West Brom’s 2017/18 has been shambolic, to say the least with just 3 wins in 28 league games and staged at the bottom-most position of the Premier League table. They are 7 points adrift from safety right now and things are far from ideal for the Baggies.
On Pardew’s appointment, it was expected that the club would change its downward trajectory towards a more positive note but that has not been the case. The former Crystal Palace boss helped the side to an impressive 2-3 win over Liverpool in FA Cup and gave his team a much-needed boost.
But the positive note did not reverberate across the team ranks and the Baggies have returned to their losing ways. Huddersfield Town got the better of them at the Hawthorns Stadium on Saturday, 1-2. At one point of the season, Albion even held a winless streak of 21 games in the competition.
However, one should only remind you that this is the Premier League. No matter how ruthless the competition is, one would be foolish to completely rule out a team until the very last day of the regular season (if they are still in the fight through point difference).
Right now Alan Pardew needs to get together with the entire squad and start preparing an escape strategy. Crystal Palace have done it, West Ham United did it and Everton as well with Swansea City falling back into the scraps last weekend due to the 4-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.
If they do manage to save themselves from the drop to the EFL Championship, the manager along with players should be lauded over the fighting spirit they have put up. However, upon their Houdini-like escape, West Brom need to change the structure of the club if they want to discontinue the climate that they exist in.
After the season, the transfer window should be handled well by trimming some of the fat. Here are a few players the Throstle can do away with.
Jonathan Leko
The 18-year-old is just wasting away on the benches rather than picking up crucial first team experience from loan spells. The club should be invested in developing Leko’s talents and that calls for a decision to find him a home for the following season.
James McClean
The left-footed wide man has found a bit of game time this season due to injuries to Nacer Chadli but has been less than impressive. He is a utility player whose position is already covered by better and younger players. Olivier Burke has been limited due to hamstring issues but has still shown signs of promise and should be given more minutes to prove himself.
Claudio Yacob
The Argentine has been with the club since 2007 and yet over the course of the season has looked less than impressive. He is supposed to be the level-headed defensive mind who should win his side the balls and launch the attacks but instead has managed to get into scraps with opposition players and lose possession more often than not.
The holding role is already well covered by Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jake Livermore and Gareth Barry. The latter duo was involved in a car theft incident for which they have not faced any legal action.
