Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Standaman

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 289
1
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: New Kit for next season
« on: March 20, 2024, 04:50:13 PM »
Macron produce Bologna's kit. Hence the potential link.It basically who will give the club the best deal. If Macron are looking to break into English market maybe they will pay the club a little more than some of the more established brands like Puma etc...

2
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Play off Points Target
« on: March 17, 2024, 10:13:53 AM »
Earlier typo corrected. It also should be noted that Coventry's fixture with Ipswich will be moved to mid week before the final Sunday because they are in the cup semi's. That is potentially a huge fixture with an impact on both automatic promotion and play-offs.

I would also note that the FA cup final is scheduled for the day before the play-off final. So should Coventry make it to the FA Cup final and the play-offs  something would have to give there.

I would also add that for any of the chance for the points total required to be greater than 76 at least one of the chasing teams need to run at 2 or above points per game. Across the last 6 games Norwich and ourselves are the pack isn't.

3
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Play off Points Target
« on: March 17, 2024, 04:33:09 AM »
There are 5 teams chasing 2 places with the following  fixtures


WBA Millwall (A) Watford (H) Stoke (A)Rotherham (H) Sunderland (H) Leicester (A) Sheffield Wednesday (A) Preston   (H)

Norwich Plymouth (H) Leicester (A) Ipswich (H) Sheffield Wednesday (A) Preston (A) Bristol City (H) Swansea (H) Birmingham (A)

HullStoke (H) Leeds (A) Cardiff (A) Middlesbrough(H) Queens Park Rangers (H) Watford (A) Coventry (A) Ipswich (H)  Plymouth (A)

Coventry Huddersfield (A) Cardiff( H) Leeds (H) Southampton (A) Birmingham (A) Ipswich (H) Hull (H) Blackburn (A) Queens Park Rangers (H)

Preston Rotherham (H)Birmingham (A) Watford (A) Huddersfield(H) Norwich (H) Southampton (A) Queens Park Rangers (A) Leicester (H) West Bromwich Albion (A)

Looking at the fixtures it seems unlikely that two teams will run at two points a game across their remaining fixtures because they are either playing each other or teams that have plenty to play for at either end of the table. I think 78 will get us 6th almost 100% of the time and 75 points will get us there most of the time.




4
The Celtic fan I spoke to about MJ (legendary initials and shirt number) was actually very vicious with his hatred towards him.

I couldn't believe it.

It was nearly akin to my dislike of Reach.

I don't know how vicious they are on the Celtic forums about him, but that shocked me.

He went onto imply he was only doing well because of the level we play at, and I didn't want to remind him about the level they play at, as him and mate were bigger than me.

I would also add that their man Brendan isn't all that he is cracked up to be and that he is at Celtic to rebuild his reputation having crashed and burned twice in England.

Although like you said discretion might have been the better part of valour in this particular instance.

5
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA NEW OWNERS - Bilkul football
« on: March 16, 2024, 09:55:03 AM »
We are losing about £2m a month so £5m plus the interest is a drop in the ocean. However it will help with our FFP position because it was impaired in our earlier accounts it will show up as an extraordinary item in this years accounts (23/24).

The repayment marks an end of an era. The loan was probably the final straw for most fans with regard to the Lai ownership it has finally been repaid and we can start to move on.

6
I am well aware of the fans opinion of the player. However even at this stage the player could still be trying to get back into the Celtic fold but Johnston isn't even pretending that's a possibility bridges have been burnt here.

7
Interesting quote from the player

"It just feels like I needed a run of games to play in my position and have some trust from my team mates and the manager. I've had that while I've been here and that's what has helped me kick on"

That sounds like a player that is done with Celtic and I think if we could put something together we might have a shot of signing him. Although I suspect there will be wealthier clubs interested in him and I know Fulham have scouted him while he has been here.

8
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA NEW OWNERS - Bilkul football
« on: March 15, 2024, 04:09:18 PM »
I think one of the most telling comments from the WM interview was that he had learnt a lot on Joey Saputo's dime, a reference to his involvement with the consortium that bought Bologna and has run the club with some success for a decade.

There are parallels between the two clubs. Bologna are not one of the giants of Italian football but have a long history and should probably be a solid Serie A club, which they were for much of the post-war period. However they hit hard times in the 1980's even dropping into Serie C for a season before eventually regaining top flight status in 1987. Since they yo-yoed between Serie A & B and again C (that is a lot worse than being in League 1 in terms of relative standard of the leagues).

