The significance of the game between Premier League strugglers West Ham and West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night was not lost on the fans or managers of either side. With both teams in the bottom three and separated by just two points before kick-off, West Brom in particular needed to win to avoid being left behind. It was Alan Pardew’s eighth game in charge and his second against one of his former employers, having begun his reign with a goalless draw against Crystal Palace. For West Brom, it ended the same way every other league game has since August: without a win.
West Brom started well, taking the lead for the first time in Pardew’s short tenure, but that sinking feeling didn’t take long to resurface. Andy Carroll scored his first goals since April to first draw West Ham level and then give them a last-minute victory. The three points have lifted West Ham out of the relegation zone and above both Stoke and Southampton; the defeat leaves West Brom four points clear of safety and without a win in 20 league matches.
Despite Tony Pulis’s sacking at the end of November, the magnitude of West Brom’s struggles has gone somewhat under the radar. They are not even bottom of the table – Swansea City, who also have 16 points from 22 games, prop up the table because their goal difference is even worse – but West Brom’s run of 20 matches without a win is comparable to anything in Premier League history. Only the disastrous Derby County team of 2007-08 – who finished the campaign with one win and 11 points – have gone longer without a victory, though their record of 32 matches will take some beating.
West Brom’s defeat at the London Stadium means their record is worse than the 19-game winless streak Aston Villa produced in 2015-16, when they were relegated a month before the season finished. It is as bad as Sunderland’s run in the 2002-03 season, when they lost their last 15 games of the season. Sunderland also finished bottom of the Premier League last season but, even at their worst under David Moyes, they only ever went 10 matches without tasting victory.
The Baggies’ record looks even worse when results from last season are taken into account. They ended the 2016-17 campaign on a nine-game winless streak after an inspired 3-1 vin over Arsenal in March. The two victories they achieved in their first two games of this season have been their only victories in their last 31 matches – ensuring that only three teams in England’s top four divisions (Birmingham City, Chesterfield and Sunderland) picked up fewer points per game in 2017 (0.88).
The decision to appoint Alan Pardew as manager was a risky one. Among the main criticisms he faced at Newcastle was that he struggled to arrest the slide when things took a turn for the worse. With that in mind, the lack of the fabled “new manager bounce” is a real concern. Only two Premier League sides have endured longer winless streaks this season – Newcastle and Southampton (both nine) – than West Brom have under Pardew alone (eight games) and he has only been in charge for 35 days.
It all points to an issue with the quality of the squad, which hasn’t improved despite some notable transfer fees. Having finished in the top half of the table last season, West Brom spent a lot of money in the summer. Their net spend of £43.8m was the fifth highest in the league, behind only Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton. But their football this season has been turgid.
They have the fewest wins in the league (two); they have the fewest number of passes; they have seen less of the ball than any other side, with average possession of just 42.5%; they have taken fewer than 10 shots per game; and they have only scored 16 goals in 22 matches, with only Swansea (13) scoring fewer.
Their two top scorers – Salomón Rondón and Jay Rodriguez – have only scored three goals each. Rodriguez was signed in the summer to solve their goalscoring problems, for £12m no less, but it was a real gamble given that he had scored just five league goals in three seasons following multiple injury problems that began in 2014. The only player to reach double figures for the club since Romelu Lukaku’s loan spell in 2012-13 is Saido Berahino, who is also on a remarkable run without finding the net.
The work the club do in the January transfer window could define their season. If they cannot find a more reliable source for goals, relegation seems more than likely. This time last season, West Brom had double their current points tally (32 points from 22 matches) and were eighth in the league, having won nine matches. The magnitude of their fall has gone a little unnoticed given their ability to pick up the odd point, but that won’t be enough come the end of the season. They face Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham in their last five matches before ending the campaign with a return to Selhurst Park. The return to one of his former clubs could be massive for Pardew – if he can remain in the job that long.
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