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+----- Thread: Alan Irvine (/showthread.php?tid=189)
Alan Irvine - drewks - 11-09-2014
...nice article here on our HC from the Guardian; seems like a very nice bloke, and you can see why he would've appealed to JP and the rest - and I don't mean he was cheap
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/11/alan-irvine-west-bromwich-albion-interview
RE: Alan Irvine - HarryJAllstarWBA - 11-09-2014
Good read. He always comes across as a nice guy in interviews and says the right things - although I do find his repetitive "none of our players have had a pre-season" excuse annoying (as if other clubs don't have the same problem) - but we need a win soon
RE: Alan Irvine - Ska'dForLife-WBA - 11-09-2014
Interesting stuff, and the comment about being sacked with a 40% win ratio by two struggling clubs puts a different slant on his past record (though doesn't negate the concerns raised by fans of those clubs about his defensive mentality). Having a drive to succeed will be vital here, because we need those wins at all costs.
I do fear that this will be the real problem, though: Irvine has no desire to be the centre of attention and admits that even walking out on the pitch to wave to the Albion fans on the opening day of the season made him feel uncomfortable. "My family knew I was cringing, they were kind of dying for me as well at the time," he says, smiling. That kind of personality just isn't going to win over a lot of negative fans. Even if we suddenly begin to excel on the pitch, there are people who'll just keep quiet about Irvine until they have another excuse to get the knives out, and being stand-offish will make that worse. It's absurd that our head coach should have to be a raconteur as well as a tactician, but there it is.
RE: Alan Irvine - Tom_Wba - 11-09-2014
My gut feeling is that Irvine won't last long. I know it is still very early days but i think the Everton game is a big big game for him if we lose that (which stands a good chance) he will start to feel the pressure already! i say this cause we then travel to Spurs where we will more than likely get beat again we could well be sitting on 2 pts after 5 games going into our home game with Burnley on SKY if that is the case the Hawthorns will already be a nervy tense place similar to what the hawthorns was at the end of last season, I know its all ifs and buts at the moment but i am worried already after only 3 games
COME ON BAGGIES GET THAT WIN!
RE: Alan Irvine - drewks - 11-09-2014
(11-09-2014, 18:20)Tom_Wba Wrote: My gut feeling is that Irvine won't last long. I know it is still very early days but i think the Everton game is a big big game for him if we lose that (which stands a good chance) he will start to feel the pressure already! i say this cause we then travel to Spurs where we will more than likely get beat again we could well be sitting on 2 pts after 5 games going into our home game with Burnley on SKY if that is the case the Hawthorns will already be a nervy tense place similar to what the hawthorns was at the end of last season, I know its all ifs and buts at the moment but i am worried already after only 3 games
COME ON BAGGIES GET THAT WIN!
Cmon Tom, pull yourself together man!!
We'll thrash Everton, cruise home at White Hart Lane.......
....THEN lose to Burnley and start to slide - this IS The Baggies we're talking about!
RE: Alan Irvine - RainbowTurnedEastStand - 11-09-2014
Nice football managers dont hack it in the Premier League.
RE: Alan Irvine - Tom_Wba - 11-09-2014
(11-09-2014, 18:56)drewks Wrote:(11-09-2014, 18:20)Tom_Wba Wrote: My gut feeling is that Irvine won't last long. I know it is still very early days but i think the Everton game is a big big game for him if we lose that (which stands a good chance) he will start to feel the pressure already! i say this cause we then travel to Spurs where we will more than likely get beat again we could well be sitting on 2 pts after 5 games going into our home game with Burnley on SKY if that is the case the Hawthorns will already be a nervy tense place similar to what the hawthorns was at the end of last season, I know its all ifs and buts at the moment but i am worried already after only 3 games
COME ON BAGGIES GET THAT WIN!
Cmon Tom, pull yourself together man!!
We'll thrash Everton, cruise home at White Hart Lane.......
....THEN lose to Burnley and start to slide - this IS The Baggies we're talking about!
Very True!
RE: Alan Irvine - bomberbrown1968 - 11-09-2014
Can only agree with what's been said before, he does come across as a nice chap and I genuinely wish him all the best and would love him to be our manager for years to come if he can make a go of it.
Of all our business we did in the summer, the appointment of Irvine was probably the biggest disappointment of them all - left field, cheap and no compensation to another club.
We have to remember that the squad we now have has been assembled for him - the days have long gone for us, of having a manager who targets, negotiates and sits in on any deals made - we are now run , fashionably, by a head coach, in our case Irvine,who is given his squad to coach, set tactics, select his matchday squad, gel into a team,use substitutions to change and above all else motivate and inspire if things aren't going right.
Early indications of all of these are not very promising so far - selection, tactics and substitutions have all been pretty poor so far, having said that he hasn't had a full squad to choose from as yet, but I think we all agree that we now have a set of quality players who should have the potential to avoid a repeat of last season and even look to emulate the points total or position of 2 years ago.
One thing's for certain JP won't hang about while his investment, which should be applauded, goes to ruin, if it does end badly for Irvine it will have been a complete waste of 3 or 4 months and we'll be playing catch up going into the winter and lots of people, me included will say"I told you so, he was never the right man for the job".
I'll give my full support to anyone who represents the Albion, so I will give him some time when he's got a full squad to work with, having said that I was less than impressed with his interview on the way home when he was asked if Lescott would be in the squad for Saturday, he skirted around the question saying he'd have to decide if Everton was the right type of match for his comeback and assess whether is was too much of a risk or not. FFS he's either fit to play or he isn't - tell it how it is - yes or no.
In Irvine I trust - worriedly, a little fearfully and for the time being only if things don't improve.
RE: Alan Irvine - Bournemouth Baggie - 12-09-2014
Wasn't Roy seen as a "nice chap" during his time with us who didn't necessarily crave the limelight? He seemed to do ok. Given the cavernous gap between my hope and expectation this year I am happy to give him time with a squad where hopefully the majority are fit at least and then judge.
RE: Alan Irvine - Thequietwatersby - 13-09-2014
Excuses already for Alan Irvine, courtesy of BBC Football
Quote:West Brom boss Alan Irvine:
"We have to have a bit more of a cutting edge than we have at the moment.
"It has been widely said that we have brought in the most players but we have also got rid of the most as well.
"We need to win games soon."