West Bromwich Albion are represented in the latest Premier League team of the week that has been selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks.
Actually Garth is now down as a ‘Football Analyst’ these days, a posh term for a pundit then!
The performances by Ben Foster and Gareth McAuley in the two one victory over Bournemouth at the weekend at The Hawthorns was enough to earn them a place in the side alongside the other, in the opinion of the former Spurs striker anyway, most impressive performers in the topflight over the latest weekend.
I think we’ll already know ourselves, and not just based on the latest performance, why Crooks, we’ll also not argue with it, selected the duo as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
Foster:
‘What a save from Tyrone Mings. The Bournemouth centre-half directed a sensational header towards the top corner of Ben Foster’s net only for the England keeper to pull off a match-winning left-handed stop. But how does Tony Pulis keep producing such effective teams? He always seems to leave clubs in better condition than when he arrived and currently West Brom are a pleasure to watch, which is something I can’t say with all of Pulis’ teams. The Baggies have 12 games left and need 10 points to achieve their best ever Premier league tally. With Foster in this form it looks like they have every chance.’
McAuley:
‘It has been a long and somewhat distinguished career for Gareth McAuley and he couldn’t have spent his 500th appearance in football better than this. West Brom’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth had an element of good fortune about it. The Baggies’ first goal was a deflection before McAuley was handed a celebratory gift by the Cherries’ unpredictable keeper Artur Boruc. I have seen Boruc perform heroics for Bournemouth in the past and then he goes and does something that leaves you utterly puzzled. Not that McAuley wasn’t grateful for the present – in fact he could have scored a second but for the intervention of the crossbar. Nevertheless, McAuley did grab his sixth league goal of the season, which is not bad for a centre-half who started his career at Linfield.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to both for their recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course the points.
Full Team:
Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Michael Keane (Burnley), Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), Manolo Gabbiadini (Southampton).
