Ryan Mason goes beyond parody with latest West Brom admission, it can’t go on
Ryan Mason offered up the same old defence after seeing his West Brom side pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City.
West Brom conceded from a set-piece against Birmingham City at The Hawthorns on Wednesday.
This, after West Brom’s 3-2 defeat to Coventry City last week, means the Baggies have won just one of their last seven Championship games.
As a result, Mason is under huge pressure at West Brom and there are doubts over whether he will last through until the new year.
Ryan Mason is disappointed but proud of his players…again
There have been questions about whether Mason has the right mentality to guide West Brom to Premier League promotion in the near future.
While the Baggies had a strong start to the Championship under the former Spurs star, their mentality has since plummeted, and so has their form.
This is best illustrated by his response to West Brom’s draw against Coventry.
“The overall feeling is disappointing, frustration as well. At the same time, I’m very proud of the players and the effort and work-rate,” he told BBC Radio West Midlands on 26 November.
“We went a goal up, played a good 20 minutes in the first half. Played a good game, created some good situations.
“We were deservedly a goal up at half-time. And then the second half, we had a 10 or 15-minute spell where we needed to be clinical.
“We had situations and opportunities to create a bit of distance between us and the opposition, didn’t take that, and 1-0 is always a dangerous scoreline.”
Mason seems to be repeating the same thing week after week now, with very little change in performance.
While the current Albion coach has shown potential at The Hawthorns, fans’ patience is starting to run thin.
West Brom struggled in attack once again
Despite their defeat to Coventry, the partnership between Aune Heggebo and Mikey Johnston gave West Brom fans reason to hope for stronger attacking displays.
There was a continuation of this in the first half against Birmingham, to an extent.
- West Brom took seven shots in the first half to Birmingham’s three
- Albion had eight free-kicks to their opponents’ three
- Three of their shots were on target, while the away side had just one
However, the Baggies struggled to create in the second half:
- The away side recorded 0.90 expected goals (xG) compared to Albion’s 0.41 xG
- Birmingham took 11 shots to West Brom’s eight
- Three of their shots were on target, compared to the Baggies’ one
Despite this, it’s understandable why Mason was disappointed with the goal conceded.
West Brom were the better defensive side, having won 54 per cent of their total duels, according to Sofascore.
Either way, Albion’s attacking display was, once again, one that showed limited evolution from the start of the season.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest West Bromwich Albion news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @westbromnews247