It’s West Brom, but not as we know it
Monday 26th September 2011, 4:00PM BST.
West Brom blogger Jarrod Hill believes the function over fashion approach at the Hawthorns will only succeed with a signinficant points haul to merit its worth.
It’s West Brom folks, but not as we know it. In football, it is very often the smallest of margins that make the biggest of differences.
Had Chris Brunt’s late effort been an inch-and-a-half the other side of the post we would be celebrating our second win of the season, but would that have been papering over the cracks?
Peter Odemwingie also had a glorious chance when Youssouf Mulumbu put him clean through on goal and Shane Long had a good shout for a penalty.
But, that my Baggie friends, are the highlights from a very dull game. The lack of entertainment continued, as my other half insisted on watching X Factor on our return from the game.
So the best parts of the day were the pre-match drinks and the excellent fish and chips from the Dovedale Chippy on the way home.
I do not allow myself fish and chips too often and normally resist the temptation when we have lost.
As a kind of pick me up and, although we had come away with a draw, in some ways it felt like we had lost.
Having watched the game on Saturday, I fear I will be close to 25 stone come next may and have my own parking space outside the Dovedale.
Fulham arrived at the Hawthorns without a win this season and looked content to leave with a draw.
They were missing a couple of key players but you wouldn’t have guessed it as I watched them totally dominate, if not create any clear cut chances, during the first-half.
I couldn’t even work out what our formation was during the first 45 minutes and I am unsure the players knew what they were meant to be doing.
Roy explained it was a 4-3-3 formation with Peter Odemwingie and Jerome Thomas wider than the central Shane Long. Whatever it was, it desperately didn’t work as Fulham controlled the play.
What amazes me is that we seem prepared to experiment with a new system of 4-3-3, but reluctant to switch back to a system that reaped enough points last season to finish 11th in the Premier League.
The second-half witnessed a turn-around as we dominated play without creating too many chances, the most notable one resulting in a fantastic save by Mark Schwarzer who, for me, was the best player on the pitch.
As we began to turn the screw, the Fulham goalkeeper repeatedly came and commanded his box and took all the pressure off his stretched defence.
Our best player was Gareth McAauley who, at the age of 31, enjoyed a very good Premier League debut.
His no-nonsense defending was strong and – alongside Jonas Olsson, Nicky Shorey and Steven Reid – McAuley looked determined and composed.
But is it that change in emphasis that is shackling our forward play?
We looked a good deal brighter in the second-half but just couldn’t find a way through and it was clear Fulham had settled for a point.
Chris Brunt so nearly clinched it at the death and it’s on such small margins that big things are decided.
It took us all last season to get two clean sheets and, already, we have that amount in the first six games.
That figure would stand at three, had Gabriel Tamas and Ben Foster have remained switched on to the very end against Stoke.
Mr Hodgson has made it clear how he sees us building enough points to remain in this division.
If we don’t concede we don’t lose games, simples and, as I watched us run out of ideas on Saturda,y I did find myself thinking “well, if we cannot win the game make sure we don’t lose it” before the boys did just that.
Its football folks but not as we know it, I think we might just have to get used to it.
I have never seen myself as a football purist but I do want to be entertained, although I also want us to do well. So what order do we put our desires in?
For me, I want to see us winning, I never moaned under Gary Megson as we often stifled the life out of the opposition while winning 1-0.
On the flip side, I didn’t moan when we failed to get promoted during Tony Mowbray’s first season in charge, as my cup overflowed on the entertainment front culminating in a trip to Wembley.
Hodgson looked to be the middle of the road head coach we all dreamed would bring us defensive stability, while still creating attacking football.
Last season’s football under Roy was just that, we still needed some work defensively but the goals still flowed like fine wine.
Away days at Sunderland and Newcastle, the games at home against Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton made us believe that our new head coach could achieve the equilibrium we all wanted and desperately needed.
The balance that Roberto Di Matteo, Tony Mowbray, Bryan Robson and Gary Megson never quite achieved. Six games in and, already, this season under Hodgson has a different feel to it.
The 4-4-2 formation has been the main point of contention amongst Albion fans and, although I do not think the new formation suits us, I am happy to see it continue if it brings us the points we need.
