Football League World
·18 September 2021
Football League World
·18 September 2021
West Brom have made a strong start to the new Championship campaign, accumulating 15 points from their opening seven games.
It is a points tally that sees them occupy third place in the second-tier standings, and they are just one of three teams in the entire EFL to remain unbeaten during the 2021/22 campaign.
Defensively speaking, The Baggies have only conceded six in their opening seven, a figure only bettered by Coventry City and Fulham.
Going forward, it is equally as positive for Valerien Ismael’s men, with only Fulham and QPR scoring more than their 13.
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However, the Frenchman insists that his team will see more rewards this season if they improve when in possession
“When I came here I said we want to be the top team in three areas,” he told the Shropshire Star. “We want to be top out of possession – we are top out of possession.
“We want to be top on set-pieces – we are top on set-pieces.
“And in possession – this is the area we can improve and where we have to improve to be a complete team.
“I think everything is normal at the minute for this stage of the season, but we do need to improve in some areas.”
The verdict
That is certainly a fair assessment from Ismael, but it is also no surprise to see why they may not dominate the possession statistics.
The dynamic and energetic front three players are all forwards who look to cause problems on the shoulder of the last man, and with the ability that players like Alex Mowatt, Matt Clarke, and Jake Livermore possess, they almost instantaneously try and find the ball in behind.
The fact that they only play with two central midfielders perhaps also hinders their ability to keep possession for long spells.
Some regard possession as being a big indication of dominance in a game, but how they work out of possession and what they do when they have it, outweighs the need to boast a large percentage of possession.