[Albion] Appalling Quality All Round - Dreadful

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Bloom will be supporting Potter because he knows how to crunch numbers, so will realise we are in many ways, in the best place we’ve ever been as a club. Can’t wait for us to beat Palace, who are in a false position btw, even if to just stop the plastic Albion fans who love to frequent NSC when we’ve had a few disappointing results.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....arsenal-tottenham-spurs-leicester?_format=amp

Well played young man - great to read a positive thread about the team we all support

 

[Albion Prem]

We’re certainly NOT on track to:

“Staying in the Premier League isn't enough. What we want to do is to be a top 10 Premier League club."

A bottom 6 squad, bottom 6 results, it’s touch and go as to whether we’ll be playing league football against Rotherham next season.

Do you for one small moment think we could be in the top ten teams in the Premier league?, they have a huge financial backing to sign and pay the very top players in the world,outside of these teams its a struggle to keep above the relegation zone.

 

[Albion Prem]

Amen to this.

We still got the draw
Fact we were given an own goal

 

[Cheshire Cat]

At this rate, if we don't go down this season, we will next time. You can't stay just above relegation for long. Eventually it will get us, like it has so many others who were "too good to go down", but did. Many have never returned.

Are we here for the long term, or just a quick holiday before we fall back to our natural level (wherever that may be)?

 

[Machiavelli]

I’d agree with the last bit - there’s a spectrum of glass half full, to glass half empty personalities, with many in between.

No one here, unless they’re a troll furtively supporting another club, wishes the team and club ill.

After 11 matches without a win, many (like you?) appear to feel that PL wins are definitely around the corner, there are several squads/first teams inferior to us and that we’re staying up.

Many others are very concerned. P’d off with Potter, or, with parts of the squad he has to work with.

No one is right or wrong, or a superior or inferior supporter. Only time will tell, by April/May all will be revealed.


I’d add one thing. Bloom won’t be happy with our current league predicament. Last Feb/MarApr we all assumed that he was calmly supportive of CH and our position, the opposite of a NSC bedwetter. We couldn’t have been more wrong .... the playing side of the club was putting his PL dream and £300m investment in jeopardy. A year on, it’s on a knife edge yet again.

With only one win, just to get the accuracy right.
Speaking of which we could do with a win: I make it we'll need 38 to stay up, so we need 11 from 8 games (I'm writing Wolves, Leicester, Man City and Liverpool off); that's 2 wins and 5 draws, 3 wins and 2 draws, or 4 wins.
I still think we're capable of doing that. I don't buy the comparison with last season either. CH had worked wonders over 4 years, but we dived whichever way you see it from the time we entered 2019. We haven't dived this season. Sure, we've got some problems, but we've got a young, progressive manager, and a squad that's looking more positive than last year (although with some glaring problems: Webster out of form, Gross looking due an extended time on the sidelines, the lack of pace that you highlight and, most especially, not enough in the striker department). I'm of the view that Bloom will stick with Potter throughout this season, and retain him even if we do get relegated. The squad and the players reaching their potential (Alzate, White, Maupay, Webster, Lamptey, etc) are all Potter players.

 

[big nuts]

At this rate, if we don't go down this season, we will next time. You can't stay just above relegation for long. Eventually it will get us, like it has so many others who were "too good to go down", but did. Many have never returned.

Are we here for the long term, or just a quick holiday before we fall back to our natural level (wherever that may be)?

Coventry survived for 34 years & Southampton 27. I’m sure they had a few decent seasons but my recollection is of them struggling pretty much year in year out.

Fact is not many clubs nowadays won’t flirt with relegation. Half of the league are currently looking over their shoulders with 11/12 games to go.

 

[Weststander]

Do you for one small moment think we could be in the top ten teams in the Premier league?, they have a huge financial backing to sign and pay the very top players in the world,outside of these teams its a struggle to keep above the relegation zone.

Probably not, but it’s TB’s aspirational plan.

 

[zefarelly]

Coventry survived for 34 years & Southampton 27. I’m sure they had a few decent seasons but my recollection is of them struggling pretty much year in year out.

Fact is not many clubs nowadays won’t flirt with relegation. Half of the league are currently looking over their shoulders with 11/12 games to go.

This is the bigger picture, 10-11 teams within a few wins of a relegation place/mid table. It's far too close to call, and will no doubt go to the wire.

The last day of the season could be very very twitchy indeed.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

I’d agree with the last bit - there’s a spectrum of glass half full, to glass half empty personalities, with many in between.

