Conor Townsend is the player that probably divides opinion most among the Albion fan base.
He’s spent the last couple of games side-lined with an injury, a rare occurrence for Townsend. It’s given us a chance to see how Albion function without the ever-present left-back, and maybe a chance to appreciate what we have.
As a Championship full-back, Townsend is reasonably well rounded. He’s not a player that you expect to see bombing on and overlapping his winger at every opportunity, but neglecting his defensive responsibilities. Nor is he a full-back that will get a nose bleed if he steps out of his own half and gets into the team purely on his defensive contributions – not that there are many of them about anymore.
In fact, Townsend’s adaptability and availability are two of his best traits. Townsend has been able to play in different roles as a full-back without needing much time to adapt to these, his versatility allows him to take on different roles for different situations throughout games.
His availability has been vital to Albion as well. With the financial struggles at the start of the season, Albion had to be selective with where they strengthened and added depth. Townsend has played 87% of minutes over the last 3 seasons, the ability to do that without picking up regular or long term injuries shouldn’t be underappreciated. It’s allowed Albion to focus on covering other positions without having a direct replacement for Townsend.
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