
Stats show Kyle Bartley could be dropped
West Bromwich Albion came back from 1-0 down to pick up a point against Burnley on Friday, scoring a late equaliser courtesy of new-boy Brandon Thomas-Asante.
Steve Bruce won’t be happy with the overall performance as a lot of players let him down at the Hawthorns – Kyle Bartley being one of them. The 31-year-old didn’t lay a finger on Burnley and ended up being hooked in the second half as a result.
Bartley started alongside Dara O’Shea at centre-back as Semi Ajayi was out of action and didn’t convince Bruce that he deserves to keep his place when West Brom travel to face Coventry City on Saturday, September 10.
He lost his man in the build up to Burnley’s opener and committed more fouls than any Albion defender. Joseph Chapman of Birmingham Live gave Bartley a player rating of 4/10 and was critical of his role in Burnley’s goal. Chapman also said Nathan Tella gave him problems all game until he came off.
Against Burnley, Bartley played for 69 minutes, had 47 touches, won one aerial duel, completed 78.1% of his 41 passes, failed to make a tackle, had one interception, failed to make a clearance, gave away two fouls and had two shots.
The 31-year-old needs to prove his worth against Coventry next week otherwise his place in the side might be up for grabs.
In other news, could Reyes Cleary join West Brom’s first-team soon?