The takeover happened on their final relegation in 2014 and they were promoted that same season and have remained in Serie A since. Most seasons they have finished in the bottom half of the league but comfortably outside the relegation zone. Last year they finished 9th and currently sit 4th.

Bologna are a club on an upward trajectory. What might Patel have gleaned from his involvement?

Football clubs lose money and bucket loads of it. At the operating level Bologna like most Serie A clubs lose money and profit from player sales closes the gap somewhat but are ultimately dependent on owner finance for their continued well being.
 
Continuity is a surprising theme given the level of churn behind the scenes at most Italian clubs. In the decade since the takeover Bologna have had just 4 managers although this did include Saputo’s Rooney moment when he appointed Filippo Inzaghi (great player less good coach) to an ill fated and short spell in charge.

The role of Sporting Director has had just two incumbents Riccardo Bigon and Marco Di Vaio. The latter was promoted from within and was an ex-player. He had also played for Saputo’s MLS club Montreal.

Recruitment matters. I have often thought that Italian clubs exist largely to trade players in a bewildering merry go round and actually playing games of football is just a distraction. 

Bologna are no exception in terms of activity this year; they have been involved in over 60 transactions in and out of the club, with a net spend of over 30m Euro.

Digging into the details a little there are a few themes. They only spend significant fees on younger players and their current squad is one of the youngest in a league where prominent players often play well into their 30’s. Their recruitment is global from Argentina to Scotland. Many of their players are earning wages that are comparable to those paid in the Championship Jed Wallace for instance would be one of their better paid players.

If our new owner was to use Bologna as a template for running the club we could do a lot worse.

9
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Next 6 Games.
« on: March 11, 2024, 06:09:40 PM »
I always thought that if we were still in the play-offs by the international break we would be finish in the play-offs. Following the weekends results we will finish in 5th place with a minimum of 2 point gap between ourselves and 7th.

With 9 games left the chasing pack is down to Norwich, Hull and Coventry. I think Preston, Cardiff and even Middlesbrough have a slim chance of making the play-offs but they are going to finish 6th at best so they more of threat to Norwich.

The play-off's are a lottery a unique series of games and it doesn't really matter who we have to play

10
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Okay Yokuslu
« on: March 08, 2024, 04:13:51 PM »
The Championship is relentless and I would guess most of our regular starters are carrying some form of niggle and Yokuslu will be no exception. At 30 he is post peak as are a lot of the players around him, if our schedule was a game a week I guess there would be less need to manage his minutes. The choice for Corberan is two 70's or push for two 90's and risk muscle damage and no Yokuslu for weeks.




11
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: System / Tactics / Personnel
« on: March 07, 2024, 09:14:01 PM »
It was their continual aggressive non-stop high press that got to us from minute one till the final whistle. We just couldn’t cope when in possession with our player being instantly challenged by generally two at least of our opponents.
Our setup and playing plan was totally forced out of the window with us becoming headless chickens and what does concern me is that all Championship coaches and managers will have watched that game and seen how to play us.

Martí Cifuentes has been in post from 31st October which was two weeks after QPR came to the Hawthorns and frankly stank the place out. They were the complete opposite to the side we played last night. It has taken time for him to get QPR into this position and their results have only really started to improve since the turn of the year.

Based on that our opponents either have the high press in the locker or they don't most coaches haven't got teams capable of doing it certainly at short notice. It maybe the best way of playing us but it isn't a thing that can be done overnight fortunately.

12
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Grady Diangana
« on: March 03, 2024, 11:05:36 AM »
Throughout his Albion career as soon as a coach has played Diangana anywhere other than left wing he looks like a fish out of water. The goal was well taken but it has to be said without it he was a 5/10 performance at best. For whatever reason Corberan has persisted playing him at 10 ahead of Swift. Whether this is because of Swift's own form/fitness or because Corberan thinks that Diangana brings something different to the role particularly in combination with Wallace we  don't know.

If everyone is fit I don't think he is a starter and some weeks he wouldn't make the bench.

13
General Football & Sports / Re: OFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP THREAD
« on: March 03, 2024, 10:49:14 AM »
We are in the last quarter of the season and virtually every team in the Championship has something to play for.

relegation Rotherham are doomed but every other club down there has a shot at getting out of it and as such Watford in 12th are only 6 points above the drop zone. With 50 points not being a guarantee of safety a lot of teams will be looking over their shoulders.

