Albion need belief – and new blood
Tuesday 25th January 2011, 9:05AM GMT.
Albion blogger Jarrod Hill believes the latest defeat at Blackburn highlighted that the team are lacking belief – and need new signings.
Sunday’s game did not make for very pleasant viewing and, apart from another questionable refereeing performance from Mark ‘Clanger’ Clattenburg, I had to sit and wonder what was missing from our performance.
I have come to the conclusion that the boys are lacking belief, as we ended up beating ourselves with two goals either side of half-time, but we never really clicked at any stage of the game.
Too many players had poor games and even head coach Roberto Di Matteo confused me with his substitutions.
Gabriel Tamas looked completely off the pace as did Gonzalo Jara at right-back, but it was the midfield that really let us down.
Jerome Thomas had a good game and was our only threat going forward, as Chris Brunt and James Morrison had awful afternoons.
The returning Jonas Olsson played well and I fear what the score would have been without him and, when he was beaten, impressive goalkeeper Boaz Myhill made some smart saves. But that is where any positives ended.
And it was going forward where we looked so poor. Yes, if the referee had have gone to Specsavers we would have had a penalty and Blackburn’s goalkeeper Paul Robinson had a great game, twice saving from Thomas. But, in truth, our opponents are a poor side and we gifted them an easy three points.
The game was the perfect proof to chairman Jeremy Peace that we desperately need reinforcements brought in if we are to avoid continuing our yo-yo existence.
I watched in amazement when Di Matteo chose to change things by bringing off Youssouf Mulumbu for Somen Tchoyi when Morrison was having a dreadful game and, hence, the substitutions had no real effect.
The need to freshen things up and give the boys a lift is paramount if we are to turn around our run of form.
Chris Brunt was another player to play poorly and we desperately missed the energy and creativity of Graham Dorrans. Chris seems to have developed a habit of sulking in games when things are not going well and, if he is to continue as our captain, he needs to change his attitude and drive the boys on.
The loss makes our next game at home to Wigan huge and the boys need to regroup and refocus on the games ahead. From somewhere, the boys need to gain more belief in their own ability and, no matter who plays, we need them to stick together as a team and grind out results if that what’s needed.
I just hope that by the time we play Wigan that we have managed to recruit a couple of players to help the squad get over the finishing line.
A new striker is definitely the priority but there are other positions that need help and I find myself checking the website every couple of hours in the hope that we have signed someone.
The problem is every one is in the hunt for a forward and I just hope that our scouting network has managed to unearth another gem come the end of this transfer window.
I hate to say it, but I think we could really struggle without any reinforcements, and the teams around us all seem to be strengthening.
The need to invest in a striker has been well documented and we wait to see what happens, but a couple of new faces could give the team the lift it needs.
I just hope we have a couple of rabbits to pull out of our hats before the deadline.
UK Sport
Latest Blog — Same again for West Brom
What a strange two weeks it has been since our last game. I haven’t looked over my neighbour’s fence with as much interest since Pamela Anderson moved in next door and regularly used her trampoline, writes Albion blogger Jarrod Hill.
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Good report again Jarrod and you said it all.
Brunt’s head did drop and thats not want you want in a skipper. I really think Olosson is the man for this role. Morrison has to be rested (minimum), but I also think our style has to change poor old Odewinge has no chance on his own, we just never see our other players in the box. You are right about new blood but we knew this two or three months ago and whilst we had Carew in sight we all know to well how many times we have been gazzumed, so why no plan ‘B’. Its not to late but the door is more than half shut now.
I think we were all amazed by the subs on Sunday and it would appear it was not because of injury….so why when Morrison was and has been well below par.
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Good Morning all.
Could not disagree with anything you have written today Jarrod.
The making of signings is imperative. I felt that at the last home game the atmosphere at times was not great with the fans ready to turn on the team etc , no signings from Jez and i can see open revolt occuring as it will be perceived by many to be a lack of ambition.
Time will tell as always.
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Please tell me i havent just read a rumour that we are considering signing Jeremie Aliadiere on a free???!!!
I hope it is just another strange rumour, the guy is injury prone and on a downward slope career wise and hasnt played football since his injury in the summer. Please tell me we havenet got this desperate this soon.
As SC Baggie says we were told that we had planned for this transfer window, i hope all of our eggs were not in the Carew basket.
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Im not panicing yet but im geting nervous!!!
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If it was me (and i know nothing) Morrison would be dropped along with Sharner .Odemwingie would play behind a forward(fill in the gaps although Jason Roberts would be nice) Brunt on the LEFT!!!!! Thomas on the RIGHT!!!! Mulumbu & Dorrans in the middle.But like i say i know nothing
WE NEED TO SPEND & FAST .Going down again is just NOT acceptable
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Quite right about reinforcements i think if the likes of J.C. had come in it would have provided new heart to the team.Having said that my real concern is defensively we must have the poorest record in the league.Unless this is addressed our slide will continue.Come on RDM lets instill some Italian mentality
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Spot on.
Why Morrison is persisted with I don’t understand, he hasn’t played well for sometime.
Too many of our players are hit and miss, mostly miss at the moment. They have got to stand up and be counted and lets have a bit of fight, or championship here we come.
Boing Boing
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All the body language looked like we were going to lose: like it did when the team ran out against Chelsea in August.
James Morrison is not at his best at the moment, and I too was surprised that he did not make way for Tchoyi rather than Molumbu.
IMHO a captain should be based in amongst the play, not a goal keeper for the reason that they need to be able to chivvy the team on when things are going badly. I’ve seen Molumbu do this several times this season.
As for the referee. Well clearly men don’t know how to ref. They don’t know the offside rule. They don’t know that a foul in penalty area is a penalty. They don’t know when to send people off or not. They can’t recognise a dive. More women officials please!
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…oh, and thank God the Carew deal fell through.
It’s always dangerous buying players from Villa as they have to be exceptional to win the crowd over…look at Scott and Luke’s experience!
Carew is out of form. I think he would have had a nightmare at West Brom.
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…oh and another thing. I love the assumption that buying a player or two will put things right. There’s lots more to football than individuals and there’s things to be addressed at Albion as a whole team: defending as a team; variation of tactics so we are not so predictable; motivation.
RDM is learning and I think he will get things right.
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Cracking blog Jarrod, Brunt needs to keep his head up and work harder when we aren’t getting the rub of the green, that goes for others too. Our pace is too ” One geared “. some basic passes some intricate, sometimes slow sometimes rapid. The whole idea is to mix it up to keep the other side on edge so they don’t know what we will do next. the rest I said yesterday. Again, please can we get some players in the box to receive the ball when it’s put in there. We defend as a unit so get in the box as a unit, go on take a gamble.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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9 SILVEREND
Carson came from Liverpool and the crowds reaction to him is down to his poor performances, Simples.
