Club News

Baggie Shorts 11.11.14

Behind the scenes at the Baggies

EVERYONE'S favourite feature is back and back to its more familiar look after last week's special Bomber Brown edition.

We've received a host of delightful positive feedback since the column's inaugural outing towards the end of October - wow, how times flies...the little ones grow up so quickly these days!

But please keep your comments coming, we enjoy reading each and every one of them. 

So let's get the party started..it's BAGGIE SHORTS time!  
   
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First of all, big congratulations are in order for The Albion Foundation.

Our hard-working charity partners last Friday scooped a hat-trick of prestigious gongs at the Black Country Sport Awards 2014.

Sporting Club Albion basketball head coach Clive Allen - a former Birmingham Bullet for anyone who remembers - won Community Coach of the Year, Foundation ambassador Blind Dave scooped the Elvis Gordon Chair’s Recognition Award while disability project One Albion walked away with Community Project of the Year for the second year running.

Meanwhile, powerchair captain Chris Gordon was a runner-up in the Disability Sportsperson of the Year category.

The Foundation’s richly-deserved achievements came hot on the heels of their own One Albion Disability Awards evening held the previous night at The Hawthorns, which was attended by Alan Irvine just hours after the unveiling of Tony Brown’s statue.

Congrats to all at The Foundation – and look out soon for news of their amazing plans for this season's big fundraiser.

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Denis Law was a wonderful and gracious guest on Bomber’s big day – and very, very funny.

Upon meeting sculptor Jonathan Wylder he congratulated him enthusiastically on his work on the statue.

“It’s wonderful...really excellent...brilliant...well done...who is it?” joked the Lawman.

And did any of you pick up what he said to Graham Williams on shaking hands with Albion’s old full-back after flummoxing Bomber with his surprise appearance on stage? It certainly had our former captain grinning.

No?

What did Denis say?

“Don’t kick me.”

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Talking of Bomber's statue, preparations for the unveiling were thorough. 

No stone was left unturned including, in the case of some members of media staff, spending the night prior in a local hotel to get a good night's kip ahead of an early start.

It seemed a good idea at the time…until the plans were savagely sabotaged by another guest.

At 5am, everyone was on the Tarmac out front at the behest of a particularly persistent fire alarm.

"It wasn't a smoker," the receptionist explained as they stumbled wearily back to their rooms. "There was a gentlemen with a large Afro who was drying his hair. The steam coming off it set off the smoke alarm in his room."

For reasons which require no explanation, the incident has been dubbed Fellaini's Revenge...

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So you reckon Alan Irvine has selection problems? Look what we have let ourselves in for.

This is just a selection of the amazing response to our appeal for supporters wishing to take up a seat on The Albion Assembly – the new fans consultation group we are setting up at The Hawthorns.

The response has been truly magnificent but it does leave director of comms Martin Swain and his ad hoc committee with a heck of task to now sift through in search of a 30-strong body.

We will keep you posted but the schedule is for the Assembly’s first meeting to go ahead early in the new year.

In the meantime, a teaser. If you laid out all 236 applications end to end...how many Darren Moores would fit? Darren, by the way, tells us he measures 1.87 metres. 

Answer at the foot of the column.

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Our video man Ian Skidmore this morning travelled to St George’s Park to film Saido Berahino’s first training session with the full England squad. 

The problem was that no-one told Roy Hodgson, who gave all players who featured at club level on Sunday the day off! 

Cheers for the cup of coffee, though, Roy. 

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We’ve had a new batch of 2014/15 action shots, taken of each Albion player, placed around the training ground and the tunnel area at The Hawthorns over the last couple of weeks.

The pictures act as inspiration for the players, a reminder before they head out to train and do battle on matchdays of the passion and pride that comes with being a Baggie.

They are, however, also an easy target for a spot of light-hearted banter, as Boaz Myhill duly found out today.

Boaz cuts a clean-shaven figure on his photo but, not to be left out, his beard miraculously made an appearance at the training ground.

With most players on international duty, the list of likely culprits is short...

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And finally, there's just time for the answer to our Darren Moore teaser: 38. And we’d like to see any attack try and get around that defence!

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See you all next time! BoingBoing