01-10-2017, 16:36
I'll give you my take if I may? I will spare you the "Don't forget how lucky you are , we would love a chance at a relegation scrap in the Prem after being out of it for nearly 17 years!!" - actually no I won't spare you from that, I won't chastise you like I would Arsenal fans for complaining but you might want to be careful what you wish for!!
I see West Brom as an established PL team in a league where any of the bottom 13 teams could go down in any given season!! Its a league of "pass the baton, its now your turn to go down" but even with the stupid relegation reward money that teams are given there is no divine right for established prem teams to come straight back up. Pulis is about as solid as it gets in terms of you keeping your PL status, remove him and you may just remove that status for a long time!!
On the other hand, you are an established PL team and while I doubt any of you are expecting to challenge the top 6, I can understand the desire to see the team move forward in terms of attacking play and good performances. I expect most of the teams like yours shutting up shop when playing the top 6 and almost trying to keep the score respectable, but when you play the rest a bit of ambition and attacking flair is needed while keeping the Pulis defense intact. So while the performances are dire with little really attacking endeavor and closed shop defending when you do go ahead I can understand that it simply becomes boring to watch, hence the fall in attendances and mood of the fans, particualrly at home!!
So maybe it comes down to your aspirations for WBA, do you treasure that PL place enough to not risk it but have to watch defensive, tight and often boring football or can you accept that once in a while you will either be in the thick of a relegation scrap and even go down, with no guarantee of a quick return and the financial dangers that brings with it??? Cuddly Uncle Tony will keep you up, are you prepared to suffer the consequences of the next man does not?? Of course an inspired new manager choice could send you the other way, but its probably a dead cert that this won't last and eventually you will go down playing cavalier football and searching again for a manager to get you out of the Championship instead.
I see West Brom as an established PL team in a league where any of the bottom 13 teams could go down in any given season!! Its a league of "pass the baton, its now your turn to go down" but even with the stupid relegation reward money that teams are given there is no divine right for established prem teams to come straight back up. Pulis is about as solid as it gets in terms of you keeping your PL status, remove him and you may just remove that status for a long time!!
On the other hand, you are an established PL team and while I doubt any of you are expecting to challenge the top 6, I can understand the desire to see the team move forward in terms of attacking play and good performances. I expect most of the teams like yours shutting up shop when playing the top 6 and almost trying to keep the score respectable, but when you play the rest a bit of ambition and attacking flair is needed while keeping the Pulis defense intact. So while the performances are dire with little really attacking endeavor and closed shop defending when you do go ahead I can understand that it simply becomes boring to watch, hence the fall in attendances and mood of the fans, particualrly at home!!
So maybe it comes down to your aspirations for WBA, do you treasure that PL place enough to not risk it but have to watch defensive, tight and often boring football or can you accept that once in a while you will either be in the thick of a relegation scrap and even go down, with no guarantee of a quick return and the financial dangers that brings with it??? Cuddly Uncle Tony will keep you up, are you prepared to suffer the consequences of the next man does not?? Of course an inspired new manager choice could send you the other way, but its probably a dead cert that this won't last and eventually you will go down playing cavalier football and searching again for a manager to get you out of the Championship instead.