West Brom: Carlos Corberan must take decisive Nathaniel Chalobah action at HT v Plymouth Argyle
Carlos Corberan has a big call to make on Nathaniel Chalobah after a disappointing first half for the West Brom midfielder against Plymouth Argyle.
Chalobah in particular struggled as Albion toiled in a goalless first half at Home Park in Tuesday’s (20 February) Championship clash.
The central midfielder almost gave away a penalty in the opening quarter of the game, with Argyle’s strong shouts turned down by the referee.
Nathaniel Chalobah struggles against Plymouth Argyle
Beyond that, Chalobah was also slammed as “sloppy” by WBA TV commentator Andy Johnson after giving away possession late on in the first half.
Chalobah, who was brought into the starting XI in place of Okay Yokuslu, had just 28 touches of the ball in the first 45 minutes [Sofascore].
To put that in some perspective, only three other outfielders had fewer touches, and they are each attackers.
The onus is on Chalobah to get play ticking along from midfield, but he simply has not been able to do that so far.
Okay Yokuslu watching from the bench at Home Park
Not only did he fail to register any sort of attacking impetus, he also completed just one “defensive action” – i.e. a clearance, blocked shot, interception or tackle.
For context, John Swift, Erik Pieters and Alex Palmer all registered two such actions in what was a fairly flat first half.
With Yokuslu on the bench, Corberan must surely be tempted to make a like-for-like change in central midfield for the second half.
This is a game Albion really could do with winning, having seen the gap from the chasing pack close in recent weeks.
Rather than sitting back on a point, Yokuslu can provide some extra energy in midfield alongside Alex Mowatt and push Albion on to victory.
Should Corberan not take any action and Albion fail to come out on top, the Spaniard will surely wonder what could have been.
In other West Brom news, an “unfair” Carlos Corberan verdict has been shared by Don Goodman.
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