[Albion] Fab OUT

[jackalbion]

Who is baffled ? And when was the last time it worked ? Looked like the desperate move of someone who had run out of ideas which is a bit of a worry, particularly when none of our crosses had threatened all afternoon anyway.

Fully agree, the concerning thing for me, was the quality of delivery (who delivered the cross last season for an equaliser against a low block Everton ) not 100% sure what the manager can do about that when the quality of player isn't performing. Have we failed to replace an integral part of the team?

 

[dazzer6666]

Fully agree, the concerning thing for me, was the quality of delivery (who delivered the cross last season for an equaliser against a low block Everton ) not 100% sure what the manager can do about that when the quality of player isn't performing. Have we failed to replace an integral part of the team?

O’Riley seemed to be in the frame but has hardly played. I like Ayari but his set piece delivery hasn’t been very good so far

 

[Uh_huh_him]

i must admit everytime 10,000 fans should "shoooooooooot" I always think to myself how off putting that must be!

I did quite like hearing it when Verbruggen came up to play the ball on the half way line, though.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I did quite like hearing it when Verbruggen came up to play the ball on the half way line, though.

Both keepers did a few daft walkabouts on Saturday, it was all quite strange

 

[jackalbion]

A conversation with Mark McGhee who told him what a masterstroke sticking Adam Virgo up front turned out to be?

I do wonder if we’d be having any RDZ and GP conversations if we had a clue what FH’s tactics were and more faith was being shown in him by fans than is actually happening. Everyone is saying “give him time” whilst many are concerned that he MIGHT turn out to be an upmarket Hyypia….

Definitely people need to show more faith in him, the benefit of the doubt that Potter received is much higher than what FH has got, he's 9th with a massive injury list and having to replace one of our best and most integral players (possibly greatest ever player).

 

[Flounce]

Definitely people need to show more faith in him, the benefit of the doubt that Potter received is much higher than what FH has got, he's 9th with a massive injury list and having to replacement one of our best and most integral players (possibly greatest ever player).

True, can you imagine how toxic the Amex would be if a returning Potter had overseen our recent games at the Amex

 

[jackalbion]

True, can you imagine how toxic the Amex would be if a returning Potter had overseen our recent games at the Amex

Not to use his words, but there is HISTORY there, people are willing to give time to something new, not the same old story we've seen before

 

[chaileyjem]

Who is baffled ? And when was the last time it worked ? Looked like the desperate move of someone who had run out of ideas which is a bit of a worry, particularly when none of our crosses had threatened all afternoon anyway.

He came on in the 92nd minute - so yes. It was the last throw of the dice. Bit like sending Bart going up front for the final corner. Most managers do this pragmatic sort of stuff in injury time.
Its the idea that it somehow frames him as desperate. Its a very minor thing.
On other hand struggling to beat not one of Southampton, Ipswich, Everton, Palace, Brentford and Wolves at home has to be laid at his door, its worrying and frustrating.. And if he didn't have wins v City, United (twice), Newscastle, Bournemouth and good performances v Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool and a decent 9th place in the league i'd be very worried. We're also still well placed for a Europe push and an historic 9th season in the PL is all but guaranteed.
And a lot of those decent performances and wins and points have been down to his smart substitutions and tactical changes.
But sending Adam Webster up front to win a few headers with a few minutes to go means nothing.

 

[Brian Munich]

January market is always difficult, hardly any movement in this one either. We don't know whether there were unsuccessful efforts to strengthen. The £200m this summer makes it worse because impossible to imagine RDZ wasn't told there were reinforcements to come. Wasn't enough for him though was it.

You're right. We have made some great Jan signings that have gone straight into the senior sqaud in the past, but that was when we were in the Championship. When in the 2nd tier there's a chance you'll be able to attract players who are on the periphery of squads in 1st tiers in other countries.

Now we're in the world's best league, the sort of players that are good enough to get straight into our team generally aren't available mid-season. Reason being that they're most likely already highly valued and potentially playing every week for another team at an equivalent level, or they're absolutely vital for the promotion hopes of a team in the level below. The only reason we stood a chance with Dewsbury-Hall was because Leicester were in a potential tricky spot with FFP.

 

[Machiavelli]

Who is baffled ? And when was the last time it worked ? Looked like the desperate move of someone who had run out of ideas which is a bit of a worry, particularly when none of our crosses had threatened all afternoon anyway.

It was the last throw of the dice by FH. He'd made several tactical changes in an attempt to break down their deep/low block, including but not limited to:
-- going to 3 at the back for the second half
-- putting Baleba at LB so we had the potential for a left-footed player overlapping on that side
-- putting Webster as a CF so we could put aerial crosses in having not done so previously (understandable in my view given the height/heading ability of our players versus their defenders)

 

[Stato]

To suggest it’s anything close to Sami as a bump is really stretching it. We’re 9th !

