Alan Buckley on how a Zulu war talk failed to stop the rot at West Bromwich Albion
This nostalgic passage is taken from Troubado’s book “Alan Buckley: Pass and Move – My Story.” Buckley provides a glimpse into why
Albion’s season soured in the book.
In 1995–96, after 13 games, West Bromwich Albion is at the top of the second division and appears ready to push for promotion. What
might go wrong?Obviously, something did. 11 League games later, the Baggies were defeated.
The fans could smell the big time after the season got off to such a strong start.
Yes, we were in second place, playing good football and defeating teams like Sheffield United and Birmingham, but the First Division
was quite competitive, we hadn’t really spent any money, and we were still a work in progress.
What better way to accomplish it than to embark on the club’s worst losing streak in history—a record that remains in place to this
day. It tarnishes my record overall and isn’t the best manager has ever departed a club.
The streak began with a number of close losses, even though we trailed Leicester 3-0 at one point and came close to tying the score late
on. After that, we suffered a crushing defeat at Derby, and the run’s fourth game returned us to Blundell Park.
Although there wasn’t quite as much hostility as previously, my former squad was more committed to defeating me; it was definitely a
case of “once bitten, twice shy.”
Isn’t that strange? Even after leaving that squad, I couldn’t shake my jealousy. Absurd. I imagine there was still, deep down, a remorse
for leaving Grimsby—which was a grave mistake.
In the end, I don’t think Brian Law modified the system needlessly or got the most out of those players.
Perhaps this hostility was a result of that 1995 game. In the midst of this run, we were eager for a win, and Grimsby were soaring high
and seeking payback.
I felt like we were harassed that day because there were definitely some strong tackles made during the game. A few former Town
players were in the starting lineup, including Paul Reece in goal, but he was helpless as Ivano Bonetti scored the game-winning goal.
Two things were going for them: first, they were winning, and second, they had a new cult hero on the scoreboard. When a linesman
flagged Andy Hunt offside on a throw in when he was clean through, it was a sign of a dismal day. There is nothing you can do when
bad luck strikes.
On Tuesday, when we played at home against Norwich, we had an opportunity to let this go, but by then, we had completely lost
interest. Our sixth consecutive league loss, a 4-1 loss, was as horrible as it appeared.
Not what was expected from an Alan Buckley side, we showed no spark, no interest, and gave up as soon as the first goal was scored.
By now, I had experimented with altering teams, methods, training schedules, and even the manner we trained. To attempt and get us
a clean sheet, I even hired Mike Phelan as a sweeper, but it didn’t work out.
Despite our desperation, I sought inspiration from a motivational speaker to try and ignite something in the players, but to no avail.
I was a football man, so everything had to be horrible. To advise a centre back which striker to pick up at a corner, I didn’t need charts or laptops. Nor did I need wise outsiders to encourage us to sit back and write about the past. I was desperate, though.
This guy came in and talked to us about the Anglo-Zulu War conflict known as Rorke’s Drift. His argument was that, while there were
four thousand Zulus in this battle, only 200 soldiers were present, but because they were willing to fight and didn’t back down, the
Zulus respected them and left them alone.
To be honest, given the circumstances, the fans had fared okay. Of course, people called for my head, but they were just as shocked by
the run as I was when the season began. We had a respectable bunch of players who could contend for a promotion even if they were
having their worst season ever. I believe they were aware of this as well.
I was the one who felt the supporters’ emotions the most.
I went to see the chairman, expecting to be fired for the first time in my career, and I was both ashamed and in pain. Amazingly, Tony Hale extended my contract, which is a huge show of faith that is out of place in the modern game.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply