Topic: General West Brom thread

[AB LFC]

Makes you wonder what if he had simply been promoted as our manager and whether we'd be sitting pretty like they are now.

[Vinay]

West Brom plays some sexy football....never thought they could do that even if they had Messi

No, far from it. It is effective, direct, hard and disciplined with some occasional trickery provided by Gera. Let us not get carried away.

[Vinay]

Makes you wonder what if he had simply been promoted as our manager and whether we'd be sitting pretty like they are now.

No we wouldn't. He was already there and was coaching the team and we finished poorly.

[AB LFC]

No we wouldn't. He was already there and was coaching the team and we finished poorly.

He was merely an assistant. KD was the one in charge of the overall team and how they played and positions and whatnot.

[Jimmy Two Times]

Makes you wonder what if he had simply been promoted as our manager and whether we'd be sitting pretty like they are now.

Interesting theory but it's impossible to tell. Hodgson did fine at Fulham, too. Look at how he destroyed us.

[fosspowered]

Makes you wonder what if he had simply been promoted as our manager and whether we'd be sitting pretty like they are now.

It was kind of hope when Kenny got the job and hired Clarke, maybe just maybe King could have a good five years and Clarke succeeding him. Alas it was not to be.
To think of this though, we would have been very much same IMO.

[walshys_mullet]

This seasons pardew/newcastle

[Il Capitano]

Makes you wonder what if he had simply been promoted as our manager and whether we'd be sitting pretty like they are now.

Unlikely, since teams don't allow us to break on them very often which is how West Brom get the space to play in.

[lapapa]

Makes you wonder what if he had simply been promoted as our manager and whether we'd be sitting pretty like they are now.

Defensively, we would be top-notch. Remember the "3 amigos" during the Man City match? 
Well, he would have never accepted the job anyway. He resigned as a sign of loyalty to Kenny, didn't he?

[Alan_X]

So you're expecting arsenal, spurs, Everton and us all to over take them?

Maybe, maybe not...

They probably will. Certainly based on past experience that would be the most likely thing to happen. The second half of the season is where money and quality starts to play out and that's even more true in the run-in. And we're not quite a third of the way through yet.

The time for admiring what he's doing there is in April or May. After 12 games last season we were 6th and Everton were 12th. And Newcastle were on for the champions league.

And there we are. Clarke's doing a decent job but some of the stuff on here was just ridiculous.

[Max_powers]

He is a good manager and has done well motivating the team but I don't think he will ever be successful at a big club. He is natural step up from Hodgson and has improved there attacking play but to me it seems like he will be more suited to a physical and hard working team rather than a more technical team.

[Phil M]

Nicolas Anelka just scored twice in a friendly for West Brom v the might of Puskas FC Academy.

Just seems weird seeing him at West Brom, could prove to be a masterstroke by Clarke mind.

[kopitecrash]

Everyone thought West Brom would fade away. In fact they didn't - they still came a very nice eighth which if I'm not mistaken is the best position West Brom have achieved since the premier leagues inception.

Anelka will definately be interesting - but they will miss Lukaku as well. Second season syndrome could kick in considering such a big change in how their attacking play functions.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Everyone thought West Brom would fade away. In fact they didn't - they still came a very nice eighth which if I'm not mistaken is the best position West Brom have achieved since the premier leagues inception.

Anelka will definately be interesting - but they will miss Lukaku as well. Second season syndrome could kick in considering such a big change in how their attacking play functions.

They were fourth at one point, so I think people were talking about them fading away then. I certainly was. There was no way they could sustain a European challenge over the season.

[rafathegaffa83]

Just seems weird seeing him at West Brom, could prove to be a masterstroke by Clarke mind.

I honestly think at this point Anelka has very little, if anything left in the tank. I'd be worried if I were a West Brom fan. No Lukaku coming back by the looks of it. They might be bringing Gera back and they're penny pinching over selling Odemwingie to a club in the Middle East. The only two signings they've made are Popov returning on loan and Anelka, who struggled for Juventus and in China and has been off the boil for years. Their rivals for the upper middle table slots in the PL have mostly extensively upgraded (Southampton, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Norwich, Fulham, Swansea, West Ham). I won't be surprised if they end up finishing significantly lower than they did last year.

