Irvine, Pullis, Pardew, Moore

[holmleighchris]

Magnificent performance by the board! 2 wet behind the ears and not up to it, one the king of anti-football who many fans just weren't going to tolerate and an out of work, past his best has been.
Moore has a half decent team for this division but is utilising them badly. I bet he never played in a back 3 in his career.
Pulis had the habit of buying flair players then either forcing them not to play with any flair or didn't bother playing them.
Pardew should have managed to fire them up but showed little interest.
Irvine liked to keep the ball but we ended up rarely crossing the halfway line.
I await the next instalment. Hopefully it will be sooner than later. What is Steve Bruce's promotion record like?

[Johnny on the spot 1]

Magnificent performance by the board! 2 wet behind the ears and not up to it, one the king of anti-football who many fans just weren't going to tolerate and an out of work, past his best has been.
Moore has a half decent team for this division but is utilising them badly. I bet he never played in a back 3 in his career.
Pulis had the habit of buying flair players then either forcing them not to play with any flair or didn't bother playing them.
Pardew should have managed to fire them up but showed little interest.
Irvine liked to keep the ball but we ended up rarely crossing the halfway line.
I await the next instalment. Hopefully it will be sooner than later. What is Steve Bruce's promotion record like?

Im not a stat person Chris but i think he's got a good record of getting teams up , someone will tell us for sure .

[boingy]

To me Chris its about keeping what was right (Pulis defence) and adding what wasn't (Attack) It could be that simple. It should have been that simple.

[WBA53]

To me Chris its about keeping what was right (Pulis defence) and adding what wasn't (Attack) It could be that simple. It should have been that simple.

You can only keep those what wanted to stay,our problem they either didn't or too old.makes you wonder why yacob refused to stay he'd have been perfect in front of our kamakaze 3

[Albionic68]

Magnificent performance by the board! 2 wet behind the ears and not up to it, one the king of anti-football who many fans just weren't going to tolerate and an out of work, past his best has been.
Moore has a half decent team for this division but is utilising them badly. I bet he never played in a back 3 in his career.
Pulis had the habit of buying flair players then either forcing them not to play with any flair or didn't bother playing them.
Pardew should have managed to fire them up but showed little interest.
Irvine liked to keep the ball but we ended up rarely crossing the halfway line.
I await the next instalment. Hopefully it will be sooner than later. What is Steve Bruce's promotion record like?

Darren Moore played at the heart of a back three and featured as team captain for the vast majority of our first promotion season under Sir Gary, a defensive three which conceded 29 goals in 46 League fixtures and reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup.

He has a more creative midfield (arguably) and striking options (definitely) at his disposal than the team he featured in as captain. However he does not have a no nonsense Darren Moore (as player), a Phil Gilchrist, a Tony Butler or a Lárus Sigurðsson at his disposal for the centre half positions.

He featured in a highly organised, belligerent, hard working side full of grit and determination. One which extracted the very last ounce from the sum of it's parts and an awful lot of whinging from the footballing purists among our support base. However, I very much doubt any of those centre halves could have played the way he and Jones want us to play now.

I don't think he's getting the best out of this squad at the moment either, and believe three centre halves are a luxury our current midfield could do without for most games. But to suggest he has no experience of a back three is wildly inaccurate.

Hopefully the determination he demonstrated as a player will extend to his coaching/managerial career, so that he and the current squad (plus January additions - although I won't hold my breath) can achieve their full potential. Because at the moment he/they don't seem to know whether they're Arthur or Martha. We are absolutely shocking defensively and no amount of attacking play (concentration on our strengths) will detract from this.

[soulman101]

Bomber said after the match. Relating to our promotion under Johnny Giles, those of us who are old enough will remember we was near the bottom of the table at Xmas. Giles told them to be patient we will come good.
Think it's the same now, but have the fans got the bottle to stay with it, we did in 76. Lets face it our back 3 are cr@p, but we aren't helping them with the moans and groans from some fans.
Bomber suggested moving Barry into the back 3, good call.
Anyway lets get over Wednesday and get behind the Baggies.

[9goals2hattricks3pen]

Darren Moore played at the heart of a back three and featured as team captain for the vast majority of our first promotion season under Sir Gary, a defensive three which conceded 29 goals in 46 League fixtures and reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup.

He has a more creative midfield (arguably) and striking options (definitely) at his disposal than the team he featured in as captain. However he does not have a no nonsense Darren Moore (as player), a Phil Gilchrist, a Tony Butler or a Lárus Sigurðsson at his disposal for the centre half positions.

