No Sympathy for West Brom, I really don't care - My thoughts on the WBA game

It is quite clear that our evolution as a side is gonna take some time. We are awesome in a 4-3-3 I think we need Tiote in form to make it work, and he's not been consistent over the last year or so.

We can still play technical football and play a long ball to a target man. Just have someone drifting along to pick up the ball.

We should just clear it long to a target man when in danger, not try to be ****ing Rodgers style and piss fart about with it around our own box.

 

Maybe just about deserved the draw but i will take the win of course as we have lost just as unluckily in the past. Thought we played far better, stopped knocking in long balls and passed it around far better up the field creating problems when we made the subs and went to more of a 4-4-2 cum 4-5-1 than when we were playing a strange version of our 4-3-3 before that, Shola as a target was wasted in that formula. Our defending abysmal at times particularly for their goal. One in front of him, one behind him yet no challenge as he scored unmarked with ease. Thought Lukaku looked great but one on one finishing not his forte (anyone remember this with Bellamy - very frustrating). Krul producing two great saves from him tho which i'm not convinced our other keepers would (my mom). Collo not mom for me. inconsistant today, great then not so great the next min. HBA very frustrating trying too hard too often but still producing some of our biggest attacking threat and best entertainment.

 

I know but you always seem to be a little high, even when we've been poor. This is my scoring system

0 to 2.5 (very poor)
3 to 5.5 (poor)
6 to 6.5 (average)
7 to 8.5 (good)
9+ (very good)

 

A game of two halves as the cliche goes.

We edged the first half and they edged the second half.

A draw would have been a fair result. We were not rubbish but we were not good. We played well in patches as they did. Our passing and ball retention in the second half was below requirements but we at least kept going right to the very end.

If anyone wants to go on any West Brom site ( I have looked at two) and their fans are critical of W B's passing and ball retention. It wasn't as good as some on here seem to think especially final 10-15 mins. When Lukaku went off and Long came on they stopped their passing game and started the "Williamson" long ball game for Long to run on too.

Perch played well generally but nothing special and just demonstrated why talk of selling Tiote is so ridiculous. Williamson limited but whole hearted player but the sooner Saylor is picked the sooner we reduce the amount of long balls played from the back. Guiteirez (sp) again needs replacing. Another 100% player but not actually producing anything positive on a game to game basis.

Overall not as bad as the "half empty" glass brigade are claiming but plenty of room to improve.

 

We are basically **** this season and getting points thanks to goals not being given at Everton, Cisses's arse. given that it's not a bad position we are in but if we get turned over as we always do at Anfield the broth will look a lot browner.

Tash you speak of the evolution of this side??? what side? it's the same as last season and needed no evolution if you ask me! we have fixed something that wasn't broken

 

We've had some fortune, but a lot of goals have come from quality. You make your own luck, and teams do well due to player quality more than how they perform.

We were average vs Spurs and deserved no more than a point, but we won thanks to quality.

We were lucky vs Everton, but we still scored the goals. Lesser sides wouldn't have been able to take advantage of decisions going their way.

Manure were lucky today and are lucky quite a lot, but we all know that they win titles due to quality.

 

To be fair Tash, thought we deserved a draw against Everton but we have rode our luck on a few occasions.

 

I agree, but that's my point. Despite Everton having a goal ruled offside that wasn't, how many teams manage to score twice against them at Goodison, and manage to cut them open as much as we did? We could have scored 4-5 in the 2nd half.

You make your own luck IMO. Either that or you can't take advantage of your luck unless you have the quality.

 

Never agreed with this phrase. You just don't make your own luck. If you did wouldn't everyone be working overtime in making their own luck.

Seriously though, the best teams don't give up, they keep trying to the very end, they keep shooting right to the very end. The more shots you have the more likely on probabilities to get a "lucky" deflection. We currently have a team who keep trying right up to the very end and that was why we got "lucky" with the deflected goal.

 

I'm yet to feel that we've played anywhere near our best in a match so far this season. The only convincing game was Bordeaux. Too many players aren't anywhere near their best form (Tiote, Cabaye, Cisse the main culprits) and only Krul has looked consistently good (though Ba is banging the goals in and Colo looks like he's come back strongly from his absence).

