[Squirrel Regis]

It's true that hospital visits and the foundation do help with links to the community but the club could take a look at the things foreign clubs are doing and really try and get the players and fans closer. Let's say we get a win at Hull (please !) get every player to go over to the fans and give their shirts away and mingle.
Or how about before ko against the Villa throwing some stuff into the crowd or giving out signed Christmas cards ?
Still love the idea of players pulling pints in the vine but anything would help.

---

Let's get back to the atmosphere and belief generated in the great escape season when the bond between players and fans helped us to the impossible.
Paul Merson and the biased London based media can stick their opinions where the sun doesn't shine.
They know nothing about West Brom and the Black Country.
Rant over lol.
C O Y B !

[Bournemouth Baggie]

Unconnected and slightly off-topic- with the Albion but a sign of what happens when sportsmen (or women) get ahead of themselves once there is a little more cash in their wallet when a certain AFCB player actually did use those words "Do you know who I am? (Not in an ironic way) as he stood next to me in a bar this week and I had the temerity to suggest it was my turn to be served. All players should be doing community work on a regular basis as a condition of their contract.

[talkSAFT]

"A certain AFCB player"?
Don't you know who he was?

[Squirrel Regis]

Getting really nervous about today's game, checking Twitter & sky every 5 mins for team news !!!!

[WBA-Josh]

The team is in:

Foster
Wisdom-McAuley-Lescott-Pocognoli
Mulumbu-Gardner
Dorrans-Morrison-Sessegnon
Anichebe

Myhill
Dawson
Gamboa
Baird
Varela
Berahino
Ideye

It's a good, solid starting 11. Berahino on the bench is a surprise but a break may do him good. Varela does not have the match fitness to start matches yet. Morrison in the attacking midfield position is a good choice because we will have to watch Huddlestone who can dictate the game when given the chance.

Hull look like they're set up in a 4-4-2 formation:

McGregor
Rosenior-Dawson-Chester-Quinn
Elmohamady-Huddlestone-Livermore-Meyler
Aluko-Hernandez

[Worldclassalbion]

VARELA, IDEYE, GAMBOA & BERAHINO on the Bench...........Blistering pace and width sitting down

FFS

Hope AI shuts me up as I'm fed up and exasperated with it all. Good to see GMAC back though.

C'MON YOU BAGGIES (Pleeeeease)

[santasabaggie]

This team is set up to loose,i think Irvine wants to go.I think he's had enough at WBA, he wants a nice payoff before Christmas and away to-go. hope i'm wrong but it doesn't look convincing to me.

[Slick_Footwork]

Happy to see McAuley back but not happy with the team selection otherwise.

I don't agree with dropping Saido. He's had a barren patch but that's been due
to lack of service IMO. On his day he's our best player and you need those players
on the pitch.

Thought Varela would be a nail on after his performance the other night. I don't
agree that this is a selection based on fitness, but rather based on Irvine's persistent
negativity. After all, Mozza is deemed fit enough to start straight after injury (wasn't
even fit enough for the bench in the last few games).

Really hope we somehow salvage a win though, as much as I'd love to see Irvine go,
we really do need the points right now.

[WBA-Josh]

The decision to not start with Varela is because he is not yet match fit. That lack of match fitness makes starting him impossible and how can he be match fit when he has only had 30 minutes of competitive football since the World Cup. It takes time to build up match fitness.

Remember that he also had to have surgery after the Hull cup game so he then had to get himself fit again before he could be considered for matches. Now he has to get himself match fit which means substitute appearances off the bench initially until he is ready to start.

Every coach and manager does the same thing as Irvine is doing when their players have been out for so long.

With Morrison, he has been in the first team for most of the season apart from when he has been injured. That regular competitive football that he has played makes it easier for him to return into the first team fold and to then start matches.

---

Penalty is given for us. Anichebe has had the same thing happen to him twice now.

Fecking Dorrans has missed it.

---

It has been OK so far. We seem solid without the ball and when we the ball, we are moving it around well.

It's nice to see more movement and rotation from our midfield players instead of the recent rigidity.

[Worldclassalbion]

No one on left wing, everytime Poco gets the ball he has to pass square! Oh dear me its crying out for some natural width. Shame we have no one..... Oh hang on VARELA!