A third defeat on the bounce has planted seeds of doubt in many a mind of the West Bromwich Albion faithful. Saturday proved to be yet another disappointing day at The Hawthorns, as relegation and local rivals Leicester City beat them 3-2, scoring the third in stoppage time.
It was a devastating result, and one that could potentially affect the season in a massive way for the Albion. From looking secure only a couple of weeks ago, West Brom now find themselves with a real threat of being relegated again. Six difficult games await them, and the only real solace is that the likes of Sunderland and Hull below them look incapable of doing much themselves.
Saturday was, in many ways, representative of how West Brom have been for the past 24 months. A few decent spells, but, ultimately, not good enough.
Why is this the case? Only two seasons ago, West Brom finished eighth in the Premier League, arguably top of the ‘mid-table league’, and there were ambitions of European football in the near future. The club had settled in the league, had stopped being the ‘yo-yo’ team of years gone by, and things were looking up.
Now, survival is the ambition and that’s about it. Survival is even more key this year, due to the fact that the club chairman, Jeremy Peace, is looking to sell, with interest coming from the United States and Asia. Without Premier League money, that sale will be hard to come by.
The steady decline at Albion had arguably begun towards the end of Steve Clarke’s only full season at the club, with a fantastic first half of the season keeping them away from any trouble. The summer that followed resulted in a transfer window marred with poor decisions; the signings of Nicolas Anelka, Diego Lugano, Scott Sinclair, along with the panic buy of Victor Anichebe all went badly wrong. The opportunity to grow the club was there, but in reality they wasted that first chance.
Poor decisions have seemingly followed the Albion since then. A poor refereeing decision against Chelsea in that season most probably cost Steve Clarke his job at the club; a silly celebration by Anelka ended his time at the club; a poor decision not to invest in the club adequately in the transfer windows. All factors that, despite being some time ago, have played a part in what has happened since, including games like Saturday’s.
It is apt that the 3-2 result on Saturday was affected by poor decisions. At 2-1 up, Saido Berahino got the ball and instead of playing to Craig Gardner, in acres of space, tried to place a pass-shot from 25 yards resulting in an easy catch for Kasper Schmeichel. This was a poor decision which, after the game, Tony Pulis effectively chose to use to blame defeat on.
It’s easy to see where Pulis is coming from in picking that moment, as a pass to Gardner may have resulted in a third goal which would have surely knocked the wind out of Leicester’s sails. As it was, Berahino’s poor decision seemed to breathe life in to the Foxes and they went all out attack to great effect.
It is unfair, however, to pin the blame on Berahino who has, in many respects, been the shining light for West Brom in an otherwise forgettable season. The first two goals came from poor defending, failure to defend high balls. The third, whilst a great finish from Vardy, came after a very weak challenge from Dawson who, in turn, got caught out of position.
And what of Tony Pulis and the decisions he made? At 2-1 up, if taking off Craig Gardner for Jonas Olsson to allow five defenders seemed negative, then where is the sense at 2-2 in taking off arguably the best player in the team on the day, James Morrison, a midfielder, for another midfielder, Stephane Sessegnon, and still keep five at the back?
Pulis spoke after the game of the need for the team to “retain possession” when Leicester started to play all out attack, yet the substitutions and the style of play from Albion suggest differently. They suggest that, when winning 2-1 at home against the team bottom of the league West Brom were happy to sit back, defend, and maybe attempt to hit them on the break after a long ball.
Then comes the other issue. The long ball style that Pulis used so well at Stoke is not how West Brom play. In Saido Berahino and Brown Ideye, Albion lack a proper target man, and several long balls result in losing possession. But this is not a new thing; since Pulis’ arrival this is how Albion have tried to play, especially away from home.
The introduction of Jonas Olsson, a cult figure at the club, was a full indication of how the Albion would play from there on out; as loved as Olsson is, several fans are growing tired of the now often repeated tactic of playing the ball to the giant Swede who will, in turn, punt the ball towards the strikers. It rarely works.
Dire tactics, dire football, dire results; that is West Bromwich Albion. If Albion are to stay up this year, it will be more down to the fact that three teams have had worse seasons, not because the performances from Albion have warranted their place in the league.
Pulis needs to change his tactics, play to his team’s strengths, and learn from his own mistakes as do several others at the club. Otherwise, it could be a long 24 months again at The Hawthorns.
