Home Football Carlos Corberan told to make Heggem decision for West Brom v Oxford United

Carlos Corberan told to make Heggem decision for West Brom v Oxford United

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Carlos Corberan told to make Heggem decision for West Brom v Oxford United

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…




West Brom’s lead at the top of the Championship has slipped away in recent weeks.

The Baggies were top of the second division in September, but have fallen to fourth following three games in a row without a win.

Carlos Corberan’s side are still in a play-off place, but will want to avoid this run dragging on for many more games.

They will be back in action after the international break later this month with a trip to Oxford United, with the team targeting a return to winning ways.

The Spanish coach will surely be working hard to find a solution to figure out what changes could be made over the next two weeks to help improve their chances of turning around their form quickly.


West Brom change suggestion


When asked what change, if any, the club should consider for the clash with Oxford United, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit suggested bringing in players like Callum Styles or Gianluca Frabotta to help improve their ability to create chances.

He believes that Torbjorn Heggem moving to centre-back alongside Kyle Bartley could bring Styles or Frabotta into the side and help improve the team going forward.

“It’s been a strange three games between losses to Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and the 0-0 draw to Millwall,” Burgess told Football League World.

“You could argue that we’ve found chances at times a bit more difficult to come by, especially at home where I think we need to try and make more clear cut chances for Josh Maja.

“He had one good chance early on into the game [against Millwall] where [Tom] Fellows was able to get behind Danny McNamara, and tee it back to Maja on the penalty spot where he just about managed to hit it over the bar.


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“Albion didn’t really make a better chance than that for the rest of the 80 minutes they had to play, so I’m not quite sure how exactly we’re going to sustain that.

“We’ve experimented with John Swift in the number 10, where his performance against Middlesbrough was very lacklustre, and very disappointing.

“[Grady] Diangana had a bit more luck against Millwall, but I think anyone against their setup, where it was basically attack versus defence, with the typical Millwall away performance you’d see with a lot of their outfield players being very tall, very physical and making it difficult for Albion to try and make any patterns of play.

“So we definitely need to improve our chance creation, whether it’s by moving Heggem into centre-back next to Bartley, or try introducing Callum Styles, who did alright when he came on against Middlesbrough, or Gianluca Frabotta.


“Despite his mistake against Sheffield Wednesday, Albion might benefit from having a left full-back who is more willing to go up and down and be a bit more creative than Heggem.”

West Brom league position

Championship standings 2024-25 (As of October 8th)

Team

P

GD

Pts

1

Sunderland

9

+10

19

2

Sheffield United

9

+9

19

3

Burnley

9

+10

18

4

West Brom

9

+6

17

5

Leeds United

9

+8

16

6

Watford

9

0

16

*Sheffield United were deducted 2 points


West Brom are fourth in the Championship table following last weekend’s 0-0 draw at home to Millwall.

The Baggies are just two points behind leaders Sunderland after nine games, and are also two points clear of seventh place Norwich City.

Corberan’s side finished inside a play-off place last year, so will be hoping to repeat that feat again this season, or perhaps even go one better and earn a top two spot.

Albion’s clash against Oxford United will take place at the Kassam Stadium on 19 October in a 12.30pm kick-off.

John Swift

West Brom have no need to panic just yet

Three games in a row without a win for West Brom is going to concern fans, but it’s too soon to panic just yet.


A change or two to the lineup against Oxford United wouldn’t be a bad idea, as freshening things up without throwing out their whole tactical plan might be the best course of action.

This is still the same squad that went unbeaten in their opening six games and had the club top of the table.

While there has definitely been a lack of good chances created in the last three games, you’d still back Corberan to find a solution to overcome the problem in their next few fixtures.