Sunderland 2 - West Bromwich Albion 0

Date:	Monday 28th August 2006
Competition:	Coca-Cola Championship
Sunderland: 6.3
WBA: 1.8	Zuberbuhler 2.2, Watson 3.1, Davies 3.7, Perry 3.4, Robinson 3.6, Gera 3.1, Chaplow 2.3 (Wallwork, 59 3.4), Quashie 4.1, Greening 2.3 (Carter, 59 3.1), Hartson 2.7, Ellington 2.0 (Phillips, HT 3.2) Unused subs: Steele, Albrechtsen Manager: Bryan Robson 2.3
Referee:	P Joslin (Nottinghamshire) 4.8
Attendance:	24,242 Home Fans 5.0 Away Fans 3.9

Dave Watkin:

Weary on Wearside

Albion were completely outplayed by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light and deservedly suffered their first defeat in any game this season.

It would be easy to blame the "Roy Keane effect" but in truth although the home side did raise their game from the kick-off, it was the fact that Albion didn't compete and battle that allowed the Mackems to get on top. Throughout the match we were second best and they appeared yards quicker, closing down when we had the ball and forcing us into errors. Up until they scored, their lack of confidence in front of goal was palpable, but a gift goal settled them down. Their supporters have been given credit for inspiring the victory, but in fact they were quiet until they went two goals up.

For Albion, Pascal Zuberbuhler was again exposed when faced with crosses. Our defence, usually so sound, were all at sea during the first half when at times only comical finishing by Sunderland prevented an avalanche of goals. The midfield was overrun and created few chances for the strikers, who were ineffectual. It's hard to find a man-of-the-match, but I've selected Paul Robinson, only because he battled throughout, which so many of his colleagues failed to do.

Overall, we must hope that this is a one-off. It's important not to overreact, we were awful, but we're at home next and if we win we'll be back near the top. The big worry for me is the lack of pace in what by modern standards is a fairly aged team and our forays into the transfer market have done little to correct that failing. How we miss the influence of Kuszczak, what advantage have we gained from his loan to Man Utd?

A minor comfort is that, with a couple of recent exceptions, we seldom do well against Sunderland. We've conceded 240 league goals to them, more than any other club!

TEAM NEWS

Bryan Robson made the first change to the Albion Championship starting line-up by introducing Richard Chaplow for Ronnie Wallwork in central midfield. Kevin Phillips was included as one of the substitutes against his old club.

HIGHLIGHTS

Sunderland, perhaps inspired by their Manager-in-waiting Roy Keane in the stand, made the brightest start. Albion were very fortunate not to fall behind when Brown reached the touchline and pulled the ball back into the six yard box only for new signing Hysen to put the ball around the post when it seemed easier to score. This was typical of the opening half hour when the home side created four or five good opportunities only to fire over, head wide or on one occasion miskick completely. When they did finally get a shot on target Pascal Zuberbuhler made a good save with his legs.

The Black Cats were clearly lacking in confidence, the home crowd was nervous, surely the Baggies who had played poorly up to this point would raise their game and take advantage. No, the reverse was true. In the 33rd minute an inswinging corner from Whitehead eluded defenders on the near post, including Zuberbuhler who stumbled as he went for the cross and despite a valiant header by Paul Robinson from under the crossbar, the ball was ruled to have crossed the line. There was a flurry of activity at the far end just before the break as Albion, in the shape of Ellington, finally had a strike on goal, but to no avail.

Kevin Phillips was introduced for his league debut at half time as a replacement for Ellington. However he and the rest of the Albion team were left with a massive hill to climb in the 47th minute, when Sunderland doubled their lead. The Mackems were awarded a free kick wide on the right touchline and a neat cross from Hysen was anticipated by Collins who on the run powerfully headed home.

Zoltan Gera, from a free kick just outside the penalty area was closest yet, when his dipping shot was saved and a follow-up by Watson was smothered by the keeper. The introduction of Ronnie Wallwork and Darren Carter around the hour mark for Chaplow and Greening had little effect. Although the Mackems seldom threatened, neither did the Baggies and the game petered out into a very unsatisfactory defeat.

