View: Bilic tactical changes have put West Brom top of the Championship
Slaven Bilic has been brilliant for West Brom this season.
He’s guided the club to the top of the Championship in a really competitive season, winning the last five games (Leeds have won their last five games in a row too).
The team is in top form and undoubtedly deserve their place at the summit of the Championship.
Bilic’s tactical switches have made a real impact, too.
West Brom are the league’s top scorers with 36 goals but there’s a stat that was posted by the official West Brom Twitter site on Wednesday that makes for fascinating reading.
No team in the four English leagues have scored more goals via substitutes than West Brom. Nine of our 38 goals have come from players introduced by Bilic.
It started in the third game of the season against Luton. 1-0 down at half-time, Bilic didn’t waste any time making changes and brought Grady Diangana on. He scored two quick-fire goals at the start of the second half and the score stayed 2-1.
In the next game, Bilic brought on Kenneth Zohore, who scored with an 88th-minute penalty to rescue a point against Reading.
Hal Robson-Kanu won the game from the bench with an 82nd-minute strike against Middlesbrough.
He did the same against Charlton but West Brom were denied all three points by a late (and unfair) penalty.
Robson-Kanu made the points safe from the bench in the 2-0 win against Stoke, Charlie Austin was the saviour with a late penalty in the 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday, and he got another in the 4-1 win against Bristol City.
Finally, Austin got the winner from the penalty spot after coming on in the game against Preston on Monday.
That’s around 14 points that have been won directly by substitutions that Bilic has made.
Quote that stat the next time someone asks you what impact a manager can make at a club.
In other West Brom news, Emile Heskey has shared his thoughts on Harvey Barnes’ loan spell at The Hawthorns.