However, the fans will only put up with functional football if it brings with it a points haul worthy of the sacrifice and, at the moment, it simply isn’t.
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Thats the thing you see people constantly moan about not concentrating on the defence and so when that is addressed and sorted it’s labelled boring.
I will admit I enjoyed our faster attacking football with the 4-5-1 as I knew we would always score no matter what.
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you can see me in that pic to.
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Agree pretty much.
The main difference from last season is that we are now having to accommodate two quite similiar strikers and it will take time for them to adjust to each others game.
PO is wasted out wide. His threat comes from his speed and hanging on the shoulder of the last defender which last season worked very well using 4-5-1.
Either the team has to work with 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 or we revert to 4-5-1 and Long or PO sit on the bench.
Feel very sorry for Somen Tchoyi who has strength and skill on the ball but has lost his place
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The dovedale chippy is wolves territory!!
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Good blog Jarrod. It is a game of small margins and on another day, Fulham could have left with all 3 points. Remember they had a goal correctly ruled out for offside in the 1st half, but it was incredibly close and on another day it may well have been given. Incidentally, Sian Massey, the assistant referee got evey decision on Saturday absolutely spot on.
Fulham also hid the woodwork twice in the 2nd half and missed a very good chance at the death when one of their subs blazed high wide and handsome with only Foster to beat. The point being, as you correctly state in your blog, the clean sheet and point should not be allowed to paper over the glaring cracks.
After two very spirited and impressive performances against Man Utd and Chelsea we’ve played poorly in our next 4 Premiership games.
The change in formation and introduction of certain players has unbalanced the side. I would rather see Tchoyi than Thomas at the moment in a 4-5-1. I would also start Odemwingie up top on his own with Long on the bench.
We have assembled one of the best squads we’ve ever had but in my opinion we aren’t utilizing our biggest strength which is undoubtedly our midfield.
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Why is Roy tinkering with a system that was proven and got results at the end of last season ?
Why is Odemwingie playing wide in midfield ?
Has Shane Long got to be picked just because we have spent an intial 4.5 million out of around 11 million coming in from players leaving ?
It is obvious that Morrison is currently out of form and so why when we are leading Everton 1-0 did Roy bring him on for Cox when we had Mulumbo/Scharner on the bench to help protect that slender lead.
Similar questions were asked when he was at Anfield even though I am not forgetting what a fantastic job he did at the end of last season but he seems hell bent on changing things for whatever reason.
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Bang on Jarrod. I know it’s too early to criticise but if this is the RH way I don’t like it or think it’s necessary. We played perfectly well under him at the end of last season in a system that worked for us. Sure it didn’t give us many clean sheets but it gave us loads of points and just as importantly loads of fun. I cannot see where Gera fits in this new scheme and although we defended well against a Fulham attack devoid of their 2 best strikers they were poor and we should have won but didn’t. I hate to say this but in our last 4 Prem games I have began to think that Liverpool fans weren’t so wrong after all—let’s hope we revert to a winning team really soon
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i must admit saturday’s game brought back memories of the Bobby Gould era. however, i think that much of the hit-and-hope passing, and seemingly negative play in general, stems from a failure on the players’ parts to take the new system on board. PO looks particularly bewildered
but 4-4-2 is NOT a negative formation, and as the players become more and more comfortable with how Roy wants things done this season, we’ll see an improvement in both entertainment and results
Clacka,
you’re making me want to rip my own head off and throw it in the bin. can we please have Shirley Bassey back now? the lesser of two imbeciles…
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Very softly-softly and sensible.
A few points, purely on football, having been at every game this season. Jerome is clearly unfit, not confident enough to go past his man and should be rested. Jimmy is too lightweight for the role we are asking him to deliver. Shane started well, but has not looked quite right from the moment we’ve gone to 4-4-2. Paul Scharner looks as if his legs have ‘gone.’ It happens to some players in their early thirties and, sadly, it seems to have happened to him.
Yet I’ve seen excellent performances from Simon Cox and George Thorne in the League Cup, the talented Graham Dorrans is getting fitter and Tchoyi appears to be a handful for the opposition every time he plays. Can we start with most of them in a 4-5-1?
