Up the Albion

Mark Brailsford on the match changes to come

As we enter another international break Gus Poyet and his men can breathe easily and take stock of the season so far. There is a saying in football: never look at the table until October. But Albion fans have been basking in the glow of one of the best starts by an Albion side for generations and have been checking the table more often than they used to.

Going into the international break, The Seagulls may have settled into a top six spot, which in no way looks like free fall from the giddy heights of top of the league. However, there we are mixing it with the likes of Liverpool who got a run for their money in that scintillating second half of the League Cup game and of course the match against Leeds United, which was Championship football at its best.

Time to recharge

So, The Albion can recharge their batteries and allow some of the inevitable knocks and niggles to heal in readiness for the grueling winter ahead. If weather forecasters are to be believed (about as predictable as an Albion scoreline!) then we may be in for a harsh and early winter.

Fortunately The Amex has state of the art under-soil heating and is built to withstand the onslaught of a harsh winter so the matches should proceed whatever the weather. As to whether the transport system will manage to cope that’s anyone’s guess, but I advise the early purchase of snow shoes, just in case.

When’s kick off?

The Albion’s match schedule has had some criticism of late, with a long gap (almost three months) between Saturday matches with a 3pm kick-off time. There are weekend home matches but they have a mixture of kick-off times and dates.

The next match after the international break is against Hull City and that kicks off at 5.30pm. The home game against Barnsley is at least a 3pm kick off, but it falls on a Sunday.

The game that made it seem a switch too far is Albion VS West Ham, which has been moved from Saturday 22 October to Monday 24 October at the behest of Sky. Critics will say that the sacrificing of the traditional 3pm Saturday kick off will prove unpopular with a majority of fans, but this is a sign of The Albion’s success. Plus there is the magnificence of The Amex stadium to consider, which is going to make televising Albion games very attractive to Sky and the BBC.

There is also the pulling power of Gus Poyet. The manager’s charisma is a magnet for Sky in particular who seem to love him almost as much as Albion fans. The Albion have banked over £300,000 so far from televised matches. Success breeds media interest and as long as The Albion’s matches are in demand then perhaps a shifting calendar is worthwhile if it means The Albion push for promotion.

Enjoy the break, see you for the Hull game!

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Photo: copyright – Paul Hazlewood