Here is a question for all Baggies fans; Even if we had no further investment in this squad is it good enough to survive in the Premiership? writes blogger Jarrod Hill.
My gut instinct is to say yes, and for me it feels weird to be so bold and positive.
I am partly basing my reaction on a number of assumptions, firstly that Phillips will stay and secondly that we will not sell anybody who I consider to be a first team player.
Do not misunderstand me; I believe we need to strengthen our squad, and key positions definitely need quality additions, but I feel there are many players in the squad who can adapt to life in the Premiership.
I appreciate these are just the ramblings of an unqualified fan who just happens to be lucky enough to be able to air his views on a blog and I will probably be shot down by both Albion and Wolves fans alike, but hey this is meant to stir debate.
My confidence is derived from the style of football we play, the unity of the squad, and key players who I believe can have a big effect in the top flight.
At the heart of our midfield we have two players who have all the tools in their lockers to be successful, technically good, box to box, and in Koren especially, an eye for goal. Greening on the other hand offers the poise and distribution to allow our defence to be turned into attack. In fact our midfield department offers the most encouragement, even without Gera, Kim showed enough in glimpses he can be a real asset, Morrison has experience at this level, and Brunt’s left foot is as good as anyone’s in this country.
Our defence had its critics last season, our inability to defend set pieces is a key issue that will need to be eradicated this season, yet our fullbacks in Robinson and Hoefkens defend well and have good ability going forward. Indeed Robbo was our leading assist last season and with our style of play encouraging fullbacks to attack they will play a key role. Martin Albrechsten`s continued delay over a new contract may well see Mowbray enter the transfer market for a new centre half and he could do worse than recruit someone in his own image, in his own words, “a head on a stick”.
In attack we have a bit of the unknown, Miller has the physical presence and pace to cause problems, but as a young player he lacks experience at this level and like most strikers his level of contribution will depend on confidence. Bednar again has the physicality to cause defenders problems and his power in and around the box is his main strength, we all know his work rate will be 100%, but again his effectiveness at this level will be interesting.
Luke Moore’s loan last season was blighted by suspension and the fact he was trying to break into a team already full of goals, he has undoubted ability, has scored goals at this level before, I just feel he needs a confidence boost to really get going.
One striker who does not lack confidence is Kevin Phillips, (please sort his contract out) he will still score goals in the Premiership, and more importantly is key to striking partnerships. He is our one striker who I think can form a partnership with any other striker, his intelligence makes up for his 30+ year old legs and his finishing is superb.
Areas of our squad that worry me the most are centre of defence and goalkeeper, almost as a tandem, Kiely although a good shot stopper fails to command his box and in turn led to us conceding many set piece goals. Mowbray chose eight different partnerships in the centre of defence while searching for a solution, and although the Clement and Barnett combo looked the best, I fear the Premiership will hold too much of a challenge for them.
So there you go, for once I am feeling confident, it may be because I watched our season review on DVD this weekend, or it could be the lack of football sending me a little crazy, either way I hope it continues, but I doubt it will, I am already changing my mind…….ahhhhhhhhh.
40 Comments
No, no, no, no…….get the cash out and quick. You’ve got some excellent players but not ones that can keep you in the premiership next year. You play good football and score goals but you concede far too many. It will be much harder to score goals in the top flight but it is so much easier to concede them - your problems at the back meant that it took you much longer to gain the auto slot than it really should have done last year. The shortcomings will be more readily exposed if you do not splash out on some really strong central defenders…..and possibly a keeper as well. Good luck….anyone going up at the moment needs it.
I would say you have no chance. The championship was a poor division last season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see all 3 teams come back down.
No, at the moment we’re not good enough and we do need to strengthen.
Going into the new season with only Kiely and (the unknown) Danek would be a disaster, this could relegate us on it’s own.
We need a good right back to compete with Hoefkens, and a young left back to be Robbo’s understudy. We also need at least 2 centre halves. I believe Barnett is good enough to start in the greed league, but he will need competition. Clem is good enough to back up a Prem quality left sided centre half.
In midfield, I feel we need another option, possibly Big George from our friends down the road. Other than that we’re ok in that department.
Up front, we need another striker, even if Kev stays. If he doesnt we need two.
