/ Sean Calvert / 09 August 2007 /

No reason in the world why WBA can't finish top two this season

Welcome to a new weekly column, where I will be following the ups and downs of life in The Championship with West Bromwich Albion and doubtless commenting on the issues of the week in the league of real football. None of that Premiership nonsense on this page.

Since West Brom's thoroughly depressing defeat to Derby on that bitterly cold, wet and miserable day in North-West London, it's been all change at B71, with optimism and worse - the dreaded hope - rearing their heads in time for the new season.

Through the exit door have gone Jason Koumas for £5.5 million; Diomansy Kamara for £6 million; Paul McShane for a total of £2.5 million; and Chris Perry and Steve Watson have been released. Paul Robinson certainly would have joined that list and still might, but for the unusual fact that he was allegedly born without an anterior cruciate ligament and therefore failed to pass a medical at Wigan and presumably would fail one anywhere else. That says something about the stringent medicals performed at West Brom.

Albion have invested some of this cash in the purchases of striker, Craig Beattie from Celtic for an initial £1.25 million plus add-ons; centre-back Sheldon Martis from Hibs for £50,000; Filipe Teixeira, a midfielder from Portuguese side Academica de Coimbra for £600,000; centre-back, Leon Barnett from our new feeder club Luton Town for an initial £2.5 million; left-back Tininho, another Portuguese player, this time from Beira-Mar for £230,000; Carl Hoefkens, a Belgian right-back from Stoke City for £750,000; and James Morrison, a midfielder/winger from Middlesbrough for a fee rising to £2.2 million. The club have also brought in Slovenian international centre-half, Bostjan Cesar, on loan for the season, with a view to a permanent move.

Unexpectedly staying at the club are Nathan Ellington, John Hartson and Curtis Davies. Speculation that we couldn't give the former two away with a packet of sweets is wide of the mark of course. Hartson made a couple of pre-season appearances over the summer and quite frankly I have never seen a professional footballer in such appalling shape. He makes Adriano look like Nicole Richie.

The subject of last season's captain, Curtis Davies, has been causing much consternation at The Hawthorns this close season and the self obsessed, injury prone, over rated centre-half seems to be under the misguided impression that he his much too classy for The Championship and is staying with our little club under sufferance. He has handed in numerous transfer requests and pleaded with anyone who'll listen that the club are demanding considerably too much for him, but as yet the bids from The Premiership have not exactly been difficult to keep a count of. Just the one in fact, from Spurs, a player plus cash deal that suited no one (except probably Curtis) and so he's staying put, for now. Rumours are now circulating that Villa are preparing a bid, but at the time of writing, Davies will be on the coach heading to Lancashire.

So, it will be a new look Albion that takes the field at the ever-welcoming Turf Moor on August 11th for the first match of the season at Burnley. Tony Mowbray and Jeremy Peace have done a good job in getting rid of the deadwood and strop-merchants (well, most of them) from the turgid Bryan Robson era (good luck with that by the way, Blades fans) and I expect a top six finish as a minimum from what appears to be this first choice line-up: -

Dean Kiely - Solid and reliable as ever in goal

Carl Hoefkens - New right back from Stoke, high hopes for the Belgian
Leon Barnett - Very highly rated and Curtis's mate from Luton
Curtis Davies - Strikes and strops notwithstanding
Tininho - Looking to fill Paul Robinson's boots successfully (a few less yellows would be good please, Miguel)

Jonathan Greening - Interesting choice for the new captain
Filipe Teixeira - Classy playmaker and creative genius, allegedly
Robert Koren - The little Slovakian will be looking for a few more goals this term
James Morrison - Exciting £2 million signing from the 'Boro

Craig Beattie - Hopefully over the injuries that marred his Celtic career
Kevin Phillips - Evergreen goal poacher and still a big threat at this level

Possibles include Sheldon Martis, Neil Clement, Martin Albrechtsen and Jared Hodgkiss in defence; Richard Chaplow, Zoltan Gera, Darren Carter, and dear god - Ronnie Wallwork in midfield; and Nathan Ellington, John Hartson and Sherjill MacDonald up front.

In the words of that genius Paul Gascoigne, "I never make predictions and I never will", so I'll put myself out on a limb and predict a second place finish for Albion this season.

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