With the transfer window closed, even allowing for it staying on the latch for an extra two hours, every Premier League squad is now fixed until January. How did Tony Pulis get on in his first summer window in charge of West Bromwich Albion and how will his squad look for the opening months of the season?
Looking Through the Window at West Bromwich Albion
Goalkeeper — Ben Foster, Anders Lindegaard and Boaz Myhill, plus youngster Jack Rose as third choice until Foster returns from injury around November, represents a solid, if unspectacular crop of ‘keepers. Although he performed reasonably well in Foster’s absence during the second half of last season, once Foster returns, Myhill should be the odd man out in the equation and, if he wants a continued run as a number one, will need to drop into the Championship to fulfil that ambition. Lindegaard’s addition on a free transfer from Manchester United could prove to be an astute piece of business and as the deadline drew closer was a better choice than fighting Cardiff for David Marshall.
DEFENCE — Assessing the state of the defence isn’t as straightforward as it should be and in turn throws up a huge personal bug-bear — one of many — about the man entrusted to shape the club’s immediate future at the managerial pottery wheel. I feel that if I enrolled on an expensive coaching course and began extolling the virtues of the ‘full back-free squad’, I might be taken aside and asked if I was sure that this was for me. In short, it’s baffling.
What does he have at his disposal? Five natural centre-backs in Gareth McAuley, Jonas Olsson, Craig Dawson, James Chester and Jonny Evans, plus two seemingly unwanted ‘natural’ full-backs in Cristian Gamboa (right) and Sebastien Pocognoli (left).
Pulis is an extremely risk-averse coach who demands that his defenders defend, his midfielders defend and his forward players make great meals out of the limited scraps that fall their way whilst, obviously, also being his first line of defence. The move away from natural full-backs has seen uncomfortable players doing their best in roles that clearly do not suit them and it is to Chris Brunt’s immense credit that he has looked, and pardon the feint praise here, the best of a bad bunch of misfits filling in at a position that should be paid so much more respect.
On the right side, Dawson proved an adequate, although severely limited, option last season and Pulis has been trying his new £8m signing James Chester, a natural centre-back by trade, in a role that is never going to produce his best performances or fully utilise his qualities. In the centre, my personal preference would be to see Chester and Evans in tandem. Younger and with finer pedigrees than recent starting pair McAuley and Olsson, who in all honesty should be no more than backups and role players from this point on, Chester and Evans should be given the opportunity to make the pairing their own.
MIDFIELD — Central midfield depth took a bit of a hit with the departure of both Youssuf Mulumbu and Graham Dorrans to Norwich City. Plenty will argue that these moves were much-needed by all parties but, much like the sale of central defender and last season’s Player of the Year Joleon Lescott, they are all moves which directly strengthen suspected rivals come May. What remains is a solid pairing in Claudio Yacob and captain Darren Fletcher, with James Morrison free to play in a more advanced role. With Chris Brunt expected to occupy a left-back spot, that does leave only Craig Gardner in reserve which, considering the vehement reservations I have about him as a footballer, is heavily concerning.
Pulis outcast Stephane Sessegnon and Arsenal-loanee Serge Gnabry both offer unpredictably and excitement in support of Morrison in the advanced role and it will be interesting to see how, or indeed if, they fit into the plans of Pulis. Out wide, Pulis purchases Callum McManaman and James McClean will need to prove that they have both the fitness and the quality, respectively, to command a regular place in the Premier League and with no further reinforcements, it will be up to Sessegnon and Gnabry to push them for a start too.
ATTACK — Four attacking options are available to Tony Pulis with club-record signing Salomon Rondon the most eye-catching, not to mention surprising, addition of the summer at The Hawthorns. With a track record of scoring goals in La Liga with Las Palmas and Malaga and the Russian Premier League with Rubin Kazan and Zenit, the Venezuelan comes with a big reputation and even bigger expectations.
This Pulis team will not be the type that routinely creates a plethora of chances for Rondon to plunder so he will have to work hard for his opportunities and make the most of as many of them as possible. He only has to look at last summer’s big money arrival Brown Ideye, swiftly dispatched to Olympiakos following a disappointing season, in order to sharpen his focus.
Another forward who seriously needs to sharpen his focus is Saido Berahino. Last season’s 20-goal hero had his, admittedly easily-led, head turned by the advances of Spurs. Enough has been said about Saido’s Twitter threat to strike, having vowed to never play (for?) Albion Chairman Jeremy Peace again, and the club have given the young misguided fool until Monday to think about what he has done, and is doing, to his fledgling football career. He has huge potential to succeed as a fantastic natural goalscorer but he first has to build and then cement a positive reputation whilst keeping his thoughts in-house, or better yet to himself, and the rewards will then follow. Before then, he has a lot of thinking and apologising to do.
The muscle in the Pulis front-line is added by fragile giant and every physio’s best friend Victor Anichebe and new addition from the forgotten wasteland of Liverpool’s bench, Rickie Lambert. Whilst Anichebe brings with him great strength as well as the inevitability of an imminent injury, Lambert’s game has extra facets of craft and vision to accompany the physicality. It will be interesting to see whether his body feels refreshed following last season’s inactivity or merely another year older.
Looking at the squad as a whole as the club now regroup, it has a strange look to it. Pocognoli and Gamboa seem unwanted pieces of a Pulis jigsaw with no corners, or in this case natural full-backs, so insistent is he on his preferred method of stringing whichever of his assorted central defenders along his back line on any given day and in any given order. Ahead, midfield depth appears to be just an injury away from being a concern too, while it’s anyone’s guess as to how the chips will eventually fall in the ongoing Berahino saga.
It’s going to be a long, ugly season ahead. Be warned — if you’re looking for excitement, this might not be the team to watch.
