Pulis must pursue a playmaker
The fact that West Brom play more games at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon than any other Premier League team is a source of great annoyance for Baggies fans. Especially after Aston Villa’s relegation, The Baggies will feature in televised matches less often than anyone else. However, there is a very good reason for this; West Brom are boring.
Results so far this season may look encouraging on paper, with the Albion currently sitting in the top half of the table, but the way they actually go about playing the game could be used as a cure for insomnia. Anyone trying to predict the outcome of West Brom’s games wouldn’t go far wrong if they went for 0-0 almost every week. Most media outlets predicted a borefest in last week’s game with fellow strugglers Sunderland and even though the game finished 1-1, it wasn’t the most electrifying contest to watch.
The experienced Welsh manager has never been one to play particularly expansive football. He was removed from his position at Stoke precisely for that reason, with the hierarchy at the Britannia looking to play in a more attractive way.
You can’t deny he is a very good defensive manager, but Pulis hasn’t helped his own cause by trying to fit as many central defenders into his team as possible. Craig Dawson has proved an able deputy at right back, but playing the likes of Jonny Evans and the now departed James Chester frequently on the left side of their defensive four last season, was a stereotypically cautious Pulis tactic.
Tony Pulis’ side are well known for their defensive solidity, but when they do gain a modicum of possession, they struggle to create chances. To counteract this void of creativity, they play extremely direct football, hoping Salomon Rondon can get his head on the ball and cause some problems.
The addition of a youthful, positive left back, in the form of Brendan Galloway, has helped somewhat this season, but they still severely lack creativity in central midfield. Darren Fletcher is more of a box-to-box midfielder and Claudio Yacob is an accident waiting to happen.
Young Sam Field has been given a run in the number ten position and has looked neat and tidy on the ball, but if Pulis’ team really wants to start moving forward, they need a tried and tested creative spark.
Looking down into the Championship for inspiration could be the way to go. Norwich’s Wes Hoolahan or Jonny Howson, even Derby’s Will Hughes would make excellent creative additions to the Albion central midfield, but whether Pulis is capable of adapting his tactics to fit in a player of such flair is highly debateable.