[Albion] Our Last match of 2023 - The POSITIVES

[Zeberdi]

I don’t think many matches are season defining personally but for me, last night v Spurs definitely qualifies. To see out 2023 with a high scoring game against a Big 7 club, reminiscent of our games at the beginning of the season has completely turned around the past few months in the League for me - it was really incredible, that despite still struggling with significant injuries and with 4 teenagers in the line up, 3 players close to retirement we nonetheless pull off arguably one of our best performances of the season.

Personal positives for me include:

• Milner - what a cracking game he had - playing back in a much better position on the wing and reminding us of his Liverpool days.
• Hinshelwood - I think I feel nothing but pride at the moment in our Academy that we have brought this lad up through our ranks - he’s one of our own. What a breakout of an amazing talent for 2023.
• Pervis - everything’s been said but getting through the last few months without him has been such a struggle for us - I feel an enormous weight has been lifted off the injuries burden we’ve carried - that not only is he back but came swooping back in with sheer class, scoring a superb goal.
• Gilmour ends 2023 having made an exponential improvement compared to where he was 12 months ago - a solid performance from him until he started to tire around 80’.
• Buonanotte - everyone knows how I feel about this amazing lad - so it’s enough just to end the year with the harsh criticism he has attracted over the past 12 months largely silenced.
• Pedro - now the highest scoring player in the Europa League, showed last night he is up there with Salah and Kane when it comes to pens.

Despite RDZ looking well pissed off in the last 10 minutes - ( maybe our wobble at the end or more likely Dunky earning another spell on the naughty step in the last 15 minutes so out for WHU - just as we get Pervis back to mend our defence!) - I think I wanted this win for him more than anything- what a crazy, roller coaster it’s been the past 12 months.

See other threads for the negatives -

What did I miss?

 

[stevo56]

Pascal Gross. Proving again best value for money signing in clubs history!

 

[Zeberdi]

Pascal Gross. Proving again best value for money signing in clubs history!

I think he often misses out on the MOTM accolade because in reality, he’s so consistently good, no one performance ever looks exceptional!

 

[Zeberdi]

No one else with any positives highs about the way we’ve ended the first half of the season/2023?

What about RDZs tactical acumen in managing without any wingers and his midfield shape-shifting skills?

 

[Zeberdi]

@Badger Boy - why is that funny?

Am I missing something here - lack of response and laughter emojis - are people feeling that negative?

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lens]

JPVH - his rise/improvements matches or maybe exceeds that of Gilmour?
Welbeck - not for his finishing but his all-round play was, once again, invaluable and his link up with Pedro looks to be blossoming. A real handful for defenders that provides space and opportunity for others.

 

[Bodian]

Am I missing something here - lack of response and laughter emojis - are people feeling that negative?

I guess it's because we usually reserve the 'Positives from Tonight' thread for the games where we have drawn against crap opposition or lost. That it - we're trying to lighten things and show that it wasn't all bad. Whereas, we don't really need to do that after last night?

 

[Badger Boy]

@Badger Boy - why is that funny?

Am I missing something here - lack of response and laughter emojis - are people feeling that negative?

The suggestion that nobody else has any positives at all from last night tickled me. I've taken the lack of response more to be it's a repetitive topic rather than nobody else having something positive to say.

I was also thinking about positives - but I'm a sarcastic old goat and the biggest positive I can think of is how well we're doing despite how disjointed the team and performances are. How well we're doing despite being unable to keep a clean sheet and deliberately choosing not to play a competent goalkeeper. How well Van Hecke is playing despite losing a season to being behind a loan player we were developing for someone else's benefit. There are loads of positives throughout the squad but there are also plenty of opportunities to make things even better - which is just greedy!

 

[maltaseagull]

Pascal Gross. Proving again best value for money signing in clubs history!

It was funny that last night, the commentator said that Goalie was the only position that Pascal can´t play.

I bet he can!

 

[pasty]

£30M

£47.5M

 

[Bodian]

Ah, sorry then - I didn’t mean to break convention but I was thinking more how the match has changed our reflections on the first part of the season/of 2023 i guess - because it was the last match …

Don't think it's a 'written rule'!! Just the way it's happened. Vary much a glass half-full person myself, and very much a glass full after last night. Although the rate I got through the beers the actual glass wasn't very full at all....

 

[Hugo Rune]

The big positive is obvious.

We started the match with no natural wingers or full backs yet we beat up a Top Six easily.

 

[Pevenseagull]

We scored 4 and their keeper was their best player.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Hinshelwood now has as many goals this season as Maupay (in half as many appearances).

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

The point I’d make @Zeberdi is simply that it was such a fantastic game I’m only just finishing rewatching it and am only just enjoying reading through the various threads.

Clearly many of us were a tad wary beforehand but I’m sure we were blown away by the first 70 mins in particular. Biggest overall plus for me is that like the best coaches RDZ has used adversity(transfers out/huge injury crisis) to find different solutions and this game exemplified it perfectly. We could easily have been 5 up at the break - so many of the team played really well - and we were back to exhilarating/swashbuckling football - just fantastic.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Main positive was ending the year on a high - and players coming back from injury already starting to make a major difference

2023 was brilliant. 2024 could be club-defining