OPINION
West Brom missed the opportunity to go third in the Championship table when they lost 3-1 to Derby County at Pride Park on Sunday afternoon.
Albion will now have to play against bitter rivals Aston Villa in the play-off semi-finals over the course of the next couple of weeks while Derby earned themselves a showdown with Leeds thanks to the three points they picked up at James Shan’s expense.
Although it was a match where the Baggies had something to play for, not all of the players looked as though they cared about that and here, This is Futbol has rounded up three things learned about the Black Country club in the East Midlands:
Hopefully Robson-Kanu’s final game for West Brom
Robson-Kanu had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes when he got himself sent off for a petulant kick at a Derby player in the second-half. That will be a three-match ban for him and means that he will not play again this season. Hopefully that is the final time that Albion fans will have to see the £30,000-a-week [Spotrac] attacker play for them because ever since joining the club, he has been nothing short of woeful. The Wales international would not look out of place in League One and should be sold in the summer.
Harper should not play in play-offs
Rekeem Harper has not played at all well for West Brom lately and he needs to be dropped from the side that will play against Aston Villa in the play-off semi-finals. Whether it is because of his contract situation or something else, the teenager just does not seem to be himself at the moment. Everything he seemed to do against Derby was at 50 per cent and that simply is not good enough for someone who should be trying to win himself a bigger deal at The Hawthorns, or attract attention from the Premier League.
West Brom won’t get promoted
West Brom have been beaten twice by Derby this season, they were lucky to earn a point against Aston Villa at home and Leeds United blew them away 4-0 at Elland Road in March. The Black Country club has struggled against the better teams in the Championship in the second-half of the season and that does not bode well ahead of the play-offs. If West Brom get to Wembley by beating Villa – and that’s a big if – Leeds and Derby are bound to end Shan’s promotion hopes. This squad simply isn’t good enough, nor has the strength in depth, to cope with three massive fixtures in a row.