Albion blog: Don't hold your breath

It is an inevitability of the game that managers come under pressure. No one is immune from criticism...writes Albion blogger Duncan Hodgkiss.

Everyone does indeed have an opinion Mr Pulis, it would be wise to heed some of the more constructive viewpoints.

Whilst calls for the manager's head are premature, one simply cannot ignore the waves of opinion that accompany them.

What is going wrong at our club? Why do we seem destined for a nerve wracking run in to the end of the season? These are questions only you have the answers to Mr Pulis. It is time to start addressing the real issues.

As the regular readers will know, I am in full support of the current management. I believe we have a strong and intelligent manager, one who is passionate and is capable of the getting the very best out of our players. It is just not happening at the minute.

Does strength of mind and iron will sometimes spill over into stubbornness and resistance to necessary change?

The performance at Peterborough was shocking. That makes seven consecutive poor performances in my book. The players look despondent, there are squabbles on the pitch and for the most part they look sloppy and cumbersome. The set up doesn't look right, there is a definite imbalance and we have become predictable and boring.

As uncomfortable as it was for us Baggies fans, it was refreshing to see a first division side playing with such freedom, without fear and no little flair and skill either. The young lad Samuelsen epitomised their drive and energy, often making our players look silly and flat footed. He was a constant menace and displayed some wonderful tricks and skills. We struggled to contain him.

Other notable performances came from the industrious Taylor and Forrester, not forgetting the do or die heroics from the full bearded Bostwick. But why are we talking about their performances and the way they went about playing football? It is because we offered very little in terms of attacking prowess, flair, creativity and control of the game. At one point we were at 32% possession overall... against a League One side! That is totally unacceptable.

To produce a performance like that in full glare of the watching nation was embarrassing. To use a boxing analogy Mr Pulis it was like watching Mohammed Ali V Frank Bruno. They danced around us floating like butterflies but (thankfully) unable to sting like bees.

What must be of greater concern was that we were mostly second best all over the park. The desire and hunger one usually associates with a Pulis side wasn't there.

Olsson argued with Foster. McAuley looked less than happy as he exited the arena and exchanged verbals with the bench and Pocognoli looked reluctant to come on in his place. If you consider previous fall outs at Newcastle and gage the body language, it's not hard to arrive at the conclusion that it is not a happy camp.

One of the rays of hope was the support the players received from our fans. Those in attendance really backed the team to the hilt and can be very proud of their efforts.

We are all aware of the pressures and are sympathetic to the delicate balance managers must strike when operating at this level. This is where you earn your money Mr Pulis. This slide must be halted.

So what can be done? For a start I really would like to see Gamboa given a chance. When Pocognoli came on our excellent fans mockingly chanted about the novelty of having two full backs on the pitch. Even though he was filling in at centre back he had a good game overall.

What have these two done that they can only get a chance to play when we're down to the bare bones?

Gamboa was arguably our best player. To me he highlighted some short comings of our current first choice right back. Dawson has performed admirably but he is not a right back. On numerous occasions Gamboa broke up attacks with his sharp feet.

He pinched the ball off attackers before they had chance to progress. His support play was very good and some of his crossing excellent.

If Pulis is determined to stick with Dawson, fine. How about Gamboa on the right of midfield working in tandem? Similar to the Brunt / McClean pairing. Just a thought.

The 'three amigos' in midfield experiment is not working. Yacob has been a liability for a while and would benefit from a breather. Let's get Pritchard involved as he looked the part at Newcastle. Sessengon needs to start too.

Rondon looks like his head has dropped a little and is another that may benefit from a breather. Being as he's still here we must incorporate Berahino into the side.

The title of this blog is a quote from Alan Shearer about our chances of turning things around this season and improving our quality of football. He made the comment at the end of MOTD on Wednesday.I would pin that on the wall and use it as a motivational tool to inspire improvement.

This is the same Alan Shearer whose managerial expertise took Newcastle to relegation with a record of W1 D2 L5. Don't give up the day job Alan. COYB