West Bromwich Albion crashed out of the FA Cup away at Norwich City on Saturday evening, as Eric Ramsay is still left waiting for his first victory as Baggies boss.
It’s now been seven straight games for Ramsay since taking charge where he hasn’t picked up a win, with the Canaries eventually cruising to a 3-1 success over their fellow Championship side at Carrow Road.
Norwich got the appointment of Philippe Clement spot on when they were in a moment of crisis, as the Belgian has now spearheaded two convincing wins over the West Midlands outfit, since taking charge in November.
On the contrary, the ex-Minnesota United head coach looks like the wrong fit, completely, and he already seems to be on borrowed time in the dug-out, as he continues to fail to get a tune out of players at his disposal.
The main West Brom underperformers vs Norwich
Thankfully, Josh Maja would collect a goal in Norfolk to make sure the scoreline didn’t read like a pasting, as he picked up only his second goal of a difficult season.
Away from Maja, West Brom didn’t offer a whole lot in the forward areas, with new recruit Hindolo Mustapha lively in spells, but the Crystal Palace loanee could only muster up a weak 11 touches of the ball.
Moreover, fellow youngster Oliver Bostock would fail to be composed on the ball throughout, as seen in him giving away possession seven times, from just 20 touches.
The likes of Mustapha will have plenty more chances to impress for the Baggies, having suffered from a quiet debut, with the fingers also needing to be pointed at the senior individuals who struggled against the dominant hosts.
Daniel Imray, despite only being 22, should have fared better against Norwich, considering he has been loaned out before from parent employers Crystal Palace, with Imray in the defence again that has shipped three goals on their travels, much like Portsmouth away at the end of January.
More senior second-half additions such as Alex Mowatt, Isaac Price, and Jayson Molumby also failed to give the travelling side any bite or energy, with two late goals handing Ramsay his miserable fourth defeat already as manager.
There is one more first-team regular that keeps letting the side down that hasn’t been mentioned yet, who Ramsay must consider dropping, in order to save his skin.
The West Brom star who must now be dropped
It’s clear that, while the defence isn’t stringent enough at the Hawthorns at the moment, there are also grumbles to be had in the forward positions.
Across Ramsay’s dismal reign to date, only four goals have been put away, with Mikey Johnston looking like a shadow of his former vibrant West Brom self, since the rookie head coach was handed the reins.
It feels like an awfully long time ago now since Johnston was wreaking havoc in the Championship under the watchful eye of Carlos Corberan, with sumptuous solo strikes like the one hammered home against Coventry City once becoming his trademark.
He does have two goals and nine assists next to his name this season in second-tier action, but those numbers don’t really tell the full picture, with his last goal contribution for the sinking Baggies coming way back in late December, against Queens Park Rangers.
|
Johnston’s performance in numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Johnston |
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Touches |
42 |
|
Shots |
0 |
|
Accurate passes |
19/25 (76%) |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Accurate crosses |
0/6 |
|
Successful dribbles |
2/3 |
|
Possession lost |
16x |
|
Tackles won |
0/2 |
|
Total duels won |
4/9 |
Since collecting an assist in a 2-1 victory over QPR during the final days of Mason, Johnston has gone on a blank streak of ten straight clashes without coughing up a goal or assist, with his display against Norwich in the FA Cup sticking out as a particularly poor one.
Indeed, across his flat 90 minutes, the below-par number 11 would fail to float in a single accurate cross from six attempts, fail to muster up a single key pass and fail to amass a single successful tackle as a lifeless presence on the left wing.
To make matters worse, he would also give up possession 16 times, with West Brom fans crying out for so much more from a talent once lauded as “very special” by Corberan.
Ramsay could be pushed into dropping the underperforming Irishman when promotion-chasing Coventry City come to town next, with a lineup change perhaps inspiring a much-needed victory to get their league season back on track, after yet another blow was suffered in the FA Cup.
Ramsay can save his job by unleashing West Brom’s new Pereira over Price
Eric Ramsay could save his job by dropping Isaac Price to unleash West Brom’s next Matheus Pereira.
