Interesting to read the views here, couldn't get to the game or listen to it as I was at work but I heard the score. It's a blow, and could knock the confidence of the players but to be honest, it's not the end of the world. It's never nice to get a pasting but WBA are a very good side and will probably go up this season, and from what I can gauge we were our own worst enemies at times. Hopefully back to winning ways in the coming weeks.
Agreed. I made that point in my summary. The long ball from Carson caught us out EVERY time. Shocking defending.
Does it just look like Cathcart etc need somebody with more experience alongside them away from home when under pressure to organise because we do seem to give teams a lot of chances (we may have lost quite badly beforehand this game but for Loach..at far worse sides) ? Important thing is to bounce back quickly and the players not to let this get to them too much in terms of losing morale/confidence.
Cathcart was DEFINITELY the main defender at fault for goals 1/4 and 5 - terrible display imho; unfortunatel we need him at the moment so I hope it doesn't affect his confidence to much for the games coming up Shittu is a very good shout for a return to Watford Spud but unfortunately he is currently out injured - we do need some experience at the back with DeMerit out long term and QUICK!!
We lost 5-0 because the ref was a total homer. How on earth Moore stayed on the pitch is unbelievable and of course he gets the third. We were crap but even with a half competent ref we could have got something out of the game. The penalty was a joke. I was right at the front and Moore brought down Mariappa by tugging his shirt. Graham was consistently fouled and we got nothing. WBA were the worst bunch of divers I've seen in ages in this league. Di Matteo's influence? Teixera looked liked he been shot after Heidar challenged him with minimal contact. 5-0 up and they were still trying to get our players sent off!! Total bunch of cheats and their fans are scum. Mind you I'm not surprised what a total 5h1thole they live in. Good to see the team got a good reception at the end from the fans that will help them.
How can people slate Ellington did we even have a shot on target before he had 2 after he came on? Ellington was crap for us but hardly one of the main component of yesterdays downfall. Considering he plays 20mins per game he been pretty good this season whilst players like Cowie and Jenkins have done nothing this season.
I just had a look and there's one reason why we lost today, and that is money. West Brom's starting XI cost them an amazing £17,750,000. Whilst our's only cost a small amount with £600,000 spent on the whole XI. That really just shows why their team completely outplayed us, fortunately despite our lack of money we still have a good team and will get good results and although I don't think we'll be challenging for the play-offs I'm happy to comfortably sit in mid-table as we play good football and provide entertaining matches with some good results along the way.
:sign15::sign15::sign15: Totally agree with you. The ref and the West Brom players were a disgrace and I agree it is Di Matteo's influence. Absolute disgrace and I disagree with others on here who say we were outplayed. We werent. If graham had scored we would be talking about a completely different score line and no not 5 - 1. Dont forget they scored from Cathcarts pathetic defending at a free kick, then a penalty that shouldnt have been given and then Cathcart thought Xmas had come early and gave them another 2. And Luke moore shouldnt have been on the pitch. So on paper, we were beaten 5 nil but on the pitch it was never a 5 nil drubbing as some people like to think.
Maybe outplayed was harsh. We didn't play terrible overall but our defending was terrible and we only created 1 or 2 chances. Nothing to worry about too much IMO but it wasn't great.
I have to disagree with a lot of what has been said on here and say we got exactly what we deserved, an absolute pasting. The simple fact is our defending was shocking and unril Ellington came on, dare I say, we never looked like scoring. If I'm honest, it reminded me a bit of Reading away last season - we had a lot of the ball but in all the wrong areas. It was tippy tappy football with no cutting edge, and when West Brom won it back, they looked like scoring every time they came forward. I know Cathcart has been ripped to pieces, but the defence as a whole was woeful, with little support from the midfield, espeically Eustace who was completely off the pace. Have to disagree with Bubble for once, Hodson deserved his yellow. The winger was past him and he tugged him back - I called it straight away. The biggest turning point in the game, as mentioned, was Danny G's miss at 2-0. Make it 2-1, and its game on, but within 60 seconds we are 3-0 down and its game over. Such a shame, I thought we would go to Albion and give them a game, but all we ended up doing was showing them too much respect and rolling over for them.
Nak, Cathcart had a mare, hes a young lad with too much pressure on his shoulders. We need a Shittu, someone experienced, built like a barn door and will run through brick walls for the cause. Hodson's early booking was harsh and it put him on edge for the rest of the game. Playing as right back with a pacy forward in front of you, carrying a booking for 85 mins is not gonna relax you. Another young lad as well. Marriappa had to do 2 jobs, his own and Cathcarts. Doyley was Doyley. The midfield didnt provide enough cover at times either. West Brom like to counter they have pacy front men who like to get in behind you by making diagonal runs and they like to use the flanks as well. In fact some of their long cross field passing from one flank to the other was bang on the money. Something we could do with. Bit of a nightmare to play against but thats why I think we should have gone 2 up front from half time. So we gave them more to think about and could stretch them. We like close one touch passing which at times we over do and if the midfields crowded goes nowhere. Still we're in alot better position than I thought we'd be in.
I didn't disagree with that. Cathcart was dreadful, he was at fault for 3 goals. Mariappa conceded a penalty, and it was a pen. Hodson shouldn't have been booked but it was a foul. Defensively we were all over the place.
