Delighted with 3 points…but what a painful watch !

[boingy]

Without meaning to sound arrogant the game turned out to be pretty much what I expected it to be. A routine don't get out of second gear win against an already relegated side who'd rather have been elsewhere. On any other given match day we probably would have won by at least four goals with that performance despite the low key approach.

What I found more painful than watching the game was listening to the whining going on around me because we didn't massacre the sacrificial lambs. We have the oldest squad in the Championship and have had more injuries than most. They clearly played within themselves to conserve energy for what's to come and still secured the points.

I heard the first frustrated shout of '..... ffs Albion.....' come from somewhere behind me in the eighth minute. The eighth minute! It was quickly followed by more. We have a growing number of entitled, impatient and emotionally challenged supporters who are spoiling my enjoyment of games far more than anything I'm seeing on the pitch.

It’s often mentioned that we have the “oldest” squad but it’s all claptrap. The average age for our team was around 28. God help all of us if that’s old. It’s not even reached the prime of 30 years! I’m beginning to think that ageism is rife especially from the medias perspective.

BTW that last paragraph was Gold.

[Albionic68]

It’s often mentioned that we have the “oldest” squad but it’s all claptrap. The average age for our team was around 28. God help all of us if that’s old. It’s not even reached the prime of 30 years! I’m beginning to think that ageism is rife especially from the medias perspective.

BTW that last paragraph was Gold.

With the very greatest of respect this is quite a poorly thought out response Boingy. At no point did I suggest 28 was old or draw attention to the average age of our starting 11. I do however think you'll find 28 is getting on a bit for most Championship starting 11s.

The part of my post you initially picked up on was in reference to the average age of the squad and it's relevance to injuries over the course of a season and the need for rotation. In terms of minutes played per year we have a lot of minutes on the clock for players in the 28 up age bracket.

I for one wasn't remotely surprised to see us play out a controlled performance against already relegated opposition with a view to conserving energy for the games ahead; a point which seemed to bypass a number of those in the crowd criticised in my third golden paragraph.

Genuinely hope I've been able to clear that up. For the record I have access to the Internet and statistics as well. I mention this only because although Furlong is having his best season for us he hasn't been as good as you'd have the world believe 😉 .

[baggiematt]

I do think Corberan is great at making the best of an odd group of players, not particularly great at anything.

There isn’t much pace in the squad for counters

Our playmakers (like Swift) are no better than any others in the league

The centre halves aren’t that quick and not great on the ball.

Strikers aren’t tall, fast or skilful.

It’s a frustrating watch but speaks to Corberan’s quality that we can be in this position with this squad. There aren’t that many managers with a brain for versatility (Ismael comes to mind).

I’m sure this summer will result in an overhaul which I hope results in him bringing in a few bargains in line with whatever style he wants to play.