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Wall Heath “no signings from Jez” are you a dingle by any chance?I thought you were in the position to buy your way out?Still waiting i see ?
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Great blog, spot on. Not so long ago we were singing the praises of the best side we have had for years and I think that is still true. But, with the notable exception of Megson, we have had a series of managers (coaches!!) who seem unable to instill defensive discipline and basic organisation. St Peter is without question a good player, but, we appear to be set-up to get the best out of him and a reliance on goals coming from midfield, which isn’t working. It is easy for the opposition to set-up gainst us, because we don’t have any real variation in our play. We need a PLAN B and we need it now!!! Keep the faith.
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Having watched recent games a number of things are clear. Firstly the system which served us well at the begining of the season isn’t working anymore, we need a plan B. Under previous managers Mowbray, Megson etc we could only play a certain way and i fear we are heading the same way if not carefull. I think we could bolster our strike force we two short term players, both Kevin Phillips and Jason Roberts both ex Baggies have the Premiership know how to get us over the finishing line and would combined cost less that John Carew. How many times in recent weeks has the ball flashed across the face of goal with nobody gambling on the cross? KP would sniff a few out and both players would help out Odemwingie. May i add before i get pelters these are short term options to keep us up till we can find a suitable younger up coming striker to fill there respective boots. We also need a centre half and a right back in my opinion. Also why is Cech favoured over Shorey? I just can’t see that one either?
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BAGGIE BIRDER
Our chairmans first name is Jeremy hence Jez , or am i missing your point altogether , please advise.
For the record i do not support the Wolves, but thanks for asking.
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Why in the last two seasons we have played in this division,do we seem completely incapable of grinding any kind of result away from home. It appears that we can only seem to win or lose, the latter occuring far more often. We seem to HAVE to play REALLY well to get any kind of positive result away. Several ocassions this season a draw away from home would of been justified given the performances of both teams during the games, i.e wigan,villa,bolton and blackburn,but with our poor defence we have lost those games.
Personally i feel we are not streetwise enough to be able to “smash and grab” away points which hopefully will come in time and more experience.What are others thoughts on this matter?
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Before we played Blackpool away, the optimism levels were sky high. It wasn’t J.C. (John Carew) playing for us. It was the other even more famous one. It felt like the Lord had dropped his clog on us at Blackpool and in my view, we haven’t got back to that optimism since, for whatever reason. The same players are now available They were good enough once and will be again, whether we make signings or not. So, what can we do to freshen it up?
1st: Make Jonas Olsson captain.
2nd: Scharner becomes a central defender because he just doesn’t cover the ground for a midfielder.
3rd: Why is Shorey always the bridesmaid and never the bride?
4th: Our tactics were good enough when confidence was high, although I would always question playing left-footed on the right and vice-versa, but as lozza says, what do we know?
Maybe the team structure that was doing well should be examined and a rebuild from there.
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Bomber,
Not that I think Aliadiere is special or anything and we know he has injury problems,so did JT and Giles Barnes? we have got them fit and for free, it could work ? there are better options out there but would we be succesful in getting them ?
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CYRIL
I agree totally with your post today and i am now off for a lie down as it is all a bit to much for me to comprehend.
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Jarrod.
I normally come on here congratulating you on your blog. Not today.
Your post at 4 says ‘I’m not panicking.’ If that’s true I don’t want to see you when you are.
The current mood amongst our fans reminds me of old films when the rumours of financial problems come in and the Government says ‘it will be fine as long as we don’t panic,’ cue the scene of the angry mob queueing outside the bank to withdraw their money thereby making the crisis much worse.
We are in a relegation fight. We are the new boys. There are teams below us that are established PL teams with squads worth ten times more than ours. Blackpool and Newcastle are doing marginally better than us but neither have had the injury problems we’ve had lately (or the dodgy refereeing decisions come to that.)
WE ARE A SMALL CLUB BY PL STANDARDS!!!!!!!
We need to accept that fact. We may be bigger in a few years but not at the moment We have no divine right to stay up. Our good start seems to have turned the heads of some of our fans. At the beginning of the season I would have taken your hand off if you’d offered me 25 points and outside the bottom 3 at this stage.
‘Blackburn are a poor team.’ Are they? They are an experienced battle hardened PL team. They have some top players Robinson, Samba, Kalinic, Gamst-Pederson, Santa Cruz I could go on. They play a style of football that even Arsenal struggle to come to terms with yet the mighty Albion are supposed to brush them aside.
With Graham Dorrans missing, Brunt and Morrison are our other two playmakers. It’s hardly the Managers fault if they both choose the same day to have their worse games of the season.
As for the transfer policy. Does anyone really believe that the club didn’t have any alternatives to John Carew lined up? It seems obvious to me that there are a group of clubs (all better off than us) chasing a smaller group of decent available players, I emphasise decent because as our neighbours found out in the close season, it’s easy to bring in loads of players that don’t improve the team.
We’re fans, of course we want to know which players the club is trying to sign don’t we? Hands up those that think it’s a good idea for the club publicise our targets? I know it’s really sneaky but perhaps it might alert other clubs to them. The agents of most of these players will be hanging on for the best deal and I would therefore expect any signings to be at the last minute.
Jarrod I agree with a lot of what you said. There did seem something missing on Sunday but I’m sure the management are aware of this. My blog isn’t aimed at you as apart from your natural pessimism I broadly agree with what you say. I’ve used you as a sounding board to address some of the posts from the last couple of days that haven’t enjoyed the advantage of having too much deep thought put into them.
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12. Carsons performances may have been poor but if he deserves that crowd reaction why aren’t players like Morrison whose been IMO much more consistently poor than Carson this season getting same treatment? No player deserves the stick Carson has recieved, and if they do then it shouldn’t be just Carson on the end of it.
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15 Romsley.
As a short term quick fix I think you might have something there, especially Roberts. Not sure if KP is still fit enough at this level though.
17 Stoke Baggie.
I also think you may have hit on something. Earlier in the season when everyone was fit and things were going well it was great attacking every team we played. Perhaps it might be an idea to go into away games now set up to stifle the opposition and play on the break. A couple of away draws would do wonders for the team’s confidence which seems to have suffered of late.
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Mulumbu had been struggling with illness/injury prior to Blackburn game so can only guess that was why he was substituted. Agree that Mozza was poor. In answer to our search for a front man who can get up and head the ball, do we think Gabi was putting his name into the hat????
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Stokebaggie
Spot on mate!!
Sundays game was poor and neither side deserved to take all three points, but for the reasons you highlighted we lost the game.
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14 & 18(Andover & Cyril)
Totally agree with your points about how we were all saying that this current squad is the best we have had for years and I have mentioned it 2/3 times in recent blogs over the past month.
