"I think they understand it becomes more difficult but they have got to keep applying themselves. I only asked them to play in the way we set the team up to play and keep going. I enjoy watching my team play." Said Tony Mowbray following the Baggies 1:1 draw against Bolton on Sunday.

Like Mowbray, Albion fans may enjoy watching their team play, but they certainly aren't relishing the Baggies current eight-game winless streak. Which begs the question: would you rather be entertained with an attractive brand of football or win matches at the price of witnessing a more defensive and less entertaining style of play? In Albion's case, it may be regarded as the difference between survival and relegation.

Since the beginning of the season Mowbray has insisted on employing an entertaining product on the pitch, carrying over into the Premiership the same brand of attacking football that won Albion the Coca-Cola Championship. However, it was soon evident that this squad simply didn’t have enough quality relative to the rest of the league to reproduce the same style of football as effectively as they had done in the Championship. Once the January windowhad passed the acquisitions that were made were helpful but not convincing. Considering the clubs limited resources and in turn lack of impressive signings, Mowbray should have braced the squad prior to December to adapt a more defensive style that would persist on keeping possession and exposing the opposition on counters.

In the case of Albion’s promoted counterparts Hull City, they may have stunned the Premiership during the first couple of months, however they proved to have made better acquisitions during the summer window. Eventually as the league grew more acquainted with the Tigers they’re position began to slide toward the bottom of the table, yet Brown seemed to properly adjust the mentality and approach of his squad. They learned to reserve their counterattacking and free-flowing ways because it tended to make them vulnerable at the back, and began to approach the opposition more intelligently and defensively to insure they participate in the top-flight nest season.

This dispute of beautiful football versus winning football exists even at the opposite end of the table. More widely known, Arsenal have infamously paraded their trademark style of play, astonishing any fan that chose to tune in; yet they have earned no hardware since 2005. In complete contrast, Mourinho’s Chelsea won almost every trophy that was served before them, but Abramovich is still demanding for sexy football to this very day.

Then there are exceptions. Most recently, Manchester United and Barcelona have mastered to consistently find a balance between an entertaining and winning brand of the play. These are the sides that often live long in the memories of the sport. Their presentation of playing the game beautifully and winning with a manner of conviction is what separates the great squads from the legendary ones. Consequently both Man. United and Barcelona have won the Champions League in the last four years.

It’s a mystery whether the Baggies would have a greater chance at survival should they have chosen to play in a more conservative and defensive fashion, after all, their squad seems more qualified for the Championship than the Premiership. However, Mowbray’s preference to invest in playing the beautiful game in a manner which is designed to entertain more than it is to win, poses a question applicable not just to Albion supporter’s but every fan of the sport: entertaining football or winning football, which would you rather have?

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