West Bromwich Albion have no one to blame for relegation other than themselves after making decisions that have proven to be catastrophic for the club. Sadly those to blame are no longer at the club and are probably admiring their bank balances while Baggies fans weep at a season that could have been so different.
Chief executive Martin Goodman, chairman John Williams and technical director Nick Hammond have all been unceremoniously blamed and sacked for the situation at the club than has resulted in what looks like certain relegation to the championship.
You have to question the appointment these men who may be good businessmen but obviously had no association with or feeling for West Bromwich Albion prior to their appointment. It is a football club first and a business second for the fans but for directors it’s the other way round.
Now we have the appointment of Giuliano Terraneo as technical director to oversee the appointment of a new Head Coach as well as the restructuring of the squad ready for the championship.
Giuliano is a former goalkeeper who played in Italy for a number of clubs, He has been a technical director in Italy and Turkey but has no experience whatsoever of the English game and especially the toughest league of all the Championship. I wish him every success in his role as we need the Baggies back in the top flight. However I wonder how he will go about sourcing players that can achieve promotion in the championship. I genuinely hope my fears are unfounded and that he can achieve success with the club.
CEO Mark Jenkins didn’t take long after his return to the club before parting company with Alan Pardew but, as I have said previously in this column, he was given too much time when it was obvious that he was failing spectacularly to get the team winning games.
It did look at one time as if “Nero was fiddling while Rome burned” with the club just moving from one defeat to another.
The appointment of U23s coach Darren Moore as caretaker Head Coach looks as if it could be a master stroke. Two games with one win and one draw-the win coming at Old Trafford against second in the Premier League Manchester United. United had the better players but Albion had the better team and that is down to “Big Dave”.
I know him very well and he will manage exactly the same way as he played, giving 100% for the cause. He is one of the nicest guys in the game with a warm friendly personality. However anyone on or off the pitch who mistakes that for weakness will find out very quickly and to their cost that he is no pushover. He will demand 100% commitment and work ethic from his players and will expect them to come off the pitch with nothing more to give. In return he will organise them and ensure that every player knows exactly what his job is and what is expected from them.
I hope Mark Jenkins recognises what an asset he has in Darren and assuming the players show the same effort and desire they have shown in his first two games then he might be worth considering for the job on a full time basis. He has the players on his side I am not sure the previous two people in charge could say the same. It is not the chairman who sacks managers or Head Coaches; sure they might pull the trigger but the truth is that in 99 times out of a 100 it’s the players who get managers the sack.