Why Albion’s revival leaves a sour taste
DARREN MOORE spoke of the courage and determination of his West Brom’s players. He could not, however, explain why those qualities had been missing for the 32 matches prior to his caretaker tenure.
During 90 minutes at St James’ Park on Saturday and at Old Trafford two weeks ago — both 1-0 victories — this team made a mockery of their position at the bottom of the Premier League.
In truth, they have only made a mockery of themselves and the football club.
Eight points from four matches under Moore is as much as they achieved from 18 with Alan Pardew, sacked at the start of this month.
But why, with relegation all but confirmed and two managers having been axed, have the players suddenly turned it on? Surely professional pride should have kicked in long before their fate was as good as sealed, regardless of the man in charge?
Moore dared to suggest that there is a wonderful unity at the club. Really? West Brom have come to define disunited this season. That is why they will be playing in the Championship come August after eight years in the top flight.
Goalkeeper Ben Foster has called for Moore to get the job permanently. But what happens when this group get bored of his message, as they did with Tony Pulis at the start of the season? Pardew arrived in late November and they did not fancy him either. That much was evident when Foster said: ‘Darren has brought a lot more unity back to the team.
‘He knows what works with us and it’s a very simple kind of recipe. He’s just got us all working for each other. It’s about realising that we are all in it together, get behind each other and try and wish the best always for your team-mates.
‘The results speak for themselves. That’s why it’s harder to take now. We were in such a rut a few weeks ago that everything seemed inevitable, but now we’ve got a real sense of belief back amongst ourselves.’
A first-half strike from Matt Phillips ended Newcastle’s run of four straight home victories.
Without the motivation of survival, Rafa Benitez’s side reverted to the one which had struggled so badly in the first half of the season and they will almost certainly lose Leicester loanee Islam Slimani for the rest of the campaign after a blatant kick on Craig Dawson was missed by the officials.
With talks ongoing with owner Mike Ashley over his transfer budget, Benitez said: ‘This was a reminder that we have done a great job, but still we need to improve if we want to be stable in the Premier League.’
It was also a further reminder that West Brom should still be safe in the Premier League. And that their players need to take a look at themselves. NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1): Dubravka 6; Yedlin 6, Lejeune 6.5, Lascelles 6, Dummett 5.5 (Murphy 58, 5); Diame 6, Shelvey 6; Ritchie 6, Perez 6 (Joselu 78), Kenedy 6.5; Gayle 6 (Slimani 65, 4). Subs not used: Darlow, Clark, Hayden, Manquillo. Booked: Diame. Manager: Rafa Benitez 6. WEST BROM (4-4-1-1): Foster 7; Nyom 6, Dawson 6.5, HEGAZI 7.5, Gibbs 6; Phillips 7, Livermore 7, Brunt 7, McClean 6 (Evans 90); Rodriguez 5.5 (Krychowiak 77); Rondon 6.5 (Robson-Kanu 90). Subs not used: Myhill, Yacob, Sturridge, Burke. Scorer: Phillips 29. Booked: Livermore, Nyom, McClean. Manager: Darren Moore 7. Referee: David Coote 6. Attendance: 52,283.