How the Championship table would look if the season started when Steve Bruce took over at West Brom

Paul Okey
29 April 2022

Steve Bruce’s troubles at West Brom have been well documented but they haven't been the only promotion-chasing Championship side to struggle in the second half of the campaign.

Having been appointed to reinvigorate the Midlands side's faltering bid for an automatic promotion slot, Bruce has overseen an alarming downward spiral. Sitting in sixth when he took over, the Baggies now lie 13th, eight points adrift of the play-offs with just two games remaining.

But just how bad has it been?

Planet Sport has compiled a Championship table from February 3, the day Bruce took over at the Hawthorns. And the good news for the former Newcastle United boss is that although results have been poor, it could have been worse - as fans of Blackburn and QPR will no doubt testify.

Baggies not boinging

Bruce went six matches before overseeing his first win as West Brom boss and even then it was at a Hull side with the worst home record in the division. Since then he has guided the Baggies to wins over Fulham and Bournemouth to highlight the crazy nature of the Championship. However, defeats to Birmingham and Stoke sides with very little to play and a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Nottingham Forest show Bruce has some way to go before convincing the Hawthorns faithful he was the right man to succeed Valerien Ismael.

Sixteen points from his 15 games would leave the Baggies 20th in the division, just three points clear of the drop zone had the season began in February.

Championship table since Steve Bruce took over at West Brom

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Nottm Forest	14	10	3	1	28	11	33
2	Sheffield United	18	8	6	4	21	12	30
3	Luton	16	9	3	4	23	16	30
4	Fulham	16	9	2	5	25	13	29
5	Millwall	16	8	5	3	21	15	29
6	Swansea	17	8	5	4	29	27	29
7	Huddersfield	14	8	4	2	20	21	28
8	Bournemouth	15	7	6	2	25	15	27
9	Blackpool	16	6	5	5	25	18	23
10	Coventry City	17	6	5	6	23	25	23
11	Middlesbrough	16	6	4	6	23	19	22
12	Stoke City	16	6	4	6	22	18	22
13	Cardiff City	16	6	2	8	17	19	20
14	Preston	15	5	5	5	12	19	20
15	Reading	16	5	4	7	21	30	19
16	Hull City	16	5	3	8	15	17	18
17	Bristol City	15	5	3	7	19	24	18
18	Derby County	15	5	1	9	15	22	16
19	Barnsley	16	4	4	8	15	23	16
20	WEST BROM	15	4	4	7	13	21	16
21	Peterborough	17	3	5	9	15	29	14
22	Blackburn	15	3	4	8	12	16	13
23	Birmingham City	15	3	4	8	16	28	13
24	QPR	16	3	3	10	14	25	12

Blackburn and QPR in freefall

But as I mentioned previously, it could have been worse.

QPR were fourth when Bruce was appointed, just two points off an automatic promotion slot. However, they have taken just 12 points from the subsequent 16 games - the worst record in the division. That included a 3-1 home defeat to Peterborough United, one of only three wins for the Posh since Bruce's return to the Championship.

It has been almost as bad for Blackburn who were second when Bruce rode in to West Brom.

Three wins from 15 and just 12 goals scored have seen them slide down the table to eighth.

Forest on fire

Runway leaders Fulham have fallen below their high standards of late but Marco Silva's side have still picked up 29 points from their 16 games, the fourth-best record since Bruce's appointment.

Their total is matched by Swansea who, having started February with slight relegation fears, have taken 29 points from their 17 games. It has seen the Swans climb level on points with a West Brom side who led them by 13 when Bruce took charge.

Luton have taken 30 points from 16 games to rise to fifth (the third-best in the division). However, the team who are timing their play-off - or dare we say automatic promotion - challenge to perfection are Nottingham Forest.

Steve Cooper's East Midlands outfit have won ten and draw three of their 14 league games since February 3 - rising to third as a result.

Forest have accrued more than double the points West Brom have in one game less, which is also by far the best points per game ratio in the whole division.

And, with promotion rivals Bournemouth still to play, Cooper could yet deliver the automatic promotion the West Brom hierarchy were seeking when they turned to their Steve.