West Brom get promoted and Gera jumps ship! What do Baggies fans think of him?
by Dexter on June 10th, 2008
| 116 words |
West Brom midfielder Zoltan Gera has turned his nose up at the club’s latest contract, and instead scampered off to Craven Cottage to sign for Fulham. An interesting move, especially given the fact that Everton were rumoured to be interested and West Brom have been playing some glorious football in the Championship and promise to play some great football in the top flight too. West Brom gaffer Tony Mowbray magnanimously declared:
“Having offered Zoltan the best contract the club could at this time, we could do no more. We wish Zoltan all the best in his future career.” (Independent)
What do Baggies fans think though, is Gera a twerp for jilting his club at the Premier League altar?
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Tagged Under: cottagers, Everton FC, Fulham FC, tony mowbray, Transfer Rumours, wba, west brom, West Bromwich Albion FC, zoltan gera
{ 34 comments read them or add one }
nicky thethy - June 10th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
dont mind him going to a bigger club but come on fulham who r they.they aint as big as the alboin hope the get relegated and we WILL take 6 points off them
Ivors tache - June 10th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
he’s joining a good footballing side joining the midfield quagmire of the likes of Bullard, Dempsey, Simon Davies (Player of the Year) and Danny Murphy. After escaping and have the tighest of scrapes last season I’m hoping we, as a Club, have learnt our lessons and can build on our eight years in the Premiership.
Last year the Baggies mugged us of £6m for Kamara so its only fair we get something back this season!
1-1 methinks!
Ivors tache - June 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
The Baggies bigger than Fulham???!? How deluded can you be? I can understand if you said Villa, there’s an obvious gulf there.
And no I’m not saying we’re a big club but its laughable these average clubs with little to shout about claiming they are.
Ivors tache - June 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Oh balls, I’ve just replied to another Dexter posting. Yep, the buffooon who slagged off McBride for leaving Fulham
i3ones - June 10th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Fulham, fulham ???
Did he have gift vouchers at Harrods as part of the deal …
Oh come on .. Fulham … Everton or Portsmouth would have been acceptable … but Fulham … a club punching way above their weight [to use an analogy].
However … £6mil for Kamara and £0 for Gera …. The phrase “Swings & Roundabouts” comes to mind.
PS … Don’t let him take penalties
simon - June 10th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
In response to Ivor the Fulham fan….yes Albion are a much bigger club, based on history and support. Fulham are by far the poorest supported club home and especially away in the Premiership. To put it in context Crewe brought more fans to the Hawthorns than Fulham have done in the Premiership !.
pattaya lloyal - June 10th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
He could have gone in january? fair play” zoltasn the great” remember Tom hanks movie “BIG” thats the only way fuham will ever ????? p,s U where mugs for buying him” mind u,he is big “headed”……..good morning!!!!
pattaya lloyal - June 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
also while i’m at it…the only reason shiek it all about, or what ever his nam is, owns u lot,,,, is the land your fantastic stadium is built on!!!!! and i was on about KAMARA”big headed” not zolt…..how many players u lot had who fully se out thier contract????? and u where mug 4 buying him’kamara” that is…….
Geoff Tustin - June 10th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Lets face it if Gera had left at the start of last season for a fee no one would have been too worried. For two seasons he did nothing. This last season he has been outstanding and his goals have been invaluble so its a shame to see him go. Especially to a tiny club like Fulham when it was said he had so many offers on the table. Good luck to him but I see it as a backward step for him. The club has been propped up by the “conspiracy cretin” and is the only reason they are in the Prem. Small out dated stadium and away support that you could get in two coaches with room to spare.
Baggies\will win friends this season with the style of play the great Mowbray insists on. Zoltan has missed a great opportunity. His loss!!!!
Zoltan_FFC_Gera - June 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Bitter bitter baggies, I love it! I have never liked WBA & will enjoy watching Fulham take 6 points next year!
P.s
You will probably see Crewe’s away fans again soon coz your a yo yo team (unlike us!!!) & will be going back to the fizzy pop league before too long!!!