Can we also get back to a few basics? At every set play – including, most important, at corners – we look uncertain. Near post? Far post? A short one? Sharp and angled towards the penalty spot? It usually ends with a simple lob and their goalie easily gathering.
I watched Swansea three times last season, once ‘live,’ and even a thicko like me realised the only way to play them was with five across the midfield and the ball kept on the ground. Our footballers are better than theirs, but it never showed at their place because of our system and wrong choice of players for the job.
Why bring James Morrison on for Cox at Everton? We had Mulumbu on the bench to close down the game for the last seven minutes. Also, why on earth did we go 4-3-3 on Saturday, first half, when we’ve never played that system in pre-season or any other game?
We have some excellent players and I’m sure we will come good, in the end, this season. Zoltan Gera will eventually give us another option, Peter will realise he’s a ‘target’ and will have to start doing things a little differently and our two new centre backs look sound to step in for the inevitable injury to Jonas. We also have James Hurst on loan at Blackpool and Chris Wood at Birmingham on ‘stand-by.’
But, while an experienced, proven operator like Roy Hodgson needs no advice from the likes of me, I’m just a little concerned (and mystified) at the prep’, the systems played and the persistent use of off-form players.
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Baggies fans wont want to watch that tripe
every week as its simply not the Albion way.
Iam all for defending proper but Hodgson
is taking it to far,its honestly like we`ve
gone back to the Gary Megson years of boring
dour football.
Roy needs getting rid of as soon as possible
with Derek McInnes coming the other way,
we all know Mcinnes hasnt got much experience
but at least he`d have us playing some decent
football.
MCINNES YOUR TIME HAS COME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hodgson needs to get a grip & stick to 4-5-1 we played last season that kept us up, if it upsets a couple of players tough we need a settled format
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Good blog. I think it raises what’s wrong with football today, all skewed to success, or rather, for most clubs, survival in the Premier League. No doubt many will say, “I don’t care what rubbish is served up as long as we finish 17th or above.” I’m not so sure. West Brom has a proud tradition of serving up attacking, flair football. I know there have been blips, e.g. G Megson, Rons Saunders + Wylie (Hmmm time to stop there), but compare them to Ardiles and Atkinson. I’m taking the long view. So, when the smug pundits on MoTD say winning is all that counts I just can’t bring myself to agree. Long may the spirit of Willie Johnston prevail.
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4-5-1, 4-3-3,4-5-1, what about 1-10, ATTACK!!!!
Seriously, i think the coach is trying out different formations to fit in both strikers,he will work it out soon enough,he aint daft, i feel that tchoyi should start as he generally is a nightmare for defenders,and maybe just maybe in the Jan window we can strengthen with a couple more players.
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3-geoff, i too admire tchoyi, but i dont feel sorry for him, when he is on the pitch he’s got to bang em in, then he stays in the starting line up, boing boing
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My feelings entirely Jarrod. I go to watch football to see open play, slick passing and some goals. Which division we are in matters to the players, (cash), the club, (cash to pay wages), and the TV. Although if I have to listen to that bloke who took over from our Adrian say “Noy the Croyds ge”in loyder and loyder” once more, I shall throw the handset at the TV. The BBC used to be the icon of correct speech, now the stranger the accent or even the dialect in this guy’s case, the more we are needing an interpreter.
I want to be entertained. If we win 5-4 I have a grin 5 inches wide. If we lose 4-5 I can forgive them easily.
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Jarrod,
Attacking 4-5-1 gives us scope to defend well, use our passing game where it hurts and is a good spring board for our strikers. So in effect we move as a solid unit, it worked for the Romans.
(4)
Lango,
Reg’ Dovedale chippy. Not when I lived in Lanesfield it wasn’t. The Staffordshire Knot was also a brilliant pub. Those were the days.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~Jth.
