[KingKoren]

It's probably a very contrasting experience for Val as his time at Barnsley would have been unanimous support from their fan base although, saying that, they wouldn't have been in the stadium to watch the football. The expectations are far greater here, justifiably so, however I honestly see very little genuine quality in this team. Grady is our star name and he has been out of form for a long time, apart from that we have some good players for this level but nothing exceptional.

I was reading the match thread on a QPR forum and they were all complaining that they were being outplayed and that they weren't happy with Warbutton's tactics in the game. I think their tactics made complete sense and if their keeper had not made that poor error then they may well have won against an unbeaten team, one of the favourites for promotion, away from home, yet they all seemed unhappy. Fans are seldom pleased and the narrative turns on head if the results are positive, regardless of results the statistics demonstrate that apart from Millwall we really should have won those other games. The agricultural football is only a problem when we're not winning.

[kc56wba]

As a fan I want my team to entertain me by playing football
I do not care what league we play in
I don’t mind if we win or lose or draw
Even a loss can be great game
It doesn’t matter how many points or wins you have if it’s not entertaining
Even people defending VI admit the football isn’t great
If the football isn’t great what’s the point?
People are booing as they do not enjoy watching the game
If the result was all that mattered why sit there for 90 minutes to wait for it?
Just read about it online or turn up five minutes before the final whistle
The result is meaningless it’s how the result was achieved that were all addicted to

If we lost the first 9 games in a season but were playing well would you say the result was meaningless cause the team played well?

[wappingbaggie]

We were headed for a certain 0-1 loss, until a terrible goalkeeping error that make Johnstone's look minor in comparison.  We never looked like scoring. 

 So according to your original statement if we had lost 0-1 our next game would have been a 'must-win' for VI to save his job??

Mate you've picked the wrong club to follow...we can't meet your expectations....throw your Albion  shirt away and buy a chelsea or man u shirt....as JP accurately summarised, wba natural place in the world is mid table championship....somehow we've outperformed, thanks to SGM and Roy, but it won't last for ever

[OldburyWBA]

So according to your original statement if we had lost 0-1 our next game would have been a 'must-win' for VI to save his job??

Mate you've picked the wrong club to follow...we can't meet your expectations....throw your Albion  shirt away and buy a chelsea or man u shirt....as JP accurately summarised, wba natural place in the world is mid table championship....somehow we've outperformed, thanks to SGM and Roy, but it won't last for ever

Can we cut this out about telling people to go and buy other shirts?

Its a forum where views of both sides are allowed, not just one side.

[KYA]

What is a fan supposed to do?
If his her team are not playing well no effort etc etc
We cheer them on and on
But if the team  continues to not play well etc a supporter is allowed to criticise surely?
How does one criticise?
It's a bit weird to not criticise to just keep on cheering them on to lose?
Ah well how sad never mind we start again on Tuesday, doing the same thing all over again then suddenly we're In division 3
Boo if you want it doesn't mean you don't love our club just those particular players at that moment in time the trouble is how long do you wait before you boo?

I don't think being near the top of the league is a sign the team is struggling and a reason to boo the team where do you go from there if they were losing every week .

[GREGMT]

So according to your original statement if we had lost 0-1 our next game would have been a 'must-win' for VI to save his job??

Mate you've picked the wrong club to follow...we can't meet your expectations....throw your Albion  shirt away and buy a chelsea or man u shirt....as JP accurately summarised, wba natural place in the world is mid table championship....somehow we've outperformed, thanks to SGM and Roy, but it won't last for ever

You made this up, I never said the next match was must win to save the Manager's job.  All I said was he'd come under pressure if we lost to QPR and didn't win at Cardiff or Stoke before the international break.

Personally my whole family is Albion going back in time.  I watched us lose 2-4 to Woking and 1-2 to Hartlepool.

We are a Championship club with a massive financial advantage over our rivals.  I don't need to spell out how vital it is to get promoted this season.  Therefore the Manager needs to maximise all available resources to achieve this.

[KYA]

You made this up, I never said the next match was must win to save the Manager's job.  All I said was he'd come under pressure if we lost to QPR and didn't win at Cardiff or Stoke before the international break.

