Corb blimey – it’s same old story for new boss Carlos
COME in No.5 and see what you can do with this lot.
Carlos Corberan, West Brom’s fifth permanent manager in less than two years, now knows exactly how his predecessors felt.
Albion are still short on quality and desperately need an injection of confidence from somewhere.
Sheffield United’s mini-crisis, meanwhile, is surely over after this comfortable win thanks to goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie.
Corberan, the replacement for Steve Bruce, was not dodging any issues after his first game in charge.
He said: “I think the game today shows the challenges we face. We need to face the difficulties of conceding early goals. We need to win games and improve situations to help us.
“If we defend better, we have more success to win games. If we attack well, we have more chances to win games. We need to find this solution.
“Any goal we concede will be a negative, regardless if it’s in the first 15 minutes. But in the first half because of the feeling the players have, to change the situation created a level of anxiety, which made us defend worse.”
Corberan’s pre-match planning came apart at the seams inside 11 minutes when Tommy Boyd popped a pass to George Baldock, who controlled the ball and set up Ndiaye to score.
It was one of those days for Ndiaye, who picked out a perfect pass to set up McBurnie, who finished with aplomb 12 minutes later.
The sighs around The Hawthorns said it all. By half-time they had been upgraded to boos – and again at the end. Situation normal then. Sacked former boss Bruce might have allowed himself the smallest of smiles.
Corberan has a heck of a job on his hands, first winning a relegation battle and then supposedly bringing back the good old days of the Premier League sooner rather than later.
He will be counting down to the World Cup break and possibly some January incomers to set the scene for a rescue act. In the meantime, the Spaniard must soldier on and hope things improve.
Opposite number Paul Heckingbottom can point to staying patient after six matches without a win and no clean sheets in that spell.
His defenders were not really troubled, the most dangerous moment coming when Jayson Molumby forced a save from Adam Davies.
Ndiaye was outstanding, but so was McBurnie and the goals were team strikes.
Heckingbottom said: “There was a lot to be pleased with.
“I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was dominant but I was pleased.
“We have won two-nil away from home, which gives it a different feel.”
WEST BROM: Palmer 6; Furlong 6, O’Shea 6, Pieters 6; Phillips 6, Livermore 6 (Swift (58) 5), GardnerHickman 6 (Thomas-Asante (85) 5), Townsend 6 (Reach (75) 5); Wallace 5 (Molumby (58) 6), Diangana 6; Grant 5 SHEFF UTD: Davies 7; Ahnedhodzic 6, Egan 6, Basham 7 (Stevens (85) 5); Baldock 7 (Robinson (75) 5) Doyle 7, Norwood 6, Fleck 6 (Brewster (64) 2) (Sharp (75) 5), Osborn 6; Ndiaye 8; McBurnie 8
STAR MAN: Iliman Ndiaye – Always a thorn in the side of West Brom and involved in both goals.
REF: Dean Whitestone 7