West Brom players didn’t give fans chance to grant Kyle Bartley’s wish vs Coventry
It was another afternoon with nothing to shout about for West Brom supporters on Saturday.
West Brom were defeated 2-0 by Midlands rivals Coventry City at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon, in what was another grim display from Eric Ramsay‘s side.
Ramsay is now winless from his first eight games as Albion head coach, and as such, is surely already standing on the precipice of being sacked.
His team now sit 21st in the Championship table, just one place and point above Leicester City following their draw away at Stoke.
What are West Brom fans supposed to do?
Leading up to the game against Coventry, former West Brom defender Kyle Bartley urged supporters to get behind the team, citing the importance of how much their support can help the players on the pitch.
Bartley’s comments weren’t controversial and included a lot of truth, as fans can and do play a big part when their team are up against it.
However, there’s one sure-fire way as a group of players to ensure that you take any energy out of the home support, and that’s to concede an early goal, especially a shambolic one.
But, that’s precisely what Albion did on Saturday, with one ball over the top from Milan van Ewijk picking out an untracked runner in Ephron Mason-Clark, who lobbed his shot over Max O’Leary, before Alfie Gilchrist couldn’t prevent the ball from crossing the line.
So, whilst the fans can help the players out to generate an atmosphere, they too have a responsibility to give them something to get behind, and conceding a goal such as that with not even five minutes on the clock isn’t how you do it.
West Brom now in season-defining three-game stretch
Right when solidarity and unity is required, there is division and a fractured relationship between the fans and this team.
No worse a time could that be happening than right now, as Albion prepare to head into their biggest three-game stretch in their recent Championship history.
West Brom play 17th-placed Charlton at home on Tuesday night, before travelling to 23rd-placed Oxford next Saturday, followed by a trip to Bramall Lane to play 16th-placed Sheffield United on 7 March.
If Albion don’t take at least six points from those three games, then the likelihood is they’re going to be in the relegation zone at the end of that three-game period.
And that could be just about that looking at what’s still to come down the road, with the likes of Southampton, Hull, Wrexham, Millwall, Preston, Watford and Ipswich Town all still to play.
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