I will bring it up again that Di Matteo is now to be really tested, it is his job to cut out the constant errors we are witnessing week in and week out throughout the team.He has got what he wanted and that is no distractions from cup competitions,he must keep us up or he will pay for it with his job.
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Some good points Jarrod, although I must admit I didn’t think Jara was that bad, I did have a few before the game though.
One thing that strikes me with Albion is the incomprehensible panic that sets in amonget our supporters whenever we find ourselves in this position. This isn’t aimed at you Jarrod or anybody, in fact I’m as nervous as everybody else, it’s more borne from the atmosphere and tension at games. It just strikes me when I watch Fulham at home (who are beneath us), there isn’t the same nervous energy around the ground. Perhaps this comes with experience, the knowledge there are several games to come and belief the points will be earnt. Perhaps the lack of belief from our supporters transmits to the players and that’s why Blackpool and Newcastle’s confidence seems a lot less hollow than ours. Perhaps it’s purely perspective and I’m misjudging it.
Yes we’re in a dogfight, did any of us expect any different in July? Yes there are some issues, the so-called plan B being one. But we’ve still got some very good players and a haul of just 6 points from 5 February matches (we’d all hope for more with Wigan, West Ham and Wolves at home) leaves us on 31 points with 10 games left, so I don’t think there’s need to panic just yet. In Peace, Ashworth and Di Matteo we trust.
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Jarrod, as usual a thought provoking blog.
I tend to agree with Cyril and although I am a fan of Shorey I think RDM has been fair to both. Shorey got in and played well when Chec was injured and kept his place, when he got injured Marek came in and has not doen much wrong in my opinion.
I hear Michael Owen is available at £25K per week? Compared to Carew that seems like a bargain. We do need to freshen it up a bit but more important is for the boys to regain some confidence. Our next three home games will be pivotal for our season I think
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It’s been said that football is basically a simple game,and sometimes it is,because when you’re winning and doing well,everyone just looks at the result,and enjoys the ride! But what happens when you lose a few with the same players?-well,what usually happens is that all the ‘experts’ come forward with numerous ideas on what is needed.Change this player,change that player,sort out the defence,sort out the midfield,change the formation,change the tactics-we all have our angle.
So I’m gonna be controversial here-I’m guessing that if we were to convert just one or two more of the many chances we have been creating in games,we would be accumulating a lot more points,climbing the table,the players would be a lot more confident,and as a result play much better,and us fans would relax and stop analysing every detail.
So the moral?-I’d say it’s to bring in one,if not two new players who can actually kick the ball into quite a big net,and we can all stop fretting and fuming.And maybe then just enjoy this ‘simple’ game.It’s not really ‘Rocket’(excuse the pun)science.
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Some very good points on here (esp Cyril as usual) and have pretty much said what was in my mind….
The team hasnt become a bad team, the players have not become bad players and RDM has not become a bad manager – but they ARE all suffering from a lack of confidence, and I think the subs on sat showed for the first time a wobble from our manager.
I don’t know how they will do it but they all need to regain the swagger and confidence we had before the Blackpool (away) match.
Blackpool are not as good as us – either player for player or as a team – but they DO have a swagger that puts other teams on the back foot. We had it, and we need to find it again. If that means buying a player or 2 then fine – but I honestly believe we already have the players to stay up and play good football… maybe we need to buy a new team shrink !!!!
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Warren/TRBH
Lads i tell it as i see it. I wouldnt say i am over reacting or panicing, i even managed to pull some positives from a game most fans would say depressed them!!!
TRBH
You mention that it wasnt RDMs fault that Brunt and Morrison both chose to have bad games at the same time. However what i was referring to was the fact he left Morrison on and subbed Mulumbu.
Your statement of “our good start has turned a few of our fans heads”, is a little condescending. Dont think that fans who offer an opinion that differs to yours is either lacking in iq or kids who do not know any better. Sorry but i cannot accept Chris Brunt as our captain (or even just as a player) sulking due to things not going for him, or the lack of effort that Paul Scharner and Jara displayed. This is our club, mine and yours, players will always come and go. I i see things i think are wrong i will always tell it as i see it.
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27-Warren,
You mentioned incomprehensible panic with supporters,maybe that is something to do with the previous 3 relgations in the last 7 years and after the great start to the season we find ourselves back in the mire on the back of a disatorous run.I for one did not get carried away with the early season form and fully expected to be in a relegation fight, lets hope Roberto can sort them out quickly.Lack of belief from supporters? Dont think so because our support especially away from home is still amazing and considering what we have had to put up with in past seasons our support is fantastic.
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Thats the best blog you have written Jarrod and you raise an important point regarding the captaincy. It seems to me that in Olsen and Scharner we have two natural leaders and one of them should be given the job. I cant agree about Blackburn being a poor side , they play to their strengths and are difficult to beat especially at home. Our weaknesses are plain to see and most eminate from the midfield where Morrison and Brunt are really struggling.
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22 MULUMBU’S ETC
I think the chap i answered to was suggesting that Carson and Moore got stick because they were ex Villa , i was pointing out that they got what they got because they played poorly.
I do not think that players deserve stick but certain sections of the crowd will always give it and that is the same at any club.
Morrison and Tamas have been poor for quite a few weeks now , they do not need stick from the crowd ,they need to be rested and someone else should be given a chance. I am not a Carson fan and never have been , but i do not boo him at games( or any other player for that matter) and distanced myself from the jeers he got at the last home game when he was not even starting.
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The Real Bully Hoo,
I think you are spot on mate, can’t really argue with any of the points you made. I think we are just sick of yo-yoing which i totally understand as i’m sure you are. I think most Albion fans are realistic and i agree i would have taken our current position at the beginning of the season, i think our good start has contributed to the expectation levels going through the roof because the current crop of players have prooved they can do it.
I think we will make a couple of additions before the window closes but also agree that if it doesn’t improve the team there is little point whatsoever.
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Has anyone else seen the ‘rumour’, albeit coming from the highly dubious source of a Stoke City supporter’s website… and they seem to be loving our demise as well as pipping us to JC etc… that we were after Michael Owen on loan??
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Re the choice of captain….. it’s not about who shouts loudest on the pitch – Olsson will do that anyway – its more about respect and trust from the other players, and that doesn’t have to be the best or loudest player or one who plays in a certain position – its also about who the players can talk to during the week – who can represent them to the manager, or the ref and who has the respect of all concerned.
Look at our recent captains – jonno, carson and brunt – none would be obvious to the fans but its about the dressing room and the players….. although I agree that a capt needs to lead by example and Brunty’s head going down is not good enough… but he is human so lets give him a chance !!!
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34. Sorry misunderstood, yeah I agree booing any player is wrong, and myhill thoroughly deserved chance, although Carson in my opinion is not a bad keeper, he needs more confidence and to keep his concentration, psychological rather than ability, as he has produced good performances just not consistently. I believe any player that isn’t producing performances should be dropped, and Carson has.
