MX23RW : Sunday, December 29 02:30:08| >> :120:64584:64584:

A look at Sam Allardyce's first outing as West Bromwich Albion boss

A look at Allardyce's first outing as West Brom boss
© Reuters
The Baggies were beaten 3-0 at home by Aston Villa.

Sam Allardyce's first game in charge of West Brom ended in a disappointing 3-0 derby defeat to Aston Villa.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the new manager's first night at The Hawthorns.

Team selection

Very few managers come into a struggling club and resist the temptation to change.

Allardyce, rightly, kept faith with the side which bagged an impressive 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Tuesday in Slaven Bilic's final game.

With nine substitutes he had options to switch during the game, but Jake Livermore's red card took away the luxury of being able to make his first-choice changes.

Tactics

Albion's shape and formation were not markedly different than under Bilic and Allardyce has only had three days with his new squad.

The Baggies were reduced to 10 men when Livermore walked after 35 minutes, meaning any gameplan was soon out of the window.

He switched to 3-4-2 for the final 10 minutes in a bid to salvage a point, but it was ineffective and Villa scored two late goals.

Performance

It was a nightmare start when Anwar El Ghazi opened the scoring just five minutes in and the Baggies never settled.

The display did not get much better and, while they had to play almost an hour with 10 men, the hosts failed to show up in the derby.

It was a disappointing performance after the battling point at Manchester City and Allardyce will need his men to improve drastically for Sunday's trip to Liverpool.

Outlook

If Allardyce keeps Albion up it will be his greatest rescue job. They do not lack effort or commitment, but the overall quality to survive in the Premier League just is not there.

He will surely make them more organised and disciplined at the back as time goes on, but a question mark remains regarding where the goals will come from.

Striker Karlan Grant has scored just once since his £15million move from Huddersfield, while top scorers Callum Robinson and Conor Gallagher have just two each.

ID:427417: cacheID:427417:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3749:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks dejected after seeing his side knocked out of the Champions League on December 8, 2020
Read Next:
Sunday's Premier League predictions including Manchester United vs. Leeds
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Cardinals
@
Rams
6pm
Jets
@
Bills
6pm
Panthers
@
Buccaneers
6pm
Colts
@
Giants
6pm
Titans
@
Jags
6pm
Raiders
@
Saints
6pm
Packers
@
Vikings
9.05pm
Dolphins
@
Browns
9.25pm
Cowboys
@
Eagles
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds23146343152848
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd23155332131948
3Burnley2313823092147
4Sunderland23128336201644
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2211562720738
6Watford2211473229337
7Middlesbrough23106741311036
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2381142718935
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds239683133-233
10Swansea CitySwansea238692724330
11Bristol City237972728-130
12Norwich CityNorwich237883935429
13Millwall227782220228
14Derby CountyDerby2376102929027
15Coventry CityCoventry2376103234-227
16Preston North EndPreston2351172329-626
17Queens Park RangersQPR2351082331-825
18Luton TownLuton2374122539-1425
19Stoke CityStoke2357112332-922
20Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2256112439-1521
21Portsmouth214892637-1120
22Hull City2347122132-1119
23Cardiff CityCardiff2246122137-1618
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2246122249-2718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!