We’re heading in the right direction, but lets not get carried away. This squad is good but its a work in progress. Lets wait and see what happens.
(I know what you mean about the lack of football, doesnt seem the same without the Albion on a Saturday!)
Its only right you should believe in your team, if it where Wolves with our squad id be blindly backing them to stay up to, but that would also be silly.
I dont think Phillips is the answer as he struggled at Villa, Miller wasnt exactly cutting the mustard at City either, but you never no, alot of this ‘Premiership Class’ is exaggerated and overrated.
You have a team to build on for sure, but investment into three/four big signings is realistically whats needed for your survival.
We have currently have enough firepower to stay up, but unfortunatley, we know where the weaknesses are. So without investing in some quality Centre Backs, at this moment in time I will say no.
Hi Bomber, interesting thought but I don’t think any team (even us) would survive without major signings but I don’t think you need to worry. I predict your team against the Gooners will contain 4 brand new Baggies.
It’s a much better team than I have seen for a long time. I agree that we might just manage survival, but I wouldn’t like to bet on it. We don’t need many, but a goalkeeper and a defender looks like being top of the list. I’m not against Keily, it’s just that I felt he made the wrong choices between catching and punching too many times last season.
What i didnt go into in the blog is that part of my reasoning (which is already waning) was my feeling that we are already stronger than at least three other Prem teams. I appreciate that teams havent carried out their strengthening yet, but i hope you can understand my reasoning.
It is kind of an irrelevent discussion i suppose as we will never know, but i have enjoyed being confident for once, although reading it back through today is making me feel a little uncomfortable, dont worry ill be back to normal soon!!!
Good thought provoking blog Jarrod.
Now doubt this season will see us play more open football and not the 4-5-1 scared shut up shop football we have had for much of the other seasons we’ve been in the Premier League.
My feeling is that we will be good enough to stay up with the addition of a top class centre half. We need a leader at the back, someone who dominates and isnt afraid to mix it up with the big boys.
I also have my concerns over the no.1 jersey.
There is no doubt we have enough footballing quality and workrate to take points off the likes of Fulham, Stoke, Bolton, Sunderland, Boro, Hull etc… these teams we CAN finish above.
Above all else for once I trust the manager and the club to get it all right and I believe we will all be happy with the squad come August.
Lets just have the belief !! Boing Boing !!
Great blog - I agree with your above post aswell. We have only got to find one more team to finish below us because i think Stoke and Hull don’t stand a chance. That team could be one of a number, most likely Wigan, Bolton or Fulham, and lets not forget that there will be a surprise team near the bottom as usual.
We need to add a good goalkeeper (Isakson - Man City and Sweden), and a couple of defenders ( ihear that Dawson from Tottenham is available at around £4m). I’d also like to see a battling midfielder (Thompson).
I am glad we got promoted and will enjoy visiting Anfield, Stamford Bridge etc for what may be the only time in my life but…survival? The question is, how many of our players would walk into the match day squad for - not a top team - but, say, West Ham, Portsmouth or even Fulham. Not many is the brutally honest answer. Our hope is that various players improve in the Premiership - Texeira, Brunt, Miller possibly - and we are better as a team than as the sum of the parts. Opening at the Emirates could be a reality check for all those talking up our chances; I think it may be bloody
You get nowhere by standing still.
We HAVE to invest in new players and new blood - whether it’s for an immediate impact or for squad depth - don’t forget we have 7 subs this season.
Dorrans is one addition that many appear to have forgotten about, and as stated above Gera won’t be the loss he’s being made out to be - we’ve got Morrison who’s much more natural on the right than the left.
Brunt worries me.
Definately better than any Championship right back, but against Glen Johnson in the Cup he looked less than ordinary. Let’s hope Tex is back sooner rather than later.
Then there’s the other Portu-geezer at left fullback.
we’ve not seen much of him yet - so little his name escapes me at the mo - but maybe he was bought with the Prem in mind….?
Centre back, and between the sticks - as everyone knows - is where we need to improve the first team - and I’m sure that’s where the money will go.
As for Amoeba? Could it be a cunning ploy to ensure Stoke finish below us? We buy him so they don’t?
And, I’ve got a ticket sorted for Arsenal - my mate is a season ticket holder there and he’s on hols!
Get in!!