These are my changes…
Morrison out for dorrans
Tamas out for ibanez
Cech out for shorey who never should have lost his place!
And… Brunt? Captain? What is this world coming too
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Jarrod
As I say it wasn’t a reaction to your blog as much as a general point. I almost always find you to be a voice of reason, or if not then certainly a voice not too far away from my own.
Streetly
I don’t cast doubt on us having great away support, especially when you consider the likes of Birmingham’s pathetic effort at Blackpool the other week, but I wouldn’t say we’re always a particularly positive bunch and we can be quite nervy. It was decidedly quiet at Blackburn (although I accept that’s a Sunday game with less beer and against stifling opposition). You’re spot on to suggest it’s to do with experience i.e. previous relegations. I was just trying to encourage debate on whether our anxiety transfers through to the players.
Jarrod makes a good point about our belief. Is this because RDM’s lack of experience at this level detracts from his self-assurance and subsequently the players, or is it more to do with the anxiety of the supporters? I thought (Smethwick aside) that our support was pretty poor against Blackpool. Blackpool have lost 5 of their last 6 or something like that yet they’re still throwing men forward. There was a distinct lack of support alongside Odemwingie on Sunday, we just seem more inhibited than they do.
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I think I have stumbled on the reason for James Morrisons lack of form….. it is not James that is currently playing for us but his useless twin brother!!!. If you watched MOTD on Sunday night Morrison had a volley way over the bar, this from a corner. Cut to RDM on the sidelines & who do you think was standing behind him…… it was James Morrison. Case proven!! or, on the other hand it could have been a poor piece of continuity by the beeb.
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I don’t want to labour the point in my previous post,but it’s just crossed my mind that one of the guys on Sky said at the end of the Blackburn game,that had Peter’s shot in the first minute missed Robinson’s fingertips and crossed the line,we would have had a very different game.Sometimes success and defeat can rest on a knife edge,but running around like headless chickens when the result goes against you doesn’t solve anything,all it does is make you feel worse.
I remember the panic and negative vibes near the end of August about not having new players,then a couple of late quality signings and everyone was suddenly happy.Let’s just see what develops before losing any more sleep.
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Totally agree Jarrod, the heads dropped and a distinct lack of belief was evident. I was extremely disappointed with Di Matteo’s changes aswell…yes bring on Somen Tchoyi, but Mulumbu cannot be taken off, personally I think Scharner had a shocker….wandered round lazily looking clueless and playing dangerous passes. Odemwingie really struggles on his own up front and found himself coming deeper and wider to get his foot on the ball….leaving us without a striker! He needs an effective partner and although bednar showed some nice touches when he came on, he’s not the answer. Either Scharner needs to go back in defence or Ibanez needs a run out because Tamas was at fault for both goals. Pleased with Myhill’s progress though, nothing he could do about the goals. Reckon we’ll still beat the drop though..come on you baggies!
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Naive defending, letting in too many goals, ill discipline of players, “couldn’t care less” attitude (well it seemed like that on Sunday!) and bad luck (at times) all point to one thing. The Manager must go. We have the best squad we’ve had for 30 years, which will be decimated if we go down. Get Mcinnes in – the players will certainly know what is required from this Albion legend. Note that the 3 other clubs that have changed their Manager recently (Liverpool, Newcastle and Blackburn) are all now doing much better as a result.
Things have not been right with this team for months now – it needs sorting out soon! ps I’m still happy with my prediction of ages ago that all the relegated teams will begin with W, hence our next game (along with the following 2 home games) is massive.
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Cantello,
You are absolutely right success and failure are separated by very fine margins.
Jarrod, very well put we all have our opinions and are free to voice them. If players are not doing it for one game give them a chance in the next. if the lack of form
continues they need to be rested. I am very concerned that with a week left we have still not signed anyone. As I said previously a couple of signings will lift the place
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29 Cantello Rocket 78
You’ve got it exactly right what we need is a goalscorer, and sorry if this offends his army of supporters but Odemwingie is not that man. Is he better than what we had? Yes. Will he score goals? Yes. However, he lacks that killer touch that is required at this level, the composure that makes the difference. People have said he lacks support, which means they accept there’s a problem! Sorry he is just not good enough!
Now, some time ago I posted on here that we should go after Michael Owen don’t say he wouldn’t come, how many times has he sat on the bench watching his team get totally outplayed? he couldn’t have failed to be impressed with our teams efforts that day! Yes he’s just what we need! Hands up all those who disagree.
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When you are more fightened of failing and letting people down you start to lose the courage and determination that has helped you to achieve what you have. And I think we have become fearful of failure.
There was absolutely no positive response to conceding on Sunday. Second half we should have come out pressing and eager in much the same way we had started the game. But heads had not been raised at half time, we conceded again and the game was gone. Though Thomas got on his bike and caused trouble we never looked like creating a clear cut opportunity to score and we didn’t get enough players forward to support the cause.
This season when we have played teams where we have not expected to get anything (Man U home and away) (Everton and Arsenal away) we have done better because we have been free from this fear of losing.
We should have been looking for at least 3 points off Blackburn this season and we have played poorly in both games as we did at Wigan and Villa.
As such losing to play off winners Blackpool away in a game where they were so poor we could have beaten them with 10 men; I think was a key moment in the season that has been correctly identified. Mentally that left more issues than the injuries and suspensions.
I do think that there is something about our approach to playing these games that needs to be more imposing and free. We are a decent team and we are capable of staying in this division. I’m not saying we do not need to address some of the issues mentioned but We need to be encouraged by the league table not frightend by it.
It’s a good time to have a couple of weeks to recharge the batteries and get ready for the challenges ahead – and that includes RDM.
This is where new recruits could add to the mix, bringing in a fresh verve of confidence and releasing some of the pressure. Whilst Owen is well past his prime, there is a lot Simon Cox could pick up from a player of Owen’s stature being around. I would welcome that.
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Cyril -18 and TRBH – 21, I think you have hit on some really good points. Jarrod, I can almost hear you sense of worry. I am concerned, 1 win in how long is not good form but we are now close to having a fully fit team and yes we do need a few new faces. When fit, I would play Reid at right back – so much more reliable than Jara. I am another that finds the selction of Cech over Shorey a little confusing. With regards to the centre of defence, Tamas is clearly out of form and although I feel that Ibanez is not a bad player, he gives us the Spurs early days for Gareth Bale – we just do not win, when he plays! Another centre half is a MUST with a ‘if in doubt, kick it out’ attitude. I do not feel that the midfield is a big worry, we have enough cover in there, Mulumbu and Scharner as holding players, Brunt, Dorrans and Thomas as the attacking three. This should free Dorrans up a lot more than he has been. Morrison, Tchoi, Barnes are options from the bench. The issue at the moment going forward is that we do not have enough options to play 2 up top. PO works hard but cannot do it on his own but mith Miller now on loan we are left with Bednar, MAF and Cox. I am sory, they are not good enough options and this is why RDM can not really , give us a plan B which we all need.
