Hot Streak: Phillips key in West Brom's reinvention under Pulis
After 20 Premier League games this season, West Brom have 28 goals to their name. With 18 games still to play, the Baggies are six goals short of matching their tally from last season (34); only relegated Aston Villa (27) netted fewer last term. Tony Pulis strengthened his attack sufficiently over the summer and the team are reaping the benefits. Hal Robson-Kanu was acquired following his Euro 2016 heroics, while the capture of Nacer Chadli was the headline-grabbing signing for West Brom.
The form attacker, though, is Matt Phillips. Signed from QPR, the Scotland international may have taken his time to turn creator in chief for the Baggies, but he’s since established himself as a key man under Pulis. Indeed, only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (9) has registered more assists than Phillips (8) in Europe’s top five leagues this season, with the winger making a starting wide position his own at the Hawthorns.
What’s crucial is his versatility on either flank. Of his 19 league starts, nine have come on the left wing and 10 on the right, which further adds to his unpredictability as opponents struggle to contain the winger. 1.9 successful dribbles per game is more than any other West Brom player, so it’s clearly having a positive effect on the Baggies. If he has space to run into, opponents are struggling to contain Phillips, whose combination of pace and strength is tough to cope with, which is allowing him to maximise his creative quality to his and the team’s benefit.
With an increase in attacking quality, most notably top scorer Salomon Rondon improved strike rate (7 goals) to go with Chadli and Robson-Kanu, the chances Phillips creates aren’t going to waste. 1.6 key passes per game is better than any other West Brom player this season, while only Christ Brunt (1.7) is playing more accurate crosses per league match than Phillips (1.3) for the team. Not only his he not aimlessly dribbling for the sake of it, but the Scotland international is utilising his ability to beat a man to then create for a teammate.
An advantage to Pulis is Phillips’ Premier League experience having hit eight assists and scored a further three goals during QPR’s 2014/15 Premier League campaign. Granted, relegation saw Phillips fall off the radar, but he was a player Pulis fancied following the Hoops’ drop into the Championship. His form in the second tier of English football may have been middling, but QPR’s failure to bounce straight back to the Premier League meant Pulis saw his chance to finally land his man at a modest fee.
At a little over £5m, Phillips’ purchase went under the radar to some, particularly as 13 teams - West Brom included - broke their club-record transfer to bolster their squad. With spending exceeding £100bn for the first time in the summer transfer window, it makes West Brom’s capture of Phillips all the more notable. What’s more is how poorly he started the season to then turn his fortunes around. In his opening nine games of the season, Phillips registered just one assist to return a WhoScored rating of 6.55. In the subsequent 10 Premier League matches, that has risen significantly to 7.81 with seven assists and four goals to his name.
As one might expect, a WhoScored rating of 7.21 is better than any other West Brom player as he continues to excel as their primary attacking outlet. Granted, of his eight assists, four have come from set piece situations - more than any other player - but his accuracy from corners and free kicks is a huge boost to the Baggies. Pulis is able to call on a host of attacking threats from set piece situations, including Rondon, Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans, meaning a player who is accurate from dead ball scenarios is essential.
It’s for this reason why West Brom have scored more goals from set piece situations (12) than any other Premier League team this season. One of Phillips’ two statistically calculated WhoScored strengths is ‘taking set pieces’, and for a team that averages the least possession (40.7%) in England’s top tier this term, it’s of the utmost importance that they maximise their goalscoring chances from set piece opportunities and, with Phillips in such good form, he’s evidently an asset.
After such a goal-shy season, West Brom look a new team under Pulis and much of that has been down to Phillips’ return to form. While he endured a similar run during his time with QPR only to fade away as the campaign wore on, there’s little reason why the 25-year-old can’t continue his performances in a more settled environment.
