West Brom squandered a significant opportunity to go four points clear at the top of the Championship table on Monday evening as struggling Stoke City held on for all three points at the Hawthorns.
Tyrese Campbell’s ninth-minute strike was enough to sink the Baggies to their third defeat of the season, meaning Leeds United remained just a solitary point behind them in the title race while the chasing pack edged closer as third-placed Fulham sit only five points from the summit.
Slaven Bilic tweaked his side as Hal Robson-Kanu replaced Kenneth Zohore in attack while Semi Ajayi was dropped to the bench for Ahmed Hegazi.
A move that initially brought praise from some members of the Hawthorns faithful.
Here’s some of their reaction pre-game…
One supporter used clapping emojis to reference the decision being a wise one he agreed with whilst another sung the song of Ahmed Hegazi, claiming that he makes him happy, although that tune was soon changed by full-time.
A further fan went as far as slamming Ajayi for being a “defensive liability”, yet it was another game at home where they didn’t keep a clean sheet – the Baggies are yet to record a shutout at the Hawthorns in the league.
These fans soon had egg on their face after the shambolic performance the Egyptian put in alongside Kyle Bartley, as seen by the subsequent reaction below…
‘Liability,’ ‘out of his depth’ and ‘exposed’ were the three phrases used to encapsulate his showing in the heart of the defence.
The statistics tend to agree too, as per SofaScore, the 28-year-old picked up the joint-lowest rating in the team whilst also recording the error that led to Stoke’s only goal and losing possession a massive 29 times – more than any player on the whole pitch.
It has led to some supporters leading calls to get rid of their 6 foot 4 centre-back.
West Brom reportedly rejected a £3.4m bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad for Hegazi last month to which one fan noted, claiming whoever made that decision needed their head checking.
Another said the defender needed binning off as he was an ‘absolute charlatan of a professional footballer’ while one more supporter asked the club to sell him this month.
And then there were fans who blasted the decision to even start him in the first place, showing exactly why they got it terribly wrong before kickoff…
Hegazi had a mare of a performance according to one member of the home crowd whilst another joked that unseen January 2018 loan signing Ali Gabr was more mobile despite never playing a game for the Baggies.
It is clear to see that some fans soon changed their tune about the pre-game tactical change.
Who the heck is that?! Can you name all of these obscure West Brom players…
Albion now have just one win in six league matches and will need to improve quickly as the chasing pack has been drawn back into the quest for promotion, something that seemed ever so far-fetched before Christmas as both West Brom and Leeds looked like making it a two-horse race.
And in other news, Kyle Edwards’ future at the club could soon be put in grave danger…
