West Brom heading out of Premier League

Soccer club in complete disarray, sitting in last place with 10 games left on the schedule and just three wins to its name

In an effort to get fans on his side following his takeover of West Bromwich Albion, Chinese businessperson Lai Guochuan issued a personal message promising stability and continuity at the established Premier League soccer club. “My immediate priorities,” he wrote to supporters in May 2016, “will be to maintain the club’s stable structure, respecting its well-run nature and its heritage.” Nearly two years later, West Brom is a mess, a club in disarray on and off the field, and seemingly sliding out of the most lucrative league in world soccer. Lai might just be wondering what he got himself into. The Premier League is witnessing one of the tightest relegation scraps in its 26-year history this season, with eight points separating ninth-place Everton and 19th-place Stoke. Below them all, though, is West Brom, which has been cut adrift in last place, seven points from safety with 10 games left and with only three wins to its name. Meanwhile, four of its players have just been disciplined for stealing a taxi during a warmweather training break in Barcelona, another player (Jay Rodriguez) has been charged with racially abusing an opponent during a game and the club’s chief executive and chair were both recently fired. Manager Alan Pardew might be next out of the door, reportedly set to be fired if West Brom loses to Watford on Saturday. Then, Lai would be looking to appoint West Brom’s third manager of the season after firing Tony Pulis in November. Pulis was widely regarded as a guarantee against relegation, having never been demoted from the top flight in 25 years as a manager. West Brom was underperforming under Pulis, one place above the relegation zone when he departed, yet it was still a bold call from Lai. In fact, Lai doesn’t appear to have done that much wrong. He backed Pulis with $40 million in the off-season to bring in players such as Poland midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak from Paris Saint-Germain, left back Kieran Gibbs from Arsenal, and winger Oliver Burke from Leipzig. It was widely thought that West Brom had its best squad in years. How galling it would be if, come the end of the season, West Brom is replaced in the Premier League by Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough’s manager? A certain Tony Pulis.