It’s becoming a more regular occurrence for West Bromwich Albion to find themselves on the back pages of newspapers due to the antics of their strikers.
Two years ago, the club were dealing with the actions of want-away striker Peter Odemwingie. The season after that, they were dealing with the quenelle controversy of Nicolas Anelka. This year it’s the turn of Saido Berahino, unquestionably West Brom’s best striker since, coincidentally, Peter Odemwingie.
Berahino’s story is one of a Hollywood script. Born in a war torn Burundi, Berahino lost his father in the civil war, and then aged 10 fled the country alone to go to England to join the rest of his family that had been granted asylum. Berahino was unable to locate his family and put in to a care home until immigration officials traced his mother. A year later, he was spotted by West Brom scouts and signed at the West Bromwich Albion Centre of Excellence at under 12 level before signing his professional contract in 2011, becoming a household name in the years to come and gaining an international call up for his adopted country, England, along the way.
Arguably, Saido Berahino owes West Brom a lot. They took the chance on a young boy, looked after him, nurtured him throughout the ranks and gave him his big break. Steve Clarke, manager at the time Berahino became a key figure, made an incredibly brave decision to use Berahino as the main forward. It paid off completely, and for the past two seasons Berahino has seen his stock rise enormously.
As with any young English player it is no surprise to see big clubs linked with them and it was certainly no surprise to see that Tottenham Hotspur were after his signature in this transfer window. One of the biggest transfer stories of the whole window; and it was a transfer that didn’t happen.
Jeremy Peace, the West Brom chairman, had made his stance clear; Berahino would not be sold. There were rumours of an asking price of £25 million but Tottenham did not meet the demands, however they did eventually offer a deal that could rise to £25 million. Key word: “Could.”
As with Tottenham’s chairman Daniel Levy, Jeremy Peace is not a man that budges easy. It’s no secret; everybody in football knows. Ask Curtis Davies. Ask Gary Megson. Ask Peter Odemwingie. Once Peace had released the statement saying Berahino would not be sold it meant only one thing; he would not be sold.
But, as with any transfer saga, statements of intent to the press mean very little and won’t stop a club from trying. Tottenham did nothing wrong in submitting more bids for the player they wanted because that’s the nature of the game, but they should take some blame for the fall out because, had they wanted Berahino that much, they should have just met the asking price straight away.
One transfer request turned down and four transfer bids rejected later and Berahino does something that’s not very new to West Brom fans and he goes to Twitter claiming he will not play for Jeremy Peace again. Two years ago, Peter Odemwingie did it and it alienated him from the fans. Arguably, the Odemwingie fall out and tweets will have hurt West Brom fans more than Berahino’s as Odemwingie was a better goalscorer and a key part to a more successful team, but, regardless, the new hero is Berahino and in sending out a message to the world via Twitter he has effectively ended his relationship with the fans.
West Brom are blaming Tottenham’s approach as the catalyst for the fall out, whilst Tottenham claim Albion made it worse by making transfer bids and requests public. Both have a point, but the unrest started in July, before any bids were made, when news that Tottenham wanted Berahino leaked. Yes, West Brom made it official, but who initially revealed the interest?
And of Berahino’s reaction; who can know what was actually said, or promised, to him behind closed doors? It wouldn’t be the first time a player from West Brom has criticised Jeremy Peace. What if Berahino had been told he could leave the club? Does it warrant the tweet? Of course, a player in the Premier League should understand that anything he puts on social media will hit the headlines and Berahino will have to take much of the blame for the breakdown in his relationship with those that were only a few weeks ago singing his name.
Berahino will appreciate the support West Brom have given him since 2004, but the relationship between a player and a football club is totally different to that of a fan and a football club. A fan will stick with their club through absolutely everything, but for a player the club is an employer. If a more famous employer comes offering more money then that can talk volumes. For many normal fans, if an employer offered them a serious pay rise and a chance to work at a bigger company they’d surely consider it. For Berahino, this whole saga is essentially just that. There is no emotional connection, it is just business.
In essence, Berahino has done nothing wrong in wanting a move and asking for a move, but to use social media to air frustrations was a disastrous move and one that he desperately needs to think about finding ways to recover from.
Now, West Brom and Tony Pulis have the undesirable job of re-integrating Saido Berahino in to the fold. Long term players at the club, such as Chris Brunt, Ben Foster and James Morrison (who only a couple of seasons back had a dressing room bust-up with Berahino) will undoubtedly be disappointed by his behaviour. Trying to rebuild his relationship with those key players won’t be easy.
And then the hardest task of them all; repairing the relationship with the fans. Berahino needs to apologise, not post pictures of himself on a private jet on the Internet, to at least start to repair some of the damage done. Even then, it probably won’t be enough. He needs to work hard, and score goals; only then may fans start to forgive.
WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Saido Berahino of West Brom shoots past Joe Hart of Manchester City but fails to hit the target during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City at The Hawthorns on December 26, 2014 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
