Robson defends Earnshaw sale
Bryan Robson has turned to statistics to justify selling West Brom striker Robert Earnshaw to Norwich for £3.5m (€5.15m) on transfer deadline day.
Robson has refused to be be drawn into a war of words after Earnshaw hit out at his treatment and lack of first team involvement following his switch to Carrow Road on Tuesday.
But the Baggies boss revealed figures at his weekly press conference which he claims indicate why he had no qualms about offloading the Welsh international once Norwich had met the asking price.
He said: “I’m not going to get into a war of words with Earnshaw.
“Most players who leave a club because they feel they are not getting a chance will have a pop at the manager.
“They will never look at themselves. But, as far as I am concerned the stats show when Rob started for us we got 12 points from a possible 54.
“When he came on as a substitute, we got 21 points out of a possible 54.
“For me, you can’t just rely on one player to win or lose you matches. But the percentages when I used Earnshaw compared to the points we collected, just don’t stack up.
“In addition, £3.5m is a hell of a lot of money. I’ve got to do what I think is right for the club and the team.”
On loan Uruguayan defender Williams Martinez could make his first team debut bow in Saturday’s home Barclays Premiership clash with Blackburn Rovers.
Martinez, signed from Defensor with a view to a permanent deal in the summer, is likely to be at least amongst the substitutes or even in the starting line-up if Steve Watson fails to shake off a groin injury.
Robson said: “If Steve Watson doesn’t come through, he is the only defender I’ve got in the squad who is fit and available apart from the back four lads who did so well at Charlton in the week.
“He is probably going to have to be thrown into the deep end.
“I started with putting Martinez and Neil Clement together in training on Thursday morning and they worked well together and then Curtis Davies and Martinez worked together as well.
“We’ve looked at the options because it might be a case of that’s what is going to happen.”
