What YouTube star Danny Aarons has just said about West Brom is baffling | OneFootball

YouTube star Danny Aarons has issued a baffling rant about West Bromwich Albion and the overall club size of the Championship outfit

West Bromwich Albion are desperately fighting against relegation to League One, with ex-Baggies midfielder James Morison now tasked with steering the Black Country outfit away from a first return to English football's third tier in more than 30 years.

The Baggies have, of course, spent considerable portions of that time in the Premier League, but have not graced the top-flight since 2021 and are now at danger of dropping into League One.

Such fears have been allayed somewhat in recent weeks courtesy of an upturn in form since Morison took over on an interim basis to replace the short-lived Eric Ramsay, who had left West Brom staring down the barrel of relegation.

Albion are now unbeaten in their last four outings ahead of their Good Friday clash with play-off hopefuls Wrexham, having taken points from Sheffield United and Southampton before claiming successive victories over Hull and Bristol City, which has propelled them up to 20th-place and four points clear of Leicester in 22nd.

There's no denying that it has been a disastrous campaign at the Hawthorns, though, with the Baggies' current state of affairs at odds with the club's ambitions of competing for promotion and overall size.

And, in a bizarre recent outburst, it's Albion's very stature which has been called into question by YouTube star Danny Aarons.

YouTube star Danny Aarons' bizarre West Brom rant

West Brom, in spite of their recent struggles, remain widely-recognised as one of the largest clubs at Championship level.

They have, after all, won five FA Cups - a feat only bettered by one-time Premier League winners Blackburn Rovers throughout all second-tier sides, one League Cup, one Division One title and have spent more than 80 years of their history in the top-flight.

Perhaps, then, there should be some separation between West Brom's history and the present state of play - but with Aarons, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Aarons, who is a Tottenham Hotspur supporter best known for streaming FIFA (now EA Sports FC) via his YouTube channel where he boasts 1.9 million subscribers and has also competed in celebrity boxing matches, recently appeared on the Pitch Side podcast to discuss Igor Tudor's departure from the North London outfit.

He spoke with Pitch Side trio Theo Baker, Lewis Bowden and Tom Garratt, the latter of whom is a well-known Baggies supporter.

Garratt asked Aarons whether he believed that Spurs' situation, division-relative was identical to West Brom's - and the YouTuber clearly misinterpreted the context of the question as he proceeded to play down Albion's stature and declare that the Baggies belong in League One on sheer club size in a baffling outburst.

Aarons said: "You think we're the same level as you?"

"Oh so we're above you? That's where you belong (in League One).

"You're at your level, what did you do in the Premier League?

"When you were in the Premier League, what did you do? What did you win?

"What have you done ever? What trophies have you won? You can give it but you can't take it.

"(West Brom are) a Championship club at max (maximum), and you think you're Premier League?

Garratt, after getting locked in to an impassioned argument with Aarons, proceeded to tell the guest that he believes Rotherham United to be an example of a League One-sized club.

Aarons, however, responded by quipping, "no, I think it's a West Brom," before claiming that he could name 50 bigger clubs in the country than Morison's side.

West Brom have underperformed for some time

Aarons' rant is seemingly rooted in recency bias and a clear lack of understanding of West Brom's historical size, as many neutral and Baggies supporters alike will both share the same confusion over the way in which Albion's stature has been downplayed.

Club size, of course, does not guarantee or equate to success, and the Baggies' position is a self-inflicted one from years of lacking a defined and coherent strategy in the operations and philosophy in place at the Hawthorns.

However, that doesn't mean we're talking about a historically-insignificant club, and it's one which still posts some of the stronger attendance figures in the Championship to this day despite struggling at the wrong end of the division.

The Baggies have considerable potential, which is why supporters have been growing increasingly frustrated in recent seasons at multiple failed attempts of returning to the Premier League.

That's where Albion ought to be on pure club size, but much change in the here and now is required to make that a reality once more.