ALBION FORMRATE: AWFUL

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: PAUL ROBINSON

Brendan Clegg:

I'm still absolutely seething about the performance, result, tactics, substitutions, attitude and ability shown today. It might be our first defeat but this has been on the cards and if Sunderland weren't so poor it could have been 4 or 5 with the chances they created.

Robson and Pearson are morons in my eyes; the brothers dim. Nice people but totally clueless. What the hell were the substitutions all about today? I'm no fan of Wallwark but he should have started, he's been performing better than Greening or Gera. I also know from watching him that it takes him time to get into games he starts and he is a useless substitute, particularly if you are losing. Anyone else remember Walsall on the opening day a few years ago when he was brought on and subbed in the 2nd half?

I'm no fan of Ellington but he has shown an improved workrate of late and managed our only shot on goal in the 1st half yet was subbed at half time whilst Hartson, overweight and unable to move, was left on to lose more headers than he won (including their second goal where he was too unfit to track a man 5 yards), break up play by giving free kicks and miss the type chance we all thought he would gobble up.

Carter is so poor the only hope you have is he might hit a fluke, other than that he offers nothing bar a slightly better work ethic than the increasingly out of form Greening.

Bryan Robson is the only person I know who thinks Steve Watson is a better option that Albrechtson at right back given the lack of pace we have in our side. Albrechtson is not great with the ball but he does raid well don't the right and gives us a threat. He's also as good as Watson defending with his pace and height.

In goal Zubi looks a decent shot stopper but his kicking isn;t as great as everyone says and at crosses he is a joke who at 35 years old will not learn to change.

Speaking of ages, with Zubi (35), Perry (35?), Phillips (33) & Harston (a very old 31) we have signed 3 outfield players with a combined age of a hundred, tally that with the 'keeper and it isn't pleasant reading. You just hope that we'll have enough quality to go up despite "the brothers dim" however having watched Earnshaw have another barnstormer (whatever anyone thinks of him the proof is in the stats) and Kanu, a truly world class player who couldn't get a game in front of Kevin Campbell unless he was upfront on his own with 60 yards missile passes being fired at him, has just beaten 'Borough on his own... I don't feel confident at all. I'd like Robson to go (an opinion I've earned spending thousands of pounds over his tenure home & away) and to be honest I wouldn't care who else we got in as I doubt anyone could do a much worse job with the same resources.

Anyway my marks:

Zubi- 5 at fault for goal and looks a nightmare on crosses.
Watson - 4 Gave us nothing.
Davis - 5 Did okay but nothing special
Perry - 5 Worst performance for us
Robinson - 5 Great heart but gace the ball away far too much. Not helped by the player in front of him.
Greening - 3 Has been a decent performer for us over the last few years but needs to be dropped as is in the comfort zone. Set piece delivery is woeful, doesn't track back anymore, plays where he wants (usually 5 yards to the right of Robinson of through the centre) giving us no outlet at all wide left when we really need it. Always tries to beat a man one too many times.
Quashie - 6 Still not convinced but the only player putting effort in and trying to make things happen.
Chaplow - 3 Very poor, careless in possession, weak and poor positional sense. Not a centre midfielder in my eyes and hadn't done enough in any cup games or sub appearances to get a start in my opinion.
Gera - 5 Some neat touches but not playing anywhere near like he can. Looks disinterested. Zero partnership with Watson.
Hartson - 3 Did more to break up our attacks than they did with fouls etc. Unfittest player since Simon (20 fags a day) Garner?
Ellington - 5 No service, patches of goodwork undone by sloppy play but not our worst player by a long way.
Wallwork - 3 By the time he got into the game it was over.
Carter - 3 The problem we have is Greening knows he can play at 30% and be better than Carts, for all his effort.
Phillips - 3 Hardly touched the ball.. Had one opening and didn't look sharp.

I want to see a fit Kamara, Inamoto given a fair chance (not the answer but better than some of this drivel), Koumas (no matter what his behaviour he has the ability to get us out of this league) and even Neil Clement who would at least give steel, hard work and an outlet on the left if given the opportunity to play there. Robson- sort it out or go.

cliff61:

THE MOST GUTLESS PERFORMANCE I CAN EVER REMEMBER. We didn't do anything worthwhile in the entire 90 minutes. Last season and again today, I've found myself doing something I would never dreamed of previously. When Albion are on TV, in previous years, win or lose, I'm gripped, theres no way I could leave the room even for a few seconds in case I miss something.

