West Bromwich Albion currently sit 5th in the Championship table on 20 points after 12 games played. Despite winning four of the first five games this season, the Baggies have hit a roadblock when it comes to winning games. Let's take a deep dive into what might have caused this.
- Have West Brom become too predictable?
Corberan's side are yet to change formation this season, with passages of play being very dependant on playing out from the back as well as wing play. At the start of the 2024-2025 campaign, West Brom saw flurries of goals come from Josh Maja. The Nigerian was commonly assisted by youngster Tom Fellows.
It seems as though Fellows' signature step-over and cross into the opposition's penalty area was quickly recognised by all fullbacks in the Championship. The Englishman has not registered an assist since the end of September in a 3-2 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday. Fellows has found it difficult to perform against low-block teams such as Millwall, where he only managed to create one big chance.
- Substitutions.
The Baggies frequently start games on the upper-hand, playing attacking football and dominating possession. However, as the game progresses, the intensity slows down which invites the opposition on to cause problems for West Brom.
Corberan has seemed somewhat hesitant to make a substitution early on, and usually likes to wait to make a substitution. However, the substitions that the Spaniard makes for his side is very often like-for-like. Should the Albion's boss take the risk of changing formation late game to bring on more attackers? The record of goals scored in recent weeks suggests so.
- The summer transfer window.
There were many departures during the summer for the Baggies as the club failed to gain promotion back to the Premier League via the playoffs. West Brom saw the likes of Brandon Thomas-Asante, Okay Yokuslu and Connor Townsend all leave who were all key players in the push for promotion in last year's campaign. Moreover, assistant coach Michael Hefele also departed the club.
