Baggies need confidence boost

Monday, 07/11/2011

by Dave Wedgbury, Shoot's West Brom blogger

There was little positive to say about Albion’s 3-0 defeat at Arsenal. whereas last season we attempted to play football against Arsenal and came out on top, this season we seemed content to avoid defeat rather than have a go at the opposition.

Not many teams can go to the better Premier League teams with the philosophy of keeping a clean sheet and hoping to come away with a positive result.

I know we failed to score against Liverpool last week and have again looked toothless in front of goal on Saturday. With Long and Odemwingie missing it was left to Simon Cox to provide the goals, sadly this failed, but a striker is only as good as the service provided, and again our focus is so preoccupied with defending that our forwards are feeding off crumbs. In my opinion there are players who are going missing when the going gets tough.

Albion fans appear to be split over recent performances and more so on the way that our great club should be attempting to play, we have seen the discipline and hard work of Megson’s West Brom and in contrast have enjoyed the attacking flair and neat and tidy football under Mowbray, both have been found wanting when it comes to finding the perfect combination of rigidity, discipline and flair.

My concern this year is that we have something that both of the managers mentioned didn’t really have, the players at their disposal to make an impact in the Premier League. This year Hodgson does have those players and showed last season that we can match teams in this division.

Having the players available is not the same as actually utilising them into a system and then selecting the best eleven for each match. We have the players at the club but there are not too many of them playing at their optimum level.

Wingers who are reluctant to attack, creative midfielders who do not create and forwards who rarely get a chance in front of goal. In my opinion, something is not really working at the moment and Roy needs to use the international break to solve this lack of confidence and cohesion.

Call me old fashioned but when a team is not performing, I look to a leader on the pitch, there is little the manager can do to rally players during play but the captain can. I have memories of Bryan Robson leading by example, Terry Butcher giving everything for the cause, Tony Adams leading by example and the great John Wile in that semi final against Ipswich.

At the moment Chris Brunt wears the armband but for me he doesn’t seem to be a player who lifts the players around him, whether a player needs encouraging or a kick up the backside. A captain should be a player who can do this and get the correct reaction.

I feel Brunt doesn’t offer this and isn’t at present playing as good as Albion fans know he is capable of. Again whether this is due to Roy’s tactics or just a dip in form, but maybe taking away the burden of the armband may give him the lift to perform to the level we desperately require. We need him to create chances and start moving us up the table.

There were a few fans who were concerned at our lack of transfer activity at the start of the season and now that reluctance to bring in more players, especially up front looks a poor one. With our only transfer purchase Shane Long injured and last season’s hotshot Odemwingie losing form and also having injury concerns, we lack real quality in attack.

Cox offers endless running and hard work and can score but in this division doesn’t quite have the impact of the Odemwingie. Our other back up options look fairly weak and although we have a few up and coming youngsters at the club, at this level we need players who are ready now.

Will we come to rue the lack of funds given to the manager and once again find that the board do not have the same level of expectation as the fans? Or will we come to regret the lack of invention and flair being played on the pitch by our manager? Or will the experienced Roy Hodgson prove to be right and we see that defence is the key to survival in this league?

Time will tell, but I do miss the good old days when the ball was passed with ease around the Hawthorns by the men in blue and white stripes with creativity and accuracy, will we see this return, my feelings are that not under Roy. Safety and defence will always be a priority for Roy.

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