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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: February 21, 2024, 07:48:45 AM »

Masterful performance. I thought defence and midfield were excellent and dominated an, albeit poor, Argyle team.
Just two things, why was Swift wearing gloves on a relatively warm night (because he doesn't run much?), and who decided to shut the M5 at Exeter? 
Great night

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: Pre Match Chat

« on: February 18, 2024, 09:34:35 AM »

Most certainly am. We have 1000 tickets for this one, I think, so should be a few of us there. Plenty of Baggies in the Westcountry too. Just need to know which pub we're having a pint in first.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Taylor Gardner-Hickman

« on: August 22, 2023, 04:18:39 PM »

I think a year with another Championship club on loan is a great idea for TGH and the club, especially if they are paying a fair slice of his earnings. It will, hopefully, give him game time to develop and reveal if he can fulfill the potential we all saw when he first came in. It may be he has peaked, as many young players do. I hope not but this is an opportunity to find out.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: August 06, 2023, 10:57:56 AM »

I have only watched extended highlights so any comments I make are on that basis. The team selection came as a surprise. I don't think many of us would pick Ajayi & Kippers together, neither has good positional sense, and Challobah's selection is a mystery. But it was 2 very sloppy mistakes and 3 missed penalty decisions- another mystery except we've seen it so many times before- that did for us. A centre forward would (hopefully will) help of course. We've known that for years. But overall, we are an average Championship team, albeit with inflated wages, that came close to beating a similar club but for the above. Not useless but not great either I suggest.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: April 07, 2023, 06:54:35 PM »

Sorry, missed Rogic off my player assessments. Says it all, didn't notice he was on 2

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: April 07, 2023, 05:57:21 PM »

We've had some poor away days - and this was down there with the worst. When Hugill is making a mess of your defence you know how bad it is.
Griffiths 7/10 His saves stopped this being a horrible hammering
Furlong 4 Does he ever get out of 3rd gear? Passing was awful
Ajayi 2 Giraffe on ice. Couldn't head, pass or tackle
Pieters 3 Looked lost
Townsend 6 At least tried and won penalty
Challobah 3 So slow and had little effect on the game
Wallace 5 Needs the ball and a centre forward for his crosses. Yet again neither was forthcoming
TGH 6 Not the child wonder we hoped but at least he tries and can pass the ball moderately accurately
Swift 2 He may as well have sat next to me
Dike 3 Still not sure what this hulk can do. Today it was nothing
BTA 5 His effort can't be faulted and can't help liking the fella, even if his effect on the game was minimal.
Subs - Bartley 6, Albrighton 5, Grant 3



In all, this was very poor

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Carlos Corberan

« on: March 04, 2023, 06:33:22 PM »

I'd just like to complement Albion79's post which, I  too, think sums things up well. Intelligent and thoughtful. CC is a good head coach, I feel, and needs time, opportunity and some financial backing. His 'tinkerman' approach (Adrian Goldberg's title) comes, I feel, from his desperate desire to make us successful- even with our limited squad

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: March 04, 2023, 05:30:09 PM »

Two things would make the world of difference to our team and make us a successful championship team. In priority order, a centre forward/ goalscorer and a dominant centre back. Unfortunately, they are difficult to find and usually cost a lot of money.
Had we anyone close to being that we would have won by a mile last night

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: February 21, 2023, 07:47:52 AM »

Sorry, it was Atomic who said Albrighton can play on the left

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: February 21, 2023, 07:36:35 AM »

I too would like to see TGH back in the fold. His passing can make a difference. Rogic, I'm afraid, is a busted flush - too slow, and surprisingly for a 6 foot Ozzie, he doesn't seem to like a battle. I agree with Alex, Albrighton needs to play on the left so the balance is not upset.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: February 20, 2023, 11:01:45 PM »

Good player that he is, Albrighton has unbalanced our team. Chaloba shows why he hasn't played much in the last year or so. Wallace and Swift gave us greater balance when played in their rightful positions. BTA showed league 2 thinking by often being the wrong side of defenders and Townsend looked scared stiff when faced by Sarr. Okay spent much of the 1st half chasing the ball to make up for others' inadequacies. Grady is a mere shadow of a player, I've yet to see what Dike brings but apart from that......

