Valerien Ismael sheds light on questionable West Brom selection against Barnsley
West Brom boss Valerien Ismael has given clarity surrounding his team selection in the past two Championship games.
A number of key changes were made ahead of their clash with Barnsley on Friday night (17 December) much to the bemusement of the Albion fans.
The Baggies were without defenders Cedric Kipre, Semi Ajayi, Matt Clarke and Conor Townsend due to positive coronavirus tests as West Brom beat Reading.
The decision to change a winning team sparked some debate with the Albion failing to beat relegation strugglers Barnsley in their next match.
“We’ll need everyone – it’s important that everyone is available,” he told the Express & Star when asked why he changed a winning team.
“Everyone deserved to play after the Reading game last week, but we put the legs back in defence and everyone in his position.
“We have won lots of games with the starting XI from Friday, so there was no reason to move away from that and change many players.
“This is the reason. Our problem is at the front, we need to score goals, it’s a big problem. This is the issue you can talk about, where we can get criticism. Our conversion rate is much too low.”
“The last 10 or 15 minutes was a fight for them,” Ismael said when asked about his returning defenders. “But sometimes it’s not about how you feel with your body, or in your head – it’s just about getting three points.
“The next game is 10 days away, so we have enough time to recover.
“We changed the two centre backs, they kept another clean sheet and did their job well.
“The problem is not in the back-line, it’s not in midfield. In the last third, in the opponent’s box, we need more goals. I want to see more goals, everybody wants more goals.” Express & Star.
Rotation
The fans were overjoyed with the performances of Jayson Molumby and Taylor Gardner-Hickman during the Baggies 1-0 victory over Reading, but Ismael decided to bench the pair for the draw with Barnsley.
Absentees Kipre, Clarke and Townsend all returned to the starting eleven with little impact despite coming out of isolation just 24 hours earlier.
It was disappointing to see neither Jayson Molumby nor Taylor Gardner-Hickmanbacked after their impressive performances against Reading. Molumby did make it off the bench for a 20-minute cameo with Gardner Hickman not featuring at all.
Ismael claimed the team selection was a repayment to the players who have performed well for him this season, but recent form must be taken into account as West Brom look for a boost in form.
The boss did reveal he also wanted to keep players in their natural positions as Gardner-Hickman filled in at left wing-back for the win over Reading. However, players who make an impact simply must play.
In other West Brom news, Jordan Hugill’s terrible form continues for West Brom.