Richard Keys amazed by EFL after what he saw in West Brom win v QPR – ‘Wow’
West Brom caused a stir in their 1-0 Championship win over QPR on Saturday.
The Baggies continued their playoff push at The Hawthorns (8 March) and kept their two-point margin over Bristol City.
A penalty from Adam Armstrong was enough for Albion despite Darnell Furlong being shown a red card for an elbow on Koki Saito after 45 minutes.
However, it was not the action on the pitch that led to praise for the EFL outfit.
West Brom attendance shocks Richard Keys
A total of 25,310 supporters attended the clash between West Brom and QPR and Richard Keys was wowed by the attendances of several EFL matches this weekend.
In his personal blog (10 March), the BeIN SPORTS presenter praised the EFL for the progress that they have made.
He said: “Did you notice the crowds in the Championship this weekend? Wow.
“There were 20,000+ at nine different games (Burnley were a few hundred short of that mark) – in excess of 30,000 at Coventry and Sunderland.
“More than 26,000 watched Birmingham in League One. The EFL are clearly doing something right.”
West Brom impacted by lack of VAR
In his post, Keys claims that the lack of VAR is a factor as to why so many fans are attending EFL matches, but Albion could have done with having the system in use on Saturday.
Furlong’s red card, which will see him suspended until the clash with Sunderland on 5 April, was a contentious decision and may have been overturned if the referee had video assistance at his disposal and could cost the Baggies in the playoff race.
| Championship | Played | GD | Points |
| 5. Coventry | 36 | +6 | 56 |
| 6. West Brom | 36 | +14 | 55 |
| 7. Bristol City | 36 | +7 | 53 |
However, the system is not in place below the Premier League and the fact that it has been upheld suggests that it would not have been turned over.
Football without VAR is ultimately more palatable as supporters do not have to wait to celebrate goals or to find out the referee’s decision, which is subjective anyway and often perceived as wrong when video assistance is involved.
There was a particularly lengthy review during the FA Cup fifth-round clash between the Baggies’ local rivals Wolves and Bournemouth, which lasted eight minutes, which is far too long as justifies supporters anger.
The fact that the system is not in use in the EFL makes the matches run more smoothly and is probably a factor in the higher attendances but if the Black Country club secure promotion to the top flight, they will have to get used it and rather quickly.