Personally my whole family is Albion going back in time.  I watched us lose 2-4 to Woking and 1-2 to Hartlepool.

We are a Championship club with a massive financial advantage over our rivals. I don't need to spell out how vital it is to get promoted this season.  Therefore the Manager needs to maximise all available resources to achieve this.

An advantage the club failed to ultilise thus far.

[Atomic]

An advantage the club failed to ultilise thus far.

Our wage bill will be significantly higher than the other Championship clubs except probably Fulham.

[boinging_along]

Our wage bill will be significantly higher than the other Championship clubs except probably Fulham.

Our income is signficantly higher too.

[liverbaggie]

A d Fulham are below us in the league by the way

[Atomic]

Our income is signficantly higher too.

I didn't mention our income.

[liverbaggie]

I must comment on our gk
I think he's OK and I'm not knocking him but can he speak?
There seems to be no communication whatsoever between him and his defenders or am I imaginig it?
For what its worth I'd cash in on him at Christmas.

[boinging_along]

I didn't mention our income.

No, you mentioned the wage bill in comparison to the rest of the division when it comes to us having a financial advantage. 

Our wage bill IS higher, but so is our income. 

It's absurd not to think that we don't have a financial advantage over pretty much of the division.  Actually, if you think we don't, then the only way is if we've been massively mismanaged.

[Atomic]

No, you mentioned the wage bill in comparison to the rest of the division when it comes to us having a financial advantage. 

Our wage bill IS higher, but so is our income. 

It's absurd not to think that we don't have a financial advantage over pretty much of the division.  Actually, if you think we don't, then the only way is if we've been massively mismanaged.

It's because we have a higher income that we can afford to pay higher wages than other clubs so the suggestion that we're not using our advantage isn't strictly true.

[smethwickw]

I must comment on our gk
I think he's OK and I'm not knocking him but can he speak?
There seems to be no communication whatsoever between him and his defenders or am I imaginig it?
For what its worth I'd cash in on him at Christmas.

Assuming anyone wants him. There were no takers in the summer. He’ll be decent back up for a Prem side on a free next summer.

[wbastrollers]

I must comment on our gk
I think he's OK and I'm not knocking him but can he speak?
There seems to be no communication whatsoever between him and his defenders or am I imaginig it?
For what its worth I'd cash in on him at Christmas.

I find this line of debate .......well senseless! and who would you replace him with?
Button!......really. So Super Button is the answer to all our gk problems - if we had any.

[johnny Cash]

I’ve not seen the media report it yet, but as I said in the match day thread. I believe it’s a record unbeaten start if we avoid defeat Tuesday. 

There’s lots to work on but nobody has looked like beating us. I think VI has a solid enough foundation to build on. We are under scoring our xg and conversing more than our xg. Both positive.

I’m not total sold on VI to date on the pitch (off the pitch he’s been brilliant apart from maybe the pereira commments), but some of the criticism so far is over the top and sensationalist, even if there is stuff that shouldn’t be ignored.

[NJS]

...


We are a Championship club with a massive financial advantage over our rivals.  I don't need to spell out how vital it is to get promoted this season.  Therefore the Manager needs to maximise all available resources to achieve this.

Do we really have a financial advantage over the likes of Stoke with its Bet365 owners, over Sheffield Utd with its Saudi prince as an owner, over Fulham with its billionaire owner?  I don't believe so.

Is it really "vital" to get promoted this season?  Would it destroy us to stay in the Championship for one or two more years.  What happened last time we went up straightaway? 

Maybe we could take a few seasons to become a club with a smart recruitment system and modern fitness methods like Brentford, we'll never compete on spending power.

[WD40]

If we lost the first 9 games in a season but were playing well would you say the result was meaningless cause the team played well?

If the team were playing well and lost then there isn’t much more they could do? It’s either bad luck an individual error or the players have reached there level the results would be tough to take but I would have enjoyed the football which is what I would have gone to watch not a league leaderboard

[Albionic]

How many games did VI manage at Barnsley with fans in the ground? He will have (i think) taken over a struggling team had fairly immediate improvement and then covid struck, so he may not have been exposed to his decisions being reacted to negatively since LASK ??

Maybe he needs to develop thicker skin ?

