1

West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Play off Points Target

« on: April 20, 2024, 09:17:01 PM »

1 point should be enough, 3 100% will be.

just win Saturday and we can all breathe a sigh of relief, make 8 changes v Preston and throw everything at 2 legs.

If it’s done after playing Wednesday there is a week until the final game and then 8/9 days before the first leg so we should play our strongest team vs Preston unless anyone has a particular knock 

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Play off Points Target

« on: April 20, 2024, 05:58:55 PM »

4 points guarantees but I expect a win next week is 90% likely to do it from here and if it’s not certain to do it by KO after the midweek games its extremely likely to do it by the time the game vs Wednesday finishes.

We want hull not to get beat Wednesday.

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Last Match Forum - 20/04 Leicester City (A) / Re: After Match Debate

« on: April 20, 2024, 02:33:50 PM »

What can you say. Deserved three points, got none.

Much better side but have to take some of those chances and they shouldn’t have had chance to stop the two in the second half on the line. Couple of bad misses from Grady too.

They’ve had two or three chances besides the penalty and scored twice. Great performance until the finishing, rubbish result

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Last Match Forum - 20/04 Leicester City (A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: April 20, 2024, 01:16:14 PM »

Standard Vardy goal incoming.

Not a pen for me though. Two players coming together

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Last Match Forum - 20/04 Leicester City (A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: April 20, 2024, 01:01:53 PM »

M'Vila is on a tight rope with his tackling.

He’s got to come off at half time

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Last Match Forum - 20/04 Leicester City (A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: April 20, 2024, 12:56:26 PM »

 Game and momentum swings completely.  Sadly I think that’s our chance of winning this game gone

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Last Match Forum - 20/04 Leicester City (A) / Re: In Game Chat

« on: April 20, 2024, 12:53:08 PM »

Agree completely. Do well to get anymore chances as good as the three we’ve had. As well as Johnston has done, he should have at least one and Yokuslu should have done better too.

You just know Vardy is going to get a big chance too

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: OUT ON LOAN THREAD

« on: April 18, 2024, 12:22:18 PM »

Caleb Taylor was an used sub for Bolton last night.  Can we rely on him to be a suitable replacement for Bartley next season? 

Zac Ashworth coming back from injury

Think Taylor is coming back from an injury too. Pretty sure at one stage it was said he would miss the rest of the season.

Real shame we didn’t get him out for the first half as he’s basically lost a year of first team football because of our bench and injury. With games this year he may well have come back ready next season

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General Football & Sports / Re: Anything England Football

« on: April 16, 2024, 01:36:39 PM »

Manager created a team in his own image, Dour, organised, fit, lacking in flair and creativity.

Used to be known as "the english way".
Most successful teams have been a marriage of "the english way" with a sprinkling of highly talented players, or supporting a generational talent (Pele / Maradona / Messi).

If we look at the Argentine side, you would hardly call McAllister / Otamendi / Fernandez / Rodrigo DePaul ...... world beaters, but they were, Largely due to Messi & Di Maria

Gareth needs to choose some "quality" and stick with it, personally I would go Saka / Foden / Palmer.

Grealish / Gordon / Sterling / Bowen   might make my squad but unlikely to play. Rashford definitely would not

At the moment I think Southgate and most fans picks goes Foden left / Bellingham Central and Saka right. Foden gets shunted left probably unfairly but because he's more comfortable out there than Bellingham.

However Foden, Palmer, Saka would allow us to drop Bellingham deeper to play central with Rice, which I think would work really well. Rice Bellingham central has legs, power, pace, bite and quality and you've got balance between one who naturally wants to be more defensive and sit, and another who wants to press forward.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Play off Points Target

« on: April 16, 2024, 01:25:03 PM »

Ìt can and does happen. I don't think it will though. I think if we need to beat Preston we will do.

You'll have to excuse Devon he's not the "glass half full" type. I think if I met him in real life he'd depress the hell out of me.    No offence intended!

I agree, I think we we will beat Preston if we need to. They are all do ne if they don't win tonight. 

Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday are both tricky for different reasons though but we have reasons to fancy our chances in both too.

Leicester should be promoted by now and they can only blame themselves for not being. I wouldn't be feeling too confident about keeping my job if I was Enzo whether they stumble over the line or not. They still have the best squad at this level though.

Decent chance our game with Wednesday's is a must win for by the time it rolls around (with Blue facing Rotherham this weekend then Huddesfield).

Doesn't feel inconceivable to me either that we could go from one loss in 10 to 3 loses in 4, especially with our performances of late.

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General Football & Sports / Re: OFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP THREAD

« on: April 15, 2024, 06:48:30 PM »

If Hull win all their games they would end up with 77 points meaning we could need 6 points to be certain from last 3 games as Norwich have 3 potentially winnable games (Bristol city and Swansea both at home and Blues away)

That's right, at the moment a point wouldn't secure anything, although it could before we play again. Norwich will get 6-9 points in my opinion, the only game they might drop points is Blues (depending if they face a save Blue team or not).  I don't see Hull taking 9 or more points from 12 given their matches, but it is not impossible either.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA FC Financial report 22/23 published

« on: April 11, 2024, 06:23:50 PM »

Couple of interesting points highlighted from Kieran McKenna….

The £20m loan was costing us £26k a week in interest
(The part he highlights also states a percentage of transfer revenue at the end of each window is also part of the agreed repayment schedule).

We paid 800k to release a player early. That must be Zohore who had 26 weeks left on his contract (on the basis even out of contract players are paid until the end of July). That amounts to £30k a week which suggests Zohore was happy to sit out his contract unless paid a very high percentage, if not all, his due money.