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Decent blog Jarrod although I am surprised there have been so few post to respond. Judging by the negative comments has everyone taken to playing with razor blades???? I really am concerned by the negativity coming over from the majority of the posts. We are 6 games into the season. We are not playing extremely well – that cannot be denied but bloody hell – the world has not yet ended. Last season eveyone was moaning about the lack of clean sheets – we should have three already if we had not had the Foster / Tamas hoo ha against Stoke. Perhaps, it takes a little longer to pull everything else together and hopefully, we will soon be firing on all cylinders in midfield and up front. I think that we were all so made up with last seasons finish that we are all expecting to at least match this and beat every team outside the top half dozen. 6 games into a new season is too early to judge. Give him time. The team are not playing well but I do not think that we have been ‘playing well’ either as I thought the atmosphere on Saturday was like being at the Emirates rather than at our place. It was hardly inspiring for the team to perform – I accept that they need to play their part but we all need to stick together to pull through what it a little frustrating period for the club.
Saturday was not not grat but the plus points must be McAuley’s impressive debut, the general soundness of he defence and the clean sheet. Let’s try and be positive for a change!
Come on you Baggies.
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Hi Jarrod,
there are so many ways you can look at what’s happening this season,with new additions to the squad,and experimental formations,that we’re in danger of tying ourselves in mental knots,which may explain why the players themselves are looking confused.
I often like to stand back from a situation,and try to see things in as clear, and simple a way as possible.
Two things immediately come to mind-
1) When RDM left,JP said ‘unfortunately,we’re in a results driven business,so we have to take action if things are not going well’.
So as much as I love entertaining,attacking football,the priority at the Hawthorns is to accumulate enough points to keep us in the prem.,however we end up having to do it.
With that in mind,
2) RH most likely came into the job with 2 instructions-
a)Keep us up,then-
b)Focus on making us ‘stable’ this season.
It’s still early days,but I believe the Manager will soon have a clear view of the blueprint he wishes to use from now until next May,and as you say,it may not please everyone,but if it IS effective,results wise,then most people will forgive him.
We may well end up having to grind out results,but if we’re still in the top flight next summer,many will be excited that we’ve ‘established’ ourselves,and will just look forward to another premiership campaign.
And this season would then go down as a time that we had to ‘dig our heels in’.
So for the time being,let’s be a bit patient,and remember that wolves fans were screaming for everyone to leave or be sacked at the mol. last season,until they kept their place in the prem.,and suddenly everyone in charge became a hero.
Maybe we should follow the philosophy of TRBH (Bully),and see how the whole season pans out before running around like headless chickens.
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2 ‘Shirley Clacka’-
you’re not actually IN the picture,you’re just OUT of shot-
and we can see that everyone,including the players,are watching you,and clapping,as you’re being shown the exit door by the stewards just before kick-off.
Do you think they’re trying to tell you something?
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Lango79
Your right, i live in penn and its on the way home. I also drink their beer……
I think my daughter is trying to test how hard her dad is too, she walks round as bold as brass in her Albion shirt.
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Some very good comments.
I am torn on this point.
The best teams are built on a solid defence. I understand that we need to be tighter at the back but to achieve this we have given up the any chance of controlling the midfield. We have been overrun for the last four games now. Whether we play two of three in the middle, we do not seem to have the personal to combat our opponents in terms of work rate and creativity. We were doing both these last season but now we have adopted sitting deeper, letting teams play in front of us and being on the backfoot for long periods because we have not got the ball.
The second half Saturday, we cloased the ball down further up the pitch and ths coincided with more energy, faster tempo and looking capable of actually scoring.
Roy admitted that he got it wrong in the first half but is he trying to be too clever with the changes in formation when he knows what works?
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I find all this criticism unbelievable!
Tarah a bit.
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I can’t believe these comments.
You ALL demanded stronger defence, not just with individual players but as a team.
You got your wish. We don’t have 100 million to spend so it meant certain things have to be sacrificed. Now we are much less attacking or entertaining.
You wished for it you got it, have the guts to stand up and admit you called for it.
Next time maybe you will all think about it before you ask for things that you don’t actually want.
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If we continued to play 451 in the same way as last season and continued to concede like last season, there is no doubt we would be relegated this season. It is very difficult to come from 1 behind every game. Get the basics right and defend well then with time the attacking play will come. We are only 3 points from 11th … Which is where we finished last season. Bit of perspective needed.
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I see despite spending millions and millions in the summer, Sunderland lost 2-0 at Norwich last night – however I’m sure all the moaners will point out that they played better than us when we won there…..
YAWN….