Very true. It's also worth considering that as well as being the youngest manager, in his first season in the EPL, FH is also managing the youngest squad we've ever had in the EPL. Here's a little graphic with numbers taken from Transfermarkt to show how this has changed over our seasons in the EPL. I'd add that this squad, as well as being our youngest, is behind only Chelsea's army of wonder kids 2023/24 & 2024/25 as the youngest squad any team has put out in any season since we've been in the division.

Season	Average Squad Age	League Comparision
2017/18	27.4	16th youngest squad
2018/19	27.2	16th youngest squad
2019/20	26.4	12th youngest squad
2020/21	25.8	6th youngest squad
2021/22	26	7th youngest squad
2022/23	25.7	4th youngest squad
2023/24	25.5	7th youngest squad
2024/25	24.4	2nd youngest squad

This isn't an excuse for not winning games we would have hoped to win. It was our club's decision to invest in youth and that come with risks, like inexperience and inconsistency. However for me, it does show that we are in a planned transition period; Our youngest ever EPL squad, choosing a very young manager with no experience in the top flight, our most money spent on new signings; €244.2m bringing in 10 players, 7 of whom are 22 or younger. This is one of Tony's building seasons. Hopefully, we will reap the rewards of this going forward, but it's not at all easy and the challenges will be frustrating to fans. Dull though it is, Hurzeler's 'Trust the process' is all we can do, if we're not going to tear it all up and start again. Previous manager's of ours would perhaps have used the phrase 'Keep the faith', 'tiny margins' or 'eet's complicated'. It's all the same thing: We're forever trying to compete with opponents who could buy and sell us several times over and we have to work in different ways to compete.

Annoying that we lost 1-0 to a team that had 9 players for part of the game, but at least this time, it wasn't for an hour. Let's hope our manager and players learn something from Moyes' pragmatism. Over time, this kind of kick in the teeth can be character building.

 

[oldboyroy]

Was chatting to a few Everton fans and they think we're a brilliantly run club and recruitment, something they've failed on for years!.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Was chatting to a few Everton fans and they think we're a brilliantly run club and recruitment, something they've failed on for years!.

Was also chatting to a few Everton fans and they think we're a happy hunting ground for away points and have been for years!

 

[oldboyroy]

Was also chatting to a few Everton fans and they think we're a happy hunting ground for away points and have been for years!

Likewise us up at their place in recent years

 

[Stato]

Likewise us up at their place in recent years

Yes, I've a close friend who's an Everton fan and we've always joked that if we let them win at ours and they let us win at theirs we'll end up with three points each, instead of the two we'd each get if they were both draws.

 

[UnhingedSeagull94]

i must admit everytime 10,000 fans should "shoooooooooot" I always think to myself how off putting that must be!

Albion player steps 2 yards into opposition half.
Half the ground: shooooooot

 

[UnhingedSeagull94]

Fully agree, the concerning thing for me, was the quality of delivery (who delivered the cross last season for an equaliser against a low block Everton ) not 100% sure what the manager can do about that when the quality of player isn't performing. Have we failed to replace an integral part of the team?

2 years on the spin now. We didn’t replace AMA or Caicedo. Now we haven’t replaced Gross. Can’t do it all with kids!

 

[Weststander]

You're right. We have made some great Jan signings that have gone straight into the senior sqaud in the past, but that was when we were in the Championship. When in the 2nd tier there's a chance you'll be able to attract players who are on the periphery of squads in 1st tiers in other countries.

Now we're in the world's best league, the sort of players that are good enough to get straight into our team generally aren't available mid-season. Reason being that they're most likely already highly valued and potentially playing every week for another team at an equivalent level, or they're absolutely vital for the promotion hopes of a team in the level below. The only reason we stood a chance with Dewsbury-Hall was because Leicester were in a potential tricky spot with FFP.

Great deals can be done in January. Two years ago Bmuff were near certs for the drop at New Year, they brought in 6 players with pace and creativity. Transformed. Loans and buys. Richard Hughes was their transfers guru, now at Liverpool.

Semenyo
Quattara
Randolph
Vina
Hamed Traore
Zabarnyi

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Albion player steps 2 yards into opposition half.
Half the ground: shooooooot

EPL in its infinite wisdom all decided overnight that playing out from the back was the way to go. Despite all EPL defenders hating it and it all breaking down ten passes later in midfield anyway.

The next big EPL breakthough will be how to break down a team that just comes to park the bus. Then they'll all be doing it. Would like to think we'll be first to crack that particular nut. Won't be holding my breath tho

 

[dazzer6666]

2 years on the spin now. We didn’t replace AMA or Caicedo. Now we haven’t replaced Gross. Can’t do it all with kids!

We did, but he got injured (Jack)