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urban.spaceman

WBA Post Match Thread

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38 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

We've been interested in Ryan Betrand, who I think will come in to do the Fuchs role, IE a squad player with experience. Rodgers worked with him in the Chelsea youth team and on loan at Reading I think. We don't need a first team player, but someone that can do the job, as Fuchs showed earlier in the season.

Can't believe he's nearly 32, in my head he was still 24 /25 lol

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11 minutes ago, Danny Clender said:

I'm not the best of scouts,  but I'm sure if we have a sound selection of options if we do choose to go down that route.

I've heard of the two players you've said, which makes me think they won't be bought by us :whistle:.

 

I've not seen any criticism of Thomas, but I'll take your word and agree it is unfair.

He's just taken a rapid shuttle through to the starting 11, even quicker than JJ's progression via Luton, so criticism seems a little harsh at this moment in time, perhaps I'll continue to ignore that and let him develop. 

It just depends on cost and funds available. We also need to bear in mind that we'll lose 2 experienced heads this summer so we may need a few more around the squad.

 

I can't see us spending a huge amount on a left back given its probably 4th down the list of priorities. Therefore its probably more of a safe option should we decide to get one.

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Wonderful to see the lads playing with such confidence at this stage of the season when many of us were holding our breath, worried about a repeat of last.

 

Nacho is a bit of a conundrum. Fantastic quality one minute and then loses his touch. Still scoring though, and essentially that’s what we need from him, but he also works hard and creates chances for others.

 

Much more relaxed now about the rest of the season, but still loads to do.

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23 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Fascinating to see Rodgers genuinely annoyed by our 1st half performance. I'm not saying he's wrong but it shows what his footballing principles are. This was a half of football that we were so dominant in but with that brings a lot of chances and there's a likelihood it will look like the ball has been wasted some of those times. I've seen him say this before in games, he seems more content when we close a game down and be in total control but not create as many chances and it at times is at odds with his desire for fast attacking football.

 

We've been garbage at times in halves or full games and then he comes out and says we played quite well so I get the impression wasting the ball is a no no for him rather than the awareness that if you create so many openings that it will look like you waste a lot of them but when you score 3 in the 1st half that is a very good output and it needs to be put in to context. 

Mmm, it is kind of weird. He also seems to more likely to change the line up when we're winning compared to when we're either drawing or losing.

 

I definitely have him more in the Mourinho mould than the Bielsa mould these days, he's very pragmatic and risk averse. There was a time when he wanted us to keep going for the throat till the final whistle, so clearly his thinking has changed. It's really messing me up inside and causing a lot of internal conflict because I hate to see pragmatic football succeed lol

 

Probably why I come across as glass half full on here quite a lot to be honest haha.

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4 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Mmm, it is kind of weird. He also seems to more likely to change the line up when we're winning compared to when we're either drawing or losing.

 

I definitely have him more in the Mourinho mould than the Bielsa mould these days, he's very pragmatic and risk averse. There was a time when he wanted us to keep going for the throat till the final whistle, so clearly his thinking has changed. It's really messing me up inside and causing a lot of internal conflict because I hate to see pragmatic football succeed lol

 

Probably why I come across as glass half full on here quite a lot to be honest haha.

I thought the pragmatist side of him was created because the elite sides had him beat with us or Celtic, as well as trying to juggle various competitions this season with a chronic injury list but now that we have done so well I do think this might remain and who are we to argue that its not the right approach to take. We criticised Rodgers previously for not being flexible enough to change systems or his principles and now he has and we are progressing.

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I fully understand where Brendan is coming from.  while always happy with a win you want your team to press home their advantage when in good positions.

We were in such control first half that we could have scored at least 6 goals with the chances created, That's what irks managers along with the sloppy passes.

It just gives Brendan something to work on while moving on to the next game.

I was delighted with the defensive line up with Timmy on the right and Thomas on the left. We're more solid with that setup and Timmy is so much better on the right.

It was another good performance from Thomas who even helped in the build up to a Goal. He's really developing well and Brendan is handling him just perfectly.

All in all a good performance another 3 points and we move on to Mondays game.

 

We need to bring that sense of urgency to the Palace game now , I also think the lads understand now what's at stake and I'm sure they give it everything.

 

Upwards and Onwards we go.

 

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I’m not exaggerating when I say the first half yesterday was just about the best half of football I’ve ever seen a City side play

The baggies did not know what had hit them. It really was like men v boys with everybody playing absolutely brilliantly 

We took our foot of the gas second half because we just knew it was over. 
Castagne looks so much better on the right side btw and Maddison was strolling about like it was a practice match

I doubt we’ll see a more accomplished half of football in the Prem this season 

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13 hours ago, foxes_rule1978 said:

Savage, those last three probably the exception of Spurs is difficult lol 

 

With a bit of luck....

- Man Utd will have nothing to play for by then....secure in 2nd but no chance of catching Man City

- Spurs will have nothing to play for....as they'll have already missed out on Europa League while Kane, Dier, Bale & co will be focused on avoiding injuries before the Euros

Snaffle a point at Chelsea and that'll be 7 points from the last 3 games. :ph34r:

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1 minute ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

With a bit of luck....