Bomber,
I think we would survive and base it on Readng’s first season, they spent nothing and finished mid table. I do agree the defence is a concern but maintain that Kiely is the biggest problem as the defenders are never sure if he is going to come and claim the ball or not. I am confident of survial next year but gain drawing parallels with Reading think that the second year will be the real test as we will be a known quantity. Having said that I agree with Malvern Wolf that there will be thrtee or four new players in the side come the first game. I too am optimistic as I think there are at least three worse teams in the league than us.
We are definitely a stronger team and squad (big difference between the two) than the previous Prem outings and the positive approach that TM will take is more akin to the Wigan and Reading sides that stayed up than the previous negative Albion sides that struggled. Truth is, it doesn’t matter how good or bad we are as long as we are stronger over the season than three other teams. We have to finish above Stoke and Hull plus one other side and that’s all that matters. I’d take finishing 17th on goal difference with ten points right now!!!
As for strengthening, I agree with a GK. Sitting behind the Smethwick goal, you never hear Kiely’s voice and he appears to be either on his line or the edge of the 18 yard box. He should be talking constantly and collecting anything that dares enter the six yard box. To me, he just does not command his area the way a top class keeper should.
We need a couple of CB’s, and one of these should be an experienced old head to calm things down and bring on the likes of Barnett (Campbell, Hypia are examples). I agree with Wednesbury about LB and RB too, but didn’t we have a young lad who was making a real name for himself at LB in pre-season before tearing his cruciate? Can’t remember his name but I believe he is back for this season.
And finally, a striker who knows where Premiership goals come from. For me, keeping KP is a must. He won’t play 90 minutes every week, but with 20 minutes to go and needing a goal, he will be fantastic to bring off the bench, especially with naming seven subs allowed this season. If Miller and Bednar can make the step up (all defenders hate pace and power) and Moore can fix his fragile confidence in pre-season, I don’t think we’re far away.
In short, we need a keeper, two EXPERIENCED centre halves and Phillips or another proven striker for the first team. On top of that, we need both full backs and a midfield soldier to strengthen TM’s ‘underbelly’ to make sure the first team stay on their toes.
with a couple of new additions,ie goal keeper ,defender ,i think we will shock afew teams this year and we are much suited to the prem than ever before,thanks to mow….i am hoping kim will be a surprise package for us and the prem will definatly suit him ,i think kim will score more goals than any other midfielder we have,like you say bomber i rate us better than afew of the other prem teams so im also saying ooooooooooh yes….we are in the prem to stay……..PLAYIN IN THE PREM THE MOWBRAY WAY,,,IN STYLE OF COURSE,,,OOOOOOOOOOOH YES.
Great_Barr
Great calls on Isaksson and Dawson. Both unhappy at lack of first team football and both an improvement on what we have. Dawson’s wages may be a stumbling block though
Jarrod said: My gut instinct is to say yes, and for me it feels weird to be so bold and positive.
Well i can honestly say i’m 100% confident we will finish at least 16t! We have a wonderful footballing team and will be positive throughout the coming season.
I said when we had ‘negative’ managers before it’s bound to rub off on the players resulting in games mostly ending up in defeat!
The manager needs to get it into the players they can compete with other teams and TM will.
We never stood a chance of winning away games under the old management and i believe we’ll win at least 4 away from home. Can any ALBION fan honestly say he/she is worried about,
Hull a, stoke a, fulham a, bolton a, boro a, sund a, w ham a, villa a, bburn a, city a, newc a, wigan a??? I even believe we’d get a result out of everton a and they finished 5th last yr!! I’m not for 1 min saying we’ll win all though play positive at these grounds and we’ll win as i said at least 4!!
The bookies are offering the following odds to win the prem… no i’m not saying we will, not a chance but interesting they have us shorter to win it than Sunderland, Bolton, wigan, fulham… Also we are 3rd favs to go down!!!! mmm… The bookies can see we’ll be more positive than most teams around us H and A.
West Brom 1500/1 Bet
Sunderland 2000/1 Bet
Bolton 2000/1 Bet
Wigan 2000/1 Bet
Fulham 2500/1 Bet
Stoke 7500/1 Bet
Hull 7500/1 Bet
It’s going to be fascinating for sure and boy am i glad we’re out that kickers league!!!
