View: What on earth was Slaven Bilic thinking with key decision in West Brom draw v Blackburn?
It was a divisive decision at the time, and it could be one that has serious repercussions for West Brom and their automatic promotion bid this season.
A decent way into the second half of the Baggies’ Championship clash with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, Slaven Bilic decided to give the hook to Jake Livermore and bring on Rekeem Harper in the centre of midfield.
As covered by West Brom News at the time, many fans on social media were baffled by the decision, and in the immediate aftermath of the substitution, Albion began to creak and crumble as the game opened up in Rovers’ favour.
Fast forward to the final whistle and West Brom had dropped two vital points from a winning position.
And while it would be harsh to solely blame Harper’s introduction for that wastage, it’s hard to deny that it was a factor.
Bilic claimed to make the switch because he wanted a reaction in the centre of the park, some fresh legs to help carry his team over the line.
But the stats suggest that he got the exact opposite.
Harper made just eight successful passes during his 28 minutes on the pitch, and his pass completion rate was 3% lower than Livermore’s, as per Wyscout.
Similarly, his dribble success rate was exactly half as good as Livermore’s, and he made just one interception to his colleague’s four.
And all of those things combined in a worryingly lacklustre performance.
As you can see from the pass map above, Harper played one successful pass that just about went forward.
The rest went backwards, and at a point in the match when Blackburn were really beginning to kick on and enjoy an ascendancy in play, that negative distribution did little help Albion’s cause.
By contrast, this is Livermore’s pass map.
Yes, there are backwards passes.
But there are also a number of great forward balls into wide areas where the Baggies can utilise the pace they have on the flanks to create danger for the opposition.
Perhaps even more damning, however, is the fact that Harper made just one ball recovery.
By comparison, Livermore made six.
It’s no coincidence that Rovers really started to control the play and launch counter attacks through the middle of the park when there was such a poor defensive presence in such a key area.
Again, this is not necessarily Harper’s fault.
We all have bad days at the office, he’s still learning his craft, and he wasn’t the only player out on that pitch.
But it’s hard not to look at his introduction and wonder what on earth Bilic was thinking in such a vital match.
In other West Brom news, fans hailed this Albion player as being “better than Messi” against Blackburn.
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