Tony Mowbray must make Adam Armstrong tweak at West Brom - it worked wonders at Blackburn Rovers | OneFootball

The Baggies boss should revert to using Adam Armstrong off the left to accommodate a starting spot for Daryl Dike or Will Lankshear.

West Brom’s play-off hopes took a heavy blow after a late defeat at Norwich City last weekend.

The Baggies suffered heartbreak in stoppage time as Josh Sargent beat both Mason Holgate and Kyle Bartley on the breakaway after being sent through following John Swift’s misplaced pass, before slotting the ball past Joe Wildsmith to spell pandemonium at Carrow Road.

It was worrying from an Albion perspective, with the Black Country outfit handing Norwich just their second home clean sheet of the season.

The Baggies’ form on the road is also a major reason for concern, with Tony Mowbray’s men failing to win away from home since last November at Hull City, with this kind of run likely to be a major factor to them not securing a place inside the top six.

For the majority of their clash with the Canaries, West Brom looked toothless up front, with Adam Armstrong tasked to once again lead the line and be the man to get Albion a much-needed three points.

But, as has been the case for many games since his arrival, Armstrong failed to have any grip on the game, with the current system clearly not getting the best out of his attributes and failing to guarantee goals at the top end of the pitch at such a crucial point of the campaign.

With this in mind, Mowbray should revert to a tactic of using Armstrong, with this working particularly well when the pair teamed together at Blackburn Rovers.

Adam Armstrong’s struggles against Norwich City

Adam Armstrong’s struggles in a West Brom shirt continued at Carrow Road last weekend, with the Baggies number nine only scoring twice from nine Championship appearances, while only one strike has come from open play.

Yet again against Norwich, Armstrong couldn’t have any meaningful impact in the final third, having just three touches inside the opposition box, which led to him failing to muster a single shot on goal for the 85 minutes he was on the pitch.

This has been a familiar story in recent times, with the Albion central midfield unwilling to take the handbrake off and play forward-thinking balls, with the likes of Armstrong and Tom Fellows making effective runs down the channel all afternoon.

With the Baggies style of play based around getting the ball wide and swinging crosses into the box, it is unable to suit Armstrong, who doesn’t have the size or presence to be an effective lone forward.

Instead, the Southampton loanee should be moved out wide to either flank, where he has shown how much of a danger he can be at this level.

Adam Armstrong should be utilised out wide for the remainder of the season

Playing Adam Armstrong out wide went particularly well under Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers, where the 28-year-old recorded 16 goals back in 2020 before netting 28 times the following season to earn him a move to Southampton.

In his time there, Armstrong would play across the forward line, featuring 61 times on either the right or left wing and scoring 12 of his goals from those positions.

With the Saints, Armstrong was as devastating in front of goal, notching 21 strikes and producing 13 assists, with the forward playing as many times out wide than he did in the centre-forward position.

The frontman netted eight times from the flanks, offering a different dimension to the Saints attack.

Armstrong’s versatility is clear for all to see, and a change in approach should be considered to unearth the best possible goalscoring results.

A tactic like this would also allow the likes of Daryl Dike or Will Lankshear to lead the line on a regular basis too, which would give the Baggies more of a physical and aerial presence up front to give second tier defenders something to think about.

Right now, it is too easy to stifle West Brom’s attack, and such a small tweak could be the difference maker in creating such a free-flowing frontline. If this can be achieved, then Albion would give themselves a brilliant opportunity of cementing a play-off place come the end of the season.