[Stathemwasthebestever]

"..... Perhaps if we played a few players who can pass to a teammate we not need so much cover?"

Good point. Mowbray's team played tiki-taka, which many Baggies disliked while other fans applauded. Not only does it allow you to probe for an opening in the opponents' defence, but it gives the back 4/5 a breather. Currently we breathe a sigh of relief when we manage to get the ball upfield; but it comes straight back because I don't think we practice passing during the week!

Mowbray should have stayed with us. He's failed everywhere else, but I'd have his style of 8 years ago any time.

I might agree with that! What does Ron Atkinson do these days!?!

[BaggieSteve]

I agree both with talkSAFT and Statham. I know his greatest success with us was in the Championship, but Mowbray's was a style of football that placed greatest emphasis on positive play, achieved through keeping the ball and looking to create openings. That year we won the Championship a lot of things came together for us - a creative midfield of Greening, Koren, Brunt and Gera providing bullets for a forward line of Miller, Bednsr and Superkev that just couldn't stop scoring. When we got promoted, the opposition was a lot better and so the opportunities diminished and the players weren't good enough to make that significant step up. Combine that with Mowbray's seeming unwillingness to recognise the need to spend on better defenders - surprising considering his own playing career- and relegation was probably inevitable. But, for all that, like you I'd rather watch his team that Pulis'. I'm sure there's a middle way but Pulis doesn't seem interested in finding it.

[talkSAFT]

Now, we've got good defenders (who deserve a break for 20 seconds or so - after all, they're getting on a bit!), but the midfielders and attackers don't seem capable of opening up ANY defence (except West Ham, of course, who were a joke.)

Every 3 or 4 weeks Pulis allows his forwards (to use an old term) to venture forward, and they actually look decent.
But this safety-first style is turning the fans away in their thousands. And it just doesn't even work.
We can't even get 40% possession against Northampton.
And when we played a struggling Stoke team, and eventually managed a late equaliser, and we had the chance of a late winner (a free kick in their half in the 93rd minute) instead of sending the big boys up to get the 3 pts we should be aiming for, Pulis told his back 4 to stay on the 1/2 way line! Unbe-fecking-lievable!!!!

[Beefy 1965]

Well I suppose we know City arnt to bad a team eh ?

They just ran the mighty Barca round in rings at the Etihad in the 2nd half

Beat em 3-1 looks like they have their Mo Jo back

[talkSAFT]

I bet Pulis is spouting that out at every opportunity. But it nowhere near excuses the hammering we took.
Guardiola would have been shocked and taken aback if we hadn't played 10 behind the ball. If we'd "had a go" we just might have blown his game plan. We might have lost 5-0, but the 20,000 Albion fans would have gone home a lot happier.

(Incidentally, is our 20,000 our lowest home support in the Prem?
Considering it was a nice day, and we were playing the best team in the League, the stay-at-homes spoke volumes!)

[HRK]

I bet Pulis is spouting that out at every opportunity. But it nowhere near excuses the hammering we took.
Guardiola would have been shocked and taken aback if we hadn't played 10 behind the ball. If we'd "had a go" we just might have blown his game plan. We might have lost 5-0, but the 20,000 Albion fans would have gone home a lot happier.

(Incidentally, is our 20,000 our lowest home support in the Prem?
Considering it was a nice day, and we were playing the best team in the League, the stay-at-homes spoke volumes!)

There's more than Pulisball to factor into those empty seats to be fair. The tickets didn't go on General sale until a few days before the game as the club initially were only willing to sell to Members and STH's (presume this might be because of away fans taking seats in home end?). Also charging home fans £9 more than away fans for a top category is a pisstake and Albion aren't the only club in the PL to be taking the piss out of their home supporters in a similar way to be honest, so people were right to decide to give it a miss on that basis as well as some that are staunch Pulis haters and stay aways. Should be no more than £20 a ticket home or away for any game in my eyes though really as anything more prices out families from coming other than when there's kids for a quid on etc.

Currently this season I myself had to decide about renewing my Season ticket and basically decided to only take up a membership and go to all the away games instead as I couldn't really justify the cost of both. The overwhelming negativity from some sections is ruining the experience at home and it's completely out of proportion to how things are going at the minute in my opinion.

People are more than justified in their protests if they wish to stay away because of the manager but sadly with how little the gate revenue means to the club since the new tv deal I really doubt they give two shits unfortunately. Even if the football is shit I'd still rather be there than watching it on the TV. Football is a sport, not a TV programme.

For me I'm still enjoying us competing in the premier league and don't see too much different on the pitch to when Hodgson was still here. We've got a very exciting crop of youngsters coming through and getting game time, particularly impressed with Sam Field & Kane Wilson, Leko possibly slightly overated but if he learns to run with his head up and pass occasionally we've got one hell of a player there too.


I think we all need to grin and bear the remainder of this season if I'm honest and then once we've established safety again for another season (which I'm very confident we will) we then need to start the parting of the ways regarding Tony Pulis. 

Fairly clear to see that he's the type of manager that won't win you anything other than mid to lower table obcurity, and while retaining our pl status previously felt like a real achievement for the club going back several years... we all know as fans that we could easily push on to the next level and challenge for top half with the right squad and coach.

But it's safety first as always. Would much rather stick to travelling to Liverpool away as I did recently and Arsenal for our boxing day game. As opposed to who Villa are playing boxing day at home. Burton Albion 

[Stairs]

HRK - Quite right in many respects.  

We were, a few seasons ago, just concerned about maintaining our Premier League status and being sick to the teeth of the yo-yo reputation. I can recall when TP was appointed, sighing in relief and having friends (at the golf club) tell me that we were safe as houses. Back then I really wanting to believe them and loved it when we stayed up - I was proud of JP/TP.

5 Years on we are a more stable, albeit, mid to lower league but we are an established Premier League team and I doubt many of you really fear relegation this season - surely not?

Naturally now we look less down at the trap door to the Championship but are more looking up at 8th to 10th place as a measure of success.

It might be one or two seasons too soon. Many teams have fallen out of the Premier league when it took to gamble and pushed for higher places with more expensive players and exiting new managers.

The younger of you might not remember the pain of relegation to the Second Division (now Division 1 equivalent) and the heartache of watching the club over seasons slowly regroup and regain its pride. I do (many of us do). I still feel that pain but weirdly it made me all the more passionate about the Club than I had been before the nose dive.

In years gone by I would have berated you (young person) for not appreciating what the club has achieved. What Sir Gary Megson did to make us proud again and also how the tightly run ship, under Jeremy Peace, should be appreciated rather than criticised.

But today, we are settled in the Premier League and I am another few years the older and I find myself more aligned to the younger fan that I expected to be. I too want to see the club 'give it a go', get a swashbuckling young manager in post and let him buy young promising players and give it a big push for glory.

If it goes belly up, so what!

I am a few years away from retiring and I'll switch sports to rugger, play more golf and learn to play dominoes (not for a few more years yet) and let others cry in their beer if we happen to sink in and through the Championship into League One.

[Baggievicar]

I agree with most of that, Stairs - I think we're a similar (non-)vintage.
I do fear relegation. I think we're only a couple of injuries away from it, to be honest, and I'll still be crying in the beer if we go down. But for all that, I'd take the risk of seeing Pulis gone, because he's taken all the joy out of it.

[Beefy 1965]

Good start for the Leicester game


Chadli out

http://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/857006117?-11200:789:0

[Salopbaggie]

So it seems the only team Man City can best in recent weeks is us and not by the odd goal either.  What does that say for the long term :-(