[wba_1996]

Pre season finished in August  

It's nearly Christmas  

So who is getting them up to full fitness then  

Laughing stock !!!!!!

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Poll on Westbrom .com,

Should Irvine stay or go

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Stay
.... (5.8%)
Go
.............................................................................(89.3%)
Undecided
.... (4.9%

Says it all really, there is no way back for him now. The sooner he goes the better, the fans will never accept him.

[drewks]

Bill Howell has tweeted a few opinions on the situation:

"They clearly can't be good enough day to day.  They should be ready, for sure.  But if they are hopeless day to day then only Harry Redknapp would slaughter them as a last resort."

'Can't be good enough'?? I find that an impossible comment to believe -
1) It is certainly presumed that we do our homework pretty well on any incoming player; well, we definitely USED to. If not then we may as well bloody well pack in now.
2) Certainly 4 of the players - Blanco, Varela, Samaras and Gamboa - have a proven ability at international level.

Come on, surely Bill Howell's 'avin a giraffe      

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

I don't know whether he's right or not, but he's the second journo (after Madeley last week) to come to this conclusion. And regardless of how stubborn/negative/scared Irvine may be (as popular opinion has it), if playing these guys could give him even half a chance of winning, getting the fans onside and saving his job, why wouldn't he? Furthermore, if Irvine's football knowledge really was on a par with a toddler's, would those higher up the ladder really be okay with that, given what happened to Clarke and RDM and even Pepe Mel?

My patience with Irvine is wearing very thin thanks to some of his comments (as well as recent performances), but I still don't buy into the conspiracy theories either. None of this situation makes any sense to me, if I'm honest, which is part of the frustration.

[Salopbaggie]

I struggle to believe that the likes of Blanco and Varela are any worse than those who are getting on the bench, if not in the team. The few times we have seen Blanco he certainly looked the part going forward, don't know what his defending is like though. As for Varela well we don't really know either, perhaps their back passing is not up to scratch.

[Beefy 1965]

I look forward to the E&S in the morning,.........

From Twitter Steve Madely says a quote from Irvine he finds.......... HORRIFYING

Steve Madeley ‏@smadeley_star 38m38 minutes ago
@fabwba And it's about how roles are defined. There's an Irvine quote in tomorrow's paper on that subject that I find truly horrifying.

Baggie Vic we need your help more than ever

[WBA-Josh]

Blanco and Varela are much better than the guys that are currently in the team and they will bring so much to our attack. Unfortunately for them, they are not defensive grafters so they are deemed unneeded.

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Have any of you guys noticed Irvine's double standards in his statement?

He said that Varela and Blanco missed pre-season so they're still having to catch up with the training. However, Morrison and Lescott missed pre-season due to their injuries yet they were put straight into the team against Spurs.

[Luke_East_Baggie]

If I were him Id play Varela and Blanco and Gamboa just to get the fans off my back - If they were terrible, at least he can say he gave something different a go.

[Salopbaggie]

So is the big horrific statement that AI does not expect any new signings in the summer, or

"But he admitted mass changes are unlikely despite a growing dissatisfaction behind the scenes with a number of summer signings including Jason Davidson, Silvestre Varela, Sebastian Blanco, Georgios Samaras and record signing Brown Ideye."

Not my fault guv, honest, while this may have some element of truth it is someone's fault IF these players are not good enough.

[Baggie_One]

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2014...an-irvine/

yuuuuuuuuuuup. How about they start in the first 11, let us humble supporters be the judge of that. If they then prove to be shit, then so be it........however, be daring AI, its the month of giving afterall.....what have we got to lose

[Slick_Footwork]

I can't even read Irvine's interviews anymore. Not only does he make more selection mistakes than any other managed I can think of, the guy is completely deluded and full of excuses.

So some of the summer signings aren't impressing him in training... Well, those that are doing well in the training aren't actually impressing in the game. What is more important?

In an era of prima donnas, I'd assume some players do struggle to motivate themselves to train, but the fact is that a lot of these players come with genuine pedigree. Varela has only played 10 minutes and has created a goal.

What is Dorrans' minute to chances created looking like? Yet he keeps getting selected...

Against Hull, Blanco looked decent but poor against Bournmouth. But why was that? Probably because he was the spearhead of the most disjointed, defense minded midfield possible. How on earth is a creative midfielder going to do well when his passing options are 40 yards behind him?

Gamboa has looked decent when called upon. Samaras has looked decent, although wasn't even deemed good enough to start for our second XI despite playing and scoring in the Champions League last year.

They simply aren't getting a fair crack.

Ideye hasn't impressed but obviously has pedigree. It would seem Irvine's setup isn't suiting him. But what forward would it suit to be on the end of nothing but 50 yard through balls.

Irvine is the one ruining these players...

The joke continues...