Carlos Corberan reluctantly praises ‘excellent’ Kyle Bartley v Sheffield Wednesday
Carlos Corberan has reluctantly heaped praise on Kyle Bartley, calling the West Brom defender’s performance against Sheffield Wednesday “excellent.”
The Baggies made it back-to-back wins in the Championship as they ran out 1-0 winners over Xisco Munoz’s side on Tuesday (3 October) thanks to John Swift’s fifth goal of the season, but it was the defensive display which the Albion boss was happiest about.
West Brom have kept clean sheets in four of their five matches since the September international break and while that improved run of form has occurred since Bartley returned to the starting XI, Corberan was reluctant to just praise the 32-year-old for the change in fortunes.
As quoted by the Express & Star on Wednesday (4 October) he said: “I don’t want to talk about any players when we achieve clean sheets or not. It is more about finding the stability in the team, repeating the good behaviours, and more that if we concede or don’t concede.
“He (Bartley) has been perfect for the previous games, teams like Preston and Tuesday, teams that have been very direct with lots of long balls and his contribution has been excellent.
“But Kipre for example today has been excellent for me too, even (Erik) Pieters the same. (Matt) Phillips when he had to defend, and (Darnell) Furlong too, so I am pleased with how I see the team defending and performing.”
Team effort
Bartley has been excellent for the Baggies since he returned to the side and deserves plenty of praise for his performances, but one player alone doesn’t completely solve a side’s defensive problems, no matter how well they have played.
Against Wednesday, the 32-year-old won the most duels of any player in the match, coming out on top of 100 per cent of the ground duels he contested and winning eight battles in the air against Ashley Fletcher and Michael Smith [Fotmob].
Similar was true against Preston when the former Swansea defender once again dominated in the air, winning six of the seven aerial duels he entered as well as managing an impressive three-headed clearances. When. Bartley plays, he tends to dominate in the air for the Baggies.
But alongside him in recent weeks Erik Pieters has impressed while Cedric Kipre is showing the form that made him so integral to Cardiff City’s success last season, all while Alex Palmer has put in some of his best performances in a Baggies shirt to date.
West Brom seem to have stumbled across the winning defensive formula and although Corberan likes to tinker with his side, he may well have found his ideal backline for the foreseeable future.
In other West Brom news, Carlton Palmer has called for the Baggies takeover to be completed sooner rather than later