[BigMarcs]

You put it very well mate, echoes my own sentiments. Just like Sunderland are my tip for the big improvers, West Brom in my opinion will be the biggest sliders down the table. They haven't strengthened at all (granted, theres still a month before the window closes), but they're barely being even linked with players. The squad needs alot of refreshing, Anelka is way past his used by date, sure he might show some glimpses but he's a major downgrade on Lukaku. They also need some more creativity in the midfield, too many times they were solid in the middle, but struggled to break down the opposition because they lacked guile.

[Giovanni]

Everyone thought West Brom would fade away. In fact they didn't - they still came a very nice eighth which if I'm not mistaken is the best position West Brom have achieved since the premier leagues inception.

Anelka will definately be interesting - but they will miss Lukaku as well. Second season syndrome could kick in considering such a big change in how their attacking play functions.

Didn't they take 16 points from their last 18 games?

That's relegation form - and most definetly fading away.

[beardsley4ever]

Just seems weird seeing him at West Brom,

Yeah, hard to imagine Anelka in another club's colours.  He's been so loyal to the 14 clubs he's had in his career.

[Kop10]

Just signed Uruguayan Diego Lugano on a free from PSG.

[TheGOAT]

I can see that one being spectacularly bad.

[Kop10]

I can see that one being spectacularly bad.

Me too. I don't rate him at all as a defender, especially in a very physical league.

[IndianRed]

Are West Brom skint? I don't really recall them having spent any significant money under Clarke. Their best signing last season was Lukaku, and he was a loan gift from Chelsea for one of their own. Can't see Clarke pulling off a signing like that again.

[Redman0151]

Lugano?

Bad deal that, every time i've seen him in the last 12 months he's looked incredibly slow and sluggish, i'd fancy the likes of Sturridge to absolutely tear him apart with a bit of pace.

[Max_powers]

Lugano is probably just bought in as a back-up. I thought Mccauley and Olsson were pretty good last season. Don't know why they got him though since they are lacking in attacking options.

[robgomm]

I love Lugano, you'd worry about pace though.

[nicholasanthony]

Lugano has been giving Aussies nightmares since forever.

[ghost1359]

If it weren't for the fact that the promoted sides are absolute dog shit I'd be pretty confident in saying they'd go down

[Outer Mongolian Red]

Are West Brom skint? I don't really recall them having spent any significant money under Clarke. Their best signing last season was Lukaku, and he was a loan gift from Chelsea for one of their own. Can't see Clarke pulling off a signing like that again.

There chairman is very tight with money,they've massively overachieved the last few years.

[Juan Loco]

That's a fun signing.

Can't see them being up to much this year. Be surprised if they ever get dragged in to a relegation battle, but they've lost a fair few goals and it's their first year without Dan Ashworth, and I'm not sure they've brought in anyone to replace him.

[Alan_X]

Everyone thought West Brom would fade away. In fact they didn't - they still came a very nice eighth which if I'm not mistaken is the best position West Brom have achieved since the premier leagues inception.

Anelka will definately be interesting - but they will miss Lukaku as well. Second season syndrome could kick in considering such a big change in how their attacking play functions.

As others have pointed out, they faded big time in the second half of the season when money and depth of squad as well as experience always come into play. People were suggesting they might realistically hold on to third or fourth spot and finish above Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and Everton who were all behind at the time. And there were some shitty fingers being poked at Rodgers as manager and at the club for not promoting Clarke.

I'll always look out for results for ex players and managers but he's West Brom manager now. Drawing any conclusions about about any team's performance after ten games is a complete waste of time. Hope fully lessons have been learned and we won't get similar threads after ten games this season (I'm not holding my breath).

[FernandoSusoLFC]

Lugano will be dreadful, when PSG had money they were itching to get into the market and they signed him and he was terrible, he was on loan last season but his debut season he was poor. Replaced by the likes of Alex, Thiago Silva and Sakho in the end.

