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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Under 23's / Academy Thread

« on: Yesterday at 09:06:48 PM »

I don't know how good our youngsters are,all I am saying they apparently haven't been brought up to the  required standard.
 Last week we played Bournemouth a match we were likely to lose but we chose to play our tired first teamers rather than play the youngsters.It was pointed out that we had Bostock on the bench but he wasn't on the pitch.Fellows did come through but he had been on loan at Crawley and I don't think he played for us as a teenager.
 I see a lot of televised football and a lot of teams even in the Premiership play regularly.The other night a young player making his debut scored a superb goal for Millwall but I have my doubts that he would get on the pitch for us.
 The important point is that if youngsters get picked it lifts all the others and they might improve their value and even make the first team as first choice.

I think previously we have played a team of kids and stiffs and learned nothing
We should be picking the best 2 or 3 and playing them in cups with an established team around them
I would like to see us put one or two youngsters on the bench every week
That way if you are winning or losing by 2 or 3 you can get them on for 15 minutes see how they handle it
Nelson the right back is highly thought of so to Heard and Whitwell
I’d rather see Whitwell coming on than Racic

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Josh Maja joins Albion

« on: January 12, 2025, 09:00:44 PM »

If there is interest then I’d be looking to extend his contract by a couple of years which we may have to include a release clause in or risk losing him for free
I’d say somewhere between 15-20 million seems about right

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Caleb Taylor

« on: January 12, 2025, 08:58:22 PM »

Exactly, that NO winning promotion from league one, does not make you a player good enough for the championship, as random example off the top of my head Johnson Clark Harris I think his name was, who scored loads in the third tier for the posh and not so many above.

I totally agree with the forwarding planning part, but it doesn't mean we play players who aren't good enough yet just because they are one of our own.

We all want our own to do well with us, but we can't just play them if they aren't good enough yet.

Yes but you seem to be deeming him not good enough after one game against a premier league team.
I could also point out Ipswich has an example where they came up and kept the core of the league one team.
He was certainly no worse than Holgate.
I think in he cups we predominantly play a whole team of young ones and fringe players which gives us no insight has to wether a select few may excell in a team with more established first team
Plus to a certain extent centre halves and goalkeepers tend to mature and reach there peak a little later in there career
We might have to agree to disagree but I’m not writing him off yet in becoming good enough for us at our current level

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Caleb Taylor

« on: January 12, 2025, 02:23:06 PM »

I don't think he'll ever be good enough much as we all want him to be.

There is a racehorse called Ahoy Senor. He is a steeplechaser who falls apart too often over his fences because his brain can't get the message to his legs quickly enough. Caleb reminds me of him.

There were several moments yesterday where he hadn't got a clue mentally what he was doing. The first goal, the incident where he tried to head a clearance and almost chest flopped it. The time where he got caught on the ball and Bournemouth messed up a 2 on 1. All of these because his brain didn't think quickly enough so he just ends up with an ungainly physical reaction. Plus he turns like a snooker table.

I actually thought he looked OK with the ball at his feet but any time he was under any pressure defensively he couldn't cope.

Caleb isn't a kid anymore he's 22 sometime this month.

By all accounts he did very well at Wycombe. League one is probably his level.

So if Wycombe is his level and they get promoted then he will be a championship defender which is our level no?
We have to start forward planning instead of continually giving extra years to the likes of mowatt and Bartley
Holgate is a train wreck at centre half
Ajayi can’t read the game, his first touch is awful but his pace bails him out
I’d at least like to see him play alongside Heggem for half a dozen games on the trot before we right him off

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: John Swift

« on: January 11, 2025, 08:36:16 PM »

I continually stuck up for swift earlier in the season but the last few months he has been anonymous, lazy even
The introduction of him and mowatt means we revert to walking football and negates our attacking threat

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: After Match Debate

« on: January 11, 2025, 08:31:25 PM »

We've just given him a new contract. Just saying.

He is the most reliable out of that lot but the fact he can’t run means you have to play him alongside molumby or diakite
I think he would be ok in a 3 man midfield but that means we can’t start one of Johnston or Grant and we have looked so much more of a threat with the 2 wide men and grant/maja through the middle
Sub  at best mowatt for me

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Caleb Taylor

« on: January 11, 2025, 06:08:52 PM »

Yep, him and Heggem at CB could be a nice partnership longterm. They're also two giants as well which would help on set pieces.

Let’s hope the new head coach has the bottle to do that in front of Bartley ,Ajayi and Holgate who will all be on significantly higher wages

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Ousmane Diakite Signs

« on: January 11, 2025, 06:06:21 PM »

It’s a pity we tool so long to pair him with molumby

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: After Match Debate

« on: January 11, 2025, 06:04:07 PM »

I was hoping for a narrower defeat when I saw the teams but playing Racic,mowatt and swift in midfield is a disaster waiting to happen at any level none of them can run or tackle
When you add Holgate and Grady to those that’s half a team who frankly would struggle in the championship so it was no surprise we were overrun so often
Those 5 along with Wallace,Cole ,Ajayi and Bartley need releasing end of the season
But saying that I wouldn’t trust Pearce to replace them how he still keeps his job is another thing

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:52:45 PM »

And it’s 5
Molumby loses the ball and we’ve no midfield

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:48:46 PM »

Wallace is just abysmal.

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:46:28 PM »

Styles has stuck to his task well
Diakite and molumby have offered us more legs
Other than one error which should have resulted in a goal Taylor has done ok
Bournemouth have settled for 4 luckily

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:26:24 PM »

I’m hoping to see Boston’s for 10 minutes but doubtful now Johnston has come on
Hindsight I know but Whitwell surely can’t do any worse than Racic swift or mowatt in midfield

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:14:01 PM »

Fellows still offering a threat
Styles battling away
About time Racic and Mowatt off

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:10:00 PM »

Miscontrol in the middle from mowatt who compounds it by letting semenyo walk away from him in the box
Racic misses a sitter after good play

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:08:10 PM »

Just wow mowatt
Doesn’t track runner
It’s a rout

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:03:20 PM »

If we can secure £10 million for Fellows I’d snap their hands off.

Regardless of my opinion on if he will step up to be premier league quality the going rate has to be 15+
I would sell Fellows before Maja

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 04:01:21 PM »

After watching this Bournemouth team a few times they are young quick and athletic everything our midfield today isn’t
When you add Grady to that you can see why they are beating us and a few quality players to boot
It highlights how poor again Holgate is and also Furlong will never be a quality player he gets out done positionally against anyone with a footballing brain
Taylor doing ok
Wildsmith good distribution should have done better with the second goal
Mowatt,swift,Racic ,Grady are all done for me and can leave asap

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:48:09 PM »

A good finish but it highlights our lack of pace when you play mowatt swift and Racic

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:46:14 PM »

Game over

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:38:52 PM »

Holgate is the weak link in our defence regardless of who plays

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:37:11 PM »

Poor from Holgate and wildsmith

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:17:43 PM »

Taylor has to be taller than 6'2. He looks huge

He look a big unit

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:16:53 PM »

Diangana hits the bar Taylor scores the rebound

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Last Match Forum - 11/01 AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 3 - A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: January 11, 2025, 03:14:52 PM »

What I have noticed so far wildsmith looks excellent distribution wise he’s pinged a couple of nice balls so far