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Spot on Jarrod
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Blackpool!!!
Entertaining, flair, attacking spirit, open, thrilling, fast flowing football ……. oh and they are doing it in the Championship this year!!!!!
Any takers?
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No.12 BB. What on earth were you thinking when you wrote that sentimental tosh last night? You know it spoils the weekend when we lose, especially when it happens on a regular basis.
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A few points on here about changing what we had at the back end of last year. In the last away games we played at the end of last year, the two deep banks were very much in evidence as they are now e.g. at Spurs. That’s not massively changed I don’t think. But perhaps we’ve over-tipped the balance slightly in terms of players getting forward and joining in, which I’m sure Roy will rectify over time and is probably partly to do with confidence.
I think we need some patience and vocal backing, not ludicrously impatient posts like some of the above.
Jarrod- Morning mate, apologies for not getting back to your post about a drink Saturday. I leave work at 4pm on Friday so didn’t get it in time. I’m sure we’ll sort it out for one of the upcoming games though!!
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Jonathon
Your right buddy, you do need to be careful of what you wish for.
I remember asking my dad for an action man, now my dads old school, if he cant make it, you aint getting it.
The year before i really tested him, i asked for a snooker table, come xmas day there it was, he had made one, straight up and it was really cool.
The action man though turned out to be one of my older sisters barbie dolls with her hair cut off. When i complained, he told me “you were the one asking to play with dolls you big sissy”.
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team vs sunderland away, if fit:
foster
jones (or jara, reid is too slow)
olsson
mcauley
shorey (we need a new lb, mattock?)
mulumbu
scharner
brunt
dorrans
tchoyi
long
bench – fulop
dawson
jara
morrison
thomas
cox
odemwingie
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23.Jonathan. That’s a mighty ‘superior’ post there mate. You ‘ALL DEMANDED’ etc. You may read the posts on here but you must have already made your mind up before you do. There are a good number of us who KNOW we don’t have £100million, we respect JP, DA for keeping our club viable and we would be at The Hawthorns were it 4th Division fotball.
These same people rarely, if ever, resort to criticising and naming a player, but that does not preclude us criticising a poor performance of the TEAM. Like it or not, Fulham rarely gave us a look at the ball 1st half. Something was wrong. Had it not been for a brilliant FEMALE linesman, we would have lost, make no mistake. I would add, we do NOT set ourselves up as experts either, knowing more than the manager. We were comprehensively outplayed by Swansea and Norwich, yet gave Man.U. and Chelsea a real go, entertainingly too may I add. You can explain why no doubt. My opinion is we changed too much too quickly and confused the players. If you stand on a table and shout the odds, some in the crowd will give it you back !
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30 morning Jarrod,
this snooker table your Dad made you for Xmas-
was that the one he forgot to put the pockets in?
I heard you were still trying to finish the first frame well into January……
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Defensive, boring, negative, hoofball, were all comments i heard on Saturday in the Smethwick end, and to an extent i agree with them. We have the personel to hurt a lot of teams, but for some reason Roy wants to fix something that is not broken. I have not felt this disinterested in my team since the Bobby Gould days, i want to see a return to the quick passing counter attacking football we all enjoyed last season. And hopefully Roy will not be as stubborn as he was at Liverpool or we will be relegated, you can tell by the players performances in the last four/five games that they do not feel comfortable with 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. Give us what we want Roy, and what the players want 4-5-1!
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Dead Baggie
You felt more interested under Robson, Little and Smith? Really….????
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DEAD BAGGIE
Unfortunate name mate , but your line about disinterested struck a real chord with me , to be honest it is exactly how i feel to the point of i do not look forward to the games like i used to .
Indeed these very boards are becoming less interesting , no Sir Terry , no Kev in mallorca and idiots like Shirley Clacka to deal with .
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I think we have to sit tight and wait for the players to get use to 4-4-2. Right now they are not sure if they are allowed to move into space or stick with a rigid line of 4. Creativity will be sucked dry until this becomes second nature.
We do have a problem at the moment with the way our back 4 all move backwards in unison to cover high balls etc, but our defensive midfield fail to fill the void around the top of the penalty area. Just lucky Fulham hit all their shots from this range into the crowd.
