Ok chaps, I'll say this slowly for the hard of thinking.

[Stat Brother]

WE


HAVE


OUR


BEST


SQUAD


EVER

I like everyone else am scared by this fact.
Every single one of us is in completely uncharted water.
Our manager can put 11 players on the pitch and know there are at least 11 more who could do the job instead.

So Vicente ISN'T out of favour, KLL ISN'T being a tw@t, Noone ISN'T paying for it for supporting liverpool.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

WE


HAVE


OUR


BEST


SQUAD


EVER

I like everyone else am scared by this fact.
Every single one of us is in completely uncharted water.
Our manager can put 11 players on the pitch and know there are at least 11 more who could do the job instead.

So Vicente ISN'T out of favour, KLL ISN'T being a tw@t, Noone ISN'T paying for it for supporting liverpool.

Best squad but not best team.

 

[Curious Orange]

Best squad but not best team.

Still our best team in over twenty years though... so for a good portion of our support this is the best Albion side they've ever seen.

 

[kjgood]

Although I understand where your coming from, i'm afraid i have to disagree. 13th place in what is now the Premiership in 81-82, probably suggests the squad in that time was the better. Remember although relegated from the 1st Division (Premiership) in 83 the squad also got to the Cup Final, when the FA Cup was the FA Cup.

I would agree though that this squad is probably the best squad since that time.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Surely the BEST ever was the squad/team that finished 13th in the TOP FLIGHT?

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Although I understand where your coming from, i'm afraid i have to disagree. 13th place in what is now the Premiership in 81-82, probably suggests the squad in that time was the better. Remember although relegated from the 1st Division (Premiership) in 83 the squad also got to the Cup Final, when the FA Cup was the FA Cup.

I would agree though that this squad is probably the best squad since that time.

Agree with this. Arguably the standard was higher in the old Division 1 than it is now.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Surely the BEST ever was the squad/team that finished 13th in the TOP FLIGHT?

And I saw this team so I'm not in uncharted water.

 

[Blackadder]

Although I understand where your coming from, i'm afraid i have to disagree. 13th place in what is now the Premiership in 81-82, probably suggests the squad in that time was the better. Remember although relegated from the 1st Division (Premiership) in 83 the squad also got to the Cup Final, when the FA Cup was the FA Cup.

I would agree though that this squad is probably the best squad since that time.

Agreed. This squad will hopefully evolve into the best ever over the next couple of seasons.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The last time we finished the season higher than our current position was 1991. This squad (and team) is better than that one. That'll do for me.

 

[brightn'ove]

For me, and anybody under 25 this is the best albion squad we have ever seen. I just wish i could have seen the 79-83 albion to compare.

 

[Joey Deacon's Disco Suit]

Never mind Stat Brother. Go away, have a think and see if you can't come up with another extremely patronising thread that will make you feel all self-important.

 

[ROSM]

I think football has evolved into more of a 'squad' game in the last 8 years of so. Prior to that most teams had a very clear first choice 11.

Going back to 82 and 83, there was one sub in those days and if you think that our one sub was maybe Mck kerslake, or Mike Ring or perhaps Kieran O Regan* then it hits home how our 'squad' is probably better equipped albeit that our team may not be as good as that first choice eleven.

*before someone says it, I do realise that we also had at times an irish international (Gerry Ryan) as our one sub, or that Neil Mcnab could be dropped completely from the squad despite being a scottish international etc

 

[cw00]

Meh, I still prefer holroyd up front and the hawk at the back

 

[Publius Ovidius]

I think football has evolved into more of a 'squad' game in the last 8 years of so. Prior to that most teams had a very clear first choice 11.

Going back to 82 and 83, there was one sub in those days and if you think that our one sub was maybe Mck kerslake, or Mike Ring or perhaps Kieran O Regan* then it hits home how our 'squad' is probably better equipped albeit that our team may not be as good as that first choice eleven.

*before someone says it, I do realise that we also had at times an irish international (Gerry Ryan) as our one sub, or that Neil Mcnab could be dropped completely from the squad despite being a scottish international etc

neil mcmenace...now there is a blast from the past.

 

[The Maharajah of Sydney]

For me, and anybody under 25 this is the best albion squad we have ever seen. I just wish i could have seen the 79-83 albion to compare.

75-79 was much more enjoyable than 79-83 .

 

[catfish]

neil mcmenace...now there is a blast from the past.

Possibly the ugliest player we've ever had!!

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Possibly the ugliest player we've ever had!!

and he suffered from teh Curbishley Crab sideways movement....can you ever remember mcmenace playing a ball forward.

 

[leigull]

This thread is like what Sky have done to the top division and wiped out all history prior to the Premier League being formed.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

The last time we finished the season higher than our current position was 1991. This squad (and team) is better than that one. That'll do for me.

They say league tables dont lie so I would have to disagree

 

[ROSM]

They say league tables dont lie so I would have to disagree

The closest ANY English League team had come (and maybe is still the case) to being promoted with a NEGATIVE goal difference.

We finished the season on minus 6 I believe and even with the play offs taken into acount we were still -2 going into the Notts County match.

I cried that afternoon and blame David Ellery for their first goal (NEVER a corner).

We had Rep od Ireland international John Byrne as one of our 2 subs that day (Ian Chapman was the other), and Nelson wasnt even in the squad (after being told in the toilets at Wembley). But I do see Lord B's point about how more rounded our squad is now (with 5 good subs and quality still not even on the bench) albeit the starting 11 may just be comparable.