[Mister AT]

Think he deserves huge credit.

Came with a two year plan. Has brought in some gems in Grady and Periera.

Integrated academy players into the squad, Ferguson has now moved to the prem and O’Shea has potentially saved us a few million on a replacement.

Has got us promoted without a recognised goal scorer, still managed on the whole to play good football.

LOVE YOU SLAV!

[baggie82]

The season with Slav:

-Fewest defeats (7)
-Joint-most goals scored at HOME (44G)
-Fewest AWAY goals conceded (18)
-Longest unbeaten run (14 games)
-Most comeback victories (6)

[PartisanBaggie]

Pretty obvious you have formed a bubble with JC😁

Maybe Mark Jenkins will give the top job to me and JC 😆

[Evo_Baggies]

The season with Slav:

-Fewest defeats (7)
-Joint-most goals scored at HOME (44G)
-Fewest AWAY goals conceded (18)
-Longest unbeaten run (14 games)
-Most comeback victories (6)

   

Come on pump it up

[Droitwich Baggie]

An honest man, but still struggling

[SirTonyM]

The season with Slav:

-Fewest defeats (7)
-Joint-most goals scored at HOME (44G)
-Fewest AWAY goals conceded (18)
-Longest unbeaten run (14 games)
-Most comeback victories (6)

Was going to mention the fewest defeats. We drew way too many. We didn’t win tonight but ironically Brentford lost (couldn’t draw at home against the bottom
Place team in the league).
In the summer we basically rebuilt half a team with the money we got for Rodriguez. I know we had a great season but back in August if we had said play offs I would have taken that.
Bilic has flaws which is why he is with us but he is my favourite manager (in recent memory) with Roy and Sir Gary.
I would agree with what Standaman said too.
Oh and that last minute call about loaning Diangana was a master stroke

[chipperclark]

  Has done a magnificent job with limited resources. Has aged 20 years....who said the Championship was easy?? or is it that Albion always leave you on a knives edge?? Brilliant to be back in the Prem

[skyclad99]

An honest man, but still struggling

Struggling with what DB? We have just gained automatic promotion under him for the first time of asking. We have got past the post under his guidance, playing some really entertaining football along the way. Now is the time for him to regroup and shape the team for next season. Credit to Jenkins and Dowling who for the whole seem to be supporting him, and hopefully will continue to do so over the next couple of weeks.

So struggling with what?

[BB74]

An honest man, but still struggling

I agree. Obviously happy we have gone up but it has papered over the cracks. Namely, limping over the line with three draws and a loss and throwing away our biggest lead in recent history.

[boinging_along]

Hi Stan, agree with most of that.

What do you make of the contrast between the first 23 games and the 2nd? Is this a normal fluctuation or something Bilić can never arrest?

I think if your strike force consists of HRK, Zohore and Austin you've got problems.  Hal's good form papered over the cracks and as soon as he reverted back to type, we lost that attacking threat.

We were blunt at one end of the pitch and leaky at the other.  Hence the number of draws we had.  Relying on your midfield to score all your goals isn't ideal, too easy for lower teams to pack out the midfield and defence.

Throw in an amazing run of form from Brentford, the pressure of the run in, the fragmentation of the season due to covid... i think it is harsh to judge this season as a 'normal season.

Put it this way  if we had the exact same results as this season but spread out more randomly with a win to pip Brentford, would we be asking questions of Bilic?  No chance. 

So people are moaning about the order of the points!  We got more points than 22 teams, if someone had offered that at the start of the season we would have snapped their hands off.

Enough fans were saying that they didn't mind us being relegated so long as we played nice football.  We played nice football, got promoted, and now fans are moaning that we didn't win by enough!

Mission accomplished 1 season earlier than planned for, playing some great football despite some deficiencies in the squad.  Happy Days!

[Aixelsyd]

OK so what have I missed...

who is Joe Gubbins?

the QPR player who Slaven hugged after the game..

