LEICESTER 1 BRIGHTON 1
Last season we finished twelve points clear of the relegation places. That’s not the outcome of a closely fought relegation battle, mainly because we were never really in one. No, with hindsight, last season was a lower mid-table competition. Up against that interchangeable cluster of clubs who emerge every season, who win regularly enough to stay above the plimsole line, but with little hope of anything greater.
And this season? Well, my expectation this season was a continuation of that trend line. 10th place, maybe 11th, something in that care-free middle zone, But we appear to have skipped a step, finding ourselves up against the more disruptive members of the league. West Ham, Wolves, and of course Leicester. Is a 6th or 7th place finish realistic? Possibly, yes. Avoiding defeat in the games against these teams would be a good start.
Leicester’s stadium is looking a bit jaded isn’t it. For a new-build, it’s awfully tatty. Is the Amex the only non-shit mid-sized new-build stadium in British football? I reckon it may well be.
Anyway, a controlled 30 minutes of football, with nothing to show for it other than two botched opportunities (the textbook Albion away first half performance, delivered to perfection despite Potter’s absence) was followed by 15 minutes of minor errors. Mistimed tackles, intercepted passes, directionless clearances… the things that play straight into the dry chapped hands of Brendan Roger’s and his grubby 2-page playbook. Frustrate, dive and feign injury, strike only from turnovers and errors. It took just a single minute of the second for this approach to pay off. Bollocks. But fear not, the season is 2021/22 and this Albion side don’t really do losing. No, our current peccadillo is a satisfactory 1.1 draw. Chelsea away, Newcastle at home, West Ham away, no matter the opponent situation or stadium, we find a way.
Just how good is Steven Alzate? I ask because the Guardian decided that James Maddison warranted an inclusion in their weekend talking points article:
‘How good is James Maddison? It is not so long ago that he and Jack Grealish were in hot competition for an England place. Maddison has been returning to something approaching his best form over Leicester’s difficult winter however and on his 200th league appearance he pulled the strings when his team were on top… the 25-year-old is playing with a swagger and, with Gareth Southgate a frequent visitor to the King Power Stadium, it would be no surprise to see him return to the England squad in March’
An odd inclusion, because James Maddison wasn’t even the second-best central midfielder on the pitch. Steve Alzate was superb in the first half and for some of the second. Mac Allister, once he’d dropped a little deeper, was even better. Has he played in that sightly deeper midfield position for us before? He was immense… peak Luka Modric level immense, dictating not just the positional play but the tempo as well. Can you imagine Mac Allister and Bissouma as a double pivot in the middle of the park. I’m picturing the Luka Modric - Casemiro Real Madrid Euro big cup winning partnership. Come to think of it Bissouma and Mac Allister could actually be Real Madrid’s midfield in couple of seasons.
The game was up for Leicester once our lack of width and cutting-edge was rectified with the introduction of Lamptey and Wellbeck. And for 25 mins or so, we were superb.
One thing to note about these late comebacks. It’s a fair assumption that all teams at Premier League level have access to the latest sports science knowledge, and loads of money to implement the latest innovations (here’s one for Brendan: try drinking some water mate, the poor guy is looking more desiccated by the week). So why, therefore, are we fitter than other teams. What are we doing, or have access to, that other teams do not? Leicester were fucked with about 10-minutes still to play. We were magnificent, Wellbeck’s precision equalizer the least we deserved. The less said about the flare the better - someone somewhere must have a sore hand today. Or no hand at all.
We do lack width at times, and yes we still miss too many chances, but when we’re on our game, we are a fucking great football team. How good could we be? Is it too simplistic to think that a left-sided version of Lamptey and some cover for Wellbeck (it’s a good gig, you’ll see plenty of pitch time) would complete the picture?
On the train home a friend-of-the-zine asked Tony Bloom if he was enjoying Union Saint-Gilloise’s title challenge, and his answer was instructive. Yes, he replied, but what he really wanted was a league and cup double. Never forget, Tony Bloom’s ambition for the Albion (and now for his newfound love interest, but please don’t fall too hard Tony) almost certainly outstrips what you think might be achievable. USG could win their first league title in 50 ish years, but Tony’s aiming higher.
So, are we heading for a 6th or 7th place finish? Maybe (avoiding defeat against Leicester certainly helps), maybe not. But we’ll get there eventually, we’ll find a way, we always do.