[Albion] Lamptey, March and Webster

[Guinness Boy]

Let.It.Go

My point all season is that we have been a bloody frustrating joy to watch

The Albion look like they belong in the PL regardless of where we are in the league.

Slowly slowy catchy monkey

Mine was a pretty simple statement. If we have the best squad ever - and I think we do - the league table does not yet agree. That's almost exactly the same as saying we've been frustrating

Oh and give Potter massive credit, go on you know you can

I did on the last in/out thread and happy to again. We've had problems for much of the season from set pieces. Bringing in Sanchez and constant work on the training ground has clearly fixed that. We've had a lot of games where we've only been good for 45 minutes and our substitutions have been routine and obvious. That has not been the case AT ALL since Spurs with the exception of the Leicester game, and Leicester are a bloody good side. WBA and Palace were not down to Potter at all, we fully deserved six points from those games too. And he totally outcoached Bruce on Saturday. I'd go as far as to say masterclass. Nevertheless we have underachieved, haven't we?

There is no recruitment team in history that gets everything right

100%. I don't disagree with that at all. So if we're burying hatchets is it time you admitted to being wrong about Jahanbaksh?

 

[lawros left foot]

A serious question, with absolutely no hidden agenda.

Is this squad of players better because of Potter?

Or is Potter better because of the squad of players?

 

[dazzer6666]

A serious question, with absolutely no hidden agenda.

Is this squad of players better because of Potter?

Or is Potter better because of the squad of players?

It’s not a binary answer - elements of both.

 

[Guinness Boy]

A serious question, with absolutely no hidden agenda.

Is this squad of players better because of Potter?

Or is Potter better because of the squad of players?

Now that's a GOOD question. Personally, I'm not sure there's a right answer.

Personally I think he's improved Sanchez (well Ben Roberts has and Potter's picked him), our defence and midfield as players without doubt. But if you accept that, then you have to accept that our striker failure is partly down to coaching, something that many can't or won't see.

 

[JBizzle]

Nobody was saying that 10 days ago!

I was!

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Now that's a GOOD question. Personally, I'm not sure there's a right answer.

Personally I think he's improved Sanchez (well Ben Roberts has and Potter's picked him), our defence and midfield as players without doubt. But if you accept that, then you have to accept that our striker failure is partly down to coaching, something that many can't or won't see.

You’re only guessing it’s partly down to coaching as you as well as me have no idea what goes on at Lancing.

What a huge part of it is to my mind is in the mind: belief. It comes and goes. Liverpool put 7 goals passed Palace, then a team largely rampant for 2 1/2 years couldn’t hit a barn door with a bango. I doubt their coaching changed much - but the team’s belief did.

As fans we want something tangible to blame; tactics, selection, coaching, manager isn’t passionate enough etc. etc. but sometimes certain aspects of football just click and sometimes they don’t. It may well be partly down to coaching - but none of us can see that unless we’re privy to the coaching, ergo it’s just a best guess opinion on your part.

 

[lawros left foot]

You’re only guessing it’s partly down to coaching as you as well as me have no idea what goes on at Lancing.

What a huge part of it is to my mind is in the mind: belief. It comes and goes. Liverpool put 7 goals passed Palace, then a team largely rampant for 2 1/2 years couldn’t hit a barn door with a bango. I doubt their coaching changed much - but the team’s belief did.

As fans we want something tangible to blame; tactics, selection, coaching, manager isn’t passionate enough etc. etc. but sometimes certain aspects of football just click and sometimes they don’t. It may well be partly down to coaching - but none of us can see that unless we’re privy to the coaching, ergo it’s just a best guess opinion on your part.

confidence is a huge part of sport. If you believe you can, you're much closer to achieving your goals.
Our recent goal glut(comparatively)is down to our forwards being a lot more confident, that is why getting 2 goals against Southampton was really important. Had we scraped a 0-1 win, with maybe a penalty scored by Dunk, our forwards wouldn't be trying shots from outside the box against Newcastle, we'd still be trying to walk the ball in.
Potter's degree is in emotional intelligence,I have absolutely no idea what that is,but, I would have thought it is partly responsible for the apparent sea change in front of goal.

 

[Seasidesage]

Now that's a GOOD question. Personally, I'm not sure there's a right answer.

Personally I think he's improved Sanchez (well Ben Roberts has and Potter's picked him), our defence and midfield as players without doubt. But if you accept that, then you have to accept that our striker failure is partly down to coaching, something that many can't or won't see.

Coaches can and do improve players. But there is a limit, no amount of coaching is going to make me better than Messi. Our forwards are likely to have been improved by Potter but that doesn't mean they become Aguero like in front of goal. I'd wager that if we sent Maupay back to Brentford he'd be a better player than the one who left them...

For me our goalscoring issues are more to do with the quality of the player options than the coaching. We have after all created about 5m sitters this season already

 

[Seasidesage]

A serious question, with absolutely no hidden agenda.

Is this squad of players better because of Potter?

Or is Potter better because of the squad of players?

I'd presume its easier and more rewarding to teach a class of clever kids than a class of average ones?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

It was interesting listening to five live wittering on about poor old Steve Bruce and the absenses through injury Newcastle have had. That idiot Chis Sutton was implying the Magpies were somehow the only club apart from Liverpool to have had any issues and Bruce couldn't be held responsible for the poor performance against us. Apparently it's all down to injuries and the players not trying hard enough.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I'd presume its easier and more rewarding to teach a class of clever kids than a class of average ones?

