'It's just so poor': Jonny Drury & Lewis Cox assess West Brom's late defeat at Bristol City

Express & Star

Jonny Drury and Lewis Cox give their take as Albion suffer another late defeat at Bristol City. Albion put in an abject display in the first half before going a goal down early in the second half. They got back in the game through a bit of fortune as Alex Mowatt tapped home - before Jayson Molumby was sent off and they conceded late in the game.

Transcript

00:00Thank you fans, welcome to ExpressingStar.com, my name is Jonny Drew, I'm here with Albion

00:12Correspondent Base Cox, after Albion have conceded late yet again, a late goal, a red card,

00:19a dreadful display in certain aspects of the game, and Albion now slip six points behind

00:25Bristol, only three points off the playoffs, but my god Coxie, they do not look like a

00:29cider in a playoff race, an abysmal display all round, yeah they look like they might

00:35go on and win the game surprisingly in the second half at some points, but a lot to say,

00:42a lot I've already written, but it's a good job we've got a podcast on my way home, but

00:47a pretty damning, my most damning indictment is that there's been worse defeats this season

00:54for me, this feels like one of the worst, well we can't drive home because I'm drinking

00:57the strong stuff, so I don't know who's going to be, I hope he's not driving, it's definitely

01:02water, but could do with something stronger, I don't know, five have had a win now and three

01:08defeats in a row, we watched that first half and both agreed that Albion weren't very good

01:15in it, there are things to get into that we won't hear, I would go stronger if I had a bleep

01:21button, well yeah, I don't think it turned up in the first half to be perfectly honest

01:24No, no, and Bristol City would have better team, but not by miles, they weren't brilliant

01:30were they, Bristol City in the first half, they looked a decent side, we said that as

01:33we were watching it, but we won't go into the formation stuff, we've got the podcast for

01:37that and we'll talk about that, they used a different set up didn't they, and asked

01:41Mulberry about it down there and he said how I saw it, for five, ten minutes maybe it looked

01:44okay, but then it wasn't working and he said, look what I've tried to shake it up with and

01:49he's used previously as a manager but he hasn't used with these players before much in training

01:54at all, so switched it at half time, first goal happened, I'm trying to remember it now,

02:00yeah, Naki Wells opens the score and doesn't need what, less than ten minutes into the second

02:03half with a good finish, good player, not many players on the pitch, not many Albion players

02:09with a good finish like that, terrible defending, he turns Holgate for the goal so easily, so easily

02:15and it's just not good enough, they're not, conceding goals like that, they can't stop

02:20conceding goals and this is before we get to the stoppage time winner, obviously 96 minute,

02:24I mean, I think, you know, don't jump down my throat, but credit, yeah, Albion got an equaliser,

02:32it was gift wrapped wasn't it, you know, Bristol City, yeah, gift wrapped them an equaliser,

02:37you know, not to say it was undeserved, but Albion took it and then I think for 20 minutes,

02:42you know, equaliser just after the hour, Mowat finishes it, I think for 20 minutes or so

02:47after, you know, Mowat made the four changes, didn't he, just after Mowat's goal and I think

02:52is in the ascendancy too strong, I don't know, but Albion looked maybe the more likely for

02:57a while, I agree, and I mean, with about five minutes of normal time left, you departed to

03:05go and video the fans, didn't you, and as with Norwich last time, I mean, so we'll get

03:09into it now, obviously 89th minute, there's a red card for Jason Malumby, was it a red,

03:14I mean, handily in this press box, no TV replays, so from the people I've spoke to, reports I've

03:21read, stuff like that, Albion had Diakite down and Bristol City played on, tried to attack,

03:25that's irritated Albion, I think, irritated Mowat, I think irritated Malumby, he's gone

03:30in for a tackle, I've seen a few accounts of it, it's hard to make a comment when I've

03:33had a good replay of it, but seemingly studs were potentially raised and I don't know if

03:37there's a bit of a squaring up after it, Mowat hadn't seen it back, Mowat hadn't really

03:42had Malumby's account of it yet, but the head coach was irritated that Bristol City played

03:47on with Diakite down and Diakite took a right whack, by the way, but look, 89th minute, 1-1

03:54away from a massive game, by the way, 6 against 8th minute coming here before tonight, Malumby

03:59sees red, 10 men and then, you know what's going to come, don't you, a bombardment, you've

04:0510 men in stoppage time, yeah, they're going to have their tails up thinking they've got

04:08a chance, and Mowat just said down there, just defend and see it out, just, you know,

04:14have your men in the box.

04:15You see how you defend, don't you, you see how it turns into an alright point then, doesn't

04:19it?

04:19Yeah, on the other side, it would have been an okay point, it would have kept chances

04:23alive better than taking nothing, wouldn't it?

04:25Yeah, we'll talk, Josh Griffiths and a goalkeeper debate on the podcast, made some big saves,

04:30also had a bit of a stinker for the winning goal, but overall, Coxie, a performance like

04:39that, certainly the first half one has kind of alarmed me tonight, you know, Albion are

04:44three points behind Middlesbrough, they're six points behind Bristol City, I've asked the

04:48fans if they think the season's soon going to be over, a lot of them have said yes, it's

04:52far from it, you know, if they win a couple of games coming up, it could really turn right,

04:56but on the evidence of what we've seen so far, I, I just cannot kind of see it happening

05:03and the thing that gets me is that I've covered Albion under four managers now, and under

05:10Venerian Ismail, Steve Bruce, in certain periods under Carlos Corbran, largely good, and now

05:16under Mowbray, only 14, 15 games in, we've questioned character of sides and I think one

05:22of the most telling things for me tonight, and obviously Bristol City scored Albion got back

05:25in the game, could have gone on one again, the reaction of the 10 outfield players on

05:30the pitch for Albion when Bristol City scored, with a good 40 minutes, 40, 35 minutes left

05:37to play, just desolate, no one rallying around, and it just smacks to me that there isn't,

05:43they've lacked that character, that desire, that battle, and I've said it in a piece now,

05:48I won't question effort, because I never question effort for professional footballers, but desire

05:53and fight tonight, they didn't show it in the first half, they almost kind of got away

05:56with it, with getting a point, because I think Bristol City deserved a few points, if I'm

06:00perfectly honest with you, and they could have obviously nicked it, you know, they've had

06:03a couple of chances, Diakita, I think DK had one late on before Bristol City scored.

