Ryan Mason cannot delay this West Brom decision any longer, Millwall collapse has to be final straw
West Brom were blown away by Millwall in the second half of their 3-0 defeat at The Den on Saturday afternoon.
The Baggies were full of confidence heading into the game following a victory at Norwich City in midweek, but all positivity ahead of the weekend’s clash quickly evaporated in South East London.
Aune Heggebo struggled for West Brom in the defeat, but it was a performance from the visitors that threw up more problems than it solved, as they collapsed in the latter stages of the game.
Ryan Mason’s team selection raised eyebrows ahead of the clash, and there is one particular call that is continuing to cause frustration among the Albion faithful.
Alfie Gilchrist simply has to start for West Brom vs Preston
Alfie Gilchrist is yet to make his full West Brom debut, despite having been part of their squad for over a month now.
The defender was signed from Chelsea as an immediate replacement for Darnell Furlong, and his lack of involvement so far has been a source of great frustration for supporters.
There has also been a clamour for Toby Collyer to see more first-team action in recent weeks, and while he was thrown in from the off for his first start, Gilchrist was once again left as an unused substitute.
George Campbell is consistently being preferred to the 21-year-old at the moment, and while he hasn’t let Albion down as such with his performances, they are badly lacking the fluidity that a natural right-back would provide on that flank.
- Campbell won just 50% of his duels in the defeat to Millwall
- Only 84% of his passes were accurate
Campbell struggled to deal with the threat of Millwall’s left wing during the recent defeat, and frankly, looks every bit a centre-back who is playing out of position.
He has provided a reliable option for Mason in the last few weeks while Gilchrist gets up to speed with the rest of the squad, but the boss now has no excuse not to throw him in against Preston North End next weekend.
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Ryan Mason must be careful not to stunt Gilchrist’s development
Gilchrist is an excellent signing for West Brom, given that they were able to snatch him away from Chelsea for an initial fee of just £1.2million.
- Gilchrist made 11 Premier League appearances during his time at Chelsea
- He scored his first professional goal for them in a 6-0 win over Crystal Palace
- He made 30 appearances for the Sheffield United team that almost won promotion last term
There was a time when the starlet was expected to make it in the first team at Stamford Bridge, and comparisons with John Terry have never been too far away.
At 21, he still has plenty of development ahead of him, and it feels inevitable that he will one day be a regular in the Premier League.
With that in mind, Mason must be incredibly careful as to how he manages the full-back. The lack of gametime is far from a serious concern at the moment, but there will be no benefit to Gilchrist if he is sat on the bench for most of the campaign.
A 3-0 defeat hands the boss the perfect opportunity to make sweeping changes across the board with his next team selection, and Gilchrist is certainly among those who should come in.
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