RAWK is full of the opinions of Liverpool fans after our games, I thought it'd be nice to get the post-game reaction of some Baggies fans after the game. I went to WestBrom.com and asked some West Brom fans for their thoughts:
Q1. The final score in the end was 2-1 to Liverpool. Do you think that was a fair result?
Rockyoc: Possibly. Although Liverpool looked like they kept possession better than the Albion a lot of it was tika-taka in their own half. Both sides had periods where they dominated the game and created chances. In a league game, a draw would have been fairer I think.
Kris_boing: 100% better side on the night.
Mat15(MH): Just about fair I'd say.
Huntington Baggie: Frantic and great game. Someone had to win and that second goal deserved to win, but in the League a draw would have been fair.
Baggies: Fair Resuly. You were the better team over all and your reserve players raise questions over whether they should be playing first team. Assaidi especially.
Wbako: Fair result. We were pretty dismal. Liverpool took control after the first 10 mins and we found it difficult to create anything of note.
Q2. Was you happy with the team Steve Clarke picked?
Rockyoc: On paper, yes. In reality, certain players failed to gel. For all the threat he poses, Lukaku fails to put in a shift for me, especially when compared to Long. This puts his midfielders under pressure to close players down and drags us out of shape in the middle leaving wholes.
Kris_boing: On paper, comparing the two sides I thought he picked a good enough side to win the game.
Mat15(MH): Happy with the side he picked, not the way the players performed. Losing Ridgewell screwed us over really.
Huntington Baggie: On Paper, yeah I was but it obviously didn't work out but hardly the end of the world is it?
Baggies: Well he selected half a strong side but we might need to look at the 433 now as it seems it limits our play.
Wbako: Happy with the team selection: yes. Happy with the effort of the players chosen: no.
Q3. Which of your players do you think performed well? Any who didn't? I personally thought Foster looked a bit shakey and Assaidi had Dawson chasing shadows all game.
Rockyoc: Foster looked shaky but we'll forgive him 1 game in his entire Albion career. Dawson looked shaky but was out of position at right back. Tamas and Ohllson looked solid in the middle although Ohllson sliding in meant he was out of position for the second goal. Midfield struggled to get a hold on the game.
Kris_boing: Olsson and Mulumbu. The rest were quite poor.
Mat15(MH): Tamas was suprisingly good, Olsson was his usual self. Dorrans and Thorne were the worst of the bunch imo.
Huntington Baggie: Performed: Tamas, Olsson. Under Performed: Thorne, Dorrans. A lot of the rest were either played out of position or just not good or bad
Baggies: As has been said already, Dawson was a cb playing out of position against one of the most under rated players in Africa. I felt Mulumbu was the best player for us while Dorrans, Thorne and Rosenberg struggled for us. Foster had a rare shaky game as well.
Wbako: I'm struggling to think of one player that played well...Olsson and Tamas played okay I suppose. Pick out any from the remaining nine for who didn't perform.
Q4. How you think Liverpool performed. Care to single out any of our players who caught your eye?
Rockyoc: Coates played well in my opinion. Never understood why he doesn't get more games in your first team. Assaidi looked threatening but had an easy night. Pacheco and Sahin played well. Stuart Downing was, as usual, terrible.
Kris_boing: Sahin was the best player on the pitch. Assaidi looked dangerous on the left winger. Those two should be in Liverpools next starting lineup. I also feel that you maybe saw a glimpse into Liverpools future and how Rodgers wants you to play. I dont see where Gerrard and Suarez fit in with Rodgers 'ticky tacky' style. Would Liverpool fans sacrifice those two players with Assaidi and Sahin in order to play the way Rodgers wants to play? Not sure but its certainly the way forward.
Mat15(MH): Sahin was the best player by some distance, though he plays for Real Madrid so that's hardly surprising. Assaidi was good, liked the look of Yesil. Downing and Henderson really are poor players.
Huntington Baggie: Slow start but grew into the game and the passing game was great, only needed to have more of an end product for all that possession. Great team effort. My only issue is how much you've spent to get them there, those youngsters are probably more expensive that our entire 1st team, unless they show that in the league, to me that is money wasted sitting on the bench doing nothing.
