The Lai of the land is still bleak regardless of sacking
STEVE Bruce’s sacking as West Brom manager came as little surprise. The club were afforded the opportunity to wield the axe and find a replacement during September’s international break but chose to keep faith with the 61-year-old following a decent display at Norwich.
It was made clear he would be judged on the remaining matches heading into the commencement of the World Cup next month.
However, Bruce only got to oversee three of those fixtures and returned a solitary point in that time.
The recent performance against Swansea, a match for which Albion had enjoyed a fortnight to prepare, was alarming and another sign that things were not going to end well.
Luton was the final straw and Albion – sitting in the Championship relegation zone – are now searching for their fifth manager in the space of two years.
The fact that Slaven Bilic, Sam Allardyce, Valerien Ismael and now Bruce have come and gone points to a much greater issue that continues to haunt the club.
Once upon a time, the Baggies prided themselves on getting things right. In fact, they got it so right that when managers did move on, they did so against the club’s will. Tony Mowbray went to Celtic, Roy Hodgson left for England. Even Roberto Di Matteo, eventually sacked to avoid another yo-yo between the divisions, left with a promotion on his CV.
In the meantime, they have gone through managers like nobody’s business. Neutrals make light of Watford’s sacking habit, but Albion aren’t too far behind them. Clarke, Mel, Irvine, Pulis, Pardew, Moore, Bilic, Allardyce, Ismael, Bruce... and that’s just in the last ten years! Roll up, roll up. Who’s next? Only Bilic, Pulis and Clarke, of those mentioned, have lasted longer than a full season in The Hawthorns’ hot seat. What is a club meant to achieve with such a lack of consistency? For too long Albion have been seeking solutions to their own selfinflicted problems.
Since the arrival of club owner Guochuan Lai, those problems have worsened. In the space of a little over five years, Albion have posted a top-ten Premier League finish, but their newest
manager will inherit a side in the second tier’s relegation zone.
Pulis was persuaded to sign a new contract when it transpired he wanted to leave. Pardew should never have been appointed, neither on reflection should Ismael. Bruce’s track record in the division carried very little weight over the course of his reign.
All of the above have differing managerial techniques, which means Albion’s squad at that time – made up of signings by multiple bosses – have
been swung one way and the next. There has been no succession plan, and no consistency in approach, for too long. This is all on Lai, the man at the very top who has the final say on everything. The decision-making, the hiring and firing of managers is the responsibility of Lai, who has slowly overseen the demise of the club and, with it, his investment.
That yet another new manager will come in to discover his available January transfer window funds rest on the promise of repayment from Lai speaks volumes of where Albion are at, on and off the pitch.
It ought to remain an attractive job, despite where the club lie in the division, and Albion remain one of the bigger fish in the Championship. However, they must be extremely careful not to lose the shine they still just about possess.
West Brom must not risk becoming just another club who are shuffled back across time by error-strewn campaigns, which have set plenty of their fellow EFL rivals back years. Stoke are a prime example.
Many will reflect on Bruce’s tenure as another backwards step because of the fall from play-offs to relegation zone but you may as well apply that to the Lai regime in full – a steady decline with few high points and a horrible sense of foreboding.