Football Royalty
8th September 2022. The day a stalwart left us. No, I’m not talking about the member of the royal family that Roma fans suggested was partial to oral sex, I’m referring to G****m P****r.
That day it felt like the good ship Albion had been sunk. Despair. Anger. Upset. Just some of the emotions from that time. Let’s admit it, we didn’t know the path forward, or whether the good times were coming to an end.
He had turned us from relegation survivors into a team that could compete with the best. Those were good times, but little did we know things were about to get even better.
Roll on Roberto. Looking sharp as he got off the private jet in Biggin Hill, not being able to speak a word of English. This felt like a big change in the type of manager we were appointing. Five games later, following the worst start any Albion manager has ever had, there were people questioning whether he had what it took, and whether our fears were coming true.
In hindsight, all we needed was P****r’s return for De Zerbi to show his magic. That result against Chelsea was the catalyst for us to turn the Premier League upside down and for De Zerbi to show the world a style of football that was different to anything seen before.
What a whirlwind the past two years have been. A team for the ages last season that beat anyone put in front of it, to the incredible European adventure this season which saw us beat Roma, Marseille, AEK Athens and Ajax (twice). Those achievements will go down in Albion folklore and legend, as will De Zerbi.
He will forever be the manager that led us to Europe for the first time, that transformed what we could expect as fans, and truly propelled the Albion onto the international stage.
Personally, I’ll be forever grateful to RDZ. He energised us as fans, connected us to the team in a way that his predecessor never did. He spoke his mind, albeit in a more troublesome way more recently, but his honesty was refreshing in a world where football is so sanitised.
He showed a passion for the Albion that wouldn’t be amiss on the terraces. The way he’d celebrate goals fired me up, and I’m sure everyone else too.
The fact that we’ve had a chance to say goodbye, show our appreciation, and had one last celebration of what he’s achieved for us, was the best case scenario. It would have been harder if he left in the summer with no opportunity to say goodbye.
But why did I bring up P****r at the start? Well, for me this doesn’t feel as bad as when he left.
We all thought the worst before, but Tony Bloom yet again showed his shrewdness, and a clear identity for the way he wanted the club to play. De Zerbi has accelerated the development of the club to a point that I genuinely believe most managers would be excited to take it over.
We know that the club will already know who they want and will be going after them. Yes, it’s sad that this era of the Albion has come to an end, but Bloom has shown time and time again that he gets things right more than he does wrong.
I’m excited to see who comes in, how they will energise the squad and what the future holds. Who knows, we may even keep more than six clean sheets next season!
The good ship Albion keeps sailing, where the destination is, none of us really knows. What Ido know is that I can look back on the RDZ era as the best two years ever watching the Albion, and for that I thank Roberto.
But I am also excited for the summer and next season. Roll on the next installment of the drama.