West Brom
So West Brom under Tony Pulis finished 14th in the Premier League, scoring just 34 goals, the league's second lowest tally, but conceding only 48, less than anyone else outside the top six, including Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham. Finishing one place below their finish last season, with one less point, West Brom will once again be happy just to survive, and moreover to survive comfortably. A lot of people, and a lot of Albion fans are disappointed with Tony Pulis' style of football, but having nearly been relegated the season before he joined, and tottering one point from safety when he signed at the club, 13th and 14th place finishes are a brilliant achievement. The idea of walking before you can run is something Pulis did brilliantly at Stoke - establish them as a settled Premier League side with a rock solid base, and then they can start adding flair players, bringing in progressive managers and styles of play and exciting talent. And that is now working wonders at Stoke.
So overall a solid season for the Baggies; no threat of relegation and no threat of breaking into the top ten either. West Brom got off to a rocky start, losing heavily to Manchester City, and unforunate to lose to Chelsea and Everton, but picked up crucial wins against Stoke and Aston Villa, seeing them on eight points from seven games by the end of September. In fact, West Brom's season changed very little as it went along, chipping away, scoring points here and there, never getting stuck in a rut for too long, or winning too many games in a row. October saw them beat Norwich and Sunderland, but lose to Palace and Leicester; November saw them beat Arsenal but lose to United, and the closest they came to a bad run of form in the front half of the year was back to back defeats against Swansea and Bournemouth, having drawn with Liverpool, Spurs and West Ham (all decent results). And they ended that rut with a 1-0 win over Newcastle.
And the back half of the season was much the same, beating Stoke, drawing with Chelsea and Villa and losing to Saints in January, beating Everton and Palace but losing to Newcastle and drawing to Swansea in February, beating Man United, drawing with Leicester and then losing to Norwich in March, followed by a pretty torrid run to the end of the season once 40 points was assured - no win in their final nine games with defeats to City, Arsenal, Watford and West Ham all taking place in April.
So West Brom did what you'd expect West Brom to do. They ground out a lot of solid results against mostly midtable or lower table teams, with the occasional surprise such as a win over Arsenal or Man United, or a defeat to Newcastle or Norwich. Quite a lot of their games ended up being reasonably low scoring, seven of their ten wins were 1-0 and none were by more than a single goal, and they lost four games 1-0, losing by more than two goals only three times. Very much as you'd expect from a Pulis side, tight at the back, don't score too many, picking up points consistently throughout but never being explosive or overly impressive.
In terms of players, they have a couple of solid keepers in Myhill and Foster, Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans and Craig Dawson represent solid defensive options, they have a steely midfield and in terms of goals they rely heavily on Solomon Rondon and the now departing Saido Berahino. If Berahino goes, West Brom need to sign another striker, but even with the strength of the Premier League increasing, West Brom should be happy with, and should secure, 14th again next season.
The Hard and Fast Section
- So Wijnaldum is happening...uh oh.
- Subotic failed his medical at Boro...
- Suppose I'll have to talk about Big Sam tomorrow...
- Russian athletes completely banned from Rio. Good.
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