Is this the best squad we have had for long?

[SwedishBaggie]

Many posters think that this current squad is the best we have had for a long time (and of course take that as another opportunity to have a go at Pulis)?

I'm not that sure, namewise maybe, but you have to look where they are in their careers now.

Gareth Barry, most PL games ever, of course a great player, but where is he now in his career, and at what age?

Ben Foster, brilliant, but he's been with us for a long time and can therefore be picked in "older squads" as well.

Jonny Evans, a great player, but, maybe he has been better, was there a reason for Man U letting him go?

Nacer Chadli, same as Evans, but replace Man U with Spurs.

Kieran Gibbs, no question marks there so far, he has been brilliant and has a good pedigree.

Jake Livermore, was he ever any good, really?

Grzegorz Krychowiak (that's the way to spell it ), a good pedigree, so we'll see about him.

Etc, etc.

Not so many seasons ago we had:

Ben Foster
Youssuf Mulumbu
Paul Scharner
Peter Odemwingie
Romelu Lukaku
Saido Berahino (before he lost his head and he still could score)

Etc, etc.

NB, quite a few of the above played together.

If we are just name dropping and looking at previous careers and pedigree, we could add:

Nicholas Anelka (yes I know, he failed miserably)
N****o Kanu

Going forward I 'd say we today are nowhere near Peter Odemwingie, Romelu Lukaku and Saido Berahino in attacking quality and goal scoring ability, which of course is of huge importance.

Another question, did Pulis get all the players he wanted, were they his first choice or 2nd, 3rd, 4th...? Hard to know, because if he stays it's all about keeping up appearances isn't it, towards the new players, towards the supporters, towards the public.

Responsible for our present situation is of course: owner, chairman, the board etc. They who appoint or sack managers/head coaches, and they who have the final say about transfers money wise.

Though, having read the board there are quite a few omniscient posters out there who seem to know a lot about everything (m any ex managers probably)...

And, am I happy with the season so far, no - but I don't really believe things are as simple as they are put here on the board sometimes.

[WBA1955]

I think it is Thomas. It's not the best squad in the premiership, but it is the best squad we have had in the premiership.
Unfortunately it is wasted because our manager has no bollux, and concedes 70% possession to the opposition no matter who they are.

[SwedishBaggie]

I think it is Thomas. It's not the best squad in the premiership, but it is the best squad we have had in the premiership.
Unfortunately it is wasted because our manager has no bollux, and concedes 70% possession to the opposition no matter who they are.

Well, attacking wise, going forward and scoring goals I think it is far from the best, Des. And, that is without considering who the head coach is, just looking at the forward players.

[TipperaryBaggie]

One day we will get players who want to play for us. Currently we only only attract players who can’t get in their own team!

[Johnny on the spot 1]

Many posters think that this current squad is the best we have had for a long time (and of course take that as another opportunity to have a go at Pulis)?

I'm not that sure, namewise maybe, but you have to look where they are in their careers now.

Gareth Barry, most PL games ever, of course a great player, but where is he now in his career, and at what age?

Ben Foster, brilliant, but he's been with us for a long time and can therefore be picked in "older squads" as well.

Jonny Evans, a great player, but, maybe he has been better, was there a reason for Man U letting him go?

Nacer Chadli, same as Evans, but replace Man U with Spurs.

Kieran Gibbs, no question marks there so far, he has been brilliant and has a good pedigree.

Jake Livermore, was he ever any good, really?

Grzegorz Krychowiak (that's the way to spell it ), a good pedigree, so we'll see about him.

Etc, etc.

Not so many seasons ago we had:

Ben Foster
Youssuf Mulumbu
Paul Scharner
Peter Odemwingie
Romelu Lukaku
Saido Berahino (before he lost his head and he still could score)

Etc, etc.

NB, quite a few of the above played together.

If we are just name dropping and looking at previous careers and pedigree, we could add:

Nicholas Anelka (yes I know, he failed miserably)
N****o Kanu

Going forward I 'd say we today are nowhere near Peter Odemwingie, Romelu Lukaku and Saido Berahino in attacking quality and goal scoring ability, which of course is of huge importance.

Another question, did Pulis get all the players he wanted, were they his first choice or 2nd, 3rd, 4th...? Hard to know, because if he stays it's all about keeping up appearances isn't it, towards the new players, towards the supporters, towards the public.

Responsible for our present situation is of course: owner, chairman, the board etc. They who appoint or sack managers/head coaches, and they who have the final say about transfers money wise.

Though, having read the board there are quite a few omniscient posters out there who seem to know a lot about everything (m any ex managers probably)...

And, am I happy with the season so far, no - but I don't really believe things are as simple as they are put here on the board sometimes.

Good post Swedish & i agree the only thing thats better now the bench may be , gibbs looks a good buy but up top never in this world is it better . Absolutely no pace for a start , ok you could say Super Kev had no pace but he knew how to score . only McClean got pace now & he works hard but not got it for me . enjoy the game mate & your time in England ,

[SwedishBaggie]

Good post Swedish & i agree the only thing thats better now the bench may be , gibbs looks a good buy but up top never in this world is it better . Absolutely no pace for a start , ok you could say Super Kev had no pace but he knew how to score . only McClean got pace now & he works hard but not got it for me . enjoy the game mate & your time in England ,

Cheers and will do JOTS!

[WBA123]

Its a great question,

In terms of the squad, it probably is the best I remember us having. Our bench has been solid since the transfer window and we have internationals who regularly play for their country who can't get a game. Then you have younger players out on loan who are most definitely stronger than the youth players I remember in the past.

I would also say we're a much better unit and have better defenders than we've ever had. Jonny Evans is probably the best player I've seen in an Albion shirt in the premier league.

However, offensively as already been stated, we're nowhere near as good. Odemwingie, Lukaku, Jerome Thomas, Shane Long...(I think this was the first season Clarke was in charge) were a real handful. They were quick, dynamic and effective. We beat Wolves 5-1 away and it could have been double. The week after we beat Sunderland 4-0 I think. You just can't see us doing that right now.

I don't know how true it is, but I heard a stat that we've scored 12 goals in our last 18 league games. That says it all.

[holmleighchris]

It's hard to judge the current strikers under Pulis. They are not getting the support the others mentioned got from their colleagues.

[SwedishBaggie]

It's hard to judge the current strikers under Pulis. They are not getting the support the others mentioned got from their colleagues.

Maybe, but, we have no one in this squad who would be close to the quality of the afore mentioned forwards, mentioned below again. Bring in Guardiola or anyone, our present forwards would be miles behind.

Peter Odemwingie, Romelu Lukaku and Saido Berahino (the "old" one), and to a lesser extent, but still, Shane Long.

Add to that midfielders who really could threaten offensively: Paul Scharner, Youssuf Mulumbu (think we used him the wrong way often, as a sitting midfielder) and Jerome Thomas.