This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Brom will have to wait until Monday to see if they still hold sole possession of the Championship lead, but given that the five teams below them all play before the Baggies, they could go into the Stoke City game needing a result.
Slaven Bilic will undoubtedly be looking for improvements after his side failed to pick up a victory last week – they needed a comeback to salvage a point against basement boys Barnsley before Charlton Athletic snatched a draw of their own late at the death.
The Croatian can aid his team’s chances by making a simple switch, one that, in reality, has been a long time coming.
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On the Chalkboard
Charlie Austin’s woes in front of goal continued, which won’t have helped their cause in either stalemate one bit. It’s now just the one goal in ten league appearances, which for a £4m summer signing is abysmal.
Meanwhile, Hal Robson-Kanu has doubled the former Southampton striker’s tally in just three matches – 70 minutes to be precise.
It’s time to hand the Welshman a start over his fellow 30-year-old, not just because he’s showing better form, but he’s also a better fit for the way Bilic wants his team to play.
The majority of Austin’s goals have been from inside the area throughout his career, per Understat’s xG model, yet much of the football under the 51-year-old is with the ball on the ground.
Albion rank third in the league for possession percentage per game at 54.5%, so the summer signing is having to drop deeper to claim the ball as seen in his WhoScored heatmap below from the Charlton game. He’s all over the place.
He doesn’t even look like scoring either. Robson-Kanu is currently building up some excellent form, so it is time to allow an opportunity to start.
The 30-year-old also records less unsuccessful touches (1.3) than Austin (1.9), which will only benefit Bilic’s system as they will retain possession of the ball rather than lose it.
We mastered the trick in the video below in 8 attempts… could you do better?
And as the Express & Star explain in their post-match ratings from the QPR victory, Robson-Kanu’s movement is all that more impressive.
Austin is quickly becoming a flop at the Hawthorns, and this style of football just isn’t helping him at all.