But last season for the first time ever, and again today, I find myself just walking around doing other things, even out of earshot. Because ITS SO DRAB AND BORING, I ALMOST LOSE THE WILL TO LIVE! Absolutely disgraceful Robson and the team, you shuld all feel thoroughly ashamed of yourselves tonight (but you probably don't).

(off down the park to rip a cats head off).

Gareth:

give me 1 reason why we shouldnt sack robson

The guy cannot motivate 2-0 down and he stands on the sideline looking brain dead. A good manager can make a difference (oneill at villa)

The squad we have is more than good enough so explain to me how in gods name we can perform like that

great ht team talk robson really made us perform

great subs again - no pace so our 2 fastest players cant get a game.

if and its a big if we get up it will be inspite of robson not because of him

thats the worst albion performance i can remember

Funky Fudge:

We knew it was coming.

How Ellington started the game today is beyond me - Nicholson has so much more work rate and effort in him, and wasn't even on the bench after scoring his first goal in the week.

Speak to any Celtic fan and they will tell you that the best way to use Hartson is to get down the wings and put crosses over into the box. How many times did we do this today? Greening and Gera weren't at the races today. If they aren't going to have a go at the defence, or even try and put the ball across - don't play them. I would rather have seen Alby put right midfield today - at least you know that he will have a run at the players and try and create something.

I liked the idea of playing Chaplow, but at the expense of Quashie not Wallwark - You need Wallwark to sit in front of the defence to let other players push forward.

I have serious doubts about the keeper. We have "loaned"/"sold" a very good keeper for what will be small money, and have a very suspect keeper instead.

The sooner Robson is sacked the better as far as I am concerned. He has no idea at all. Same old performances which were only good enough against Hull and Colchester because these were teams just promoted. Get rid of him, get Curbishly in - even if we have to wait a month for him to finish his break from the game.

There must be 100's of people on this email list who could come up with a fresh approach to the game.

For several years I've been sat with the same bunch of season ticket holders on the back row of the Brummie. Now it is bare. These aren't fair-weather supporters only in it for the premiership, these are people who used to go home and away. These are people who have been ST holders for years. The relative of one said he wasn't coming back as he was sick and tired of the garbage he was paying for. The guy next but 1 to me - home and away for years. He hasn't renewed. Two boys just infront haven't bothered to renew - 14 / 15 years old. Rumours of ST sales down from around 20,000 to around 13,000 - Whilst I suspect some are fair-weather fans not renewing, I strongly feel that there are a lot who are fed up with the crap being served up at the moment.

Robson has to go.

Dad:

Yes...I'd pretty much concur with Cliff's sentiments. The team today displayed an ability & desire on the field that roughly mirrored the body language of Bryan Robson. A sort of "Can't be arsed" attitude. No vigour, no pzzazz, no ummpphh. Nothing.

And to make matters worse there was a brain-dead Wolves fan in the pub I was watching in who took great delight on cheering on The Mackems every 3 minutes. I don't know who the biggest @rsehole is...the Wolves fan or BR.

Totally dejected...

Gav T:

Serious question - if we sack Robson, who do we replace him with?

Anyway, as for the game itself we were poor, and made to look so by a Sunderland side who hustled and harried because their careers were dependant on a performance. Personally i think most other sides would have lost as Sunderland would have been able to step up to save their own behinds.

Zubi - shocking, I said this to those who came up during pre-season and today didn't add to his reputation. Get crosses in on that keeper and the oppo will win games 9 times out of 10 - which is why it was a surprise Luke Steele didn't play on Thursday night.

Watson - not a chance of helping out further forward and defensively was part of a combined poor show against their front 2

Robinson - see Watson above

Davies and Perry - neither at the races, the front 3 of Sunderland confused the defensive 4 no end and no-one appeared to know who and when to mark.

Gera and Greening - saw nothing of the ball and, despite trying different areas of the park, they still couldn't find the ball. Ultimately, no pressure put on a very ordinary Sunderland defence, when it was set up for wide players to get crosses in to Hartson.