JP is not big on the January sales, but I think this is a realt test of his ambition – consolidate and build or yo-yo. I think that the next 6 days until the close of the transfer window could well determine our fate.
I remain optimistic, but we do need a couple of new faces. JP, all heads are looking at you.
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Just another quick point no-one was complaining when we signed Tamas (yet now he is scapegoat of the week)just remember how much he cost & we can’t really expect a Premier league player for what we payed for him.The simple facts are that players like Bednar/Barnes/Zuiveroon etc. should be nowhere near the first team squad
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31 Jarrod.
I’ve almost always been uniformly positive about your blogs. In fact I don’t know whether you read to the end of my long winded effort but I did say that I agreed with most of your points. The quality replies which it has brought out, again proves how thought provoking it has been.
I think Sunday was a very strange game. It was frustrating, as CR78 points out if that early effort had gone in or indeed if we’d got the penalty decision it may have been a different story. What I was trying to get over was that we have to be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water.
As Happy has said, the Manager appoints the captain and perhaps he sees something in Chris Brunt that we don’t. A lot of hindsight is being aired over Tamas, I said last week that although he’s off form, he’s probably better suited for a battle with Blackburn than Pablo. I don’t remember there being a clamour for Pablo to be included.
We don’t know the reason Mulumbu came off but as many have said, he was doubtful for the game and I can’t imagine it was for any other reason than to protect him for future games.
Saying that our start has turned some fans heads isn’t condescending and I stand by it. It doesn’t mean I’m questioning their IQ or their age, their memories perhaps. It doesn’t mean I’m trying to say they shouldn’t have a point of view but surely I’m allowed one aren’t I?
You accuse me of being condescending but in your own words ‘they’re a poor side and we handed them the three points.’ They’re an established mid-table PL side, something we’ve been trying to become for God knows how long. They have a team of fairly expensive internationals. They have a new Manager trying to make an impression. If you think I’m condescending let me say that I was thinking in the lead up to the game that we would win, so I’m feeling a bit humble myself.
We have no divine right to beat any team whether it’s Wigan, West Ham or even Wolves. We need to fight for every point. We are the poor relations in this League.
Jarrod my post wasn’t meant to be disrespectful to you or anyone else. I know you are one of the club’s band of fans that follow the the club home and away giving fantastic support. You attend a lot more games than I do but I don’t think you would want me to agree with you for the sake of it.
I hope you haven’t taken the panicking thing personally. What I meant was that we’re going through a bad patch, we’re all a bit nervy proably due to our previous relegations. What we must not do is transfer our anxiety to the players on the pitch. The negativity that is brewing on the site is in danger of bringing that about. We must not fall into that, just look at what it has done for our neighbours, players that are scared stiff of making a mistake, especially at home.
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Transfer Gossip
In Decemeber we sounded out Carlos Vela at Arsenal about a loan move. It is seen as an option and Wenger wants him to go out on loan………..
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38 Mulumbu’s Apprentice.
I also owe you an apology. I’m sure I accused you of being a Wulfie the other day. It was just that the way you criticised Carson was so negative I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
If you had expressed yourself the way you did in this very good post, I would have seen your point.
Sorry.
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45 BAGGIEDAD
Michael Owen , lets see oh yes, Injury prone , over the hill, past his sell by date , big time charlie and basically playing now and then on memory, to sum it up no thanks because he is FINISHED.
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Our squad is not good enough for Europe – but i’m pretty sure its good enough to stay up, and at the risk of repeating myself we are just a bit of confidence / luck away from becoming the team that outplayed Arsenal & Man Utd earlier this year.
I can’t believe the stick players like tamas are getting – before the blackburn game most posters were calling for a tamas / Olsson partnership – yet one OG later and he is rubbish and we need a new CB – madness !!
Thank god JP is cautious with the cash cos its panic like this that sees clubs fall through the leagues.
Look at our neighbours who have been bottom three all year but now say their squad is good enough to stay up (cos Craddock and henry are back) – then look at us…..I know who’s chances i fancy !!
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45 Baggie Dad.
I don’t disagree and I don’t say he wouldn’t come. I just get the feeling that he falls into the Carew bracket. That someone will nip in and gazump us at the 11th hour.
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43 mboy.
Don’t forget it had a resounding effect on Charlton when they sacked Alan Curbishley as well.
If I remember right their fans thought they should be doing better than they were.
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52TRBH
We need to get it done then, a bit quick!
All infavour say Aye
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mboy
You list a number of things we’ve had for 30 years that you claim we still do. One thing we haven’t had for 30 years is a very good chance of establishing ourselves as a Premiership club and RDM’s arguably the best manager we’ve had in that time.
In all my time on these boards I’ve never read a positive post from you. That’s fine if what you write’s constructive, but it’s not, it’s absolute garbage. I’m not one to accuse people of being Wolves fans but if you’re an Albion fan, you’ve got a strange way of showing it.
BaggieDad
I’m sorry mate but I completely disagree. Odemwingie has 8 Premiership goals, Torres has 9, Drogba has 10. He arguably has far less service than either of those ad he certainly cost a lot less…..more than 10 times less.
You ask West Ham, Wigan, Wolves, Birmingham, Villa, Fulham, Everton and just about everyone outside the top 6 if they’d swap Carlton Cole, Cameron Jerome, Nikola Zigic, Nathan Delfouneso, Emile Heskey, Jermaine Beckford or Andrew Johnson for Odemwingie, and I think you’d get the same answer from all of them.
He’s not flawless, he misses the odd chance, but given what we paid for him I’d challenge anyone to think of somebody we’d have got that’s better.
As for Michael Owen, if Odemwingie struggles when he’s isolated against 2 big centre-backs, then please tell me what Michael Owen would bring. If the ball’s not in the 6-yard box, then he’s no use to anyone. In my opinion our problems are more to do with service and support to Odemwingie than Odemwingie himself.
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55 TRBH
Totally correct , i remember Charlton fans ringing the radio saying that Curbs had took them as far he could, i wonder if they think about that now languishing in the Third Division ?.
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52 Wall Heath
Your comments have been noted.
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If anyone needs a break form all this doom & gloom may i suggest you read post 46 on the henry / stearmen thread over the darkside….
A wolves fan starts of his post with “Dear Idiots” and then proceeds to tell everyone how attendance figures are the reason why clubs either stay up or are relegated…. its that weird its genius.
