[zippyandbungle]

Would be mustard in a strong 3-5-2
Other than the villa game I don't think we can argue about the Reds , except for the fact that when its "higher profile players" it's a yellow or ignored, like most things in football, consistency would be a great leveller .

[Baggieblood]

Imo yacob is a liabilty with those stamps which he does now but didn't when he first came.

He cannot lace mulumbu's boots and i fear we'll regret letting him go.

When we finished 8th the two together were brilliant.

[charliemike]

Yaqub played very well in the second half of our season . Has for mulumbu it's plain silly to compare the 2 . One is an holding midfielder , the other one was an headless chicken at times . We will see .

[fpvmtimbdbo]

He's probably been Albion's best player so far this season. One of the best DMs in the league without a doubt. No wonder he's the first name on TP's team sheet.

He's even helped Rondon settle in! http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/rondon-full-of-praise-for-important-yacob-2768991.aspx

[Baggieblood]

Massive liablity again today.

And to think some on here thought he was better than mulumbu, who apparently gave too many  free kicks away around the box and was only a 6 out of 10 player week in week out.

[LiamTheBaggie]

Not at his best today granted but overall this year he has been very good.

He's far more disciplined than Mulumbu and that's why Yacob starts every week and the other is sitting on Norwich' bench.

[Droitwich Baggie]

Yacob is one of our best players.
It is just that our other midfielders drop back to our area and he has no choice but to "get in".
He is continually over exposed by our non thinking players.

[Dexy]

Massive liablity again today.

And to think some on here thought he was better than mulumbu, who apparently gave too many  free kicks away around the box and was only a 6 out of 10 player week in week out.

Been top draw nearly all season , had a poor game today but i wonder if he was one carrying an injury that Pulis spoke about before the game...he did have a huge medical tape on one leg.

[TheJacko2000]

Been top draw nearly all season , had a poor game today but i wonder if he was one carrying an injury that Pulis spoke about before the game...he did have a huge medical tape on one leg.

Out of sorts today, normally nothing gets past him today he seemed late to nearly every ball. Possibly fatigued and a week off will do him good.

[tylerm]

Shows how football is all about opinions because I fail to see what he offers to us
For me he is too limited and we can't afford him and Fletcher,especially in a 4 4 2.He never gets forward and I can't remember him ever having a shot at goal in his Albion career
Mulumbu I feel was a complete box to box midfielder and I would try to up grade Yacob in January

[AlbionDaz]

Shows how football is all about opinions because I fail to see what he offers to us
For me he is too limited and we can't afford him and Fletcher,especially in a 4 4 2.He never gets forward and I can't remember him ever having a shot at goal in his Albion career
Mulumbu I feel was a complete box to box midfielder and I would try to up grade Yacob in January

This a wind up ?
He doesn't get forward much or hardly has a shot cause he is played as a rigid defensive midfielder,he offers protection to the defensive more than helping out with the attacking duties.
Agree he had a bit of a mare today,but don't we all occasionally.

[tylerm]

This a wind up ?
He doesn't get forward much or hardly has a shot cause he is played as a rigid defensive midfielder,he offers protection to the defensive more than helping out with the attacking duties.
Agree he had a bit of a mare today,but don't we all occasionally.

That's what I am saying,he does the same as Fletcher and we can't afford 2 doing that especially if we chose to play 4 4 2

[Aixelsyd]

Shows how football is all about opinions because I fail to see what he offers to us
For me he is too limited and we can't afford him and Fletcher,especially in a 4 4 2.He never gets forward and I can't remember him ever having a shot at goal in his Albion career
Mulumbu I feel was a complete box to box midfielder and I would try to up grade Yacob in January

Really?

I think he has been brilliant for us... yes he has bad days, like today but has been in the main, the defensive anchor we need...

and by the way, he has actually scored a header against Arsenal

[LiamTheBaggie]

That's what I am saying,he does the same as Fletcher and we can't afford 2 doing that especially if we chose to play 4 4 2

In an ideal world you may be right but under Pulis I think whoever plays those two central midfielders are going to be incredibly rigid with the first thought on protection than creativity. Pulis is not going to allow his central midfielders to wonder aimlessly leaving our centre halves exposed. Any attacking threat we're going to have is going to come through our wide men, whoever they may be.

