West Brom: Tony Mowbray simply must stop this tactic involving Adam Armstrong | OneFootball

Tony Mowbray’s persistence in playing Adam Armstrong on the left flank isn’t getting the best out of his goalscoring talent.

West Brom succumbed to a 15th draw of the Championship season after a 1-1 blank at Millwall last weekend.

The Baggies have endured a mixed bag of form since Tony Mowbray returned to The Hawthorns to replace Carlos Corberan, recording victories over Portsmouth and Sheffield Wednesday but suffering defeats at the hands of Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough.

More consistency will be required to get Albion over the line for a play-off place, but the Baggies certainly possess a squad well-equipped enough to challenge for a spot back in the Premier League.

West Brom have been attempting to transition to a more front-footed approach under Mowbray, navigating away from the previous pragmatic football witnessed under Corberan, but a dip in form has occurred as a result of this.

Mowbray hasn’t been totally blameless in this run either, with some of his tactics used in his opening six games head scratching for some of the Albion faithful.

One of those has been having Adam Armstrong occupying the left wing in a blue and white shirt, and this particular move should come to an abrupt end if West Brom are to remain in promotion contention.

Tony Mowbray’s use of Adam Armstrong

Reuters

The first sign of Armstrong being used as a wide option came against Blackburn Rovers, when Mowbray elected to throw Tottenham loanee Will Lankshear on in an attempt to reduce the deficit.

Armstrong proved to be largely ineffective when pushed out wide, struggling to link up with his teammates and have any clear-cut chances to add to his goal tally with Albion.

Mowbray continued to persevere with this setup at Millwall on the weekend, this time starting Lankshear through the middle and having the 28-year-old occupy the usual role of Mikey Johnston.

Despite wasting an opportunity inside the opening minute, Armstrong didn’t grow into the game at all, mustering only two shots all afternoon and recording just 26 touches.

An xG of 0.12 is not what is expected of someone so prolific at this level, which is surely an indication to Mowbray that he must get Armstrong back to playing in a central position.

Tony Mowbray must stop tactic to get the best out of Adam Armstrong

With Adam Armstrong producing such dismal numbers out on the left wing, Tony Mowbray must come to his senses and shift the frontman back into the number nine role, with the former Blackburn man the most clinical asset in the West Brom squad when presented with a chance.

It doesn’t make much sense for Armstrong to be playing wide when Albion already possess two talented left-sided options in Mikey Johnston and Karlan Grant, with a drop-off in minutes likely to affect the confidence of the pair moving forward too.

An option for the 61-year-old to use would be to play Armstrong and Lankshear together in a front two, with the latter providing the much-needed physicality and aerial presence, while Armstrong can benefit from Lankshear’s service as a poacher to net on a regular basis.

A system like this would also benefit Johnston and Tom Fellows to get back into the team and provide alternative service from out wide, like they have produced for the majority of this season.