I’ve suggested he runs his theory by leeds and Sheffield fans……
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Jarrod, I think RDM needs to spend the first 45 in the stands so he can get a better view of the game. Eddie can then control matters from the touchline. That will hopefully deal with any strange decision making about subs…
Reinforcements required? Undoubtedly so. A tall striker with good aerial ability needed. Other than that, I’m fairly happy with the squad. Belief and luck are other two new signings that we require and they don’t cost anything!
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57 WARREN OF MANCUNIA
I agree with everything you said there, that means i have agreed with you , TRBH and Cyril in the same day, strange times indeed.
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TRBH
Im a bit twitchy and grumpy today, but nursey has just given me something to calm me down.
Warren
People say you get what you pay for, but i believe that as a football club we prove that this rule doesnt always work. Odemwingie is just another example of how we have managed to recruit a team for next to nothing, and get more than what we have paid for. However the nervousness related on here is something we all share, i think its part of caring so much.
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What on earth’s wrong with everyone????
Last week we were back on track, one disappointing defeat against a team we NEVER do well against because their style of play always negates ours and all of a sudden:
RDM should be sacked;
We need to play 4-4-2;
RDM substitutions are rubbish (does anybody actually know that Mulumbu wasn’t injured or shattered?? No thought not);
Scharner’s never a midfielder (he seemed to do okay at Arsenal and Man Utd);
Tamas needs dropping;
Jara’s a Championship player;
Bednar and Miller are our saviours.
Have some of you heard yourselves?!! It’s like being on the Wolves board.
Yes our form has been worrying and no everything’s not perfect but we’ve just got Olsson back (he was the ‘answer’ last week), most of our players are fit and we haven’t suddenly become a bad team overnight. 12 months ago we had a January blip that RDM and his staff got us through. He deserves the chance to do it again without 25,000 people who’ve escaped relegation on Football Manager telling him how to do it.
Fulham aside, we’ve looked like we could win every game we’ve lost but for small details. Does it need fine-tuning? Yes. Do we need to take a sledgehammer and start from scratch? No. Come on, lets have a bit more positivity. None of the teams around us have Wigan, West Ham and Wolves at home to come.
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48 lozzawba- I completely agree with you on Tamas.Before the bad run,he was being praised for his performances,and the media were linking him with Chelsea.He sometimes looks a bit too laid back,but overall he’s had a lot more good games than bad since we signed him.
Against Blackburn,he made two ‘mistakes’,but I felt he was unlucky with both outcomes.
For the first goal,he went up with Santa Cruz right behind him,and just tried to head the ball out.The camera angle facing goal showed that the ball dropped down just under the bar,it could have easily gone over instead.For the second,he did allow the player too much room to shoot,but it turned out to be a wonder strike,yet again going in just under the bar.It was the guy’s first prem. goal,and he many never hit one as well again.
So it’s easy to lay the blame on individual players,but this is a team game,and everyone makes mistakes.We don’t need to put extra pressure on these guys.
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62 Max Jekyll.
Dreading tomorrow when it’s Max Hyde’s turn.
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48 lozza and 65 CR78.
Hear hear.
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64 Warren.
As my partner in crime fighting, I don’t bother to praise your posts any more. Beside the fact that the people on here that think we’re the same person would find it just too weird.
However I have to break my habit on this one.
Bravo from Bully Man, well done Boy Wonder.
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57 Warren
So you don’t want Owen then?
Be careful now!
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60 Happy.
Just had a look and even by the bizarre standards of that site it’s a truly wonderful effort.
The point he seems to be getting at is that League positions are decided by crowd capacity… except when they aren’t.
Genius.
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Warren last week we werent on track, we were lukcy. The blackpool game could have gone either way and if it wasnt for DJ campbell missing a hatful of chances we would be on a 8 game losing streak.
We cant defend, simple as. It time to bring in Ibanez, Reid (when fit) and shorey.
Also i wouldnt pick morrison for a kick about down harlech park, unless it was his ball or we needed a jumper for a goal post. The man offers a goa every now and again but apart from that hes poor. Dorrans has much more is his locker and if fir must play.
We have some talented players and if we stay up we can build on this, if we go down we will lose the mulumbus and odemwingies.
The diference between our away games earlier in the season and now is we take an age to buld up, its mowbray pass pass pass and the directness has gone.
Good blog by the way.
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66 TRBH
New medication old boy , Mr Hyde as gone , but these voices in my head are a little worrying !!! where’s Kev when you need him , although he has likened me to Aled Jones , could be worse i suppose, he could have said Cliff Richard.
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PS 57 Warren.
I wasn’t agreeing with Baggie Dad about PO’s shortcomings, just that I wouldn’t mind seeing Michael Owen as our poacher because I see PO as being a better player making runs from outside the box. And if he’s fit Owen is a very fine player who would surely put a finish on a lot of our great approach work.
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53 Happy.
I missed this post earlier. What a good point you make that there seems to be a panic to get players in, any players. CR78 made a similar point yesterday, we only want players that will make a difference and we only want players that want to be here. Seem like minor points but so important, sin in haste, repent at leisure.
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BaggieDad
I’m not writing Owen off or suggesting he couldn’t do a job for someone, but I don’t think he’d suit us…..that’s of course if he would come.
At 4-5-1, my personal opinion is that the front man needs to be mobile, run the channels and have good link-up play or else our play gets cluttered in the midfield and we have no get-out clause. I don’t think Owen’s accomplished enough in any of those areas for what we’re after.
That’s not of course to say he’s not a good goal poacher, but I think that’s maybe something you want late in a game you’re chasing when the opposition are firmly on the back foot and we’re committing bodies forward, not replacing Odemwingie in the starting XI. Also, is Cox not a goal-poacher?
Bomber
You’re right and despite this positive facade, I expect we’ll both be a nervous wreck next week!!
Wall Heath
This is a truly momentous day, I’d suggest you’ve now passed the Mafia initiation process. It’s nice to agree!!
TRBH
Likewise I tend to channel my efforts into Mafia recruitment rather than congratulate our own, but as always I agree with almost all you’ve written. I learnt from the best Bullyman.
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A couple of points re Blackburn. It must have been a fitness issue that resulted in Mulumbu being subbed. Please tell me this was the case. Poor old Simon Cox, boy he must have really upset RDM not to replace the out of form Morrison. May not be the most skillful player, but he always wants to take a pop at goal. Shurely he must be given a chance and the same applies to Nicky Shorey, who for the first 8 games was arguably our best player. If RDM persists in playing his favourites, despite them being off form, then its a poor outlook. And the breaking news on Sky Sports is that we have enquired about Matt Mills from Reading….another central defender !!!! Aggghhh…pass the shotgun !
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Transfer Rumour
Matt Mills cb from reading……………..
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John Dillinger
When I said we were back on track, I was speaking from the perspective of many posters who now claim we’ve been de-railed, to highlight the fickle nature of many of the posts.
We have the same fundamental issues this week we had last week, one result doesn’t change that.
