Semi Ajayi adds to West Brom struggles as defender fails to win single tackle v Watford
The first 25 minutes of the clash between West Brom and Watford at Vicarage Road was complete carnage, with both sides scoring twice as their defensive frailties were demonstrated.
For the Baggies, it was a disappointing display at the back, coming off of the back of a first clean sheet of the season against Bristol City only days earlier, but Carlos Corberan’s side failed to impose themselves in defence.
One of the most disappointing performances in the Albion backline on Wednesday (20 September) came from Semi Ajayi, the Nigerian who has started six of the seven Championship games for West Brom so far this season and struggled to have any impact on the game having impressed at Ashton Gate.
Despite playing the full 90 minutes against Watford, Ajayi didn’t complete a single tackle in the match as Watford’s frontline ran riot, having 12 attempts on goal and the Baggies were quite fortunate that the Hornets only hit the target with four of their efforts [Fotmob].
The 29-year-old also struggled to win his duels, only winning one of his three contests on the ground and 57 per cent of his battles in the air, a worrying statistic considering Ajayi was taller than any of Watford’s from three that started at Vicarage Road.
Ajayi’s timidness in the tackle isn’t a one off issue either, according to his Fbref scouting report, the centre-back falls in the 49th percentile of all his positional peers for tackles per 90 minutes played, averaging only 1.37 a game.
Regarding interceptions per game, the former Rotherham United defender doesn’t fair much better, averaging 1.25 a game, placing him in the bottom 44 per cent of centre-backs in Europe’s top 15 leagues. Even more concerning is his place in the sixth and tenth percentile for blocks and clearances respectively.
Ayayi can often gloss over his poor defensive displays with his effectiveness in the opposition box, especially from set-pieces, where he places in the 99th percentile for non-penalty goals per 90 minutes. Still, Corberan needs his defender to be more solid at the back.
The Baggies have only scored one goal more than they’ve conceded in their opening seven games and with their lack of firepower in the forward areas now Josh Maja has been ruled out with injury, they need to stop conceding as many goals.
Ajayi has to improve his level of performance to help the Albion begin to climb up the table, he’s very lucky that the options are limited at The Hawthorns this season and Kyle Bartley failed to impress on his only league start against Huddersfield Town.
In other West Brom news, summer target Reggie Cannon looks set to make the move to the Championship as a free-agent