At the halfway point of the season, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that there needs to be a significant improvement in results in the second half if Albion are to extend their eight-season stay in the Premier League.
The Bet365 Stadium plays host to a pre-Christmas basement battle on Saturday as 17th-placed Stoke City welcome 19th-placed West Bromwich Albion in what is a crucial game for both clubs.
It was no surprise that the Baggies’ winless run extended, but the nature of the performance, particularly in the first half, was particularly worrying. United didn’t play well but they didn’t have to as Albion were completely devoid of any attacking threat until Chris Brunt came on.
So far, the Pardew era has swung between encouraging and disappointing, but it remains goalless and, as a result, winless. Wednesday’s result at Anfield was on the encouraging side and the new head coach needs to see if he can keep the team on the upward swing as José Mourinho brings his Manchester United side… Continue reading Pardew searches for his first goal as Baggies boss as United come to town
Despite setting a new club record of 16 games without a win, it was a positive result as Anfield as the Baggies managed to keep free-scoring Liverpool at bay and earned the point that took them out of the bottom three having dropped to 18th on Tuesday evening thanks to Palace’s win over Watford.
The Baggies performance at the Liberty Stadium was depressingly familiar as they succumbed to defeat at a struggling side while barely threatening the opposition goal, and it served to highlight the difficulty of the job facing Alan Pardew. As he prepares to face free-scoring Liverpool at Anfield, however, he could be forgiven for looking to… Continue reading Albion on the verge of their longest ever winless run