WBA53 match day thread

[soulman101]

Albion v Pompey 3pm on a Saturday as it should be .
Train drivers on strike , so all the Pompey fans will be coming by road ,on a bank holiday .
There's a couple of Albion season ticket holders by me, who travel from Kent ,they have been coming for decades ,can't see them making the journey today .
Safe travel everyone and COYB and a big win .

[stargazer_1962]

Waited until this morning to purchase a ticket and surprisingly, a couple of tickets popped up in the Smethwick, I quickly nabbed one, though i think it's safe standing so that should be interesting.

[soulman101]

Waited until this morning to purchase a ticket and surprisingly, a couple of tickets popped up in the Smethwick, I quickly nabbed one, though i think it's safe standing so that should be interesting.

If you are in the fanzone pre match and you see an old bloke with a big moustache on crutches, in shorts with a knee brace come and say hello

[Omegstrat6]

Griffiths, Furlong, Phillips, Campbell, Styles, Molumby, Mowatt, Fellows, Price,Johnston and Heggebo. No argument from me there.

Grant, Diakite, Collyer and Maja on the bench amongst others. Hopefully see some of these at some point.

[TipperaryBaggie]

Was unable to watch most of the game because the 'stick' kept buffering every 30 secs! However, I managed to watch the last 10 mins and was disappointed to watch the back four constantly play square balls to each when we should have been trying to move the ball forward much quicker. Back to the old days methinks!

[baggieal]

Was unable to watch most of the game because the 'stick' kept buffering every 30 secs! However, I managed to watch the last 10 mins and was disappointed to watch the back four constantly play square balls to each when we should have been trying to move the ball forward much quicker. Back to the old days methinks!

Tried to walk the ball in too - whilst it was a definite pen - Heggebo needs to be quicker ie one touch and fire.

Get what you mean about moving the ball quicker and again Furlong outpaced on a number of times. Yes he?s got a decent throw but with the clock ticking he must have wasted valuable seconds faffing with the ball.

Collyer should have come on earlier as we needed a spark in the middle. I wouldn?t have taken off Mikey either!

[Bombers right foot]

Tried to walk the ball in too - whilst it was a definite pen - Heggebo needs to be quicker ie one touch and fire.

Get what you mean about moving the ball quicker and again Furlong outpaced on a number of times. Yes he?s got a decent throw but with the clock ticking he must have wasted valuable seconds faffing with the ball.

Collyer should have come on earlier as we needed a spark in the middle. I wouldn?t have taken off Mikey either!

Furlong again was absoloutly appalling, never stopped one cross, most of the time wasn't in the same postcode as the winger

[Omegstrat6]

Was only able to listen on WBA radio so difficult to comment but seems it was mostly a quite balanced match.

AJ commented quite early on that a one goal lead was never going to be enough and that if we kept allowing.crosses into the box then Portsmouth would inevitably equalize-which they did. Last 20 mins seemed to be all us though they made it difficult by putting all their players behind the ball and itdid sound like we didn't move the ball quickly enough or incisively enough to break through.

Was surprised to see Mikey off although, tbh, it did sound like Grant brought some energy back into the game. Listening to it, Price seemed uncharacteristically quiet so maybe Colliyer should have come on much sooner for him.

I like the idea of playing both Heggebo and Maja but Maja sounded a bit rusty? Oh, and they had 5 yellows mostly for using the dark arts to stop our attacking moves, were lucky to avoid a red and we should have had a penalty. Fair summary?

[Prando]

Was unable to watch most of the game because the 'stick' kept buffering every 30 secs! However, I managed to watch the last 10 mins and was disappointed to watch the back four constantly play square balls to each when we should have been trying to move the ball forward much quicker. Back to the old days methinks!

I was disappointed to see too much of that slow build up throughput the match Tipps buddy. To be fair, compared with last season?s back four passing, we did get the ball forward a little more quickly. Inevitably, we gave the ball away in the process a few times, but fortunately got away with it. The reluctance to put the ball into their box from a free kick - with both Maja and Heggebo on in the last 10 minutes or so, was very frustrating. Particularly as a three yard square pass was preferred ?

Mowatt and Mulumby spent too much time in the back four?s territory, albeit the former was unlucky to hit the post with a rare shot. We seemed to lack creativity in the middle, particularly with Price having a below average performance.

Griffiths, whilst not inspiring confidence, made a critical save.

Fellows managed to get around the fullback and managed a number of crosses, none of which proved testing.

Johnston threatened and, not being frightened to shoot, scored ! To be fair Grant also provided some decent runs when he came on.

Heggebo was again strong, held the ball up well when necessary and was undoubtedly fouled a number of times with nothing awarded by the ref?bizarre! Maja showed some decent touches, but clearly not yet fully match fit.

Whilst 7 points after 3 games is a decent start, we certainly felt robbed as we walked out. Pompey were a well drilled side.

Sjoke will be a real test methinks.

[kettering_baggie]

‘Robbed’ is an accurate description of the result. We often moan about the referee but today the ref was truly appalling; you will never see a clearer penalty and a ‘last man’ foul going completely unpunished was another example of the blokes incompetence. Not fit to referee.

With a performance like that the referee should be red carded and have a three (at least) match ban.

[baggieal]

I was disappointed to see too much of that slow build up throughput the match Tipps buddy. To be fair, compared with last season?s back four passing, we did get the ball forward a little more quickly. Inevitably, we gave the ball away in the process a few times, but fortunately got away with it. The reluctance to put the ball into their box from a free kick - with both Maja and Heggebo on in the last 10 minutes or so, was very frustrating. Particularly as a three yard square pass was preferred ?

Mowatt and Mulumby spent too much time in the back four?s territory, albeit the former was unlucky to hit the post with a rare shot. We seemed to lack creativity in the middle, particularly with Price having a below average performance.

Griffiths, whilst not inspiring confidence, made a critical save.

Fellows managed to get around the fullback and managed a number of crosses, none of which proved testing.

Johnston threatened and, not being frightened to shoot, scored ! To be fair Grant also provided some decent runs when he came on.

Heggebo was again strong, held the ball up well when necessary and was undoubtedly fouled a number of times with nothing awarded by the ref?bizarre! Maja showed some decent touches, but clearly not yet fully match fit.

Whilst 7 points after 3 games is a decent start, we certainly felt robbed as we walked out. Pompey were a well drilled side.

Sjoke will be a real test methinks.

I would agree with all that Prando! Didn?t understand why Collyer did not come on much earlier. Furlong was again out paced quite a few times. Heggebo held the ball up well but needs to be quicker with one touch - aim and fire!

[Acido]

‘Robbed’ is an accurate description of the result. We often moan about the referee but today the ref was truly appalling; you will never see a clearer penalty and a ‘last man’ foul going completely unpunished was another example of the blokes incompetence. Not fit to referee.
With a performance like that the referee should be red carded and have a three (at least) match ban.

Yeah exactly Ketts, I thought the same when watching the highlights, as a 'neutral' fan.
Sometimes the refs make some really bad and baffling decisions, but they are never made accountable for it.
It appears that the standard of refs doesn't get any better, in the Championship and the Premier.