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.
Unusually, Pardew actually took some of the blame for not changing the line-up more from the team that had performed so well at Anfield but, while there may have been an element of fatigue that contributed to the poor display, I thought it was the reluctance of the midfield three to get beyond, or even close to, Rondón that was the biggest problem.
Saturday’s trip to Stoke marks the half way point of the season, and is a massive game for both clubs. The Baggies’ points total at this stage is the second worse in their Premier League history with the Great Escape season tally of 10 points the only inferior record. That season, Albion managed to get another 24 points to escape on the final day – that may well not be enough this season.
Albion have to start picking up points and now have a run of fixtures that should be considered winnable. Before the end of January, Albion face Everton twice, Stoke, West Ham, Brighton and Arsenal, and ten points from those six should be considered a minimum if they are going to start to pull away from the relegation zone.
| Home | Away | Season End | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn* | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn | Pts | |
| 2002/2003 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 27 | 15 | 17th | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 4 | 19th | 26 |
| 2004/2005 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 36 | 10 | 20th | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 3 | 17th | 34 |
| 2005/2006 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 28 | 16 | 17th | 4 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 19th | 30 |
| 2008/2009 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 33 | 15 | 20th | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 20th | 32 |
| 2010/2011 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 31 | 22 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 21 | 8 | 11th | 47 |
| 2011/2012 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 26 | 22 | 9th | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 10th | 47 |
| 2012/2013 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 22 | 30 | 6th | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 8th | 49 |
| 2013/2014 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 24 | 17 | 15th | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 17th | 36 |
| 2014/2015 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 26 | 17 | 15th | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 13th | 44 |
| 2015/2016 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 20 | 13th | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 14th | 43 |
| 2016/2017 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 9th | 4 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10th | 45 |
| 2017/2018 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 19th | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 6 | ||
| Comparison of Equivalent Fixtures^ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| 2016/2017 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 23 | 29 | 24 |
| 2016/2017 Results | Manchester United (H) | L | 0-2 | ||||
| Stoke City (A) | D | 1-1 | |||||
Results
| 2002/2003 | 14/12/2002 | Aston Villa (A) | L | 1-2 | Koumas |
| 2004/2005 | 18/12/2004 | Birmingham City (A) | L | 0-4 | |
| 2005/2006 | 26/12/2005 | Manchester United (A) | L | 0-3 | |
| 2008/2009 | 21/12/2008 | Manchester City (H) | W | 2-1 | Moore, Bednar |
| 2010/2011 | 26/12/2010 | Bolton Wanderers (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2011/2012 | 26/12/2011 | Manchester City (H) | D | 0-0 | |
| 2012/2013 | 22/12/2012 | Norwich City (H) | W | 2-1 | Gera, Lukaku |
| 2013/2014 | 26/12/2013 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | D | 1-1 | Olsson |
| 2014/2015 | 26/12/2014 | Manchester City (H) | L | 1-3 | Ideye |
| 2015/2016 | 26/12/2015 | Swansea City (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2016/2017 | 26/12/2016 | Arsenal (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2017/2018 | 16/12/2017 | Manchester United (H) | L | 1-2 | Barry |
Next Matches
| 2002/2003 | 21/12/2002 | Sunderland (H) | D | 2-2 | Dichio, Koumas |
| 2004/2005 | 26/12/2004 | Liverpool (H) | L | 0-5 | |
| 2005/2006 | 28/12/2005 | Tottenham Hotspur (H) | W | 2-0 | Kanu (2) |
| 2008/2009 | 26/12/2008 | Chelsea (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2010/2011 | 28/12/2010 | Blackburn Rovers (H) | L | 1-3 | Thomas |
| 2011/2012 | 01/01/2012 | Everton (H) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2012/2013 | 26/12/2012 | Queen’s Park Rangers (A) | W | 2-1 | Brunt, Green (o.g.) |
| 2013/2014 | 28/12/2013 | West Ham United (A) | D | 3-3 | Anelka (2), Berahino |
| 2014/2015 | 28/12/2014 | Stoke City (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2015/2016 | 28/12/2015 | Newcastle United (H) | W | 1-0 | Fletcher |
| 2016/2017 | 31/12/2016 | Southampton (A) | W | 2-1 | Phillips, Robson-Kanu |
| 2017/2018 | 23/12/2017 | Stoke City (A) |
* Positions are recorded as Albion’s position in the Premier League table after all fixtures for that day have been completed.
^ Fixtures against promoted clubs are compared against fixtures against the relegated clubs from last season with the club finishing 1st in the Championship compared against the club finishing 18th in the Premier League, 2nd compared with 19th and the play-off winners compared against the club who finished bottom.