West Brom must get Charlie Austin up to speed quickly or risk suffering from further problems
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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Brom were dominant in their 1-1 draw with Millwall on Saturday but ultimately in front of goal they looked rather lacklustre with the visitors scoring both goals in the game.
The Baggies, aided by a piece of misfortune on Alex Pearce’s part, took the lead just before the hour mark as the defender headed a Matt Phillips cross into his own net before striker Matt Smith slammed home an effort from close range which really could have been avoided.
Albion enjoyed 72.5% possession and heavily controlled the game but failed to really get going in forward areas.
The problem seemed to lie with £8m summer signing Kenneth Zohore failing to have much of an impact on the game – he recorded just 12 touches in his 57 minutes which was one less than his substitute Hal Robson-Kanu, who played just over half the time of the 25-year-old.
Zohore also fluffed the best chance of the game in what was his home debut – probably one to forget.
On the Chalkboard
The season is only two games deep but Albion are showing signs of encouragement – they look more cohesive and more organised but lack that cutting edge up top.
During spells last season, even when looking particularly poor, they’d be able to get by thanks to goals from the likes of Jay Rodriguez and Dwight Gayle, who netted 46 in total.
It’s been the absolute contrast of that so far this campaign but their solution could lie in £4m deadline day signing Charlie Austin.
Manager Slaven Bilic brought in four new names on deadline day but none were able to feature on Saturday. therefore the best of West Brom might be a couple of weeks away.
The Croatian will be hoping he can get the former Southampton striker up to speed as soon as possible – a particularly hard task given the lack of a pre-season he’s had on the south coast with Ralph Hasenhuttl seeming to freeze out the 30-year-old.
Thogden ranks all 24 Championship home kits in the video below…
Austin’s record in the Championship is impeccable having netted 66 goals in 129 appearances across spells with Burnley and Queens Park Rangers, where he became a playoff winner in 2014.
Zohore may well be Albion’s number nine for the time being but that won’t last long if this current level of performance continues.
Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup opener against the very same team they faced at the weekend, Millwall, presents an ideal opportunity to give Austin and the other signings much-needed game time.
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