West Brom match thread

[skyebo]

Shaqiri stank the place out when he came on. offered less that nothing

No change there then

[Nineteenx]

Shaqiri stank the place out when he came on. offered less that nothing

That's been my consistent point about why Edwards should get De Paul signed sealed and delivered as a priority asap, Shaqiri, Ox, Keita, Minamino, we've signed 4 players who were supposed to be that player and aren't, De Paul is exactly what we need and Edwards needs to get it done

And Curtis overhyped Jones is nowhere near ready, nothing better than a very limited number of sub appearances and cup games against lesser opposition squad player and not the answer to anything but which player in the Premier League does the best Ray Wilkins impression in constantly slowing our play down, taking too many touches, before going sideways or backwards after he's let the opposition get everyone behind the ball

[Nineteenx]

Don’t think WBA were set out on defending today 19. They played a pretty high line and pressed us often and knew our weaknesses.

You’re right about needing to break down bus parkers with decent players. Question is, can Klopp alternate the tactics when it’s not going our way ?

I think De Paul will be a great player against all opposition, but when Edwards signs him, he should be in our line up from the start every time we play a park the bus side, can score a goal, create goals with some awesome through balls, dribbles past players to break lines, will get frequently fouled to give us free kicks in great positions, is a more proven free kick taker than Trent and has an absolutely wicked near post corner from the left, which is very useful for games v City too

The main elements of breaking down park the bus sides are:

Have one or two players who are very good dribblers who will run at them, look to burst between their last line with the ball in Malen's case and so never allow them to get settled into a pattern of defending against a set pattern of play, constantly unsettle them and those couple of players will see them pick up cards too, so they'll be in a position where they can't risk a tackle on those players in situations after their booking, just creates loads of pressure on them and makes them anxious

If you're dribbler has cracking through balls and crossing and goalscoring ability in his locker too, which De Paul absolutely has all of, that's even better

De Paul as our attacking midfielder and Malen as one of our forwards to either start of bring on who brings something none of our current forwards do and certainly not bloody Origi is he is very fucking good at running at defenders right through the middle, jinking through the narrowerest channel with the ball and a better dribbler than any of our forwards and has assist in him and an absolute Sturridgeesque thunderbolt of a strike on him that allows him to score some sensational goals from central positions outside the box out of absolutely nothing

You really need those elements of unpredictability, our issue is, we get into a pattern of constantly trying to do the same things to break these sides down and they get comfortably settled into a pattern of defending it and get better at and more comfortable at defending it as the game goes on

The other pressure element in making pTB sides commit fouls aside from them picking up bookings is Virgil and Konate to attack set pieces next season

[teesred]

That's been my consistent point about why Edwards should get De Paul signed sealed and delivered as a priority asap, Shaqiri, Ox, Keita, Minamino, we've signed 4 players who were supposed to be that player and aren't, De Paul is exactly what we need and Edwards needs to get it done

And Curtis overhyped Jones is nowhere near ready, nothing better than a very limited number of sub appearances and cup games against lesser opposition squad player and not the answer to anything but which player in the Premier League does the best Ray Wilkins impression in constantly slowing our play down, taking too many touches, before going sideways or backwards after he's let the opposition get everyone behind the ball

Agree about Jones. He has wilted since the turn of the year.
Sounds harsh but he's basically a Waitrose Jay Spearing. People say hes only young but at the end of the day you either have it or you don't and hes light years behind players like Mount and Foden.
He had a few fleeting games early on but has looked out of his depth since.
Like you said earlier in the week, He needs a loan in the championship for a season.

[scientificred]

Why should it matter who he plays with? You are good enough or you're not. It didn't seem to bother Gerrard who he had next to him, his form never took a dip.

Those Captain Fantastic appearances were few and far between.
He was often otherwise good but sometimes average and occasionally bad.
His form did dip sometimes, and sometimes from sublime to dire.

[scientificred]

Big Sam has studied us well and being mates with fergie he always seems to want to put his boys through that extra training to negate us.
But...
Neither he or fergie had an Alison header in their video diaries.
They do now!
How sweet!

[skyebo]

Those Captain Fantastic appearances were few and far between.
He was often otherwise good but sometimes average and occasionally bad.
His form did dip sometimes, and sometimes from sublime to dire.

Maybe I'm biased but I rarely saw Gerrard have a bad game. He got us out of more scrapes than anyone we have now could only dream about doing.

[justme]

Maybe I'm biased but I rarely saw Gerrard have a bad game. He got us out of more scrapes than anyone we have now could only dream about doing.

Its shame hes not here right now.. we wouldnt struggle for goals from midfield..with our front 3.. and him.. Hopefully we will get another forward.ive never been convinced about Firmino goal tally. its not enough.

[justme]

I don't want Gini to leave (but he probably will) because i think he offers us a lot of control in the middle. But today summed up his contribution in front of goal. He should have scored with the chance he had..was high wide and handsome.

[skyebo]

Its shame hes not here right now.. we wouldnt struggle for goals from midfield..with our front 3.. and him.. Hopefully we will get another forward.ive never been convinced about Firmino goal tally. its not enough.

Definitely