IT JUST BAGGIES BELIEF
Albion legend Wile’s verdict on the troubles at the Hawthorns
WEST BROM legend John Wile says the behaviour of players in Spain last week “beggars belief” and admits the club is in a mess.
Alan Pardew’s Baggies prop up the Premier League, seven points adrift of safety, after just one win in 25 league games.
The Midlands club is reeling from boardroom upheaval and the antics of four senior stars in Barcelona when they broke a curfew and allegedly stole a taxi at 5.30am.
Wile (right), 70, played for Albion from 1970-83 and made over 500 appearances for the club, before also spending five years as chief executive at The Hawthorns.
He has followed aghast after senior Albion stars Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Boaz Myhill and Jake Livermore misbehaved in Spain after breaking a midnight curfew last Wednesday night.
It was just a day after the club sacked chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman.
Asked by BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek if the club were in a complete mess, the ex-Albion skipper said: “That is the conclusion you can draw. We have had problems in the boardroom and on the field, where everyone can see it quite clearly.
“It doesn’t paint a pretty picture, so the only conclusion is things aren’t right. It goes from bad to worse. Going away for a break, you would hope everyone would treat it as a chance to lift the pressure a little bit. I am surprised by the people who have done it and they have let an awful lot of people down. It is really very poor behaviour.
“What surprised me was these aren’t kids. They’re four adults and four very senior professionals.
“It is just not the sort of behaviour you would expect from someone of their standing. It is a total disrespect for the people employing them and who support them every week.” But Wile believes the club’s squad lacks sufficient depth to dump the quartet in the reserves, as there is no one good enough to replace them.
Evans and Barry both started in the 2-1 FA Cup loss at home to Southampton on Saturday. Wile said: “They don’t have the luxury of saying they can do without these players because they don’t have enough good ones.
“But to do what they have done knowing they were out beyond the curfew – and I thought the curfew was very generous at 12 o’clock, given the close proximity of Saturday’s game – then to do something ridiculously stupid like taking a taxi, beggars belief.”
The whole sorry episode undermines Pardew’s reign further, amid just one win in 13 league games.
Wile added: “The trips can often be a catalyst to start something off.
“I expected them to win comfortably against Southampton and to show people that they are good players.
“But, unfortunately, the whole thing has backfired.”