I totally agree with you though, especially at home, having Fletcher and Yacob in the side is far too over protective as neither offer enough on the ball going forwards. I think that's a big reason why we've seen the reintroduction of Sessegnon and James Morrison.

[Mikkyk]

Shows how football is all about opinions because I fail to see what he offers to us
For me he is too limited and we can't afford him and Fletcher,especially in a 4 4 2.He never gets forward and I can't remember him ever having a shot at goal in his Albion career
Mulumbu I feel was a complete box to box midfielder and I would try to up grade Yacob in January

I'm inclined to agree, I think he kills the team. I do think Mulumbu is past it for the premier league now though too.

[Adder]

West Ham closed us down in numbers effectively first half. All our midfield struggled with it and Yacob was no exception (Mulumbu used to struggle badly in such games also). Will be interesting to see how Fletcher and Morrison go together against Spurs. Presumably Fletcher will sit more with Mozza more box to box.

[albion59]

Massive liablity again today.

And to think some on here thought he was better than mulumbu, who apparently gave too many  free kicks away around the box and was only a 6 out of 10 player week in week out.

massive liability AGAIN today? this really is a wind up, he as been our best player all season, everyone is allowed an off day.

[geoff]

Claudio is the type of player that opposition players hate to play against 
If he was a breed of dog he would be a terrier, Never afraid to get stuck in & Never gives you a minute's peace.
Claudio is what was at one time called a spoiler or mam to man marker.
He does a job in my eyes but not today.

[Albion79]

I think Yacob is a limited footballer but in certain games can do an excellent job.

Against Arsenal i thought he was brilliant, most teams have more possession than us but teams such as Arsenal who are a quite patient and knock it around a lot, Yacob is good because he gets in their faces and breaks up the play and protects the back 4.

The reality is though, if a team can find a way past that, he offers us little else, he cant change his game, its just the way he plays. When we played Palace, Leicester and West Ham this season (those spring to mind) he has struggled because they attack at pace and dont give him chance to break the play up.

To me i think we badly need an alternate option in January, play Yacob against the likes to Arsenal, Man City, Bournemouth, Swansea (there are others but they stick out as the keep ball teams) and games where teams are more direct or counter attacking, leave him out.

[seteefeet]

He did have a bit of a mare yesterday, but still think he is one of our best performers and would be difficult to replace, especially in a Pulis team.
Sod's law though that he gets suspended for a fantastic tackle.
We will see how well we cope without him next week. Hope Sick Vic has kept his boots clean seeing as he is our back up holding midfielder!

[KYA]

 Yacob has been great for Albion he doe's the things fans tend not to notice covering the defence closing down space , the only thing he lacks is pace but like many players he would'nt be here if he had that to his game.
 A free transfer who is better than most we paid money for.

[paulosull]

All yacob needs is one yard of pace and he'd get into the Barca team . That lack of pace is the reason he's not world class but still a Prem player. SO DO SOME SPEED DRILLS YOU SLOW COACH

[stokelad84]

If Yacob had pace he would probably have made a living as a winger and not a holding midfielder.

If Pulis did replace him if would be for a Jedinak or a Glenn Whelan type. They haven't got too much pace either. Thinking about it, even the very best holding midfielders like Matic and Schneiderlin don't have much pace.

[Albion79]

Yacob hasnt got any pace but i think the problem he has is more that he doesnt turn very well and he has no acceleration to even give himself a chance to get into a sprint!

I think he is an out and out stopper, he breaks up play and for certain games, we have nobody in the squad better to do it (think he has improved a lot under Pulis)

However that is his limit, he doesnt pass the ball particularly well, he cant beat a man and isnt a threat off setpieces, i know as a defensive midfielder that isnt really his job but would be good to have one of those up his sleeve so when he does have a game where teams are too quick and mobile for him, you think okay he can add something else to the team, but sadly he doesnt.

[VVVAlbion]

If Yacob had pace he would probably have made a living as a winger and not a holding midfielder.

If Pulis did replace him if would be for a Jedinak or a Glenn Whelan type. They haven't got too much pace either. Thinking about it, even the very best holding midfielders like Matic and Schneiderlin don't have much pace.

If Yacob was taller Pulis would probably play him at full back.