There is great unrest at West Bromwich Albion. Manager Valerien Ismael has proven to be a poor appointment and a lot of the fan base are dissatisfied with his tactics, which hit their nadir against Millwall at the weekend.
The Baggies were served a 2-0 defeat at The Den on Saturday and there were some stoppages in the game due to the travelling supporters showing their anger toward the manager and players. Flares were thrown onto the pitch and the scenes were described as unsavoury, but it just highlights how alienated they have become with Ismael’s strategy this season.
Albion are still in the play-off picture, they sit fifth but three out of the four teams above them have a game in hand. While it may be confusing for neutral supporters to see the Albion fans unhappy with Ismael, with the quality in the squad they should have been in contention for the automatic promotion spots.
They are level on points with seventh-placed Huddersfield Town and could easily fall out of the play-off picture if results don’t improve soon. With just one win in their last five, the Baggies have dropped some huge points in the race for promotion and any chance of them threatening the likes of Fulham and Bournemouth for a top-two spot seems to have gone. With the Championship being significantly weaker this year than it has been in a long time, there are several clubs that could make up the four play-off slots at the end of the campaign.
A lot of the Baggies’ recent performances have simply not been good enough, and the blame lies with the manager. Ismael may have given Barnsley an incredible play-off run last year, in a true underdog tale, but it is clear that his methods were far better suited to a side who had to graft for every single point, than a team with plenty of players with natural ability. There has been a lot of hoof ball references regarding Albion’s playing style under the Frenchman and from the first few games it was displeasing for The Hawthorns faithful.
With Albion blessed with creative and technically-gifted players like Callum Robinson, Karlan Grant, Matt Phillips and Grady Diangana, the 46-year-old has definitely had the resources that most Championship managers can only dream of managing. It is why the supporters are so baffled as to why he doesn’t play a more attack-minded style of football and the fans have just cause for their disappointment.
It is believed that his role is in serious jeopardy, as per the Express & Star, after the manner of his side’s Millwall defeat. And to add to the growing speculation, it has been reported that Ismael has flown to Germany to visit his family, and while it is something that will have happened regularly during gaps in the calendar, after a poor run of results it seems this particular trip is ominous.
The writing is on the wall as his methods haven’t won over the fans and the results have not been consistent enough. As the pressure mounts from the teams around them to pinch their play-off spot, the board may be forced to act if their current turgid run of form continues.
The divorce is inevitable, it’s just a case of when it will happen and how long the decision makers can hold off the angry mob, or keep hold of the pretense that Ismael will be able to turn things around. Either way, from what we have seen in 2021-22, West Brom are not the promotion favourites everyone expected them to be.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
