Chris Brunt

[Mr X]

Good short term signing on paper but Brunt definitely isn’t going to fall into the Paul Hartley/Wade Elliott tier of experienced midfielder signings, more of the Jody Morris tier. 

[AppyDAZE]

5 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Good short term signing on paper but Brunt definitely isn’t going to fall into the Paul Hartley/Wade Elliott tier of experienced midfielder signings, more of the Jody Morris tier. 

Gonna take some beating this bloke for sure

[steviestevieneville]

10 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Good short term signing on paper but Brunt definitely isn’t going to fall into the Paul Hartley/Wade Elliott tier of experienced midfielder signings, more of the Jody Morris tier. 

Completely different type of player to the ones you’ve mentioned. After nearly 300 prem games and over 60 international caps, I think it’s safe to says he’s had a very good career 

[Garland-sweden]

His first half was dreadful but I think he and the whole team was good in the second. Rowe instead of Dasilva gave us calm in that flank. Think Rowe is better then Dasilva in a back four. Dasilva suits more in 352. 

[Bobbie]

Terrible first half but I thought he did alright in the second. Looked much more confident as a LDM with Nagy sitting alongside him. 

[steviestevieneville]

54 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

It was far too much for him to do first half. He can't do that role. 

But alongside Nagy second half he was much better. Still worry about his lack of sharpness at times where other younger players would be much quicker off the mark. It's not really his speed over a distance, but more the off the mark sharpness that he looks like he may have lost, understandably.

But how does he get sharp if he doesn’t play regularly . I’m not saying he starts when everyone’s fit . I just think he’ll be invaluable over the course of the season . People to quick to jump on someone without knowing the full facts , fitness wise.

your love child Callum played very well tonight Jon needs to show that on a regular basis . 

[A Horse With No Name]

12 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Gonna take some beating this bloke for sure

Do you remember his debut? Birmingham away, he was absolutely dreadful and got the sort of reviews Brunt got tonight. Ended up in the legends photo gallery on the ceiling of the South Stand.

[Super]

Him and Nagy were far better second half.

[bristolmoose]

58 minutes ago, AshtonGreat said:

Well the commentator did say that he could hear Brunt being very vocal on the pitch. That's what every good team needs - leaders

But not if the player is shouting things like "That Stanley Matthews, now there was a player" or "I remember when you could go to the pictures, have a cod lot and get the bus home and still have change from half a crown" or "Eh? Speak up"

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, JonDolman said:

He can't control the ball. Amazing to see. A perfect Pulis midfielder. Kick it

Been a very good technical player over the years....but sad to see him play like he did first half.  Worth noting that when he does get the ball under control his first thought is to try and get it into feet.  Pulis comment is unjustified imho.  Wasn’t launching it.

1 hour ago, Prinny said:

I think putting him as a lone central defensive mid is setting him up to fail, and he can play a role when he's put in a position to succeed like he was in the second half after we had the lead.

While people will criticise the player, when I am yelling abuse at Brunt, it's really Holden I'm having a go at. Because he SUCKED first half.

Most of us have been crying out for a more conventional pairing in midfield, e.g. 2 CMs and one more AM.  We got that second half.

I purposely didn’t use the double pivot / DM “jargon”, because Nagy was anything but a DM second half.  He just did an all-round midfielder role, got forward, got back, screened, etc.  By him playing right and Brunt left (albeit more cautious) look how it stopped QPR feeding balls into Dykes.

But the piste de resistance was O’Dowda, playing between the lines and license to roam.  Without the ball, all the things the 3 Forwards and 3 Midfielders couldn’t do to stop QPR playing through and around them, stopped.

A number of subtle changes by Holden tonight:

Semenyo and Wells swapped on 35 minutes....Wells now on the right, and comes off the right to equalise

Sub of Dasilva off for Rowe.  I think in part Semenyo had started to help Dasilva in the last 5-10 mins of the half, but when the midfield and forward line is passed through, Osayi-Samuel still got too much ball in the final third

Tweak as above to more 4213.

I think for how bad we were first half, and you can blame Holden for that, he reacted and changed it.  Between him and his assistants they can spot and change things without making sweeping changes.

Ultimately if you pass it badly like we did in first half, you’re gonna invite pressure.

