Chris Lepkowski questions Carlos Corberan substitute decision in West Brom draw against Cardiff City
Chris Lepkowski believes Carlos Corberan’s West Brom squad is “frazzled” and has questioned the Spaniard’s choice to leave Brandon Thomas-Asante on the bench in the 1-1 draw against Cardiff City.
The Baggies were underwhelming in their draw against the Championship strugglers on Wednesday night (15 March), who currently sit one point above the relegation zone, despite Daryl Dike brilliantly finding the back of the net within the first 20 minutes of the encounter.
However, when the American was subbed off in the 59th minute, Corberan decided to put on Adam Reach in his stead, while the ex-Salford City forward remained unmoved on the bench.
It wasn’t until Sory Kaba capitalised on the Baggies’ defensive mindset in the 65th minute that the Baggies’ manager turned to out-and-out forward Thomas-Asante to change the game.
The Baggies’ former head of media questioned this decision by Corberan and admitted that West Brom have been in snookers territory for Championship promotion this season for a while now.
Via his personal Twitter account, Lepkowski wrote: “A frazzled squad. This should be a good draw, but it feels like it isn’t.
“If Carlos Corberan opted against Brandon Thomas-Asante on the hour, then suggests his presence on bench was no more than cosmetic Damage done with persisting with Bruce for too long. We’ve been in snookers’ territory for ages.”
Frustrating
West Brom’s recent form continues to be a case of one step forward and two steps back.
After stringing together back-to-back 1-0 win’s over Wigan and Huddersfield, hopes were high within the Albion fanbase that their minor blip at the turn of the New Year had been halted and their playoff charge was back on the cards.
However, this draw, although minor when taken in isolation, could play an instrumental role when looking back at the end of the season.
Corberan’s side had the game in the grasp of their hands at 1-0 on the hour mark but seemed reluctant to go on and get the second goal to kill off the game.
Cardiff hadn’t registered a single effort on goal until their equaliser, and Albion were in complete control of the match, so the decision to leave Thomas Asante on the bench has certainly raised eyebrows.
It seems as though West Brom’s extensive injury list is finally catching up with them, and Wednesday night was evidence of the personnel that Corberan was lacking.
In other West Brom news, independent shareholders are on red alert watching Guochuan Lai keenly at the club as the deadline for his loan repayment approaches.