Analysis: West Brom perfect until capitulation
A loss was expected at Bournemouth given how poorly Albion have performed since Alan Pardew took over as boss.
Pardew has won just one of his 17 Premier League games in charge of the Baggies.
They are now 10 points from safety and relegation to the Championship is a case of when, not if.
What was quite surprising, though, was the amount of fight shown by Albion’s players after an embarrassing 4-1 loss at home to Leicester the weekend prior. Indeed, they showed some signs of life at the Vitality Stadium.
And it was all going so well but, in keeping with the rest of this dismal campaign, the Baggies just could not see the job through.
Top scorer Jay Rodriguez coolly put away their first major chance of the afternoon, and the Cherries fans were frustrated.
It was the perfect away performance, on a very chilly afternoon, up until the the 78th minute, when Jordon Ibe’s long-ranger was flapped at by Ben Foster as the ball found the bottom corner. A rare mistake from the veteran goalkeeper.
Just prior to added time, a superbly-struck free-kick from Junior Stanislas completed the comeback.
Then, summing up these torrid times for Albion – although it probably would not have matter much in the grand scheme of things – substitute Matt Phillips had a header cleared off the line just before the final whistle, denying them a share of the spoils.
The Baggies made three changes to the side that started the embarrassing 4-1 loss to Leicester last weekend, and switched to a 3-5-2 formation.
Pardew insisted the selection of Grzegorz Krychowiak would not be influenced by the pair’s bust-up against the Foxes. The Polish midfielder was dropped to the bench, though. Wingers Oliver Burke and Phillips were too.
Skipper Jonny Evans, Claudio Yacob and Rodriguez were those who returned to the fold.
Albion did not have much possession in the early stages of the game, instead looking to release Rodriguez and Salomon Rondon with long balls over the top of the Cherries defence.
Bournemouth failed to make their large spells with the ball count. There were no major chances to speak of in the first half, but a rather bemusing incident.
Jake Livermore and Adam Smith slid in for the ball; Baggies free-kick; both players booked. Chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ were then directed towards referee Graham Scott.
Thankfully, things improved for Albion swiftly after the restart.
In the 49th minute, Rondon’s header presented Rodriguez with the ball, a few yards out, and he took a touch to set himself before firing in past Asmir Begovic. Very well worked.
Naturally, that strike further irritated the Cherries fans. The Baggies continued to see little of the ball, but looked solid.
Pardew made what he said afterwards was an enforced change with quarter of an hour to go as Evans, still feeling the effects of a virus, made way for Phillips. And, right after the switch, Bournemouth equalised as Ibe’s audacious attempt squeezed past Foster.
Then came the hammer blow, Stanislas’s free-kick flying into the top corner. This time, there was nothing Foster could do. The manner of the loss was very disappointing.
A lot of fans will not be too down, though, as, after all, it is what they thought would happen. Apathy reigns among Albion supporters, understandably so. This regime may go on until the end of the season, but surely not past that.