Blowee - June 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Can’t blame him for taking the money we’d all probably do the same if we were offered more for the same job. Been good for the Baggies but certainly not irreplacable. Good luck to him. That’s football these days no loyalty from players but it works both ways - if Philips isn’t fit enough for a two year deal he won’t get one from the Albion which is fair enough there’s no sentiment that way either.
alfred miller - June 10th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
NOT EVERTON, NOT BORO, NOT CELTIC, NOT BENFICA …. BUT FULHAM
AND AN AMBITIOUS CLUB? HAAAAAA FULHAM? IS ZOLTAN OUT OF HIS FRICKEN MIND? AND NOT FOR THE MONEY OHHHHHHHHHHH GOOD BOY!
ANYWAY GOOD LUCK ZOLLY MAY YOU AND YOUR MATE DIOMANSY REST AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE NEXT SEASON ( WARMING THE BENCH), WHATTTTT A MOVE ….
pete - June 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I write this as a Baggies fan but also as a Hungarian who supports Zolee as the captain of our national team. I think we should respect his decision. I don’t think he should be blamed and shamed.
He is an exceptional player who proved his abilities during his time in England. OK sometimes he is inconsistent but he is undeniably a gifted football player. (Even the biggest are sometimes inconsistent, see for example Ronaldinho.) Zolee spent four good years in WBA. He received a lot from WBA, he gave a lot to WBA.
But now at the age of 29 I also understand that he wanted something different, better conditions in every terms. He has 3-4 good years left to play PL football. I agree that Fulham is not the most evident choice in this respect but if they were the ones who offered an overall package that is much better than any other team’s including WBA then go for it. I do not know the details but I can imagine that they pay a double salary to him and give the possibility to leave free should they be relegated, plus the promise that he can become a central figure in the team.
Club fidelity is very important and I think Zolee was in fact faithful for the two years spent in the second division despite the fact that the “meat grinding” of the Championship is not exactly his playing style. And I think inside he was always longing to become a Premiership player again, but he was disciplined, no complaints.
Another thing is that although I love WBA I think that without spending real money there is no long Premier League life. Sunderland spent good money and stayed up, Derby did not and we all know how it ended. WBA got quite good by the end of the season but there were also some worrying signals that without reinforcements there will be serious problems in the PL. I attended the home 1-4 defeat against Leicester and I saw the defensive instabilities.
Zolee is the captain of the national team so from a Hungarian point of view the most important thing is that he plays PL football constantly. If his new contract more or less ensures this (by leaving the door open at a possible relegation) then it is fine.
I wish good luck to WBA and Zoltan in the PL. I’m looking forward to the new season.
Callum - June 10th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
well i am shocked, i don’t understand why a player would spend 2 seasons in the championship, grafting away, and then, following those two years having worked so hard to do so, walk at the first sight of money. Gera has been through an awful lot with our club and i must say i am quite appalled at such a hasty decision.
Anyway, thanks for honoring your contract, and goodluck with another year in the Championship next year
Zoltan_FFC_Gera - June 10th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
YEAH WHAT WAS HE THINKING HE SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH WBA & HAD 1 YEAR IN THE PREM BATTLING THE DROP, LIVING IN THE @RSEHOLE OF ENGLAND & THEN GOING BACK TO THE FIZZY WIZZY LEAGUE - WAKE UP WBA YOU RATE YOURSELF TOO MUCH!!!!
pattaya lloyal - June 10th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
We rate our selves to mutch? we know good players when we see them”kamara” we know a good stadium,when we see one”yours” we know good fans ,when we see them”——-” invisable cums to mind? you lot should wake up, or you will when your ground shairing with MKD’s
Zoltan_FFC_Gera - June 10th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I expected him to go but not to Fulham? I thought he had ambition but the dirty dolla wins again I guess. Good luck Zoltan thanks for 4yrs and look forward to seeing how you adapt to hoof it up the pitch tactics under Roy Hodgeson. I bet you will miss Tony Mowbray’s style of football after a couple of games at Fulham even if the money is twice as good.