Quashie - solid enough, but needs Wallwork beside him to make full use of his abilities.

Chaplow - offers us absolutely nothing as a central midfielder. Didn't see anything that would give me the confidence to play him again in the near future.

Ellington - sooner he leaves and we replace him before Thursday the better.

Hartson - no service and when the ball came in to him, he wasn't able to make use of it.

Kev Buckley:

I have been to the North East for the last two matches at the SoL and have to admit to taking no great pleasure when talking afterwards with Albion-, or Sunderland-, supporting friends, because of the nature of the performances, in being able to crow about coming away with points the Albion, to my mind, hardly deserved. The buggering up of the fixture list to suit TV saw me not over there this weekend at all and so these thoughts have to be tempered by being written about a performnce "as seen on TV", and more to the point, from a viewing based around an increased frequency in trips to the bar as the game wore, and it really did wear, on. That may account in some way for the spleen venting, as it were, in the following here - it may not.

It appears that unhitherto unforseen cracks, albeit potential cracks already pointed out to a wide audience in conversations on this list, have finally started to appear, as Albion failed to ever look like consigning a team who had lost four in a row to a fifth defeat, let alone look anything like forcing them to "scrape a point" against one of the previously unbeaten sides, which we were, and, of course previous holders of a "favourites for the divison" tag, which we also were. I can't see us being talked of, not credibly anyway, in such terms again.

The first Sunderland goal came, direct from a corner, as a result of some woeful flapping by a keeper who, someone on here actually based in Switzerland or with access to a lot of Swiss football info (apologies, forgotten who as I write), along with a number of reported scares in friendly and league games so far, suggested was merely an accident waiting to happen.

The second goal saw a pointles foul down by the corner flag by a combination of Robsinson and Quashie, two players whose "combative" nature is often been hailed as "what we really need in this divison", headed in, effectivley umarked, by a Sunderland player whose movement at a corner left yet another of those all too soon to have donned the mantle of hero, "Fat Taff", for dead defensively.

Add to those two awfully conceded goals, three substitutions that added little to the already little attacking threat we had posed throughout a lacklustre performance, and you have to wonder if the initial game-plan and match-day selection, both of starting XI and bench, stretched to anything more than coming away with another away point. What's more, given the way that Sunderland spurned gilt-edged chance after chance in the first half, the two away draws we have obtained so far now start to look more and more like a side merely hanging on, an impression which radio commentaries at the time suggested to me we were anyway, than anything like the spin and gloss put on those results, in being "hard fought-for" points, in the commentary in the days after the fact.

Any extra pace apparently added to the Albion line-up and approach by those involved in the performamce at Orient in mid-week was deemed only worthy of prompting the one change from the nominal solid starting XI, Wallwork making way for Chaplow to give a long-awaited deployment of a player in some semblence of an attacking centre-midfield role, with Quashie finally being being consigned to the holding midfield, or "enforcing", role which his advocates on this list have always, inexplicably to me, suggested he was somehow something more than, when he was being deployed alongside an equally defensive in nature RW.

To his credit, Chaplow looked bright and full of endeavour early on, but with little happening ahead of him, Gera and Greening hardly getting a look in out wide, and Harston and Ellington nowhere near dominant at the business end, youthful exubernce started to descend into frustration as the game went on, and the bald-headed one inceasingly came close to commiting some most un-Zen-like challenges on a number of occasions as he sought to gain posession by any means possible.

The first substitution, at 1-0 down, an almost like for like swap that did little to suggest a real attempt to get a goal back with any new approach (though perhaps "The Duke" was injured again) saw Kevin Phillips replace Ellington alongside "Fat Taff" but then procede to add little to the suggestion that the acquistion of KP's ageing legs will offer anything more than like for like cover for Harston's equally slow-paced limbs, and highlighted all the more the need to get in another striker with pace if, as seems likely, Ellington can play for no more than forty-five minutes in any one game. I did actually notice the next most likely, though hardly the most "proven", foil for Harston at the club at present, Nicholson, leaving the bench area at the end of the game but couldn't see from the TV pictures whether he had been an unused sub or one of those simply "not selected". If the former, surely he was a chance worth taking ahead of Carter and Wallwork at 2-0 down: if the latter, who else was left on the bench - ah yes, of course, it turns out to beAlbrechtesen: another player with pace who obvioulsy has no part to play in these dour battles in the second tier.

