Carlos Corberan has addressed his “crazy” decision to bench Brandon Thomas Asante in favor of starting Jed Wallace up forward for West Brom against Preston North End, claiming it was merely a matter of rotation.
With the Baggies struggling for goals, it seemed ludicrous that the manager would drop his only acknowledged out-and-out striker to the bench before the game.
He was eventually proven correct, with his West Brom team dominating at Deepdale, and he revealed that he wanted his captain on the pitch while utilising other players, specifically Grady Diangana, in his typical wide position.
“Sometimes when you are a coach and make a decision not to start with a specific striker, but to play with a player who can play in the position but isn’t a specific striker, is always a risk because when you don’t score the goals, it’s because you’re crazy for playing with no specific striker,” the manager said to Birmingham Live on October 2.
“Now, if you score goals, I’m not sure what that means. For me, it signifies you did the right thing, made the right decision.
“After Maja’s injury, we now have two strikers, Wallace and Asante, but fortunately, Diangana can play as a winger, where Wallace previously played.”
“In a week of games, with games in a row, you should rest one striker because you can impact games from the bench if you really need to.”
“Wallace is currently a striker, and Asante is the other, which is why we decided to play with Wallace.” I wanted to have other players in different spots on the field, as well as Wallace.”
A big call that paid off in the end
If Corberan’s side had struggled to find the net, chances are the fault would have rested with the boss and his decision to rotate the only recognised striker in his squad, but ultimately, as is often the case, the big call ended up being the right one.
Wallace’s inclusion up top was largely because the boss thought the game would suit him. He wanted him on the pitch, while Diangana was the preferred wide option, so it made sense for Wallace to slot in elsewhere.
On top of that, squad rotation is normal throughout the season, particularly when teams are now being tasked with three games per week. If Thomas-Asante had started and picked up a knock then different questions would have been asked.
Corberan showed once again why he is revered and respected at The Hawthorns, making big calls and sticking to his guns, and things finally look to be going their way.