Boing boing? More like boring boring

Boos rang around The Hawthorns on Sunday after West Bromwich Albion could only manage a goalless draw against newly promoted Middlesbrough, in what was Albion’s first Premier League home game of the season.

The boos were certainly not aimed at the players individually, we can’t complain about their passion and endeavour, it was more a sign of defiance against the negative tactics, and lack of ambition, shown by the management team.

This wasn’t a Manchester City, Chelsea or even Arsenal, it was Middlesbrough. Fans were crying out for some attacking intent, a sign to show that we can go and win the games we need to at home, but Tony Pulis seems content to settle for a clean sheet. As a fan, that fills me with despair.

West Brom’s game plan at the moment is, if we score from a set piece then great but if not, then don’t concede. The worrying thing is, There’s no plan B. If we concede first, we haven’t got the quality to chase the game and aren’t set up tactically to put pressure on our opponents.

I know some will say, ‘well at least we won’t go down’, but are you really content with achieving the bare minimum? Do you honestly enjoy watching us play? I refuse to believe that we can’t play decent, positive football whilst also surviving relegation.

Bournemouth, Swansea, Leicester and Southampton are just a few examples of teams that have been promoted within the last six years, who’ve achieved great success playing a positive style of football.

I’m not asking us to play tiki-taka, I just want to enjoy watching my football team. What is the point of us being in the Premier League, if I don’t enjoy even watching us play?

With a new owner in place, fans clearly not happy and just one win in 12 league games, Tony Pulis is certainly a man under pressure.

Whilst the result and performance was mostly negative, there were a few positive things to come out of Sunday’s game, most notably, the performance of 18 year-old Sam Field.

The youngster looked truly at home in central midfield, composed and comfortable on the ball, his touch and passing with both feet was genuinely impressive. Hopefully he’s able to hold down a permanent place in the squad.

Another positive was home debutant Brendan Galloway, who had a strong game at left-back, overlapping and going forward a number of times (I know, I couldn’t believe it either!). He did make a few mistakes towards the end of the game, but overall it looks like he’ll be a positive addition to our squad.

Seeing Jonny Evans at centre-back was also a welcome change, having been deployed at left-back recently, he showed his class and had a strong game in his favoured position.

There’s even been some exciting activity in the transfer market over the last few days, with Belgian attacking midfielder Nacer Chadli joining from Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee of around £13m, whilst a fee of around £15m has also been agreed for Malaga’s defensive midfielder Ignacio Camacho, who should have a medical within 48 hours.

Nacer Chadli is just the kind of player I’ve been praying for, able to dribble, pick a pass and score vital goals. Spanish international Camacho is more of a Yacob type tenacious midfielder, whilst also being able to recycle possession from deep.

They will certainly be an upgrade on what we have and will give our squad that much needed quality boost. It looks like thats two down Tony, just three more to go before the deadline!

Player ratings:

Foster (6), Dawson (6), McAuley (6), Evans (7), Galloway (7), Phillips (6), Yacob (5), Fletcher (5), Field (7), McClean (5), Rondon (6).