[Albion] Are we "Spursy"?

[Kinky Gerbil]

More seagully than spursy

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Well, let's take a look at that:

2013: Beaten by Crystal Palace- Zaha making the difference in the end. I remember Albion coming out for the second half in that match and saying to my friend that the body language of the team didn't look right. Something was wrong that night

2014: Beaten by Derby County, a much better side. Albion were quite un-Spursy. Very average all season and sneaked into the play-offs with a last minute winner.

2016: Went from one end of the table to the other. Beaten in a play off semi-final by a Wednesday side who had rested players the previous week after Albion had narrowly missed out on the automatics. Four injuries in the first leg and ended up playing the last half hour with ten men.

2017: Promoted after a season that could have ended up taking a lot out of the team. Only missed the title after a last minute goalkeeping fumble.

2019: FA Cup semi-final. Losing 1-0 to Manchester City ? Folding ?

2023: Lost on penalties to Manchester United who finished in third that year.

Albion have re-cycled multiple squads, so the label of 'bottlers' would have to be transient across managers and squad changes. The reality shows that Albion are no different to any other teams- excepting that only Everton and Crystal Palace have been in the league longer than us beyond the big six.

Teams relegated since Albion joined the league:

Swansea City
Stoke City
West Brom (2)
Cardiff City
Fulham (2)
Huddersfield Town
Bournemouth
Watford (2)
Norwich City (2)
Sheffield United (2)
Burnley (2)
Leicester City
Leeds United
Southampton
Luton Town

Bottlers, Albion are not. Except, perhaps, to lofty expectations.

It’s almost like some fans are saying ‘We should be beating teams like ……..’

 

[Doug-ees-evil]

Well, let's take a look at that:

2013: Beaten by Crystal Palace- Zaha making the difference in the end. I remember Albion coming out for the second half in that match and saying to my friend that the body language of the team didn't look right. Something was wrong that night

2014: Beaten by Derby County, a much better side. Albion were quite un-Spursy. Very average all season and sneaked into the play-offs with a last minute winner.

2016: Went from one end of the table to the other. Beaten in a play off semi-final by a Wednesday side who had rested players the previous week after Albion had narrowly missed out on the automatics. Four injuries in the first leg and ended up playing the last half hour with ten men.

2017: Promoted after a season that could have ended up taking a lot out of the team. Only missed the title after a last minute goalkeeping fumble.

2019: FA Cup semi-final. Losing 1-0 to Manchester City ? Folding ?

2023: Lost on penalties to Manchester United who finished in third that year.

Albion have re-cycled multiple squads, so the label of 'bottlers' would have to be transient across managers and squad changes. The reality shows that Albion are no different to any other teams- excepting that only Everton and Crystal Palace have been in the league longer than us beyond the big six.

Teams relegated since Albion joined the league:

Swansea City
Stoke City
West Brom (2)
Cardiff City
Fulham (2)
Huddersfield Town
Bournemouth
Watford (2)
Norwich City (2)
Sheffield United (2)
Burnley (2)
Leicester City
Leeds United
Southampton
Luton Town

Bottlers, Albion are not. Except, perhaps, to lofty expectations.

Re; 2017. The reason we were not crowned champions was primarily because the majority of the squad were either still pi*sed or too hungover for the last three games. (And yes.. Stockdale had a mare at Carrow Road and Villa Park).

 

[Milano]

The last game of the season should be interesting. I'm thinking 4-4 with each team throwing it away on multiple occasions.