- Man Utd will have nothing to play for by then....secure in 2nd but no chance of catching Man City

- Spurs will have nothing to play for....as they'll have already missed out on Europa League while Kane, Dier, Bale & co will be focused on avoiding injuries before the Euros

Snaffle a point at Chelsea and that'll be 7 points from the last 3 games. :ph34r:

I'd imagine Spurs will be well in with a chance of 7th spot so I can't see it being a dead rubber for them unless they actually end the season quite well and already have 6th / 7th sewn up and then ease off.

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Very good overall.  Thoroughly dominating, but wasteful in the box - Kelechi seemed like he should have had about 4 himself. Castagne and Evans were both fantastic. 


That said, West Brom was about as shambolic as any premiere side I’ve seen since the Southampton debacle.  A complete lack of interest for virtually the entire side for virtually the entire 90 minutes.  3-0 was very generous based on their performance. 

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6 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

I'd imagine Spurs will be well in with a chance of 7th spot so I can't see it being a dead rubber for them unless they actually end the season quite well and already have 6th / 7th sewn up and then ease off.

 

I'm sure you're right. Just tongue-in-cheek / wishful thinking on my part.

 

I was forgetting that 7th will now get Europa League as, realistically, both Chelsea and us - as FA Cup finalists - should finish top 6 (or below Spurs), freeing up another place....unless Everton go past one of us.

I've only just realised, too, that the League Cup winners are due to go into this new Euro-Conference thing.....presumably that will go to 8th place (Everton/Arsenal/Leeds/Villa?) unless Spurs win the League Cup but slump badly in the PL? :dunno:

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2 hours ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

 

Go in the luke thomas thread. Two posters have criticised him for being negative and not developing his game. Absolute nonsense.

 

Personally I'm not sure hes ready to play week in week out in the prem. You cannot afford any mistakes at this level and the championship might accelerate his development. Its no criticism of him, I think he's a big talent. Personally think Bertrand for a year would be a sensible option, I don't think luke is at his level yet. In two years I think we'll have a serious pl player on our hands and it's just about setting him up for that.

Yes this Forum is well known for first criticising, before bringing up anything constructive..then when totally confused..Loan seems their idea of a solution:frantics:,

 

 

They all said that about Justin..!!   Fofana/Soyuncu/  Uncle Tom Cobley

Thomas is in, hes more than holding his own...with Europe & again the cups, he will not only get selected , but this young talent will be needed

IMO he has damn well earnt it..!! More experienced players have dithered, Not driven forward,been out of position,caught napping, more Times than Thomas..!!

 

Iverson..Justin, Fofana...Soyuncu...Thomas,

Now there is a Young-Guns of a Bline,with that group we can afford to Play OAP-Evans/for a back3  occasionally.

 

Loan..doesn't guarantee game time...Plus here he will learn more with us even with occasional outings...( 10-15 a season) according also to squad needs...

& Rodgers looks towards & encourages youth..!!

 

Depending on other players career descisions, we now have...

Ricardo/Castagna/Justin/Thomas/Amartey, for FBs or wingbacks ( Then Barnes & Albrighton Plus Under replacement) for Next season ...

Covid aint gone..and Injuries are always just around the corner...Like these last 14months..

 

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3 hours ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

Brendan knows what's he doing with those comments. Zero complacency between now and the end of the season. Lots of grit and determination.

 

Thought we started beautifully last night - we were sloppy on the ball at times but we were energetic and positive. More of the same on Monday please.

....his comments was nothing in comparison to him kicking Lucozade bottles on the touchline!!!

For a person who tends to show little reaction whether he wins or lose, that was an action that warrantied a closer inspection. Was it down to pressure or an inability to influence his team even when at times they are playing out of their skins. Shouting at individual players, exchanging what seems like an admonishment to Maddison.

  The performance in the second half does not bear scrutiny, in the respect of improving our goal difference, was he attempting to instil a stronger mentality within the team, as clearly he was frustrated and could not get to the dressing room quick enough, and for the team to be late coming out for the second half suggested disquiet.

  His comments at the end covered a situation which appears to be overlooked and we do not want to see any cracks in this team.

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1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

I thought the pragmatist side of him was created because the elite sides had him beat with us or Celtic, as well as trying to juggle various competitions this season with a chronic injury list but now that we have done so well I do think this might remain and who are we to argue that its not the right approach to take. We criticised Rodgers previously for not being flexible enough to change systems or his principles and now he has and we are progressing.

I'll always be against it as I firmly believe that you can't progress in the long term while being pragmatic. However, given the shocking lack of top quality attacking talent we have at our disposal, I suppose I can forgive him for trying to keep games tight while we lack the ability to cut through defensive teams. 

 

Palace should be a more difficult game as they'll defend deep like West Brom did after we got our 3rd goal. By difficult, I mean in terms of creating decent chances. I fully expect us to control the game. The only way we can really concede is either by a set piece or Wilf losing the ball on the edge of our box when we over play.

