West Brom fans warm up to Ideye

Clarke, Mclaren praise Aiyegbeni

WEST Brom are through to the next round of the FA Cup after a comfortable 4-0 triumph against Premier League rivals West Ham. The Hammers saw former Baggies midfielder, Morgan Almafitano sent off in the game but, truth be told, West Brom were good value for their win.

There were plenty of great performances. The back four were solid. James Morrison scored and shone in the heart of midfield as Claudio Yacob did the dirty work – while Saido Berahino was also in top form.

  But Brown Ideye was once again the star attraction, especially considering the fact he so nearly left the club on Transfer Deadline Day.

  The Nigerian became the club record signing in the summer when they snapped him up from Dynamo Kiev for £10 million, as confirmed by the club’s official website at the time.

  But he had been struggling in his early days at the club. He struggled to make an impact at West Brom and was not playing regularly under former boss, Alan Irvine.

  However, since Tony Pulis took over, Ideye has become a regular again and has certainly repaid the faith. He has scored four goals in his last three performances.

  Quite a turnaround for a player who, according to The Mirror, was nearly sold for less than half his buying price to Qatari side, Al Gharafa, earlier this month.

  The fans were certainly impressed with his performance that went to Twitter to show their appreciation for the Nigerian’s recent performance.

  Meanwhile, Yakubu Aiyegbeni has been receiving words of praise following his performance for Reading FC in their fifth round FA Cup win against Derby County on Saturday. 

The former Nigeria international striker came off the bench to net the winner as the Royals progressed to the quarterfinals of the competition with a 2-1 victory. 

  Steve McLaren, the Derby manager, who once coached the Nigerian at Middlesbrough said Yakubu is a proven finisher. 

  “He’s horrible. He only needs one opportunity, and as soon as that big smile was there I thought we could be in trouble,” the former England manager said. 

  Reading manager, Steve Clarke, who took the gamble of bringing Yakubu back to England, said he never doubted the capabilities of the striker. 

  “He straightened it and he’s still looking gorgeous. We knew what we were getting with Yakubu. 

  “He’s a goalscorer and we got him in for games like this,” Clarke. 

   Some cynics have questioned his age – 32 – but McLaren revealed that it was never an issue for him. 

  “He told me he was 25 when I signed him at Middlesbrough (in 2005) so I don’t know what age he is now,” said McClaren with a smile.