West Bromwich is currently the surprise team of the Premier League. The Baggies already secured third in the table just behind Manchester United and Manchester City. West Brom manager Steve Clarke has led Albion to their best league start since 1980.
In 13 Premier League games, the Baggies only lost 3 times – away against Fulham (0:3) and Newcastle (2:1) and at home against City (1:2). However, West Brom is playing one of the best seasons in club history and sits currently in front teams that spent millions on their squad such as Chelsea and Arsenal in the table. Currently, they are on a run, having won 4 games in a row against Southampton (2:0), Wigan (1:2), Chelsea (2:1) and Sunderland (2:4). At home at The Hawthorns, the Baggies are a powerhouse having won 6 and only lost 1. However, on the road, West Brom needs to improve. That’s where they leave important points. So far, they have won 2, drew 2 and lost 2 on the road. So, there is ways to improve.
Steve Clarke, who joined the club at the beginning of the season, however is realistic. The former Liverpool assistant manager said:” “We’ve earned every point we’ve got. You could even say we’ve been unlucky not to get more points in some games. It’s been a solid start and we’ve deserved everything we’ve got. We’re third and we deserve to be there. But we won’t get carried away. We don’t think that, because we’re up there, we’re big-time Charlies. We’ll stay grounded and just keep working. But as I’ve said to the players, it could be a good season for us.” The primary target until the end of January is 40 points. If we can get 40 points before the end of January, we can reassess things. But the first target is a sensible one and one we will try to deal with.”
Captain Chris Brunt, Shane Long and Gera are certainly the main pillars in the West Brom squad and leading the team from game to game. Shane Long has appeared in every single game this season and scored 7 goals so far. Gera came back from a tough injury and scored a 25-yard stunner against Sunderland. However, the upcoming December will be tough as West Brom will face Swansea, Stoke, Arsenal, West Ham, Norwich, QPR and Manchester United in only 5 weeks.
