Season Preview - West Bromwich Albion

Quick Reminder, Real Life

The two most important words on any West Brom fan’s lips last season must surely have been: Peter Odemwingie. What a breath of fresh air in the Premier League. Odemwingie arrived at The Hawthorns and was an instant hit. The club dismissed manager Roberto Di Matteo half-way through the year in the thick of a relegation battle, and Roy Hodgson came in, steadied the shape, and guided the Baggies to a mid-table (11th) finish, but it was all Odemwingie all the time. The Nigerian scored 15 goals in 32 league games. Chris Brunt scored twice (both penalties) in the memorable 2-1 win over Liverpool as Roy Hodgson took down his old club in April, and ended the season in form as he supported Odemwingie from wide attacking and central positions. Yussuf Mulumbu was also a consistent newcomer to the Premier League and steadied the ship in midfield throughout the ups and downs while former England international GK Scott Carson (now playing in Turkey) saw a majority of the action between the sticks.

Quick Reminder, Fantasy

Peter Odemwingie was so consistent, racking up 5+ points per game in the Official PL game and giving the likes of Tevez, Bent, RVP, and Rooney a run for their money on a consistent basis as the league’s highest scoring weekly striker. Brunt, Jerome Thomas, and Mulumbu took turns chipping in with reasonable scoring from midfield positions - West Brom were solid last year in the middle of the pitch - and Somen Tchoyi even got in on the scoring fun, managing 6 league goals in just 800+ minutes of action, a superb return. James Morrison scored 4 goals from midfield - a typical return for the Scotland international who is a pacy right winger and productive in ‘real life’ but never seems to have that 5+ or 6+ goal breakthrough from a fantasy perspective to set him apart from his colleagues.

Summer Changes

Joe Cole to Liverpool, continued

It's all smiles for Joe Cole at Liverpool.

This began as a comment in response to Kellz, but took on a life of its own so it gets its own post.

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Kellz,

I won't speak for Neal, but for me JCole isn't free. No transfer fee, sure. But 90K a week is a lot of money. Especially -- and here's what I can't get past -- for the one position on the field where Liverpool have numbers! I keep coming back to, "Is JCole a significant upgrade -- for that kind of money -- over Babel, Aquilani, Gerrard, Jovanovic, Maxi, Babel, Kuyt, and Riera?"

Let's put it this way, what if Liverpool got Gigi Buffon on a free? That's a big signing for Liverpool, right? He's a huge name in international football with a long pedigree and titles to his name.  But do you need to spend big money (wages only, but still) on Buffon when you already have Reina?

At some point you have to fill needs, and not just make signings to "win the press conference".  There are outfield positions where Liverpool are weak or thin, or both. Who starts the season at striker if Torres can't? N'gog? Kuyt? Are you happy with those options? Would you rather Liverpool be paying some of that money for Guillermo Franco or Benjani who were released from their clubs this summer?  Maybe they would have been better off spending a transfer fee on Luis Suarez or Miroslav Klose.  Or maybe Robbie Keane, who isn't wanted at Spurs and is a lifelong Liverpool fan.

Wait... Never mind.  Scratch that last idea.

What if Liverpool had signed Paul Scharner on a free transfer?  It wouldn't be a sexy signing.  But he can play holding midfield.  He can play in the center of defence.  Both are positions where Liverpool could use further options.  I don't know how Torres and Gerrard would have felt about that signing, but it seems silly to me to think that Torres and Gerrard would pledge themselves to Liverpool because they went out and signed another attacking midfielder.  Unless they think that they'll have leverage to demand pay increases themselves based on what Cole is now earning.

As for your thought experiment of JCole going to Arsenal, I think the same thing. "Is JCole a significant upgrade -- for that kind of money -- over Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky, Wilshere, Ramsey, Fabregas, and Walcott?"  I think the answer is no.  In fact, I think Arsenal should now go out and buy Scharner to be understudy to Song and third or fourth choice center back.  In fact, I'm starting the official bandwagon now!

In short, I think Liverpool have won a lot of press but I don't see how Joe Cole is going to help them win a lot of matches.  I'll be happy to be proven wrong and if so, I'll be thrilled to put him in my fantasy team.  But this transfer doesn't pass the smell test for me.

Late Fitness Test

You've all talked yourselves into the Captain, haven't you? Kirkland is (well, was) dirt cheap and he got the clean sheet last week against Sunderland. Well... if he's a good bet this week, hosting Birmingham, here's my thinking: I'll take the money I was spending on Duff (still a good bet, home to Fulham) and get Scharner. He's listed as a defender so he'll do well if Kirkland does well. And hopefully he can continue to get points from his attacking midfield role. It's funny...