1 hour ago, ohhhshauntaylor said:

The opposite of what I expected. 
I wasn’t a fan of the signing, but expected-

•Calmness 

•Good set pieces

•Ball retention 

He so far has delivered the opposite. 

I know, tonight he just couldn’t do the basics first half and his confidence was gone.

[phantom]

1 hour ago, Ivorguy said:

Brunt was taking a leadership role in defence in second half and was, in my opinion, solid.  Criticism is not fair.  It isn’t all about speed it is about positioning and leadership - in fact just like Ivor Guy at the end of his career!

I personally think Brunt sitting back and doing a lot of work off the ball meant Nagy and Odowda were both given licence to press further up the pitch and no coincidence they both had great games tonight 

[Fuber]

Issue is he's gone a season just playing 7 games last season for WBA, at his age being optimistic it would take him a while to get back up to speed.

Add in COVID, Moving Club, Position, and Role?

Think it's unlikely to go well, at best. He's never been a passer, he's simply always had a fantastic delivery and work ethic. I wouldnt' say Nicky Hunt level - but certainly a comparison can be made to Nicky Shorey.

[PHILINFRANCE]

33 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Been a very good technical player over the years....but sad to see him play like he did first half.  Worth noting that when he does get the ball under control his first thought is to try and get it into feet.  Pulis comment is unjustified imho.  Wasn’t launching it.

Most of us have been crying out for a more conventional pairing in midfield, e.g. 2 CMs and one more AM.  We got that second half.

I purposely didn’t use the double pivot / DM “jargon”, because Nagy was anything but a DM second half.  He just did an all-round midfielder role, got forward, got back, screened, etc.  By him playing right and Brunt left (albeit more cautious) look how it stopped QPR feeding balls into Dykes.

But the piste de resistance was O’Dowda, playing between the lines and license to roam.  Without the ball, all the things the 3 Forwards and 3 Midfielders couldn’t do to stop QPR playing through and around them, stopped.

A number of subtle changes by Holden tonight:

Semenyo and Wells swapped on 35 minutes....Wells now on the right, and comes off the right to equalise

Sub of Dasilva off for Rowe.  I think in part Semenyo had started to help Dasilva in the last 5-10 mins of the half, but when the midfield and forward line is passed through, Osayi-Samuel still got too much ball in the final third

Tweak as above to more 4213.

I think for how bad we were first half, and you can blame Holden for that, he reacted and changed it.  Between him and his assistants they can spot and change things without making sweeping changes.

Ultimately if you pass it badly like we did in first half, you’re gonna invite pressure.

I know, tonight he just couldn’t do the basics first half and his confidence was gone.

Oh Dave ,

Quibling, as ever, but unless you're skiing, it's a

pièce de résistance

 

[ReggyRed]

Ah it looks like otib have found their new scapegoat

[Prinny]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Most of us have been crying out for a more conventional pairing in midfield, e.g. 2 CMs and one more AM.  We got that second half. I purposely didn’t use the double pivot / DM “jargon”, because Nagy was anything but a DM second half.  He just did an all-round midfielder role, got forward, got back, screened, etc.  By him playing right and Brunt left (albeit more cautious) look how it stopped QPR feeding balls into Dykes. But the piste de resistance was O’Dowda, playing between the lines and license to roam.  Without the ball, all the things the 3 Forwards and 3 Midfielders couldn’t do to stop QPR playing through and around them, stopped.

So why does it take so long for him to do the things most intelligent fans can see? I think it's

a) the flaws in his pecking order selection policy, which does have benefits too of course combined with an idea that...

b) he like others suffer from too much weight in results based analysis IMO so he's slow to change a "winning" team, into a "better" team that has more opportunity to win.

c) A genuine misread on what Chris Brunt is physically capable of doing and his suitability for the single 6 role.

A number of subtle changes by Holden tonight:

Semenyo and Wells swapped on 35 minutes....Wells now on the right, and comes off the right to equalise

So I think this is more about the move, rather than the side for the actual goal. Vyner switches the play and it will naturally drag in the wide forward into the box just from positioning. Maybe there was a direct instruction to suddenly hit cross field balls for exactly this purpose, but I think it's more coincidence. I'm not crediting him for that bit, but it was good he tried to fix the Osayi-Samuel problem by adding at least more pace in Semenyo. We certainly gave him less space second half and it really helped so happy with that bit of work from Holden.

