14-09-2016, 03:29
(This post was last modified: 14-09-2016, 03:30 by Slick_Footwork.)
To be honest, I think TP is nowhere near the worst manager I've seen at the club.
I think the guy has made some garbage signings in the likes of McClean and Chester (to play full back), while McManaman obviously wasn't researched enough - I can only presume it's his lack of fitness or attitude that keeps him out.
BUT the majority of decisions TP makes on the pitch, I can at least put some logic to them, even if I disagree with them.
In 14-15 he picked up a sinking ship that was left by Alan Irvine (who really was a garbage manager). This side had barely won a game at home under Irvine, Clarke and Mel and TP actually managed to turn us into a decent home side. We scored 4 against West Ham, 3 against Chelsea and managed to beat teams around us like Swansea, Southampton and Stoke. He attracted Fletcher who was proven at this level and he made the difference. We looked dead set for relegation and stayed up comfortably.
The following summer he wasn't particularly well backed and the majority of his transfers for 15-16 (Rondon and Evans aside) didn't have a great impact. The football was getting more and more dour.
At this point, I did have frustrations with the manager and his style. But I thought he deserved another shot because of what he'd done in 14-15...
Plus, at times, we really didn't look far off. When you consider how we played at the tail end of the season at Leicester and Spurs away, we looked like we were 3-4 players off a top half side... 3-4 attacking players...
Was TP capable of signing 3-4 good players? That was the question mark, his transfer record is very hit and miss...
But he was the manager so he had to be backed...
This summer, with the new ownership, I was hopeful of really seeing what TP could do with genuine backing. However, in true Albion fashion we are only able to sign one proven Premiership player in Chadli; while Anichebe and Sessegnon who have played their whole careers at this level have gone. Our squad is actually weaker in terms of top level experience.
That's why I feel TP is being treated a bit harshly by some fans at the start of this season.
IMO our squad lacks quality and is getting worse due to players being past their prime. Our best performer over the past 3 years is McAuley who is 36, we're lucky he's still doing it. Fletcher came in and did a great job in 14-15 on a free, but seems to be deteriorating while Olsson is nowhere near Premier League quality anymore. TP has been forced to use Evans at left back because we didn't push the boat out for Schlupp in the summer... Instead we're left with another loan (cheap option) who played a handful of games for Everton last year when their first choice duo were injured.
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the dross we're being served up, but IMO we have to look further than the manager.
The club has been run poorly for 3-4 years now and frankly, it's been joke after joke since the Odemwingie saga. From hiring a manager who can't speak English to rejecting bids for Berahino when he's clearly never going to recapture his form in a West Brom shirt... Then, la creme de la creme is rushing a transfer through on deadline day for a Bosman who could've been signed anytime - Nothing screams more of trying to 'paper over the cracks' of our horrendous transfer window than that...
You're expressing frustrations that TP selected Saido up top this week...
TP always selects Rondon as first choice, but he was playing South American World Cup Qualifiers just a few days before and only arrived back very close to the game. I guess TP didn't think he was fit and as Saido is the only other striker at the club, he didn't have much choice... That's the situation we're in with the lack of backing this summer...
So can we really blame TP for that?
I'm sure when Anichebe was allowed to leave the idea was to replace him. We didn't...
As for Saido; my honest evaluation of TP's interviews over the past 1+ year is that he wanted rid of Saido for a long time and would rather invest in his own player (admittedly, probably a tall bumbling oaf). However, it seems it was the board who persisted in holding out for more cash, probably trying to sell on deadline day... Another failed plan...
So like you, I worry. But I worry about more than just TP...
I worry about the fact we still don't seem to have any money, if you consider that we sold Chester, Lambert and Gamboa; along with receiving a significant sell on when Oxford sold Roofe to Leeds, we didn't spend much at all...
I worry that our board can't seem to have basic conversation with the manager about transfer targets...
I worry that the Chairman is spouting blatant BS in his first message to fans...
And the biggest worry is that no manager can keep this aging, sack of sh*t squad in the league. It's going to be a long, hard season. If TP goes, I hope I'm wrong and someone comes in and gets this squad winning, playing decent stuff. But there's barely any creative players at the club...
