Slaven Bilic suffered his first defeat as manager of West Bromwich Albion with one noticeable absentee.
Kieran Gibbs wasn’t part of the Baggies squad that fell victim to a 1-0 defeat to Leeds United, after Ezgjan Alioski’s first-half finish powered their promotions rivals above them and into first place of the Championship table
In the defeat, West Brom had a hard time defending against the home side from wide areas at Elland Road, with goalkeeper Sam Johnstone stopping efforts from Jack Harrison and Helder Costa. That, combined with the goal scorer playing at left-back, showed just how much West Brom struggled on the wing.
Gibbs, who returned to the bench on Saturday at Queens Park Rangers after a three-match absence with a groin problem, is – according to the manager reported on Birmingham Live – not deserving of a place straight back into the first team because of the good form of both Darnell Furlong and Nathan Ferguson.
Despite making it aware to the supporters that Gibbs was clearly fit – by including him in the squad against QPR – the defender was, again, left out of the entire matchday squad for their visit to Elland Road, with Connor Townsend taking his place on the team-sheet.
Bilic, though, revealed that Gibbs was left out of the squad because he was feeling ill.
“He had a virus in the stomach,” Bilic said. “He had diarrhoea, and he didn’t train.
“He had to stay inside for 24 hours yesterday and so that’s the reason why he didn’t travel with us.”
The verdict
Bilic is right. Gibbs has no right to walk back into the team, especially given how well Fergusson has performed. The 18-year-old – promoted from the West Brom academy – is already a fan favourite after rising through their youth ranks.
He has shown an immense amount of confidence and maturity beyond his years that would only have been dented if Gibbs walked straight back into the side when he could whilst the teenager was playing well.
The competition, that wasn’t there before, will only make both players better which is great news for West Brom supporters.