The double substution, partly already refered to, later on, Wallwork for Chaplow and Carter for Greening, simply seemed to me to be the kind of change to be made at 2-0 up rather than 2-0 down, though it is to be hoped the "hold what we have" approach wasn't kicking in and that the manager had something in mind that didn't just become apparent in the play afterwards. Wonder what it was though.

As if in sympathy with the dreary display by the Albion out on the pitch, the half-time punditry, provided by our most recent previous manager, offered little in the way of tactical insight or potential changes in personnel or style for either side, and, in respect of an Albion side with whom he must still be somewhat familar, nothing other than a token "I'm sure Bryan will give them a good talking to" - so pretty much in keeping with the lack of half-time changes in personnel or style we saw with him at the helm, really. Overall then, a most illuniating half-time insight into the game which may have had something to do with the fact that SKY didn't even bother to ask his opinion on the match afterwards and,despite the opportunity ot drag it out and drag in the Roy Keane angle on the Sunderland victory, went straight to their coverage of the day's speedway!

The speedway on show had been advertised during the game as Swindon against Ipswich, and, on this display anyway, the spectacle/spectre of the likes of Swindon and Ipswich might well be the SKY TV fare most likely to be served up to the Albion fans for a good while to come.

James Phillips:

Robson is clueless, why change an unbeaten side?

Why sell PIG and replace him with this Swiss joker.

Why sell Earnshaw, another 2 goals for Norwich yesterday.

If you're going to drop anyone, surely it's got to be Nathan, I've never had a good game in an Albion shirt, Ellington.

I've not seen us play well without Wallwork in the team for some time, every time he's out, you realise what a great job he does in the holding midfield role. We looked lost with his influence and why play Richard, I've never has a good game in an Albion shirt, Chaplow? I'd love to see Ina get a game in the centre of midfield alongside Wallwork.

After today's showing, I don't think you go on playing Hartson, he's so out of shape it embarrassing to watch at times. Too slow to react on the 2nd goal and constantly gives free kicks away. Although, it would help if we played to his strengths i.e. get the ball out wide to Gera and Greening and whip crosses into the box. Gera and Greening are spending too much time in the centre of midfield rather than out wide, but I think this mainly due to the poor quality of the passing from the 2 central midfielders. Gera and Greening have to come inside looking for the ball themselves.

It's a bit worrying that we've got what looks like a very dodgy keeper, a midfield that Robson can't get to function cohesively and not a lot up front with lard arse and can't be arsed.

Very disappointed.

Cuzer:

Christ, that was bad today, what needs to have been said, has been said and like most have pointed out Robson is on borrowed time if they serve up any more drivel like that! No passion from the bench, Nigel Pearson laughing his head off at 2-0 down, Bryan there, arms folded, motionless! Pathetic!

For me I look at our midfield and I see one BIG problem, Greening! I'm not knocking him as a player because he's one of our better ones but it has to be down to Robsons tactics because why oh why does he keep coming inside ALL the time, it completely throws the shape of the side. He is a left winger FUGGING stay there! I'd understand a bit more if we had a left back like Matty Taylor at Pompey who bombs on with every attack, Robinson doesn't so why does he come inside play 3 yard one twos with the centre midfielders and pass the ball to the full back taking us sideways or bloody backwards? I commented on this last season, and pre-season and here we are it's still happening. The guy can cross, is decent when getting the full back in a one on one situation so stay left midfield FFS! Keep the side playing with a four across the middle, not a three and Greening wondering around where he wants, get wide and put crosses in the box, why have a 6ft plus target man if we're not going to deliver balls in the box, bloody childs stuff!

To finish the keeper is awful and has been in EVERY game so far, a disaster waiting to happen, Watson is well off the pace this season, play Alby, right decision to drop Wallwork yet Chaplow had a shocker and missed his chance, Ellington, well, if you don't want to play just go now, what a waste! Quashie the pick of a very, very, very bad bunch.

Stephen Babbs:

Couldn't write this after coming back from Sunderland, too tired and too pissed off.