He featured in a highly organised, belligerent, hard working side full of grit and determination. One which extracted the very last ounce from the sum of it's parts and an awful lot of whinging from the footballing purists among our support base. However, I very much doubt any of those centre halves could have played the way he and Jones want us to play now.

I don't think he's getting the best out of this squad at the moment either, and believe three centre halves are a luxury our current midfield could do without for most games. But to suggest he has no experience of a back three is wildly inaccurate.

Hopefully the determination he demonstrated as a player will extend to his coaching/managerial career, so that he and the current squad (plus January additions - although I won't hold my breath) can achieve their full potential. Because at the moment he/they don't seem to know whether they're Arthur or Martha. We are absolutely shocking defensively and no amount of attacking play (concentration on our strengths) will detract from this.

For me Moore was at the heart of a back 5 under Megson. The starting position for Balis and Clement was in a line with the central 3. One might 'go' but the other would 'stay.' Phillips (who isn't a defender) and Gibbs start well advanced of the back 3. Lose possession and the 3 are immediately dragged into wide areas. Derby's 2nd was a classic example.

[Albionic68]

For me Moore was at the heart of a back 5 under Megson. The starting position for Balis and Clement was in a line with the central 3. One might 'go' but the other would 'stay.' Phillips (who isn't a defender) and Gibbs start well advanced of the back 3. Lose possession and the 3 are immediately dragged into wide areas. Derby's 2nd was a classic example.

Fair point re the back five over a back three when defending, and only one wide player pushing up at a time in general play. However when chasing games both Balis and Clement would often push forward at the same time to stretch teams. Gilchrist and Siggy then pushed slightly out and DM marshaled them both from the middle, so to my mind he's definitely played in a back three. If nothing else I think we can both agree that he was one of three central defenders .

Even now when under the cosh the back three often becomes a back four (depending on which side we're being pressured on) or on occasions a five. Re Phillips I've acknowledged elsewhere that he's no wing back and should be further up the pitch where he is more effective. Our current central three they are supposed to pull out wider so that Phillips and Gibbs can push further up though.

The problem is our current three hang onto the ball for too long, they over elaborate and invite pressure. While this draws teams on to expose gaps elsewhere, they lack the confidence, speed of thought and ability to execute their roles effectively. I've read many posts on other forums with people slating the midfield for not dropping deep and picking the ball up. It amazes me that we have at least two centre halves who struggle to pass it to a team mate over a distance of fif**** yards, thus enabling our already outnumbered midfield two to concentrate on their own jobs.

From memory Derby's second goal was a result of Sam Field losing control of the ball in central midfield, failing to recover and none of his team mates stepping in to take responsibility. They didn't read or react quickly enough to what was going on around them. When players don't read or react to what's going on around them it doesn't make a jot of difference if you have a back three, four, five or ten (as exampled at times under TP last season).

[9goals2hattricks3pen]

Fair point re the back five over a back three when defending, and only one wide player pushing up at a time in general play. However when chasing games both Balis and Clement would often push forward at the same time to stretch teams. Gilchrist and Siggy then pushed slightly out and DM marshaled them both from the middle, so to my mind he's definitely played in a back three. If nothing else I think we can both agree that he was one of three central defenders .

Even now when under the cosh the back three often becomes a back four (depending on which side we're being pressured on) or on occasions a five. Re Phillips I've acknowledged elsewhere that he's no wing back and should be further up the pitch where he is more effective. Our current central three they are supposed to pull out wider so that Phillips and Gibbs can push further up though.

The problem is our current three hang onto the ball for too long, they over elaborate and invite pressure. While this draws teams on to expose gaps elsewhere, they lack the confidence, speed of thought and ability to execute their roles effectively. I've read many posts on other forums with people slating the midfield for not dropping deep and picking the ball up. It amazes me that we have at least two centre halves who struggle to pass it to a team mate over a distance of fif**** yards, thus enabling our already outnumbered midfield two to concentrate on their own jobs.

From memory Derby's second goal was a result of Sam Field losing control of the ball in central midfield, failing to recover and none of his team mates stepping in to take responsibility. They didn't read or react quickly enough to what was going on around them. When players don't read or react to what's going on around them it doesn't make a jot of difference if you have a back three, four, five or ten (as exampled at times under TP last season).

From memory also, couldn't bear to watch any of that lot again.

Dawson was left isolated because Phillips was so far up the pitch. What was shocking was the way Dawson 'showed him inside' rather than the outside.

Who needs Neville and Redknapp when they have the likes of Albionic and me to analyse?