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CR78
Pockets we had, but what i always remember with real happy memories is that he made the rest out of a stick of wood and a tap. Funny but true…..
WHB
Come on Wall me old mucka dont go thinking about leaving us. Its been bad enough sir tel leaving, the sponsors are getting worried!!!
The E+S are thinking about reducing my pay from nothing to me having to do a paper round and write the blog. My poorly foot just wont be able to manage it, think of my foot mate im begging you….
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Bomber – a very well written blog and one I agree with. I believe the lack of new defenders with premiership experience brought in during the window (not a criticism of JP – just a fact) has meant Woy thinks our tactics needed to become more defensive to give us the best foundation to win games – as you say this is impacting the team going forward but one we have to trust him on. You are spot on though that these tactics have to produce results if fans are to be satisfied.
With the way that Sky has created a completely unfair financial playing field I’m pretty certain we will never seen the Albion win the League Championship in our life time so what are we going to the games for? Maybe an unlikely Cup win? (one reason I like to take the Carling Cup seriously and hence was fuming with the performance at Ipswich last season) – but even a League Cup win is very unlikely. I agree we all like to see our team win but I want to be entertained. We pay a lot of money to watch our club these days and I think that’s the least we can expect. I don’t think we need to panic just yet – I think the players are still trying to get used to new approaches, new players, new formations etc….we need to be patient.
I still believe that although a tactical change didn’t help us on Saturday the fact still remains that the players have to take responsibility. We have not played well enough since the Chelsea game. Our passing has not been to the high standard set at the start and latter end of last season. Give the ball away all over the park as cheaply as we have done in the past 4 league games and it doesn’t matter who you’re up against, what formation or tactics are being played – it’s going to be a tough 90 minutes!
4 points required in the next 2 games.
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Strikes me we have a Lampard Gerrard situation in that RH is trying to accomadate
both PO and SL in the same team when it’s obvious they are to similar type players and
cannot play together.
This 4-3-3 nonsense to play PO out wide just to get him on the pitch is counter productive as you get no natural width in a 4-3-3 formation and natural width is what we thrive on. If you had two outstanding keepers you can only play one you wouldn’t play the other at right back as its just silly and the same goes for your strikers you choose the best one
and play your best formation 4-5-1
The current systems applied by RH are more solid and less gung ho than in previous years but with that we create less chances, and become less entertaining. (interesting fact on MOTD it was stated we only convert 6% of all chances created) As we create less chances we score less goals its a vicious circle.
The current system only works if you have a top class striker who scores 1 in 2 chances
which we don’t so we have to revert to a 4-5-1 with a holding midfield player to protect the back four as we have in the past. you then coach the back four to become a better unit and to give less free kicks away around the box. I know ive woffled a bit but the point is with our current squad it’s 4-5-1
PO or SL not both
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Warren
No probs mate, i was in the sportsman and then the vine. I met clacka but she/he has sworn me to secrecy as to who he/she really is.
I say he/she not to hide their identity, i say it because i am still unsure as to his/her gender.
As for your point re tipping the balance between defence and attack. Valid and true, but i think many fans see the 4-5-1 formation as a more fluid way of moving the team as a unit, when either defending or attacking.
Another point on tipping…….
I was in a restaurant last year when our waiter walked over to serve us. He was a dwarf, a rather ill tempered one at that, possibly the worst waiter we have ever had.
He was just plain rude, and rather over look it for fear of being labelled prejudice i sarcastically asked him why he was in such a bad mood, adding “if you dont cheer up people are going to want to start throwing you”.
After giving me a dirty look he walked off, then a waitress came over and said because of my attitude she had swapped tables with him and he wouldnt be serving us again.
I laughed and said that suits us anyway, he was grumpy, and who are you snow white?
She responded with no im not snow white, and he isnt grumpy, and after your dwarf throwing comment he isnt happy.
I said ” so if he isnt happy and he isnt grumpy, which one is he”?
Needless to say me and Laurz are not welcome back.
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AIK No.1
Why must we have either a good defence or a good attack. Most teams in the Prem rely on both. teams like Everton and Fulham etc. they don’t set the world alight with total football but thier defence grinds out results and thier attacking play can at times be quite impressive.
