Kevin Phillips reacts to Mbaye Diagne miss in West Brom loss v Leicester
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has refused to slaughter Mbaye Diagne for missing a chance to score for West Brom when the game was goalless against Leicester on Thursday night.
Albion ended up losing 3-0 at the King Power Stadium but the game might have had a different outlook had Diagne not squandered an early chance in the box in the opening minutes.
Matheus Pereira did well to pass the ball to the Senegalese striker, who swung and kicked fresh air instead of smashing a shot towards goal.
Ex-West Brom goal machine Phillips jokes he probably would have scored the opportunity but adds that Diagne is likely to have let himself and his teammates down by not scoring.
“It could have been [a pivotal moment] but you never know when you miss a chance like that,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“Whether it was the difference in the match, it could have been but in hindsight, when you look at the overall performance, it probably wouldn’t have made a huge difference.
“I don’t think I’d have missed it, let’s put it that way. But he’ll be disappointed.
“I’m not in the game of absolutely slaughtering them because I have missed opportunities like that in my career.
“When the player looks back at it after the game he’ll be disappointed he didn’t score and certainly his teammates as well when you’re paid to score goals.
“You’re not going to single [Diagne and Okay Yokuslu] out, they’re not the reason they lost the game.”
Sam Allardyce was slightly less reserved when it came to criticising Diagne’s miss, calling it “horrendous” after the match [BBC Sport].
Diagne’s missed a lot of chances in front of goal for West Brom and also found himself offside way too many times.
It remains to be seen whether the on-loan Galatasaray man will stay at The Hawthorns after this season.
In January, Radyospor journalist Burhan Can Terzi told the Express & Star that Diagne could be available for £4.3million [€5million] and that is affordable for a Championship club.
However some of his performances have started to suggest we might not even want him – if we’re relegated.
In other West Brom news, John Percy has shared a big update on the potential Albion takeover.
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