A bloody good read

[MassDebater]

I'd rather be bouncing around in the top 6-8 of the Championship than the bottom 6 of the EPL. One is enjoyable, competitive and unpredictable. The other is frustrating, uncompetitive and ultimately predictable, not to mention the lack of respect and downright condescending comments from 'analysts'.

Unfortunately you struggle to have one without having endured the other.

It’s so grim watching the likes of a great draw with Man City when 99 percent of the analysis then focuses on City. 
There’s a club like us, until 15 or so years ago City’s equal being consigned to bit part actors in a soap opera. 
I believe a Prem 2 where there are 20 teams living without the same level of fear of the drop is needed. It will make the whole of the top end more equal, but it won’t happen. It’s all about the top 6 and nothing else.
I am hating this season more than any I can recall.

I totally agree with your last sentence. I wonder if the Worldwide situation has focused our minds on ultimately how pointless top flight football in this country is?

[Bob Fossil]

Bang on for me, unless we get a sugar daddy, we'll never have the ability to compete in this shit heap.
With our budget it's better to yo-yo. Spend nowt when we are up, then maximise our advantage of parachute payments when we go down.

I hate this league so much though, I would rather be mixing it with Sunderland and Pompey than listening to sycophants wax lyrical about the likes of Klopp as if he's some sort of genius. Anyone can win a fixed race ffs.

[Ted Maul]

So to conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

[Bob Fossil]

So to  conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

It's not about being shit, we've been shit for most of my 40 years watching, it's about not having enough money to stop being shit.
We can't even develop young players because they get poached for fuck all by those who already have a massive advantage.
It's not a level playing field.

To be a Liverpool fan now should be like watching your kid win an egg and spoon race knowing the egg is glued down. Instead they celebrate like they've overcome all odds and that Klopp is some sort of God.

Klopp wouldn't have a clue what to do with a club like Albion.

[Ted Maul]

So to  conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

It's not about being shit, we've been shit for most of my 40 years watching, it's about not having enough money to stop being shit.
We can't even develop young players because they get poached for fuck all by those who already have a massive advantage.
It's not a level playing field.

To be a Liverpool fan now should be like watching your kid win an egg and spoon race knowing the egg is glued down. Instead they celebrate like they've overcome all odds and that Klopp is some sort of God.

Klopp wouldn't have a clue what to do with a club like Albion.

Not going to change any time soon, but when we're owned by an oil state with a questionable human rights record I doubt we'll be having threads about how unfair the game is.

The worst thing about it at the moment is that you can't go and get pissed with your mates. The result by and large is secondary, win rarely, draw some and mostly lose who's arsed. Watching it on the TV is awful.

[MassDebater]

So to  conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

It's not about being shit, we've been shit for most of my 40 years watching, it's about not having enough money to stop being shit.
We can't even develop young players because they get poached for fuck all by those who already have a massive advantage.
It's not a level playing field.

To be a Liverpool fan now should be like watching your kid win an egg and spoon race knowing the egg is glued down. Instead they celebrate like they've overcome all odds and that Klopp is some sort of God.

Klopp wouldn't have a clue what to do with a club like Albion.

Exactly. I say this about all of the so called 'top' managers. It's why I always rated Dario Gradi at Crewe, delivered year on year in some tough conditions, compared to say Guardiola at Citeh, barely delivered and must be approaching or past £1bn spend....

[Fido]

So to  conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

It's not about being shit, we've been shit for most of my 40 years watching, it's about not having enough money to stop being shit.
We can't even develop young players because they get poached for fuck all by those who already have a massive advantage.
It's not a level playing field.

To be a Liverpool fan now should be like watching your kid win an egg and spoon race knowing the egg is glued down. Instead they celebrate like they've overcome all odds and that Klopp is some sort of God.

Klopp wouldn't have a clue what to do with a club like Albion.

Not going to change any time soon, but when we're owned by an oil state with a questionable human rights record I doubt we'll be having threads about how unfair the game is.

The worst thing about it at the moment is that you can't go and get pissed with your mates. The result by and large is secondary, win rarely, draw some and mostly lose who's arsed. Watching it on the TV is awful.

Completely agree.

[MassDebater]

So to  conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

It's not about being shit, we've been shit for most of my 40 years watching, it's about not having enough money to stop being shit.
We can't even develop young players because they get poached for fuck all by those who already have a massive advantage.
It's not a level playing field.

To be a Liverpool fan now should be like watching your kid win an egg and spoon race knowing the egg is glued down. Instead they celebrate like they've overcome all odds and that Klopp is some sort of God.

Klopp wouldn't have a clue what to do with a club like Albion.

Not going to change any time soon, but when we're owned by an oil state with a questionable human rights record I doubt we'll be having threads about how unfair the game is.

The worst thing about it at the moment is that you can't go and get pissed with your mates. The result by and large is secondary, win rarely, draw some and mostly lose who's arsed. Watching it on the TV is awful.

Completely agree.

I dunno I think Man Citeh fans still get upset when not walking the title and winning the cups...

[Johnnykayeengland]

So to  conclude... football is a bit rubbish when your team is shit.

It's not about being shit, we've been shit for most of my 40 years watching, it's about not having enough money to stop being shit.
We can't even develop young players because they get poached for fuck all by those who already have a massive advantage.
It's not a level playing field.

To be a Liverpool fan now should be like watching your kid win an egg and spoon race knowing the egg is glued down. Instead they celebrate like they've overcome all odds and that Klopp is some sort of God.

Klopp wouldn't have a clue what to do with a club like Albion.

Not going to change any time soon, but when we're owned by an oil state with a questionable human rights record I doubt we'll be having threads about how unfair the game is.

The worst thing about it at the moment is that you can't go and get pissed with your mates. The result by and large is secondary, win rarely, draw some and mostly lose who's arsed. Watching it on the TV is awful.

Completely agree.

I dunno I think Man Citeh fans still get upset when not walking the title and winning the cups...

Agree with the above, of course.
But...a few years ago I bought a Man U fanzine, when they were the team in England.
It had plenty of moaning about Ferguson being past his sell by date, and how some superstar (I forget which) needed replacing.
We're probably all the same under the shirt.

[RAELALBION]

This article is bang on and I agreed with most of it. What I find so depressing it that as a club we are right back to where we were at the end of 2014 after (rightly) sacking Irvine and having to turn to a firefighter like Pulis. Then he kept us up and we endured almost 3 years of some of the worst football in my living memory. Yes, we stayed up, but it was no fun and rightfully our reputation was sullied by the media and football supporting public for the god awful experience that was West Bromwich Albion. We finally moved on even though it took a relegation to do it. Hired Slav and were able to bring some joy back to our club even though it was in the Champ. He also changed our playing style and brought in players like Grady and Pereira. The last few years have been the most enjoyable since our run under Hodgson and Clark. 

I do worry that these creative players and style they bought into under Slav is going to be completely erased under Sam as we move towards a more attritional style to simply survive in the Premier league. He might keep us up and we extend his contract and the whole sorry cycle repeats itself as we suffer a few more years of "just staying up", but making no friends along the way (and giving us fans nothing to celebrate either). This is what is so frustrating, the club just seems to have no long term plan which goes back to the groundhog day we find ourselves in.