Mark Brailsford on press room ‘lerve’

As this is the romantic period of the early spring, depending on your view of Valentine’s Day, it might interest some of you to gain an insight into a rarely glimpsed aspect of The Albion’s day to day operation. The gentlemen of the press have a room beneath the stadium that serves as a gathering place and information portal replete with a constant supply of tea and gossip. Reporters, photographers, Sky pundits, and Albion match-day media staff, all gather purposefully for the moment the team sheet is handed round to an expectant fourth estate.

“A quiet member blurts out excitedly that Hoskins will be up front with Ulloa”

As the team sheets are distributed around the media room, a frisson of murmuring which passes for shouts of surprise in this realm of wizened hacks, rises from the huddling hoards of scribes, scurrying deep within the bowels of this Cathedral of Dreams. Like the fans, the first name everyone looks out for is the already legendary Vicente. The names of Buckley and Hoskins are read out; a usually quiet member of this colony of the press blurts out excitedly that Hoskins will be up front with Ulloa. The room seems to come to a collective view that for this game, Poyet is clearly going for it.

The scribes hastily dart to their laptops and start typing, you can see the germination of their angle in their eyes, this is a side built to attack! Then the more circumspect journos eye the list of players from the opposition. Blackburn line up with a premier league striker DJ Campbell and the prolific Jordan Rhodes, captained by that seasoned dreadnought Danny Murphy, a daunting proposition indeed. Hardened pressmen engage their cynicism for the purposes of balance, although no one’s fooled. The match is set to be a ding dong battle and that is exactly what it turns out to be. It is gripping stuff, like watching two heavyweight boxers going toe to toe.

Final whistle, cue frantic typing and radio reporters shouting into their mouth pieces, attempting to convey the mood as they search for yet another superlative for the Spanish magician in the number 15 shirt. This Titanic struggle of a game, ends up even on points in both senses of the word, Vicente equalising with a penalty. The match is a testament to the intensity and quality of the Championship, and these scribes are sharing it with the world, and, despite their cool air of detachment, you can see that they bloody love it.

They make a futile attempt to dispassionately report the prosaic match facts: that Blackburn are clearly on the mend under new manager Appleton but the press plaudits will be with Poyet’s Albion team, especially that superlative first 20 minutes when the speed and technique was a thing of beauty and they cannot resist.

Like the riveted fans around this atmospheric and seething cauldron the press box has been sat on the edge of its seat, the fans desperately willing the team on, the scribes trying their utmost not to get emotionally involved with the ebb and flow of the game. This emotional charge is shared by fans and scribes alike, this is man-love for Vicente. These men (for they are nearly always men) may have the steely, flint-freckled gaze of the bunker dwelling wordsmith, but at heart they are all still the boys who dreamt of playing the game. They are still the wide-eyed child who thrilled to exploits of heroes past and, in the apparition in the number 15 shirt, have rediscovered this passion through one man, the legend that is Vicente. The gentlemen of the press? Think of them as fans with a laptop.

QPR 1 – Albion 3

Three goals in five minutes completed an astonishing comeback as Albion’s development squad ran out 3-1 winners at QPR last week.

Luke Williams’ side struggled to gain any control of the game until the latter stages, but an extraordinary five minutes turned the game on its head.

Williams’ side soon hit back after QPR’s goal with Solly March scoring for the Albion, followed by George Barker’s magnificent strike just two minutes later. Brennan Dickenson wrapped up the three points moments after.
The result keeps Albion’s unbeaten run intact for 2013.
Words: Adam Tighe

Poyet proud of performance

Proud Albion boss Gus Poyet felt that his side played the best football of his tenure so far, and felt that his side deserved more than the one point following a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers last Tuesday night.

The Uruguayan told seagulls.co.uk: “There were moments where I have never seen teams play that way in this division and it’s difficult to put it into words. During the first 23 minutes we were a class act.

“I don’t remember seeing a team with that quality, technical ability, the pace, precision and the tactical ability. The boys were tactically outstanding.”

Photo: Paul Hazlewood
Words: Will Jago