Jeff Stelling leaves Jobi McAnuff surprised with West Brom verdict on Steve Bruce
Jeff Stelling has left Jobi McAnuff surprised in the Sky Sports studios when talking about West Brom and their decision to stick with Steve Bruce.
The Baggies welcomed Luton Town to The Hawthorns on Saturday 08 October, with the game ending in a drab 0-0.
McAnuff admitted that he believed Bruce should have gone before that game, with the Albion somehow sitting in the relegation zone beforehand due to shocking form.
Speaking live on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday [Saturday 08 October], Stelling kickstarted the debate by questioning what had happened to the Baggies.
“A year ago, West Brom were fourth in the Championship table,” he said.
“If you look at the table right now [yesterday] you’ll see where they are, they are in the relegation zone. Steve Bruce has won seven of his 29 games in charge and he is in under pressure, can he survive?”
McAnuff responded and couldn’t really believe the stance: “I’m surprised he’s still there.”
Listen.
Do West Brom ever listen to the fans?
The clear and simple answer to that is no, with the board doing whatever they want for far too many years now without any fault at their feet for doing that.
Appointing Bruce in the first place was a shocking decision and follows the calls of sacking Slaven Bilic and appointing the likes of Sam Allardyce.
Guochuan Lai has come under scrutiny too, but it is hard to see anything come from that with fans also calling for him and Ron Gourlay to move on along with Bruce should that happen.
After the signings of Jed Wallace and John Swift among many others though, Bruce cannot say he hasn’t been given the ammunition he wanted for a push at promotion.
The immediate issue that can be solved is his future, and no matter what, he has to be shown the back door sooner rather than later as a first step to solving this mess.
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski has scolded what he brands as a “rancid, horrible bunch” that have made the Baggies dressing room toxic.