A club where everyone is pulling together

[BBC]

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To paraphrase Harold Wilson, a week is a long time in football.

It certainly proved that way for West Bromwich Albion last week.

Off the back of a huge away win at Preston North End, Albion went into the week knowing that a win at home to a beleaguered Watford, coupled with anything less than that for Oxford against Wrexham, would make them mathematically safe.

Both of those things came to pass as the Baggies ran out emphatic winners against the Hornets, while the U's fell to defeat.

We were allowed just 72 hours to bask in the glow of Championship survival before it was ripped away from us.

At 5pm on Friday, the EFL announced that they would be deducting Albion two points because of alleged financial breaches - which the club continue to claim they are innocent of.

Gallingly, no clarification was offered as to why Albion were found guilty or even how much the club were supposed to be in breach by, as the EFL neglected to provide the written reasons for the sanction.

A strong club statement highlighted the ridiculous nature of the decision, pointing out that the reason they were perceived to be over the limit was that the EFL were counting charitable donations as losses because of a rule change which had occurred after Albion had made the donations. The losses had then been applied to Albion's profit and sustainability calculation retrospectively.

The absurdity of the situation was not lost on respected figures around the football world, such as Kieran Maguire, Henry Winter and others, who were quick to point out how ridiculous the sanction, process, timing and lack of transparency appeared.

But, while social media feeds were awash with strong opinions on the potentially season-defining deduction, everyone inside the club focused on the final, powerful line of the club's statement.

"For now, we will settle this on the pitch."

It was a stance very much in line with the way James Morrison had approached the initial rumours of the charge a week earlier.

The interim boss knew he would face questions on the subject ahead of Albion's clash at Deepdale, but he very politely informed journalists that he had little to say on the matter, that he was only focusing on things within his control.

He also informed the media that his players would not be discussing the matter either, as he had taken the step of banning all talk of the story in the dressing room.

I doubt James Morrison sees himself as a master psychologist, but what is clear is that he understands players and fans, and he knows how to unify a club.

Most of this season, we have been a club divided.

Boardroom wrangles, two managers sacked, and fans and players about as disconnected at times as I can remember.

Yet, in a few short weeks, Morrison has changed all of that, and we have a club where it feels like everyone is pulling in the same direction again.

Albion have exhibited incredible mental strength and resilience to outwork and outfight teams week in, week out, resulting in an incredible 10-game unbeaten run.

And, following an unprecedentedly tumultuous week, Morrison kept minds focused on the task at hand as Albion confirmed safety for a second time on Saturday afternoon with a draw at home to Ipswich.

A truly testing week had been navigated flawlessly and, despite the best efforts of the EFL, our season was settled in the only place it should be – on the pitch!