I think the guy has made some garbage signings in the likes of McClean and Chester (to play full back), while McManaman obviously wasn't researched enough - I can only presume it's his lack of fitness or attitude that keeps him out.
BUT the majority of decisions TP makes on the pitch, I can at least put some logic to them, even if I disagree with them.
In 14-15 he picked up a sinking ship that was left by Alan Irvine (who really was a garbage manager). This side had barely won a game at home under Irvine, Clarke and Mel and TP actually managed to turn us into a decent home side. We scored 4 against West Ham, 3 against Chelsea and managed to beat teams around us like Swansea, Southampton and Stoke. He attracted Fletcher who was proven at this level and he made the difference. We looked dead set for relegation and stayed up comfortably.
The following summer he wasn't particularly well backed and the majority of his transfers for 15-16 (Rondon and Evans aside) didn't have a great impact. The football was getting more and more dour.
At this point, I did have frustrations with the manager and his style. But I thought he deserved another shot because of what he'd done in 14-15...
Plus, at times, we really didn't look far off. When you consider how we played at the tail end of the season at Leicester and Spurs away, we looked like we were 3-4 players off a top half side... 3-4 attacking players...
Was TP capable of signing 3-4 good players? That was the question mark, his transfer record is very hit and miss...
But he was the manager so he had to be backed...
This summer, with the new ownership, I was hopeful of really seeing what TP could do with genuine backing. However, in true Albion fashion we are only able to sign one proven Premiership player in Chadli; while Anichebe and Sessegnon who have played their whole careers at this level have gone. Our squad is actually weaker in terms of top level experience.
That's why I feel TP is being treated a bit harshly by some fans at the start of this season.
IMO our squad lacks quality and is getting worse due to players being past their prime. Our best performer over the past 3 years is McAuley who is 36, we're lucky he's still doing it. Fletcher came in and did a great job in 14-15 on a free, but seems to be deteriorating while Olsson is nowhere near Premier League quality anymore. TP has been forced to use Evans at left back because we didn't push the boat out for Schlupp in the summer... Instead we're left with another loan (cheap option) who played a handful of games for Everton last year when their first choice duo were injured.
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the dross we're being served up, but IMO we have to look further than the manager.
The club has been run poorly for 3-4 years now and frankly, it's been joke after joke since the Odemwingie saga. From hiring a manager who can't speak English to rejecting bids for Berahino when he's clearly never going to recapture his form in a West Brom shirt... Then, la creme de la creme is rushing a transfer through on deadline day for a Bosman who could've been signed anytime - Nothing screams more of trying to 'paper over the cracks' of our horrendous transfer window than that...
You're expressing frustrations that TP selected Saido up top this week...
TP always selects Rondon as first choice, but he was playing South American World Cup Qualifiers just a few days before and only arrived back very close to the game. I guess TP didn't think he was fit and as Saido is the only other striker at the club, he didn't have much choice... That's the situation we're in with the lack of backing this summer...
So can we really blame TP for that?
I'm sure when Anichebe was allowed to leave the idea was to replace him. We didn't...
As for Saido; my honest evaluation of TP's interviews over the past 1+ year is that he wanted rid of Saido for a long time and would rather invest in his own player (admittedly, probably a tall bumbling oaf). However, it seems it was the board who persisted in holding out for more cash, probably trying to sell on deadline day... Another failed plan...
So like you, I worry. But I worry about more than just TP...
I worry about the fact we still don't seem to have any money, if you consider that we sold Chester, Lambert and Gamboa; along with receiving a significant sell on when Oxford sold Roofe to Leeds, we didn't spend much at all...
I worry that our board can't seem to have basic conversation with the manager about transfer targets...
I worry that the Chairman is spouting blatant BS in his first message to fans...
And the biggest worry is that no manager can keep this aging, sack of sh*t squad in the league. It's going to be a long, hard season. If TP goes, I hope I'm wrong and someone comes in and gets this squad winning, playing decent stuff. But there's barely any creative players at the club...