A draw at home to Newcastle United, and West Bromwich Albion seem to be cantering towards the finishing line much like a racehorse whose jockey has money on the horse behind.
In fairness after a sluggish first half, in which Newcastle might have conceivably gone in two or three goals ahead, Albion eventually could have won the game, although a draw was probably a fair result.
Steve Clarke boldly replaced Claudio Yacob with Shane Long at half-time. The emphasis seemed to shift towards getting the ball forward quicker and it caused Newcastle plenty of problems. Clarke probably deserves credit for that.
I heard a while back, rightly or wrongly, that Long's spent much of the season managing injuries, which probably explains why his appearances have been limited and his form has tailed off since before Christmas.
However, whether or not he's at his best, he brings an energy to the side we seem to lack in his absence. His introduction certainly changed the game last weekend and it's excellent news to hear that he expects to extend his stay at the club beyond his current contract.
The major talking point was probably referee Mike Jones' decision to award a free-kick to Albion at the end of the first-half for James Perch's tackle on Billy Jones, a tackle that took place two yards inside the penalty area!
Now I've only seen the replay once and from that I'm not entirely certain it was a foul, but if the referee deems it was then to give a free-kick and not a penalty is bordering on comical.
As it turned out the result was arguably a fair one, we also benefitted from an officiating misdemeanour against Swansea a few weeks ago so I'm not bitterly complaining here, but you do have to wonder if the same referees would arrive at the same conclusions were they officiating at the home of a top four side. Mr Jones certainly didn't hesitate in awarding Arsenal a penalty at the Emirates Stadium for Santi Cazorla's 'fall' against us earlier in the season.
That aside, I do have one massive gripe from last weekend and that's the booing when Chris Brunt was announced as man of the match. Seriously, who boos the announcement of a man of the match award?
From my admittedly very limited experience of knowing somebody who knows somebody else sat with or near the sponsors who decide the man of the match, it's quite often determined by somebody who is less of an informed spectator than you or I.
For example a person who either doesn't like football, who only attends sparingly or at convenience, or the young child of any of the aforementioned who will invariably pick their favourite player i.e. it's not going to be the choice of the regular masses every week.
Was Chris Brunt the best player on the pitch last weekend? No, probably not. But do his efforts deserve the resounding jeers of a few thousand spectators? No, definitely not.
To my mind it just serves to drive a wedge between players and supporters, ironically in a season where they probably least deserve it in comparison to many gone by.
For the record, my man of the match, and man of the match in many games recently, would have been Billy Jones. His boundless energy up and down the right flank brings an added dimension to Albion's attacking game, particularly when Steve Clarke plays with Graham Dorrans, James Morrison or Marc-Antoine Fortune in front of him on the flank - none of whom are wide midfielders by trade, all have a tendency to drift inside.
Billy's had a few critics and the odd game earlier in the season where he looked susceptible defensively, but he's looking stronger and stronger, particularly in home games. I certainly think that in the modern game, where you expect two right-backs in a Premier League squad, he's one to keep and could go on to become a really valuable asset to the club.
On Saturday we travel down to Southampton. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been on the receiving end of defeats there in recent weeks so it won't be an easy game by any means.
Hopefully the hordes of supporters travelling down on free coaches (Cheers Jeremy) can help make a difference, and also the fools like me who paid for train tickets before the announcement that the coaches were free.
Finally, previous blogger Jarrod Hill introduced a tradition where anybody who reads or contributes to these pages could meet up for pre/post-match drinks towards the end of the season. With only two home games remaining, and the final one being on a Sunday, it seems logical that this season that should be the Wigan Athletic game next weekend on May 4.
I'll post a reminder in next week's blog but, broadly speaking, will be in The Vine from lunchtime and after the game, anybody is welcome and from past experience it's been worthwhile putting a few faces to names, even if you forget their name after a few pints!
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