front of appreciative crowds at their intimidating Hawthorns home.
Home form could once again prove key for the Baggies, however Clarke has moulded a tight-knit unit and if his stars fire once again then West Brom should secure a mid-table position with relative ease.
New West Bromwich Albion signing Nicolas Anelka at one of his many previous clubs.
West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke.
Will Peter Odemwingie stay at West Bromwich Albion?
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