The Problems At West Bromwich Albion
A couple of weeks ago I was in The Trocadero, Birmingham talking to a bunch of Manchester City fans who were jubilant after smashing 4 past Villa in the FA Cup fourth round and we were exchanging our clubs 'funny' football chants. After telling them about the classics, such as 'Stevie Bull's a Tatter' and whatever else it dawned on us that at present West Brom don't have any real mickey taking songs. This lead one of the City fans to conclude that "You're not going to have anything to sing about when you have Pulis as a manager, are you?". This, alongside the downturn in results in the past 6 weeks has lead me to investigate what the underlying problem is at West Brom and try to explain what would appease some of the disgruntled supporters.
Firstly, I have titled this article 'the problem at West Bromwich Albion' however, before I thrash out a whole shedload of negativity I have to say that in essence there is no problem at West Brom. The reason I say this is because we're sitting in 14th position, 6 points clear of the relegation zone in the closing stages of our 6th consecutive season in the top flight. Financially, the club has never been in a better position and from the chairmans point of view we've got the best possible manager in place in order to achieve our goal, which in his eyes is to stay in the division.
The reason why Pulis in the chairmans eyes is the best possible manager to have in place is because regardless of the style of football he plays his record speaks for itself and therefore he gives you the greatest amount of certainty of staying in the division and as human beings we strive for certainty. Another way of looking at it is if someone gives you the choice of having either a guaranteed £1 million or the opportunity to go double or quits on the roll of a dice the logical decision would be to take the £1million as it is a certain bet.
One thing I do like about Pulis as a manager is that he makes sure that all of his players are super-fit for purpose. I firmly believe that if all the players in the Premier League had their strength and fitness levels tested West Brom would have one of the strongest, if not the strongest and fittest in the league. It is because of this that you cannot fault the physical commitment of the players in any of the games this season.
However, the players and tactics that Pulis is selecting each week are simply not technically or aesthetically pleasing enough for the supporters and for the demands of the Premier League. West Brom have historically always been a club that have played relatively attractive football with a cutting edge offensively but under Pulis this tradition has been replaced by a brand of bland, defensive, snatch and grab style of play and understandably this has come as a shock to the fans.
The inevitable change in style that was always going to happen once Pulis was appointed would of probably gone down without a fuss if it was moving the club up the league table but with the club getting sucked into a relegation battle for the third consecutive season it is easy to see why the fans are becoming impatient with Pulis.
The problem is that Pulis' style doesn't excite the fans, under previous managers fans would go to the game and have little idea of what the most likely score was going to be, 1-0 was as likely as 3-2 due to the flair and openness that West Brom have historically played with. However, under Pulis regardless of the opposition fans know exactly what to expect; a defensive display with the intension of setting up not to lose the game rather than setting up to win the game. If you're the betting kind then West Brom are surely a dream team as 60% of matches this season have had less than 2.5 goals in the game.
The FA Cup games against Bristol City and Peterborough, along with the drab home draw against Villa has epitomised Pulis' reluctance to attack teams and caused some to call for the Welshman to be sacked. It's not that the fans don't like Pulis as a bloke but it's the fact that occasionally you want to see the team come out and take the game to this opposition rather than letting the opposition bring the game to us. When Villa arrived at the Hawthorns on January 23rd West Brom had the opportunity to leave local rivals Villa 10 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table, put themselves 9 points clear of danger and secure our first league double of Villa since 1974 with a victory. However, a goalless draw followed, a match in which West Brom failed to register a shot on target.
Whats utterly baffling about Pulis' reign at West Brom is the alienation of four senior players, particularly that of Pocognoli. It's clear to everyone that Pulis isn't a Pocognoli fan however, the reluctance to play him despite injures to Brunt and Evans, both of whom Pulis has preferred to use as makeshift left backs is nonsensical. If he's not going to play the guy in the midst of the current injury crisis, he's never going to play the him. So, it begs the question of why hasn't he been sold? Pulis has now had three full transfer windows at the helm, surely in that time a player of Pocognoli's calibre has attracted interest from clubs across Europe. Pulis can complain all he wants that he's working on a shoestring budget at West Brom but the fact of the matter is that he's paying the four alienated players a combined wage of approximately £116,000 a week and using them sparingly. If he'd of disposed of the four players in question then he may have had a little more wriggle room in the transfer window.
Assistant Manager Dave Kemp told journalists that he didn't understand why fans were booing the team after the recent 1-1 home draw to Swansea, this to me just showed the managements sheer delusion. Yes, West Brom got a point and edged closer to the magical 40 point mark however, it was the manner of the draw and the tactical changes during the match that was concerning fans. What Dave Kemp and Tony Pulis must realise is unlike them the fans do not get a million pound bonus for keeping the club in the Premier League by whatever means necessary. The fans are consumers of a product, that product is West Bromwich Albion Football Club and they want that product, which is the team that is fielded on match day to be of the highest possible quality. If the product isn't performing as expected or desired they will voice their displeasure.
