Got a bad feeling about tonight's game, watched west brom a couple of times this season. They have gone behind in both games but never seemed to panic and have won more points from being behind than any other team in the championship. Think Dallas and Alioski or Douglas are going to be kept busy with Phillips and diangana. Hoping kiko the clown has his catching gloves on as well cos I think he may be getting peppered with shots from Austin (who I don't think has scored yet) and Zahore. Question is can we get in front by a couple of goals and dictate the game from early on. Personally I hope so but just feel like something is missing this season and can't put my finger on what it is. We just don't seem to have clicked as a team and maybe it will take a couple of back to back defeats to force bielsa to make some changes. Heart hoping for 2-1 head says 1-3
Oddly enough, I've had the same feeling about us not quite clicking this season. We were actually discussing it at the u23 Crewe game, & realised it wasn't just the u23s that had that missing ingredient, but the 1st team squad too. None of us could work it out. Guess that's Bielsa's job. Having typed this, one word has suddenly appeared in my head - Roofe. ONly significant change up front, really. Hmmm.... requires more thought.
Everyone bricked it when the baggies came last year and we battered them. They can’t play without the ball, have a little faith lads. Be interested to see how Bilic sets them up, they came to play last year and it cost them.
Wtf? We can hope for a Leeds win every game in this league, there are few better teams. The ER hoodoo has to end somewhere as does WBA's unbeaten start. Also we beat better teams and lose to the Wigans & Ipswiches. 4-1 Leeds, Bamford with 2.
We’re not clicking as Forshaw/Shackleton and Klich are being accommodated in the same team and we’ve ditched the number 10 Teams also know how to nullify Phillips without trying, just push two up front, they know that makes Bielsa drop Phillips back into 3 CBs then we lose our shape, we have a gap between midfield and defence and we look average. If we had Alioski/Harrison and Costa out wide, Pablo at 10 or even Nketiah with his pace and add to this those wide players overlapping with the attacking full backs we have the opposition wouldn’t dare play two up front
You make it sound dead simple Ristac, why doesn't Bielsa set up that way do you think? No outstanding Enganche-type player?
Someone on here once questioned if Bielsa had a mild form of autism or OCD and I quietly laughed to myself. My late father used to enjoy a bet on the horses, if his first one went in, he’d use the same pen, he’d sit in the same seat and if anyone mentioned another horse I’d always remember him getting in a huff and shouting “that’s jinxed it”. I do now wonder myself about Bielsa having a weakness, that weakness being an inability to change, more a fear of “jinxing” it. Don’t get me wrong, I love how he constantly proves myself and others wrong in his team selection, Dallas being who nearly won us a play off final place being one of many examples. I do sometimes feel Bielsa is allowing his heart to rule his head but is it that loyalty part of what is making some players perform better? Some players like Bamford and Harrison come over as really nice guys behind the scenes, guys who are also willing to leave nothing behind on the training pitch, they are also guys who get affected with confidence issues. Then (I might be being unfair here) but I’d imagine players like Nketiah and Izzy last season allow it be known how good they are, maybe in a slightly over confident manner and it doesn’t sit well with Bielsa All opinion, I might be a million miles away, I’m just trying to find a reason why players like Nketiah don’t play a larger role but then if we’d have beat Charlton we’d be sitting top, if we’d beat Derby or Swansea we’d be top and we completely outplayed both so who am I to question
Good afternoon all, and here's to a great result tonight However the following stat from the BBC worries me, No Championship side has scored fewer home league goals this season than Leeds (three, level with Huddersfield). that is so poor, makes us div 1 candidates not pl. Until we sort that out were not going anywhere. I fear for tonight as Bilic has made WBA an incredibly tough outfit to beat,one of those teams like Norwich last season who play to the finale whistle. On a brighter note everything might click tonight and we absolutely muller them,as our best football does seem to be against the better teams, 2-1 Leeds my prediction
Theres a woman up the ark bar i might be on later shakes. Thats after davy and me watch the game at planet bar.
Tonight should tell us where we are at the moment. West Brom are the form side. If we can get a result then things ain't so bad after all. Bilic could set up just like Charlton did because he knows, as Bowyer said, that he'll get chances with set plays. Even though they're a better side than Charlton it seems to be the way to play us.
