11 things you (probably don’t) need to know about West Brom and Bolton

Saturday March 21st, 2009

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Your guide to all the predictions and Mystic Meggery ahead of Bolton’s trip to West Brom this afternoon

Reasons to be cheerful
1. Our chances of winning this game are better than 50/50… because under Gary Megson we have only lost 49 per cent of our matches.

2. Megson should get a good reception from the fans… the West Brom fans that is. Tony Mowbray certainly wants him to get a good welcome and Jonathan Greening has been having sleepless nights over it too, but Megson himself is not so optimistic about what the atmosphere will be like.

3. West Brom are six points adrift from safety and have lost their last three home games.

4. The tipsters in the Mirror think we’ll win – and we’ll take that, even if one of their pundits is Graham Poll.

Reasons to be fearful
5. If we play anything like we did against Fulham last weekend then we don’t stand a chance… and if that happens then the welcome Megson gets from the home fans could soon be drowned out by the booing from the Bolton end.

6. And it doesn’t help that Megson has been talking us down all week and looking over his shoulder, rather than looking where he’s going.

7. Abdoulaye Meite has been ruled out through injury, which means they might play someone who can actually defend… which is exactly what appears to have happened when their new defensive partnership stepped in against West Ham on Monday.

8. Tony Mowbray, like every other manager who’s been asked about it this season, isn’t scared of our physical approach.

9. We’ll be without Mark Davies, aka the the only player with any creativity in the centre of our midfield.

10. The referee, Howard Webb, isn’t exactly Kevin Davies’ best mate.

11. We failed to sign James Morrison from the Baggies in the January transfer window, so no doubt he’ll pop up and score the winner.

What do you think? Have your say in the comments below…