[BaggieSteve]

As an outsider I do think you need to be careful what you wish for. Many football fans hate aspects of the Premier League, but add to that a reality check. Imagine how playing away at Weymouth feels and watching your best player, who is scoring enough goals to have you hoping to get back to the EFL, carried off with what looks like a potentially-career-changing injury following a wild tackle, which does not even get the offender sent off. It's not such a huge step. Not long since Yeovil were in the Championship. Oldham made it to the top section and did quite well ........

Re-building a club, gaining promotion sustainably are laudable aims. But part of the truth is surely that properly-run, West Brom' is a top division club with fans who absolutely want that. They don't want to compete with Millwall, Barnsley and Wigan Athletic.

It is only months ago that Ismael's team losing wasn't tolerated by the fans. Not only weren't West Brom winning, but you weren't playing WBA-type football. Yet only months before that Ismael had drawn together a side at Barnsley for next to nowt that were in the play-off zone and causing everyone they played huge problems. Now, to an idiot outsider like me, that looks like the kind of manager, who given time might have built a side capable of going up without the boing boing. In reality as soon as the side started not to win the fans quickly, loudly and persistently made their feelings known and unfortunately you got what you wished for. The players certainly stopped doing what the manager wanted, they weren't prepared to become a better version of Barnsley, so the fans got to watch the worst-version possible of that team. When either the team or the manager has to go there's just one answer. Your wish is our command, but you'd have been better off with Stevie Nix than Stevie Bruce.

Take a look at Huddersfield. Corboran managed them to 20th place last season. This season, spend not available, they are in the play-offs. By accident or design they kept faith in him and it paid off. Baggie Steve is 100% right about giving managers time, but when the fans push the desperate idiots behind the scenes that doesn't happen. They can never be relied upon to see the wood for the hawthorns - some wise guy might say.

Looking at the players you've got I'd be hard-pushed to manage them to a worse league position than they are in. They are massively under-achieving and they are incredibly angry at the world.

Unfortunately simply hating the Premier League and thinking that is the equivalent of happiness is only self-harming. Getting hammered by cash-rich Man City can be dispiriting, but what about when that doesn't happen, you shackle de Bruyne, you realise the false number nine is an opportunity, not one step beyond, and suddenly your young centre forward is clear through the middle, he's gone round Ederson, the crowd can't even breathe as the ball rolls towards the net ...... ? Football is a game and you play games to the highest level you can. If you can play some of the best teams ever, and you can show courage, skill, sportsmanship and sometimes you can even win that is what sport is for. It's about being the best you can be. If all you can be is mediocre then paint yourself beige and head for the waiting room. I don't think beige is for West Brom'. Sometimes that is part of the problem, but equally do you really want to be a stable, sustainable League One side?

Hi Devongone, I think the points you make a spot on and perhaps I didn't express myself as well as I should have. I want my team to play at the highest possible level - regardless of my personal feelings towards that "highest level" league; my issue is the unending cycle and unedifying scramble to get promoted when we are clearly in no fit state to do so. Like all fans, I love the excitement of my team being promoted rather than the mediocrity of mid table life but not if the clear outcome is another season in the EPL of humiliation, just for the sake of the money. I don't want my team being there just so the top 6 can have some fixtures; I want my team to be competitive, accepting they are unlikely to be challenging the usual suspects. I would at least like to be challenging Southampton, Brighton, Crystal Palace and, dare I say it, Wolves and Villa. Last season we were wretched, this season - in a lower division - we have been equally wretched.

In the parlance of football pundits, I want someone to put their foot on the ball and look around, look at the options and then pick the pass. Right now, the keeper has the ball and we're hoofing it downfield. The club is, I believe, stagnating and there seems to be no internal will to break out of that; when your solution to an under-performing manager is to replace him with Steve Bruce, that maybe gives a clue to the brains trust that is running WBA FC.

Devon, you mentioned that we don't want to be competing with the likes of Millwall...I'd have settled for that this season