I used to have a soft spot for West Brom. My next door neighbour, as a child, was the brother of the West Brom goalie, John Osbourne. So his kids, my childhood pals, were West Brom supporters, long before I ever got really interested in football.
I remember them being involved in several Cup finals in the 60’s. I admired players like Tony Brown, Jeff Astle, Asa Hartford.
Then came the horrible battle of Bramall Lane and it’s not surprising relations soured between us. We can’t blame West Brom for that! I’m not surprised some prefer Wednesday.
They have been a yo-yo club for years. Too good for the second tier, not good enough for the first tier. Not unlike us in some respects, except we’ve gone further and deeper!
They are a good side. They should be. After all those years of dipping and diving between the top two tiers. They’ve got finances behind them we can only dream of.
But this is a new Sheffield United. A team that plays from the heart, to win fairly and squarely. A team that is made up of rejects and misfits that cost peanuts, but bust a gut to win every game. Led by a manager with great tactical nous and without a chip on his shoulder. We play some great football. Unconventional. Unfathomable at times. We’ve broken the mould.
In the previous fixture this season I thought we were better than them first half and they were better than us second half.
It should be a great game.
It’s a shame some of their fans seem so negative about us. It doesn’t really matter though. It’s commonly been the case with many teams this season. Whatever the result I just hope we may change a few opinions about us afterwards. And I’m confident we will. We are a good team playing good football, the right way.
