[Albion] When Did It All Go So Wrong?

[el punal]

I’ve been wracking my brains for when we went from a safe, conservative, uninspiring team to a disastrous car crash outfit struggling to put anything together apart from some desperate backs to the wall performances in the last few games.

My feeling was that it was the second half showing at Fulham. 2-0 up and absolutely cruising at halftime. Second half starts and the whole team collapsed like a soggy soufflé. I don’t think we ever really recovered from that despite fortuitous wins against Huddersfield and Palace.

 

[B-right-on]

Agree. 4-2 drubbing seemed to be the catalyst for the change in style to an even more defensive side with v little forward ambition.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I’ve been wracking my brains for when we went from a safe, conservative, uninspiring team to a disastrous car crash outfit struggling to put anything together apart from some desperate backs to the wall performances in the last few games.

My feeling was that it was the second half showing at Fulham. 2-0 up and absolutely cruising at halftime. Second half starts and the whole team collapsed like a soggy soufflé. I don’t think we ever really recovered from that despite fortuitous wins against Huddersfield and Palace.

I agree that looks like the result where it went wrong. But for that to happen, something must have gone wrong before the game. We know (from public info from folk at the club) that Chris is a very conservative manager. He is defensive first. He won't play any player until he totally trusts him - and specifically we have been told that means he trusts him to do his defensive duties first. There was even information about how pleased CH was to change Bissouma to a more defence minded player.

It went wrong towards the end of 2018 I suspect and started to show around Christmas. Performances were worse than the results suggested and we went backwards at high speed. By the time of that Fulham game, we were sliding. FA Cup run rolled the second half of 2018/19 season turd in glitter, but it was still a turd.

 

[Napper]

The away form has constantly been a monkey on our backs and the way we lost the lead at WHU and Fulham damaged us further mentally. ( New manager has to sort out us away as its beyond a joke )

We could always rely on our home form but I think mentally we became too fragile and that started unravelling us also.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Aside from the Man U (H) game early on, any exciting and classy performances that stand out last season? Arsenal (H) perhaps?

 

[Seagull73]

The away form has constantly been a monkey on our backs and the way we lost the lead at WHU and Fulham damaged us further mentally. ( New manager has to sort out us away as its beyond a joke )

We could always rely on our home form but I think mentally we became too fragile and that started unravelling us also.

100% this. We were getting by pretty much on our home form. The moment that abandoned us we were done.
But again, it's not just about results, it's the manner of them that has alarmed most fans (not all I appreciate). The two against Bournemouth and Cardiff were gutless in the extreme, and it was only their proximity to the end of the season that saved Hughton then.

 

[PaoloAlbioni]

Palace at home was the outstanding match for me.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Second half v Fulham away

After that we looked petrified to attack

 

[lawros left foot]

The West Ham away game was the start, 2 up and cruising at halftime, they come back very strongly in the second half, and to be honest, we were lucky to get the point. Fast forward to Fulham, again 2 up at halftime, and cruising, although, they weren’t that bad, they get an early goal in the second half, sand we go into meltdown. I thought we panicked, probably cos of the way the West Ham game went, and for 20 minutes we were a Sunday morning pub side.

Apart from the United game, and of course the Palace home game, I don’t think we played well for the whole 90 minutes in any game. Some good 45 minutes , but, some shocking half’s as well.

 

[Tooting Gull]

West Ham away for me. 2-0 up and cruising, heading for the top half of the table and even further away from the scrap at the bottom. Lost the lead far too easily, very bad start to the year.

 

[beorhthelm]

problem is at home, not assertive enough and allowed other teams, especially mid table rivals, to get into the game. its understandable to stand off the likes of Liverpool and Man City but Burnley and Bournemouth? Away games can be forgotten about, isolated, but when you fail to get going at home it affects the team mentality more imo.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I’ve been wracking my brains for when we went from a safe, conservative, uninspiring team to a disastrous car crash outfit struggling to put anything together apart from some desperate backs to the wall performances in the last few games.

