Life can be tough for newly promoted teams in the English Premier League.
Leicester City’s title-winning 2015-16 season was preceded by an equally iconic 2014-15 season, which put Leicester City to the litmus test. The Foxes were embroiled in a relegation battle around Christmas. But, much to the relief of their fans, they managed to stay afloat. Incidentally, the Foxes play West Brom in their first game away at the Hawthorns, without defenders Jonny Evans (suspended) and Chilwell (sold).
Sheffield United hit the ground running last year with an excellent run in the pre-COVID part of the season. Even though they finished 9th, their defensive record was the 4th best in the league.
Norwich, also promoted to the Premier League with Sheffield United, had a contrasting fortune. Norwich played some excellent football but could not capitalise on a good start to the season. As a result, Norwich finished the season at the bottom of the league and had identical numbers to show in the points table, compared to the teams that had finished last since 2014.
But let’s talk about West Bromwich Albion, a.k.a the Baggies. The last four times West Brom were promoted to the Premier League, their average position in the points table has been a lowly 14.5.
Will this season be any different?
Baggies will be looking at Slaven Bilic to change that stat.
Manager
Slaven Bilic is not a new face in the EPL, and you would think his experience of managing West Ham will only aid him in this campaign. Bilic’s West Ham had finished off particularly well in their first season. The Hammers finished 7th, and Slaven Bilic announced his arrival with an opening day triumph over Arsenal at the Emirates.
86 Premier League matches later in November 2017, Slaven Bilic had to leave West Ham following a series of bad results.
He can still take heart from the fact that he has an overall win percentage of 34% in the Premier League and managed a win percentage of 42% in his first year with the Hammers.
Chris Wilder managed a win percentage of 37% in the standout season for the Blades last year. Since their appointment early last season, in 21 games David Moyes and Carlo Ancelotti have a win percentage of 28% and 38%, respectively.
Goalkeeping
Sam Johnstone, the 27-year-old Baggies keeper, has never played a single English Premier League match before, but he is no rookie. Johnstone, who featured in 46 championship matches last season, belongs to the golden generation of footballers from the Manchester United Academy that included the likes of Pogba, Michael Keane, Tyler Blackett etc. After a series of loans (7) from Manchester United, Johnstone finally signed a permanent deal with the Baggies in 2018 and has since then been their keeper of choice. At 0.97 goal(s) conceded per match, Johnstone did slightly better than Kiko Casilla (Leeds) and Marek Rodak (Fulham), both of whom conceded a goal every game. His total saves (111) are also better than his colleagues from the promoted clubs.
Attack
West Brom’s attack last season was led by Charlie Austin and Hal Robson Kanu, used interchangeably. However, they were only able to score 21 goals between themselves. Charlie Austin has seen both highs and lows in the EPL. While playing for Queens Park Rangers in the 2014-15 season, he scored an impressive 18 goals and was in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot. However, as QPR struggled towards the end of the season, other contenders went past him. His stint at Southampton from 2015-2019 has been forgettable. His colleague Hal Robson Kanu has never had a breakthrough season in terms of goals but scored 10 vital goals last season.
Does Austin still have it in him to repeat his feat at QPR? Austin is touted to start against their first opponents Leicester City at their stadium The Hawthorns. This can just be the game where Austin reminds us of what he’s capable of. But in all fairness, this could really go either way.
Midfield
In midfield, few of their goals came from Matheus Pereira (8 goals) and Grady Diangana (8 goals), both young and promising players able to take on defenders. Interestingly, both Pereira and Grady have received praise from senior footballers. Mark Noble did not mince words when he expressed his anger at West Ham selling Grady Diangana to West Brom. There is speculation that since West Ham are in a tight spot, perhaps the sale was sanctioned for financial reasons.
Meanwhile, replying to a talkSPORT tweet, Charlie Austin heaped praise on Pereira and called him the best player in the Championship, and Pereira hailed him back.
Precisely the kind of camaraderie Bilic would be hoping for in the West Brom dressing room. Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore will play in the centre, trying to shield attacks and hoping to spread the ball upfront.
Defence
At the back, Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley are a solid duo and most likely to start every match in front of Sam Johnstone. Ajayi scored 5 delicious goals last season in the Championship, and Kyle Bartley bagged 2 goals and 2 assists in 38 appearances as centre-backs. However, it is to be seen if they can score against Premier League teams. West Brom have purchased 23-year-old centre-back Cedric Kipre from Wigan recently.
A young Irishman and academy player Dara O’Shea has impressed in 2020 and could be starting regularly at right-back. Bilic could play Ex-Arsenal Kieran Gibbs at the left-back position and eventually bring in Conor Townsend. With centre-back Ahmed Hegazi in the ranks and former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanović set to join West Brom, their defence could yet again be too good to break through for some premier league sides. The defence is quite reminiscent of the good old Tony Pulis sides.
Midfielders Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore (captain) are both holding midfielders and provide good cover to their already decent defence. Hence the burden to create chances will lie on the shoulders of dynamic youngsters Matheus Pereira (central) and Grady Diangana (left), with some support from Matt Philips (right). While a good defence can only get you a draw, much of West Brom’s victories will depend on the performances of these three attacking players.
As the first game against the Foxes is only hours away, here’s how they could line up:
Summary
Strength: Defence
Weakness: Inexperienced midfield
Player to watch out for: Matheus Pereira
Best Signing: Grady Diangana
Underrated: Romaine Sawyers
Expected finish: 15th to 17th
Will West Brom dare to think beyond survival this season?
Mihir Narvilkar 