Saturday 16 December 2017 22:56, UK
Alan Pardew is facing one of the toughest jobs of his managerial career at West Brom. It is an uphill battle but have there been signs of progress in his first three games?
Alan Pardew came to West Brom with a promise of attacking football but up against Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane on Wednesday night, fans were happy to settle for defensive resilience Tony Pulis would have been proud of.
"They had all the big hitters out there," Pardew told Sky Sports afterwards. "It wasn't like we came up against a Liverpool side who had left a few out. It was a real force. We kept them quiet and I think the players can be very proud of their performance."
On the face of it, two draws, a defeat and no goals scored does not look like a healthy return from Pardew's first three games in charge, but in the context of West Brom's dismal season it is a quietly encouraging start. The Baggies, winless since August, are now only the second side after Manchester United to keep Liverpool's free-scoring forwards from netting at Anfield this season.
The transformation to more fluid football will not happen overnight, but Pardew already appears to be repairing the defensive fragility which had set in under Pulis. West Brom have kept as many clean sheets in the last two weeks as they managed in the previous three months. It represents an important step in the right direction.
In the goalless draws with Palace and Liverpool, West Brom have been well-organised and difficult to break down. The statistics show they are making more tackles, more interceptions and more blocks under Pardew. Their improved defensive record is a deserved reward for their efforts.
The confidence is coming back too. Pardew admitted he is playing the role of psychologist having inherited a dressing room in low spirits, and his personable approach seems to be paying off. West Brom's players are playing with renewed motivation. Against Liverpool, they covered more ground (119.3km) than in any game under Pulis all season.
"It's something that we'd worked hard on in the training ground, making sure our distances were good and our attitude and application on the break was good," added Pardew afterwards.
The change is perhaps most apparent in on-loan midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak. His displays tailed off dramatically under Pulis, culminating in him losing his place in the team, but against Liverpool he impressed, snapping into tackles and interceptions and creating more chances than any other player on the pitch.
Bringing the best out of the cultured Krychowiak could be as important as the January transfer window in Pardew's efforts to bring a more attractive brand of football to the Hawthorns, but there have at least been some signs of progress already.
West Brom have counter-attacked with pace and purpose at times - indeed, they were not without chances to score against Liverpool - and there is also a greater emphasis on possession. Their average has jumped from 37 per cent to 41 per cent and they are making 359 passes per game compared to 322 per game beforehand.
They are minor changes but they provide hope for a previously-disillusioned supporter base. "The initial reaction to Pardew's appointment was a little underwhelming," says West Brom fan and blogger Alex Newton. "He's cut from the same cloth as Pulis, which made it look a very safe appointment by the board.
"But we are slowly improving. The battling draws at Wembley and Anfield have helped raise the mood. We're yet to score but we are lining up more attacking. At the back we're a little better, drawing games rather than losing, we just need that first win."
The odds of that first win coming against Manchester United this weekend will be against them, but holding Liverpool at Anfield gives Pardew something to build on. If West Brom can deal with Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford as they did Salah and Coutinho, it might be an opportunity to take another step forward.
Watch West Brom v Manchester United live on Sky Sports Premier League HD from 1.30pm on Sunday