LeejayWBA - June 10th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I dont think we “rate ourselves too much” whatever that means. We just have a clear perspective on our club’s size in relation to Fulham. We have won more, we have a higher average attendance, we take thousands away, we have more season tickets. How else can you measure the clubs?
Fulham’s owner has spent more money over a short period without substatial success, apart from the very lage factor of staying in the Premier. We will hopefully achieve that same stability without the big money man, just by playing some decent football. The way it was in the past. We may not succeed but its a fantastic principle to abandon the rough & tough get the ball forward approach adopted by most promoted clubs.
We’ll see will we not?
pete - June 10th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Callum, you don’t understand why such a player would spend 2 seasons in the championship.
In the first CCC year he expected to bounce back with WBA, but then the mighty Derby came in the way. The next year they would have let him go only for an exaggerated fee no one wanted to pay for a player with some months contract left. Anyway I am sure he is thankful to WBA, but remember that he has about 3-4 years left from top flight football so it does matter if conditions are better. How come that a club which is supposed to be very similar to WBA can offer a much more lucrative contract to a key player? As Blowee rightly wrote above loyalty should work both ways “if Philips isn’t fit enough for a two year deal he won’t get one from the Albion which is fair enough there’s no sentiment that way either.”
SuperMaths - June 10th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Personally I don’t mind seeing him go - he gave us 2 years more service than he probably should have done when he deserved to be in the Prem but stayed with us until we returned to the promised land.
As a thank-you for that we should be shaking him by the hand and wishing him well in teh Champions League with Benfica.
Wait a minute.
Fulham?
Really?
Has your Mr. 15% been having a word in your ear Zolly?
Fulham?
I never took you for a cottager.
Oh well. Enjoy your big payday. Thanks for everything - especially your goal to beat the Dingles this year (!).
And, for me, you’ll always be welcome at the Albion
dodi - June 10th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Whats all the fuss about ? Gera was only a bit part player and rarely put enough in to warrant an automatic starting place week in week out. Good luck to him he certainly does not owe us anything and he probably knew he wouldnt get a game for us next season with all the midfield talent we have. However, being a foreinger he probably doesnt realise that Fulham are an unloved joke team that have very few supporters and a unlovable owner. In the transfer market Gera would have fetched about £1 million so with the £6 m we got for Kamara and the 6 points we will get from Fulham this coming season we are still quids in. The one sad thing about Gera leaving is that it will muck up our song about the best midfield in the world. God, how we hate arrogant cockney twats.
Ted White - June 10th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
How things of changed!
A few years back, as a Fulham fan working quite close to the Hawthorns, I was, almost, royally greeted by Baggies fans, when I visited one of the local pubs!
Everyone was really impressed by the impressive attitude of the FFC players and management in giving everything in a last day of the season match against Norwich which, although pretty meaningless for us, enabled the Albion to survive in the Premiership!
There are actually quite a lot of similarities between the two clubs in that they have both always tried to play good football, although they clearly lack the financial resources of their nearest neighbours; the fans are generally good natured. appreciate good play and are quite prepared to applaud good play by the opposition and, with our limited resources, just staying in the Premiership is a feat in itself!
I must admit I had my reservations about Kamara before we signed him and he hasn’t exactly set the Premiership alight but, there can be no denying that the lad
has tremendous natural ability but he just needs to get his head right! That said, it could be argued that, in the end, his goals proved extremely important for us and in that respect, he has paid back much, if not all, of his fee! Unfortunately, Lawrie Sanchez was never going to get the best out of him, whilst a better coach, such as Roy Hodgson, may do!
As for Zoltan Gera, if we do actually sign him (he has got to get past the infamous Fulham medical first), whilst I look forward to seeing him play alongside Jimmy Bullard and Simon Davies, I can completely understand how Baggies fans feel as I felt exactly the same when we lost Steed Malbranque!
I just hope that we can both stay up by actually playing football as it should be played rather than the ultra defensive “safety first” attitude adopted by many of our rivals!