[ghost1359]

Be surprised if they ever get dragged in to a relegation battle

I just don't see where their goals are gonna come from. 15 from Long would be a very good season for him, past that you're looking at the likes of Gera, Brunt and Anelka...

[PhaseOfPlay]

That's a fun signing.

Can't see them being up to much this year. Be surprised if they ever get dragged in to a relegation battle, but they've lost a fair few goals and it's their first year without Dan Ashworth, and I'm not sure they've brought in anyone to replace him.

Clarke is their jewel in the crown, but he's not a multiplier as a coach, so much the same as last season, and us the season before I think. Score and concede 45-55 goals, and will hover around the 50 point mark at the end. If they are a smart club, they won't pressure him to be more ambitious than that, because they don't have the money in the first place, and they now don't have Ashworth. Solid mid-table Premier League team, with some good cup runs every 2-3 seasons, and Clarke could be there for a long time slowly building a squad with youth players, if he's clever about it.

[ghost1359]

If I were Clarke I'd be pointing to Lukaku and trying to hoover up as many talented, young fringe players as humanly possible on loan. There are plenty of them. The top 4 and Spurs all have some very talented young players who could benefit massively from a loan spell in the premier league.

[PhaseOfPlay]

If I were Clarke I'd be pointing to Lukaku and trying to hoover up as many talented, young fringe players as humanly possible on loan. There are plenty of them. The top 4 and Spurs all have some very talented young players who could benefit massively from a loan spell in the premier league.

Only two long term loans allowed though. If I were Clarke, I'd be looking at reserve youth players in the Championship, and snapping them up for peanuts. Slowly integrate them into your first team, and in 3 years time you'll have a very good squad of cheap players playing the way you want them to play. That is the one thing Pulis should have done at Stoke, but didn't. And that's why he is out of a job.

[ghost1359]

Two long term loans is more than enough if they're quality loans. The two aren't mutually exclusive, you can look to loan and buy. Someone like Texeira could be a revelation at West Brom.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Two long term loans is more than enough if they're quality loans. The two aren't mutually exclusive, you can look to loan and buy. Someone like Texeira could be a revelation at West Brom.

I don't disagree, but I was responding more to this:

If I were Clarke I'd be pointing to Lukaku and trying to hoover up as many talented, young fringe players as humanly possible on loan

... and unfortunately there are only two PL loans available to him. So he'd have to be looking to buy fringe players, but top level prices might be out of his budget range, so he'd probably get better value in the reserve and youth teams in the Championship

[ghost1359]

I don't disagree, but I was responding more to this:

... and unfortunately there are only two PL loans available to him. So he'd have to be looking to buy fringe players, but top level prices might be out of his budget range, so he'd probably get better value in the reserve and youth teams in the Championship

Not only that you would imagine top clubs would be unwilling to unload top quality young players and if they were they'd certainly be going at a premium.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Not only that you would imagine top clubs would be unwilling to unload top quality young players and if they were they'd certainly be going at a premium.

Probably. But for where Clarke is, youth should be the way to go, with a few past-their-prime players looking to stay in the top division. In no time he'll make a real mark on West Brom, and he'll keep them in the Premier League for a long time, and probably win one of the League or FA Cups, too (probably the League Cup)

[Juan Loco]

I know you're thinking further up the development chain PoP but part of the reason they probably won't go down the youth route - aside from the general fear amongst top flight managers about losing their jobs if they youngsters aren't boss immediately - is that West Brom are getting absolutely screwed at youth level themselves. They've lost Izzy Browne through FPPP or whatever it's called. We've nicked Dhanda and Sinclair off them in the last two seasons. It's hard to get enthused about the idea of youth if you're not bringing through any of your own. The closest they've got are Berahino and Thorpe and neither look quite up to it for a mid-table Premiership club (maybe Thorpe will get there).

Youth is a hard sell when teams keep stealing your own. I would've thought the mostly likely is that they either try and poach someone doing what Dan Ashworth was at a smaller club (there's the lad at Reading?) and ask him to do the same for West Brom, or look to get a scout from a higher club and entice him with a greater role (who's the lad at Celtic that's basically just called a Chief Scout?)

Or they appoint Damien Comolli (or someone of that ilk) and undo all their good work.