[seteefeet]

Friendlies should be about fitness, formation and confidence, I fail to see how we have gained any of these from the dire performances (not results) we have seen thus far or how 7 days will now change anything.
Regardless of new signings, 2 of which are not yet even in the country, the line up on Saturday will be very similar to Porto and they were awful, tired (by Ollsen's own admission) and devoid of ideas or confidence. What will change between now and Saturday?

[PepeMel]

Friendlies should be about fitness, formation and confidence, I fail to see how we have gained any of these from the dire performances (not results) we have seen thus far or how 7 days will now change anything.
Regardless of new signings, 2 of which are not yet even in the country, the line up on Saturday will be very similar to Porto and they were awful, tired (by Ollsen's own admission) and devoid of ideas or confidence. What will change between now and Saturday?

Tired maybe they need a break to rest their heavy legs

[monkey nuts]

It does matter though:

A Manager runs the club from top to bottom, puts in his own scouting network, manages the budget and everything.

A Head Coach tells Burton where he feels the squad is lacking, the player database is then referred to. Head Coach has no say on where the money goes, doesn't have a scouting team, can't bring in his own staff. The Head Coach just trains and picks the team.

The sooner everyone knows the difference between the two roles the better.

do you actually believe that?

[BB74]

do you actually believe that?

Got no reason to disbelieve. What are Irvine, Burton and Garlick doing otherwise?

[monkey nuts]

well Garlick is doing nowt but legal stuff now and got blamed for most of Clarke and McDonohugh (or however you spell it  ) when he didn't have a lot to do with the picking of players, TB is doing a bit more of what Ashworth did and Day is an addition,

but trust me the Head Coach does have a say, i think the thing is how much

[seteefeet]

well Garlick is doing nowt but legal stuff now and got blamed for most of Clarke and McDonohugh (or however you spell it  ) when he didn't have a lot to do with the picking of players, TB is doing a bit more of what Ashworth did and Day is an addition,

but trust me the Head Coach does have a say, i think the thing is how much

Whatever the ins and outs Irvine is responsible for picking the team, formation and motivation. Pre season has shown no sign whatsoever that he has had any impact with regard to either of these elements.
Don't get me wrong, I do not want him to fail, I want more than anything for him to be the next Atkinson, unfortunately at present he seems to be living up to his CV.

[Albionic]

The Jury has been chosen, but not entered the courtroom yet. Its a bit premature to pass sentence yet.

[seteefeet]

The Jury has been chosen, but not entered the courtroom yet. Its a bit premature to pass sentence yet.

What is the case for the defence?
What positives can we take from our pre-season performances?
I want to be upbeat I really do and when I take my seat on Saturday I want nothing more than to shout from the rafters and cheer us to victory.
Give me something, anything!! 

[Albionic]

What is the case for the defence?
What positives can we take from our pre-season performances?
I want to be upbeat I really do and when I take my seat on Saturday I want nothing more than to shout from the rafters and cheer us to victory.
Give me something, anything!! 

no case for the defence required as yet, the offences have not been read to the court.

saturday 17:00 is when the court convenes.

[WBArgo]

What is the case for the defence?
What positives can we take from our pre-season performances?
I want to be upbeat I really do and when I take my seat on Saturday I want nothing more than to shout from the rafters and cheer us to victory.
Give me something, anything!! 

Here is something. West Ham's best ever pre-season was under Avram Grant when they finished bottom, they won every pre-season game. This season, they, Swansea and ourselves have all been boo'd during pre-season due to poor results. Do I think West Ham or Swansea will go down? Probably not.

[Dexy]

I never wanted Irvine , I haven't been impressed with Pre season but that said i think we need to pull together the best we can and get behind them from the off . Lets face it the Press , Sky and others are waiting in the shadows to stick the knife into our club . Nothings easy in the top flight and it's possible to get into a crisis within three games , I'd argue us the fans played a major part in staying up last year and I'd suggest we will be needed again starting Saturday .
Give Irvine a chance , let those new players feature and get behind them the best we can .

[WBArgo]

I never wanted Irvine , I haven't been impressed with Pre season but that said i think we need to pull together the best we can and get behind them from the off . Lets face it the Press , Sky and others are waiting in the shadows to stick the knife into our club . Nothings easy in the top flight and it's possible to get into a crisis within three games , I'd argue us the fans played a major part in staying up last year and I'd suggest we will be needed again starting Saturday .
Give Irvine a chance , let those new players feature and get behind them the best we can .

Couldn't have put it better. I think the majority don't believe he's good enough, myself included but that's no excuse not to back the player. Unlike last season I think this years crop are genuinely out to play for the badge which if nothing else is worth a cheer.

[seteefeet]

no case for the defence required as yet, the offences have not been read to the court.

saturday 17:00 is when the court convenes.

I know that, what I asked for was something positive to take to my seat at 15:00 on Saturday.