What Pulis needs to realise is that many fans want more than simply points on the board, they also want entertaining! Now I'm not suggesting for one second that Pulis should try and play a brand of open tiki taka football as thats likely to get us relegated with the current bunch of players. However, setting the team up, particularly at home to play with a little bit of flair and attacking intent I believe would go a long way to appeasing some of the critics.
Joey G
Firstly, I have titled this article 'the problem at West Bromwich Albion' however, before I thrash out a whole shedload of negativity I have to say that in essence there is no problem at West Brom. The reason I say this is because we're sitting in 14th position, 6 points clear of the relegation zone in the closing stages of our 6th consecutive season in the top flight. Financially, the club has never been in a better position and from the chairmans point of view we've got the best possible manager in place in order to achieve our goal, which in his eyes is to stay in the division.
The reason why Pulis in the chairmans eyes is the best possible manager to have in place is because regardless of the style of football he plays his record speaks for itself and therefore he gives you the greatest amount of certainty of staying in the division and as human beings we strive for certainty. Another way of looking at it is if someone gives you the choice of having either a guaranteed £1 million or the opportunity to go double or quits on the roll of a dice the logical decision would be to take the £1million as it is a certain bet.
One thing I do like about Pulis as a manager is that he makes sure that all of his players are super-fit for purpose. I firmly believe that if all the players in the Premier League had their strength and fitness levels tested West Brom would have one of the strongest, if not the strongest and fittest in the league. It is because of this that you cannot fault the physical commitment of the players in any of the games this season.
However, the players and tactics that Pulis is selecting each week are simply not technically or aesthetically pleasing enough for the supporters and for the demands of the Premier League. West Brom have historically always been a club that have played relatively attractive football with a cutting edge offensively but under Pulis this tradition has been replaced by a brand of bland, defensive, snatch and grab style of play and understandably this has come as a shock to the fans.
The inevitable change in style that was always going to happen once Pulis was appointed would of probably gone down without a fuss if it was moving the club up the league table but with the club getting sucked into a relegation battle for the third consecutive season it is easy to see why the fans are becoming impatient with Pulis.
The problem is that Pulis' style doesn't excite the fans, under previous managers fans would go to the game and have little idea of what the most likely score was going to be, 1-0 was as likely as 3-2 due to the flair and openness that West Brom have historically played with. However, under Pulis regardless of the opposition fans know exactly what to expect; a defensive display with the intension of setting up not to lose the game rather than setting up to win the game. If you're the betting kind then West Brom are surely a dream team as 60% of matches this season have had less than 2.5 goals in the game.
The FA Cup games against Bristol City and Peterborough, along with the drab home draw against Villa has epitomised Pulis' reluctance to attack teams and caused some to call for the Welshman to be sacked. It's not that the fans don't like Pulis as a bloke but it's the fact that occasionally you want to see the team come out and take the game to this opposition rather than letting the opposition bring the game to us. When Villa arrived at the Hawthorns on January 23rd West Brom had the opportunity to leave local rivals Villa 10 points adrift of safety at the foot of the table, put themselves 9 points clear of danger and secure our first league double of Villa since 1974 with a victory. However, a goalless draw followed, a match in which West Brom failed to register a shot on target.
Whats utterly baffling about Pulis' reign at West Brom is the alienation of four senior players, particularly that of Pocognoli. It's clear to everyone that Pulis isn't a Pocognoli fan however, the reluctance to play him despite injures to Brunt and Evans, both of whom Pulis has preferred to use as makeshift left backs is nonsensical. If he's not going to play the guy in the midst of the current injury crisis, he's never going to play the him. So, it begs the question of why hasn't he been sold? Pulis has now had three full transfer windows at the helm, surely in that time a player of Pocognoli's calibre has attracted interest from clubs across Europe. Pulis can complain all he wants that he's working on a shoestring budget at West Brom but the fact of the matter is that he's paying the four alienated players a combined wage of approximately £116,000 a week and using them sparingly. If he'd of disposed of the four players in question then he may have had a little more wriggle room in the transfer window.
Assistant Manager Dave Kemp told journalists that he didn't understand why fans were booing the team after the recent 1-1 home draw to Swansea, this to me just showed the managements sheer delusion. Yes, West Brom got a point and edged closer to the magical 40 point mark however, it was the manner of the draw and the tactical changes during the match that was concerning fans. What Dave Kemp and Tony Pulis must realise is unlike them the fans do not get a million pound bonus for keeping the club in the Premier League by whatever means necessary. The fans are consumers of a product, that product is West Bromwich Albion Football Club and they want that product, which is the team that is fielded on match day to be of the highest possible quality. If the product isn't performing as expected or desired they will voice their displeasure.
What Pulis needs to realise is that many fans want more than simply points on the board, they also want entertaining! Now I'm not suggesting for one second that Pulis should try and play a brand of open tiki taka football as thats likely to get us relegated with the current bunch of players. However, setting the team up, particularly at home to play with a little bit of flair and attacking intent I believe would go a long way to appeasing some of the critics.
Joey G
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