06:06He did, 0-1-1, you know, it could have been a very different story.

06:09It's just, Albion kind of got what they deserved, and that was a real alarming display tonight,

06:15you know, we'll talk more about it on the podcast, we've got hundreds of questions from

06:18you Albion fans who are no doubt angry about this, but here's a question for you, and

06:23we'll talk about it on the podcast, finish on this, a lot of Albion fans put into blame

06:27with these defeats at Tony Mowbray's door, where does this one tonight lie?

06:32I mean, I think, I'm not going to sit on, this isn't a sit on the fence answer, it might

06:37sound like it, it might sound like it, but, results, performances, do they lie with the

06:46players, do they lie with the manager and coaching staff, who are picking the 11 and

06:50the formation, I think there's got this, I understand your point, you know, the point

06:54we've made before, players crossing the right line, errors, leadership, character, by the

06:59way, your point on character, I think there's a long-term, not debate, but just long-term

07:03point there, isn't there, players that have been at a club for a long time, brought in

07:08by different managers, different head coaches, different structures, upstairs and stuff

07:14like that, long contracts, big, lucrative contracts, there's a bit of a mishmash, isn't

07:19there, and we spoke about it for a few summers now, and it's coming, it's coming again this

07:24summer, isn't it, players leaving, you know, we won't go into it, but look, tonight, you

07:28know, weekend, John Swift remains an unused sub, starts tonight, very little, really, effect

07:34on the game of a player of his, quality, graded in Ghana, starts the weekend, unused sub

07:40tonight, you know, when Albion needs things, these players are just, you know, and they're

07:44not alone, the first half, which you correctly commented on, they just look, the best way

07:51I could sort of describe it when we were watching it, and they just looked in their shell, and

07:55that's, I'm not trying to defend them by that, when I say they're low on confidence,

07:58but I see your point about the sort of fight and belief and resilience, and I'm not saying

08:04I disagree, but they just look in, they looked on the floor a bit in the first half, really

08:08tired, lethargic, lacking belief, and look, the confidence that's, to a point, is right

08:15because they're on a poor run, and Tony Mowbray spoke really well, and at length, about it

08:19after Sunderland the weekend, didn't he, I've published some of what Tony said at that

08:24long answer on Saturday, I haven't published all of it, but he was actually asked about

08:29kind of character, really, he was asked about character after Sunderland, in the press conference,

08:35he name-dropped Bartley, and he said, look, I see Bartley's, he used the word manliness,

08:42but he meant, you know, he said leadership, but he said, he intimated and he hinted that

08:48beyond that, and this is not me defending Bartley, I don't think he did very well tonight,

08:52and you know, whatever, but he's obviously a very long-serving player, second captain,

08:57beyond that, he didn't have much to...

09:00And that wasn't Mowbray throwing the players under the bus, he didn't want to do that,

09:02but obviously he's walked in and inherited a squad there, and he's having,

09:07I don't want to come in two-footed here, but he's having his eyes opened to perhaps the mentality

09:11and the characters, or lack of, that all this is going on in this tight, crazy play-off race

09:19that isn't going Albin's way at the moment, and results and performances are poor in spells,

09:24and certainly results, Tony Mowbray spoke okay of the performance tonight, to be honest,

09:30certainly after Mowbray equalised, he felt his side were in the ascendancy, and all of that,

09:34he agreed the first off didn't work, but as the play-off race is going on,

09:38and Albin are struggling, and at the moment failing, although there are games to go, five to go,

09:43so much going on, with, you know, we get to a summer of importance with the squad again, don't we?

09:49So, you know, it's an important summer, and players will leave, need to leave, in my opinion,

09:55they did last summer, more this summer, but look, that doesn't mean we can't,

10:00Albin shouldn't finish in the top six, they should, I think, not finishing in the top six

10:04is underachievement, really, so I'm not defending it, but, yeah, that first half tonight lacked a lot, didn't it?

10:11It just looked, to me, again, similar to Saturday.

10:14For me, you know, two-and-a-half hours in Albin fans right now, it's unacceptable.

10:18Yeah, on Saturday, Sunderland looked like a young side full of beans, like Mowbray said,

10:22Bristol City did, to a point, first half tonight, more than Albin, and that, you know,

10:26that says a lot, I think, in their shell, and that important time, and you said,

10:31a couple of wins could still turn it around, five games left, but, wins haven't been coming, have they, Johnny?

10:35Five without a win now, are Albin going to lift themselves up off this, and get that couple of wins,

10:40a rival's going to slip up, it's a proper mountain to climb now, isn't it?

10:44You know, many fans have said, season over, I get it, mathematically, obviously, it's not,

10:48could do a favour tomorrow against Coventry, but, are they going to get these wins from

10:53wherever they need to get them from?

10:55Yeah.

10:56That's the big question on the evidence at the moment, it doesn't look like it.

10:59Another bad night here, at Ashton Gate, Albin have to be beaten again, third time in a row.

11:03For the rest of your reaction, you know where to go, expressandstar.com.

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