Lewis Cox debrief: Feast to famine for West Brom whose senior players will benefit from FA Cup break
Albion ended their busy period with a disappointing defeat in Swansea on a miserable afternoon that highlighted the deficiencies in Carlos Corberan's squad.
It is a six-point haul from a possible 12 over Christmas and New Year after home victory against Norwich and Leeds in between defeats on the road at Middlesbrough and in south Wales.
The Baggies pause from league action now as the FA Cup and visit of non-league Aldershot takes priority on Sunday.
Albion remain fifth in the Championship with the gap to seventh cut from five to three points. We assess some talking point in the debrief.
Never-ending cycle
It's becoming tiresome to harp on about Albion's lack of personnel in attacking areas but, rather than improving, the situation seems to worsen by the week.
Albion's hands were tied with the Jeremy Sarmiento Brighton recall saga. They invested time and staff into the Ecuadorian's development and robustness but Brighton and the player's willingness was out of the Baggies' control. Albion will feel they can use the wage funds to look for a more effective and 'ready' option - though that doesn't detract from the fact that Sarmiento, ironically, might have been useful in Swansea just as he was last time out in south Wales in the capital in November.
Jed Wallace and John Swift fitness concerns have the potential to be disastrous, even giving work in this month's transfer window.
The captain will have a scan on his adductor muscles on Tuesday, while Swift's calf complaint remains increasingly complex and a day-to-day issue. Indeed, in the first half in Swansea, Swift was a viable option as a late replacement, by half-time onwards, his pain was too severe to feature.
That must be extremely frustrating for everybody concerned.
