West Bromwich Albion‘s excruciating wait for an away win in the Championship is now finally over.
Heading into the Baggies’ clash against Bristol City at Ashton Gate, it had been a gruelling 172 days since the West Midlands side had last tasted the sweet success of victory, away from the Hawthorns.
This crazy hoodoo has now been lifted, as James Morrison continues to look like an inspired replacement for the hopeless Eric Ramsay.
As West Brom secured a slim 1-0 win on their travels, the match-winner on the day was George Campbell, as the centre-back titan – much like Morrison – remains firmly in the Baggies’ good books, even if the season has been largely bleak.
Campbell’s fan favourite status
West Brom fans won’t be looking back on the 2025/26 season with much fondness when the campaign wraps up in May.
Indeed, two managerial sackings have left the Baggies fighting for their lives near the foot of the division, but it hasn’t been all doom and gloom in recent months, as Campbell has stuck out as a firm fan favourite in times of crisis.
The American defender has acclimatised instantly to the grave task at hand, winning 4.9 duels per Championship clash, as West Brom have had to throw bodies on the line to try and preserve their second-tier status. To add context, this is impressively more than Chris Mepham has managed – winning 4.4 duels per game – despite being an EFL veteran.
He has also become a dependable figure in bailing West Brom out with big moments in front of goal, with the 24-year-old collecting his mighty sixth goal contribution of the season, when nodding home Callum Styles’ corner kick delivery against the Robins.
With five duels bravely won during the 3-0 win over Hull City, too, the former Montreal man is now going down as a pivotal part of the team that will hopefully secure survival under Morrison’s revitalised methods.
Amazingly, though, there is another defender in the ranks who could be considered West Brom’s second coming of Jonas Olsson.
West Brom star is Morrison’s own Olsson
Campbell has some catching up to do to be considered the same ilk as the Swedish brute.
Across nine years at the Hawthorns, Olsson would never let his commitment levels waver for the cause, with ex-Baggies boss Tony Mowbray labelling him as a “wonderful footballer” and “competitor”, as he went on to make a bumper 261 appearances for the West Midlands outfit.
With 14 goals in his back pocket for West Brom, as well, Campbell, in time, could reach this heroic status.
Right now, however, Nat Phillips is more in the running to be considered a modern-day version of the 6-foot-5 warrior, as he has been a monster in the air, ever since departing Liverpool for the Baggies last summer in a £3m switch.
|
Phillips league numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat (* = per 90 mins) |
# |
|
Games played |
34 |
|
Goals scored |
3 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Touches* |
69.2 |
|
Accurate passes* |
46.1 (85%) |
|
Ball recoveries* |
3.9 |
|
Clearances* |
6.7 |
|
Total duels won* |
5.9 |
|
Clean sheets |
9 |
He has lived up to his reputation of being a “lion” – as he was branded by his former Anfield coach Pepijn Lijnders – during his short stay at the Hawthorns so far, winning a courageous 5.9 duels per Championship clash, blowing Campbell out of the water.
He also has three goals next to his name this campaign, when putting his towering 6-foot-3 frame to good use.
While the 29-year-old clearly has the same grit built into him that Olsson possessed in spades at the Baggies, which is helpful for West Brom’s current predicament, he would surely have moved to the West Midlands to be involved in promotion battles and try to return to the Premier League.
Past this season’s rockiness, if survival is achieved, West Brom will be looking to be back in promotion contention, with Phillips not fazed whatsoever by the prospect of top-flight football, down the line, having featured 29 times in the promised land with the Reds.
This is where Olsson primarily plied his trade for the Baggies, minus one season in the Championship, with Phillips desperate to age like a fine wine in the top division, like the lofty Scandinavian.
To move back to the present, though, survival still needs to be clinched, and Morrison will know he can depend on the 29-year-old to keep putting in gutsy displays, in much the same way West Brom never doubted Olsson.
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