Flores isn´t a sub guru like the Joka yet, I´d bring Vydra on (if he´s on the bench) needs a shake up! WBA continue to be terrible but could still sneak one.
That should have gone in for WBA there, even there fans were celebrating, how he missed that I don´t know.
We looked good and in control for most of the game. WBA only came into it at the end and should have scored one. New signings look good though. I doubt we´ll see a worse team play at the Vic though, very solid but offered nothing going forward really.
Good performance. Just needed a goal when on top and we did fade a bit in the 2nd half but generally positive. Played with purpose and pace at times against a strong physical side. Great atmosphere.
A strange day for me. First non attendance on the opening home fixture for 25 years or so. Kept track of the score on friend,s phone throughout and though no-one will be remotely interested it was a lovely sunny afternoon for Eastleigh's 1-1 draw with Lincoln City and I was home two hours earlier than usual!
Stats like that and not to win, bit of a bad taste left in the mouth. W.B.A. were there for the taking really, however, they still could have done us 0.1, shows the fine margins in the Prem really. Two games in, a lot of new players..we looked half decent today and unbeaten... Not sure what to make of it, take a point for now, but need to learn quickly from these outings.
Very, very good performance against a team who were happy to take the draw. The formation is taking shape with definate width, and when the understanding between the players REALLY clicks, then we will be ok. Subs didn't really work today and I'd have definitely brought Vydra on for Iggy. Players were out on their feet by the end, but overall very, very encouraging.
West BOREwich Albion. Okay two disciplined banks of of four does not an entertaining game make. Ground out something of a boredraw against the multi million pound might of Watford. No wonder they got stuffed by Citeh. We weren't at our best up front but they were disciplined if inanely drab with it. Anti-football by Pulis' oversized minions (they're a big team) and assistance in kind from an overly lenient referee (it's the premier league, they know what they're doing so dish the cards - Nyom took one for the team, bless, rightly so but Albion should have had six or seven in the book) and we, like Southampton at lunchtime, had nothing going for us whatsoever up front. The Albion fans were a bit brassed off. Rightly so but they only paid £20 to watch that......
Another comment, nobody should expect more than 10 goals from Deeney max this season, IF he continues in the one up top role. I hope he proves me wrong, but the formation won´t lead to him hitting the onion bag too much IMHO. What he can do for the team is innumerable mind....
Accounts say he was unhappy, even angry afterwards. Fact is that despite some good interaction in build-up play, he hardly got a snif of goal. Not sure he likes the system. That's not to say he didn't play well because he did.
Tony Pulis: "We talked about Watford starting at a high pace and we looked like it was a surprise [to us]. But we restricted them to few chances. The changes made a bit of a difference. This is their cup final in a lot of respects. It was a wonderful atmosphere." Our 'cup final'? Discuss...
From the Sunday Times: 'The newcomers had much the better of the game but could not turn neat and tidy approach play into clear chances, while Albion's poverty was best summed up by the sight of Ricky Lambert puffing back to bolster the midfield and long bouts of time-wasting that began tmidway through the second half. Think early-vintageStoke City.' 'If this is the sort of football Albion are going to serve up, the fans will need to make their own fun this season.' 'His (Flores) team have made a stylish transition to their brave new world.' Not bad
I don't think there was anything wrong with what he was saying. All he was saying is that as it was our first home game in the Premiership it was a big occasion, and likened it to a cup final. Quite an innocent comment really. Very impressed with what I saw on Saturday. Capoue seemed to be involved in everything we did, was on that ball a lot. Nyom looks very athletic and impressed me. Prodl looked very solid, Behrami broke up a lot of their play, and Jurado looks as if he has a bit of class about him. But as a mention to some of our retained played, Cathcart looked composed, and Anya was linking up well with Jurado. Deeney will have a different season this year. He is busying the defenders, and helping the others come into play. The 4-2-3-1 system may not be his favourite, but he is a team member and has to have a role in the team, not just as an individual. I thought he did very well, and he will get chances, so will score goals, but it is different to playing two up front like the previous seasons.
