West Brom defender Dara O’Shea standout figure in Premier League run
West Brom defender Dara O’Shea has been excellent in defence over the course of the last five Premier League matches.
The Irishman came into the side when Semi Ajayi was sent off against Burnley and hasn’t looked back. It’s no coincidence that the Baggies have conceded just two goals in their last five games.
Speaking to Express and Star, O’Shea claims Sam Allardyce has drummed one simple message into the squad. He said: “Sam has brought us back to doing the basics well.
“The last slide in every meeting is get the basics right.”
If there has been one man to take this message on board, it certainly is O’Shea. He has been excellent in the back-line for the Baggies, in what’s been one of the best runs of this woeful Premier League campaign.
In the matches against Burnley, Brighton, Everton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace, he has been arguably our best performer and has taken on Big Sam’s message of getting the basics right.
Over these five games, he’s won 69.33% of his defensive duels [WyScout]. It’s even more impressive when you consider it was 10 v 11 at Turf Moore, and he’s had to go toe-to-toe with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Wilfried Zaha.
The defensive heroics don’t stop there. He’s also won 79.17% of aerial duels and averaged 6.2 interceptions and 13 possession recoveries per game in this time. When in possession, he hasn’t been wasteful, either. He’s made 74.38% of passes successfully in the last five games.
O’Shea has grown in confidence as the games have gone on. West Brom have been crying out for this sort of defending all season. The Baggies had conceded 55 goals in the 24 game prior to his stint in the XI. They were averaging 2.29 goals conceded per game, by far the worst defence in the league.
His professionalism has been fantastic also. It wasn’t so long ago that O’Shea was embarrassed in the home clash with Fulham. He was substituted after 24 minutes with the Baggies 1-0 down for Karlan Grant. He’s got over this well and is performing to a very high standard.
It’s taken a while, but Allardyce seems to have finally got his message across. He’s a top manager and we always felt the players would respond to his demands. There’s a reason he hasn’t ever been relegated from the top-flight.
It might have come a little too late though, which is a massive shame.
In other West Brom news, this Baggies player is wanted by a top-six club.