We're going to get a hiding one day soon and hopefully we can just use that as a rocket up the lads arses which they clearly need. Last season we were creaming teams and getting called 'lucky' (which was nonsense), this season i actually think we have rode our luck in alot of our games.

As for goals from set peices, whilst it doesn't change the basic point of us needing a dominant header of the ball, surely DFK's count and we got a few of those.

 

Deserved a draw at Everton? they scored 2 more goals than us lol

 

True, though Liverpool did also draw 2-2 there today.

 

I know what you're saying, but if it was a lesser side playing vs Everton that night, would they have had the quality to score the goals to beat them? Also all the ****ty offside and whatever goals Manure score, often come late on due to their attacking moves. They may get luck with the way the goal is finished, but their quality lead to it.

The teams with the quality win games and we all are where we deserve to be.

 

At the moment my glass is half empty to be fair and I lay the blame for our lacklustre performances this year at Pardew's door (he is the manager after all).

I accept it's our first European campaign for a while, and only Pardew's second ever European adventure so mistakes will be made by him, but he'll learn from them and long term we'll benefit from that. My gripe with him isn't so much his team selection, but it's all the different systems he has us playing. It's not the changing of system/formation game to game, it's the fact we seem to chop and change formation two to three times each match, it's going to restrict the chances of us finding any fluidity.

In his post match interview, he said due to Europe we're missing out on two training days a week. If this is the case then surely we should look to perfect or become comfortable in one formation/system? We've got less time on the training ground than last year and yet it seems like we're trying to do too much in the short space of time we have on it.

Now I'm no manager, so I could be wrong, but last year we played 4-4-2 for the first half of the season and 4-3-3 in the second half, both worked well for us. We rarely changed formation during games last year, yes in 4-3-3 people were given license to roam but the team shape never changed. I can therefore only imagine that team shape played a big part in training leading up to the game at the weekend, when match day game everyone seemed to know their roles within the team. Yet this year with less time to work on shape we're constantly chopping and changing. Jonas has played LB, RB, LM, RM, CM and just off the striker in the "number 10" role this year, six positions after only 9 league games, it's no wonder the lad hasn't hit any kind of form.

Hopefully with no midweek game before the weekend we see a much improved performance against Liverpool. On a positive note although our performances have been mainly average at best if you look at our league position & results in Europe we've had a solid start. Would just be nice to roll out a champagne performance or two of the next few games.

 

I personally don't think it's been a bad start. One result either way would effect our opinions.

If we'd had one more win we'd be around the top 5/6 and we'd be jollying it up. Another 2/3 points dropped and we'd be nearer the bottom and depressed as ****.

It's too early to judge. We've played average, and still managed a decent points total, and we've also managed to remain unbeaten in Europe, and we're likely to win our group and progress to the next round.

 

I couldn't agree more, however there is absolutely no chance we will change the systems because managers never do once they go with something. We must get a point aat Anfield and I think we might if we get back to basics. Liverpool will have a go and allow us to counter I'm hoping. This season sides dont play us thinking ha well roll them over, they are happy to get points but Liverpool will have to try and turn us over at home.

 

I wouldn't say it's essential to get a point against Liverpool, at the moment the main thing for me is to put in a performance of real quality to instil some much needed confidence in to the side. Last season we played with a touch of arrogance that the top teams play with, for me that's what we've lacked so far this year.

 

If you aren't careful those two comments might suggest a "half full" glass attitude.

We are not far behind last years points tally, we are playing in Europe, and yet we have not yet hit top form. Just imagine how good we will be when we do hit form.Positivity, you just have to love it.

 

Liverpool are not that special themselves, however at home they are always stong but if we play well early we can do it.

 

It'd be good for us if you came to Anfield to actually play football, we struggle against teams like Stoke.

We both beat each other quite comfortably last season (our performance to you away was particularly shambolic - seemed like the players had given up).

The players that scare me are HBA and Ba. We always dominate but concede silly chances, and we'll be punished if we do that against you lot.

Pluses for us will be Reina back, Johnson back and Suarez is in a bit of form. Our past six games have now been WLDWWD I believe (inc. Europa) so we seem to be on the road to recovery. For us, a win would be a great indicator of progress, a draw satisfactory, a loss - not good at all.