[santasabaggie]

I hate the regular changing of managers,if Irvine does get the boot,and only Mr Peace knows whats on his mind,it will be 4 plus Downing and co.in very quick succesion.At the moment i think the situation is no better then when S.C was sacked, so Irvine should go if you follow the same rule of thumb.We lost R.H when England came for him,and we coudn't stand in his way for that one.Pepe Mel o'k not everyones cup of tea,the players had a lot to do with him getting the push,but i can't help thinking he should have had better backing from the board.So where does it lead us? i haven't a clue to be honest and who would come in having seen us shunt out so many.Surely if we perform poorly to-night and do very little the next two games we will be looking for a new man. The mind boggles,AVB would he come in? Sherwood been down that road,Pulis ahem! might keep us up,my outsider who might do a decent job,but has zero experience in the Prem would be Eddie Howe from B'mouth.Tonight is a very important game in our season and in A.I career at WBA.I think he will be given till after the Villa,and if nothings changed then he will be on very very thin ice.not only with club board but with the fans too.

[Foxman_WBA]

Im going to play devils advocate for a second here but are we really doing that badly?

Team - predicted result - result

Sunderland - W -D
S’ton - L - D
Swans - L - L
Everton - L - L
Spurs - L - W
Burnley - W - W
L’pool - L - L
Utd - L - D
Palace - W -D
Leicester - W -W
N’Castle - D - L
Chesea - L - L
Arsenal - L - L

Points - 13 - 13

Obviously some of my predicted results are debatable but we are right on track to what we should really expect?

Obviously i'm more than aware that its our performances of late and not the results that have been the problem but still. May be worth thinking about.

[devwakey]

Irvine has come out and said he thinks the booing is unfair.

That the team selected is there to attack and they aren't.

Tonight we will see the same line up, the same lack of creativity, the same lack luster performance and the same result!

Irvine maybe a great coach, but he is not doing the business!!! His team line ups are without risk or ambition and we are heading in one direction! No one fears playing us, in fact I'd say we are the team anybody would want to face right now!

Get it wrong tonight and leave in my opinion! Time is not something on our side, give someone with a genuine attacking football philosophy a chance and give the team a fighting chance!

[Kookiebags]

Afternoon All,
                   During the transfer window, when we were regularly mentioned as looking at so and so, attacking minded midfielder, winger with pace, and after watching the world cup and a couple of players catching my eye, then to see we might just pay some cash to get these players in, my optimism for the season peaked, and , behold, the chairman kept his promise, and obliged with the readies.
The optimism died somewhat at the appointment of an unknown coach, with the same backroom staff we have had for at least 3 managers who failed, and then the season begins.
I saw a slight improvement in last years dire performance over the first few games, then the honeymoon period ended.
We now look toothless up front, slow in midfield, and with the majority of our "investment" SITTING ON A BENCH SOMEWHERE NOT REMOTELY CLOSE TO THE PLAYING FIELD, i WONDER WHERE WE GO NEXT.
AI has stuck to his guns, not critiscised the buys that he had little or no say in, but is clearly, to me at least, unprepared to use the tools he has apart from the limited old guard we have assembled as the backbone of our Premier bid.
The likes of Samaras, Wisdom, Gardner, Lescott, Baird and the older players from last season, Brunt, Sess, Berahino, Morrison, Dozza, Mulu, Yac, etc are all pretty much "known elements" and AI knows what to expect from them.
Poco , Gamboa and Davidson have been given a chance, as we did not have any fullbacks to automatically ready to step up when required, and apart from Davidson, they have not done too bad, when asked to. Davidson , at present, is not good enough for the Premier league but it was a gamble.
The others, Ideye, Varela, Blanco have not been anywhere near the first choice, either because they are not good enough, or AI cannot see how to use them correctly, and is Shit scared to experiment after the showing in the league cup.
All in all, a shambles that could quite easily blow up in our faces, and we could end up as bad as the Woolufs were a couple of seasons ago, and wouldnt they love that?
IMO, AI must be braver or GO.
THE FANS WILL FORGIVE A LOT IF HE TRIES ALL OPTIONS AND WE FAIL, BUT SERVING UP DEFENSIVE MINDED DROSS , ESPECIALLY AT HOME, WILL SOON TURN EVEN THE MOST FORGIVING SUPPORTER AGAINST HIM, AND JP WILL WIELD THE AXE AGAIN, AND THEN WE START FROM STEP ONE ALL OVER AGAIN, WHERE THE CHAIRMAN WILL SELECT ANOTHER UNKNOWN WHO IS CHEAP RATHER THAN  PAY FOR THE BETTER MANAGERS OUT THERE, AND WE DO NOT HAVE TO GO ABROAD TO FIND THEM.
Cheers,
           Kookiebags.

PS.
I am not sure how many managers with Premier experience ar currently unemployed, but there are a couple surely lurking around who have some idea of how to use what looks like a fairly useful squad to its full extent?

[Luke_East_Baggie]

I know someone else has on here - but I got on Irvine about a week back to be next out at 16/1. Still 8's now.

I Just think we need to attack more - wether that's different personel, or playing 2 (or even 3!) upfront. We are getting hammered most games because the opposition have no worries in behind them, and can play on the half way line - even when they lose the ball we are miles from their goal.

It's just not good anywhere at the moment. Irvine needs to be more adventurous, and make us less predictable.

[santasabaggie]

Zola?

[wba_1996]

I've said it before, if he does go this club needs a complete restructure. We need a manager not a head coach, at the very least Downing has to go and the new man bring in his own assistant.

[santasabaggie]

Downing out out out out out!

[WBA-Josh]

I've had lots of patience for Irvine this season because even though he was not any of our choices, he deserved the chance to prove to us all that he can coach in this league. He hasn't proved that he has the ability and should be fired if we lose our next 2 matches or even if we lose tonight. Clarke was sacked after 4 straight defeats so Irvine should face the same fate.

---

As for his replacement, my first choice is still Quique Sánchez Flores who we were linked with in January and has also been linked with West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in the past. He has a proven track record of success at Valencia and Atletico Madrid, is a proven tactician, can speak English and has has no problem with removing trouble makers and under performers from the team and even the squad. Diego Forlan is the biggest example of this during his time at Atletico Madrid.

This is Quique in case you guys don't know who he is. I have known him since his Valencia days:

[santasabaggie]

Flores hey,he gets a bunch of from me if he keeps us up.Got to get him in first.