WBA-Spurs Preview: Chadli Gives Baggies Hope
It’s hard to keep up with West Brom fans and their relationship with Tony Pulis. The last I heard they all hated his miserably cautious tactics and wanted him hogtied and forcibly thrown out of town on a large trebuchet.
For good reason, the Hawthorns residents weren’t too enamoured with the idea of pitching up at home with a defensive 5-5-0 formation against newly promoted Middlesbrough in late August and demanded he tootled off somewhere else.
WBA’s new Chinese owners were supposedly growing weary of the joyless regime, too.
The next defeat at Bournemouth— a game in which they registered just 36% possession— looked like the End of Days for the former Stoke manager. But, to his eternal credit, he clung on.
Hostilities may well have simmered somewhat after the episode on the coast. We football fans can be easily sedated creatures and for supporters of a club that didn’t ever score 4 in a game last season, the 4-2 victory against West Ham in September was just the thing. A free-flowing, exhilarating goal bonanza to break the Pulis mould. Perfectly timed, Tony.
A big part of the Midlands club’s renaissance (whether that’s too bold a word for a team that just drew with Sunderland) has been the arrival of Nacer Chadli, who signed at the end of August for £13m.
It was assumed that Tony had made some mistake when he broke the club’s transfer record, two days before the deadline. If you were to comprise a list of players who looked most unsuited to the Pulis blueprint, Chadli would be somewhere near the top.
Skilful, creative, capable of moments of individual brilliance. These are not attributes you associate with a Pulis signing. Thick necks, a beard, being Jon Walters. This is the brochure he normally shops from.
Against all odds, it appears to be an inspired piece of recruitment and might just have kept fans onside for another season. They’ll likely withstand a barrage of cripplingly unoriginal performances, if there’s a chance they might see some magic from the talented Belgian. Some gold dust amongst the dirt.
Toby Alderweireld certainly thinks West Brom have got themselves a player. Here he is, talking to the Evening Standard:
“Am I looking forward to the reunion? Not really! I respect him, but it will be a great battle for us. You have seen at West Brom how well he is doing already.
“That was no surprise to me. He has made a quick impact there, has scored goals and impressed people after going there for a large fee.”
He’s going to score isn’t he?
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