[Kennyg]

Apart from Fozzie, the whole team were very poor. No determination to win the ball, no thought about a pass, very little possession. This shows we need to bolster our squad desperately in the next couple of weeks - a left back, a young centre back, an attacking midfielder and a forward are essential if we are not going to progress. Oh well. Bring on Sunderland!

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I meant if we are going to progress!

[betterthanbaird]

2nd half was an improvement tbf, Foster was great and Yacob got stuck in. Don't think we should get too down about this game, spurs were class and we had our 2 best defenders missing.

Back at home for Sunderland next week which is the type of game we're winning this season. Couple of signings to give us a bit of a lift and we can turn good again.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Aside from the increasingly obvious matter of the ageing central defence, we desperately need that man in the middle of the park who's comfortable with the ball under pressure, too. The first half was wave after wave of Spurs attacks because every time we cleared the ball, an Albion midfielder would either give it away with his first pass or dawdle till he got tackled and dispossessed. On their own patch teams will always look to press you, and we're really astoundingly poor at dealing with it.

Just have to move on and hope a new face or two are in the pipeline.

[talkSAFT]

Let's blame GaryMac and send the old duffer into retirement.
He made 2 or 3 mistakes today, unlike everyone else this season. He's 37 and consistently the worst player we've had the past 3 or 4years.

I despair.

[Beefy 1965]

A defence with out Nyom & Evans at the moment is a disaster waiting to happen
Olly well just cant do anymore great servant but time to move on,
Gmav he has been my hero the last couple of seasons he is 37 now, young defenders with a bit of pace are desperately needed,
Why did Pullis say Chadli wasn't fit then play him,
I'm so confused what comes from the clubds press just lately.
You can see why Schlupp Wasn't sought after as Pullis said we are targeting different areas.
Thing is talk is cheap we need some fresh legs on board,
Some way to wipe out your positive GD in one swoop
But at times its fair to say Spurs are miles ahead of us so lets not be to down,

Here's an idea, let's not carried away and talk about Europe when we beat lesser teams and let's not get suicidal when we lose to a top 6 side?

[BBB]

One of the best summing up of a game Slick. Well done.

This game really shows the big divide - so do we want to be in the top six, or just enjoy having an enjoyable win and half way position.

We badly need players.

[BaggieSteve]

To be fair to McAuley, I think he was pretty annoyed with the ref missing the obvious boot on him from Walker and as a result he was ready to go shoulder to shoulder and put Walker into the stand, but when Walker held off he was unbalanced.

At the end of the day he shouldn't be playing on the left of a back 3 because he's too old to be getting dragged into wide areas, but he'd still be ideal at the centre of a 3. It's unfair to say he's 'no longer up to it' because he's made a mistake playing out of position. He remains the best aerial defender in the league in both boxes and is the main reason why we rarely ever concede from a set play.

Olsson on the other hand must be replaced. He's been a great servant but his legs have gone, timing has gone and he really shouldn't even be in the mix as a squad player anymore. The fact McAuley is playing in the wider position of a 3 is due to the fact Olsson is in the team. In what other circumstances could a 37 year old centre half be deemed to have more legs?

Pulis always sets up the side to defend first against the top sides and when you get a 0-0 it's a masterclass, when they score early it's terrible...

But the reality is, Foster aside, each and every player was terrible today. Fletcher and Yacob were too slow and kept missing the easy outball. Mozza and Chadli were particularly shocking - they both had some reasonable opportunities but fluffed their lines time and time again. Rondon was isolated, but couldn't trap a bag of sand when it did go forward to him. HRK, despite his wonder strike at Southampton, really doesn't offer any threat as a sub and seems to be the type of 'forward' who will only ever score wonder goals because his main attribute is just 'putting himself about'. Dawson and Brunt were as bad as I've seen them play at full back in the first half.

This game shows us exactly how big the gap is getting between the top 6 and the rest. We can compete with most sides, but with a couple of injuries we're miles off the top sides.

We desperately need a centre half to replace Olsson and a real left back who we trust. Fletcher and Yacob are generally solid defensively, but we need more mobility in that role. That was made blatently obvious today. Assuming Saido is gone, you can't expect to do anything with just HRK and Rondon. When you weigh up the squad at our disposal, we've been punching well above our weight this season and maybe this brings us back to reality...

Slick, I think you're spot on, we are punching way above our weight but, we are struggling in key areas. Without Evans, I think GMac struggles because he doesn't, as you say, have a quicker set of legs next to him. GMac has been absolutely outstanding for us but we have to face the reality that, at 37, he will having increasingly poorer days. I would definite still play him but I feel we need to replace him with a younger model. However, again like you, I think midfield and attack are real concerns; with the exception of the excellent Phillips there is no pace and precious little creativity, we so need a dynamic player whose first thought is to run with the ball but from the centre of the pitch, not on the wing - I can't see how we need another winger. I accept this probably means replacing Fletcher but so be it. Upfront is also an issue, I think. Despite his wonder finish at Southampton, HRK is, at best, a substitute striker. Rondon is a handful but he's no natural finisher so, if you put those two together, they probably won't score more than 12 goals between them in a season, not enough for your strikers. We desperately need another natural finisher (Berahino, anyone?). So, for me, please go and buy a central defender to replace Olson, a dynamic midfielder to replace Fletcher and one, maybe two, strikers. Oh, and stop xxxx about penny pinching and pay what is needed; Albion missing out on alleged targets is now going beyond a joke.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Here's an idea, let's not carried away and talk about Europe when we beat lesser teams and let's not get suicidal when we lose to a top 6 side?  

To be fair, speaking as the only person on the thread who mentioned Europe, it's not a case of getting carried away. I accept that we've probably been punching a bit above our weight so far this season, and I did say in the OP that the chances of Europe are slim at the very best. What I wanted (and still want, ideally) is a couple of new signings to give us a boost, to keep stringing together wins where we can against teams below and around us, so that we can hopefully stay within vague touching distance of Everton the next month or two *just in case* 7th place looks like becoming a Europa spot.

I'm not booking my plane tickets or cracking out the Albanian phrasebook, and not recommending anyone else does either. It's purely a best-case scenario view of what we *might* be able to compete for if things go our way, to help keep a bit of excitement and possibility alive after another awful cup exit.

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Apologies: HRK did also mention Europe, but I think they're of the same opinion as me on the matter. Realistically it's damn near impossible for us. Optimistically... well, it's nice to nurse the hope that our season hasn't effectively ended in January.

[BaggieMan]

Who really want to get in the Europa League anyway?  

Low crowds, huge travelling distances to unknown clubs in the arse end of Europe and usually, it's the kiss of death with many teams struggling in the Prem fixtures.

To compete properly you need a big squad with depth in every position and that's certainly what we haven't got !

Nah, only Europe I'm interested in is a fortnight in Benidorm at the Salana Hotel with Madge !

[drewks]

2nd half was an improvement tbf, Foster was great and Yacob got stuck in. Don't think we should get too down about this game, spurs were class and we had our 2 best defenders missing.

Back at home for Sunderland next week which is the type of game we're winning this season. Couple of signings to give us a bit of a lift and we can turn good again.

Nice one BTB! !