‘Heard it here first’ – Many WBA fans want ace with no starts to be given his chance v Brentford
West Brom manager Slaven Bilic made some eyebrow-raising choices with his squad against Birmingham City on Saturday.
Despite having nine substitutes at his disposal for the local derby, the boss still omitted the likes of Gareth Barry, Chris Brunt, and Conor Townsend from his match day squad.
Perhaps the most surprising player to be left out, however, was winger Kamil Grosicki.
The Poland international has struggled for game time since making the move to The Hawthorns in January, and has yet to register a start in his seven Championship appearances.
The 32-year-old did, however, score a corking solo strike in the 2-2 friendly draw against Aston Villa recently, and on the basis of that alone, plus his impressive form for Hull City in the first half of the season it would appear that any West Brom supporters were hoping and expecting that he would be given a run out against the Blues.
As it transpired, Grosicki was left at home, and there was a distinct lack of creative flair as the Baggies laboured their way to a drab 0-0 stalemate.
And off the back of that performance, a number of Albion loyalists are calling for him to get a chance to prove himself in the must-win clash against Brentford next Friday.
A win against the Bees would move West Brom 11 points clear of them with seven games to go.
In truth, it feels like a bit of a gamble to throw in a player with so few minutes for the Baggies in such a big game, but you can’t argue with the talent and flair that Grosicki clearly possesses.
His goal against Villa was one thing, but this is an experienced player who bagged eight goals during the first half of the season for a very suspect Hull City side.
Admittedly, with Grady Diangana back to full fitness he may struggle to nail down a starting spot.
But at the very least he should be ahead of the likes of Matt Phillips, who had a bit of a shocker on Saturday.
Here are some of the best reactions from West Brom fans on social media:
https://twitter.com/barryd19651/status/1274418092131725312?s=20
In other West Brom news, View: Worrying stat from Birmingham clash highlights issue Albion must address before 20/21.