West Brom may be on the verge of returning to the Premier League.
At any other point in history, that sentence would be a cause for wild celebrations across the Midlands, but in the current climate, it may actually spark a bit of disappointment amongst the Baggies’ fanbase.
With football put on hold for the foreseeable future, there are reports suggesting that both Leeds and West Brom could be top-flight teams next season despite not earning promotion in the conventional manner.
Of course, the Baggies will be buzzing with their return to England’s biggest stage and the financial incentives that come with being in the top division, but the actual moment of being promoted to the top-flight has been taken away from them.
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The Baggies fans have been brilliant this season, with Albion having the fifth-highest average attendance in the Championship, despite having the 12th biggest ground, and every fan will have been looking forward to the jubilation of the final whistle going in the game that secured their teams return to the Premier League.
However, that moment may never come.
The fans may now find out through a press release or a social media statement that their team will be in the top-flight next term, and while that will bring about plenty of smiles and a lot of celebratory tweets, it won’t come close to matching the ecstasy of being in a packed out Hawthorns with thousands of other Baggies fans going ballistic.
It’s not just the fans who will be missing out on this moment, think about the players.
For some of these lads this will be the pinnacle of their careers, and they won’t even get to celebrate it properly.
Think about someone like Chris Brunt.
The Northern Irishman has played 419 games for the club and being promoted would have been the perfect send-off for the skipper after he admitted he doesn’t expect to be at the club next season after years of service.
However, if the term is cut short his final ever game for the club will have been a less than memorable FA Cup loss to Newcastle United.
Being promoted by default is a pretty bittersweet end to what was shaping up to be one of the more memorable seasons of the club’s history.
In other news, West Brom may be impacted if the Championship runs until July