Off Topic The General Chat Thread.

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We were very poor ... and it looked like more than 5k empty seats ...

Fatawu scored another worldie ...
having done nothing much for 79 minutes - Stolarcyk gets MOTM which tells you all you need to know ...

Jordan James again our best outfield player although Okoli (in particular) and Nelson coped pretty well with Albion's formidable aerial threat from set pieces - they even had another centre back at full back ...

Second game in a row where we got outfought, indeed bullied, in midfield and in 50:50s all over the park, apart from Okoli ...

Ricky has been a great servant, but is now rather vulnerable against quick and robust wide players - I'd be tempted to shuffle him with Bobby de Cordova-Reid in that midfield slot behind the striker.

Jordan Ayew did OK - good finish and drew a fair few fouls ...

Monga was double (if not treble) marked every time he got the ball, but still showed glimpses of his prodigious talent (amazing footwork) - although his decision making needs to improve ... both wingers would benefit from having a proper combative centre-forward like Antonio to swing balls in to once they've done the full backs...

Marti got out of jail tonight ... and must know it deep down... West Brom should have gone home with all 3 points...
That pretty much sums up how I saw the match. The only thing I would add is that Hamza is never going to make a left back at this stage of his career. Nearly cost us the match on several occasions. And Ricky was caught out of position far too many times. At the moment we need another dedicated right back from the Danny Simpson mould.

Ben Nelson has come on well. I originally wasn't convinced ... I saw too much of Vestergaard in him, but he and Okoli have become a credible centre back pairing.
 
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Painful watch - totally bossed first half and should have been at least 2 up at half time ...

Second half - abysmal

Their equaliser was a bit fortunate bit the winner was wholly down to powder puff defending - Luke Thomas was, quite frankly, embarrassing ...

Observations - both full backs were vulnerable all game - Ricardo because his legs have gone - we should be considering him for the No 10 role

Luke Thomas - just not tough (aggressive) enough - especially in this division...

Transfer window - we need two 'robust' full backs, a proper striker and another quality attacking midfielder...
 
........ and a goalkeeper, a couple of centre halves, a beast of a defensive midfielder and a new owner. Thought it was telling when Ricardo was subbed - he looked at Marti numerous times and shook his head. We are not going to spend a lot of money if any. The academy lads will continue to play. It seems that this season is about fulfilling the fixture list and not getting fined by PSR rule breaks.
 
We apparently have an 'agreement in principle' to sign Ibrahim Diabate from GAIS a striker who was joint top scorer in the Swedish League (which has now finished) - a 26 year old Ivorian...
 
Dire...

Woeful ...

Teams have worked out that we can be bullied and outmuscled ...

Hamza arguably our best performer ...

Jordan James looks to have done his hammy...

No creativity... and no outball ... Ayew is not a striker and was beaten in almost every challenge (not always fairly)

Again Monga brought on for 10 mins ... Mavididi had been anonymous ... should have been hauled at 55 mins ... give the kid a proper chance ffs ...
 
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Hamza was awful at full back but, put him where he belongs - in midfield, and no opponent gets an easy ride.

I'd forgotten that Da Cordova Read was actually on the pitch by the time he went off.

Have to admit I've been a tad disappointed by Monga. To be fair to him, it's not a great team to be in to show what he can do, but I'd like to see him really run at defenders rather than shuffle and give them time to double up on him. Whether he then has anyone available to convert a chance is anyone's guess. Maybe it would be best for both parties to offload him for a decent wedge while his stock is high, because there's practically no chance we'll be able to provide him with premier league football next season.

The match was a painful and depressing watch and a stark reminder of how far we've fallen in the last 5 years. We've gone from being able to beat the best that English football can offer to being outplayed by Wrexham. As a business the whole of the board would have been sacked by now. We need a manager who knows how to build a team and won't stand for anything but the best from the players who actually want to be here. Give us another Pearson or O'Neill. If we could prise him away from Celtic I'd genuinely consider him for next season. He may be in his early seventies but he still has that energy and the ethics that make for a good manager.
 
I’ve been underwhelmed by Monga, but in his defence he’s still only a 16 year old kid and only gets 10 minutes at the end of each game at the moment. Like you say, even if he did produce decent service there’s no one I’d have confidence in that would convert any of the chances. Could we not loan him to another championship or league one side to guarantee him more game time, or would that be us admitting he’s not good enough?
I’d like us to persevere with him, best we can hope for this season is staying up so next year he would need to be playing a lot more, that’s the only way he can develop. We don’t want Man City or Chelsea snapping him up and he’s never see him again.
God, it’s depressing watching us this season!
 
At the beginning of the season, I thought our wingers would be dominating games every week. How wrong was I?!
Mavididi likes to complete 300 step overs each time he gets the ball, before waiting for 2 defenders to close him down and then passes backwards.
Abdul has been very poor the last few games, but is still capable of producing the odd bit of magic, and Monga seems more interested in pulling his shorts down! He does need more game time, but doesn't take his opportunity when he does have a rare start.
Oh well, onwards and downwards lol
 
We've managed to hit a new low ...

Not sure if Cifuentes can survive this ...

He talks the talk ... them sticks with playing Ayew as the 'one' up front ...

There is a very good reason why both Ayew and de Cordova-Reid didn't make it at their previous clubs ...
 
Never thought I would say this but its time for Top and King Power to sell up and let a new committed owner run the club. We are now entering infamous territory for one of the greatest falls in any sport. I have some sympathy for the manager as he hasn't been able bring in any of his own players but with the squad we have he has also been unable to motivate or get anywhere near enough from them, so his time is also probably up.
 
Just when we were thinking (and hoping) that it couldn't get any worse .........

Isn't the definition of madness that you keep trying the same thing and are surprised when nothing changes?

If we know that we have been out-muscled in midfield for the last umpteen games why leave it until stoppage time to bring Soumare on? Having lost Skipp and James before the game, I was expecting to see him in the starting line-up to add a bit of presence in midfield.
 
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Whoever is responsible for employing the last three managers, and getting this club in one hell of a mess over the past five years! should hang their heads in shame and should just f#ck off!
 
The season is now written off. With the impending points deduction we will definetly be closer to relegation than th play-offs. No manager in their right minds would take on the job with the current mess we are in. I say give andy king the job until the summer (announce it quickly). ship the deadwood then and start afresh, and we as fans must start to realise we are back to being a mid-upper table championship side until the stars align again in our favour.