[Albion] Relegation Blame Game

[Lenny Rider]

First and foremost I still don't think we will go down, but if the unthinkable were to happen who would be to blame?

Thinking back to the previous 7 I've seen.

72/73 I was only 8 and had only been going a couple of months, Pat Saward kept his job, and John Vinicombe both in print and vocally said that it was down to a our woeful form for the first 21 matches of the season.

82/83 The FA Cup run papered over the cracks off some dismal league performances, Melia was kept on until Bamber had him out in October 1983, who can forget his arrival in the North Stand at the next game , carried shoulder high by Albion fans?

86/87 Mullers basically stabbed in the back, and Lloydie took on the job with immediate instructions to cut the wage bill, not pick players to save money on appearance fees, ie Tiltman picked over Saunders, had a fire sale in the summer, rebuilt the squad and took us back up the next season.

91/92 The Play Off final hangover, another fire sale, Small and Byrne both shipped out by October for decent money, even then home wins against Oxford and Charlton in the run in, games on paper we should have won would have kept us up. But significantly Barry kept his job, could any manager in domestic pro football today keep their job after two relegations?

95/96 Civil war/asset stripping whatever you like to call it, neither Alex Ferguson or Sarah Ferguson could have kept the Albion up that season, and Jimmy Case kept his job.

02/03 Cameroon boss Wilfrid Schaeffer blowing Dick Knight out at Heathrow in July and a 12 straight defeats losing streak gave the arriving Steve Coppell a huge mountain to climb, which he almost did on the last day of the season at Grimsby, but Coppell kept his job.

05/06 Poor recruitment and lack of transfer funds, had Mark McGhee not only drinking pints of whiskey but managing a team who simply weren't good enough to stay in the Championship, but he kept his job.

So history tells us that is the unthinkable happened as has been previously stated GP will almost certainly keep his job, till at least Oct/Nov or December going on previous managers.

But if an 18th place finish is the best we get this season, who will we blame this time?

Covid 19?

Recruitment?

Injuries?

Team Selection?

Squad depth?

Missed chances?

But probably not the manager?

 

[Stato]

I blame Thatcher. I always do. It just saves time. Whatever is wrong with today's world, there will be some way of tracing it back to her.

 

[doogie004]

Manager recruitment and blooms pocket for a top striker not deep enough


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[Beanstalk]

I blame Thatcher. I always do. It just saves time. Whatever is wrong with today's world, there will be some way of tracing it back to her.

It's probably the least divisive answer on NSC at that moment, and for that reason I'm in.

 

[GloryDays]

I think it's an accumulation of a number of factors. Nearly all of what you mention, then throw in a bit of bad luck and officiating. More things to blame than I have fingers to point with so ateotd, if we are in the drop zone, c'est la vie.

"That's football. That's life".

 

[Swansman]

Its never one reason why a team gets relegated.

As for blaming managers, they have more impact than any individual player but the quality and performances of the eleven on the pitch and the 25 in the squad are more important than any manager. Not one manager or individual player could be bad/good enough to singlehandedly change the entire outcome of a season.

 

[Icy Gull]

Shit happens, we’ve ridden our luck for three seasons and it ran out after a difficult fourth.

My Albion mojo is considerably higher than it was two years ago at this stage though.

I totally accept that we might go down

 

[banjo]

Luck evens itself out. Maybe we’re due some for the remainder of the season.

 

[Albion Dan]

The club for not signing to fix the clearly huge gaps in the striker and LB department.

The manager for not finding a way to stop the set piece rot, mentally fix the psychological missed chance issue, and quite frankly horrific substitutions and inability to change tactics during matches to see results out.

Some (a small number) of the players for frankly not giving it their best at times.

 

[Justice]

Shit happens, we’ve ridden our luck for three seasons and it ran out after a difficult fourth.

My Albion mojo is considerably higher than it was two years ago at this stage though.

I totally accept that we might go down

Disagree our first season in the PL survival was very much earned. Second season was always going to be dodgy. Third season big money was spent and had covid not struck I fear we would of gone down, This season no improvement on the last.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Why does there have to be someone/something to blame?

