Robert Snodgrass is expected to leave Championship giants West Brom in the January transfer window after what The Sun (28 November, page 59) describes as a ‘fall out’ with Baggies boss Valerien Ismael.
You don’t Sherlock Holmes to tell you that there’s something a little strange going on at the Hawthorns.
Snodgrass started four league games in a row for West Bromwich Albion before the November international break, including a 3-0 victory over Bristol City in which he formed an impressive understanding with Jason Molumby; a partnership equal parts elegance, equal parts aggression.
But when Albion travelled to Huddersfield Town last week, Snodgrass was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t even on the bench.
The story was the same as West Brom were held to successive goalless draws against Blackpool and Nottingham Forest.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Snodgrass is not injured. He just wasn’t selected.
Has Robert Snodgrass played his final game for West Brom?
“I picked the squad, as usual,” Ismael said, when asked why the former West Ham, Norwich City, Leeds and Scotland star was left at home.
“I take the decision, the final decision, and this is the situation at the minute. There is nothing more to say about the situation.”
If West Brom supporters were hoping for an explanation, it seems they will be disappointed with Ismael refusing to give anything away. The phrase ‘blood from a stone’ comes to mind.
And though Ismael has found himself under increasing pressure from the West Brom supporters, a run of three wins in 10 games combined with some rather dreary football does not exactly make for a happy fanbase, it seems that Snodgrass will be heading out the door before the 46-year-old does.
According to The Sun, Snodgrass will be allowed to leave in January with the 34-year-old no longer part of Ismael’s plans.
That is despite the fact that he is one of the few players in West Brom’s squad capable of unlocking a tightly-packed defence. As recently as October, Ismael described Snodgrass as a ‘quality’ operator, a potential match-winner at this level.
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