Jobi McAnuff and Colin Murray raves about Ismael after West Brom draw v Bournemouth
Colin Murray claims Valerien Ismael and West Brom are a “marriage made in heaven” after the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Friday night.
Albion got their Championship season off to a decent start with a strong performance away from home in one of the toughest matches they’ll have.
Ismael’s men had to come from behind twice to get the draw while also having a goal controversially disallowed in the first half.
Ex-Reading player Jobi McAnuff, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports at the Vitality Stadium, was very impressed with Ismael’s style of play while EFL on Quest host Murray shared his thoughts on the Frenchman’s move to The Hawthorns.
“Valerien Ismael, there were traits of Barnsley and again, that will take a little bit of time to get exactly how he wants it,” said McAnuff on EFL on Quest on Saturday night, via Discovery+.
“But [they were] full of energy, full of intensity and really strong on set-pieces.
“They’re going to be a force this year.”
Murray then replied: “I think he’s brilliant for the West Brom fan mentality. It’s a marriage made in heaven.”
Intensity – the key word
Ever since Val was hired, the one word that has cropped up time and time again is ‘intensity’.
Ismael upset the odds last season and managed to get Barnsley to the Championship play-offs playing this way so you would think that with better players and better resources, he could go one step further with the Baggies and win promotion.
Based on Friday’s performance on the south coast, this team definitely has the potential to go back up to the Premier League.
While Bournemouth had their selection issues, so did West Brom as just six substitutes were named on the bench out of the seven possible.
Matheus Pereira has just been sold to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia and that is likely to fetch a lot of money that should be pumped back into the squad before the month is over.
We were genuinely excited and entertained by watching the Baggies play on Friday night and there have not been too many instances where we’ve been able to say that in recent years.
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