West Bromwich Albion 2 - Manchester City 3

Paul Gainham:

Please, please, please don?t anybody come out and say that City are a great team, we will always struggle against them, too good for us etc. etc. We were at home and we totally surrendered the game to them.

I would have accepted that in our first season in the PL under Megson but not now.

City cruised to a 2-0 lead and then decided to sit back and toy with us because they could. We were pitiful for the majority of the game, yet again no tempo, no spirit and you could see within the first 5 mins that the game plan was to give away possession and try and hold probably the best team in Europe. Somebody tell me how successful that was likely to be????

Yes we got 2 token goals back but we were 3-0 down at home and until our first goal did not have a single shot on their keeper, that?s how much City were in control..

I can accept losing to a better team and City were a MUCH better team, but what I cannot and will not accept is abject, clueless surrender which is what I witnessed tonight.

It was pathetic, embarrassing and rank amateurish. On this form, we WILL be relegated.

Taxi for Clarke

oshawabaggie:

As I've just poured myself another drink I will go with the 'glass half full' approach. We were taken apart, especially from the flanks, in the first 30 minutes by a very slick City side, but on todays performance they would have got the better of most teams. Our fullbacks looked slow (because they are), but to be fair they didn't get much support.

Once 2 down, perhaps because City sat back, we gained more confidence, albeit without creating much in the way of clear chances. The second half saw us give a much better performance - undone in the end by (once again) two iffy penalty decisions. The first when Shane Long was bundled over in the box by two defenders, but they got a goal kick out of it. Maybe because he is such an honest player and doesn't embellish fouls he doesn't get the calls he deserves.

To be fair, our players didn't make a huge deal over it, but with the benefit of video I can tell you we have had much softer calls given against us this year (by the way watch Ramirez go down in the box against Sunderland - deja vu, but rightly not given this time). The second was the Yacob incident. My first impression was that it was a nailed on penalty, but again with the benefit of video replay, Yacob actually got his toe to the ball before clipping the defender. How the F*** is that a penalty?

Did we deserve to win on the balance of play? No, but if everything evens out in the end, as they say, we are building up a lot of credit in the favours bank.

Now for the 'glass half full' bit. We didn't give up and won the second half. Berahino looked quite sharp, holding the ball up well and having a go whenever he got half a look. I liked the short cameo by Vydra (2 assists) and I would give him a longer look against Norwich (maybe instead of Alfie, who is very errm 'French' with the histrionics). Gera looked Ok - certainly better than Mozza. Now that Ollie is suspended, it will give Dawson a chance to show he deserves a spot. I know Paul Gainham will disagree, but Anichebe showed he actually can play football, if only in short bursts - hey, if he can do that 6 more times this season I'll take it. Long worked very hard as usual. Yacob (wronged by the ref IMO) had a solid game (if only Mulumbu was on the field with him to add some bite). Glad we signed Berahino. I think he has a pile of goals in him if he stays fit.

Things tightening up in the relegation battle, but I still think we will be ok. Need a win on Saturday.

Steve Fereday:

Paul have you thought about becoming the manager?? Well I think you should. And perhaps after your 'taxi for Clarke' statement, if you are not interested, then just who in your opinion is better positioned and available to take over??

And as for 'people coming on here and saying City are great', well I just wish more of the comments posted actually appeared on here. That way there would be more of a balanced opinion, other than yours. This is my first post for years, but I wanted to tonite as your reports irritate me.

You have seen a taste of minor success in terms of recent finishes in the league and now you seem to want significant improvement season on season. You must have a job, so does your Company you work for get more competitive and improve financially every year?

The staggering thing for me in top flight English football is the difference in the quality of a 6 million player, ie, one of ours, and a 20 million player, ie, one of theirs. I would however expect our 6 mill rated player be able to pass with either foot, head a ball, chase down a ball, tackle, run into space, run away from the player with the ball, in fact just as we all learned at school. But collectively we do not seem to be able to do that as a team.

Give Steve Clarke a break. He is the best manager we have had in years but he is restricted by the amount of money he can spend, and also with the players he wants to keep in the squad. Brunt should go as soon as, as he clearly is not good enough at this level.

Try the glass half full syndrome Paul as life looks better that way, and nothing that you put on this website will change anything. We are a small club and always will be. Check the empty seats tonite.

the liquidator:

It appears a distinct possibility that Mulumbu is key to our success or failure.

What a lightweight gutless performance without him-coincidence or not?