West Brom blog: It's Chris Brunt time
Chris Brunt has been frozen out in recent weeks and Albion have missed his presence on the pitch, writes Baggies blogger Nathan Carr.
The 2-2 draw with Watford was his last appearance as the Northern Irishman has played in just five of the 11 league games.
His absence has been noticeable.
Sure, Brunt does have his deficiencies. But something he is very good at is dead ball deliveries.
Under Tony Pulis we’ve been a team who have thrived off set-pieces but that has dried up and that’s partly down to Brunt not playing.
Just look back to the opening day of the season – Brunt whipped in the free-kick and Ahmed Hegazi headed home against Bournemouth.
The 32-year-old has consistently racked up assists season after season under a variety of different managers, from Tony Mowbray to Roy Hodgson to Pulis.
What he’s also good at is staying calm and composed in possession and clipping those through balls over the top to stretch the opposition defence. We’ve missed that at times this season.
To be honest I never really saw Brunt as a left-back anyway. Further up out wide on the left, he can better use his strengths of crossing and passing.
Besides, I wouldn’t want to drop Kieran Gibbs at left-back as I feel he’s been one of our standout performers so far this campaign.
With Nacer Chadli ruled out for the foreseeable future with a thigh injury, Saturday’s match against Chelsea could well signal the return of Brunt to the starting lineup.
Not instead of Gibbs, but in front of him, where he can pose more of a threat.
