01-10-2015, 18:19
![[Image: DSC_0081.jpg]](http://s8.postimg.org/rsevxx9zp/DSC_0081.jpg)
Cyrille fires past future Baggie Paul Barron to secure three points at Selhurst Park, 4th October 1980
Following the events of Monday night, and having now concluded an unusually prolonged session of punching the cat*, I'm going to use this space to set out a few thoughts on where Albion currently stand, largely because it's preferable to pondering the chances that Pulis will be able to foil Palace's inevitable revenge against him for a second time this year.
[*On the advice of my lawyer, I'd like to clarify that I do not in fact punch cats, and nor should you. Hamsters are much easier on the knuckles.]
1. Most comfortable mid-table teams in the Premier League in any given season have the ability to field a back four & holding midfielder(s) who are both confident and effective in snuffing out attacks without the need for added protection. While "defending as a team" might be relied on every now and then - usually as part of a general counter-attacking strategy - most of the time attacking players aren't required to retreat behind the ball the moment possession is lost.
2. The last time Albion had this kind of consistent balance between defence and attack was in autumn 2012. Since then, successive managers have, to one degree or another, put the emphasis on us defending as a team. Crucially, they've done this out of necessity. Lack of pace, loss of form, and in some cases the decline of ability with age severely limited the capabilities of our defenders, and our recruitment through several transfer windows added to these problems rather than addressing them. Had we left our defence exposed in every match over the last two seasons, relegation would have ensued, and I think the same goes this season. Whoever you put in charge, there's no wishing that away.
3. Defending as a team is the principal reason for us keeping so many clean sheets; breaking us down is like fiddling with a Rubiks cube, and many teams just can't solve it. However, when we DO concede, we tend to let in an absolute hatful - three or four goals, usually - because we have no plan B for teams with the necessary pace and guile to open us up. I'd describe this as the footballing equivalent of treading water: this style of play will keep us up as long as we have someone in charge who can do it effectively enough to make the clean sheets outweigh the drubbings, but should there come a day when we can't find such a person, then we'll be the first to drown.
4. A decent Premier League defence should be able to deal with most threats from teams on a par with them without the need for added "protection" beyond the holding midfielders. They may not lead the league in clean sheets, but they'll keep their fair share, and it'll be rare for them to concede more than two goals in a game; one goal conceded would be about the norm, and shouldn't be cause for concern as long as your attacking players have the freedom and quality to also find the net. This is what I hope we intend to evolve towards, but the signings which should be the basis of this evolution have seemed desperately hit-and-miss. There's still time for many to prove themselves, and I hope they do (I'm keeping my powder dry on individual players for another month or two at least), but on the evidence so far, we have a long, long way to go.
An attempt at ending on a positive note: it's easy to forget, in the horror of what happened during the last half-hour on Monday night, that for the first hour we looked the same comfortable, confident team who bossed Villa a week or so ago. It is, in so many ways, a step forwards and two steps back. I hope we can bounce back quickly and recapture that glimpse of good form, because this autumn will be a very rocky road otherwise.
![[Image: West_Bromwich_Albions_James_Morrison_celebrates.png]](http://s22.postimg.org/uyhjgcs5t/West_Bromwich_Albions_James_Morrison_celebrates.png)
Brunty and Mozza open the scoring at Selhurst Park, 18th April 2015
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley
