Jonas Olsson angered by what he saw West Brom star do vs Ipswich – ‘It’s poor, he shouldn’t have done that’
Jonas Olsson was less than impressed by the way West Brom lost to a late goal against Ipswich at Portman Road on Saturday.
Ipswich won 1-0 against Ryan Mason’s West Brom thanks to an 83rd-minute strike by substitute Jack Clarke, who’d only been on the pitch for seven minutes.
Before the game, Mason hinted that he wants to add to his squad at The Hawthorns and based on the club’s recent form, many fans will agree, with Albion now sliding down the Championship standings.
The Baggies have won just two of their last eight league outings after winning three and drawing one of the four games before.
Josh Griffiths blamed for Ipswich’s late winner
Ipswich’s aggressive play is the complete opposite to West Brom’s passive approach and ultimately, it won them the game at Portman Road and lost it for Albion.
Even though the home side were pressing high up the pitch in the 83rd minute, goalkeeper Josh Griffiths decided to roll the ball out to see if his teammates could play out from the back.
However, when the ball ended up back at his feet and pressure was applied on him, he played a really bad pass into Alex Mowatt on the edge of the box.
Mowatt was tackled by Jaden Philogene, who then played in a through-ball to Clarke, who was already in a great position thanks to his earlier advances on Griffiths.
Ex-Albion defender Jonas Olsson, who was always known by fans for not being great with the ball at his feet, took issue with the way Griffiths needlessly put Mowatt under pressure when he could have cleared his lines moments before.
Speaking on Sky Sports Main Event after the game on Saturday, Olsson said: “The pressure is already there from the Ipswich front two, so he should just kick it long.
“And the pass itself is poor. It’s a wobbly ball, it’s played into [Mowatt’s] left foot, so the Ipswich players can come in and make that tackle.
“You could argue maybe it’s a foul, but the keeper shouldn’t have done that in that position.”
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Ryan Mason has to stop stat-padding as worrying trend worsens
Normally, when you look at teams that lead the charts for passing, you see them as a possession-based side that scores goals with neat and patient build-up play while passing their opponents to death.
Unfortunately, with Albion, they’re boring anyone who watches them to death instead.
As per stats by Sofascore, West Brom average 405.1 completed passes each game in the Championship, which is more than anyone else in the division, and is only bettered by five Premier League clubs.
| Stat | Championship rank | |
| Goals scored | 12 | 18th |
| Shots (per game) | 12.4 | 13th |
| Big chances | 18 | 21st |
| Big chances missed | 13 | 17th |
| Avg. possession | 52.5% | =8th |
Despite having the ball so much, Albion have only created 18 big chances this term, a figure that ranks them 21st in the Championship, mixing it with teams like Sheffield Wednesday, who’ve had 17.
It all seems quite aimless and pointless. Passing for the sake of keeping the ball, not for the sake of trying to score goals.
Mason has to change things up. It’s almost like he’s the polar opposite of what Ange Postecoglou was trying to achieve at Tottenham.
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