No one here, unless they’re a troll furtively supporting another club, wishes the team and club ill.

After 11 matches without a win, many (like you?) appear to feel that PL wins are definitely around the corner, there are several squads/first teams inferior to us and that we’re staying up.

Many others are very concerned. P’d off with Potter, or, with parts of the squad he has to work with.

No one is right or wrong, or a superior or inferior supporter. Only time will tell, by April/May all will be revealed.


I’d add one thing. Bloom won’t be happy with our current league predicament. Last Feb/MarApr we all assumed that he was calmly supportive of CH and our position, the opposite of a NSC bedwetter. We couldn’t have been more wrong .... the playing side of the club was putting his PL dream and £300m investment in jeopardy. A year on, it’s on a knife edge yet again.

Interestingly after the win at Arsenal, we were 4 pts off the relegation zone and 3 pts behind Palace.
Now we are 3 pts off the relegation zone and 3 pts behind Palace.
Admittedly we are 2 places lower

I'm not sure what this proves other than the division is very competitive and our run of form, whilst not great, isn't as bad as many think it is.

 

[Napper]

Interestingly after the win at Arsenal, we were 4 pts off the relegation zone and 3 pts behind Palace.
Now we are 3 pts off the relegation zone and 3 pts behind Palace.
Admittedly we are 2 places lower

I'm not sure what this proves other than the division is very competitive and our run of form, whilst not great, isn't as bad as many think it is.

2nd bottom of the form league ahead of Palace

Made worse by the fact our last 4 on paper were all winnable

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/formtabelle/wettbewerb/GB1

 

[Megazone]

2nd bottom of the form league ahead of Palace

Made worse by the fact our last 4 on paper were all winnable

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/formtabelle/wettbewerb/GB1

and yet we've got the best goal difference in the bottom half, scored the joint 2nd most goals in the bottom half, and conceded the joint 3rd least goals.

It's not losing games which is our problem. It's turning draws into wins which we're not succeeding in at the moment. Last year it was a case of us being able to hang on to draws. Now it's a case of how we figure out how to use our dominance better which we're not doing at the moment. I think we really failed in not bringing in pace upfront. I'm starting to wonder if Jose upfront could be the solution?

But yeah, Potter out....

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

The vegan spicy roll was excellent....and I eat animals n stuff.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I’d agree with the last bit - there’s a spectrum of glass half full, to glass half empty personalities, with many in between.

No one here, unless they’re a troll furtively supporting another club, wishes the team and club ill.

After 11 matches without a win, many (like you?) appear to feel that PL wins are definitely around the corner, there are several squads/first teams inferior to us and that we’re staying up.

Many others are very concerned. P’d off with Potter, or, with parts of the squad he has to work with.

No one is right or wrong, or a superior or inferior supporter. Only time will tell, by April/May all will be revealed.


I’d add one thing. Bloom won’t be happy with our current league predicament. Last Feb/MarApr we all assumed that he was calmly supportive of CH and our position, the opposite of a NSC bedwetter. We couldn’t have been more wrong .... the playing side of the club was putting his PL dream and £300m investment in jeopardy. A year on, it’s on a knife edge yet again.

I guess if we do go 11 without a win I'll come back on here more despondently.....

But from the last 11 (with 1 win) we've lost Everton away, Bournemouth away, Spurs away and Sheffield at home. 1 win and 6 draws. Would be oh so lovely to turn some of those draws into wins, but I suppose its all swings and roundabouts. Four of those draws we were losing and came back, three we were in front and were pegged back (did both against Wolves).

There is resilience there, and there is talent there, and I just have to Keep the Faith because I can definitely see the seeds of something special and I don't want to lose sight of that. Concerned, of course. Nervous, of course. But we're just one of 7 teams who are worried, and they will all be in a similar place to us.

I'm also still Excited. Despite the fact we have just played out a draw with Watford at home in the premier league (oh the shame!!!), there is still no better time to be an Albion supporter.

We're still on the journey, we're not at the destination yet, there is still more to come...

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

At this rate, if we don't go down this season, we will next time. You can't stay just above relegation for long. Eventually it will get us, like it has so many others who were "too good to go down", but did. Many have never returned.

Are we here for the long term, or just a quick holiday before we fall back to our natural level (wherever that may be)?

