Steve Madeley shares West Brom players reaction to Valerien Ismael’s style of play
There are mixed reactions to the style of play introduced by Valerien Ismael at West Brom this season, according to Steve Madeley.
Ismael joined Albion during the summer after a successful season at Barnsley, who he took to the Championship play-offs with a unique brand of football.
He has attempted to implement something similar at The Hawthorns, albeit with a higher-calibre group.
The fanbase has been split over Ismael thus fair, and it seems that is also the case with the players.
“The bits I have heard have been mixed,” Madeley wrote on The Athletic. “I have certainly heard no suggestion that any players are agitating or really unhappy but, as in any dressing room, there are a variety of opinions. Some really enjoy high-press football because it suits their style, some quite like it, and others aren’t fans.
“But players are generally fairly happy as long as results are good, which they have been, and in this case, they would all prosper financially in the event of promotion.”
Short-term fix?
Given the noises already emanating from Albion supporters around Ismael, with the team sat in third and looking like sure-fire contenders for promotion, one would think that this is not a marriage that will last for years.
There were grievances about the style of football from the likes of Tony Pulis in years gone by, so Ismael’s brand is unlikely to cut it long-term.
Therefore, this may just be a relationship of convenience to help the club to promotion.
Whether the hierarchy would dare to sack him at the end of the season after promotion, a la Watford with Slavisa Jokanovic, remains to be seen. It seems unlikely.
But will Ismael be at The Hawthorns this time next year? Without promotion into the Premier League, that’s surely a firm no. With promotion? Perhaps, but a tough start in the top-tier, allied to no improvements in the style of play, would pile the pressure on him.
In other West Brom news, this ex-Albion sensation was seen at the club’s training ground on Monday amid a major summer development.
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