West Brom struggling because of Steve Bruce’s tactical contradictions – Elias Burke
West Brom are struggling to produce results this season because of Steve Bruce’s tactical contradictions, according to Elias Burke.
The Baggies picked up another poor result at the weekend where they suffered a 3-2 defeat against Swansea while playing at home.
In his latest column for The Athletic, Burke was of the opinion that the selection of midfielders Tom Rogic and John Swift ahead of Jayson Molumby was a mistake.
“Swansea are notorious for making errors when playing the ball between the goalkeeper and defenders and are therefore vulnerable to a high, coordinated press,” he wrote.
“But when new signing Rogic was announced in the starting lineup alongside Swift in midfield ahead of Molumby, it seemed apparent that Albion would try and match Swansea at their own game.
“Both are talented, but the type of player to which ‘luxury’ is often naively associated, suggesting their off-the-ball production or effort is perhaps not to the same level as their exploits with the ball at the feet.
“So, with that in mind, why did Albion allow Swansea the majority of possession and almost 100 more passes (445 to Albion’s 349) at a better pass accuracy rate?
“The problem is not that Bruce went with one playing style or another. But the incoherent mish-mash between styles failed to bring the best out of the players available.
“Being caught between two styles meant Albion did not have the personnel or the system to lay a finger on Swansea in the first half an hour and were punished.”
Time for change
West Brom entered the campaign with a lot of hopes but their season has gone from bad to worse on Saturday with a defeat against Swansea.
There is a sense that the result could be enough for the club’s hierarchy to bring a change on the bench at The Hawthorns as the Baggies are currently placed just above the relegation zone in the 21st position with 10 points after the first 11 matches.
West Brom are set to play their next match against Preston and it will be interesting to see whether the former Newcastle manager will be given a chance to lead the side on Wednesday or his replacement will take charge of the team.
If the 61-year-old’s will be sacked in the near future, he will leave West Brom after just eight months in charge where he led the side to eight wins in 30 fixtures with 11 defeats whereas the same amount of matches ended in a stalemate [Transfermarkt].
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski slams Steve Bruce’s tactics as West Brom fall to defeat v Swansea