WBA kicked off their fourth game of the season in impressive form at home to Ipswich Town. Jonathan Greening was missing from the Albion line-up leaving Robert Koren free to finally play in centre midfield.
Albion were in dominant form, from start to finish, and only a superb display from Town goalkeeper Richard Wright stopped the game being a humiliation for Ipswich.
The goalscorers in this rampant 2-0 victory were the excellent Youssouf Mulumbu and the impressive Robert Koren. WBA could have, and should have, won by a bigger margin, totalling up a healthy 13 shots on target, 8 off target, including a missed penalty.
Starting line-up
The team selection was good with WBA being solid at the back and both full backs looking adventurous, but still defending well, and both centre backs looking solid.
In midfield WBA had Mulumbu sitting allowing Robert Koren to push on and drive the team forward. With this combination, and Brunt and Cech out wide, WBA played great football with a cutting edge. Brunt had his best game of the season and Marek Cech looked good playing left midfield.
Up front, Luke Moore continued to look dangerous and sharp and should have been rewarded for his hard work with a goal. Moore will be upset to have his missed his penalty and just as upset with his missed rebound that should have been buried. That being said, Luke Moore looks a different player and is finally giving his all for the team. His partner Chris Wood also had a good game. He held the ball up well and was instrumental in WBA's play.
Gone are the Mowbray days of playing pretty football in the wrong places and giving away silly goals. RDM has installed a sense of urgency to the defence, allowing them to defend and clear their lines when needed. The midfield combination of Mulumbu and Koren worked superbly. The Baggies looked so dangerous going forward and had the directness we severely lacked last season. Mulumbu sitting allowed Koren the freedom to play, which was key to WBA's impressive performance.
Koren is such a better player playing centre midfield and he showed this yesterday. His passing is great but he has directness about him that really paid off yesterday. As sad as it is to see Jonathan Greening leave WBA, I think it can only be good in the long run. Both Koren and Graham Dorrans play great football, but have more urgency and are more direct that Greening. This showed yesterday and hopefully is a sign of things to come.
After the break
In the second half Jerome Thomas came into the action for the injured Chris Brunt, Craig Beattie came on for Joe Mattock and Borja Valero for Robert Koren. All three moves seemed to be a precaution and I’m sure the departing players will be fit for WBA's league cup tie against Rotherham.
In Jerome Thomas WBA really seem to have picked up a great player. He has pace, skill, close control, and more importantly, a directness to run and go at players. With Greening moving on, this allows Koren to play centre midfield more and we have a replacement, that when fit, will be a great asset. I personally can’t wait to see what Thomas will be like when he is fully fit and match sharp.
On reflection
All in all it was a great performance from WBA with things looking good for the rest of the season. With Roman Bednar's return imminent, and the pending return of Neil Clement and James Morrison, WBA look in a healthy position and favourites for promotion.
RDM seems to have adopted the work of Tony Mowbray while ironing out the defensive problems. RDM's insistence on victory for the team, over pretty, pretty football, will only stand us in good stead and will turn a team of also-rans into a team of winners.
Boing Boing