Danny Wright

Thu 15 September 2022 8:13, UK

West Brom fans booed Kyle Bartley every time he touched the ball before he was substituted off against Birmingham on Wednesday night, according to Tony Brown.

Bartley, 31, has been in horrendous form for the Albion and was largely at fault for two of Scott Hogan’s three goals in Blues’ 3-2 win at The Hawthorns on 14 September.

He was taken off by Bruce later on in the humiliating derby day defeat and Bomber Brown feels that was due to how the fans were treating him.

“I think the manager’s taken him out of the firing line because the Albion crowd have turned on him,” Brown said on BBC Radio WM (00m35s) after Bartley’s 77th-minute substitution (14 September).

“Every time he gets the ball, he’s booed and that doesn’t help his game so Steve Bruce has taken him out of the firing line.”

Commentator Gurney then said: “Yeah, [we] might not see him around very often in the future.”

Disgrace

Bartley should never play for West Bromwich Albion again.

Not only is he nowhere near good enough but he’s rarely ever looked as though he actually cares about playing for the club and the sooner he’s out the door, the better.

We’ve needed to see the squad refreshed for years now but the Albion matchday squad still seems to include the likes of Bartley, Jake Livermore and Matt Phillips.

Bartley’s form has been rotten for a while and he’s only playing right now due to Semi Ajayi being injured.

But even if you’re not playing well, is there any excuse for letting Hogan in on goal because you think he was offside?

While the call was tight, Bartley just seemed to let the Blues striker have a free effort at goal because he was too busy sticking his arm in the air appealing for an offside.

He never – never – takes responsibility for his own mistakes despite being one of the worst players West Brom have had in decades.

Get rid of him, for goodness sake.

In other West Brom news, Ron Gourlay is due a statement to the fans after a huge meltdown on deadline day.