Just when it seemed as though West Bromwich Albion was headed straight for the relegation zone, the team made one important change at the manager position and suddenly it seemed they were a much different team the rest of the way. West Brom rallied down the stretch and managed to only narrowly avoid that fate. While they still have a long way to go, there were plenty of positives to take from the year. Here are the four most important ones.
Pulis Is The Man For The Job
The key turning point in West Brom’s season came on December 29th when the club replaced Alan Irvine with Tony Pulis as manager. Happy New Year, Alan, you’re fired!
The team looked a lot more comfortable and capable under Pulis and they picked up 27 points over the final 19 games to finish nine points ahead of Hull City for 18th place. Not only did they do well enough to avoid relegation, they finished just three points back of Everton and West Ham United for the 11th-most points in the table.
If you extrapolate West Brom’s record under Irvine for the course of the entire season, one could hypothesize that the Baggies would have finished with a paltry 34 points and be relegated. If you did the same thing for the team’s record under Pulis then they would have finished with 54 points to match Stoke City for the ninth-most in the Premier League. There is no doubt about the upgrade the team made at the position and that Pulis is the right man for the job moving forward to next season.
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West Brom Needs To Reload Up Front
Saldo Berahino was a star at West Brom last season but he could be even better if he has more support up front. He was the key offensive weapon on this team but they still only finished with 38 goals on the season. Only four other teams in the EPL finished with so few.
The problem is that the Baggies don’t have a ton of money to spend, so finding a capable partner for him won’t be easy. Charlie Austin would be ideal but he will be the top prize for one of the true Premier League title contenders. West Brom will be out on the bigger names like Austin, so they’ll have to settle on some other decent options that are on the market and are more affordable. The good news is that Berahino was solid for them a year ago and with a more complete approach under Pulis, he truly looked like a No. 1 striker up front.
Foster Needs To Be Replaced
Ben Foster’s status (major knee surgery) leaves West Brom in need of a goalkeeper for at least the first half of the season. The terrible injury happened in March, so they are hoping to have him back around October. Regardless, they need some assistance while he’s out. They could choose to explore the loan route in order to temporarily fill the gap. West Brom was decent in the back end for the most part but the Foster injury could turn this area into a weakness.
One name that has come up this summer is Arsenal’s Wojceich Szczesny and he could be the perfect fit for both sides with the chance to fill the role with Foster out while also boosting his value for a sale in 2016.
Hopes Remain Modest For Next Season
It’s understandable why Baggies fans wouldn’t be happy about the fact that even though they rallied down the stretch this year, they still couldn’t finish in the upper half of the table. The bottom line is that it’s hard to get excited about your team when they barely staved off relegation and are projected as a mid-tier team for next season once again. The good news is that West Brom should be able to steer clear of the relegation zone.