[NJS]

I wonder if the difference between Brentford's Frank and Bilic was psychology.  Both teams bottled it on the final straight but Bilic managed to get his men to hold their nerves sufficiently to get over the line.  There's no doubt that had the Albion possessed a competent striker we would have been home and dry earlier. 

It's cliche day!

[liverbaggie]

I know people are entitled to their opinion but really some fans? opinions stagger me.
This coach has brought a freshness an attacking younger team,we all know some players limitations,do you think Slav doesn't know that?
Knowing that is an even bigger achievement, top 2 since September, last years failure,he's gone one better than that.
He and the powers that be will know what to do to improve with what money is available don't worry about that.
The openness and honesty and his name around Europe will entice players to come ,younger eager faster skillful players,just wait and see what happens he might even win some of you over.
Well done Slav brilliant job.
There's no joy in some eyes.

[Wbahunty]

Cannot fault what he’s done, he had 2 years to get us up and he’s done it in one.

We should look to sign him for another year onto of his contract ASAP so we know where we stand. I hate the idea of team going up and then sacking the manager when things are harder in the premier league, we we end up going back down then we already know he’s the guy to take us back up.

[Fritzl Palace]

Got us promoted with a worse squad than we had last season. We had HRK up front for the majority of the season for the love of God. Last season we had Gayle and Rodriguez and the likes of Holgate and Barnes who are now established Premier League players who are being touted for England.

No issues whatsoever here with Slav. Did the job he was assigned at the first attempt. Did I agree with all of his decisions during the season? No, but ultimately he got the job done and I have full faith in him to plan for next season now and identify the weaknesses we have (and there are plenty).

[Pelada]

Agree fully - he has used the loan system tremendously.

Had we have signed a genuine striker instead of Zohore we’d have been up about 4 weeks ago. Until this season HRKs averaged 4 goals a season. Austin I’m afraid has never ever looked fully fit- I wonder if he has some sort of issues limiting his performances because he struck me as someone whose body wasn’t allowing him to do what his mind wanted.

Slav still has a good reputation with West Ham fans, the pressure of the London stadium move hurt them. I’m amazed we ever managed to get him having done the play offs with jimmy Shan last year *shivers*. I was resigned to us having a long spell away from the Premier league.

Slav got the job done with some difficult restrictions and if he signs a handful of improved additions in the right areas we will make a proper fist of it.

[liverbaggie]

Just a side issue, does the club get a runners up trophy of any kind and players medals?

[Standaman]

Hi Stan, agree with most of that.

What do you make of the contrast between the first 23 games and the 2nd? Is this a normal fluctuation or something Bilić can never arrest?

There is a huge amount of a variance in football much more than anyone likes to own up to. Professionals adopt the the attitude the harder I train the luckier I become which is entirely the right attitude but not entirely true. Some coaches have an approach that dampens variance others like Bilic have an approach that frankly amplifies it. Also add in the Championship factor which is the most gloriously volatile league in the world and you can expect big swings in fortune.

Bilic is a front foot coach he is trying to win as opposed to not lose in pursuing that he is not afraid to make bold decisions in both team selections and in game substitutions when they work he is a genius when they fail he is an idiot.

[Jimmy]

Some of the attacking play this season has been the best I have seen at the Albion in thirty years.

Just think we had tony bloody Pulis!! Couldn’t be happier with Slaven, get a striker and a keeper and let’s see what happens. Love the passion, the attacking style. Yeah we bottled it at times and made it hard for ourself but would it be Albion if we didn’t?

COYB !!!!!!

[skyclad99]

He achieved automatic promotion without an in form out and out striker, that is some achievement.

[Dan]

He's ultimately done well although i'll keep a skeptical eye on him for now. We were bad for pretty much as long as we were good, and for all the talk of us being good in attack - we were utterly useless for too many games attacking wise in the second half of the season. Our goalscorign second half of the season wasn't notable at all, nor did we particularly create chances.