I agree that we over-pass it sometimes and allow teams to get behind the ball, which doesn’t help us nor Odemwingie when the final ball’s a cross and not a through ball.
However, our defending was fine at the beginning of the season, therefore I’d suggest these aren’t problems that can’t be ironed out on the training ground. Like I said before, fine-tuning yes, sledgehammer no. A lot of the posts on here seem to be reaching for the sledgehammer.
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75 Warren my new mate
Please read back your reply. Can you see it is full of contradictions? Also remember it is RDM who dictates the team setup then answer the question.
Do you want Owen? Also remember RDM has seen alot more of Cox than we have!
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Transfer rumour carlos vela, owen and maffias jorden to west brom.
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68 TRBH-
So we have crime fighters ‘BullyMan’ and ‘Boy Wonder’ Warren.What we’re currently waiting for are the real bad guys to show-so where are you,’laughingwolf’ Joker, and ‘Lone Wolf’ Anagram Riddler?
‘Ker-Pow!’,'Sock!’,'Ker-runch!’
Well done Boys,the Riddler’s gone to hide in Manchester,and the Joker has gone back to where he belongs…..fantasy land?
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55,Bully Hoo
Our situation is completely different to the Charlton situation at that time.We are praying for someone to come in and do a Curbishley and keep Albion in the premier for many many seasons.If we get relegated Di Matteo may find himself sacked, if he keeps us up,he has done his job and we can take stock in the summer.
If we go down,over to you because I dont know where we would go from there?
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To All
The amount I was going to raise my fees has just doubled,the results of my work are more spectacular than I thought after reading this love in between old foes.
To all those wanting heads to roll,TRANQUILO! especially on Saturday,Max mentioned it early’er
the atmosphere at these crucial matches is tense bordering on aggressive,this filters through to the players so lets have total loud vocal support from kick off too final whistle.
How about The Lords My Sheppard before kick off like Liverpool sing You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Adeu
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BaggieDad
Forgive my ignorance, perhaps it’s me being blinkered, I can’t see a contradiction.
I don’t think Owen suits our style of play; I don’t think now’s the time to overhaul our style of play; I don’t think Owen’s a player worth changing our style of play for if we did; I think he’s a good finisher in a team that commits players into the opposing penalty area where he picks up scraps, but those teams are generally top-end sides who spend most games on the offensive, not teams fighting relegation; I can’t see how he would’ve changed the outcome of any of our last 8 games, certainly not for the positive.
My reference to Cox is only as a question to you if you think we need a goal poacher. I personally wouldn’t start Cox or pursue Owen.
Sorry if I’ve not explained myself very well.
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Why do we want Owen when we have Cox. Just play Cox in the box instead of midfield. He could be on the lines of Super Kev if he was allowed to play to his strengths.
The dark side makes our site look like a Sunday garden party at Buckingham Palace.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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Just heard that Andy Gray has been sacked for something he said to a female co-presenter.
The sad news is that Cyril, Warren and Chris Cross have been sacked by the E&S from this site for posts to Tchoyi’s Massive Head. Several other posters are under investigation.
Seriously though, isn’t it a sad World where we have to watch every word we say for fear of the thought police. I’m not talking about harrassment but apparently Gray was sacked for a bit of suggestive humour George Orwell would be spinning in his grave.
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81 CR78.
I think you’ve mistakenly put an r on the end of Laughing Wolf’s pseudonym.
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60 Happy.
I notice post 71 WHO R WBA???? has answered your post. Unfortunatley he’s still suffering from the sense of humour bypass he’s undergone.
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I’ve read ALL of the above posts. I’m exhausted, Christmas crackered. At least Max and me are mates again. Now I’ve got to get Sir Terence back on here. I miss the eternal optimism, the one-liners to cheer me, even his own inimitable spelling! The country is in a financial pickle, the West Mids clubs are all down at the moment, but we have as good a chance as any to discover the confidence we had earlier. I used to ‘fine- tune a radio that had lost its zip. That’s all we need.
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Time for RDM to freshen things up a little. If nothing else, only to surprise our opponents who are reading us like a book, knowing exactly how to counter our strong points (yes, there are some!) and exploit our weaknesses.
IMO, we have become a little too predictable. Other managers know exactly how we are going to play and who will be playing where. 4-5-1 has served us well this season, and it would be madness to completely abandon a system which yielded so many points earlier this campaign. But making changes or little tweeks for a game or two could give fresh impetuous to the players. RDM has done a superb job since he came here, but now the pressure is beginning to mount with these poor results, he has to show he’s got other ideas up his sleeve. Some on here have suggested 4-4-2, i’d be happy to see anything a little different just to shake things up and turn things around!
For me, picking players on current form, our centre-backs have to be Olson & Scharner. If we must persist on having two holders in MF, then why not play Jara alongside Mulumbo? Jara has a good range of passing which is wasted at RB, and since he signed for us, i feel his best games have been in this role. Options at RB would be Zuvvy, Hurst and (soon) Reid. Also, i think it’s long overdue that we gave a decent run to our best striker of the ball and only natural goalscorer, Simon Cox. When this lad hits a ball, it stays hit! He also has that uncoachable (new word? move over BFR) ability to stick a leg out and turn a loose ball into the net, poacher style. The big question is how he would fit into 4-5-1 as he couldn’t play the loan striker role. I would suggest playing him just behind the main striker might work. The loan target man could be Bednar who would chip in with the odd goal, but MAF would be my choice – not going to score as many as Bednar or St. Peter but holds the ball well under pressure and is neat with his distribution, bringing others into play, i would play him purely to get the best out of Cox alone! Dropping Odemwengie would be a brave decision though, and the critism would be hurled at RDM ten-fold if we lost. Whatever happens, doing nothing and allowing this slump to continue is not an option!
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82 Streetly.
I’m not sure if you’re being serious or just on a wind-up.
If it’s the first:-
You’re saying that we take on a promising but relatively inexperienced manager who gets us promoted and leads us to our best PL challenge so far.
Then if we get relegated we sack him.
If we don’t get relegated we sack him.
Perhaps you didn’t actually say as much but the way I read your post that’s what you’re hinting at.
Who do we replace him with?
One of the old time servers?
Another promising inexperienced manager?
Why not think outside the box and keep him either way?
I know Arsenal and Man Ure have had their fingers burnt with this policy but it might just work with us. You never know.
PS Curbishley wasn’t employed to keep Charlton up, he took them up and then kept them up year after year. What took them down eventually was fans not being satisfied with being stuck in 6th place in the PL.
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hi jarrod enjoyed yu blog do u think its going 2 b another [great escape]
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WALL HEATH
I agree with you well said at least you write how you feel and not sit on the fence like WARREN & Co who i think is a politicion in disguise. What i would like to ask everyone is “What does WBA.F.C want to achieve do we want to become an established Premier League Club or a Good Championship side and a poor Premier League side?” Please advise Mr Peace because i thought we are in football to win things because if not i’ll spend my well earned on something that makes me smile at weekends rather than puts my chin on the deck!!!!!!!