Play-offs With the top 4 being someway ahead of the rest there is the usual scramble for a play-off spot. Realistically it is two places from WBA, Hull, Norwich, Coventry and Preston. Either Cardiff or Sunderland could make a late charge but for that to happen they have to really pull up trees and 2 of the teams ahead of have to implode.

Automatic Promotion Barely a fortnight ago it looked like Leicester were home and hosed. Since then they have managed to lose 3 on the spin which is a mighty wobble. Lose on Tuesday to Sunderland who themselves are in terrible form and it's a full blown crisis. I still fully expect them to at least get one of the top two places. However if they drop into the play-off places there is no way they are going to win the play-offs. Otherwise it is a 3 way fight for one place between Ipswich, Leeds and Southampton.

It is never dull and a lot could change by this time next week.


14
Was being scouted by Fulham last night.

15
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Next 6 Games.
« on: March 02, 2024, 03:46:16 AM »
Last nights result was a significant step towards securing a play-off place. I would now be disappointed if we didn't get over the line. Six wins will absolutely do it two teams from the chasing pack aren't getting 77 points. Most would require to run at automatic promotion form (2 points a game) or better for their remaining fixtures. The only team in the pack running at that pace across the last 6 is Preston and that would give them 76 points if they sustain it across another 12 games.

I also looked across the fixture list and while we only have one fixture against teams in the top 4 the rest have at least 2 and in some cases 3.

The pack is also thinning out those teams on the fringes are very close to dropping out of the race altogether. This weekend's fixtures could see the chasing pack outside the play-offs at the moment boil down to Norwich, Preston and Coventry.

16
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA NEW OWNERS - Bilkull football
« on: February 29, 2024, 04:34:00 PM »
Excuse me while I clutch my beads the nasty man said so**cer (except he hasn't thus far), really the guy is underwriting operating losses of £2m a month at your flat broke goddamn so**cer club and what he calls your game of kickball is a concern? 

17
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA NEW OWNERS - Bilkull football
« on: February 28, 2024, 07:48:18 PM »
I have just watched the video and as Johnny Cash I would strongly recommend that people go and view it.

On the loans my quick take from the video are as follows

1. The Peace loan. A very clear no comment response, which is I assume is because there is an outstanding legal dispute (Shareholders4Albion triggered an investigation as to it's legality)

2. Wisdom Smart. Will be repaid as part of the acknowledged financing needs the club has. The exact timing I suspect will be influenced by our position against the FFP limits.

3. MSD. Still outstanding but terms have been renegotiated. We don't know the full impacts (penalty clause for instance) of early repayment so I am not entirely surprised the new ownership have left it in place.

From other sources I don't think it was covered by the video,  Warm Front that is being paid off by Lai when the first instalment is paid, it is in point of fact the whole of the first instalment.

Other than that he is saying all the right things it remains to be seen if that is backed up by his actions but at this point I am more than happy to assume that they will be.

Happy bye-bye Lai day everyone.

18
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA NEW OWNERS - Bilkull football
« on: February 28, 2024, 03:54:20 AM »
Regardless of how this season pans out I think the next couple of seasons will be a transition. There is significant rebuild job and it will require a certain amount of patience. If we are promoted the money generated will certainly go a long way to funding a rebuild but the week on week reality of this club in the Premier League next season would be brutal.

If we remain in the championship money will be tight (FFP) but we would be better able to cope with rebuilding and sustaining a somewhat competitive team although I would doubt whether we will sustain a genuine promotion challenge.   

19
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: OUT ON LOAN THREAD
« on: February 25, 2024, 11:47:20 PM »
Grant really needed for this loan to go well to revive his career and dig us out of a the financial hole. It hasn't gone well or at least not well enough for someone to spend money on him. He will be farmed out on loan again next season and if we are lucky we will get half his wages paid.

20
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Run in to end of season
« on: February 24, 2024, 08:39:07 PM »
Returning to the run in.

Today was a good day. Firstly the gap between ourselves and 7th has held constant with 1 less game to play and a tricky away fixture out of the way.

Secondly we have edged further ahead of Bristol City, Cardiff, Watford, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland. Unless the form of those teams improve they are a just a few games away from dropping out the race altogether. A smaller chasing pack improves our own chances.

