Hal Robson-Kanu offers frank verdict of West Brom’s current situation amid speculation surrounding Steve Bruce | OneFootball

Hal Robson-Kanu has offered his verdict on West Brom’s current poor run of form amid speculation surrounding the future of Steve Bruce.

Football League World exclusively revealed earlier this week that the pressure is growing on the 61-year old after the 3-2 loss to Swansea City.

Since then, the Baggies have gone on to lose 1-0 to Preston North End on Wednesday evening.

This has led to a lengthy Twitter thread from the former forward, who has analysed the situation at the Hawthorns having previously played for Albion.

The Welshman has claimed that the cause for West Brom’s recent woes stems from a far bigger issue than the manager or the players.

He has turned his attention to the owners, blaming them for poor decision making and a poor use of resources.

The dismissal of Slaven Bilic following the team’s 1-1 draw to Man City in December 2020 has been highlighted as a key moment for the club’s current trajectory.

“@WBA slumped to another defeat, having won 1 game in 12 league games so far this season, falling into the relegation zone,” wrote Robson-Kanu, via Twitter.

“Fans have been calling for the manager to be sacked, and calling out the players – but feel like they aren’t being listened to.

“I agree with them. But in a situation like this, we need to zoom out to understand the true nature of the accountability period.

“Let’s remove emotion and incorporate a 360-degree view to identify the root issues.

“18 months ago the team were relegated from the @premierleague.

“The owners decided to sack a manager who had delivered success (and $$$) to the club, hours after a 1-1 draw with then champions @ManCity.

Quiz: Did West Brom win, draw or lose the last time they played at these 18 stadiums?

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“Such an early change had removed any momentum that the group of players had.

“The season continued under new management, traction wasn’t achieved and relegation followed.

“Following relegation, the owners decided that investment into the team wasn’t required.

“Key players were lost (without replacing them with significant signings) with money diverted away from the pitch and the fans.

“Now the club sits in the bottom 3 of the Championship in October, with a group of players, coaches, and a manager who are giving their all.

“But the root cause and the value driver for change isn’t down to any of them.

“Success or failure always starts at the top, and so should accountability.”

It remains to be seen whether Bruce’s position is truly under threat following the defeat to Preston, but that result does leave the club 22nd in the Championship table after 12 games.

Up next for Bruce’s side is the visit of Luton Town on 8 October.

The Verdict

The owners have clearly done a poor job in maintaining West Brom in recent years.

That decision to sack Bilic was a strange one at the time, but hindsight has proven it to be an extremely poor call as Sam Allardyce failed to turn things around as his replacement.

The arrival of Bruce was another underwhelming appointment who has failed to deliver the results expected of him.

While a change in manager won’t be the silver bullet to turn everything around, this squad is still capable of much better and a change in head coach could help to shift the tide in West Brom’s favour.