I was out all evening and didn't know the result till well after the end of the game. I recorded it and have just watched it back. Firstly, what a fantastic tribute to Stan. I had tears rolling down as the deafening cries of "Stanley" rung out. As for the game, I'm feeling a mixture of disappointment, along with satisfaction. We really deserved to win that, what with so many corners, a missed penalty (why didn't Chair or Andersen take it?), a punch off the line which should have been another penalty and a red card and Furlong's unbelievable clearance from Cook's equally unbelievable overhead. All in all though, we played so well and showed immense character to come back from conceding two quick goals. Everyone played well, although it was great to see Field back to his superb best and Andersen is an excellent addition, although even he delivered a few poor corners. 4 points from Leicester away and West Brom at home is brilliant though. It's still so tight, but Marti has really turned us around. A last mention to the fans. What an atmosphere. I'd have loved to have been there and what a twat that Johnston is. He and that cheating centre back were lucky not to have been dragged into the crowd, never to be seen again! West Brom are a decent side, but immensely dislikable. So glad we didn't lose to those twats. Onto the next........
By the way, before Field's first, that was a penalty on Frey. The keeper collided with his knee and hurt his head in the process. All in all, another **** ref.
Some twat(s) gave him some abuse as well, really uncalled for. We complain about players all the time often justifiably and yet even a 'good egg' like Darnel Furlong gets stick.
No one can take away from Anderson's contribution last night but I do wonder if he had a chance to clear the ball before the second goal. Not a biggie at all and no one is perfect of course.
I thought that at the time but looking again it’s Prem quality with the touch and finish. Dykes would still be controlling the cross now.
He was indeed, even showed a couple of moments of skill when foraging forward. Whatever Marti said to Dunne and Field worked a treat, both were in forward territory adding support just behind the frontline. Rewarded with a great performance and two goals and MOTM.
And he came around and applauded the home fans at the end, could have got a mouthful then but at least he made the effort to show his appreciation.
Dunne and especially Field were able to play in that eye catching way because we now have proper CDs in Cook and JCS, and even more so because Hayden is a class act, he does his job so unobtrusively that you don’t notice it. It gives other players confidence to get forward when they can. So we can play two holding midfielders on paper but one has licence to get forward when the opportunity arises. When Hodge came on for Hayden, Field took the role of ‘sitting’ holding midfielder, except (thankfully) at set pieces. My only minor disappointments last night were Hodge, who didn’t seem to add much, and the battering ram combination of Frey (who by that time was knackered) and Dykes up front, who still both failed to get anywhere near a couple of decent crosses. But minor gripes.
A late postscript to all this... I've been Sam Field's biggest critic this season and he was one of the main casualties of Ainsworth's one dimensional approach to the game. It's been a very long road back from that but last night showed all the qualities we've been missing: a midfield masterclass with huge amounts of energy, great positional sense, some really good distribution and capped off with our two goals. Welcome back Sam.
On rotating the team... I think it can be really good, if done well. People often talk about wanting there to be a lot of competition for places in the changing room. But to actually really generate that competition, you actually have to be giving players time to compete on the pitch and try to show why they should be picked. If you just have someone sit on the bench all the time, he's not really going to feel motivated to show what he's got. I agree that keeping the back line consistent is a good thing. I don't mind an ever changing team as long as the lineup is always a good and interesting one. It's all about balancing. You don't only pick a team by just sticking the best players on. You need to know what combination the various potential lineups will make, what will work best as a unit.
Quite a few complimentary posts about us on the West Brom's fans forum following last night's game ... After Match Debate (westbrom.com)
Hayden has been superb from what I've seen and as you say, the type of contribution he makes often goes unnoticed. He's been an excellent addition imo.
Clives report... Field's surprise double caps fitting footballing tribute to Bowles – Report Thursday, 7th Mar 2024 21:21 by Clive Whittingham On a night when we came together to remember Stan Bowles, QPR served up a classic and controversial cliffhanger that played to the finest entertainer traditions of the club and its greatest ever player. https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footb...itting-footballing-tribute-to-bowles-–-report
Perfect. Clive captures the night brilliantly in my opinion and made me feel like I was there all over again. Of course Andersen was MOM really.
The player farthest on the right ... does he remind you of anyone looking at him from behind? please log in to view this image
Exhausted reading that, just like last night after watching the game on the laptop..... those who were there can't have any voces today such was the support..... magnificent..
