This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
West Bromwich Albion defender Kyle Bartley has gone from zero to hero under manager Slaven Bilic and the Croatian’s latest comments praising the 28-year-old has only highlighted that further.
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What’s he said?
The Baggies defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon as Charlie Austin’s 88th-minute penalty secured all three points.
Fellow striker Hal Robson-Kanu had opened the scoring inside ten minutes after he rounded off a sublime through ball from Matheus Pereira.
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Albion made it a third straight win, but couldn’t make it a third successive clean sheet as Bilic was forced into shifting his team selection around in the absence of Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers.
Following the match, the former Croatia head coach highlighted the reason behind Bartley’s form this season, he said:
“Again against Sheffield Wednesday, he was very good.
“When I go into the town, when I read (the papers) I see that he is getting recognition. Maybe he should get more or whatever – but he is (getting recognition). And I think that is the reason behind his top performances.
“He is feeling that he is important – not only from me and my staff but from within the club and from in the stands and from the papers.
“He is playing great, he is that kind of player. He needs to stay focused, he needs to stay humble but he is also one of the reasons we are where we are.”
Zero to Hero
Bartley has almost gone full circle with fans at the Hawthorns since joining the club in the summer of 2018.
Games against Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday drew serious flak last season, but this campaign has been a totally different story.
Supporters have absolutely loved his redemption, as seen when reviewing his season to date just a few weeks ago.
The centre-back is just one of three players to start and finish all 17 Championship matches this term, so it is clear to see he is one of Bilic’s favourites amongst the side.
He has also won more Man of the Match awards (three) on WhoScored than any other member of the Baggies squad.
In other news, one of Bartley’s teammates has also received plenty of praise following their win on Saturday afternoon…
