[Signor_Maresca]

Very fair and reasoned article BaggiesFacts. 

But as you say none of us have the knowledge that AI has and nor are any of us as qualified as JP to make that decision, stick or twist I support and back his judgement. 

[dangerman]

I'm going to make good use of my time today and create a paper yellow bar with Alan Irvine sacked by West Brom  on it then turn on sky sports news and sellotape my yellow bar to the tv giving the illusion the inept clown has gone 

On a serious note the decision to sack him has already been made but he wont be officially relieved of his duties until after our next bad performance which will more than likely be against West Ham barring a result that will make him impossible to sack i.e. if we won 3, 4, 5 nil.

This makes sense in a couple of ways, if we did appoint a new manager today he would not have enough time to work with players before the game, also if a new manager came in and we get tonked 3 or 4 at an inform West Ham in his first game it would be a morale sapping first game that may may dilute the effect of having a new manager, thirdly it buys the club time to line up a replacement and conduct interviews.

My "personal opinion" is that they are already pretty sure who they want, I don't think we are looking at the length of time it took to appoint the last two managers.

It makes sence.

I hope they get it right this time, whoever they chose.

[WBAinDEVON]

E&S Headline. Lay off my assistants

[dangerman]

Lay-off my assistants says under-fire Irvine

Under-fire boss Alan Irvine urged Albion fans to lay off his assistants after the crowd turned on Keith Downing and Rob Kelly during yesterday’s defeat at Stoke.

Irvine claimed he should take the criticism for his side’s poor form and revealed his players admitted to “letting staff down” after a seventh defeat in nine games.

Travelling supporters targeted Downing and Kelly with abuse and used the pair’s links with arch-rivals Wolves in chants calling for their departure.

Both men played for Wolves and Baggies fans yesterday sang “You Dingle b******s, get out of our club.”

Downing has served as assistant head coach to Roy Hodgson, Steve Clarke and Pepe Mel, while Kelly arrived at The Hawthorns as joint assistant when Irvine was appointed in the summer.

Irvine said: “I wasn’t aware of it (the chant) but we are all in this together: the players and all the staff.

“The staff are great.

“I’ve said many times about how good the players are to work with, but the staff are great.

“When you hear players say they are letting the staff down – that was something that was mentioned in the dressing room by some of the players – that proves that they are right behind them.

“It’s the kind of reaction I would expect from an honest group of players. They’re extremely disappointed at what’s happened. The players are fully aware of how well the staff work and how hard they work.

“If anybody is to take it then I’m the person that’s standing there. I stand out there and I don’t go and hide.

“I’m there to be shot at but obviously ultimately I make the final decisions and I certainly am happy to be prepared to take the criticism rather than Keith and Rob.”

Irvine, Kelly and Downing were subjected to boos and criticism as they walked past travelling fans at the end of yesterday’s game with the trio staring straight ahead and walking down the tunnel.

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2014/12/29/lay-off-my-assistants-says-under-fire-irvine/

[OldburyWBA]

Lay-off my assistants says under-fire Irvine

Under-fire boss Alan Irvine urged Albion fans to lay off his assistants after the crowd turned on Keith Downing and Rob Kelly during yesterday’s defeat at Stoke.

Irvine claimed he should take the criticism for his side’s poor form and revealed his players admitted to “letting staff down” after a seventh defeat in nine games.

Travelling supporters targeted Downing and Kelly with abuse and used the pair’s links with arch-rivals Wolves in chants calling for their departure.

Both men played for Wolves and Baggies fans yesterday sang “You Dingle b******s, get out of our club.”

Downing has served as assistant head coach to Roy Hodgson, Steve Clarke and Pepe Mel, while Kelly arrived at The Hawthorns as joint assistant when Irvine was appointed in the summer.

Irvine said: “I wasn’t aware of it (the chant) but we are all in this together: the players and all the staff.

“The staff are great.

“I’ve said many times about how good the players are to work with, but the staff are great.

“When you hear players say they are letting the staff down – that was something that was mentioned in the dressing room by some of the players – that proves that they are right behind them.

“It’s the kind of reaction I would expect from an honest group of players. They’re extremely disappointed at what’s happened. The players are fully aware of how well the staff work and how hard they work.

“If anybody is to take it then I’m the person that’s standing there. I stand out there and I don’t go and hide.

“I’m there to be shot at but obviously ultimately I make the final decisions and I certainly am happy to be prepared to take the criticism rather than Keith and Rob.”

Irvine, Kelly and Downing were subjected to boos and criticism as they walked past travelling fans at the end of yesterday’s game with the trio staring straight ahead and walking down the tunnel.

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2014/12/29/lay-off-my-assistants-says-under-fire-irvine/

Missed out Kiely from that article. Foster and Carson before him went downhill under Kiely. Clear out needed. Get experience in instead of up and coming or never have beens.

[dangerman]

Missed out Kiely from that article. Foster and Carson before him went downhill under Kiely. Clear out needed. Get experience in instead of up and coming or never have beens.

I agree with that.

Foster has not improved since he's been here. If anything it's almost as if he's being told to stay on his line.

Foster was and could still be a very good all round goalkeeper however it seems that he is being coached in such a way which is not allowing him to do certain things.

[darbolina]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/paulfletcher/2011/02/alan_irvine.html

Sure this has been shared before but history repeating itself......?

[Mister AT]

Think youll find the fans meant Kiely not Kelly.

[ian66]

Lay-off my assistants says under-fire Irvine

Under-fire boss Alan Irvine urged Albion fans to lay off his assistants after the crowd turned on Keith Downing and Rob Kelly during yesterday’s defeat at Stoke.