 

Right now I don't care how we do it, I just want 9 points from the next 3 games.

 

I just hope that if we get to boost our attacking options in the summer, we see a bit of a return to the brutal attacking football we have seen in spells :D

 

I never believed I'd be talking about Leicester like this when we were watching some of that football in the early/mid 00's. Absolutely mental how quickly your expecations can change in football.

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It might have been posted already, but big Sam basically spent half of his post match interview talking about how good we are (can't post the vid, it's on the BBC site)

 

Manager Sam Allardyce said his side "couldn't cope" with Leicester, who he added are "only behind Manchester City on that performance".

"You can see why Leicester are where they are in the league and why they are in the FA Cup final," he added. "Leicester are a lot better than Southampton and far better than Chelsea. They are as good as the top boys."

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56 minutes ago, sacreblueits442 said:

....his comments was nothing in comparison to him kicking Lucozade bottles on the touchline!!!

For a person who tends to show little reaction whether he wins or lose, that was an action that warrantied a closer inspection. Was it down to pressure or an inability to influence his team even when at times they are playing out of their skins. Shouting at individual players, exchanging what seems like an admonishment to Maddison.

  The performance in the second half does not bear scrutiny, in the respect of improving our goal difference, was he attempting to instil a stronger mentality within the team, as clearly he was frustrated and could not get to the dressing room quick enough, and for the team to be late coming out for the second half suggested disquiet.

  His comments at the end covered a situation which appears to be overlooked and we do not want to see any cracks in this team.

Rodgers is a very deliberate character in his actions. He knows what he's doing and there's games where we've been spanked where he's done nowhere near as much. It's about keeping the focus and standards really high - I wouldn't read anything more to it than that unless you're a real conspiracy theorist. An example of that would be you saying they were late out in the second half, when in reality West brom were out early.

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Brendan was unnecessarily negative about our 1st half performance, which was one of the best we've seen this season. On top of that, he singled Nacho out, which seems to be something Jose does, meting out criticism to individual players. Personally I don't agree with it, yes Nacho can go from the ridiculous to the sublime in a few seconds, but for me, publicly admonishing him isn't the right thing.

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1 hour ago, RoboFox said:

It might have been posted already, but big Sam basically spent half of his post match interview talking about how good we are (can't post the vid, it's on the BBC site)

 

Manager Sam Allardyce said his side "couldn't cope" with Leicester, who he added are "only behind Manchester City on that performance".

"You can see why Leicester are where they are in the league and why they are in the FA Cup final," he added. "Leicester are a lot better than Southampton and far better than Chelsea. They are as good as the top boys."

 

 

He didn't say that, it's being misquoted on the Beeb.

 

If you listen carefully, he's referring to the last two games and says, "they (Leicester) were better than Southampton and much better than Chelsea..."

 

It's here at approx 1.10.

 

Edited by Buce
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It was fun to watch the first Half but I think Brendan believes it was more down to the shiteness of West Brom. I wonder if our passing success stats match his frustrations because we did seem to give the ball away a fair bit. 

 

With hindsight he probably didn't need to be so annoyed but it happens. We will need to be better on the ball against Palace as they will come very organised. 

 

Despite his superb form, I'm not convinced Rodgers rates Iheanacho that much. Think he frustrates him more than anyone, and I can see why sometimes. 

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1 hour ago, filbertway said:

I'll always be against it as I firmly believe that you can't progress in the long term while being pragmatic. However, given the shocking lack of top quality attacking talent we have at our disposal, I suppose I can forgive him for trying to keep games tight while we lack the ability to cut through defensive teams. 

 

Palace should be a more difficult game as they'll defend deep like West Brom did after we got our 3rd goal. By difficult, I mean in terms of creating decent chances. I fully expect us to control the game. The only way we can really concede is either by a set piece or Wilf losing the ball on the edge of our box when we over play.

 

Right now I don't care how we do it, I just want 9 points from the next 3 games.

 

I just hope that if we get to boost our attacking options in the summer, we see a bit of a return to the brutal attacking football we have seen in spells :D

 

I never believed I'd be talking about Leicester like this when we were watching some of that football in the early/mid 00's. Absolutely mental how quickly your expecations can change in football.

I measure whether pragmatism is an issue on how many goals we score and how well we are doing. We still score a good amount of goals and I think we maximise the attacking options we have at our disposal, where we could score more goals is from set pieces which is why we are probably 5-10 goals behind the two Manchester clubs. 

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1 hour ago, RoboFox said:

It might have been posted already, but big Sam basically spent half of his post match interview talking about how good we are (can't post the vid, it's on the BBC site)

 

Manager Sam Allardyce said his side "couldn't cope" with Leicester, who he added are "only behind Manchester City on that performance".

"You can see why Leicester are where they are in the league and why they are in the FA Cup final," he added. "Leicester are a lot better than Southampton and far better than Chelsea. They are as good as the top boys."

If you've nothing good to say about your own team then the best defense is to make the other team look better. Which we were anyway.

 

It's a nice ploy if he can get away with it.

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