West Brom Match Thread

[Bluefoxtim]

That is exactly what he should do, with Williams as back up on the bench and Gradel as substitute if he wants a right winger not some sodding full-back. Put Stearman back in his rightful position and Kenton or Nils at left back (not that Nils played badly today but he doesn't support the attack more than very occasionally).

Our older defenders are okay under pressure but they simply do not help to link defence and attack. We need to have that link.It is plain to see every day our team turns out. It I had my way of course, I'd get Sheehan back tomorrow because i'm disgusted that he ever left.

Put gradel in blah blah blah but then that means you take cover off the bench. ok put gradel instead of stearman, but stearman has the ability to play across the defence and in an emergency the right wing, not gradel who probably only has one position

[Thracian]

Put gradel in blah blah blah but then that means you take cover off the bench. ok put gradel instead of stearman, but stearman has the ability to play across the defence and in an emergency the right wing, not gradel who probably only has one position

Stearman has one position that I've seen. Right back.

[dandannieldanok]

Stearman has one position that I've seen. Right back.

Agreed, he was piss poor today because he cannot play at right wing. I blame RK!

[Guest Gist]

I'd just like to say that Henderson played brilliant today some great saves and looked more confident from crosses and dealt with them well.

[Floating Fox]

Went today.

First off, do you think we really could have got anything against them?

All you have to do is look at their substitutes

I thought the way in which we approached the first half was right but when the atmosphere died down early second half, we should have hit them hard. But we didnt.

I dont really think going for an attacking system would have worked because when we did attack, we were poor (down the midfeild + COG having a poor game) and then we were caught naping at the back with, espcially as Hughes hardly ever tracked back.

I will never know why he put Stearman on at Right Wing.

Hendo was Awesome, NEARLY got to the Pen, played son, we have faith in you

Would also like to say that the atmosphere was quality today and well done to the fans who were excellent, even if we were outsung! The whole day out was quality even if FilbertWay wanted to Walk around the Bullring all day

[dandannieldanok]

Went today.

First off, do you think we really could have got anything against them?

All you have to do is look at their substitutes

I thought the way in which we approached the first half was right but when the atmosphere died down early second half, we should have hit them hard. But we didnt.

I dont really think going for an attacking system would have worked because when we did attack, we were poor (down the midfeild + COG having a poor game) and then we were caught naping at the back with, espcially as Hughes hardly ever tracked back.

I will never know why he put Stearman on at Right Wing.

Hendo was Awesome, NEARLY got to the Pen, played son, we have faith in you

Would also like to say that the atmosphere was quality today and well done to the fans who were excellent, even if we were outsung! The whole day out was quality even if FilbertWay wanted to Walk around the Bullring all day

Certainly, they were only better than us in central midfield. Other than that, they looked slightly shaky at the back, solid but unspectacular in midfield and played two ageing centre forwards that were easily handled 90% of the time. Will be a surprise to me if they go up.

[Thracian]

No doubt Thracian will be on here later bemoaning our "defensive" display. Kenton will get a slateing, he's been dying for an excuse.

What I will say is Stearmen should be the last person coming on to play right wing.

Why would I do that? As a form of professional suicide I suppose it's as good as any.

[Manwell Pablo]

Why would I do that? As a form of professional suicide I suppose it's as good as any.

Some good points tonight from yourself I have to say, apart from absolving Porter from any blame.

However some seem to treat this loss the same as they would a loss to Colchester at home, it's all well and good saying " It doesn't matter who we play we iz better that the lot of em innit " but at the end of the day it's not really true is it.

Kenton? as you say under a lot of pressure. A mistake, but lets face it if Darren Carter's strikes had a little less venom, and Henderson hadn't of done his job ( for once ) we would of lost heavily any way. Over all a poor display, we deserved to lose as a team.

The one massive case of round pegs and square holes did arise

Stearmen right wing? why why why why....can't get over it. It will be interesting to find out if Low has a knock. I will be bitterly disappointed if Kelly thinks that a young centre half from Leicester is any better at playing right wing than a ex Irish international right back in the prime of his carear.... at least Maybury has a decent amount of experience of the game and may have a half a idea of how a winger may work ( obviosuly he doens't as he is very rarely present in the final thrid of the field ) throwing one of our most promising talents into a unfamiliar position is a joke.

