West Bromwich Albion suffered defeat on the opening day of the new Championship season.
With Darren Moore appointed and some exciting business done in the transfer window, it seemed to make a lot of sense to back West Brom to bounce straight back from relegation and secure promotion out of the Championship at the first time of asking.
The Baggies could of course still achieve that with ease, but it appears that they still have plenty of work to do after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers at home on the opening day of the season.
There were some encouraging performances and Harvey Barnes’ goal suggests that his loan deal could be an inspired piece of business, but there were plenty within Moore’s squad that simply did not turn up on the day – and one of those players, in the fans’ eyes at least, was Chris Brunt.
Brunt has spent well over a decade at The Hawthorns and captained the side against the Trotters. However, his display left several supporters on social media suggesting that he is well past his best and not cut out to be the central midfielder that the side need in the second tier.
His partnership with Jake Livermore should have been good enough for the Baggies to dominate that battle in the middle of the park, but the pair struggled and Bolton came away with the three points.
Moore’s men will be hoping to get their first win of the season when they face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday, and it appears that some fans may not mind if Brunt is taken out of the lineup for the trip based on the reaction to his display on Saturday.
Here is what some of the fans made of the Northern Irishman’s performance…
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