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Sorry lads Tuesday! these Espanyol lessons are doing my brain.
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I think there are quite a few problems with the baggies at the moment. For me i think the major problem is that people have worked us out now, the whole right-footers on the left and vice-versa is no suprise to teams anymore. As a result they do exactly what Blackburn did and play with no width cancelling out space for us to run through/play balls through.
Do any of you remeber the Forest game at home last year. After that RDM finally changed to wingers on their favoured side, and we went on a great run til the end of the season.
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84 Warren
As i’ve said before, I am an avid reader if not a prolific contributor to this site, and I always read with interest what I’ve stated before are well thought out posts from yourself.
However, on this topic you have gone into very longwinded replies, stating facts as you see them, when all you needed to say was I don’t want Michael Owen.
There in lies the contradiction I refer to, not wanting a player who in your own words;
“I think he’s a good finisher in a team that commits players into the opposing penalty area where he picks up scraps, but those teams are generally top-end sides who spend most games on the offensive, not teams fighting relegation”
I would argue that we should be interested in any player who is of that quality, and further, there are those so called pundits who believe that we are in our present position because we do play an expansive game and commit players to forward areas but we are unable to finish!
Also as you stated;
“I don’t think now’s the time to overhaul our style of play”;
I take that to mean you want us to continue playing our attractive brand of football which took us to the top end of the table.
Finally there’s no need to apologise, and I certainly don’t think you’re ignorant.
PS I hear RDM wants Owen!
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Well I’m not saying everything is hunky doree.
But let’s not get too down,we need to support the shirt and whoever wears it.
Now Carson’s out the limelight, is it get onto someone else now.
Doe’s anyone think Tamas feels good about his own netting?
Let’s face it, if he had put it 2 yards wide it would have been a great defensive clearance.
The second, why wasn’t it cut out earlier and where was the cover?
Football’s a team game so everyone must take responsibility.
This is the same bunch that started the season and did so well.They don’t suddenly become poor overnight.
Surely it’s down to confidence and hopefuly they can get a couple of back to back wins and a big lift.
The defence has been depleted of late, so probably rushed back just to get players back in their own places.
Mullumbu probably took off as a precaution.
Seems Mozza is out of favour with quite a few.
Maybe RDM would of played Dozza if he had been fit.
The coaching staff work with them all week and know their fitness levels, we see them on matchdays.
Just my thought’s.
BAGGIESBAGGIESBAGGIES
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Hi Gladys,
My blood pressure couldnt take it and neither could the people who sit near me at the games if it came down to the last game!!!
I just hope we manage to go on a good run soon and not need any last minute miracles.
Glad you enjoyed the blog.
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93 Paul.
Try ‘Carry On Dick.’ It’s a very funny film.
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Just a quick thank you to all who have made this weeks blog a very active one!!
See you all Friday, rest your fingers until then.
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BaggieDad
As always, good to have an exchange with you as unlike so many others, you back up your posts with reason.
I agree we are an expansive team but I don’t think we commit that many players into the opposing box. Against Blackpool you could have paused the game during any of their attacks and they had 5 or 6 players streaming into our penalty area- kamikaze some might say.
If you do the same for any of our games, yes Thomas gets down the flank, yes Dorrans/Morrison/Brunt are often hovering around the edge of the oppositon box, but there’s only ever really Odemwingie in it, the ball’s rarely loose in the area Owen thrives upon. I doubt RDM would change that as he seems to like players behind the ball when we give it away.
Anyway, I’m in danger of rattling on again so I’ll cut it short!!
Paul
Thanks for the backhanded compliment although I can assure you I’m nowhere near clever enough to be a politician!!
By sitting on the fence I assume you mean I hold back from giving opinion. I’d argue I always give an opinion, it just might be a little more defensive of the team/players than yours as I don’t believe in knee-jerk reactions to one-off results. That doesn’t mean I don’t have one or never offer it. Wall Heath himself will tell you we’ve disagreed many a time.
Re: Peace- it looks like the teams who win things this year will be Arsenal, Man Utd and probably one of the big four in the FA Cup. If you are aware of a way we can compete with those and win something next year without bankrupting the club then please enlighten us, or do us a favour and at least let JP know.
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(92)
Glad,
Can’t do a Great escape, we weren’t bottom on
X-Mas. Pet. That’s West Ham’s task.
(43)
Mb,
Hit a sticky patch, sack the manager. Just about your barrow regarding football knowledge. out of all the Head Coaches sacked, you pick three that have done slightly better, maybe giving them ( THE sacked ones ) more time, they would’ve probably turned the tide anyway. Don Howe was a brilliant international right back and coach, but wasn’t a good Head coach.
If that’s all the advice you can give, it was a waste of ink.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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WARREN OF MANCUNIA
I have a good pair of tweezers for those splinters on your derrier, LOL.
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90 BFTRBC
I’m not sure I agree with all the personnel changes you mention, but the first two paragraphs of that post are absolutely spot on mate!!
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102 – JtH – The “sticky patch” has been going on for months now and I didn’t use any ink.
Warren – my earlier post is indeed negative, but I have been constructive in giving a solution to the problem. Just because you do not agree, it doesn’t mean that I am a Wolves fan! Thank you.
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Mboy
Okay I acknowledge your point, I do still think it’s absolute garbage though.
Bring in a new manager because Blackburn, Liverpool and Newcastle have?
What about Arsenal and Manchester United? Has a revolving door helped them? Did it help us when we had numerous managers between the early 80′s and the turn of the century?
Derby came up and sacked Davies, West Ham sacked Curbishley, Norwich sacked Worthington, Watford sacked Boothroyd, Reading- Coppell, Burnley lost Coyle in a similar position to us, Hull sacked Brown. Did it help any of them?
We finished last year with a club record points total, set numerous club records this year up until November. There must be something right about what we’ve been doing. To then suggest we strip it out and start again after a few bad results is outrageous. I’m not denying things need addressing (see post 90) but please, some perspective….
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106 Warren
Good crack mate, we’ll have to disagree on the merits of Owen, but your spot on with this post. Getting rid of RDM is laughable this guy is our future. Yes he has made mistakes, no doubt he will make more, however, he fully deserves our support, the players support and JP’s support then see where we’ll go, and anyone who suggests otherwise are either stupid or wulfs probably both!
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Got to add that the exchange between Warren and Baggie Dad has been excellent. Both made their points and had me agreeing and disagreeing as the debate went on.
A real credit to the site.
105 Mboy.
Probably the less said about your ‘sticky patch going on for months’ the better. Make the most of it, it gets less regular as you get older.
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