Only real judgments I can make as I didn't go today.

Fryatt was apparently very tired when we went off. I have no insight into the midfield battle at all, bar bar must of mentioned Porter, Hughes and Johnson’s names about twice per person.

What we need to realise is that we are plain and simply not as good as West Brom ( at the Hawthorns definitely not ) and what you need to realise is that the inclusion of Gradel and Sheehan would of made no difference what so ever.

[Dr The Singh]

Some good points tonight from yourself I have to say, apart from absolving Porter from any blame.

However some seem to treat this loss the same as they would a loss to Colchester at home, it's all well and good saying " It doesn't matter who we play we iz better that the lot of em innit " but at the end of the day it's not really true is it.

Kenton? as you say under a lot of pressure. A mistake, but lets face it if Darren Carter's strikes had a little less venom, and Henderson hadn't of done his job ( for once ) we would of lost heavily any way. Over all a poor display, we deserved to lose as a team.

The one massive case of round pegs and square holes did arise

Stearmen right wing? why why why why....can't get over it. It will be interesting to find out if Low has a knock. I will be bitterly disappointed if Kelly thinks that a young centre half from Leicester is any better at playing right wing than a ex Irish international right back in the prime of his carear.... at least Maybury has a decent amount of experience of the game and may have a half a idea of how a winger may work ( obviosuly he doens't as he is very rarely present in the final thrid of the field ) throwing one of our most promising talents into a unfamiliar position is a joke.

Only real judgments I can make as I didn't go today.

Fryatt was apparently very tired when we went off. I have no insight into the midfield battle at all, bar bar must of mentioned Porter, Hughes and Johnson’s names about twice per person.

What we need to realise is that we are plain and simply not as good as West Brom ( at the Hawthorns definitely not ) and what you need to realise is that the inclusion of Gradel and Sheehan would of made no difference what so ever.

I tend to agree with you Manwell, sometimes we have to accept that we were beaten by a better team but in analysing our performance, alot could be said about the second half, leicester just weren't in the game.

I wasn't at the game so i'm not going to criticise individuals but from what i've heard we kept giving the ball away too easily, midfield was no where to be seen, hoofed long balls to the forwards and could not sustain any form of attack. For me this is a regular occurance one which RK must sort out asap. If that means changing personnel then so be it.

The midfield definitely needs a look at, I think Stephen Hughes from a defensive perspective is very poor, also Williams has failed this season!!! Weso maybe an answer, which wouldn't help in the creativity sense but if we have decent wingers on either side, that may compensate for the defensive centre mids!!! I haven't seen Gradel et al play, but Stearmanor Maybury do not seem to be the answer also!!

[davieG]

The first half we matched them in terms of possesion, we created more opportunities but they had the best two goalscoring chances.

The second half was a completely different performance we played behind the halfway line, we concede all inititative to them and allowed ourselves to be placed under the cosh, they had rarely looked like scoring from open play and in fact didn't, although they could have in the second half we gifted them the two goals due to the pressure we allowed ourselves to be put under.

With Stearman, Weso & Hume replacing Low, Porter and Fryatt we had a totally unbalanced over populated defensive team that were confused and got in each others way.

The General sent his troops out unprepared and unmotivated to win and like lambs to the slaughter.

Ok it was only a football match, but I've paid my money, put in the time and effort to get there and been sadly let down. We had as much chance of losing if we'd have had real go only it might have been 4-2 to them but at least we could have enjoyed it as it was we were lucky to only lose 2-0 based on that abject second half performance.

Just to add I don't blame the players, ok some may not be good enough but they all gave their all, yes even Johnson and Hughes.

[Baggie68]

As you can probaly tell im a Baggies fan (Brummie Road End), i thought Leicester played well yesterday, (your by far the best team weve played so far), your defence was tough to break down however i thought your attacking game was poor and fairly negative.

I think we got very lucky, if that own goal didnt go in the game would no doubt of finished 0-0 and it was harsh on your keeper who played a fantastic game.

I could tell your fans were gettin quiter as the game went on due to the increase in pressure on your defence. It seems team are coming to our ground for a point which is wrong cus be can be quite vunreable sometimes.

