West Brom striker Josh Maja (Credit: Imago)

Josh Maja defended as Don Goodman lays West Brom blame elsewhere

West Brom News is delighted to have Don Goodman joining its team of Albion experts at the start of 2024. Goodman played for the Baggies between 1987 and 1991, scoring 60 goals in 140 league appearances to make him one of the most prolific strikers in Hawthorns history. Goodman also played for Bradford, Sunderland, Wolves, Motherwell and Walsall in his career and since hanging up his boots, he's been working in the media with Sky Sports. Now, Don has agreed to join West Brom News and we're absolutely thrilled to share his expertise on the Baggies every week.

Published on:

01 Nov 2024, 2:51 am

Don Goodman insists Josh Maja cannot be solely blamed for the lack of goals scored by West Brom of late.

The Baggies have failed to score in four of their last five matches, with Maja starting all five and firing a blank in each.

However, while some have called for the striker to be left out against Luton Town on Friday (1 November), Goodman believes it is equally down to others in the side to step up.

"It's not just about Josh Maja - it can't be," he told West Brom News. "The fact they're not scoring as a team, the onus cannot be solely on the number nine.

"The last two top scorers in the Championship - Sammie Szmodics and Chuba Akpom - were not out-and-out strikers, which shows you the importance of the numbers 10s and wide players. Every time I've seen Maja up close he's impressed me, especially with how unselfish he is.

"There's a problem of sticking the ball in the net, but that's about how you break teams down and that's why they've struggled more at home than they have away."

Josh Maja massively off the boil at West Brom

While it is true other West Brom players also deserve their share of the blame for the lack of goals over the past month, Maja must take most of it given his role in the side.

The Nigerian is unselfish and looks to get others in the game, but at the same time he is in the side to score goals.

As a reminder, Maja scored seven goals in his first seven Championship outings this season and assisted another - that assist being one aspect that particularly caught Goodman's eye.

West Brom striker Josh Maja

Since then, he has played 443 minutes of football without finding the back of the net, which is simply not good enough.

The hope is that it clicks again for Maja, ideally starting with the showdown against Luton at Kenilworth Road.

In other West Brom news, Goodman has shared a brutal verdict on the Baggies' transfer business.

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