Sub of Dasilva off for Rowe.  I think in part Semenyo had started to help Dasilva in the last 5-10 mins of the half, but when the midfield and forward line is passed through, Osayi-Samuel still got too much ball in the final third

Before the game I would have absolutely picked Dasilva as a better counter to Osayi-Samuel, better pace, better 1v1 defender. Dasilva was awful even in the pure 1v1s so glad it was changed! Glad we have an option in that position if the other player is off. Maybe a problem with Dasilva we don't know about wouldn't surprise me.

Tweak as above to more 4213. I think for how bad we were first half, and you can blame Holden for that, he reacted and changed it.  Between him and his assistants they can spot and change things without making sweeping changes.

Ultimately if you pass it badly like we did in first half, you’re gonna invite pressure.

A consistent thing with Holden/coaching team is the ability to identify and fix issues as they're going on with less resources than the previous regime. We just need him to get things more right from selection. Also a fit Bakinson should be higher in the pecking order so that should fix an issue with Brunt whether or not we change the midfield and it's easy to justify any changes from a freshness perspective so it's an easy decision when it's the right one fitness wise.

[Davefevs]

7 minutes ago, Prinny said:

A consistent thing with Holden/coaching team is the ability to identify and fix issues as they're going on with less resources than the previous regime. We just need him to get things more right from selection. Also a fit Bakinson should be higher in the pecking order so that should fix an issue with Brunt whether or not we change the midfield and it's easy to justify any changes from a freshness perspective so it's an easy decision when it's the right one fitness wise.

Yes, you’d imagine that if Bakinson is fitter by Saturday he will probably come in.

[sglosbcfc]

Just out of interest, and I don't know the answer but I'm sure a statto will. What are our average points with Brunt in and out of the team?

[steviestevieneville]

8 hours ago, JonDolman said:

That why I said about a full 90. Maybe that is what he needs or maybe he has forever lost a bit too much sharpness now at his age. I guess we will see. But he certainly did better 2nd half.

With O'Dowda I've only stuck up for him as I rate him, just like I did with Semenyo when he had over the top criticism in the past.

I think O'Dowda has been very good all season so far. 2 average games in which we were poor, and even then he was one of our better players.

Of course if he doesn't get assists people will probably go back to saying he's useless. But for me his role has been a bit different this season for us than it is when on the wing under LJ. And 2nd half was the first time he's had a very attacking role this season.

Like I said on another thread, people don't seem to notice the ball winning role he has played this season. People too obsessed with assists and goals. We have benefitted hugely as a team with O'Dowda in it this season.

I don’t think he’s been very good tbh , fits and starts he has but tonight very good second half. My frustration with him is , you can see he  has the attributes to kick on and become a very good player. I don’t know if it’s between his ears ( lack of confidence) or a lack of belief from Johnson . I do hope though that last nights second half is his bench mark and he starts to do it consistently . 

[GrahamC]

11 hours ago, Mr X said:

Good short term signing on paper but Brunt definitely isn’t going to fall into the Paul Hartley/Wade Elliott tier of experienced midfielder signings, more of the Jody Morris tier. 

His second half performance means he has already contributed more than Jody Morris.

[Davefevs]

10 hours ago, sglosbcfc said:

Just out of interest, and I don't know the answer but I'm sure a statto will. What are our average points with Brunt in and out of the team?

If you look at his contribution to results whilst he’s in the pitch, then I can tell you, e.g. if he starts, he starts with a draw, and we are winning when he comes off or the game ends, then I give him 2 points (3pts minus the 1 point he started with).  If we are drawing then 0 points, if losing then -1 point.

If he came on as sub whilst we were losing and we ended up winning he’d get 3 points, etc etc.

As it stands in league games he’s +3pts from 417 minutes at 0.64 per 90 (Pato is +13 from 1152 at 1.01 per 90).

 

[City Rocker]

Interesting, this is what a WBA supporting mate of mine had to say when we signed Brunt. As you can see, he's not much of a Brunt fan. And we are clearly playing him out of position. Even so, I've had to let my mate know he's actually far worse than that, thus far anyway... 

