Season Preview: Can West Brom take the next step under Pulis?

Previous season 

West Brom started last season in great form, with manager Tony Pulis making his Baggies side one of the toughest teams to beat. However, once the 40-point mark had been reached, West Brom took their foot off the gas and won only one of their last 12 fixtures of the campaign. As a result, the Midlands side ended the season in 10th, when they could realistically have pushed Everton further for a top-7 finish had they maintained their excellent performances after reaching 40 points. One would expect the Baggies to continue in a similar fashion this coming campaign. 

They start their Premier League season with the welcome of Bournemouth on Saturday and Pulis will fancy overseeing a winning start at the Cherries’ expense. 

Transfer summary 

Having been able to call upon just Salomon Rondon and Hal Robson-Kanu, who has signed a new deal at the club, up front, Pulis has added Jay Rodriguez to the attacking ranks, with the former Saints man starting his career at West Brom with a bang in pre-season. Yuning Zhang has also signed for the Baggies, though he has been loaned to Werder Bremen, while Ahmed Hegazy is a towering addition to the defence. Craig Gardner has departed for Birmingham permanently, but the main exit has been that of Darren Fletcher, who has moved to Stoke. 

One to watch - Jake Livermore 

Darren Fletcher’s move to Stoke mean’s there is greater importance placed on Jake Livermore to marshal the midfield. The 27-year-old signed from Hull in January and was a key man in the middle of the park having made 15 Premier League starts for West Brom. His consistency saw him rewarded with a first England cap earlier in the year and Pulis will hope Livermore can control proceedings in the midfield third once more.  

Predicted finish - 12th 

What’s likely is West Brom will start brightly and fade away once the 40-point mark is reached. They took just five points in their last 12 games of the campaign and talk of a surprise European tilt will rapidly die down in the New Year, with another mid-table finish on the cards.