Five talking points from West Brom's draw with Swansea City
Albion picked up their first point since January on Saturday thanks to a 1-1 draw with Swansea City in caretaker boss Darren Moore's first game in charge. Here are five talking points from the game.
Moore's personality has brought Albion together
Albion’s caretaker boss may be inexperienced but his bubbly character is arguably the perfect tonic for this poisonous season. Instead of publicly criticising his players, as he well could have, he has been positive in an attempt to restore some team spirit and togetherness.
On Saturday, his team answered his call. There are deficiencies in the squad, that much is clear, but at least there was some fight against Swansea. It may stick in the craw of angry supporters unhappy with the team, but this is the only squad Moore has to work with, and this is the best way to get them behind him.
Rodriguez has been mismanaged this season
His versatility is one of his many positives, but it is actually detrimental to the team when it is misused. Rodriguez has been shuttled all over the pitch this season. He was asked to play on the wing by Tony Pulis and was then dropped altogether by Alan Pardew during his hottest streak.
Had he been played up front consistently all campaign, he would probably have ate least five more goals to his name. And who knows what difference that could have made. Rodriguez is a finisher, and a hard-working one at that. He started slowly, but he should have been trusted more this season.
Darren’s back-to-basics approach was what Albion needed for this game
There were no frills to his orthodox four-four-two formation and it probably wouldn’t last long in the top tier before other teams started finding holes, but on Saturday, it was exactly what the Baggies needed to stop the rot.
Everyone knows their job in a four-four-two, particularly off the ball, and it helped Albion control the game against a lacklustre Swansea side. Whether it is so successful against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs remains to be seen, but for the first game of his reign, it was the right choice.
Midfield lacks a cutting edge
Long-term injuries to Nacer Chadli and James Morrison haven’t helped, but on Saturday, Albion were faced with a Swansea team content to put 10 men behind the ball and invite them to break them down. The Baggies, it’s fair to say, looked stumped. Low confidence is a factor, but the truth is, there are too few players in this squad capable of picking the lock.
On top of that, no-one is chipping in with goals. The strikers get plenty of stick for their struggles, but no midfielder has more than one league goal this season. Salomon Rondon and Jay Rodriguez need more help than that.
frailties when in front have cost Albion this season
The Baggies have now lost a whopping 26 points from winning positions this season. Had they held on to just half of those, they would be 14th. Their inability to hold a lead has been one of the more infuriating themes of this campaign and suggests that actually, had this team had slightly more backbone, they would have been fine.
It’s been a self-perpetuating cycle, and one that has snowballed. Conceding late goals has dented confidence and in turn, led to Albion conceding more late goals. There has been no escaping it, and it’s been horrible to witness.
