Tommy Elphick is rubbish, sorry if this has offended any of you but i'm afraid he is.

[BensGrandad]

Football is a simple game played by simple men but made difficult by some, I think that was a saying by some manger of note possibly Shankly or Clough.

 

[pasty]

really, neither Elphick or Virgo are bad. we've seen what they can do, we've raved about them in th epast, justly so because they are good players. not brilliant, but good.

Agree. Yesterday their problem was having to cover for El Abd constantly going AWOL from left back.

 

[BensGrandad]

Agree. Yesterday their problem was having to cover for El Abd constantly going AWOL from left back.

What!!!! El Abd was one of the better players yesterday.

Our biggest problem was we had nobody on the left of midfield which would have given us chance to attack them on 2 flanks and pull Gregan out of the middle to cover his full backs, thus leaving a gap in the middle for Dickenson and Forster to exploit, but he is too experienced to get caught out easily.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Look at the Jason Lee - Pineapple on his head senerio a few seasons back, didn't that affect his performances, so yes, crowds on players backs do affect performances, in the same way that signing a players praises and cheering a player on gives them belief.

Would Zamora have been the same player if he got nothing but critism when playing for us, would he have done as well?

Fair point and I understand what you're saying. But, Virgo's defensive ability was pretty low even when he enjoyed the support of the crowd.

Part of me does think that if you crumple under criticism then maybe football is not for you. Besides, players always seem to be full of confidence when asking for a new contract.

 

[Jim D]

Agree. Yesterday their problem was having to cover for El Abd constantly going AWOL from left back.

I would agree with that - esp in first half. He just seemed to follow the play wherever it went and didn't notice their right winger in 30 yards of space. He's a liability in that position.

 

[Jim D]

What!!!! El Abd was one of the better players yesterday.

I guess you couldn't see from the North Stand what was painfully clear from the South.

 

[pasty]

What!!!! El Abd was one of the better players yesterday.

You're having a laugh, right?

 

[bWize]

I think Ninja Elephant should get down off his soap box and open his eyes a little bit... Jesus wept!!

 

[BensGrandad]

I thought that he played quite well but it is the 'in thing' to slag him off. He was not responsible for either goal which is more than could be said of others.

 

[Easy 10]

Oh for a Simon Morgan.

 

[Jim D]

I thought that he played quite well but it is the 'in thing' to slag him off. He was not responsible for either goal which is more than could be said of others.

I'm not an 'anti ElAbd' but I thought he had a poor game yesterday. He was tactically naive and left us completely exposed down the left side. He didn't get much cover from midfield but that made it all the more important that he kept to his position. I didn't notice this so much in the second half, so I assume he was spoken to at half time.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Football is a simple game played by simple men but made difficult by some, I think that was a saying by some manger of note possibly Shankly or Clough.

“Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.” Bill Shankly

 

[HseagullsH]

Agreeing with Bens Grandad, El-Abd had a great game and was one of our best players out there yesterday along with Dicker and Crofts.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Agreeing with Bens Grandad, El-Abd had a great game and was one of our best players out there yesterday along with Dicker and Crofts.

agreed

 

[Spanish Seagulls]

Perhaps if our forwards & midfield did a little more when they had the ball then our defence wouldn't be under constant seige from the fans. Just a thought.

 

[1234andcounting]

Would Zamora have been the same player if he got nothing but critism when playing for us, would he have done as well?

I seem to recall that BZ of blessed memory hardly made the first team at Tottenham and was wildly reviled with the Back of Row Z song at West Ham until he single-handedly took them up through the play-offs in 2004-2005. He hasn't exactly won over all of the Fulham fans, either. However, he has never stopped working and improving and that, ultimately, is what distinguishes a good footballer from an average one, professional pride, hard work, ambition, drive, desire, whatever you want to call it. The trouble is we have precious few at the Albion at the moment - Forster, Harty (who has made a little innate talent travel a tremendous distance), Bennett on initial impression. As for the relatively talented group of youth team players who emerged at roughly the same time, what seems also to unite them is a failure to carry on improving after the age of about 19. And don't get me started on Murray....

 

[northstandsteve]

Slade has had a free hand getting in the players he wanted pre-season (apart from Racon). There have been injuries and al ck of discipline with the sendings off. Having to change the side around particularly at the back always leads to problems.

Elphick has made a number of basic mistakes which have led to goals being conceded but he is not the only one.

We desperately need a good old fashioned centre back to rorganise us, and don't get me started on Kuipers. Poor distribution, slow distribution, puts our forwards under presusure by kicking like an American punter rather than kicking through the ball, mistakes are never his fault, ultimately our back four under pressure with the ball returning quickly after we give up possession. Good shot stopper, but has never been able to organise, and his decisiom making at crossing is apalling and he falps alot these days.. Always been done by others, ie Cullip, Morgan, Butters.

Slade has to be questioned over his loan signings, not shown the so called ability or haven't performed, Hoyt excepted.

Appears to be a poor signing in Dickinson, Forster showing his age (not his fault ) Hart way past his best, even though a golden patch last season.

Midfield with Navarro is woeful. Dicker and Crofts ok, Bennett has ability, but need something extra (Racon) would have been a good answer.

Oldham were poor Gregan overweight but highly experienced, and a good organiser. We picked a defensive set up and we were supposed to be the home side.

Has Slade had his time ?> not sure. If we lose next week against Hartlepool or fail to put in a performance then i think we is gone. Nice fella but is he hard enough. What has happened to our younger players and do we HAVE PLAYERS WHO WANT TO DO WEL FOR US.

Pleny of managers who could be approached, but needs to be the right decision. Shafting Wilkins ( bowing to senior player presssure) was one of the worst decisions in my 45 years as an Albion fan.

No surprise that since Pardew took him to Siants as their coach they have improved immensely, and no surprise they have bought well Hammond and lambert.

We could get a right thumping there in Novemeber and on tele aswell !!!

Mr Bloom needs to consider all the options sooner rather than later !!!

 

[Husty]

What happened to make EVERYONE so angry and miserable? Why must everything on here be about criticising this person, or slagging off that one. As a forum there doesn't seem to be a single player that people won't criticise, except Dicker. You can go through the entire squad and you can bet your life there will be a thread slagging them off, it's a complete nonsense. You all seem to be judging our players by standards that are outrageously unrealistic. You also all seem to lack respect for the team and seem to think football is an easy game to play, and footballers are easy to coach. It's not, and they're not, anyone who has played/coached knows this and for those who haven't, give it a go sometime. You'll be suprised.

Since you clearly havnt f***ing noticed, we are sitting deservedly in the relegation zone, are playing absolutely shit football and have shown zero signs of improvement since stockport, with the exception of bennett, the formations and team selection has been a running bad joke throughout the season and players that showed promise at the start of the season are condemned to the reserves, some mug on the bench seemed to think swapping virgo and hoyte would be a good idea and russell still seems to realise just how much pressure he is under, the players have got zero fight left in them and most of the squad seem happy just to collect their wages, bennett will soon be off because he is far too good for this club at present

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Elf gave Oldham an early Christmas present with his marking when they scored the 2nd goal.