da supremo： West Brom seem to have had another ‘meh’ season.
da apostaganha： Whilst some of the league’s newly promoted sides have shone and outreached expectations, the Baggies have somewhat limped towards the finish line in another campaign some of their fans are brandishing as ‘just a little underwhelming’.
There aren’t many fans, managers or players that dislike the club and they always seem to get along okay – usually ploughing along until the end of the season in an attempt to simply avoid relegation.
But whilst remaining in the Premier League is key for a side like West Brom, one must wonder whether this is as lofty as their ambitions will ever get. The Leicester City story this season has been utterly inspirational and really does prove that anyone can do it with hard work, team spirit and a thoroughly solid squad. At the start of the season it wouldn’t have been silly to have suggested that the Midlanders and Foxes would have finished in similar parts of the table come the end of the campaign.
Obviously, if everyone thought Leicester were going to win the league, it would have been far less exciting, but once upon a time it was as far-fetched an idea as you could possibly come up with. So with two sides sitting at complete opposite ends of the Premier League spectrum, what can West Brom do to avoid becoming another ‘nothing’ Premier League team?
Investment has to be up there. We’ve seen the impact the multi-billion pound television deal has had on the game and with that, West Brom were able to bring in players like Saloman Rondon – who cost in the region of £15million. But they can’t stop there and sit on that. With this summer comes another chance to recruit solidly and build upon a side that hasn’t won since the beginning of March.
Scouting needs to remain an important part of Tony Pulis’ network. We’ve seen some of the best signings of the season come from lower league/less established clubs, and, sorry to go back to them, Leicester City are the example. The work done by N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez has played a big part in their seemingly imminent title glory, and there’s even an argument to add January signing Demarai Gray to their list of stunning signings. Whilst he hasn’t been a standout player he’s had a big part to play coming towards the end of the season, and it is these signings that have set the Foxes apart.
Of course, the most important thing next season is for the Baggies to stay up, but to do it in such a way that shows they deserve their place in this league. Yes, they have their ‘boing-boing’ reputation, but I’m sure West Brom fans would love to see a top eight finish with a squad that has fought week-in, week-out.
Tony Pulis was brought into do a job, but it’s been questioned whether that is simply enough anymore. I think the Leicester story will prove the ‘minnows’ in the league can compete, but that only puts pressure on their players and management here on in.
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