Robbo's comments "couldn't believe how bad we were" really got to me. We have been as bad and inept, at least in parts of, every game this season and we could and should have been at least a goal down before they scored.

We still cannot defend crosses in to the box, been the same since Houltie and Big Dave faded or departed, are you keen on Zubi? Watson, whilst a good player, is showing more and more signs of getting on, Robinson was better and is at worst, committed. Caught out a couple of times, Davies was not bad, but both goals came from crosses in, Perry is great on the floor, but to short, Gera is a bit of an enigma at the moment, does he want to be here? Quashie was half decent yesterday and this is definitely his level, Chaplow was terrible with no bite or creativity, Greening was worse than terrible, allegedly cannot get used to the pace of the Championship, a few cold nights in the stiffs might help, Hartson, while of course he at least appeared to try, was about a yard behind in thought and movement, Ellington, I thought at Southampton before he was injured that we only had 10 men, same again yesterday. Just not interested, Carter tried but not good enough, Crowd chanted for Ronnie to be sent on, he was to no effect except getting booked again. Too slow in body if not in mind. Phillips, who got a mixed reception as he warmed up, was a little off the pace and probably knows already that he signed for the wrong club.

Robson has created a team with a pair of vital achilles heels, cannot defend crosses and too damn slow.

What's to come in?

Koumas will be a major plus if they can find his brains and get them straight for long enough, Inamoto deserves a chance, may well be on his bike soon though, can't blame him, Young Nicholson is going to have to be given more and more chances to find out, Kamara is not a forward and never will be, the two United signings look at least competent and I will be having a long hard look at Steele in the reserves this coming Monday. Didn't look so bad last week against Huddersfield, stopped a penalty, but I thought he could have done better with the goal. One player I do think is coming along really well is Sissoko, hope his contract is fairly watertight for a couple of years. Getting more and more like his brother, improving.

Sorry to be so pessimistic and above all, I would love to be proven wrong, but I am slowly but surely moving from a Robson backer to a Robson out man before it is to late. Need to see what state we are in after about twelve games.

David Evans:

Pathetic.

To be totally honest i don't know where to start, yesterday was one of those games that there was that much wrong with the performance i think the subject line should sum it up. This keeper we have bought is useless, he positions himself like a centre half when a cross comes in, flapping around like a goose on speed.

Every time that ball came across our penalty area i had my head in my hands just waiting for the sunderland fans (well the few that were there) to erupt. It didnt happen until close to half time when basically had the keeper been on his line it would not have gone in, simple.

Why is he comming across his own defenders to try and punch a ball? when he misses it like he did most of the time yesterday it causes massive problems because the keeper and whoever he has just took out with his stupid dive are out of the game and cannot defend.

Against premiership opposition i can understand we could be struggling now and then, but against a team that were bottom of the championship and just been knocked out of the league cup by a team that were bottom of the whole football league.

It's just not acceptable, fair enough Peace should of stood by Robson in the premier league because changing the manager is not the answer in a relegation dog fight but in the championship if he continues to lose games in this manner then im afraid to say he will be making his own great escape very very soon.

Jules:

How robson can comment on the website saying he was shocked at the albion's performance i'll never know. its been said in countless comments on this page and about other matches, the bloke offers no encouragement let alone leadership.

Kanu and Earnshaw are also bang up to date proof that players get back on the scoring rails as soon as they leave the hawthorns. Hartson and Ellington were both prolific scorers before they came here, ok the former has only been here couple of months but Robson kissed his scoring potential to death by stating after the Hull game that he'll be a legend like Astle and Regis. Robson how dare you make such comments after only one game.

come back megson, all is forgiven (say what you want about that bloke, he'd be yelling at them from the touchline for 90mins+, not playing a madame tussauds icon and then shrugging his shoulders at the end of it).

Give Robson until the dingles game, he's not forgiven for the Villa one in january yet. Lose that one and he should never manage again.

costakiblue:

Pathetic, gutless, disgraceful.

Didn't match a poor Sunderland side in terms of desire and determination. They played 3 in midfield and yet they managed, time and again, to overrun our 4.

Anyone want six foot five goalkeeper who can't deal with crosses?

0/10 for the lot of them!

And how about a refund for the poor sods who trekked up there to witness it!

