[WeeWillie]

The team selection screams " this squad ain't good enough"
To be blaming TP for yesterday is just plain pathetic.

I think what people are getting at is that Irvine had an even WORSE squad to work with...but nobody believed him. Irvine couldn't get them to look like a team whereas Pulis probably will...well, what's left of them plus his new additions...

We have about 5 winnable games before we play Man City. This next month will decide where we play next year...

We lost the game yesterday to a good team who we could not get near for the first 30 minutes, from then on we created chances and on another day we may have got back in the game.

What is frustrating me is that fans think Irvine was clueless and that Pulis is a genius, and yet they make the same decisions i.e. Irvine did not play Valero because he believed he was not good enough, the fans scream for him to be picked as we need width and then Pulis comes in and shifts him out. Also, Jacob wanted to leave earlier in the season and was not picked because he was not up for it, then he wants to stay and is brought back in.

You have to blame Pulis as he is the manager, you have to play your best CB at CB not out of position at left back. The squad is not good enough, so why is Terry Burton et al not getting any stick?

[Tom_Wba]

Slightly off topic but did anyone have any trouble with the train going to the game yesterday? was waiting for the usual 14:40 service from Moor Street but the train in front wasn't allowed to leave, no problem with the train was just not allowed to leave for some reason, so i ended up diving in a taxi and missed the first 10 mins and £15 extra out of pocket

[Zinman]

Can't blame Pulis? Who was it who decided to play our best central defender at left back? Who decided to play our 3rd or 4th best left back at left back? Who decided to offload Varela when we're crying out for pace and width? Yesterday we played with full backs who were incapable of getting forward- not their fault as they're both better central defenders - leaving us once again with no width. Macmanaman was easily marked out of the game with nobody supporting him. That's one goal in 3 league games and even that was given to us.

Pulis is making us into Stoke rather than Palace - 4 central defenders and hope to get a goal from a set piece. When Olsson is back I would expect to see Dawson as the 2nd choice right back rather than Gamboa who isn't tall enough. A long and boring season ahead and I fear Pulis May lose his record.

[Wrigley]

Did not get to the match, how did McManaman look? Any cause for optimism?

Must admit the defensive team selection confused me. Not sure Sess is going to be a Baggie for much longer!

A very worried Baggie from Somerset!

McManaman didn't have any impact at all only lasted 60 mins like the rest of the team poor

[Bournemouth Baggie]

I can't / won't single out players / coach. They are all to blame. I'm being told that we lost to a better team and to move on. Trouble is there is less to move on to as each week goes by. Nothing we can do now bar last minute panic buys, stuck with Pulis, stuck with players who know they are going to be picked no matter how poorly they play. I manage very few games in person but watch most compared to many on here who hand over seriously hard-earned cash every week to watch certain players go through the motions. Just fortunate there is so much dross elsewhere in the division such that this club isn't totally marooned at the bottom.

[Squirrel Regis]

Zinman,
Lescott at left back baffles me. Not that this was the reason we lost. Like everybody else I want to see Gamboa play but in training Wisdom is obviously better. I like Poco and Baird looks ok but something behind the scenes isn't right.
We lost yesterday because too many players under performed. Yacob went from the world beater we signed to the out of sorts Claudio who couldn't break into the side. Foster needs to sort his kicking out(he should be ace considering who many back passes he gets!) Morrison and Brunt are hard workers but not good enough. Anichebe worked his socks off but his career shows he isn't a goal scorer and Berahino did nothing (will he get a better chance than that back pass! And has now admitted he didn't celebrate against Gateshead because he thought he was injured and shouldn't play !!!!)
Sorry but Dawson is no where near good enough for the prem yet, makes stupid errors and doesn't clear his lines either when heading or with his feet- his mistake led to penalty.
Thought Mcmanamen did ok but faded a bit and G-Mac did ok.
Still didn't deserve to lose 3-0 though and created enough to get back into the game.
Bad luck- yes
Poor defending - yes
Playing good team with a goalie on form-yes
TP / Lescott at LB to blame - nope

---

Oh and as for Irvine, we were poor yesterday but no where near the shite endured under that clueless idiot. Would have been 5 or 6 nil under that waste of space.

[talkSAFT]

We couldn't get the ball for the 1st 1/2 hour, and I'm beginning to wonder whether our Coaches have told the players not to challenge for ANYTHING:
"Look, lads, these refs will penalise ANY contact (by lower teams), so just get numbers behind the ball.....
no - not you, Claudio!"

I'm serious! Against Hull, Everton, now Spurs, we've done exactly that, the only difference being that Hull had nothing going forward anyway; Everton, despite their 70% possession didn't have the guile to get past our 11 men; and yesterday Claudio was penalised just for making contact - and we just conceded momentum after that early goal.
If the new Laws of the game state NO CONTACT, can we have that made official please, because otherwise I'll be booing our midfield every match.

And that other new Law (which we've copied from Hockey) that if the ball touches your hand/arm, it's a foul whether you've got time to withdraw your arm or not: can we have that in writing as well? so, before long, we'll have forwards practising kicking the ball against arms, and getting a penalty. SIMPLE.
Within a year, games will be decided like penalty shoot-outs, and MotD's Goal-of-the-Month will be decided by Penalty-of-the-Month. (Lineker will be enthusing: "We've got a treat coming up. 2 goals fom open play tonight. I'm going to celebrate by shaving off this pathetic excuse for a fooooking beard").
(Rant over)

[BaggyBomber]

Zinman,
Lescott at left back baffles me. Not that this was the reason we lost. Like everybody else I want to see Gamboa play but in training Wisdom is obviously better. I like Poco and Baird looks ok but something behind the scenes isn't right.
We lost yesterday because too many players under performed. Yacob went from the world beater we signed to the out of sorts Claudio who couldn't break into the side. Foster needs to sort his kicking out(he should be ace considering who many back passes he gets!) Morrison and Brunt are hard workers but not good enough. Anichebe worked his socks off but his career shows he isn't a goal scorer and Berahino did nothing (will he get a better chance than that back pass! And has now admitted he didn't celebrate against Gateshead because he thought he was injured and shouldn't play !!!!)
Sorry but Dawson is no where near good enough for the prem yet, makes stupid errors and doesn't clear his lines either when heading or with his feet- his mistake led to penalty.
Thought Mcmanamen did ok but faded a bit and G-Mac did ok.
Still didn't deserve to lose 3-0 though and created enough to get back into the game.
Bad luck- yes
Poor defending - yes
Playing good team with a goalie on form-yes
TP / Lescott at LB to blame - nope

---

Oh and as for Irvine, we were poor yesterday but no where near the shite endured under that clueless idiot. Would have been 5 or 6 nil under that waste of space.

Very good and measured summing up, Squirrel.

[Zinman]

I'm not saying that playing Lescott at left back was to blame for the defeat but the total absence of width that may have been provided by full backs who were comfortable on the ball and able to get forward certainly didn't help us get back into the match. Playing Berahino in midfield for the first 20 minutes leaving Anichebe totally isolated also didn't help.
Yesterday we were once again totally devoid of any pace, width and creativity. The contrast with Spurs excellent passing, movement and control was frightening. Yes, Loris made some good saves but Spurs were always in control for all but the last 20 minutes of the first half. Pulis picked the team tactics and substitutions and as others have said if Irvine had been in charge and we'd played like that he'd have been rightly slaughtered so yes, in my opinion Pulis was to blame.

[tidy]

Irvine needed to be replaced, no doubt, but was he not the clueless idiot that beat Spurs at WHL.


Jus sayin...