I know mate but another big question, for me, hangs over Danny Graham. IF he had scored and lets face it he should have, it was game on. Maybe its time we gave him a rest. Hes another young lad still learning and while I commend his effort sometimes his chances are limited because he's up there on his own. Hoskins is a player Id rather see given a chance, in place of Ellington. I know its fashionable to slate Ellington but I have seen absolute nothing from Ellington apart from one goal at Ipswich when lets face it the ball was put on a plate for him. He even managed to get in Heidar's way yesterday going for the same ball. He really needs to leave and leave quickly.
Hoskins is definitely not the answer. Ellington has performed well when playing, he's worked hard, closed down defenders, his passing has been nice and although his finishing isn't always on target at least he, unlike most, actually has a go to try and get us a goal and I beleive that if given a run of games he will show a lot more (in a positive way). Graham has not scored for a while but his overall play has still been good, I would keep him in for now, maybe partnered up front by Ellington.
Id still like to see Hoskins given a chance. Alongside Helguson, maybe. Ellington's 5 goals in 3 season's says it all for me. Maybe tho if we gave Ellington a start and saw him perform over 90 mins alongside someone, for a couple of games, might change my mind but he has to score goals. I do get a bit annoyed when Malky plays one up front at home, sometimes. I think at home you need to be positive and playing one up front sometimes give the opposition a bit of a lift. Mind you we scored 4 in our last home game so that shows how much I know !! I dont know. Its this division. Its so damn unpredictable. Which is exciting for us but must be a mare for manager's.
I understand why he plays the 4-4-1-1 as it has worked very well up to yesterday. We have looked a lot better defensively with the formation (apart from yesterday) and we've never won when we have played 4-4-2. I think we may need to go to a 4-4-2 next week though. As for Hoskins. His work rate and attitude just completely put me off him. We also seem to lose a lot of games when he plays.
We have a young side and they will come unstuck due to their inexperience as they did against Cardiff. The most crucial thing is that they don't let it affect their confidence because if it does it will be season over and relegation. Graham hasn't scored but his work rate and positioning mean he will again, probably sooner rather than later - he should benefit from HH playing alongside him. I think we all know we need an experienced and strong centre back, - if we still had Williamson we probably wouldn't conceede half as many goals from crosses. I haven't seen Cathcart enough due to my injury but i'd imagine he'd play better with an experienced centre back who can help organise him due to his young age. Imo Mariappa isn't an ideal captain due to the fact he sometimes loses concentration and having not played centre back all his life probably can't offer Cathcart the extra support he needs (to make him a more solid player for us, not just a better player for Manchester United)
Ha ha I was scratching me head reading that. To be honest Ive no idea what the answer is, up front, and yeah you're right 4-4-1-1 has down us well. Like I said at home I like to see us being more positive with 2 up but then we scored 4 goals in our last home game. So Ive no idea. But Cathcart has to be replaced, there's no doubt about that. I cant help but think he will cost us if we're not careful. Its a long long hard season and he will crumble if he continues to put in performances like yesterday. He was woeful. I know De Merit's back soon but if Mariappa gets injured we're in big big trouble cos its not guranteed De Merit will last til the end of the season. That eye injury looked (forgive the pun) terrible. If we do bring anyone else in, they have to be experienced. Even if its as cover.
as soon as they went two nil up, MM should have taken off Hodson (on a yellow) shifted LD to right back and bring oh HH to play upfront with DG. I enjoyed the game, our pretty football was wasted and wba had us on the run with their pace. Shows how frgile our team is with two big defeats 0-4 and home and 5-0 away to teams who have pace. We lack width . Support was very good and showed a compassionate side with the songs in the last 15 minutes, far better than the booing and abuse of players normally heard at that stage of a defeat. Loads of wfc fans left as soon as the 4th went in - gloryhunters. Relegation odds - i nicked a few quid at 8/1 last night building my bet up. We aint going to get any betetr but the other teams may start winning dragging us deep into the mire by Xmas and will depend on TC staying and what the bruvs allow MM to spend on new signings and loanees. Poor tactics by MM yesterday IMO he needed to be bold at 2-0 down and wasn't. A missed bettimng opportunity yesterday - heart ruled head rather than other way around. An enjoyable day out.
5 goals in a season and 10 games. He was on loan at Derby for a season, where he scored 9 goals, and this season is hardley over. Hoskins on the other hand has fallen out with Malky because the lack of professionalisum (sp ). Hoskins record is no better and lets face it is crap. Of the two who is likely to create more chances and open up defences when we need to most. Love im or hate him thats Ellington.
no need to over-react. 7 days earlier the same team played well. In this division this type of result can happen. I would rather lose a couple of games big and keep clean sheets in others and get wins. Thats what we have been doing. We desperately need a cover CB. Cartright & mariappa as a pair is too shaky against strong teams. At least getting thumped emphasises this. Cartright was nowhere for 1st goal. How about Williamson back on loan - he cant get on the bench at Pompey. HB84
Worrying thing is not the scoreline, but the fact that we were absolutely massacred. Could have been more and we defended appallingly. Even against Wednesday the fragility of our defence was visible, though Wednesday were not equipped to expose it too much, plus once we went to 3-1 they gave up. This was not a 1 off. Our defending is abhorrent at times, and at others worse. It's a problem which needs addressing. Cathcart was supposed to help, but he's made it worse. He's been useless thus far. It's baffling, because he did so well for Plymuff last season. I don't have the answers, but I hope Malky can find them soon otherwise we may have a tough winter ahead of us.
He's a bad winner if there is such a thing. He needs to go through puberty if he wants to be listened to and respected.
