West Brom are obviously not great, but they are certainly no whipping boys. They have only lost by more than 1 goal 4 times (I think) this season, and 2 of those were against the ‘big boys’ (too many mentions of boys?). West Brom have always had a way of dragging teams to their level. 1-0 job done. Getting clean sheets seemed unimaginable against any pro team a few weeks back! Javi deserves lots of credit for organising our full backs , and defence in general, without totally sacrificing any forward intent. Great result and not as bad a team performance as some might describe. Bad game for the neutral to sit through, maybe.
Nah apart from annoying kids rookery was decent I'm sure a west brom fan asked if I wanted a scrap as I walked past the away coaches Just ignored and gave a puzzled look A minute later I did think of "you'll only lose and go down mate" Was too slow Probably for the best
I thought the first half was, it definitely fits the horrific to watch and a car crash description. Second half Pereyra constantly found space out wide, Hughes brought some quality on to the pitch. I think with Gerard fit it would've been a much better spectacle second half, we were missing that speed and directness but yeah, I don't think it wasn't awful for the full 90, I was out my seat a fair bit!
Second game in a row Javi has made tactical subs who directly changed the game. Okaka assist last week, Hughes this time around (with Okaka doing well again). How nice it is to have a head coach with a plan B again.
Yep. Good atmosphere throughout. Not particularly loud, but singing throughout, and a few really good moments.
Awful game, they had more chances than us and probably deserved something. BUT, to hear a despondent Pardew on 5live on the way home made me think that it was better that we won the way we did rather than beating them comfortably. It couldn't happen to a nicer bloke!
I wouldn't say the whole second half, but after the subs yes. We were significantly improved. It's time to accept facts. Deeney can't play without a strike partner.
I enjoyed it throughout. But then, I am not weighed down with the burden of expectancy and entitlement. Good game, well won. I don't give a damn what a neutral thought of it.
Quality wasn't great but the game wasn't boring. Some of our fans need to stop watching the ******* Champions League. Decent win against a team fighting for their lives in rubbish conditions after dominating most of the game.
I don't want to live in a world where Jake Livermore gets in the England squad and Will Hughes doesn't. Is Will Hughes the best footballer at the club? In my opinion yes, he is. And only 22, what a ******* bargain we got there.
Dire first half, much better in the second when we brought Okaka on and shifted Pereyra out wide. Capoue and Doucoure had poor games but we were solid defensively which is nice to see. Not sure we will ever see Okaka be match fit, however if we could have 90 minutes of him and Deeney I'd love to see it.
Hopefully Holebas ok. We are struggling for defenders. West Brom we’re always going to throw everything at that game. I personally thought we just about deserved it.
He's top class, but he's definitely an attacking midfielder. Livermore being in the England side is a reflection of how poor our holding midfielders are Would take a lot for Hughes to force his way in
In Capoue's defence (dons flak jacket), him and Doucoure were outnumbered 3 to 2 for most of the game. Pereyra was effectively playing as a second striker in the first half, and it was only when West Brom started to go for it a bit more that the midfield found space. Doesn't account for all the "Capoueness", like attempting to nutmeg Brunt (?) on the edge of his own box, a few wayward passes and so on, but I do sympathise with him in some ways.
Delighted for Deeney finding his scoring touch again! Some of his touches today were laughable as you’d expect but if he keeps scoring and keeps Gray off the pitch I’m buzzing.
That'll do. Exactly the game we expected and we got the points. Now on to next week and doing the double over Arsenal
I didn’t think it was as bad as last week Positives , Okaka and Hughes were great subs . Hughes pass to Deeney was absoloutly class. Deeney goal was excellent, that is how you are supposed to finish. Pereya looked better, Janmat made an important save, another clean sheet for Karnezis and we are very very close to safety (in fact would say we are safe) and upto 9th Was never going to be a great game, only real shame for me was capoue looked like the old days - guess he really doesn’t like the cold. Good result especially when you consider who we didn’t have available
When they called over the tannoy for 'James Cheesman' to report to the nearest steward, I said to my nephew that it sounded like an awareness alert. They used to have code names, like Mr Brown, or Mr Green in he eighties, for fires or bomb scares. Very infrequently used thankfully.
It's been brought to my attention by another board member that 424 & Going Down are sleeping together. So your comments don't really count.
Imagine how miserable these people will be if we ever actually find ourselves in a relegation battle.
Same team as Everton, pretty much same story as well. Karnezis great again. Mariappa and Prodl both with some great blocks, but poor distribution gifted them a few chances. Janmaat didn't score his chance, unlike what we've come to expect from him, and didn't get forward much in general, but was surprisingly solid in defence including one fantastic goal saving block near the end off the head of Rodriguez. Holebas did alright again, though at times was beaten too easily by Phillips and was typically inconsistent with his crosses. Capoue - hmm, new contract, old-style sloppy performance. Doucoure, after a few iffy games was better again. Richie - only 20, but plays with the maturity of an 8 year-old - the idea of being a winger is to run passed your opponents, not straight in to them... more of a whinger than a winger right now; wouldn't be sad if he leaves to suck snake's snake at whichever club he slithers up to next. Pereyra - still only flashes of his quality, shies away from the action too much, can do much more. Carillo - continues to be a bit of a non-event really - file alongside Jurado and Amrabat in the "decent technique, but ineffective wingers" category; at least our ineffective wingers are getting quicker each season though... Deeney - typically poor and without a sniff when playing on his own up top, which I will repeat time and again; Okaka coming on enabled him to get the acres of space he needs to be allowed to score. Credit again for the finish though. Okaka - made a difference again, looks sharp. Hughes - good to see him back and not looking the worse for his injury.
Why does an on fire Troy Deeney bring out so much 'eat humble pie' in some of our fans. Surely it's ok to criticise an out of form player just as much as praise him for then finding his goal touch again. Good on him for helping drag us out of trouble. Better late than never so come on Troy do it next Sunday against Arsenal! Imagine doing the double over them.
Seriously?? He played fairly well for half an hour, but after that he was absolutely terrible, even in the context of a ghastly game.
Brilliant from Hughes for the goal, great anticipation and a perfectly weighted pass. He uses the ball so intelligently and if there's nothing on, protects it and wins free kicks. It was great to see Deeney bearing down on goal like that, so rarely gets put through one on one these days, and the finish was vintage Championship Deeney. Shame Okaka didn't get the goal his last couple of performances have deserved. Richarlison is tired, young and lacking confidence but he also lacks game intelligence. Dawson is a slow centre back playing out wide and he didn't once try to push the ball past him and go on the outside. His reputation was inflated by the start of his career in England but I'm actually thinking he might still be here next season as I'm not sure the top teams will want to pay the price we'll want for him. Could see him joining Silva at Everton for a fortune though...
Because so much of it was beyond criticism, and made claims of disloyalty, betrayal, and inability. If we'd just stuck to calling him a useless fat **** we could all feel a little less humble now.
If you enjoy watching twenty blokes constantly misplace passes and boot the ball into next week, then that’s your absolute prerogative. Results are everything, but I’m hard pressed to think of two worse games to watch than the last two.
