We pick out the worst of West Bromwich Albion’s 2016.
Worst result
Nominees:
Reading 3-1 West Brom (20th February – FA Cup fifth round)
West Bromwich Albion were dumped out of the FA Cup on an afternoon to forget at the Madejski Stadium. Reading, who sat 16th place in the Championship, completed a second half turnaround to pile the misery on a miserable Baggies result.
West Brom 0-1 Norwich City (19th March – Premier League)
Robbie Brady’s strike gave Norwich their first win in eleven league games, as Albion failed to register a shot on target.
Northampton Town 2-2 West Brom (23rd August – EFL Cup second round)
Any hopes of an EFL Cup run were ended in the third round with a penalty shootout defeat to League One side Northampton Town.
Winner: Reading loss
Worst performance
Nominees:
Southampton 3-0 West Brom (16th January – Premier League)
After impressive results against Newcastle United, Stoke City and Chelsea, the Baggies failed to turn up for their trip to St Mary’s. Again, West Brom failed to get a shot on target as Southampton cruised to victory.
West Brom 2-2 Peterborough (30th January – FA Cup fourth round)
In a year that saw West Brom struggle to dispose of lower league sides, Peterborough came away from the Hawthorns with a replay. Saido Berahino’s double wasn’t enough to put the Baggies through to the next round.
Newcastle United 1-0 West Brom (6th February – Premier League)
Guess what. West Brom didn’t muster a single shot on target against a Newcastle side desperately low on confidence. The Magpies dominated the game and should have won by a bigger margin.
Winner: Newcastle United loss
Worst moment:
Coin throwing incident
Following Albion’s defeat to Reading in the cup, a West Brom ‘fan’ struck Chris Brunt with a coin, when the midfielder had come over to show his appreciation to the supporters.The ugly incident was turned into a positive as Albion supporters collected money for a charity of Brunt’s choice at the next home game.
Berahino misses two penalties
Heurelho Gomes saved two penalties from Saido Berahino, to condemn Albion to a disappointing home defeat against Watford. It was a frustrating afternoon that summed up Berahino’s 2016.
Discontent at Bournemouth
A section of West Brom’s supporters voiced their displeasure with Tony Pulis after a lacklustre performance against Bournemouth. Albion failed to trouble the Cherries in the closing moments and some of the travelling supporters made their frustrations heard.
Winner: Coin throwing incident
Underwhelming performer of the year
Nominees:
Saido Berahino
With only one league goal all year; things seem to have gone from bad to worse for the young forward. Berahino hasn’t featured for the Baggies since that game against Bournemouth and will be hoping to start afresh in 2017.
James Chester
Chester never seemed comfortable in Tony Pulis’ side. The ex-Manchester United man was played at fullback but his lack of height – in comparison to his fellow defenders – made him a target for powerful strikers. He left for Aston Villa in the summer.
Rickie Lambert
Like Chester, Lambert was another player whose move to the Hawthorns didn’t work out for either party. The forward cannot be faulted for his professionalism but there isn’t much to remember of his time on the pitch.
Winner: Saido Berahino
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