Lamp Baggie:

This was a performance waiting to happen after our patchy start to the season with our tippy tappy football sideways backwards sideways backwards lack of pace & cutting edge will costs us dearly. We struggled to compete with the bottom of the premiership last year & we will struggle against the top of the championship this and mid table obscurity is where we will end up without a vast improvement.

2-0 down and we cannot even get out of our own HALF without twenty bloody passes a cup tea & a biscuit - what a fecking disgrace - WHAT'S THE GAME PLAN ROBSON?

Robson's signings & man management must at last come under serious scrutiny - Phillips coming to the end of a decent career is surely a panic buy - Johnny H already getting stick - he's not the most mobile & never has been - he needs service in the penalty box - one cross & he almost scored - Koumas goes on strike & gets a new contract, whats this done for team morale?

Robson continues to play players out of position Chaplow centre mid - Carter (sorry he aint good enough) out wide - its disappointing to say the least.

No wonder Robson looks worried if he fails here - he'll surely never get back to his beloved Man U.

Despite 2 home wins the atmosphere at the Hawthornes is flat - hopefully the local derbies will get the fans going along with Robson & his merry band - the 'best squad in the division' - the team will surely improve with Albie, Clemo (attacking full backs) & Kamara (pace to burn) in the starting eleven.

According to Tom Ross PIG is initially a loan deal for tax reasons unbelivable what's the point being the richest club OUTSIDE the premiership - Peace is not blameless in all this.

Goulds Coffin:

Not really sure why I'm posting, as a) I only saw the game on telly, and b) because I agree with pretty much everything that's already been posted. But the performance was SO poor that I've got to say something, or commit a drive-by shooting on my way to Sainsbury's.

Before the World Cup, I was reading some dedicated supplement or other in one of the national newspapers which described Switzerland's international keeper as "the Swiss David James". How true. Perhaps Robson will be able to unearth the Latvian Bernt Haas or the Swedish Andy Townsend to complete the squad.

As well expressed by another BOINGer, you don't need to be a genius to work out that Hartson needs service from the wings if he is to give any kind of return on investment. Greening appears to have been kidnapped by some Sunday league impostor with a Jesus wig, and if Gera doesn't want to play for us then we should cash in. He did absolutely nothing yesterday. Whatever your view on Koumas, we desperately need the creativity he offers.

I don't think there's a fat lot wrong with the defence (other than the keeper) despite the appalling marking at Sunderland. Perry has been excellent so far and you wouldn't drop Robinson or Davies. McShane looked very good against Orient and should prove a good buy, then there's Clement when fit. But I agree with those who want Albrechtsen in. Watson hasn't done too badly but I worry that he's one of Robson's "undroppables" (a la Megson/MacInnes or Gregan).

It's the attack that will decide whether we go up or not, and the jury is still out. Hartson was always going to be limited in scope; Ellington doesn't seem to have the attitude to succeed; and Phillips is not going to get us the 20-odd goals we need from someone this year. Nicholson is nowhere near the finished article.

Before the season started, a writer on the Racing Post described us as the most ungenerously priced team in the Championship this year. Unfortunately I think he's right.

chaspa:

we are all demanding a new manager.

Its true that at the moment the club seems to be in decent financial state. However how did it become the possession of the current chairman, when so many of us had shares (not me I add)? How on earth did he let Kuschak go for apparently no money at all, having turned down millions? How much do we owe to the previous chairman? Even though eventually we discovered his choice of manager had "clay feet"?

Almost two years ago, when we played Middlesborough, Robson's first or second game - there was a movement about the team that had not been there under GM. How has he trained that sort of freshness out of the team?

Oh well - so many quesitons and not one of us has a sensible answer except another beer perhaps.

COUCHCRITIC:

Yet another load of rubbish followed by the all too familiar whinings from Robson! He buys the players, deploys them!! is paid to motivate them and to 'kick ass' when they turn in such abysmal displays. There must be something fudamentally wrong at Albion where reasonable looking players are brought in, fail to perform, and then regain their form on leaving the club!

Despite the money spent, after 2 years of Robson we are worse off than under Megson and he has to go, the sooner the better. I just cannot see what faith anyone has in him, he may have been a great player but as a manager he is clueless and should never have been appointed.