West Brom suffer reminder on how competitive Championship is

Back to back losses but a great start for The Baggies.

Transcript

00:00And on to West Bromwich Albion, back-to-back losses in the Championship, you know, started

00:06really, really well and the fans were maybe getting a bit carried away saying that, you

00:11know, they were going to get the title. You know, I see a number of fans on the other

00:15side of that sort of saying that they've got to keep their feet on the ground and the playoffs

00:18is still the aim. We've obviously spoken and said that as well. You know, what's sort of

00:24gone wrong in those losses? And it's a bit of a reality check maybe to just say, you

00:29know, that the Championship is such a tough and competitive division from, you know, game

00:33week one to the very last.

00:35Yeah, it's one of the most unpredictable divisions in the world, let alone in England. And we've

00:39seen that over the last couple of weeks. You see West Brom winning five of their opening

00:43six matches, hardly conceding any goals at all. You think they go away to Sheppard Wednesday

00:48aside in the bottom half of the table, essentially relegation candidates once again. West Brom

00:52should win that one, right? Well, they go and lose three-two and concede more goals

00:56in one game than they had prior in all the other games combined. So a bit of a shock

01:00that one to the system and just showing you how difficult it is to go to some of these

01:04big clubs away from home. Sheppard Wednesday, it doesn't matter what position they're in

01:08with their squads, how much of a golfing quality there is on their day, they can be at a top

01:12side and score plenty of goals. And they did exactly that. The Middlesbrough one, West

01:16Brom a little bit outplayed at the Hawthorns, which is quite rare. It's been a real fortress

01:21for them over the last few seasons and especially under Carlos Corberan, but a bit of one of

01:26those tight, hotly contested affairs where just one goal is going to make the difference.

01:32And in the end, it was Hayden Hackney who got it for the away side. So yeah, I think

01:36a bit of a reality check, as you mentioned, but had you given West Brom this position

01:40at the start of the year, fourth place with five wins in their opening eight games, I

01:44don't think they would have been too upset with that.

01:48Who's been the standout player for West Brom so far? Obviously, Josh Madger had his unbelievable

01:53start on the opening day, especially. Who's stood out and has been so crucial to them

02:00getting those wins over the line?

02:01Yeah, you've got the major up top, seven goals in his first eight games. It was seven in

02:06seven before the defeat to the Middlesbrough. He's been outstanding. West Brom have needed

02:11that proper number nine for a while. Having Jed Wallace leading the line last season when

02:16there were so many injury problems, they did look a bit toothless and that's why they could

02:19only finish sixth. Now having a proper out and out striker, if they can keep him fit,

02:24he should be a key player for the entire season. But Alex Mowat as well in midfield in that

02:28number eight role, we saw signs of promise last year, but he's really started to come

02:32together this season and a real creative force in midfield and someone who works hard as

02:36well defensively. So I've been very impressed by him.