West Bromwich Albion Fan View: Tottenham mauling highlights the need for reinforcements

Recent history suggested that things looked good for West Brom heading into the game against Tottenham, unbeaten in their last four at White Hart Lane and had won their last two fixtures in the Premier League. On paper though, things couldn’t be different.

The Baggies went into the game with some notable absentees, crucial defender Jonny Evans was still out with an injury, while full-back Allan Nyom was still out due to some FIFA red-tape, after his withdrawal from the African Cup of Nations.

We started the game with Chris Brunt at left-back and Jonas Olsson at centre-back, which set off alarm bells straight away.

And so it proved, Spurs were excellent on the day, and we weren’t. It could have possibly been more than four goals in the end, if not for the heroics of goalkeeper Ben Foster.

What this result showed, is that when we have one or two injuries or suspensions, it has a massive impact on our ability to be competitive in the Premier League.

If Jonny Evans is injured, as he was on Saturday, we have to rely on 33-year-old Jonas Olsson, we have no other senior central defender. I know we have Craig Dawson who can also play there, but who’s going to cover at right-back if Nyom is injured/suspended?

I’ve been a big fan of Olsson since he has been at the club, when he was brought in under Tony Mowbray, he was an old fashioned defender but was able to play defence splitting passes with great accuracy, starting attacking moves.

In recent years however, his form and ability has plummeted, especially this season. He looks a complete liability at the back, and I’ve witnessed him kicking the ball straight back to the opposition for no apparent reason so many times that I have genuinely lost count.

In midfield, as I’ve mentioned previously, we only have Sam Field as a defensive midfield placement, while upfront, Rondon only has Hal Robson-Kanu as competition.

I’m quite happy with our first choice 11, but beyond that there is work to be done, we need a full-back, centre-back, central midfielder and striker, for our squad to be strong enough to maintain our position in the Premier League.