[SmethDan]

Very flat performance which rudely interrupted an enjoyable day's quaffing in good company. Never mind, we always seem to be a bit pants at Christmas. If nothing else we seem to be very traditional as a club.

Oh well, it's a resurgent Norwich City up next at the Hawthorns on Boxing Day. I'm hoping the players are a little more up for proceedings than seemed to be the case yesterday. COYB, SOTV and all that type of stuff  .

[NJS]

There are certain players in the squad that find it exhausting to play a concentrated block of games but the pool that CC trusts to play from is shallow.   A few are in their middle thirties.  The Championship is a hard running, hard tacking environment and those teams with plenty of young players  thrive at such periods in the season.   
Having one of the most expensive squads in the division is not the same as having one of the most effective for this division.     

[gazberg]

There are certain players in the squad that find it exhausting to play a concentrated block of games but the pool that CC trusts to play from is shallow.   A few are in their middle thirties.  The Championship is a hard running, hard tacking environment and those teams with plenty of young players  thrive at such periods in the season.   
Having one of the most expensive squads in the division is not the same as having one of the most effective for this division.   

That is also a big issue. Hopefully come summer we have new owners and can do some wheeling and dealing

[boinging_along]

Terrible performance, right when we needed a good one.

We just don't have the defence we need really.  Okay was dropping so deep to pick the ball up from the CH's he was level with them.  Trouble is, that leaves just Mowatt in the middle and easy for the boro players to push on and make it difficult.  Then eventually the ball gets wide to Townsend and they'd just rush him and we'd lose the ball with one of his 'can't be bothered' flicks up the line to nobody.  Trouble is, if Okay doesn't drop in, then the 2 CH's aren't great at getting the ball forward.

Throw in a BTA performance at the other end that was an even bigger disgrace it's no surprise we couldn't get anything going.  I realise BTA wasn't meant to be first choice, but he's got to be doing more for the team.  It seems to me that our midfield are a bit reluctant to give him the ball at times because he loses possession so often.  Throw in ridiculously lazy efforts like trying to score from the half way lane and I hope we go back to try a midfielder up front instead.