[SmethDan]

How many games did VI manage at Barnsley with fans in the ground? He will have (i think) taken over a struggling team had fairly immediate improvement and then covid struck, so he may not have been exposed to his decisions being reacted to negatively since LASK ??

Maybe he needs to develop thicker skin ?

Without looking it up I think Barnsley supporters were in attendance for one league game last season. If VI needs to develop thicker skin then our support base needs to adopt the virtues of patience and balanced reflection in equal measure at the same time.

Honestly, I know we're all entitled to an opinion but there's been times this weekend when it's felt like I'm wading top lip deep through a swamp of poorly conceived and unadulterated drivel. One extra fart and I'd have drowned.

[WorcsWBA]

Maybe he needs to develop thicker skin ?

Maybe fans shouldn't be booing when their team is unbeaten after 8 games and sitting third in the table (as was the situation at the time of the boos)? I can most certainly understand him being irked by it.

The shots on goal stats I compiled and posted in this thread on Saturday have been ignored, but what they revealed is that booing fans can only really be being picky about the style of play, because there aren't any other grounds to criticise on. If style of play is their main concern, I'm not sure where those fans were when the likes of Pulis and Allardyce were boring the pants off everyone?

I have quite strong views myself about the way we should play but, as long as our game is based around attacking rather than sitting back, I'm willing to accept a more rustic style of play if it's bringing results and, given that the players are still in the process of adapting to a system that's completely new to them, P9 W5 D4 L0 F16 A8 is more than good enough in my book.

[Hull Baggie]

Maybe fans shouldn't be booing when their team is unbeaten after 8 games and sitting third in the table (as was the situation at the time of the boos)? I can most certainly understand him being irked by it.

The shots on goal stats I compiled and posted in this thread on Saturday have been ignored, but what they revealed is that booing fans can only really be being picky about the style of play, because there aren't any other grounds to criticise on. If style of play is their main concern, I'm not sure where those fans were when the likes of Pulis and Allardyce were boring the pants off everyone?

I have quite strong views myself about the way we should play but, as long as our game is based around attacking rather than sitting back, I'm willing to accept a more rustic style of play if it's bringing results and, given that the players are still in the process of adapting to a system that's completely new to them, P9 W5 D4 L0 F16 A8 is more than good enough in my book.

I agree with your post but I'd like to point out that Pulis was regularly booed and fans weren't allowed in the ground during Allardyce's reign apart from the West Ham game (but I'm sure plenty were booing from their armchairs).

[wbastrollers]

Maybe fans shouldn't be booing when their team is unbeaten after 8 games and sitting third in the table (as was the situation at the time of the boos)? I can most certainly understand him being irked by it.

The shots on goal stats I compiled and posted in this thread on Saturday have been ignored, but what they revealed is that booing fans can only really be being picky about the style of play, because there aren't any other grounds to criticise on. If style of play is their main concern, I'm not sure where those fans were when the likes of Pulis and Allardyce were boring the pants off everyone?

I have quite strong views myself about the way we should play but, as long as our game is based around attacking rather than sitting back, I'm willing to accept a more rustic style of play if it's bringing results and, given that the players are still in the process of adapting to a system that's completely new to them, P9 W5 D4 L0 F16 A8 is more than good enough in my book.

Well said , Worcs. I am at a loss to understand the thinking behind some these so called supporters.
Like others have said I can only assume that this is the way the World is going, jump on any bandwagon. After a goal we sing ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ but do we have to take this literally and act as the sheep!!

[seteefeet]

I can't believe how many people are ignoring how emotive this game is.
There's 20 odd thousand who went on Friday who would have been building up to it all day, maybe longer, the emotion, the tension and the anticipation growing gradually as kick off nears. We then go a goal down after 40 seconds and it's like an almighty kick in the guts. All the way to half time and we don't really look like we are getting back into it, of course there is going to be discontent, this pent up emotion needs a release.
The exact same fans were overwhelmed with relief when Grant's first went in and then ecstatic at his second.
Football is an emotional rollercoaster, played out live in front of our eyes and our emotions react accordingly, we can't fully enjoy the highs without experiencing the lows. Let people deal with it their own way and you yours.
A bit like this place, it would be boring if we were all the same.