My feeling was that it was the second half showing at Fulham. 2-0 up and absolutely cruising at halftime. Second half starts and the whole team collapsed like a soggy soufflé. I don’t think we ever really recovered from that despite fortuitous wins against Huddersfield and Palace.

It started going wrong earlydoors IMHO. Personally I cashed out my bet on a Top Ten Finish for a small profit after the third of our thoroughly unconvincing consecutive 1-0 wins. Just never looked sustainable, given the level of performance.

 

[banjo]

Palace at home was the outstanding match for me.

Proved that if we had a go we looked bloody good.

 

[swd40]

We looked like a Championship team, when we played Southampton away.
No midfield and a level below all over the pitch.

Dragged back a draw, and papered over the cracks for the rest of the season.

 

[brightn'ove]

I’ve been wracking my brains for when we went from a safe, conservative, uninspiring team to a disastrous car crash outfit struggling to put anything together apart from some desperate backs to the wall performances in the last few games.

My feeling was that it was the second half showing at Fulham. 2-0 up and absolutely cruising at halftime. Second half starts and the whole team collapsed like a soggy soufflé. I don’t think we ever really recovered from that despite fortuitous wins against Huddersfield and Palace.

Yeah, we weren't a million miles off winning two away games fairly close together being 2-0 up at fulham and west ham. To get 1 point from those positions damaged the confidence of the players and the manager, we went VERY defensive from then on really.

 

[BensGrandad]

I think the cup game at Bournemouth after we all got carried away with the idea of Wembley. Had we played Cardiff on the due date they were at rock bottom and we were doing ok so we would probably have won that game. As the season went on Wembley became nearer and the attention was more focused on that, at least by most supporters, so possibly the players and management also.

 

[oldboyroy]

Looking back how many times did we play so poorly 1 half either 1St half or 2nd too many times we didn't even attack until we were a goal down and it just got worse as season wore on. We know the players could do it but they just either weren't allowed to or were scared to even to the point of looking like they didn't care. Some performances were baffling to the extreme and Chris couldn't or wouldn't change things. After the Bournemouth debacle the next game gave the players a chance to put things right and it didn't happen. Some said Cardiff wanted it more.!! That should never of been allowed to happen considering the stakes and after the Bournemouth game.

 

[mickybha]

I’ve been wracking my brains for when we went from a safe, conservative, uninspiring team to a disastrous car crash outfit struggling to put anything together apart from some desperate backs to the wall performances in the last few games.

My feeling was that it was the second half showing at Fulham. 2-0 up and absolutely cruising at halftime. Second half starts and the whole team collapsed like a soggy soufflé. I don’t think we ever really recovered from that despite fortuitous wins against Huddersfield and Palace.

Last summer

 

[Mtoto]

The away form has constantly been a monkey on our backs and the way we lost the lead at WHU and Fulham damaged us further mentally. ( New manager has to sort out us away as its beyond a joke )

We could always rely on our home form but I think mentally we became too fragile and that started unravelling us also.

We came from behind to get a point against Newcastle, from behind to get a point at Arsenal (which might have been three) and almost kept Spurs at bay for 95 minutes. If we were "unravelling" - which is a matter of opinion anyway - then someone seems to have ravelled us back up again in time to keep us in the Premier League. Wonder who?

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

It's kind of interesting that a number of people are mentioning Fulham as where it all went wrong. The mental fragility exhibited in the second half was on show throughout the rest of the second half of the season. It's interesting because the game away at Fulham the year we went up was the game that I became convinced we were going up for sure. They played us off the park and it was only the sheer bloody mindedness and determination of the players, the unbending will and mental strength of the players that saw us leave with a highly improbable 2-1 win instead of having our arses handed to us like a whole load of teams had that season.

So Fulham was the high mark of Hughton's reign and the low too.

Well, I find it kind of interesting.