[Albion] We are no better than last season

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Part of me thinks it’s very simple. Our players just aren’t good enough to pick off teams who sit back in numbers. When we eventually carve out a chance it falls to Maupay who appears to have Toblerones on his feet instead of football boots.

We’ve really missed March and Lamptey, too.

Everything else is fine.

Therein lies problem, without those 2 we have no pace which makes it incredibly difficult to break down teams who sit deep and load the box.

 

[Stat Brother]

I was very close to throwing things last night but am trying to be calmer this morning.

I have no idea why you would have such a reaction to last night's game.
Were you throwing things when the sun came up this morning?

That's how predictable last night was, long before we conceded a goal from our own mistake (welcome back old friend) last night was as obvious as day following night.

Nothing to see here. Some of the best teams struggle to break down a low block.

There's a difference between struggling and being completely incapable of breaking a good low block.

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

Nothing to see here. Some of the best teams struggle to break down a low block.

Obviously not many do judging by their points tally.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

It's a fact based on the league table. In the same way Liverpool are worse than last season. Fact. Sheffield United are worse than last season. Fact. Villa are better. Fact. A three kilo turbot is bigger than a one kilo turbot. Fact. Because the way you decide that is to use a measure. A Ferrari is faster than a Dacia Duster because it would beat it in a race.

Monty Python is funnier than Fawlty Towers? That's an opinion

You’ve clearly not been in my Dacia Duster

 

[DJ NOBO]

Again, I agree with parts of what you say. Nobody can ever forget our budget on here as it’s often trotted out after a particularly poor result. We’re not good enough and don’t have a talented enough squad to avoid having off days or just being crap, but the real frustration is that those ‘off days’ seem to be reserved exclusively for the worst teams. We haven’t been schooled in any game this season other than the 3-0 lesson we received at the KP stadium. We’ve gone toe to toe with Spurs, Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester (at home), Man City and Leeds, yet against WBA, Fulham and Sheff Utd we’ve never got off the bus. There is something inherently wrong about how we approach these fixtures, we know how they’re going to play, they know how we’re going to play. They prevail more often than not.
Obviously staying in the Premier League is a massive achievement, but our dear chairman must want to see progress, not just aesthetically but in the points column. As good as the football can be, if you circle the plug hole for long enough eventually you’ll go down it.

Yep. Laughably shite against crap clubs. We can’t seem to find a way to break them down eventhough everyone else can. Maybe our style is just not that suited to it, given, as you say, we have gone toe to toe with some big clubs. Something to work on, for what is one of the poorest teams in the premier league.

Bigger picture - yes, Tony will want more points but the fact he gave Potter a 236-year contract tells me his expectations weren’t all that high in the short term.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

Obviously not many do judging by their points tally.

I am no Sheff Utd expert but assume that they dont always play with a low block.

 

[cheshunt seagull]

I have no idea why you would have such a reaction to last night's game.
Were you throwing things when the sun came up this morning?

That's how predictable last night was, long before we conceded a goal from our own mistake (welcome back old friend) last night was as obvious as day following night.



There's a difference between struggling and being completely incapable of breaking a good low block.

Frustration I guess at seeing the game pan out as so many others have and the very large number of steroids I take every Saturday for medical reasons which didn't put me in a mood for analytical reflection. I didn't actually throw anything, never have thrown anything when watching the Albion, and when I get back to my seat in the North Stand I am confident that I will not need to receive special monitoring from stewards.

 

[Farehamseagull]

I know it may be hard to believe but I have heard rumblings, only rumours I might add, that our Tone is not happy with our progress. That doesnt mean he is looking to replace Potter but a disastrous end to the season may make Blooms finger get a bit twitchy. I would imagine if there has been interest in Potter, its not beyond the realms of possibility that Bloom has his eye on the Swansea manager if they fail to get promotion. Bloom is always one step ahead of our thinking.

Just a feeling.

Barber was categoric on Roar this week that those stories are not true. There is absolutely no way Bloom is considering replacing Potter and that is quite right too. There is no other realistic manager I would want in charge of the club.

This site is incredibly bipolar at the moment when it comes to GP and our progress. The difference between last night/this morning and after the recent Southampton/Newcastle/Chelsea games is off the scale.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I am no Sheff Utd expert but assume that they dont always play with a low block.

Which only goes to show that one of the worst teams in Premier League history seem to have stumbled across the way to defeat the mighty Potterball.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Barber was categoric on Roar this week that those stories are not true. There is absolutely no way Bloom is considering replacing Potter and that is quite right too. There is no other realistic manager I would want in charge of the club.

This site is incredibly bipolar at the moment when it comes to GP and our progress. The difference between last night/this morning and after the recent Southampton/Newcastle/Chelsea games is off the scale.

And that's because we're very good against better sides and stunningly bad against poor ones. A lot more consistency needed (very often in the same game where we'll have a good 45 and a bad 45, causing more bi polar-ness) and, yes, MUCH better finishing.

 

[Richy_Seagull]

As if people here actually think TB might be considering sacking Potter is ****ing hilarious.

You understand he’s a numbers man? That’s literally how he makes his money. And unlike some rather dim fans the numbers he looks at is beyond the literal”point tally”.

Potter is not perfect, he’s still learning. But anyone can see if you’ve watched every match this season he has been let down by players missing absolute sitters.

 

[Stat Brother]

Barber was categoric on Roar this week that those stories are not true. There is absolutely no way Bloom is considering replacing Potter and that is quite right too. There is no other realistic manager I would want in charge of the club.

This site is incredibly bipolar at the moment when it comes to GP and our progress. The difference between last night/this morning and after the recent Southampton/Newcastle/Chelsea games is off the scale.

There's certainly a bit of that.