We were owed £8m in transfer fees, but owed £10m. We also owed up to £7.6m in for players dependent on hitting certain targets 

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Callum Marshall Joins Albion on loan

« on: April 10, 2024, 12:34:19 PM »

Don’t understand some of the aggression or nastiness I’ve seen online towards Marshall.

We could have done with an extra striker so we took at punt but he wasn’t ready. Simple as that for me. It says nothing about his long term prospects as a pro, the level he could reach, or his attitude.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Play off Points Target

« on: April 10, 2024, 12:14:35 PM »

Agree with Dan in terms of points that ultimately will be required.

76 likely to be the maximum required, fairly likely at this stage to be lower.
Norwich can get to 80, Hull 79, Coventry and Preston 78, Boro 76.

Hull and Coventry impact each other as do Hull and Middlesborough. Both Hull and Coventry also play Ipswich.    Both us and Norwich can impact Preston and they also have Southampton and Leicester to play.

7th seems far more likely to finish on 74 or less. 

Each game as it comes but should we win the next 2 home matches it may well be mathimatically done after the Leicester game, regardless of our result there

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Last Match Forum - 06/04 Stoke City (A) / Re: Pre Match Chat

« on: April 05, 2024, 03:29:38 PM »

Good point on monday in the end, coming from 2-0 down and other results going our way.

With Norwich playing Ipswich and Coventry playing Leeds a point tomorrow could still be another decent result if we can't get three. Even Hull have an away game at the side directly below them in the table and Preston are away to a reinvigorated Watford side that has some big players at this level.
 

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA FC Financial report 22/23 published

« on: April 03, 2024, 06:14:45 PM »

WBA heritage owns some of the land and buildings around the ground. No ides why it was needed but other I doubt there is much if any revenue or expenditure

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA FC Financial report 22/23 published

« on: April 03, 2024, 12:43:08 PM »

We are one of only two clubs not to incur a transfer fee this season. I stand to be corrected but I believe that if you just organised the league table on the size of every team's wage bill we would not be in the top six.

I reckon we are.

I think top 6 are Ourselves,  Leeds, Leicester, Southampton, Norwich, Watford and Hull in 7th. 

I don't see another team that in the league that makes me doubt that.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: Pre Match Chat

« on: April 01, 2024, 10:50:15 AM »

Feels like today’s big and there is potential for a big swing. Win and results go our way, it’s looks like the play offs are pretty much secured. If we don’t and results go against us the position looks a lot more precarious.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: March 29, 2024, 03:16:24 PM »

We created nothing, on that basis it’s a fortunate point for me even if we were better on balance in the second half. I didn’t realise it was no away win on Good Friday in 94 years, which is a horrendous record

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General Football & Sports / Re: OFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP THREAD

« on: March 29, 2024, 03:12:49 PM »

Plymouth beating Norwich 1-0. Hopefully Plymouth and Stoke can take points today

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: In Game Chat

« on: March 29, 2024, 01:30:15 PM »

Poor all around. Poor header from Kipre and then it’s looks to me (although need to see it again) palmer made a mistake not back peddling to his goal to make it a harder finish / give the defenders chance to push him wide or get a block in. The lad was hardly racing away and the finish was easy in the end.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: Pre Match Chat

« on: March 29, 2024, 12:22:08 PM »

I was convinced this was a 3pm game.  Looks like I’m not catching up on work today after all.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Mikey Johnston joins on loan (Official!)

« on: March 27, 2024, 10:47:54 PM »

Tremendous. Should be fit and ready to go Saturday.

Hope his fit for Friday, don’t care what his plans are Saturday

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General Football & Sports / Re: Anything England Football

« on: March 25, 2024, 07:07:24 AM »

England players have struggled for decades against the top nations, usually down to a lack of variety in the players we produce. I'm not sure if you can honestly say that with this squad though, there are several players now who look comfortable in possession and we have strong options in most positions. The fact we are still losing more than we win vs the top nations may well be on the manager this time. If we don't win the Euro's, or at the very least make the final having beaten top opposition, then I hope we say thank you and goodbye to Southgate.

This is an incredible generation of players with more still coming through, it would be a massive shame to waste it on a manager who isn't quite amongst the elite.

I keep hearing Southgate England teams have been / are the best ever in terms of talent. I agree it has depth and players are probably better on the ball on average, but best 11? I’m not sure. Maybe in a few years it will be but Take the 2004 team

James
Cole, Terry, Ferdinand
Gerrard, Rooney

That’s 6 who I think all definitely play in this 11. Rooney perhaps in a different way to how he did because of Kane but I think he gets worked in somehow. Then you’ve got players like Beckham, Scholes and Lampard, at least one more of which would probably forced their way in in the past (Southgate loved Mount so would have loved Lampard and I think in this Era becks plays centrally all his career and he was better than Henderson).

So 6 minimum and as many as 8 at times from 2004 would have been playing for Southgate in his 11 over his tenure.

Southgate is still managing them poorly though. He’s benefitted from a kind era where France have been the only nation not going through a transition of sorts, couple that with incredibly kind tournament draws and he’s failed every test he’s faced.  Said it before but 02/04/06/10 teams that beat us in tournaments all would have sent Southgate’s sides home. Does the 04 side win one of Southgate’s tournaments. I honestly think it does the final vs Italy.

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

« on: March 14, 2024, 01:35:41 PM »

Harrison has been left what 4 years or so ? If they are now filching 16/ 17 year olds and younger I can’t see that leaving to work with him is a direct result of how good he is/was there has to be more in play I.e agents , accountants with brown envelopes for Daddy etc.

Hopcroft was usually the one pictured with 8/9/10 year old's signing, so players he signed could still be as young as 12/13. Money will still be the big draw though I would have thought.  I think there is at least one more who will be going to Villa, which will at least in part be due to Hopcroft. I won't name him but I think he is 16 now and if its going to happen it'll be in the next 12 months.