West Brom fans accused of ‘unfair’ treatment of Everton loanee Mason Holgate
Don Goodman says the level of criticism aimed the way of Mason Holgate by some West Brom supporters is “unfair”.
Holgate has had mixed reviews throughout his time with the Baggies, but a heavy defeat to Bournemouth saw the defender slammed by supporters.
The on-loan Everton defender has struggled to maintain any level of consistency but Goodman, speaking exclusively to West Brom News, refused to single him out.
“Look, every defender, every goalkeeper, even midfielders, will make a mistake or two that can be costly,” said Goodman. “There’s no doubt about it. He’s made his mistakes, but so probably has everybody else.
“[Torbjorn] Heggem, who’s probably been West Brom’s best player, I can think of two [mistakes] off the top of my head which have cost goals. So I think [Holgate’s] come into a difficult situation.
“There have been lots and lots of injuries. He’s one of those players who hadn’t played a lot of football when he arrived at West Brom.
“But he’s probably not done a bad job under all the circumstances. It’s very hard for me to jump on the bandwagon of fans who see a player make a mistake and jump on his back.
“I can’t have it, you know, at the end of the day. It’s unfair and it doesn’t do the player or the football club any good whatsoever. But of course, fans pay the money and they’re entitled to their opinions.“
West Brom fans too harsh on Mason Holgate?
Ultimately, criticism is very rarely given without sufficient reasoning and in Holgate’s case, you can certainly make a case for his performances being below par.
While there are factors to be had with that, such as injuries to those around him, he is still capable of far more than he has showcased throughout his time at The Hawthorns.
There’s an argument to be made that he wouldn’t be playing as regularly had it not been for those injuries.
However, the harsh reality is that his mistakes are sometimes costing West Brom and in such a tightly contested division, those errors can prove costly.
In other West Brom news, an ex-Baggies star could already be on the move.
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