Ally Robertson: Regardless of what happened with the taxi, West Brom players crossed a line
Jonny Evans has claimed the incident in Barcelona was sensationalised in the media.
I can understand his sentiments to a degree, because there probably was more focus on it due to Albion’s position in the table.
The reaction may not have been as severe had the Baggies been in 10th.
It’s also worth remembering that we don’t know the full story of what went on that night, and the Spanish authorities decided not to pursue the case.
But even when you put aside all of the alleged actions involving the taxi, when your manager tells you to be in at 12, you should be in at 12.
Forget everything else, breaking a club curfew in such brazen fashion like that shows no respect for the manager.
It’s not like they were just running late and came back half an hour after the allotted hour because time escaped them.
They were out all night just a few days before a huge FA Cup match.
Regardless of what went on at 5.30am in the morning, they shouldn’t have been out at that time, and they’ve put themselves in that position.
We all like a laugh and we all like to enjoy ourselves, heaven knows I did when I was playing.
But you have to know where to draw the line, and I’m afraid that Evans and the rest of the ‘Cab Four’ overstepped that line by a mile.
It may have been forgiven or even forgotten had the Baggies beaten Southampton in the FA Cup afterwards, but the sheer fact is that Albion have lost every game since Barcelona.
The fans have been fantastic this season, and incredibly patient considering it’s three wins from 38 league games now, if you include the end of last season.
That was epitomised by their tremendous support at Vicarage Road last weekend.
It’s now time for the players to repay them.
As I said earlier this week, it’s not over until it’s over, and the least they can do is fight tooth and nail to try and pull off the impossible.
But even if relegation is our destiny, then we need to go down with a fight rather than a whimper.
A lot of these players may get moves in the summer, but after the debacle in Spain, they need a few more battling performances like the Watford defeat to prove they still care.