Canadian Baggie - June 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Good luck to Zoltan - the reason is eeident to amny one who lays aside the emotions of supporting our own club - Fulham have had 8 years in the Premiership and are swimming in cash - it is irrelevant that we Baggies have no debt, more fans, a longer history, a better away support or even a brighter future now - 8 years in the Premiership buys what you need.
Anyone willing to spend $6m on Joe Kamara with his attitude to warm the bench can afford to over pay a 29 year old who no big club came in for.
He is a loss to us and a gain to Fulham - but really - outside of the Midlands who had heard of him.
We will undoubtedly buy somone younger, fitter and with huge potential.
Fulham Forever - June 10th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Sorry Ivors Tache but west bromwich have a far bigger fan base than us. They are something like 10th in the list of biggest clubsin england, where as we scrape the top 40 just about at 39th. Personally im pleased he has joined us cause i saw him a few times last season on sky sports and he seemed a great player. thought he would have gone to everton or Portsmouth though as they are in europe.
Ste - June 10th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Ivors tache - you average less then 20,000 gates in the premiership, you play in a shed and you have a designated area for neutral fans because you can’t fill the dump! You have a rich chairman, that is the be all and end all of your skanky little football club…
Anyway, with regards to Gera… 1st season Brilliant! 2nd Season - injured for the entire term. 3rd Season - Shocking. 4th Season - Couldn’t get in the team until Teixeira got injured, did well in the 2nd half of the season
The lad has undoubted ability but when you look at his time as a whole, he hasn’t set the World alight. It’s strange that he bacame a crowd favorite - I think a big part of his legend was people clinging on to that 1st season with us - the tackle against Blues in particular. His attitude and effort in the 2006-2007 were nothing short of a disgrace and we could have lost far more important players then Zolly
Thanks Gera, it’s been eventful but you’ll regret this one in time… All this talk of big investment coming into the club suggests even more exciting times ahead. Enjoy playing in front of one man and his dog, I hope it’s worth the extra few quid in your pocket for a season
Ade of Albion - June 10th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Us baggies fans are not bitter about Zoltan leaving at all, he has done ok for us and out of the four seasons he has been with us he has had 1 and a half good seasons, 2 and a half seasons off form or injured (he is injury prone). He had a great 2nd half of the season last year but still got well overshadowed by the likes of Chris Brunt, Robert Koren and Jonathan Greening who where far better in midfield. The thing that has annoyed us is that he said he was only going to leave Albion to further his career because the wages Albion where offering was what he had asked for, and had the chance to join the likes of Everton, Portsmouth, Celtic and Benfica, all of whom will be playing in europe next year, hence futhering his career as he said he wanted. Instead he joins a club who’s premiership status was grasped by goal difference last year and who a lot of people feel will be finishing below Albion next season. To me he has gone for the money, im sure his agent has pushed him that way and to be honest, i don’t blame him for leaving for the money, most people would change jobs for more money, but why bulls**t about the reasons. If he said that Fulham where offering more cash and he was leaving for that then we would have said fair enough, don’t blame you, good luck. Oh and the Fulham chap who claimed Fulham where a bigger club the Albion, Wake up sunshine and take off your rose tinted glasses. Albion are a far bigger club than Fulham, last time out in the premiership we had the second largest away attendance in the league, second only to Newcastle.
Ste - June 10th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Fulham Forever - no offence to people like you when I said “skanky little club”… Ivors Tache was just so wrong about us and it narked me
Gera will either be a big hit for you or a total flop… He certainly won’t be given the patience and affection some of our fans afforded him, I can’t see it anyway
We already have adequate cover for him anyway. As I said before, he weren’t getting regular games in the Championship until Teixiera was injured so I don’t think this is as big for us as some sources in the media seem to keep making it out to be… He did score some cracking goals at times though last season… We still have Koren, Greening, Brunt, Tex and Morrison - most of them are younger and more consistant then Gera. The main miss will be his aerial ability, he was by far and away our best header of a ball
WakeyBaggie - June 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Zoltan_FFC_Gera. What a plank.
