Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has described the recent criticism of Valerien Ismael as “ridiculous” and “unjust”.
Almost 15 games into the season and West Brom find themselves sitting in a very healthy position in the Championship table.
The Baggies have taken 28 points from 14 matches, leaving them just outside the automatic promotion spots.
Does Ismael deserve criticism?
Yes
No
However, not every West Brom supporter has been entirely convinced by what they have seen from the team under Ismael, with some recently taking to social media to share their discontent over the Frenchman’s playing style.
With the Midlands club in the hunt for promotion, though, Palmer believes Ismael is doing just fine in The Hawthorns dugout.
“Listen, I see fans up and down the country not being realistic in their criticisms,” the ex-West Brom player said to TIF. “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, but you’ve got to look at the facts. You’ve got to be realistic about your team and where you think your team should be.
“To be sat third in the league, a point off second place, after 14 games is ridiculous for me for anybody to [criticise him]. Yes, we’d all want to win football matches playing a certain style of football. But to get promoted out of that league, you have to do what you have to do to win football matches.
“I think any criticism coming his direction is very, very unfair and unjust.”
As long as West Brom get promoted, fans will probably be able to stomach not playing like Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side.
And they have every chance of achieving that, whether it is through automatic promotion or the play-offs, with the team currently getting the results under Ismael even if the football is not always great.