Obviously jealous wolves fans will be chomping at the bit to be negative etc etc but hey what’s that tell us…. Being in a negative enviroment every other saturday will do that to you!!!!!
Boing boing…
Jarrod.
I agree, we have a better first XI and a better squad than on our previous forays into the ‘big league.’ The downside is that we got relegated on two of those and in The Great Escape a major part was played by three extremely inept teams. I don’t see three as weak as those this time around.
Only the management team know how good Danek is but TM has already stated his intention of bringing another keeper in. Isaakson didn’t look bad for Sweden but wasn’t exactly outstanding and I have real doubts about whether we could meet his pay demands.
We need to strengthen in both fullback positions, anyone can pick up an injury. We were lucky with Robbo last season but when Hoefkens was out we looked vulnerable.
We need a dominating CH, who I think will line up alongside Clem.
Very strong in midfield. The only addition may be a strong man. Having said that, everyone said you can’t play without one in the CC and it’s probably less important in the Prem.
Up front, if KP stays we only really lack an aeriel threat other than Bednar. If we believe the media Ameobi may be the answer. Will we pay the wages he wants or will he take a cut? We’ll soon find out just how much he wants first team football. If he does come, his desire to prove himself may be a real plus point.
Maybe Ameobi would be a good buy ,he can hold the ball up.
Hannemen* and Sonko from reading plus halmosi and ameobi…..thats sounds perfect to me!!!!!
BOING BOING!!!(LEAVING THE JEALOUS DINGLES BEHIND!)
If we dont sign at least one good centre half,and a new goalkeeper we’ve had it.
Yes,we play good football,and have a good midfield and attack,but the spine of the team needs strengthening badly.
But,i do back TM to bring the players in that we need.
I think the present squad is more than capable of staying up,in teixeira we have a player whos gunna set the prem alight,staying up aint the problem its how high we can finish,we proberly wont score 100 goals this season be more about the 85 mark,aye boing boing aye
We are not just going to stay we will finish in mid table.We will be having at least 4 good players comming in I bet these are all ready lined up to sighn in july the new financial year.This will be stress free season and a good cup run.THE FUTURES BRIGHT ITS BLUE AND WHITE.
I think ameobi will do ok. My mates a Newcastle fan and been season ticket holder all his life. He said that he’s not good enough for newcastle but when he first started off he was suposed to be the new shearer but was never given a long enough run in the team to develop. When he has played regular he said that he’s not a bad player and looks good and will deffinatly do ok for west brom if he’s given a chance. Does anyone think Song and Balde will be good answers to defence problem? It may sound crazy but do you think against certain team like hull and stoke etc we could adopt a 4-3-3 and have koren, teix, greening in middle and moore miller wide strikers with super kev or bednar in the middle up front???
I agree with 21 RockstarWBA. Kiely has done a great job for us but it’s time to move onwards & upwards. The reason we let in so many set piece goals last season was because (a) the goalie didn’t command his area enough & (b) we had no centre half big & ugly enough to stick his head in where it hurts!. We will also require a bit of muscle in midfield, we do have great ball players but we need someone to stick their foot in & win the ball. To stay up we don’t have to get points off teams like Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, & Liverpool (thank God!) but need to beat the teams around us that will be also fighting for their premiership survival. I do believe that we can stay up this time but not without strengthening the team.
No mate totally disagree—we must buy or get on loan a goalie, at least one central defender—I’d prefer two, A tough midfielder, a new Gera and at least one Prem striker. That’s six players minimum and I actually think we need eight. The step up is huge and I don’t think we will be able to beat the teams who always struggle without making these improvements.
Top blog Bomber.
And one that mirrors my own thoughts.
By nature, i am a very analytical person, but where the management style of “MOWBURY” is part of the equation……sheer blind faith becomes prevalent.
There have been several dissenting voices at the possible signing of Ameobi, but under ToMo`s guidance, he could become the player he has yet flattered to deceive.
I do believe however, that we WILL see before too long, additions to the squad, and in the positions that concern us most.
Oh….and Bomber, i did get served with my
Zywiec……eventually…….you have a lot to answer for pal.
Our style of play is now different from our last two attempts in the premier league. The Albion player’s have got to believe in them selves and say to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, we are going to take points of you, on your grounds just like we did in the 70s with Ron Atkinson. I just wish we could find or have another player in the Tony Brown mould blasting the ball from way outside the goalmouth area to get the goals.
