James Morrison shows man-management class at West Brom by taking Ollie Bostock out
James Morrison’s man-management ability is on full display, as his decision to keep Isaac Price in the team whilst taking Ollie Bostock out has worked wonders for West Brom.
Morrison is turning things around at West Brom, as his Baggies side took another huge step towards Championship survival on Saturday.
Albion went to a notoriously stingy Ashton Gate for away sides, and took home a 1-0 win and three more massive points thanks to a header from George Campbell in the 26th minute.
West Brom are now four points clear of the relegation zone, with Portsmouth getting thumped 6-1 by QPR and Oxford losing 2-0 to Southampton, whilst Leicester drew 0-0 to Watford on Saturday respectively.
There have been a number of improvements made by Morrison following his interim appointment, some obvious, some more subtle, but he’s showing his ability in more ways than just his tactical tweaks.
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James Morrison must be praised for Ollie Bostock call
Mikey Johnston’s injury threatened to pose a serious problem in attack for Morrison and West Brom, as losing the talismanic winger for the remainder of the season is a massive blow.
Indeed, it was 19-year-old Bostock who was called upon to replace the injured Johnston at Oxford on 28 February, and the teenager bagged his first senior Baggies goal in the 2-1 defeat.
| Stat | Result |
| Goals | 1 |
| Shots | 3 |
| Carries | 12 |
| Match rating | 7.4 |
As such, he was rewarded with a start against Sheffield United in Albion’s following game, but was brought off with 20 minutes to play after a disappointing showing.
He then featured in a 13-minute cameo from the bench against Southampton, but since then, the Albion academy product has been an unused substitute against Hull and Bristol City respectively.
After his brilliant display against Oxford, it would’ve been easy for Morrison to press on with Bostock in the starting lineup, but instead, he quickly noticed that he perhaps wasn’t quite ready for the spotlight on a consistent basis yet.
Jed Wallace’s performances have really improved since coming back into the team for Bostock, and so Morrison’s shrewd decision to protect Bostock and also extract improvement out of Wallace has been an inspired one.
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Morrison is reaping rewards of Isaac Price faith
Morrison has been taking a bit of stick for continuing to place his trust in Price, with the winger having witnessed his relationship with the West Brom faithful fracture post-Portsmouth.
The 22-year-old, however, has remained a constant in the starting lineup under Morrison, and now the Northern Ireland international is repaying that faith shown in him by his manager.
Price has been excellent in Albion’s last three games, and was once again impressive against Bristol City on Saturday.
He’s got the quality to help drag his team away from the threat of relegation, and Morrison knows that, but to stick by his guns amid significant pressure to drop him, deserves major credit.