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: October 29, 2022, 04:56:13 PM »

Well, now Carlos knows what most of us knew long ago. Don't blame the new man, one hell of a lot of bad expensive decisions led to this. I hope he makes it clear that chasing where the ball was, is not high pressing and running back to your own penalty area but not challenging is not defending.
PALMER 5/10 -Who wouldn't be confused behind this lot? Better than Button
FURLONG 2 -Can't recall a player whose quality has gone backwards so quickly and completely. Why didn't he
                   follow through and challenge before their 2nd goal?
O'SHEA 4  - How many different partners has he had in the last 3 years? No wonder he looks lost
PIETERS 3 - Reason why he was available. Bang average at best. Positional awareness but no pace

GRADY 5 - Flatters to deceive, beats players but nothing on the end of it
LIVERMORE 3 - Bad day - again. Game passed him by completely. Stood and watched as they broke for 2nd
TGH 7 - My favourite but, hey, made our best 2 passes, never stops running and showing for the ball but is
            young and light and will make mistakes. Often by himself in midfield with nothing in front to go to.
WALLACE 2 - Not sure what his position was and neither was he. Good player misused.
PHILLIPS 6 - Much maligned by fans but one of our best players today. Not that there was much competition
TOWNSEND 4 - Gives what he's got - which isn't that much. Continues to put poor crosses into an empty box

GRANT 1 - Managed to put his shirt on the right way round. About the only thing he did.

Subs - SWIFT - There is a player in there somewhere, just waiting to see him
 MOLUMBY - Added energy and actually had a shot! Hope he starts on Tuesday ( that's how bad it is)
BTA - At least he gives it a go, though why he tried a ballet move instead of heading in a cross I don't know
 REACH - Why???

I hope we return to a very simple, obvious formation with no overlapping full backs, just defenders, more mobile, central midfield 4, and BTA (our only CF it seems) and 1 other up front. We need the basics because we are in big trouble

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: October 18, 2022, 10:53:01 PM »

Hopelessly incompetent. Optimism from Saturday lasted about 25 seconds when Brizzle could have taken advantage of poor backpass. Defending needs drilling so we're not all over the place, midfield needs movement off the ball (not just sideways passing), forwards, we have a league 2 hopeful & at the end a bustling lad.
Set pieces, particularly corners were no threat, we have no aerial presence so need some guile. Crossing into an empty box is pointless, especially when the crosses are as bad as Townsend's. Townsend and Grady did not gell, neither did Phillips and Wallace. Don't blame Beale too much. We need a good coach

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Parallels with mid 80s

« on: October 06, 2022, 06:07:38 PM »

I hope I live long enough to see a 'reboot'. During those wilderness years and the arrival of the Premier league, I  couldn't see us ever being part of it. It was almost a different sport.
We did make it though so let's hope someone somewhere comes along to revive us.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Parallels with mid 80s

« on: October 06, 2022, 10:06:17 AM »

Watching the rapid decline of our club brings back memories of the mid 1980s when the Board of Directors took the conscious decision to rid the club of its expensive players and replace them with cheaper alternatives. Cyril Regis,Peter Barnes, Gary Owen, Steve McKenzie, Asa Hartford and the like were moved on only to be replaced by journeymen players and some youngsters.
There is only one way to go in such circumstances. Bring in managers way past their best or cheap hopefuls who go along with the idea, accelerates the downward spiral.
Maybe we'll have an occasional blip as we had with Ozzie but generally I feel utterly depressed by the present owners and the dismantling, since the appointment of Pulis, of a sustainable, successful system for a club of our size.
I don't choose to support West Bromwich Albion. It's part of who I am. The present situation is dire.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Alex Mowatt

« on: March 13, 2022, 10:08:33 PM »

I watched QPR beat Luton today. Is Mowatt better than Sam Field? Not for me - rather like Molumby does not have the creativity of Romaine Sawyers. Our recruitment had been poor.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: When did it start to go wrong playing wise?

