View: Worrying West Brom stat is something Bilic must address in coming weeks
West Brom have dropped to second in the Championship standings this week after just about earning a point at Wigan on Wednesday night.
Albion and Leeds United are now level on points at the top of the table with the Yorkshire club just about sitting top due to a marginally superior goal difference.
Many will point to Slaven Bilic’s decision to rest key players at the DW Stadium as to why West Brom failed to win against lowly Wigan, but when you look at the campaign as a whole, Albion have been frustrated by struggling teams all season.
West Brom have dropped points in eight of their 21 fixtures so far, with their only loss coming against title rivals Leeds.
In seven matches they have had to settle for draws and in those seven matches, the average position of a team that have drawn with is 16th.
Fulham are the only top-half team that West Brom have drawn with this season which just goes to show that Bilic’s men have a real issue with grinding out wins against lesser opposition.
While you would want the Baggies to win against the Leeds’ and Fulhams of the league, you expect them to be seeing off the Wigans, Barnsleys and Readings.
However there is just something about Albion’s style of play or mindset that has seen them struggle in these games on a regular basis.
Is it complacency? It is certainly a possibility but Bilic is a manager who we know won’t allow that to creep into his team.
Either way, the Croatian boss needs to address this issue soon because, on the horizon, West Brom have three out of their next four games against bottom-half sides.
In other West Brom news, Bilic should have learned a lot about this one player against Wigan.