Samuel Iling-Junior crucified for what he did in West Brom defeat vs Southampton
Andy Johnson was raging with Samuel Iling-Junior as West Brom fell to yet another defeat.
West Brom suffered a 3-2 defeat away to Southampton on Tuesday, in a game that was realistically lost after just 17 minutes.
Leo Scienza gave the Saints the lead before Adam Armstrong bagged a brace to send his side well on their way towards three points.
Ryan Mason now looks set to face the sack, and Iling-Junior put the wheels in motion very early into the game at St Mary’s.
Ousmane Diakite booked after schoolboy error from Iling-Junior
From the very first minute, West Brom looked like a side that were going to suffer a heavy defeat, and that has been a far too familiar feeling in the current campaign.
The Baggies were late to several balls, misplaced countless simple passes, and just generally struggled to compete with Southampton.
While a lot of that is down to Mason, several players also need to take a hard look at themselves for their performances, including Iling-Junior.
Not only did he fail to offer any real quality, but his error in the first half led to Ousmane Diakite’s booking, and Andy Johnson was raging.
Iling-Junior needlessly lunged in to win the ball, but missed it, leaving Diakite exposed, and Johnson was less than impressed.
Via WBATV, Johnson said: “Iling-Junior goes flying in, it makes it easy to go past him. The ball here, look, it just comes inside. Iling-Junior’s nowhere near it. And then Diakite’s not set. He ends up giving the foul away.
“Listen, I know Illing Junior’s a forward player, but we all know the basic elements of defending. You just get there and slow down, put the brakes on. You cannot keep going, or he uses your momentum to go past you.
“That’s exactly what happens. Then it throws Diakite out, who ends up giving a free kick away in a dangerous position.”
Iling-Junior could follow Mason out the door
Mason will not survive this defeat; that isn’t inside knowledge, that’s the opinion of someone who has witnessed just how abysmal West Brom have been under his stewardship, or lack of.
Relegation looks more likely than promotion, which speaks volumes about the way he has handled the campaign to date.
However, he cannot take all of the blame, with several of those on the pitch failing to deliver far too often.
Iling-Junior is one of them, and after another horrid display for the Baggies, it’s clear that he has absolutely no future here.
West Brom need to terminate Iling-Junior’s loan in January and use the spot in the squad to bring someone in who can add real quality.
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