[Albion] A summary of Albion’s 2020/21 season - authors of our own downfalls

[Weststander]

Very positive to stay up. Very positive to play such attractive football and literally not get outclassed completely all season. Clearly making huge improvements.

On the other hand you’re exactly right @<u><a href="https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/member.php?u=21158" target="_blank">Weststander</a></u> - we have a lot to learn still. Game management / silly errors and not seeing games off when we’re so dominant.

Overall it’s a 7/10 season for me. Annoying we can’t go. Great we’ve stayed up. Not enough progress on the points column to reflect it.

I think we need to get a striker and go for it. Even if we lose Biss and or White, we have enough talent there to be ok in those departments. Sell some of the fringe players / those not getting much look in (clear who those are). And use the funds and wages freed up to go for a genuine striker - like that Nunez guy last year - I think we will if the right opportunity presents itself.

My club mojo was 10 in that NSC poll the other day. Based on the total direction of the club.

Losses and poor decision making leading to losses hurt for me. Rinse and repeat, we top the inglorious table of 23 points lost from winning positions this season.

Nest season ....



.... on that front.

 

[GT49er]

...and how many of those were playing today? Just the nice Mr Welbeck.

This club apparently does it's homework on the players but only recruits the socially acceptable ones, what we need are a few nut-jobs to see the games out.

Lallana and Veltman were injured. To most of us, that is a reasonable reason for them not playing today.

 

[Sheebo]

My club mojo was 10 in that NSC poll the other day. Based on the total direction of the club.

Losses and poor decision making leading to losses hurt for me. Rinse and repeat, we top the inglorious table of 23 points lost from winning positions this season.

Nest season ....



.... on that front.

As a positive sidenote, I think most of us would have taken beating dirty Leeds but losing to Wolves. Even more so that playing with 10 men for half the game pretty much lost us the game. The futures still bright

 

[The Camel]

It would have been very different if Lamptey and March hadn't suffered long term injuries.

And if Sanchez and Gross had been regulars from match day 1.

 

[Robinjakarta]

...what we need are a few nut-jobs to see the games out.

What we need is 11 players.

 

[timbha]

Next match. No Lamptey, March, Lallana (?), Veltman (?), Dunk and Maupay.

That’ll test our squad. Need to rely on Fulham losing.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lens]

The highlighting of other teams "game-changers" is stark and their impact on their respective team's results is too. I would temper it slightly on the basis that reliance requires them to be fit, available, engaged at all times. Ultimately, they are not much better than us, for whom relative strength in depth has been our key and differentiating factor vs. teams around us - flirting with relegation (lmaybe harsh on Palace) but always seemingly having enough to stay out of it ultimately. So our next step forward will be to find a game-changer that doesn't compromise our key strength but helps turn draws and narrow defeats into wins and draws.
GP will know this of course better than anyone. Can we find a way to score more when are dominant, or have something different to stretch games and allow us to snatch points. I cannot really remember one game, maybe Burnley away, where we have got anything we didn't feel was deserved, or frankly had no right to get anything. That's unusual, but telling too.

As for yesterday - a Wolves side vs. 10-men, bringing on a player like Traore is not something we have available to us. Izzy was, maybe will be, the closest we have (Lamptey too, maybe even Tau?) but the stretching of the game that he brings, drawing two or more players to him leaving more gaps everywhere else, was ideal for that situation and the Wolves team played it well. We simply don't have that option......yet.

 

[jabba]

Taking the season overall, and our points tally there does not appear to be much change. But. Look at the season as 2 halves. I think that in the second half we have played some good football with confidence (I'm not going to say personality!) so I do believe that we are improving and am looking forward to next season.

 

[southstandandy]

We are just about good enough to stay up every season.

This.

I agree with many on here that we appear to be only 1 or 2 players away from being a more productive side, but even though the footballs pretty the end result season after season at this level is the same.

With our losses from last year of nearly £70m I fully expect the club to allow Biss, White, and Lamptey to be allowed to go if the right offers come in to try to reduce our debts, and don't really see us spending big again this summer as GP's remit has always been largely to work and improve what we have. I would expect Zeqiri and Andone (if he's fit) to get more of a chance next season, and if Wellbeck can be retained I think that would be a major bonus.

As hopefull as we all like to be at the start of any new season, realistically I expect us to be in a similar position again next season, which I'm not unhappy with. We might have a one off season where everything goes right and we do a Wolves from last year, but for the most part being the 15th or 16th best team in England is pretty decent in my view.

 

[zefarelly]

Next match. No Lamptey, March, Lallana (?), Veltman (?), Dunk and Maupay.

That’ll test our squad. Need to rely on Fulham losing.

Which is a problem, we've changed a lot but not progressed in that specific area . . . like going from diesel to petrol, more refined but less economic and no faster.

 

[maltaseagull]

Generally agree. We seem to tire at the end of some matches. Today Maupay could hardly raise a trot at the end. This highlights our relatively weak bench in that we have little in reserve to come on and make a difference. I can’t remember the last time one of our subs came on and made a real impact.
We rode our luck in the last 20 mins today but to give Wolves credit they had kept their match winner in reserve to hit us when we were at our most vulnerable.
Our absentees, March, Lamptey, Veltman and Lallana didn’t get a mention today. Just imagine how different it would have been with them in the squad today.

I am not sure that the two I put in bold are likely to be that regular starters for us.

To really progress we need to get two full/wing backs with real pace and a striker who can actually score for us!

Welbeck is a great addition and I really hope we can keep him but he needs a goal poacher to play with him.
Maupay is a good player and works really hard for the team but his finishing skills have vanished in most games.

 

[nicko31]

I really can't believe how well we've played this season in the top flight of English football, find it hard to think of a game where we were bad for both halves of the match

Yet its nearly mid May and we still aren't 100% safe. Really just want it over now