Having initially topped the table with 16 points from their opening six, West Bromwich Albion fans will be disappointed to now find themselves below the play-off places, a first amid this campaign.
Being unbeaten in ten games is normally a good sign, but the Baggies have drew nine of them, causing concern among fans.
West Brom – Last ten matches (Championship)
Date
Fixture
Result
Score
League Position
30 Nov
Preston (A)
Draw
1-1
7th
26 Nov
Sunderland (A)
Draw
0-0
7th
23 Nov
Norwich (H)
Draw
2-2
6th
10 Nov
Hull (A)
Win
2-1
5th
7 Nov
Burnley (H)
Draw
0-0
5th
1 Nov
Luton (A)
Draw
1-1
6th
26 Oct
Cardiff (H)
Draw
0-0
5th
23 Oct
Blackburn (A)
Draw
0-0
4th
19 Oct
Oxford (A)
Draw
1-1
5th
5 Oct
Millwall (H)
Draw
0-0
4th
This near-unprecedented stretch of mediocrity has fuelled speculation that Baggies manager Carlos Corberan is under pressure for his job security, which would have seemed inconceivable just two months ago.
West Brom ‘definitely have to keep Carlos Corberan’
With a small minority already pushing for change, will Corberan’s failure to make the play-offs this season indicate that he has carried the club as far as he can?
Football League World has contacted our West Brom Fan Pundit Callum Burgess for his thoughts on the situation.
“It is absolutely a strange scenario at the moment, because when a manager is on this kind of run of form, only winning one in the last twelve games, it is certainly deserving of criticism.
“Fans have the right to criticise Carlos Corberan, but advocating for his dismissal is going too far and thinking too short-term.
“It’s easy to make excuses when you’ve only lost twice all season, and it’s understandable to be frustrated, but I believe we’re victims of our own success at the start of the season, when Albion were on a winning streak, playing good football, and were top of the league after beating Portsmouth.
“That, for me, raised the bar of expectation too soon for a season in which few Albion fans expected us to compete for the play-offs again. We expected it to be a mid-table struggle. Although it may easily turn into a grind, the season showed early hints of promise.
“We’ve fallen into the trap; seeing Albion win games at the start of the season may have gotten us a little overexcited, and seeing us fall back to that level will, of course, frustrate fans who now have higher expectations for the team.”
“You absolutely have to maintain Carlos Corberan; I doubt you’d be able to pay him off anyhow given the financial circumstances, but he’s one of the greatest managers in the Championship, and one terrible run of form doesn’t change that, despite any disappointments the players may have experienced.
“Whether it’s tactics, whether it’s results in general, if you’re suggesting that Albion can easily find someone out there who is better than Corberan, I’d very much like to know who that name would be, because I strongly disagree with the idea that we’d be better off without him.”
While the West Midlands team has struggled in the Autumn months, the shouts for Corberan’s dismissal appear to be limited to a vociferous minority of supporters.
West Brom meet league leaders Sheffield United on Sunday afternoon, with the Spanish boss hoping to secure a statement win at the Hawthorns.
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