Athletic journalist reveals worst-case scenario discussed by WBA with restart on horizon
West Brom got the news on Sunday that the Championship season would restart on the 20th of June, with nine games yet to finish.
The Coronavirus pandemic put a halt to the Baggies’ promotion charge as Slaven Bilic’s men currently sit second in the Championship.
Leeds jumped into first on the last matchday as Fulham sit six points behind the automatic promotion spots.
The Athletic journalist Steve Madeley has revealed that West Brom are fearful of starting badly and allowing Fulham to overtake them in the top-two spots.
Madeley claims discussions have taken place at the Hawthorns, including what happens if the Cottagers jump into second and unforeseen events lead to another shutdown in England.
It is suggested that the Baggies aren’t being pessimistic, but they do believe that anything is possible after an unprecedented couple of months.
There could be measures put in place to aid the Midlands club if they were to slip up before another lockdown or something similar.
Madeley claims that EFL clubs could agree to use the current 37-game table should another curtailment occur in the Championship – something which isn’t likely to happen.
West Brom would certainly have a case to be angry if they missed out after the lockdown. Bilic has seen his side occupy the top-two with Leeds for the majority of the season and that confidence could have been drained out of the squad during the last two months.
The Baggies stood an 88% chance of promotion before the lockdown, but one loss after the break could change that significantly and most clubs should share that fear [FiveThirtyEight].
In other West Brom news, ‘Going to be a bit of suffering’ – Robson-Kanu sends message to EFL over ‘Unfair’ solution