Yesterday was somewhat of a watershed moment. Albion were not only focused in the national press but also on national radio.
Fair play to Adrian Durham for raising the issue of the style of Tony Pulis' football. In his Daily Mail article, Durham calls Pulis an 'outdated relic' and stated that Albion fans 'deserve more'. He then went on to dedicate a feature on his TalkSport Drivetime show after witnessing Albion's negativity at Old Trafford.
You may not always agree with Durham, but he was spot on with this issue. The football under Pulis is awful. He is driving fans away. Albion fans like to think we play a good brand of football. Traditionally it's something we've been proud of. Whether or not this is true, there's no arguing that this season has been awful.
Away from home we are shockingly bad. The Crystal Palace performance was one of the worst I've ever watched from an Albion side. And I'm old enough (just) to remember the Bobby Gould era. I was there in my toga when we went down to the third division. But we managed to pull ourselves back thanks to Ossie's Christmas tree formation that saw score a bundle of goals and to up at Wembley.
We then went backwards under Burkinshaw and struggled to find our identity under Smith, Little and Buckley. It wasn't great at times either under Megson but we winning games and who can forget days against Bradford or Crystal Palace. At that level, he found a balance.
Robson was mixed but again things improved with the champagne football of Mowbray and Di Matteo. Even under Pepe Mel and Irvine the entertainment levels were better. At the moment, I struggle to find any sort of excitement or enjoyment from watching the Albion under Pulis.
There are more ways of staying in the Premier League than simply parking the bus. Something has to change. The strange thing is that he didn’t seem to be this negative last season, when we really were in a relegation battle.
Albion fans are a loyal bunch. But I can see a tide turning against Pulis. If the fans are sick of his negativity, what must the likes of Darren Fletcher and Jonny Evans be thinking. I’m sure they went to Old Trafford to prove a point. Not sit behind the ball for 90 minutes without having a shot. It’ll be the same against Arsenal. I can’t wait.
Come on you Baggies!
Do you agree with Adrian Durham or are Pulis' tactics understandable? Have your say at Baggies Banter.