After the disappointment of the defeat against Wigan last weekend, this has been a question that has bothered Albion fans for most of the week. Firstly, I'm not sure bringing Odemwingie in against Wigan was the right move as Albion seem to work a lot better when there is a link-man between midfield and attack, so I'd have stuck with Graham Dorrans.

However, it is not hard to see why Roy Hodgson opted to include the Nigerian over Dorrans. We all know his ability, he played a big role in creating Shane Long's equaliser at QPR and a home match with Wigan was a great time to give Odemwingie some fitness and try to get the partnership firing, as if it had then there is no doubt in my mind Albion would have won the game. It was an attack minded move from a coach not renowned for such moves.

Alas, the partnership did not exactly fire on all cylinders. Albion lost the game and their seemed to be little understanding between the front two, with Odemwingie being substitued after 80 minutes(That would have done him the world of good fitness wise). I'm going to consider some of the reasons why this might be;

Game Time

Quite a simple one really. The two simply haven't played enough together to forge a decent partnership. There has been some good signs on occassions, Norwich and QPR away where one has created the chance for the other to score. But these occassions have been few and far between, down to both men having injuries at different times, a settled partnership has never been able to be used.

Roy Hodgson

I think last week Roy Hodgson got things wrong. He played Odemwingie deeper than Shane Long, when both men need to be up alongside each other. Odemwingie is not a deep-lying forward or a playmaker, he is someone who plays on the shoulder and likes to bring the centre halfs out to the wide positions where they are uncomfortable. If anything, Long should have played a slightly more withdrawn role because of his ability to hold the ball up and flick it on. What was encouraging though was that Albion still played good football against Wigan with two up top, as previously when the two played together there was far more long ball football.

Service

What Long and Odemwingie haven't been helped by is a lack of form from different midfielders throughout this season. At the start of the season, Albion were playing Paul Scharner and Youssuff Mulumbu in the centre of midfield in a 4-4-2. Two brilliant players, loved by the fans, but simply not creative. Now Albion do have a creative player in there, James Morrison who has been superb since returning to the side. Problem solved? No, because now it is the wide players showing a complete lack of form. Playing two up front takes away the extra midfielder that gave Albion more creative options last year, thus more responsibility falls on the likes of Chris Brunt and Jerome Thomas to create chances, which isn't happening enough.

If Hodgson can get this front-line firing, it is probably one of the best in Albion's division. But it is a very big if.