Tony Pulis, mopping his brow after his side’s resounding victory over Chelsea in its final home game, declared himself ‘delighted’ at what he termed a ‘brilliant’ campaign for West Bromwich Albion.
On the face of it, it is hard to disagree with him.
Over the summer, Pulis rowed from the London Eye to the Eiffel Tower for charity. Likewise, his first half-season at the Hawthorns was a choppy voyage indeed.
The wizened Welshman inherited a sinking vessel, replete with misfiring summer signings and fresh from a run of seven defeats in nine games under Alan Irvine.
Pulis’ training ground exactions and emphasis on percentage play heralded the keeping of a much tighter ship; immediately so, as the Baggies kept five clean sheets in his first seven games in charge.
A combination of this new-found stability and Saido Berahino’s prolific form in front of goal kept them afloat and saw them sail to the relatively calm waters of 13th place.
West Brom can now look ahead to its sixth season in the top flight, the club’s longest unbroken stay at the highest level since the 1980s.
Still, West Brom can improve next season and ensure the lucrative Premier League loot remains in its war-chest for another campaign at least.
Retain discipline…
There is no doubt the Pulis formula, carved in defensive parsimony, is tried and tested. It did its job once more last term, yielding survival and in doing so, meeting its clear remit.
Crucial home wins against like-minded sides were facilitated by clean sheets. The Baggies beat Stoke, Swansea, Southampton and Hull at the Hawthorns, all by a 1-0 scoreline.
There were defiant displays on the road, as well, with gritty performances at Everton and even more so Manchester United, where they recorded a 1-0 win, sticking out in the memory.
The individual brilliance of Boaz Myhill in the final throes of the season played a significant part, and will be called upon again with first choice keeper Ben Foster ruled out until October.
Specialist full-backs Andre Wisdom and Sebastien Pocognoli, who floundered under Irvine, were put to shame by makeshift replacements Craig Dawson and Chris Brunt, locked and loaded by Pulis into his rigid defensive lattice.
Although Albion fans will be hankering for an evolution into a more enterprising approach, this must not be at the expense of the solid backbone that ran through each one of last term’s successes.
… but open up
The 3-0 victory over runaway champion Chelsea represents convincing evidence that there is more to this West Brom team than mere stoicism.
Such attacking verve was a rarity last term.
Only Sunderland (10.7) had fewer shots per game than it (10.8), as Albion managed just 13 goals from open play, with 19 coming from set piece situations – a league high.
Unlocking the mercurial talent of Stephane Sessegnon will be key to driving creativity.
When shipped out on the left flank in Pulis’ 4-4-2 he was ineffectual. To get the best out of the Beninese, he must be given creative licence in the number ten role.
The Baggies also completed the lowest average number of dribbles (6.3). Therefore, adding pace and incision in the transfer market should be a priority. Callum McManaman arrived in January but was hampered by injuries. James McClean is a step in the right direction, while rumours linking Albion with Nottingham Forest’s Michail Antonio and QPR’s Matt Phillips bode well.
In order to relieve pressure from the young shoulders of Berahino, Albion must garner greater attacking contributions from elsewhere on the field.
Take the pressure off Berahino
Only Charlie Austin (43%) and Christian Benteke (42%) scored a higher proportion of their team’s Premier League goals than Saido Berahino (37%).
This points to a worrying over-reliance on the 21-year-old.
He has been subject to enough scrutiny already, splitting with his agent this week after he took Aidy Ward’s ‘expert’ advice to declare his intentions to move to a “bigger club”.
Pulis expressed his worries that Berahino would burn out, and he picked up an injury before the Under-21 Euros that ruled him out for the duration of England’s short stay in the Czech Republic.
After his breakout season, Albion cannot assume to pin their hopes on the striker digging them out of trouble once again.
Either, one of their existing, misfiring cohort must step up or they must invest heavily in firepower.
Victor Anichebe is a frustrating figure, despite promising moments in tandem with Berahino. They seem to have given up on record signing Brown Ideye.
After missing out on Andre-Pierre Gignac and Demba Ba, Austin is the next target. Whether it is the QPR hitman or not, West Brom will have to bring in a top quality striker to avoid another season of struggle.
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