[WBAinDEVON]

I dont know about a Jury, a priest might be more appropriate.Get your prayer mats out folks

[royhan]

I dont know about a Jury, a priest might be more appropriate.Get your prayer mats out folks

There will be a priest sitting on our bench - Father Ted lookalike Alan Irvine

[WBAinDEVON]

There will be a priest sitting on our bench - Father Ted lookalike Alan Irvine

Oh yes i forgot look left my avitar

[swad35]

There will be a priest sitting on our bench - Father Ted lookalike Alan Irvine

I think he will need a priest, god help him if we go a goal down. Surely deserves a chance to fail first?

[ex coseley kid]

I can see the interview now with Father Ted just after Christmas....

"So Alan, do you think you were worthy of your wages as Head Coach?"

"I didn't take the money; it was just resting in my account...."

[Legend]

Father Ted could be the last away day theme when Irvine leads us to FA Cup glory and top 10.

[WBAinDEVON]

Father Ted could be the last away day theme when Irvine leads us to FA Cup glory and top 10.

I realy hope your right and yes that stands a bloody good chance if we finish comfortable

[johnny Cash]

I realy hope your right and yes that stands a bloody good chance if we finish comfortable

Irvine won't take us down officially, by that I mean he won't be at the helm if we drop. Peace won't allow it to happen. 10 years hard work to allow his investment to take a hammering now, I don't think so (that's not a knock at Peace,  I think he has done a good job running us as a business).

If we go down, it will be under another manager who Peace brings in an attempt to turn the season around.

[smethwickw]

Irvine won't take us down officially, by that I mean he won't be at the helm if we drop. Peace won't allow it to happen. 10 years hard work to allow his investment to take a hammering now, I don't think so (that's not a knock at Peace,  I think he has done a good job running us as a business).

If we go down, it will be under another manager who Peace brings in an attempt to turn the season around.

Does it really matter to him though if we do drop? Parachute payments, flex down in wages, less investment needed in playing side and not having to sell our best players. We'd be a good bet to bounce back straight away. He'd still take his £1m plus salary too.  If he was that concerned about his investment they why on earth appoint AI? (I've used the word investment loosely BTW)!

[Legend]

http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/olsson-hails-irvine-approach-ahead-of-new-season-1821217.aspx

JONAS Olsson is enjoying life under Albion head coach Alan Irvine as the new Barclays Premier League season prepares to kick off.

The defender, 31, is entering his seventh year in a Baggies shirt, the sixth of which spent plying his trade in England’s top tier.

Olsson insists he is ready for the start of the 2014/15 campaign and feels the Black Country club have got a good pre-season under their belt.

And the experienced Sweden international has enjoyed his time to date spent working under Irvine, who was handed the reins at The Hawthorns in mid-June.
 
“He is very respected and I’ve only got good things to say about him so far,” Olsson said.

“He’s a nice man, a good coach and a nice person, which for me is very important.

“It’s vital to have a gaffer who you really respect as a person so you want to go those extra yards for him.

“It’s only positive feelings so far.

“He is very hands-on in training and I like that.”

Albion open the new season at home to Sunderland this Saturday (ko 3pm).

It is the fourth successive Premier League campaign the Baggies have started on home soil.

And Olsson, who found the net against FC Porto in the club’s final pre-season friendly at the weekend, is happy to be getting things underway in front of what will be strong support.

“It’s nice to start at home,” he said. “That’s always a good feeling, but there are no easy games.

“Hopefully we can get off to a good start.”

[WBAinDEVON]

http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/olsson-hails-irvine-approach-ahead-of-new-season-1821217.aspx

JONAS Olsson is enjoying life under Albion head coach Alan Irvine as the new Barclays Premier League season prepares to kick off.

The defender, 31, is entering his seventh year in a Baggies shirt, the sixth of which spent plying his trade in England’s top tier.

Olsson insists he is ready for the start of the 2014/15 campaign and feels the Black Country club have got a good pre-season under their belt.

And the experienced Sweden international has enjoyed his time to date spent working under Irvine, who was handed the reins at The Hawthorns in mid-June.
 
“He is very respected and I’ve only got good things to say about him so far,” Olsson said.

“He’s a nice man, a good coach and a nice person, which for me is very important.

“It’s vital to have a gaffer who you really respect as a person so you want to go those extra yards for him.

“It’s only positive feelings so far.

“He is very hands-on in training and I like that.”

Albion open the new season at home to Sunderland this Saturday (ko 3pm).

It is the fourth successive Premier League campaign the Baggies have started on home soil.

And Olsson, who found the net against FC Porto in the club’s final pre-season friendly at the weekend, is happy to be getting things underway in front of what will be strong support.

“It’s nice to start at home,” he said. “That’s always a good feeling, but there are no easy games.

“Hopefully we can get off to a good start.”

pretty much what he says with most of our recent head coaches

[LiamTheBaggie]

He'll be on TalkSport in the morning:

Alan Brazil ‏@sportsbreakfast 9m

From 6am Dominic Cork alongside Al and they'll be speaking to West Brom boss Alan Irvine, @EmileHeskeyUK and more