« on: March 02, 2022, 03:47:34 PM »

Have to agree with Jimmyj- JP's decision to sell, the need to be in the Prem and the choice of Pulis to achieve that started the rot. Aside from the rotten, devisive attritional football, Pulis took control of the transfer process (Burke anyone?), abandoned any idea of youngsters being brought through and devided the fan base completely. With the sale completed, we have seen a series of dreadful decisions under the stewardship of owners who know nothing about our game and have left the running of the club to 'good talkers' who bring us to where we are now - poor squad, many of whom are on stupidly long contracts, good players leaving replaced by poorer ones (Pereira for Reach anyone?), managers vetoed, chosen and abandoned, a strong academy destroyed and the process of sinking now established. Quite a legacy JP

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: New Manager 2022 Feb

« on: February 02, 2022, 09:39:03 PM »

Be careful what you wish for.
For years I've wanted the club to appoint a DoF and manager with a vision of how to play throughout the club, preferably a pressing ,quick passing game, where youngsters are brought through and transfer targets are fewer and clearly identified for what's needed.
We got Val who ticked some of those boxes. It's been awful.
Now it looks like we're getting a pair whose titles may be different but jobs are what I think we need. Sadly, it's a pair off the merry-go-round and is utterly uninspiring. I hope I'm wrong.

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General Football & Sports / Re: Valérien Ismaël - Head Coach

« on: January 31, 2022, 04:32:41 PM »

The Chinese owners will not want to lose face over this. Having vetoed the appointment of a manager who is successful and was wanted by the professionals at the club (and many of us fans) they will be seen to have got it wrong. We all know they have but from a distance WBA are still in with a shout of promotion and I think it unlikely that they will move yet.
Talk of a 'break clause' at the end of the season gives me a glimmer of hope that this awful football will end. Not as soon as I would like, which is now, but it will end.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: December 27, 2021, 05:30:24 PM »

Hard to find the words to describe that ; pathetic, inept, just plain awful? I've tried to give VI a chance but, come on, playing JR up front and the ball being lumped high? Set positions, particularly up front, that are predictable and easily defended? 3 at the back against , who? At least we had plan B - panic! Slight shaft of light with the youngsters but why are they not starting?

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: Pre Match Chat

« on: December 11, 2021, 02:24:54 PM »

The 60 minute substitutions should be interesting...

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Rekeem Harper

« on: June 10, 2021, 09:53:26 PM »

Many players look good at 18/19/20 when they are boys in men's bodies with all the confidence and energy of youth. Unfortunately, most do not go on, become more aware and improve. Sadly, Rakeem seems to fall into this category. He looked such a prospect. Good luck, fella, I hope you have a good career.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: New Manager Thread

« on: June 10, 2021, 09:41:00 PM »

I was delighted to see the back of Pulis & Pardew, disappointed when Big Dave & Slaven were sacked and wanted Sam to stay. I desperately want some stability, purpose and an attempt to play football fit to watch, like most fans. McInnes? NO! Neil? Uninspiring but just the kind we go for. Think I'll close my eyes until it's all over and avoid the pain and embarrassment.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Semi Ajayi

« on: February 03, 2021, 11:37:34 AM »

How many different centre backs has he been patterned with this season? What chance has he had to be in an established system? Like most, if not all, Albion players he has faults. He wouldn't be with us for long if he didn't. I agree his positioning and decision making has been poor at times but I think there's a decent player here who is bewildered by the changes and left exposed by a lightweight, overrun midfield.

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Albion Matchday Forum / Re: After Match Debate

« on: February 02, 2021, 09:18:15 PM »

We were okay in the 1st half. THEN - why drop so deep? They aren't swift. Livermore and Snodgrass haven't the legs to get up and support attacks from deep and are knackered after 60 minutes. Why is Gallagher not on sooner/starting? Why take Robinson off? Can't see the Big Sam magic.