[Slick_Footwork]

That has to be the nail in the coffin for Bruce, surely...

1 win in 9 with this squad is nowhere near good enough.

Don't get me wrong, Bruce hasn't been dealt a good hand with the players he inherited, who clearly are out of their depth at this level. Nor can he be blamed for so many terrible performances tonight.

TGH and Yokuslu as bad as I've seen them. Diangana and Swift useless. Bartley and Button absolutely jokers. Grant totally anonymous.

Not that the likes of Mulumby and Townsend were much better...

But what I do blame Bruce for is the fact we've got no pattern of play at all. Can't really see any sort of cohesion between the players. Despite so many gash players, our squad is better than this.

I appreciate whoever comes in isn't going to get this disjointed mess of a squad promoted. It's far too imbalanced and there are too many players who are either average championship players at best. But what I would like to see is improvement. Our business this summer was a lot better than last year, but we've still gone backwards and the blame has to be with Bruce.

All these free transfers yet no budget to resign Andy Carroll who is the type of player we're crying out for now Wallace is in the squad? Clearly that's a Bruce's decision...

The only positives were the performances of Thomas Asante and Pieters. They both need to start on Saturday. Grant and Townsend have been treading water for too long. I do hope Rogic gets fit sooner rather than later too, because as much as I hate to say it, I'm losing faith in Grady's ability to play at this level with every passing game.

[BaggieSteve]

I didn't see the game (don't have Sky) but followed it online and have read all the comments, both during and after the game. It sounds wretched and, whilst Bruce cannot be blamed for individual errors on the pitch, he's clearly not getting anywhere near the best out of this squad of players.

Accepting the comment from Slick that too many are average/below average Championship quality, nevertheless I cannot believe that players such as Swift, Wallace, Yokuslu, Diangana, O'Shea, and TGH have become poor overnight; that we are only above the relegation places on goal difference with the players we have is appalling. For that, Bruce is responsible.

I agree with Slick that the decision not to offer Andy Carroll a short term/one year contract was crass in the extreme, even with the problems associated with Zohore's contract. Grant is unable to impose himself on a defence and usually requires four chances to score one. With the ability of Wallace, Diangana and Swift to deliver crosses into the box, it cries out for Carroll. Whilst the injury to Ajayi is very unfortunate, we have to question the decision not to pursue the signing of Matt Clarke and the loaning of Kipre to Cardiff.

It's not unreasonable to assume that we will lose at Norwich on Saturday, possible heavily. At that point, what price Bruce? Personally, I'd like to see him gone, I feel he is not moving the club forward at all, in fact, an all honesty, we're going backwards.

Don't ask me who to appoint in his place, because I don't know but that is no reason to hold onto a poor performing manager.

[baggietrousers]

First game I've seen this season, after swearing at the end of last that I wouldn't watch another whilst Bruce was in charge, and boy oh boy do I wish I'd stuck to my guns!!
If this is the shite that's been served up then god help us because we are heading in to league 1 with this clown as manager.
Like I said, first game I've seen this season, and maybe some of these players just had an off day but;
Button is awful, possibly a decent back up keeper but no way a first choice number 1.
TGH, what has happened to one of our brightest talents. He looked decent going forward and put in one great saving tackle but no where near the potential of last year.
Bartley and Townsend absolute dross and O'Shea not much better.
Yokuslu completely underwhelming but I suppose when your midfield partner is Molumby it is understandable that your own game suffers when you have no one to work with and are constantly trying to the job of two men.
Diangana is a luxury we can't afford and I didn't realise Grant was even playing until he was subbed off. Both completely out of their depths.
There were some decent balls into the box from Wallace just waiting for Carroll to get his head to, but as someone else has already pointed out, Bruce saw fit not to retain his services preferring instead the aerial prowess and predatory instincts of Grant. If that just doesn't tell you all you need to know about the most useless manager this club has had in decades, then I don't know what will.
Not seen enough of Asante or Pieters to pass judgement on them, but seen plenty of Phillips and Livermore in the past to know the Albion have no future under the current management and with the current under performing squad.

[drewks]

.... and we probably don't even have the money to pay Bruce off

[Baggiebob(BBB)]

Doomed. Doomed I say. And doomed are those statistics that Ska'd so cleverly mentioned.
I wonder what it's like in Division 1? Although saying that, we have only lost twice this season.

Though some are again mentioning we have the worst manager ever, and though he is bad and Newcastle were glad to get rid - he isn't on the field with his boots on, it's the players who aren't performing for him, his formation, so there's definately a problem in the dressing room as we do have good players who are under performing.

I did mention at the time it was a mistake letting Carroll go, but with having a useless and gready Chinese owner and no funds, plus with Carroll's high wages, I can see why he was let go.

It's going to take a lot to get back in contention for even the play-offs, so those draws need now to be converted to a win, and if nothing improves Bruce to be sacked for a young hungrier manager from the lower divisions to give that boost and style of paly that the players enjoy, and then we could see the baggies we all love to see.

Her endest the doomsday psalm.

[WBA-Josh]

While I agree that Bruce should go, do we trust the club to make the right choice of replacement? I sure as shit don't.

What we could do with is someone like Lukas Kwasniok. A young coach with fresh tactical ideas and an appetite for exciting football. His Paderborn side has scored 24 goals in 8 matches so far this season.

[BaggieSteve]

Josh, our track record of appointing managers is dire.

Having held onto Tony P for far too long (although we could defend under him, as I recall), we now seem to have adopted an approach of short termism (Bilic and Ismael), each followed by the unsuccessful appointment of a dinosaur (Allardyce and Bruce) to get us out of the holes that the previous two managers had allegedly dug.

I have absolutely no faith that, should we dismiss Bruce (and I think we should because, irrespective of individual errors on the pitch, he’s clearly not motivating these players) we will make a sensible appointment; and in the unlikely event that we do appoint a young, ambitious manager as you suggest, we’ll sack him and replace him with a past-it old fart (I think the only one of the usual suspects we’ve not had yet is Mark Hughes, currently at Bradford).

Regardless of what you think of Simon Jordan, he made the valid point that Steve Bruce was appointed to get West Brom promoted from the Championship, not keep them in it

[Baggievicar]

I was looking on The Huddersfield board yesterday and they're having to look into the bottom of some fairly uninspiring barrels to replace Schofield. I think we'd be in the same position.
Steve, there's Chris Hughton as well. At least he was a defender (but then so was Bruce).

[BaggieSteve]

I was looking on The Huddersfield board yesterday and they're having to look into the bottom of some fairly uninspiring barrels to replace Schofield. I think we'd be in the same position.
Steve, there's Chris Hughton as well. At least he was a defender (but then so was Bruce).

I forgot about Hughton, Vic! Add him into the mix

I'm surprised there haven't been calls to appoint Derek McInnes. Loved him as a player but not as a manager, his time at Aberdeen was very mixed and the football was pretty awful. In all honesty, he probably stayed there two seasons too long but, if you're the Dons manager, your minimum is to finish third behind the Old Firm and to give them some decent games. It didn't really work out that way during the last few seasons for him. He's now at Killie where his goal is to stay up, and that will be a challenge.

[WBA-Josh]

Button
Furlong - O'Shea - Townsend - Pieters
Molumby - Livermore
Wallace - Swift - Diangana
Thomas-Asante