West Bromwich Albion Chairman Jeremy Peace has kicked off 2015 in the kind of decisive, proactive manner which was so sadly lacking from his other recent Head Coaching searches, which have all resulted in a pitiful 2014 for the Hawthorns faithful.
Enter Tony Pulis. Footballing Neanderthal or relegation escapologist extraordinaire? Perhaps the more pertinent question at this juncture is does it really matter? The fact of the matter is, West Brom were in the kind of nosedive that required immediate action. Nobody doubts the undeniable truth that Alan Irvine, not to mention long-term coaching incumbent Keith Downing, as well as the more recently-appointed Rob Kelly, are all nice, genuine, hard-working people. Nice guys don’t always win though, and the perception of Pulis is that he is much closer to the no-nonsense, arse-kicking style of former Albion manager Gary Megson. If Pulis, along with Dave Kemp and anyone else that he adds to the staff, can lift the club from it’s knees in the same manner as Megson did at that time, then few will argue that the wrong decision has been made.
Megson performed his Houdini act on a club which was haemorrhaging money and heading for the third tier. Times have changed and the club has advanced to the top tier, but the threat of relegation is no less real.
Pulis was heavily involved straight from the off at West Ham yesterday, pulling strings from the Director’s box thanks to the shuttle-running of both Kemp and Director of Football Terry Burton. A point was a welcome halt to the recent run of defeats, and it could well have have been all three too. An encouraging start, but additions will be required. The full-back spots which were totally unmanned during the early stages of pre-season still need attention, with Cristian Gamboa struggling to force his way past Liverpool-loanee Andre Wisdom at right-back, whilst the Australian Jason Davidson isn’t providing any degree of competition to the struggling Sebastien Pocognoli at left-back either. We must acknowledge the versatile contributions of Chris Baird, one of the summer’s most underwhelming additions, which have helped bridge more than one gap in a squad which has been neglected for far too long.
A taller, more physical presence in the middle of the field could also be on the cards during January, as the majority of options in midfield tend to fit the “soft-footed” artist mould of a Tony Mowbray player, as opposed to the more rugged makeup of a “Pulis soldier”.
On the wings, options are very thin on the ground. Sebastian Blanco was signed during the scattergun summer spree, but, despite fleeting signs in extremely limited game time, he hasn’t been afforded much of a chance. This weekend’s FA Cup tie versus Gateshead could provide the perfect opportunity to see if he has anything to offer. If his face doesn’t fit however, and perhaps even if it does, I’d expect a pacey wide man to be brought into the fold as the current options lack any real explosion or the ability to stretch the field out wide, funnelling the play back inside to the congested midfield.
Figures have been thrown around by way of a war chest for Pulis to spend this month, and it is tough to envisage Peace tempting the ex-Stoke and Palace boss to the Black Country without the promise of available funds.
The key to survival will be finding someone else to share the heavy burden of goals for a side who have managed just eight goals from open play so far this season and notched multiples goals in a game just six times out of twenty-three this season. Saido Berahino needs someone to help him carry the load.
Immediate thoughts turn to players who have the faith and trust of Pulis from his past clubs. Jon Walters, Glenn Whelan and Peter Crouch have all been linked already, and it isn’t unreasonable to think that one may yet be heading to The Hawthorns, with perhaps Walters the player most likely to add some physicality, height and know-how to the attack.
There will also be those whose faces don’t fit in with the new regime so we could yet see the likes of Jason Davidson, Sebastien Blanco, Brown Ideye and Georgios Samaras challenged to prove their worth.
Make no mistake, the snow cone is about to get a thorough shaking. It will certainly be interesting to see how the dust settles on a new appointment which has been warmly received, despite the ‘against-the-grain’ reservations of some sections of support.
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