View: Reliable journo update allays concerns about Austin after West Brom win
Charlie Austin caused a bit of a stir among West Brom fans on social media on Tuesday night when he was spotted darting down the tunnel after Albion beat Preston 2-0 at The Hawthorns.
The 30-year-old was used as a late substitute by Slaven Bilic when he replaced Hal Robson-Kanu in the 82nd minute.
The ex-Southampton striker almost managed to get himself on the scoresheet as he forced a good save from Preston goalkeeper Declan Rudd but there was clearly something that irked him at full-time.
A clip of Austin circulated on Twitter after the game ended which showed the experienced striker storming towards the tunnel and ignoring a member of Bilic’s coaching staff who looked like he was trying to high-five him.
https://twitter.com/DanielMBrett/status/1232425063242194944
There are plenty of suggestions as to why Austin had what appeared to be a little bit of a tantrum.
Was he frustrated that he only got around eight minutes of action against a team that was reduced to 10 men in the 64th minute?
Was he frustrated that he failed to get himself a goal?
Was he frustrated that, yet again, Robson-Kanu proved why he should be Bilic’s starting striker after scoring a goal and assisting Jake Livermore’s?
We will not know for sure but The Athletic journalist Steve Madeley has allayed concerns that there is a major issue with Austin after sharing what the striker was spotted doing in the tunnel after the game.
“Can confirm Charlie Austin has just been in the tunnel laughing and joking with staff. So don’t think there’s anything to see,” Madeley said via The Athletic website after the game on Tuesday.
Austin clearly wasn’t that upset with what happened on Tuesday night because he wouldn’t have been in the mood for a laugh with the staff he ignored just moments before.
And even if he was showing a sign of frustration, does it really matter?
We love that Austin could be upset about not getting more chances – it shows that he is hungry to play.
We want the striker to be chomping at the bit to play but we also accept that sometimes it can be annoying that he isn’t starting as often as he would have hoped.
Before the season started, who would have guessed that Robson-Kanu would be top of the striker pecking order ahead of Austin and £8million summer signing Kenneth Zohore?
There have been some surprises this season but Robson-Kanu’s form has to be the biggest of them all.
In other West Brom news, there has been an update on Grady Diangana’s recovery from his injury setback.