Regrettably I am plenty old enough to remember first hand the 60's 70's & 80's but if there was a tradition it pretty much died with the early 80's side. I remember the past but I don't live in it while we were out of the top flight football changed and our current reality is determined by our recent history.
If we ship 2 goals a game we are going down and whilst I would like us to play progressive football it cannot be done at the expensive of our defensive solidity. We can progress we don't have to be as crabby as we were at the latter stages of Clarke's reign but the new coach needs to start from where we are not where we might like to be,
I'm joining the "standaman" appreciation society.
Great post (as always).
From a solely personal perspective I've always been bemused by some of our supporters clinging to this "Albion way" thing like some kind of badge of honour.
To me we have to look at what has worked for us since we gained promotion under RDM and finally gained Premiership stability (on the basis that last season was hopefully a one off blip). With the key issue being the type of players we can realistically hope to attract with our resources, which are clearly limited compared to the majority of clubs at this level, and severely limited in comparison to the 6 clubs who are always in contention for the European competitions.
I feel we have to take a practical and realistically achievable perspective rather than being hamstrung by a need to play in a certain way.
Looking back over recent seasons, to me Roy Hodgson epitomised this approach and did a fantastic job, laying down the foundations for our highest ever finish in the Prem (for which Steve Clarke also obviously deserves credit as well) and for me that's why I've no problem if Albion were to appoint a new Head Coach with a reputation for emphasis on a solid defence and the counter attacking game as I can't see us surviving at this level with any other approach.
Just a personal view, and I'm happy to trust the club to do the right thing, whether it's an internal or external appointment. I thought Peace's recent statement was excellent and very reassuring and feel the appointment of Burton is an astute decision, so I feel pretty chilled about the situation to be honest.