West Brom ace Andy Carroll dubbed ‘absolutely fantastic’ – Joseph Masi
Joseph Masi has singled out West Brom talisman Andy Carroll as Albion’s best player so far under Steve Bruce.
Despite being a last-ditch January addition due to the injury of Daryl Dike, the former West Ham striker has proved his importance to the team.
Masi claimed the 33-year-old is benefitting from joining the Baggies, raring to go in January with the rest of the players ‘bereft’ of confidence.
“He was fantastic tonight in both boxes,” Masi said as per Express & Star.
“Defensively he won three headers in a row at one stage in the second half, He was absolutely fantastic, so committed.
“He’s only been here five minutes and he was Albion’s best player tonight; he was Albion’s best player against Sheffield United. You get the feeling he’s just not tarnished by what’s happened before him.
“Albion’s players look so bereft of confidence in the final third, that is what the issue is for me.”
Damaged goods
It seems as if Valerien Ismael sucked the life out of all of the players before he left.
Footballer’s – much like anyone – need confidence to perform at their very best and none of these players seem to have the confidence needed to put the ball in the back of the net or even create consistent chances to do so.
Ismael certainly dodged a bullet with Dike getting injured and getting the sack because he would have had no leg to stand on if the American remained fit and his tactics were then found to be the undeniable route to the problem.
Bruce is doing his best with formation, tactical and personnel changes but this is more than just a few weeks’ worth of work. No offence at all to Carroll but it speaks volumes of the state of the club if a free agent can come in and be the standout performer after a matter of weeks.
Game by game it looks increasingly less likely that the Baggies will secure promotion but that shouldn’t stop them fighting.
These players need to prove themselves again, not only to the new manager but to the fans.
In other Albion news, Steve Bruce reveals ‘best weapon’ West Brom can use to lift form.