Were you at craven cootage when they almost went out of the league a few years ago? That sums Fulham up really. Take A lFayed ouit of the equation and you are similar to Rochdale.
As for Gera a good player but not irreplaceable. I think what has cheesed off a lot of the Albion fans is that his agent said it was not about money but about ambition. Well joining Fulham when there were reportedly offers from Benfica and Celtic offering European football he has just gone for the cash. Can you blame him? not really but why not just be honest. Anyway Fulham to go down with Hull and Stoke a certainty.
Fulham Matt - June 13th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I think you baggies are mistaken in a few of your preconceptions about fulham. Our attendances last season were around 24,000. There are about 4 clubs in the league who had lower average attendances last season. We are far from the smallest club in the league.
Secondly al fayed actually came along after our promotion from the 3rd division (now league 2).
He has actually put very little money into the club in the last few years in comparison to our first season in the league.
Some people saying the closest we have come to europe is the channel tunnel or some rubbish, actually we played in the UEFA cup around 5 years ago, including a 3-0 win away to the now champions league team sparta prague.
I think some of you have even shorter memories. Remember your great escape from relegation? Who had nothing to play for and beat norwich 6-0 to ensure you stayed up? We did you guys a huge favour there so a little respect would be nice.
Just because the papers say all these european based teams were in for him doesnt mean they really were. maybe we were the only club who guarrenteed him first team football? who really knows?
Our away attendances used to be poor but recently have picked up and there are around 5/6 teams who are worse than us. we sold out around 6 of our last 10 away games despite looking all but down.
Regarding History, We were formed in 1879 and are the oldest professional team in london. We regularly had attendances of around 50,000 in the 40’s and 50’s. We have had george best and bobby moore play for us. We had an england captain - Johnny Haynes (stayed at fulham all his career), George Cohen (Fulham Player) won the world cup with england while he was still playing for us. We have been in the premier league for longer than about half the teams currently in it.
Craven Cottage may not be the most modern ground in the country but since when did modern mean good? Fulham was away fans favourite destination of last season. and no not because of the 3 points we usually gave them. otherwise derby would have won that.
I like West Brom and I hope you stay up because you play a good style of football and your fans on the whole are a good bunch. Certainly nicer than the bluenoses. You are probably a slightly bigger club than us but does it really matter! No one wins games because of their attendances or their history! Besides real big clubs don’t need to tell anyone that they are a big club. When have you heard a man u fan saying they are a big club?
Most of the west brom fans- good luck for next season -except against us!
The un-educated west brom fans - i suspect most of you are bandwagon jumpers anyway, You’ll be at birmingham again next year if the clubs swap places!
wba til i die - June 15th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
if zoltan had gone 2 everton because ,i h8 2 say it, they r a beta team than we r. but going 2 fulham is a stupid move. they have as much chance as staying up as we do. but if we make some decent signings such as alot of defenders and possibly sylvan ebanks-blake then we could do quite wel. possibly we could sign zat knight to add a bit of height to our team. possibly we could sign justin hoyte on loan aswel because i don’t think hoefkens could handle the pace of the premiership.
I 8 Wolves - June 21st, 2008 at 11:50 am
fulham are a small club punching above their weight, due to the fact that mr fayed bankrolls them, simlar to wigan with dave whelan, wba have a far superior history and a much larger fanbase….. the simple fact is that if their was no mr fayed,fulham would still be in the alternating between the lower two leagues…… wba on the other are a bigger club than fulham so therefore will create a larger revenue allowing them to get to the premier league without having a “suger daddy”
ian aston - June 21st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
how right i 8 wolves is all you need to do is look at the history of fulham and wba ! wba are on top in everything from attendance honours to years spent in top flight and also head to head which is not that many as fulham rarely are worthy of playin top flight clubs!
OOFIF - June 25th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Why would he leave WBA and go to Fulham rather than Everton or Pompey? Come on, it’s obvious; who in their right mind would choose to live in Birmingham, Liverpool or Portsmouth when you can live in West London.
Scott H - July 16th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Ivors tache you do not have a clue mate