And why is it 'the unthinkable'? Many people assume it's going to happen and those who don't should probably be prepared for the fact that it WILL happen. If not this season, then at some point in the future...

 

[GT49er]

But if an 18th place finish is the best we get this season, who will we blame this time?

Covid 19?

Recruitment?

Injuries?

Team Selection?

Squad depth?

Missed chances?

But probably not the manager?

Bit of all of them really, but if we could go back and retrospectively change just one of them, it would have to be the missed chances.

 

[Peteinblack]

I blame Thatcher. I always do. It just saves time. Whatever is wrong with today's world, there will be some way of tracing it back to her.

 

[vagabond]

Why does there have to be someone/something to blame?

And why is it 'the unthinkable'? Many people assume it's going to happen and those who don't should probably be prepared for the fact that it WILL happen. If not this season, then at some point in the future...

Exactly.

Most teams outside the top 6 have been relegated from the PL. it’s arrogant to assume it shouldn’t be our turn at some point.

And let’s face it, we’ve flirted with relegation every season we’ve been here.

 

[Reddleman]

For me there are three main factors:

1. A failure to recruit a decent centre forward and cover for left back. I don’t blame Tony Bloom in the sense that Covid has impacted budgets but we gambled we could get away with it and we haven’t.

2. Injuries. I know other teams have had injuries too but ours impact our preferred shape so much and as per above we don’t have the cover. Also, another poster said above that we can’t see out games, but that’s partly because we never have any defensive options on the bench. If we could bring on a Burn or Veltman rather than them having to start maybe we could.

3. Finishing. Most of us have seen the video. Simply put our finishing has been atrocious. That’s also why I get defensive of Potter. He has created a system and shape that allows us to create so many clear cut chances, the one thing he can’t do is take them and as per point one he hasn’t got the player(s) to do better.

 

[Peteinblack]

For me, much of the blame lies with our woeful strikers; consistently and disgracefully wasteful in the opponent's penalty area; so many spurned opportunities this season.

In fact, describing Trossard and Connolly as no more than Championship-level would be flattering them.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Whoever chose that bloody blue kit.

And our abysmal finishing obviously.

 

[Granny on the wing]

For me there are three main factors:

1. A failure to recruit a decent centre forward and cover for left back. I don’t blame Tony Bloom in the sense that Covid has impacted budgets but we gambled we could get away with it and we haven’t.

2. Injuries. I know other teams have had injuries too but ours impact our preferred shape so much and as per above we don’t have the cover. Also, another poster said above that we can’t see out games, but that’s partly because we never have any defensive options on the bench. If we could bring on a Burn or Veltman rather than them having to start maybe we could.

3. Finishing. Most of us have seen the video. Simply put our finishing has been atrocious. That’s also why I get defensive of Potter. He has created a system and shape that allows us to create so many clear cut chances, the one thing he can’t do is take them and as per point one he hasn’t got the player(s) to do better.

The whole centre Forward argument is not the answer because if he gets injured and is out for 6 months what then ? IMO Albion need 2 or three top strikers .The ones we have got are decent but not clinical enough .

 

[rippleman]

Exactly.

Most teams outside the top 6 have been relegated from the PL. it’s arrogant to assume it shouldn’t be our turn at some point.

And let’s face it, we’ve flirted with relegation every season we’ve been here.

Absolutely. But there appears to be this assumption amongst many fans that we will stroll the Championship next year and come straight back up. Err no. For every Swansea, Norwich, Fulham, West Brom who bounce around a bit there is a Sunderland, a Wigan, a Bolton, a Sheffield Wednesday, a QPR etc etc

Top players leave. Revenues drop. High wage bill.

There is no guarantee whatsoever that we would bounce straight back up and if we don't, the financials implications for Mr Chairman could be significant. I don't want him to lose out on his investment in building the stadium, training ground and getting us to the PL.

As for blame? Can't say for certain because we don't know what has happened behind the scenes. It could be:

GP: Mr Chairman I would very much like Edouard from Celtic *explains reasons why*
TB: You're not having him

or

TB: Would you like us to get in Edouard from Celtic?
GP: No thanks boss. Get me Lallana and Wellbeck they'll do the job nicely

We just don't know.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Love this club, I won't be blaming anyone, it happens.