Yes, we have several excellent players who could thrive. Our forward line will be mustard.
But we gave away more than 50 goals in the Championship. Premiership teams will go through our defence like a knife through butter. We can’t expect to keep scoring our way out of trouble at this level.
And, as much as I respect Greening’s service to the club, he will not do anything to trouble a decent midfield.
If we manage to keep ALBRECHSTEN and PHILLIPS
then Tony Mowbray would just need to sign
another creative midfeild player to replace
ZOLTAN GERA.
I hope MOWBRAY sticks to his attacking football
principles and brings in more of the flair type
players,rather than overloading us with a load
of defenders who will never get a game,just
like previous managers MEGSON and ROBSON did.
I happen to think that our defence is not that
bad and we have plenty of competition for
places.
MARTIS/HOEFKENS/BARNETT/ALBRECHSTEN/
PELE/CLEMENT/HODGKISS/ROBINSON.
Although we do need a change of goalkeeper.
I also happen to think that AMEOBI would be
a cracking signing,A DAM SIGHT BETTER THAN
CRAIG BEATTIE!!
we will stay up whether or not we invest majorly on players we should have beaten cheating pompey at wembley by atleast 3goals i think all we need is a clinical striker cum on lads lets believe
Why do people persist in the myth that we’re so bad defensively? Take last season’s table and sort by Goals Against. We end up mid-table - hardly “appalling”.
Can’t agree that we need an aggresive midfielder. Unless they play for one of the ‘big four’ most midfield tacklers get stamped on by referees
Agree completely Jarrod. yes we need to strenghten - all teams do (as someone else said you dont stand still) but i don’t subscribe to the theory you need to spend millions to stay up. That may have been the case 6 or 7 seasons back, but the extra TV money changed that (it’s why you now have the same 4 teams every year in the champs league places)generally, with the odd exception, only the big 4 can sign the really big players (£15M+) and they’ll only sign for clubs in champs league anyway. As TM has shown you can pick-up decent footballers at reasonable(ish) prices and by choosing correctly mould them into a decent team with a good team spirit and strong work ethic (doesn’t always mean being physical!). The prems awash with money and all the teams in it have cash (as do several outside the league with parachute payments)so its a level playing field for MOST (10 or 11 teams)of the “also rans”.
I predict we will finish 14th after a little struggle at first. TMs style of attacking football will be suited to the prem by & large but we will definately need to improve our defending of set-pieces - it could easily be our downfall!
I think people need to remember that defending in the prem is alot different than defending in the champ. Remember under Megson we had the best defense in the country in the champ but conceded for fun in the prem.
In the champ teams tend to lump it into the box more which we were poor at defending against. We were good at stopping teams playing through us which is what most prem teams do.
If Tony Mowbray gets stuck on pre-season
team selection,then here`s a little help for him.
TEAM 1.
DANEK/MARTIS/ALBRECHSTEN/PELE/ROBINSON/
BRUNT/MORRISON/GREENING/MACDONALD/BEDNAR/MOORE.
TEAM 2.
KIELY/HOEFKENS/BARNETT/CLEMENT/HODGKISS/
MILLER/KOREN/KIM/DORRANS/PHILLIPS/SLUSARSKI
Whilst Albion are the better of the 3 teams which went up, which team(s) in the Prem would they be capable of finishing ahead of?
I think we have a good chance with even last seasons team …more so than Stoke or Hull …dont forget “Teixeira”…i am sure in the premiership he will be great with time on the ball to work his feet!!! Anybody heard when he is likely to be fit?
38. he is due back at the same time as team for pre-season i dont care if we get relegated as long as we keep fihghting until the very end
Nice one bomber, keep it going. I’m having withdrawal symptons out here in Dingle Land (Rugeley), fed on the Dingle News in the Star every night and it’s driving me to the hard stuff.
All I’m getting from the Albion is the ticket
prices and who’s leaving. I know TM and JP
like to keep their cards close to the chest, and
that ain’t no bad thing, but please someone, throw
us a crumb!
Yes we’re great going forward but with opposition
corners being as good as penalties we’ll be
slaughtered by the ‘big boys’.
A GK and a brace of central defenders please.