This place wouldn't be so bad if one incredibly small minority weren't constantly telling us 'this is the greatest football ever and GPott is the messiah, everyone else is so stupid they can't see it'.

While another probably even smaller minority are telling us 'GPott signals the end of human existence'.


In the 'Least Surprising News of the Day' segment of our show, the actual truth lies somewhere in the middle, shifting just a few places, one way or the other, with each set of results.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Yes, it's a fact.

If we finish above 15th or get more than 41 points I'll apologise and withdraw. Will you if we don't?

For me, this is the worst post on this thread. We are a work in progress and that has its ups and downs. To come on the board and slag us off one week, and then a couple of weeks later apologise and change your mind on the basis of a very minor turn of events, is the worst kind of football supporting, there is no long-term view or analysis, just a 'did we get three points or not yesterday' mentality.

I'd have got rid of him at the turn of the year. There's no point me pretending I wouldn't as it's all over here and whatsapp. I wouldn't get rid of him today so, in that, my impatience has been proved wrong. Again, I'm happy to admit that, and can hardly pretend otherwise.

You very conspicuously bounce from slagging him off to apologising to praising to slagging off in a neverending merry-go-round. Either have the courage of your convictions or stop filling up the board with kneejerk trash. In the nicest possible way

 

[Guinness Boy]

For me, this is the worst post on this thread. We are a work in progress and that has its ups and downs. To come on the board and slag us off one week, and then a couple of weeks later apologise and change your mind on the basis of a very minor turn of events, is the worst kind of football supporting, there is no long-term view or analysis, just a 'did we get three points or not yesterday' mentality.



You very conspicuously bounce from slagging him off to apologising to praising to slagging off in a neverending merry-go-round. Either have the courage of your convictions or stop filling up the board with kneejerk trash. In the nicest possible way

Where am I slagging "him" off?

I've stated a fact that we are no better than last season (and, in fact, our first PL season as well) without using the "P" word once in the OP.

 

[*Gullsworth*]

Barber was categoric on Roar this week that those stories are not true. There is absolutely no way Bloom is considering replacing Potter and that is quite right too. There is no other realistic manager I would want in charge of the club.

This site is incredibly bipolar at the moment when it comes to GP and our progress. The difference between last night/this morning and after the recent Southampton/Newcastle/Chelsea games is off the scale.

Don't get me wrong, I am in complete agreement with your post but although rumours are just that Bloom must always be looking at an alternative scenario to the status quo. He wouldn't want to be caught with his pants down so to speak. What if, for example, Spurs came sniffing around Potter. Bloom will always have an idea who he wants to replace him if it ever happened. For all we know Spurs have been sniffing?

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

There's certainly a bit of that.

This place wouldn't be so bad if one incredibly small minority weren't constantly telling us 'this is the greatest football ever and GPott is the messiah, everyone else is so stupid they can't see it'.

While another probably even smaller minority are telling us 'GPott signals the end of human existence'.


In the 'Least Surprising News of the Day' segment of our show, the actual truth lies somewhere in the middle, shifting just a few places, one way or the other, with each set of results.

What I would say is the transformation from Hughton-ball to Potter-ball has been profound really, hence his cult-like following. I for one didn’t see quite such a dramatic change in approach from the kind of budget we set for bringing players in. It’s therefore more perplexing that better results haven’t been achieved from games we’ve dominated (last night not being one of them I might add). As you rightly say, the truth of it, and as [MENTION=616]Guinness Boy[/MENTION] would agree, the truth of it is that most people are 1 or 2 pints of a good lager or ale from not being too far from agreeing.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Yep. Laughably shite against crap clubs. We can’t seem to find a way to break them down eventhough everyone else can. Maybe our style is just not that suited to it, given, as you say, we have gone toe to toe with some big clubs. Something to work on, for what is one of the poorest teams in the premier league.

Bigger picture - yes, Tony will want more points but the fact he gave Potter a 236-year contract tells me his expectations weren’t all that high in the short term.

Potter has had a lot of challenges thrown at him and he's overcome many - breaking down the low block is a challenge all top clubs that can dominate play have to learn, and its glaringly obvious - but there's also no reason to believe that this challenge can't be overcome either.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

Which only goes to show that one of the worst teams in Premier League history seem to have stumbled across the way to defeat the mighty Potterball.

#teamslikesheffutd

 

[Guinness Boy]

What I would say is the transformation from Hughton-ball to Potter-ball has been profound really, hence his cult-like following. I for one didn’t see quite such a dramatic change in approach from the kind of budget we set for bringing players in. It’s therefore more perplexing that better results haven’t been achieved from games we’ve dominated (last night not being one of them I might add). As you rightly say, the truth of it, and as [MENTION=616]Guinness Boy[/MENTION] would agree, the truth of it is that most people are 1 or 2 pints of a good lager or ale from not being too far from agreeing.

Yep.

A lot of the stuff I post on here after games is simply what I would have said in the bar afterwards, whereupon at least one, if not a lot more of those present would have disagreed and others nodded. We can't do that at the moment so we're doing it on here. It's not "bi polar" any more than me (or anyone) being happy after any win or annoyed after any defeat or poor draw. It just has a bigger audience.

The OP was deliberately intended in that way and not another dull "Potter in/out" poll. In theory you should be able to discuss our level of progress without making it all about Potter (unless you are [MENTION=38333]Swansman[/MENTION] who has to in order to remain relevant, as he'll never have that post game Amex pint).

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Potter has had a lot of challenges thrown at him and he's overcome many - breaking down the low block is a challenge all top clubs that can dominate play have to learn, and its glaringly obvious - but there's also no reason to believe that this challenge can't be overcome either.

He’s had several attempts at it this season and so far come up way short.