Credit where credit is due. Fair play to Tony Bloom for fronting up in The Argus.
Albion's chairman and owner ducked none of the testing questions we put to him in our exclusive interview, published in two parts yesterday and today.
That does not necessarily mean I agree with everything he had to say.
I certainly agree with his staunch backing for Sami Hyypia.
It is too soon to lose faith in the Finn and his philosophies, especially considering the hand he has been dealt.
That leads me on to the bit I don't agree with.
The most telling statistic from Saturday's latest deadlock against Blackburn Rovers at the Amex was not the seventh draw in the last ten league games.
It was that Hyypia used only one (Sam Baldock) of the club's eight permanent summer signings in his starting line-up.
It would have been two but David Stockdale is still recovering from a broken finger.
Aaron Hughes would also have joined Danny Holla, Paddy McCourt, Adrian Colunga and Chris O'Grady on the bench if he had been fully fit.
On the other hand O'Grady, possibly on his way to Sheffield United on loan, may not have been a substitute if Craig Mackail-Smith had been healthy and would, instead, have been out of the squad altogether like Nzuzi Toko.
The process of player recruitment, defended vigorously by Bloom, may indeed be sound but there is an apparent disconnection in executing the delivery of suitable signings.
Off the back of a first league win in 12 against Wigan, Hyypia only had faith in one of the six permanent captures available to him (excluding McCourt's unconvincing cameo and the last-ditch introduction of O'Grady).
I take issue with the chairman's view that the squad now is not too far off the squad or team Gus Poyet guided to fourth 18 months ago.
I'll hold my hands up if the table tells otherwise in May but I suspect there will need to be a few more signings of the ilk of Elliott Bennett between now and then for me to be eating humble pie.
Original article
Albion's chairman and owner ducked none of the testing questions we put to him in our exclusive interview, published in two parts yesterday and today.
That does not necessarily mean I agree with everything he had to say.
I certainly agree with his staunch backing for Sami Hyypia.
It is too soon to lose faith in the Finn and his philosophies, especially considering the hand he has been dealt.
That leads me on to the bit I don't agree with.
The most telling statistic from Saturday's latest deadlock against Blackburn Rovers at the Amex was not the seventh draw in the last ten league games.
It was that Hyypia used only one (Sam Baldock) of the club's eight permanent summer signings in his starting line-up.
It would have been two but David Stockdale is still recovering from a broken finger.
Aaron Hughes would also have joined Danny Holla, Paddy McCourt, Adrian Colunga and Chris O'Grady on the bench if he had been fully fit.
On the other hand O'Grady, possibly on his way to Sheffield United on loan, may not have been a substitute if Craig Mackail-Smith had been healthy and would, instead, have been out of the squad altogether like Nzuzi Toko.
The process of player recruitment, defended vigorously by Bloom, may indeed be sound but there is an apparent disconnection in executing the delivery of suitable signings.
Off the back of a first league win in 12 against Wigan, Hyypia only had faith in one of the six permanent captures available to him (excluding McCourt's unconvincing cameo and the last-ditch introduction of O'Grady).
I take issue with the chairman's view that the squad now is not too far off the squad or team Gus Poyet guided to fourth 18 months ago.
I'll hold my hands up if the table tells otherwise in May but I suspect there will need to be a few more signings of the ilk of Elliott Bennett between now and then for me to be eating humble pie.
Original article