West Brom’s struggles compounded by news of likely long-term injury layoff
West Brom’s point at Birmingham City was a boost but they have a big injury concern on their hands.
After failing to win any of his first five games in charge, Eric Ramsay was at risk of being sacked at West Brom before the game at St Andrew’s on Tuesday.
Ramsay was only appointed as West Brom’s new boss on 11 January and prior to the Birmingham game, the 34-year-old had won none, drawn two, and lost three times in a dour start to life at The Hawthorns.
On Saturday, West Brom played out a 0-0 draw with Stoke City as the Baggies secured their first clean sheet in 11 matches.
However, West Brom held on to get a point in a goalless draw at Birmingham on Tuesday night, but before the game, reports surfaced of an injury blow to a key player for Ramsay‘s side.
West Brom suffer worrying Chris Mepham injury
Last summer, West Brom signed Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham on a three-year deal for a fee around the £1million mark.
Since then, Mepham has featured 24 times for West Brom, scoring one goal along the way. The 6ft 4in defender may not add to that for a while after picking up an injury against Stoke.
Mepham appeared to pull up with a hamstring injury in the 82nd minute of that draw, with the 28-year-old unable to continue.
After the Stoke game, Ramsay said: “I would just cross my fingers, I suppose, I’ve got no idea as to the severity of it.”
Before the Birmingham encounter, reliable West Brom news source EyaWeGew tweeted that the former Brentford man is now likely to be a “long-term” injury concern.
With Mepham absent, West Brom played Nat Phillips and left-back Charlie Taylor in a back two against Birmingham, who had won four of their last six league games heading into this fixture. In the end, the Baggies defence held firm and withstood a Birmingham onslaught.
Mepham has plenty of Premier League experience, so West Brom will hope that the big defender makes a speedy recovery for the run-in.
West Brom make small step towards Championship safety
West Brom were second-best for much of the contest against Birmingham but held on for a crucial point despite late, late drama and pressure. They are now two points clear of the bottom three.
Incidentally, at the start of the season, West Brom would have hoped to challenge for promotion once again after going close for a number of years.
With the squad that they have, the Baggies would have at least expected to be in the top half of the table at this stage of the season.
The cold hard reality, however, is that West Brom are in the midst of a relegation fight as they try to stave off dropping down to the English third-tier for the first time since 1991.
But, their upcoming fixtures may offer them some hope of turning the tide in their bid to maintain their Championship status.
| West Brom’s next Championship fixtures | Opponent’s league position |
| West Brom vs Coventry City | 2nd |
| West Brom vs Charlton Athletic | 18th |
| Oxford United vs West Brom | 23rd |
Frank Lampard’s Coventry City are in a dreadful run of form and have been usurped from top spot by Middlesbrough, plus Charlton Athletic and Oxford United are right down near the bottom with West Brom.
The Baggies are just about keeping their head above water, but the wins simply have to come. If not, Ramsay could be out of the job soon.