At the moment we have an average defense but we can’t buy a goal. If we keep on playing PO and Long neither will get the required service from midfield, so it completely undermines the point of having them both in the team. If we do persist with 442 or 433 we need to ebb and flow as a unit from attack to defence, that way we can put pressure on the opposition whilst at the same time leaving enough protection at the back. If our players are not good enough to do that for 90 mins then we must revert back to the 451 formation that gained us wins at the Emirates and draws at Old Trafford rather than loses at the Liberty and draws at home to Fulham (traditionally the worst away team in the league).
Roy did a sterling job for us last season but why is he so blinded to the problems we face this term? Having said all that I think Roy is a top manager with a wealth of experience and I’m sure he will keep us up this season. I, like many other Baggies fans want to see some decent football along the way but if we stay up and build I also won’t be complaining.
Boing Boing
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Good blog and always find it interesting when we talk tactics and formations as always provokes different opinions.
We could play 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, they are both proven formations but they key is playing the right players. We cannot play Scarner and Mulumbu in a 4 as they do not provide enough consistent quality passing the ball forward. If we want to play with wide men, Brunt should be playing on his stronger side giving us natural balance and an ability to cross the ball to an Odem, Long or Tchoyi.
Ideally, we need someone who will be happy to pick the ball up 35 yards out and dictate play (Dorrans would be my choice). At present we have 2 strikers who want to run channels, get behind the defence and stretch the game that way (another reason why we are going long). I would give Cox a run personally as he can drop deep and link the play up allowing Odem/Long to play on the shoulder.
With 4-5-1, the balance between defensive cover and attacking options is the key. PS/YM and GD are a perfect foil to allow the side men to become a forward 3 when in possession. Thomas looks short of fitness and confidence at present so would replace him with Tchoyi with Brunt on the opposite side.
For me that it on paper, but when placing factors like training performance, injuries, confidence and opposition into the equation we can never pick a rigid XI.
I believe we will be fine, it wont be Mowbray/Di Matteo football but once we get to Decemner and January I am confident we will be well away from the bottom 3. Lets keep the faith!
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So as i see it the problem is with the players initials.
Shane Long SL and Peter Odemwingie PO make SLOP as in sloppy, and Somen Tchoyi and Peter Odemwingie PO make STOP as in stopped scoring.
We need to play Paul Scharner and Peter Odemwingie upfront, POPS as in pops another one in!!
Could be worse Wolves have just signed free agent Ibrahim Toure on a free and will be partnering him up with Stephen Hunt…….
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38 WBABOMBER
There is no way i am going to let you hobble about on a broken foot doing a paper round mate , i will take my finger from up my nose first !!! and of course somebody has to be TRBH’s nemesis.
What are they doing about your foot on a serious note ??.
Keep smiling.
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Bomber
I agree re: the 4-4-2, but even the 4-5-1 we’ve seen this year has seemingly lacked the fluency of last years.
On the initials issue, Peter Odemwingie and Somen Tchoyi also makes POST, so perhaps we need to play someone in between the two….??
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WHB
The foot is feeling a lot better if not 100%, the docs are telling me to pack in playing, the xray looked like a jigsaw puzzle!!
But i just cant do it, i played in goal last week just so i could play, sad isnt it?
It felt ok after and i was over joyed. Ill just keep playing and see what happens. On the note of TRBH im guessing he is at work and will post later. One day we may even meet him, my dad knows him before anyone starts suggesting who or what he might be.
Warren
Very good POST…..bbb bum.
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45 Max,
I’m glad you’re sticking around.
I know you miss Mallorca Kev,but don’t worry,I’m sure he’ll be back soon.
He’s not had much time to post lately,because he’s trying to start a new business out there.
Now that the Spanish have created new laws to abolish bullfighting,he’s come up with this new venture.
Although to be honest,I’m not sure how the locals will take to ‘Donkey Wrestling’…………..
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41. Bomber – classic!
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Bomber,
I am trying to be upbeat and patient, but this season just reminds me too much of the Bryan Robson era. A lot of gravitas for the manager, and not much in the way of goods on the field. So play Long Cox up front, and show us the goods. It feels like Long Cox are being played in the back at the moment!
Au Revoir
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