First post in a while….

[Jack Halford]

Ronnie, you're an intelligent bloke and know your onions

Do you not see the opposition are completely changing how they play against us since Luton, Sheff Utd etc? Milwall and Peterborough were the two to start it and I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying with the exception of Blackpool, where we created loads, and Fulham who are a good side, every team we've played has gone 3 centre halves against us and matched us up?

Now, you're right to say the onus is on us to change our approach and to me we have, initially VI was all about press, harry, husstle, win the ball high, make it unfomfortable for the opposition however now we get 50-60% possession pretty much every game, sides sit off us, give our three front players no space to run in behind and allow our midfield two and wing backs to have the ball as our creativity is pretty poor from these areas
We are a lot more patient in our build up, certainly play more football than Barnsley ever did, the general feeling of the Cov fans I was with when we went there was Albion were the best side to go their this season, for me we're not a million miles away, Dike will help massively and if we can get a central midfielder in to work with Mowatt this will help our creativity. I'd also like to see Phillips given a go at RWB, especially at home

I've never known our fan base so split and unsuportive as we are currently, this isn't just down to Val for me, it's anger at last season, bringing Sam in who was unpopular, getting rid of Bilic without backing, overlooking Wilder due to Lai then not backing Val in the summer, bringing in tripe like Hugill, average players such as Reach and Moloumby, we all see the league is shite and we all see we're struggling in 4th when we really should be in the top 2

Part of me feels for Val as he's never quite had the backing of the fans, we liked it early but as soon as we drew a few we quickly got frustrated and our support level dwindled, in volume if not in numbers

I've had a lot of frustrations this season and at times I've been unhappy but I'm still behind Val, let's judge at the end of this window and next season whatever league we're in when he's had a full summer and a window to get players in he wants. Defensively we're decent, we've a keeper who doesn't really want to be here and we should cash in, we now have a number 9 and a saleable asset moving forward given his age and potential, we have some good youth players who Val has shown will get opportunities, we have all sides throughout the club playing the same system, a lot of positives are overlooked, it's hard at times but keep the faith would be my message

Cuzer

That's a very positive interpretation of the current situation. We should all be positive. But I don't quite fit the profile you've outlined above.

I didn't much like Bilic - I didn't see much of the good stuff 'cos it wasn't easily available, but watching the Baggies post-lockdown was appalling. I wouldn't have backed him with more cash for signings. He should have been fired before the Premier League season started.

I didn't object to the appointment of Sam. I thought the players were unprofessional at best, and Allardyce turned out to be past it in every way, which with hindsight was a big risk to take.

I wasn't sold on Wilder, but I'll admit that the block by Lai was unusual and unhelpful.

I think Reach is quality, and would like to see him play more. Molumby has potential and should get more game time ahead of Livermore. In a side note about midfield, I'm struggling to see Mowatt as the answer to anything much, it's all a bit "emperor's new clothes" for me.

Which forwards (apart from Dike) were we chasing? Yes, Hugill turned out to be a turkey, but what else was on the menu?

Where am I heading with this waffle? I'm heading towards the Wallwork/Ferenc point of view. My dissatisfaction with Ismael is based on what I've seen him do, not on a cocktail of gripes with the club's behaviour over the last couple of years. He's on trial as far as I'm concerned, he needs to get better results out of these players and soon.

Some really good posts on here tonight. I do wonder if Val thought when he arrived that he could get a better tune out of some of the players than he has in reality and knowing he would have to wait for Dike only went for a couple of additions.

What I find frustrating is the lack of in game flexibility to work out a way of combating teams that match us up.

Our achilles heal (as well as a striker) is our midfield and lack of leader.  I don’t really rate any of them and agree with the comment that we need a Molumbu rather than an Okay. If we did sign ok I would put him in the back 3 and he would be the defender to play out with the ball.

I’m not a big Reach fan but feel sorry that he and Molumby have been dropped after doing better than the players they replace. 

Townsend has regressed rapidly and is no way a wing back. What we need in this side is a Clement, Johnson and Balis.

It looks like SJ is also off and I wonder if his recent form may be down to off the field shenanigans.

Finally, not appointing a Director of Football is a strange decision and gives VI too much control on recruitment.

I’m not enjoying this season at all but am willing to see where we are at the end of the window. The worry is we’ve performed poorly against 3 poor teams and are falling back into the chasing pack.

My hope is that Lai has found a bit more cash down the back of his sofa for a few more players.