View: Callum Robinson is the glue for the new-look West Brom attack
It took six games after Steve Bruce’s arrival, but West Brom finally have a victory in the Championship once again after their 2-0 win over Hull.
It was yet another new system under the new boss, as he this time opted for a 3-5-2 system which saw top scorer Karlan Grant partnered up front with Callum Robinson as the only traditional nine in the squad, Andy Carroll, was dropped.
Obviously, and quite rightly, it was Grant who stole the headlines as he scored both in a 2-0 win and helped the Baggies claim their first win since January.
But another watch of the game showed that it was his strike partner, Robinson, who was arguably the most influential player when it came to the way the Baggies attacked.
If you look at the stats, then he probably didn’t have the best game. He completed just 70% of his passes, was booked and subbed off with eight minutes to go.
If you ask WhoScored, he was West Brom’s worst player with a rating of just 6.7.
But watching the game, you saw an entirely different performance even if he wasn’t perfect on the ball.
He completed two dribbles, more than anyone on the pitch except for George Honeyman and Taylor Gardner-Hickman, and his movement off the ball helped Grant to be the man with the most shots in the game (5).
Bruce said during Thursday’s pre-game presser ahead of the game against Huddersfield that their partnership was a big reason for the system tweak, and that showed.
Robinson has eight assists this season, and seven of them have led to Grant goals. That’s the best partnership in the Championship according to WhoScored, level with Andreas Weimann and Antoine Semenyo at Bristol City.
His hold up play is excellent, he’s happy to track back and become an extra midfielder in the defensive phase too and he has the energy to go for 90 minutes every weekend.
The one thing he lacks is being a reliable, consistent goalscorer and the return to fitness of Daryl Dike could see him lose his place in the team.
But until that happens, Robinson is a key fixture in this team. Bruce knows it, he knows it, Grant knows it and the fans should know it too.
He deserves this run in the team and his partnership with Grant could be the key towards a late and great push for the playoffs. Hopefully it isn’t too little too late.
In other West Brom news, Steve Bruce thrilled by one West Brom ace ahead of Huddersfield clash after big change