The two statistics that tell the story of West Brom's impressive season

Everything is based around data and stats on a day to day basis in football.

Sometimes you can manipulate data in the game for a certain purpose - but there is certainly no manipulating two stats that show just how impressive West Brom's performances have been this season.

On this week's Baggies Broadcast we discussed the table in depth and what is shows us beyond the two columns of games played and points won.

The columns of goals for and against are what underline the job Carlos Corberan has really done with Albion this term.

Of all the sides in the Championship, only the top two in Leicester City and Leeds United, two sides with Premier League quality squads who are destined for a return to the top division, have conceded less goals.

Compared to all the other sides currently in the play-off places, Albion have the lowest goals against column by at least ten goals.

Then you look over to the goals scored column, and that looks as impressive.

Albion have netted 59 times in the league - that is ten less than the next lowest scorers in the top six in the form of Norwich City on 69.

Both statistics can tell a range of different stories - but what they do underline is how well drilled and organised Corberan has Albion and how far they have come over the course of the season.

If you'd have said to an Albion fan after the opening day disaster at Blackburn Rovers that they'd have the third best defensive record in the division - they'd probably have laughed.

Albion conceded nine goals in their first five league games of the season - as Corberan tried to get Albion playing more expansive, front footed football.

After cracks at the back, he mixed things up and went to a back three with two wing backs, one of them being Matty Phillips and Albion became water right.

Then with Albion solid at the back he converted back to a back four - allowing them to again be more front footed.

Only this time, they remained tight at the back and tough to beat certainly at home. Just 14 of those 36 goals conceded have come at The Hawthorns.

So there has very much been an evolution at Albion in how they have gone about things this term.

But all things marry up to produce those two headline statistics at the top of this piece. It shows efficiency, hard work, and above all, very, very good management.