West Bromwich Albion 1 - Queens Park Rangers 4

Mark Koppel:

Today showed 2 things:

1. We aren't safe yet.
2. If we do survive yet again we need a major investment in new players. And this time we don't just need quantity, we need quality

I think only 3 out of the players on the pitch and on the bench today are good enough to take the Club forward in the Premier: Morrison, Berahino and Fletcher.

• Myhill 4. Did not make one save today of note.Caught in no man's land for the third goal.
• Baird 4. Proved today he is not a full back.No pace and unable to beat an opponent.
• McAuley 3. Been a rock at Albion for a long time but today he had a mare. Lost Austin for the second goal and gave the ball away twice for the other two first half goals. Said it before but he should not be the trying to lump it forward as his passes are totally inaccurate. Gary Megson told Big Dave to never try to pass more than 10 yards and concentrate on defending, Gareth needs to be told the same.
• Lescott 4. Outpaced by Bobby Zamora today, yes Bobby Zamora. Is he too old as well now at this level?
• Brunt 5. Wasn't his worst game at left back, and crosses today were slightly better. But in the summer a proper left back must be a priority, AGAIN.
• Mozza 6. Tried hard and got stuck in. Shooting eluded him again though.
• Fletcher 6. Does the basics well, and nearly always found a West Brom player.
• Gardner 4. Played out of position which proved why recruitment last summer was once again a failure...
• Berahino 7. Strong on the ball and did his best to get us back in the game when he created our one goal with great determination. Missed one he normally buries.
• Ideye 3. Missed everything today including a sitter at 0-0. Did not look anything like a £10million player again.
• Stefan 'Powder Puff' Sessegnon 2. Correctly got subbed at half time. Strolled around the pitch for 45 minutes without any real focus. When he got the ball kept falling over with the minimum of contact. Like Ideye, looks really expensive again at £6million. Only one goal all season is no where near good enough.

Subs:

• Olsson 6. Improved the defence when he came on and played some accurate passes forward. Gareth McAuley take note.
• Sick Vic 6. Gave their defence something to think about. If only he could stay fit.
• Mulumbu 4. Did little after coming on. Looked fitter than for ages but brainless challenge on Joey Barton who had been faking injury all afternoon anyway whenever challenged.

Brendan Clegg:

A touch of perspective required I think. I agree we were poor today but I have seen us play worse on quite a few occasions this season and win - Hull at home, Leicester away etc. I think that despite being poor we dominated for most of the match and the possession and shot stats back that up. nearly 60% possession and 21 shots on goal.

The critical problem was quality - Ideye scores the sitter right before their opener and it's a different game. Ideye scores the sitter right before their 2nd and it's a different game. It was just one of those games where everything they hit pretty much went in - even the Mulumbu red doesn't happen on another day and the 4th goal was a trip on McAuley. We could have done better for each of the goals but this was never a 4-1 game. QPR had massive fortune.

I agree Sess was poor first half but that was largely down to QPR tactics - they quite obviously doubled up on him and allowed Gardner to be our spare man, believing that he wouldn't have the quality to hurt them. They got that about right.

I may be alone but I do question the wisdom of taking our only player who can beat a man off when we are 3 nil down when he wasn't the reason we conceded 3 and Ideye was performing so badly. Move him to the centre, switch him with Gardner. Try anything to get him into dangerous areas because he creates space. That said, he could have done more work himself. I also thought the decision to go with Baird over Wisdom was a poor one. Wisdom has been hugely inconsistent but has potential - he's comfortable on the ball too. It would have given us a bit more going forward on the right. Apart from Anichibe I didn't really get the other subs - moving Mozza out wide weakened us as Fletcher was off the pace a bit.

That said with 20 mins to go with the number of chances we were creating - with Brunt beating his man and crossing at will - I thought we could salvage something. The sending off put an end to that - one of those where you can see why it was given but it was probably a bit harsh.

I agree that we're not safe yet and that there is a big job in the summer. The lack of options today was horrendous. I'm not sure that Pulis is the best operator in the transfer market either although given our record over the last 3 years he can't do much worse.

• Myhill - 5 Had little to do but I don't think Foster would have been beaten by the 1st or 3rd goals.
• Baird - 5 Wasn't horrendous but was beaten to the bounce by Vargas for the first and his lack of pace was a hindrance. Might have got an assist if Ideye could hit a barn door.
• Lescott - 5 Didn't cover himself in glory today. Zamora and Austin caused him problems.
• McAuley - 5 Same as Lescott really. I agree that we need to find a long term replacement for him but he's still at his age the best we have in his position so has to play.
• Brunt - 7 Was having an average game at left back but was our best player when he moved up to wing back. Stayed as wide as possible and repeatedly beat his man and put the ball into the box. Why he's not just done that for 3 years and instead continuously come inside or played deeper than a fullback is beyond me .
• Gardner - 6 As usual ran his legs off and did help to create the chances Ideye should've buried. Is a safe option out wide against decent teams when you need a worker but when you're at home to a poor side and the impetus is on you to attack, not so great.
• Fletcher - 5 As usual he was good in possession but I thought he looked really leggy.
• Mozza - 6 Was the pick of our midfield again without being great. At least had pace and drive even if the quality wasn't there.
• Sess - 4 QPR doubled up on him and he didn't do enough to make them work but I'd still have given him a rocket at half time and then moved him to a central role.
• Ideye - 4 Could and should've had a hat trick. His touch and support play were improved in the 2nd half but his misses were critical in the outcome of the game.
• Saido - 6 Missed a decent chance as he did versus Man City but is so naturally a great footballer that his movement, touch and awareness were a threat as demonstrated by the assist. I hope we can somehow keep him for another couple of years - it'll be better for him than sitting on the bench elsewhere.

• Vic - 7 Did well when he came on, great header and so begins another cycle of his sub performances justifying a start, a few games where he flits from unplayable monster to useless lump and then an injury that keeps him out for a month.
• Swede - 6 Did quite well, attempted the revolutionary approach of playing the ball forwards on the floor to a blue and white shirt. Not sure it'll catch on.
• Mulumbu - 5 Was doing OK until he got sent off. Tried to keep the ball and play it into the feet of our forwards instead of lumping it. I'd have him in my Albion team every week but hasn't had any decent run of games this season to prove his value. Will doubtless be replaced by a 6 foot percentage footballer.

On to Leicester - we cannot afford to lose that one.