It's easier to teach a group that wants to learn. And a good teacher makes kids makes kids want to learn.

 

[Guinness Boy]

You’re only guessing it’s partly down to coaching as you as well as me have no idea what goes on at Lancing.

Of course. I have no idea at all what goes on at Lancing at a detailed level and it should never get posted on here, else our rivals will know too.

The point is - and this is merely an example - it's a bit of a stretch to say that Bissouma and Lamptey's improvements are down to Potter but Connolly has had a frustrating season because he's simply not good enough.

It may be that he's less receptive to coaching of course.

 

[Return of the Rev]

Best squad in my 50 years and best football, a couple of pieces missing but many in place, enjoy it why it last many might never see this period surpassed in their lifetime.

 

[A1X]

It's especially impressive when you hear the whinging from certain top club managers who whinge if even one of their key players is injured for any length of time

 

[Lenny Rider]

Best SQUAD? Undoubtedly. When we were in the top flight last time round I think we had some better individual quality. Even though Bissouma has been fantastic, it would be a toss up between him and Nobby. Ditto Dunk and Lawrenson. And I'd take all three of Ward, Ritchie and Robinson over our current three top choice strikers.

But the strength in depth is massively impressive. This is exactly what my point has been all season. This squad is far better than Hughton ever had, yet we're in a very similar position in the table.

I do expect us to kick on next season now, though.

It was only till Murray came along that I even thought about deviating from my All time Albion XI front two of Ritchie and Robinson, being wide eyed teenagers back then I don't think we all really appreciated how good those two were, especially in 81/82.

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Of course. I have no idea at all what goes on at Lancing at a detailed level and it should never get posted on here, else our rivals will know too.

The point is - and this is merely an example - it's a bit of a stretch to say that Bissouma and Lamptey's improvements are down to Potter but Connolly has had a frustrating season because he's simply not good enough.

It may be that he's less receptive to coaching of course.

I agree, I just picked up on you stating that 'some people won't be able to see it', like it is a definite thing people would be blind to. I can understand your reasoning; coaching appears to have visibly improved; keeping, defending, midfielding*, but not striking - therefore striking coaching must be lacking, or poorer than the other forms of coaching. However, that in itself is a fairly big conclusion to draw given since time and memoriam strikers belief and confidence has come and gone like some dark art or mystic belief.



*I'm coining that.

 

[Icy Gull]

Mine was a pretty simple statement. If we have the best squad ever - and I think we do - the league table does not yet agree. That's almost exactly the same as saying we've been frustrating




I did on the last in/out thread and happy to again. We've had problems for much of the season from set pieces. Bringing in Sanchez and constant work on the training ground has clearly fixed that. We've had a lot of games where we've only been good for 45 minutes and our substitutions have been routine and obvious. That has not been the case AT ALL since Spurs with the exception of the Leicester game, and Leicester are a bloody good side. WBA and Palace were not down to Potter at all, we fully deserved six points from those games too. And he totally outcoached Bruce on Saturday. I'd go as far as to say masterclass. Nevertheless we have underachieved, haven't we?



100%. I don't disagree with that at all. So if we're burying hatchets is it time you admitted to being wrong about Jahanbaksh?

I hold my hand up to Ali J not kicking on like I hoped and expected, seems I was wrong about him (kind of hoping he gets another chance though )

 

[Machiavelli]

Of course. I have no idea at all what goes on at Lancing at a detailed level and it should never get posted on here, else our rivals will know too.

The point is - and this is merely an example - it's a bit of a stretch to say that Bissouma and Lamptey's improvements are down to Potter but Connolly has had a frustrating season because he's simply not good enough.

It may be that he's less receptive to coaching of course.

I agree with your broad point that the quality is there in goal (now), defence and midfield, less so in attack. But any striker will tell you (and there are plenty doing so on the media) that finishing is a confidence thing. Connolly and Alzate are the two players that haven't really come on as I expected them to this season, and the former is down to not having the composure when presented with clear opportunities (I'm thinking especially Sheff U and W Brom). I'm also not convinced that we are underachieving this season. We're not finishing well, as the xG metric indicates, but we're playing well. And, yes, this is a great squad but, as I indicated earlier, it's not just about a starting 11/14, it's about its potential. Potter has already teased out some of that potential, and will do so even more into the future.

The basic point is that the best metric to identify a club's finishing position is player wage spend. Our position is pretty much in line with that. Given the assertiveness of this metric, you have to try and beat/cheat it somehow. It's pretty clear what Bloom's strategy is on that front, and GP is integral to that.

 

[Robinjakarta]

It was interesting listening to five live wittering on about poor old Steve Bruce and the absenses through injury Newcastle have had. That idiot Chis Sutton was implying the Magpies were somehow the only club apart from Liverpool to have had any issues and Bruce couldn't be held responsible for the poor performance against us. Apparently it's all down to injuries and the players not trying hard enough.

Yeah. Leicester, too. Nationally, virtually nothing about our injury list.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Partly agree, the recruitment of Locardia and AJ does rankle a tad given the amount of money effectively spunked on transfer fees and wages, let’s hope the recruitment team go some way to righting those wrongs this summer?

I think most clubs have their share of duff signings ...look at how much Newcastle ..West Ham...Aston Villa have splurged out on strikers that have in all intense and purposes flopped ...even Liverpool with the guy who has now been loaned out to Southampton