We have a 4 or 5 point advantage over the most obvious contenders Coventry, Norwich and Preston. The final of which is in effect 5 points because of a very significant goal difference advantage (+22).

Twelve to go just keep going.






21
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: WBA NEW OWNERS - Bilkull football
« on: February 23, 2024, 07:13:10 PM »
In the Athletic they go into a little depth in terms of the financial side of the takeover.

"Patel is paying him only £10m guaranteed – £2.5m on completion, £2.5m in August and £5.5m in August 2025.

There is the possibility of bonus payments if West Brom are promoted. Go up this season, and they are currently fifth, and Patel will pay Lai an extra £18m. Promotion next season would trigger a £10m payment, £5m the following season and £2m if West Brom have to wait until the 2026-27 season."

If there was any doubt that the club was teetering on the brink of administration that is confirmation. From the club's perspective the bulk of the money that the new owners are spending is being spent on the club albeit a large part of it is going to service/repay debt.

The promotion bonuses are far lower than have been suggested elsewhere and represent a tiny proportion of the increase in the clubs income and value on promotion.


22
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Run in to end of season
« on: February 22, 2024, 02:50:33 AM »
It's a question in 2 parts what is the points total to make 6th or better? Will we get that number? Generally a team that gets 75 points would consider themselves unfortunate not to qualify for the play-offs. Can we get more than 20 points from the remaining fixtures? Yes.

23
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: System / Tactics / Personnel
« on: February 22, 2024, 01:42:47 AM »
Looking at the squad by contract expiry date removing the loanees and adding players out on loan where I know their contract length

2024. Kelly, Kipre, Mowatt, Bartley, Chalobah, Phillips, Reach and Pieters.

2025 Furlong, Townsend, Ajayi. Taylor, Molumby, Diangana, Swift, Yokuslu Griffiths, Thomas-Asante, Ashworth and Faal

2026 Dike, Maja, Grant, Wallace, and Palmer

2027 Fellows

There are a huge number of decisions to be made this summer 20 players are either out of contract or are going into their last year.

Taking each cohort in turn

2024. I would try to renew Kipre's contract. Everybody else I'm letting go regardless of the terms they will sign up to. While Mowatt has had a really good season I don't want to have him on the books in his early 30's

2025. With just one year left we have 3 options sell, let the contract run down and release or negotiate an extension.  I would offer a new contract to Taylor. Given the lack of (fit) attacking options I might extend Thomas Asante by a couple of years. I would be open to offers for everybody else (fairly certain we won't have a queue of interested parties) otherwise I would let them leave at the end of the contract.

2026 Given their contract length if the club were trying to raise funds this the Group that should attract the best fees. However aside from Palmer it is hard to see a market given Wages/Age/Injury record. This is not a particular concern given the players will make a valuable contribution across the next couple of seasons. Although there is one glaring exception, Grant. What the hell to do with Grant will be the perennial problem every summer until he leaves the club I foresee another loan.

2027. The only player contracted for longer than 2 years is Fellows. He is one of the few that I would want to be contracted for that length of time. My fear is that he will be sold to pay for the mistakes of the past if we are not ruthless enough with the bulk of the squad.

Anyway you want to look at the next 2 summers are going to be busy.   
 

24
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Mikey Johnston joins on loan (Official!)
« on: February 21, 2024, 04:37:54 PM »
I think Celtic fans have made up their mind about the player he can't win with them. If he does badly with us it is "I told you so" and if like last night he does well "the Championship is a Tinpot League"

For his career and possibly his sanity he needs to leave the goldfish bowl of Glasgow football. 

Should we try to sign him? That's a little trickier. The question mark about him has never been about talent that is obvious but around his decision making. Having watched his performances to date I can see what the Celtic fans are talking about, however it doesn't need to improve by much for him to be a really good player at this level or even higher.

With good coaching and regular competitive football I reckon the penny might drop and he could be a very worthwhile signing. We will know by the end of the season one way or another.

PS Checked he has two years left on his Celtic contract.

25
West Bromwich Albion FC / Re: Yann M'Vila signs short term deal
« on: February 19, 2024, 05:40:16 PM »
There are two things that can be true at the same time

M'Villa might be a useful addition for the final run in.

As a club our squads have been too heavily skewed towards post peak players for over a decade and we have a poor record of providing pathways into the first team for young players. That has to change.

In the context of realistic shot of the play-offs this is kind of okay but if we weren't in contention then I would be dismayed by the same signing.

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 289