Baggies: Liverpool played very well. Sahin, Assaidi in particular but take your pick, the whole team played well.
Wbako: I thought Liverpool looked good considering it was essentially a second string team. They were assured in possession and tight at the back. Didn't create that much attacking wise, but did enough to win. I thought Sahin bossed the match and Wishdom looks a good young prospect.
Q5. How did you feel seeing one of your former youth products Jerome Sinclair coming on to become our youngest ever player?
Rockyoc: He's obviously a talent so it's a shame he felt that he career would be better served at Liverpool. Still, you remain a bigger club than the Albion and I'm sure we have and will continue to take players from smaller clubs than us. I wish him luck in his career.
Kris_boing: Annoyed to be honest but its all about the food chain unfortunately.
Mat15(MH): Honestly, it pisses me right off and it's something that's wrong with English Football. A club spends a time nurturing a player from a young age only for a bigger club to step in and take him for a relatively low amount of money in terms of his potential and in comparison to the money that would have been invested into the academy to produce such a player. It also breeds a culture of "too much, too soon" in young players.
Huntington Baggie: I have to admit I didn't know him, but I didn't really sit up and notice our academy till a couple years ago.
Baggies: The way the game is sadly. We find and develop one of the most promisng youngsters in English football, and you come along and buy him last year, while getting all of the credit.We will be a foot note in his history now while we should be getting most of the credit. I also find paying a school kid, as I have been informed by somebody who knows him, seems a bit of a risky thing to do. Still, atleast you seem to be prepared to play him, unlike Spurs with Bostock. I suppose this is why Scudamore has pushed for the EPPP. Let the big clubs take the best players from the medium sized clubs.
Wbako: A bit angry if i'm being honest. He was a lad who we took at a young age and was progressing very well at our academy until his eyes were caught by the shining lights of Liverpool. We work hard to beat off competition from Wolves, Bham and Villa to persuade young local lads to join our academy, for them to then to be stolen from us is a bit frustrating to say the least.
Q6. Any problems with the way the referee officiated the game.?I personally thought Mulumbu was lucky not to be sent off, by the time he was booked he should have already been on a yellow card for a poor challenge on Henderson.
Rockyoc: I thought the tackle looked worse than it was so a yellow would have been fair. Not sure the actual booking deserved a yellow but there you go. Thought the referee was poor on the whole but then I don't rate him as a referee.
Kris_boing: Nothing wrong with Mulumbu's challenge :p We need him for Sunday!
Mat15(MH): No way should Mulumbu have been sent off, though his challenge was late. Didn't think he was outstanding, nor he was rubbish.
Huntington Baggie: He did fine, generally allowed the game to play, for several minutes, before addressing an issue. Mulumbu's tackle was late and that's about it, bookable but not straight red, hardly a two footed flying kick was it?
Baggies: Lets be honest now, if Mulumbu had been booked for the first foul, as he maybe should have, he was never going to be booked for the second one which was very soft.
Wbako: Ref was okay. Should have booked Mulumbu for rash tackle, but then evened it up by booking him for winning the ball. Fell for a few dives from both sides, but same old same old really.
Q7. Finally, how do you feel your team will do for the rest of the season?
Rockyoc: Top half of the table. I can see what Clarke is trying to do and at times we just seem to be lacking that final pass which I'm sure will start to come. Disappointed to be out of the cup because I felt we had a good chance but still the FA cup to come so hopefully we can fair a little better in that.
Kris_boing: We'll do well this season. I'm thinking a top 10 finish again.
Mat15(MH): Top 10.
Huntington Baggie: Top 10 or 50 points, whichever comes first. Especially now that our attention is undivided until the FA Cup rolls round.
Baggies: I think we will be okay, finishing around 12th. Liverpool will probably finish strongly and end up 6th but I think you still need a striker while a few of your younger players need to mature. Next year will be you real Champions League push.
Wbako: Think we'll be fine. There's quite a few poor teams in the prem this year. I'd say we'll finish between 10th-15th at a guess.
