West Brom dealt 'very damaging' player blow | OneFootball

FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on how damaging it is to Albion by losing Mikey Johnston to injury.

West Brom’s struggles in the Championship have continued despite Eric Ramsay’s exit.

The Welshman’s 44-day reign in the Albion hotseat was brought to an end after a 1-1 draw at home to Charlton Athletic, which meant the former Baggies boss had failed to record a single victory from the nine Championship games he was in charge of.

It means the Black Country outfit are now on the search for their third permanent manager of the season and fourth new boss since Carlos Corberan departed 14 months ago, highlighting the decline the club has been on since the Spaniard’s exit.

After Ramsay’s departure, club legend James Morrison was once again placed in interim charge of the team, but he failed to have any influence as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Oxford United last weekend to really damage their hopes of second-tier survival.

It now puts the Albion hierarchy in a difficult position of who to take on for the remainder of the season, with former Baggies boss Darren Moore reportedly interested to come in and offer assistance to Morrison and the rest of the coaching team.

As well as the issues off the pitch, the Baggies were dealt another massive blow on it when Mikey Johnston hobbled off after just 22 minutes at the Kassam Stadium.

The Republic of Ireland international reportedly suffered an ankle injury, with Morrison confirming that it had got stuck in the turf, and he was fearing the worst about the outcome.

It could lead to Johnston missing the most important period of West Brom’s season, which is such an untimely loss given he possesses the most goal contributions out of the entire squad.

With this in mind, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on Johnston’s injury and how damaging the news is to Albion’s survival push.

Mikey Johnston injury “very damaging” for West Brom’s season

Speaking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess admitted Mikey Johnston’s ankle injury is “very damaging” to Albion ahead of a defining period for their season, but is hopeful academy graduate Ollie Bostock can step up in his absence.

Callum told FLW: “If Mikey Johnston’s injury is as bad as feared, then, of course, it’s a huge blow to lose him for a large chunk of the season.

“He’s our best player, got the most goal contributions, got the most assists in the league as well, so, of course, any team losing a player of that proportion would be very damaging.

“That being said, Ollie Bostock did come on and score on the weekend, putting most of Albion’s senior players to shame with his willingness to take players on and actually show some effort and determination.

“Albion fans will be hoping he can step up to the plate but, of course, it’s very damaging to lose Mikey Johnston.”

Mikey Johnston injury blow could be the final nail in West Brom’s relegation coffin

When it rains it pours, and it’s certainly doing so at West Brom in a miserable season.

Despite not dropping into the bottom three through Leicester City’s defeat to Norwich City, Oxford United are making up distance and now Albion have lost their most creative outlet for a significant period of time.

After a poor opening season since joining from Celtic on a permanent deal, Johnston had found his mojo again this term and showed promise, excelling on the right-wing under Ryan Mason, which brought about all of his attacking contributions this season.

Since Mason was replaced by Eric Ramsay, Johnston has been forced to play in different positions, such as at right wing-back, attacking midfield and back on the left-wing, which has seen his numbers dry up and lead to Albion lacking a much-needed spark in the final third.

And now with an injury, it’s difficult to see where the goals are going to come from for West Brom that can turn into crucial victories to help them rise up the table.

The one hope is that youngster Ollie Bostock can rise up to the challenge, with the 19-year-old the only player to come away from the Oxford game with any credit.

Bostock showed confidence to take on his defender consistently and looked to make things happen, while his fearlessness to unleash a strike that took a deflection and landed in the back of the net showed that if you take risks, you can get the luck you crave, which is an area the more senior players haven’t been able to do and has contributed to their plight.