We just didn’t have the physicality to trouble West Brom

FIRST things first, there were a couple of medical emergencies in the stands at The Hawthorns before the game and at half-time when a West Brom fan and then a Bristol City fan were taken ill, delaying the start of both halves of football. Thankfully at the time of writing this column both fans were reported to be in a stable condition and praise to the fans and, of course, the medical staff that helped them. It puts things into perspective, and I wish both a speedy recovery.

Following the schooling by Bournemouth last weekend and the late capitulation against Nottingham Forest in midweek, I really wasn’t expecting too much from my trip up the M5 to West Brom, but what I witnessed was a really poor display from a team that lacked the physical and mental toughness to compete against Valerien Ismael’s side. Like Bournemouth, the Baggies have a Premier League squad and the spending power with parachute payments to go with it, but that doesn’t really excuse the gulf in class and performance I witnessed.

Nigel Pearson opted to recall Han Noah Massengo with Alex Scott dropping to the bench. Slightly harsh on the midweek goalscorer but it was good to see Han back in the starting line-up. I felt that against the West Brom backline, we should have gone with a quicker front two and tried to get behind them. I would have dropped Chris Martin.

When the game eventually kicked off, the difference in physicality between the two teams was clear to see. It’s somethingI have been banging on about season after season and, despite three different managerial teams, we just don’t seem to address it. The match-up between the Baggies’ back three of Ajayi, Bartley and Clarke compared to Weimann, Wells and Martin was ridiculous and yet we still opted to play too many long balls.

The discontent from the stands during the game was tangible. I hate to hear our own fans chanting how poor (insert more colorful language) we are. Fans were clearly frustrated, and a minority turned on the team. I had felt we were starting to see Pearson shaping the side but in the last 10 days we have gone backwards and, again, I can’t see any identity or style of play. What I witnessed on Saturday was no better than I watched under the final games of Lee Johnson and the games under Dean Holden. I just can’t see the progress.