Well exactly. This is exactly why Tony Bloom has been planning his farm for the long-term, not just the here and now. Its might be short-term risky business not putting all the financial eggs in the staying-up basket, but the eggs laid elsewhere in the youth team and U23's acquisitions and the training set up and behind the scenes management promise some pretty fancy future chickens, and, hmmmm, thats an analogy thats run its course

So I honestly believe we are here for the long-term. It might include a season or two in the championship along the way, it may well involve more managers and completely different players, but we're putting down way too many top-level roots for this to be just a quick holiday.

I don't know how other clubs have planned their premier league stays, but Bournemouth and Palace don't strike me as teams that are doing all the other stuff. Neither did Swansea, Stoke, Wigan, Huddersfield or Bolton look like they knew how to keep going when they went down, and we know what Pompey did of course.

Whether it is ever possible to build like that outside of the traditionally 'massive' clubs, who knows? You probably always get stuck at some point with a shite manager and primadona players, or a crippling injury list, its whether you stick or twist at these times, sacrifice longer-term growth for the short-term staying in the premier league. Certainly the huge amount of cash is hard to do away with, so six months of Allardyce or Moyes or Pearson might seem worth it for the greater good. I can see what West Ham have been trying to do, and Watford too. Its when it doesn't work and you are down anyway with the striker on 100 grand a week a de-motivated team and a managerial merry-go-round that the slippage really happens.

 

[Weststander]

Well exactly. This is exactly why Tony Bloom has been planning his farm for the long-term, not just the here and now. Its might be short-term risky business not putting all the financial eggs in the staying-up basket, but the eggs laid elsewhere in the youth team and U23's acquisitions and the training set up and behind the scenes management promise some pretty fancy future chickens, and, hmmmm, thats an analogy thats run its course

So I honestly believe we are here for the long-term. It might include a season or two in the championship along the way, it may well involve more managers and completely different players, but we're putting down way too many top-level roots for this to be just a quick holiday.

I don't know how other clubs have planned their premier league stays, but Bournemouth and Palace don't strike me as teams that are doing all the other stuff. Neither did Swansea, Stoke, Wigan, Huddersfield or Bolton look like they knew how to keep going when they went down, and we know what Pompey did of course.

Whether it is ever possible to build like that outside of the traditionally 'massive' clubs, who knows? You probably always get stuck at some point with a shite manager and primadona players, or a crippling injury list, its whether you stick or twist at these times, sacrifice longer-term growth for the short-term staying in the premier league. Certainly the huge amount of cash is hard to do away with, so six months of Allardyce or Moyes or Pearson might seem worth it for the greater good. I can see what West Ham have been trying to do, and Watford too. Its when it doesn't work and you are down anyway with the striker on 100 grand a week a de-motivated team and a managerial merry-go-round that the slippage really happens.

Stains and Palace throw money at it, Palace only easing off now much to their fans fury on forums. Palace's top weekly wages are astonishing, at Everton/Spuds levels.
Gravity Whore £130,000 pw
Meyer £120,000 pw
Barndoor £120,000 pw
Sakho £100,000 pw

Palace spent heavily on transfer fees on 'names' in the January that Allardyce turned the car crash season around. In addition they Palace take quality players on loan such as Batshuayi who by all accounts was on £160,000 per week!

Out of control, they're now desperately reining it in:
https://www.90min.com/posts/6343474-crystal-palace-ready-to-make-massive-wage-cuts-by-offloading-high-earning-duo

Ings and Bertrand were stars lured with good wages. Redmond's played for England and is a quality winger. Without those 3 they'd have been relegated last season and bottom 2 this.

I'm not saying Bloom should follow their methods.

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm not saying Bloom should follow their methods.

But something has to give when attempting to sign strikers (assuming they are)

 

[Weststander]

But something has to give when attempting to sign strikers (assuming they are)

Probably, but not at CP's more than double our top wages.

Which then leads to Dunk and others automatically doubling their wages .... going by those on here ITK on our contracts.

A dilemma for TB/PB.

 

[Insel affe]

Out of control, they're now desperately reining it in:
https://www.90min.com/posts/6343474-crystal-palace-ready-to-make-massive-wage-cuts-by-offloading-high-earning-duo

Come on, that is from April 2019 so, I think you need to find something else to prove your point, I am all for Palarse bashing but try harder......

 

[Marshy]

As soon as Watford scored you knew it would be torture.

ITs like us turning up under Hughton, sit in and make it bloody hard work.

Was never going to be a classic unless we got the first goal and then Watford would have had to come out.

 

[Hornblower]

The vegan spicy roll was excellent....and I eat animals n stuff.

Mine had been in the cabinet a little too long but still very tasty. Probably the highlight of the afternoon on reflection.