This isn't all on him, obviously our strike force is among the worst in the league and relied on HRK hitting a purple patch but I am worried of a side that is defensively liable to slip, a midfield that can't cope with pressure, and the worst strikeforce we've had in decades. By the sounds of it we're going to trust these players rather than overhaul, and unless he gets those few signings very right its going to be a very long season.

[AlbionFan]

He delivered a two year project in one year.

Whats not to like?

Works for me!

[Albion79]

Personally i am chuffed we have him and looking forward to seeing what he does next season.

My last memories of the premier league are three years of boredom and just grinding results, there is more to football than that to me.

I have no doubt we will be predicted as one of the strugglers and there is every chance that will be the case but i think under Bilic we will approach games in a positive manner.

He picked up a club that had lost to one of its local rivals who then went to go up via Wembley, he lost 40+ goals, he inherited a goalkeeper and defence that was shaky to say the least and then had to stamp some sort of identity on a team that had losts its way for months prior to it.

I think we also have to take into account the COVID, yes it was the same for everyone but Bielsas teams are usually known for running out of steam (not just Leeds last season, its happened prior with other teams of his) yet as we were approaching the last two months of the season, COVID strikes.

Bielsas team playing a unique high tempo of football and with the COVID they get a three month break and i think they came back refreshed and able to play the football he wanted and rightly won the league as the best team, i think it may of been different with no COVID.

Same with Brentford, they were the little fairytale story, everyone loved them, they had a free hit because nobody had Brentford to be doing so well, yet they gelled, played great football and put an amazing run together, the pressure was off most of the time, yet when the pressure fell on them, they bottled it losing 2 games against struggling teams.

Fulham have arguably the best individuals yet finished 4th, so i think all things considering Slav has done great.

I think he has made some errors as we all do, there were times we could of tried a different approach (prime example, when we were playing teams who came to defend, we usually had lots of pace on our wings anyway, i think he could of played Brunty at left back in those games, we already had enough pace, but try something different who has more quality on the ball) but all managers have their hinderances.

I think the biggest issue Bilic may have next season is he seems a very intense coach, towards the end at West Ham he looked a broken man because i think he is an all or nothing man so when things arent going well, it gets to him, if we are struggling next season, have a run of defeats, thats when then the test will be, not necessarily the team as i think its expected but how he personally reacts to it.

But i look forward to seeing what happens with him in charge.

[johnny Cash]

I know people are entitled to their opinion but really some fans? opinions stagger me.
This coach has brought a freshness an attacking younger team,we all know some players limitations,do you think Slav doesn't know that?
Knowing that is an even bigger achievement, top 2 since September, last years failure,he's gone one better than that.
He and the powers that be will know what to do to improve with what money is available don't worry about that.
The openness and honesty and his name around Europe will entice players to come ,younger eager faster skillful players,just wait and see what happens he might even win some of you over.
Well done Slav brilliant job.
There's no joy in some eyes.

You said we were awful, mentally weak and losers on Friday?

Now following a 2-2 draw against a terrible QPR  and a reprieve only by the grace of stoke, Barnsley and Brentford performances and opinions stagger you? Seems fickle.

[SirTonyM]

You said we were awful, mentally weak and losers on Friday?

Now following a 2-2 draw against a terrible QPR  and a reprieve only by the grace of stoke, Barnsley and Brentford performances and opinions stagger you? Seems fickle.

Have so enjoyed the sky rhetoric and online outrage over the past 5 or so days. Albion have crumbled and bottled it and Brentford were unlucky Last year Leeds threw it away and DIDN’T get promoted but Bielsa is now a psychological master.
Football is so often about fine margins. I was really disappointed in the last 3 games but should have beaten Blackburn and last night if you watch the game we were better than QPR and all over them and then Eze hit an amazing strike.
Said before Slav isn’t perfect and has flaws (hence why he’s at the Hawthorns) but did a really good job this year.