Chris Mepham slammed for ‘pathetic’ moment in West Brom win vs Swansea
Chris Mepham was incredibly poor in West Brom’s FA Cup third-round win over Swansea City on Sunday.
West Brom beat Swansea 6-5 on penalties as the match finished 2-2 after extra time, with Oliver Bostock scoring the winning kick to send the Baggies into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Eom Ji-sung opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a curling strike, before Josh Maja finished from close range following Callum Styles’ dangerous corner.
Jed Wallace and Zeidane Inoussa both scored in extra time, and the penalty shootout went to sudden death at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Although Bostock eventually took care of business, Mepham‘s woeful penalty nearly cost the Baggies, and fans weren’t impressed, to say the least.
Fans rage over Chris Mepham’s embarrassing penalty
Mepham joined West Brom from Bournemouth in the summer transfer window, and fans were incredibly excited by what he could bring to the team.
The Wales international spent last season on loan at Sunderland, helping the Black Cats achieve a long-awaited return to the Premier League.
However, Mepham has been woeful at times for West Brom, and his experience certainly hasn’t manifested itself in his performances.
| Stat | Mepham |
| Minutes played | 1120 |
| Pass accuracy | 94% |
| Ground duels won | 78% |
| Aerial duels won | 0% |
| Touches | 65 |
In Sunday’s shootout, Swansea’s Bobby Wales had just seen his spot-kick saved by Josh Griffiths, and Mepham had the chance to win it.
With the score at 5-5, the 28-year-old blazed his attempt over the bar and missed a glorious opportunity to be the hero.
Supporters on social media were far from impressed, and they were very critical of his performance as a whole against Swansea, with one labelling the penalty miss “pathetic”.
One fan also added: “Honestly, our defence is pony. Can we stop with thinking Phillips and Mepham are any good? They aren’t.”
It’s clear that the supporters are far from happy, and Mepham is running out of time to prove his worth to the Baggies fans.
This is what Eric Ramsey needs to do with Mepham
Eric Ramsay is now officially the new West Brom manager, and he has a huge task on his hands.
He is taking over a team that is incredibly low in confidence, and Mepham’s penalty typifies their season so far.
West Brom sit 18th in the Championship table, and they’ve been more than fragile at the back, especially on the road.
Dropping Mepham and going for a partnership of Krystian Bielik and Nat Phillips could work, especially given the Welsh defender’s lack of threat in the air.
He won no aerial duels against Zan Vipotnik, and it is a huge worry given the physical nature of the second tier.
Ramsay will have several tough decisions to make, although leaving Mepham out of the team would definitely improve his chances of enjoying a successful start to his reign in B71.