Irvine claimed he should take the criticism for his side’s poor form and revealed his players admitted to “letting staff down” after a seventh defeat in nine games.

Travelling supporters targeted Downing and Kelly with abuse and used the pair’s links with arch-rivals Wolves in chants calling for their departure.

Both men played for Wolves and Baggies fans yesterday sang “You Dingle b******s, get out of our club.”

Downing has served as assistant head coach to Roy Hodgson, Steve Clarke and Pepe Mel, while Kelly arrived at The Hawthorns as joint assistant when Irvine was appointed in the summer.

Irvine said: “I wasn’t aware of it (the chant) but we are all in this together: the players and all the staff.

“The staff are great.

“I’ve said many times about how good the players are to work with, but the staff are great.

“When you hear players say they are letting the staff down – that was something that was mentioned in the dressing room by some of the players – that proves that they are right behind them.

“It’s the kind of reaction I would expect from an honest group of players. They’re extremely disappointed at what’s happened. The players are fully aware of how well the staff work and how hard they work.

“If anybody is to take it then I’m the person that’s standing there. I stand out there and I don’t go and hide.

“I’m there to be shot at but obviously ultimately I make the final decisions and I certainly am happy to be prepared to take the criticism rather than Keith and Rob.”

Irvine, Kelly and Downing were subjected to boos and criticism as they walked past travelling fans at the end of yesterday’s game with the trio staring straight ahead and walking down the tunnel.

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2014/12/29/lay-off-my-assistants-says-under-fire-irvine/

The players and all the staff are great and they are all an honest group of players...so everything is rosey at The Hawthorns then??

[SmethDan]

"Irvine, Kelly and Downing were subjected to boos and criticism as they walked past travelling fans at the end of yesterday’s game with the trio staring straight ahead and walking down the tunnel".


Alan Irvine looked down and walked with his hands in his pockets.
Kelly looked totally bewildered by everything.
Downing was not looking straight ahead, he was looking directly at the fans and looked furious.

[lewisant]

Can somebody answer this for me - what does "honest" mean? We hear it all the time. It's just BS if you ask me.

[WBAinDEVON]

Can somebody answer this for me - what does "honest" mean? We hear it all the time. It's just BS if you ask me.

Like when you tell your mistress you love her

[Signor_Maresca]

Downing was not looking straight ahead, he was looking directly at the fans and looked furious.

Yep Downing was definitely looking the fans straight in the eye with a look of 'f*** you' on his face

[caravanc58]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/paulfletcher/2011/02/alan_irvine.html

Sure this has been shared before but history repeating itself......?

reading the fans comments about Irvine on that article mirrors what most would think about his tenure here

[ian66]

Can somebody answer this for me - what does "honest" mean? We hear it all the time. It's just BS if you ask me.

A lot of industries these days like to employ people with good non-technical skills, this is why the 'great and honest' phrases keep on cropping up.

Yes it is good to have people who are pleasant to work with and are honest, puctual and all the rest of it. But at the end of the day you also have to be good at your job (have the technical skills).

[caravanc58]

Can somebody answer this for me - what does "honest" mean? We hear it all the time. It's just BS if you ask me.

If Irvine was honest he would admit that the jobs above him, not his fault, you're either good enough or you aint.

[Droitwich Baggie]

His level is league One.
Perhaps that is where Peace sees us?

[Mister AT]

If Irvine was honest he would admit that the jobs above him, not his fault, you're either good enough or you aint.

The thing is though if you ask AI, he believes he is good enough for the job.

Its all down to individual errors and sometimes not getting the luck. Not down to not being good enough.

He highlights the 15-20 minutes we play well but fails to talk about the other 70 minutes were we dont create anything.

Its the same excuses each week.

[dangerman]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/paulfletcher/2011/02/alan_irvine.html

Sure this has been shared before but history repeating itself......?

Just thought i'd share one particular post which does sound familiar.

2.At 15:01 3rd Feb 2011, AndyParsons wrote:

I was at Orient and we were dire, completely capitulated after going one-nil down. We have conceded 17 goals in 5 straight away defeats which, at just under 3.5 a game, points out relegation form. We have on paper the best squad in the league but the players need a kick up the back side. Irvine couldn't do that but hopefully someone else can. It's a shame as he was a nice bloke but his team selections recently were one of a man who was clearly under pressure.

[BB74]

His level is league One.
Perhaps that is where Peace sees us?

Is it though? AI struggled in League One aswell.

[maccbaggie]

His level is league One.
Perhaps that is where Peace sees us?

Even then he was sacked in League One for a terrible run of form strikingly similar to our own. Amazing that a Premier League club appointed him.

[Mister AT]

Just thought i'd share one particular post which does sound familiar.

That post you copied, was from 2011, so its clear to see Irvine, despite constantly saying hes learnt from his errors in the past etc, clearly hasnt as you could pretty much write that post again for the majority of our matches this season.

[Mister AT]

Even then he was sacked in League One for a terrible run of form strikingly similar to our own. Amazing that a Premier League club appointed him.

I know its irrelevant, but does anyone know how the Everton youth team were getting on results wise when he was there?

[BB74]

Even then he was sacked in League One for a terrible run of form strikingly similar to our own. Amazing that a Premier League club appointed him.

It's still difficult to comprehend even six months later.

[robnewbold]

We are in freefall mode now and need a complete Coaching Clear Out. I am convinced that JP knows this and is already well under the way to enforcing  Plan B.

He will keep the muppets until after the West Ham , then get rid. Temporary team to look after Gateshead then new team in place very soon after.........now that would be a great belated Christmas present!