You should be sound for the season, nearer to the play-offs i expect than automatic promotion. Good Luck and cya ate the Walkers Stadium.

[lcfc_jme]

As you can probaly tell im a Baggies fan (Brummie Road End), i thought Leicester played well yesterday, (your by far the best team weve played so far), your defence was tough to break down however i thought your attacking game was poor and fairly negative.

I think we got very lucky, if that own goal didnt go in the game would no doubt of finished 0-0 and it was harsh on your keeper who played a fantastic game.

I could tell your fans were gettin quiter as the game went on due to the increase in pressure on your defence. It seems team are coming to our ground for a point which is wrong cus be can be quite vunreable sometimes.

You should be sound for the season, nearer to the play-offs i expect than automatic promotion. Good Luck and cya ate the Walkers Stadium.

We didn't exactly play well yesterday though, more hung in there and attempted to match you for the amount of possession available. In the 15-20 mins before you (well we!) scored, you were coming on a lot stronger and I could tell it was only a matter of time before a goal went in. Seems that when we go away from home, we are more content to play for a draw and try to snatch a goal, which is simply the wrong way to play. We were pretty poor yesterday, and I don't think based on the display we gave overall, and especially the last 30 minutes, that we deserved a point.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Only saw the goals on the telly this morning but right wing or no right wing, Stearman* as a defender by trade, fresh from the bench, should never have let their player go by him so easily to get the cross in for Kenton's OG.

*Looked like him anyway, whoever it was should be ashamed of themselves.

[Baggie68]

Agreed i could see you got deeper as the game weared on when you should of had a go for all 3 points, and as attractive as our bench looks;

Koumas - Not Fit

Ellington - Lacks Confidence

I think Bryan Robson has to go (were not playing as well as we should do with the squad we have), we were very lucky to get all 3 points, i guess it was 2 minutes of madness.

[lcfc_jme]

Agreed i could see you got deeper as the game weared on when you should of had a go for all 3 points, and as attractive as our bench looks;

Koumas - Not Fit

Ellington - Lacks Confidence

I think Bryan Robson has to go (were not playing as well as we should do with the squad we have), we were very lucky to get all 3 points, i guess it was 2 minutes of madness.

It's always 2 minutes of madness when we have held on all game though and they we come under alot of pressure. Not since the days of MON can I remember us defending against high pressure well, so I could tell that it was only a matter of time before you scored yesterday. Truth be told, our team away from home might as well not turn up sometimes. I'm being harsh I know, but we can't keep going away and defending with 9 or 10 men behind the ball - you don't get promoted like that.

[davieG]

It's always 2 minutes of madness when we have held on all game though and they we come under alot of pressure. Not since the days of MON can I remember us defending against high pressure well, so I could tell that it was only a matter of time before you scored yesterday. Truth be told, our team away from home might as well not turn up sometimes. I'm being harsh I know, but we can't keep going away and defending with 9 or 10 men behind the ball - you don't get promoted like that.

Based on, at least the last four games away you don't score goals and by definition therefore don't win games

[lcfc_jme]

I know, we rarely win away from home, we rarely score away from home. It seems as though from the tactics we use that we are all too content to defend deeply and come away with a point. Negative tactics away from home are OK in cup games against big premiership sides where you want to get a replay at home, but in terms of looking for promotion, negative tactics are no where near what is required.

[Maybes]

I know, we rarely win away from home, we rarely score away from home. It seems as though from the tactics we use that we are all too content to defend deeply and come away with a point. Negative tactics away from home are OK in cup games against big premiership sides where you want to get a replay at home, but in terms of looking for promotion, negative tactics are no where near what is required.

Totally agree. Give the game your all I say. Play to win not to draw becuase that was blatantly obvious what we were trying to do yesterday from the start.

[Bert]

We should play to win every game.

If my manager had a game plan of "avoiding defeat" and not setting out to win, i'd refuse to play.

[lcfc_jme]

Totally agree. Give the game your all I say. Play to win not to draw becuase that was blatantly obvious what we were trying to do yesterday from the start.

