Slaven is a victim of his own success after being told to pack his Baggies
IF THERE’S one thing you don’t want to do in life, it’s exceed expectations. Take this column for example. I’ve been doing it for eight years and haven’t been nominated for a single award. If I had scooped a gong early doors, I would be toast by now. The bosses would have expected it of me every year. Slaven Bilic knows what I’m talking about.
He took over a West Brom side who had failed to boing-boing straight back to the Premier League, losing in the play-off semi-finals to Aston Villa on penalties. Off the pitch, they were faced with a fairly daunting financial reality and the fans who continued to turn up in the same numbers were fearing the worst and hoping for not much more. If not toxic, it was definitely turbulent.
Bilic was handed a two-season challenge to return the Baggies to the big time and even that seemed like a mountainous task. He did it in one.
Upon his arrival, he fitted like a navy blue and white glove. His values, his personality and an immediately more attractive style of football was lapped up by the West Brom faithful.
His start was amazing. After 24 league games only Leeds at Elland Road had bettered them over 90 minutes.
Covid-19 stopped many a side’s momentum, and yes West Brom stuttered somewhat in getting over the line but the table doesn’t lie. This is as true now as it was in the days before corporate lounges and billionaire owners. Runners-up, automatic promotion and fewer defeats than any second-placed side since Burnley in 2014. The second-best scorers and the third best defence in the division.
Two shrewd loan signings made all the difference. Grady Diangana from West Brom and Matheus Pereira from Sporting Lisbon transformed their wounded limp into a resurgent swagger but there were more heroes to be found.
Sam Johnstone started every game, Semi Ajayi was worth ten times the alleged £1.5million paid to Rotherham and captain Jake Livermore played with pace, pride and precision week in and week out. Under Slaven they succeeded.
Under Bilic they believed. So, they arrived in the promised land a year ahead of schedule and in the most precarious of times; even the most buoyant Baggies fan would have conceded survival was the priority.
Bilic was given £20m to spend. Half a Diogo Jota, if you like, albeit he managed to squeeze a few more quid out of the suits for Karlan Grant.
Points wise, they are probably a few below where I would expect them to be, given their fixtures so far, but not by much, and his swansong draw against Manchester City proved beyond all doubt the team were 100 per cent behind Bilic and more than capable of competing, which they have done more often than not this season.
The Croatian’s demise had already been sealed before Tuesday night which suggests those in charge did not
Handed a two-year challenge, he did it in one... it doesn’t pay to exceed expectations
afford him the same respect he has given West Brom since day one.
Alas, Slaven, you only have yourself to blame, for having the audacity to achieve promotion to the top flight in just one solitary season. This is maybe the only example this year of tier two being a safer option than tier one.
It just doesn’t pay to exceed expectations. Just ask Chris Wilder, who took Sheffield United to the top flight with a team full of unfashionables and, in some cases, League One players. Now, he needs the backing of his board, for crying out loud.
Let that be a warning to Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, Veljko Paunovic at Reading, Lincoln gaffer Michael Appleton and Morecambe manager Derek Adams. Maybe lose a few now boys, before it’s too late.
And as for West Brom fans reading this, there’s no need to worry. The days of great expectations, at least for now, are over.