West Bromwich Albion fans daring to dream results elsewhere mean this will be their year in the FA Cup should not get carried away, according to Tony Pulis. Lightning, warned their manager, is perfectly capable of striking twice.
“Every Premier League team left in the competition will be looking at it and thinking there’s an opportunity and an opening but if Bradford City can go to Chelsea and win 4-2, they can turn up at our place and win 4-2, if you take it relatively. I won’t be taking anybody lightly,” said Pulis, insisting all he wanted from ’s fifth-round draw was a home tie.
What he admitted he is also hoping and praying for, as he put it, is to have a few more options in terms of the squad he can pick from. Especially up front, for although Victor Anichebe showed impressive body strength and then shooting accuracy in scoring the two first-half goals that proved enough for Albion to survive a second period made torrid by Birmingham City after Jonathan Grounds pulled a goal back just before the break, Pulis made it very clear he remains to be convinced the former Everton forward can lead his attack on a regular basis.
“The thing with Victor is he’s always had that word potential above his head and I don’t think he’s ever fulfilled it because he’s always been injured, so he’s had a small run of games, scored a few goals and then dropped out again,” said Pulis of the 26-year-old. “We need more goalscorers, that’s striking for me as the manager, we need to bring people in who can create and score.”
Hence his vying with the Crystal Palace manager, Alan Pardew, to bring in the 33-year-old former Newcastle United forward Shola Ameobi, a free agent after leaving the Turkish side Gaziantep.
Wigan’s attacking midfielder Callum McManaman is also a target, with Pulis describing his current squad as “unbalanced” – for all that he is undefeated in his first four matches in charge. “This is a good club, I think it’s just been a little misdirected in certain areas,” he concluded.
Birmingham, of course, have been more than a little misdirected in certain areas in recent years but Gary Rowett’s management has transformed the Championship club’s fortunes on the field. He might have made a mistake, however, in leaving Demarai Gray, the 18-year-old winger interesting several Premier League clubs and the subject of a £3m bid from promotion contenders Bournemouth, on the bench until the final 20 minutes. Even then, Gray fired in two long-distance shots that required the Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster to make good saves.
“I felt it had been a big month for him, there has been a lot of speculation, it might be a bit much for him and that it might be nice to get him out of the limelight for a bit, and his pace and trickery be best used to impact later in the game,” said Rowett. “I hope he stays with us. For me, it’s only an opportunity with a top-four team that would be befitting of his talent.”
There will be those at Albion who feel the same way about Saido Berahino, who supplied the passes that led to Anichebe’s goals, and has himself scored 14 times this season – but rumours persist in linking the player to Tottenham, with Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon moving in the other direction.
Man of the Match David Cotterill (Birmingham City)