Glad I'm attracting agreement from people, because usually when I say things like that, I am told that I have no idea what I'm talking about. You're spot on saying they should give it their all. The way we played yesterday vaguely reminded me of the way England played away from home under Sven - negative, sitting back and attempting to soak up pressure in the hope that a goal could be snatched on the counter. This sort of play attracts pressure, which almost always leads to conceding a goal. The best way to play away games is to get stuck in straight away, be firm and crisp with everything you do, and be right in the face of the opposing team. Force them to make mistakes, and get the crowd on their back. Doing this puts a lot more pressure on the home side, and can always make it easier for you to get a goal. Well imo anyway.

[lcfc_jme]

We should play to win every game.

If my manager had a game plan of "avoiding defeat! and not setting out to win, i'd refuse to play.

What I'm getting at is that every game should be played in the mindset that you are going to win it no matter who the other team are. Doing this will create a positive bubble around the team, and get them playing positively. This would lead them to score goals, and win, brilliantly shown by Reading last term

[Thracian]

We should play to win every game.

If my manager had a game plan of "avoiding defeat" and not setting out to win, i'd refuse to play.

Good for you. So would I.

But they wouldn't tolerate rebels at the City which suggests that, if our manager's not going to attack - and I'm not necessarily saying that's the case yet - then we might as well get a new one because we cannot go on scoring two goals every six away games and with four succcessive zeros.

We have to attack to score the goals it was certain we'd be short of even before the season started cos it was obvious the midfield wouldn't score and wouldn't create.

I don't care who plays there out of Williams, Wesolowski, Hume or even Porter but I've seen enough of Hughes.

And do like Mark says, get Gradel on the bench at the very least. "Every shirt is up for grabs," said Kelly. I didn't believe it about the left-back berth but he's got the chance to prove it with Gradel.

[lcfc_jme]

I'd just like to see RK put a team together which is full of confidence and doesn't like to play boring, defensive football, but like to come forward, scare teams, score goals and enjoy themselves. This sounds to me pretty much like the team we played in the cup, a team which was considerably younger (average age of low 20's I'm sure). I'd be lying if I said RK would do something so drastic in the league though.

[Thracian]

Some good points tonight from yourself I have to say, apart from absolving Porter from any blame.

However some seem to treat this loss the same as they would a loss to Colchester at home, it's all well and good saying " It doesn't matter who we play we iz better that the lot of em innit " but at the end of the day it's not really true is it.

Kenton? as you say under a lot of pressure. A mistake, but lets face it if Darren Carter's strikes had a little less venom, and Henderson hadn't of done his job ( for once ) we would of lost heavily any way. Over all a poor display, we deserved to lose as a team.

The one massive case of round pegs and square holes did arise

Stearmen right wing? why why why why....can't get over it. It will be interesting to find out if Low has a knock. I will be bitterly disappointed if Kelly thinks that a young centre half from Leicester is any better at playing right wing than a ex Irish international right back in the prime of his carear.... at least Maybury has a decent amount of experience of the game and may have a half a idea of how a winger may work ( obviosuly he doens't as he is very rarely present in the final thrid of the field ) throwing one of our most promising talents into a unfamiliar position is a joke.

Only real judgments I can make as I didn't go today.

Fryatt was apparently very tired when we went off. I have no insight into the midfield battle at all, bar bar must of mentioned Porter, Hughes and Johnson’s names about twice per person.

What we need to realise is that we are plain and simply not as good as West Brom ( at the Hawthorns definitely not ) and what you need to realise is that the inclusion of Gradel and Sheehan would of made no difference what so ever.

I too doubt Sheehan would have made much difference today because Nils did an excellent job defensively and there'd have been no-one in midfield for Sheehan to link with apart from Porter (though I'd still have played him of course)..

But, Gradel might well have made difference. Not that Low played badly. But he had one great run into the box but then, instead of shooting with a clear sight of goal he ofted to look for someone else and the chance was gone. Gradel has always struck me as much more positive and his goals record seems to confirm it.

[Simon]

This Gradel debate is only going to be solved one way- and thats by playing him in the first team. The whole debate is moot until it actually happens. And the way Kelly's going, I very much doubt it is going to happen this year, or, perhaps even this season.

To be honest I don't think right wing is really the problem. Central midfield, undoubtedly, is.