West Brom fan: "What can I tell you about old Brunt? Considered a legend by many Albion fans, not by me though I think that’s just a sign of the times. 

A long serving player who’s done some great things for Albion? Yes definitely. A magical left foot? Well yes for whipping in a dangerous cross, that’s definitely his biggest strength IMO. Because of the reputation of his magical left foot he often gets to take free kicks around the box and 9/10 go high and wide! But they never show you that on the match highlights!! I can only think of two goals he’s scored from free kicks in all those years. He also gets frustrated when things aren’t going well (sent off in the play off semi final v Villa for example).

So as you can see I’m not his greatest fan. He can pick out a pass others don’t see to be fair. If he played for a team I managed I’d bring him on with 20 minutes to go, stick him out wide and tell him to whip those crosses in."

[Bazooka Joe]

15 hours ago, AshtonGreat said:

Well the commentator did say that he could hear Brunt being very vocal on the pitch. That's what every good team needs - leaders

Talking the talk rather than walking the walk?

What was he shouting? 

"I've got a great left peg, don't you know?"

[mozo]

That first half was unacceptably bad. You don't need to be accused of scapegoating to say that. Undeniably true.

If Bakinson or Massengo played like that in a half, we'd say they need time out on loan. 

In the second half his posititioning looked good and in the final 30 minutes he made some good clearances. Maybe a 7/10 for that half?

One concern though is that he plays so many balls back to the full backs. Not the incisive passing I expected from him.

If we have to take the rough with the smooth I'd much rather do so with Nagy, O'Dowda, Bakinson and Massengo and in doing so build for the future.

We don't get enough value out of Brunt (unless we see a drastic change).

 

[redsocks]

Why did we get rid of korey and get brunt in.this makes no sense to me.korey is now playing every game for Swansea and brunt is usless and should of retired at the end of last season.

[Silvio Dante]

My guess is a combination of the following:

- We didn’t want to risk a 2 year deal with Koreys recent injury record (I know, not unlike our other midfielders!)

- Korey wanted, particularly having missed a lot of football, a greater likelihood of game time and Brunt was happy being “squad”

- Brunt wasn’t the replacement for Korey. Joe Williams was.

This doesn’t excuse how poor overall Brunt has been, but conflating him and Korey probably understates the subtlety of the overall situation 

[Major Isewater]

37 minutes ago, redsocks said:

Why did we get rid of korey

I am not so sure that we ‘got rid ‘ of Korey.

 I think you will find that the player himself had a word or two to say on whether he stayed or went. 
 

His injury record wasn’t great recently and perhaps that reflected in a deal that we offered him.
 

Don’t forget that the club gave him a new deal when he was out with a very serious injury. They looked after him.

We can never be party to every situation at the club and it is never a black or white scenario.

 

[Davefevs]

6 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

I am not so sure that we ‘got rid ‘ of Korey.

 I think you will find that the player himself had a word or two to say on whether he stayed or went. 
 

His injury record wasn’t great recently and perhaps that reflected in a deal that we offered him.
 

Don’t forget that the club gave him a new deal when he was out with a very serious injury. They looked after him.

We can never be party to every situation at the club and it is never a black or white scenario.

 

And Swansea offered him considerably more than was on the table here (allegedly).

[GrahamC]

I like Korey but the OP is being disingenuous in comparing his situation with Brunt.

As others have said Joe Williams was brought in for Korey, not Brunt.

Plus, Korey only started 19 games last season (just 3 in the one before) so I’m sure another 2 year contract based on that would have seen numerous cosy club comments on here.

Williams had a fairly decent availability record prior to joining us, we badly need that to happen again.

[marcofisher]

Brunt is a Jody Morris level signing, can’t think of many worse in the last decade.

[GrahamC]

39 minutes ago, marcofisher said:

Brunt is a Jody Morris level signing, can’t think of many worse in the last decade.

Really?

How about these?

Nicky Hunt, Ryan McGovern, Mark Wilson, Richard Foster, Brian Howard, Adam El Abd, James O’Connor, Ben Gladwin, Joel Ekstrand, Jens Hegeler. Stefan Marinovic, Rodri.

That’s just picking only one per year, there have been loads more worse than him, FFS.