After wasting an inordinate amount of time, time which had originally been earmarked for rest and recuperation following a particularly persistent bout of illness, discussing last night’s events concerning West Bromwich Albion on Twitter following the club’s decision to place Head Coach Steve Clarke on ‘Gardening Leave’, I thought I may as well move my musings somewhere devoid of a 140 character maximum.
Following a period of poor performances and even worse results, rounding off a calendar year that saw West Brom pick up just 7 victories along the way, Steve Clarke was last night relieved of his duties by Chairman Jeremy Peace and the wheels set in motion on the hunt for his successor.
The fact that football is not played or tables calculated over a calendar year but instead over a season spanning from August to May in which Steve Clarke last season managed to guide The Albion to 8th position in the Premier League, the clubs highest finishing position since 1981, should not hide the fact that performances of late were not to anyone’s satisfaction.
Where we used to attack teams in Clarke’s early days in charge, the players appeared to have settled into a fearful safety first mode which, ironically, was anything but safe. A good defensive record turned sour as teams were given more licence to attack what is, in all honesty, nothing more than a half-decent Premier League backline which cost just a few million to assemble. When you are outscoring opponents with swashbuckling attacking play, any deficiencies at the back can be masked. When you sit back and allow teams to dictate, whilst being as toothless as an OAP on a Poligrip advert however, those deficiencies are going to be ruthlessly highlighted.
Making best use of what is the best squad ever assembled by WBA in the Premier League has been another mark against Clarke in recent weeks. Everybody wanted him to succeed as he appears to be such a nice person, but that doesn’t grant you any additional leeway when the results turn sour – and recent performances such as the second half against Villa, the first half against Norwich, Newcastle away and his final game in charge at Cardiff yesterday were the footballing equivalent of week-old milk which had been left out of the fridge. Seeing a game slip away thanks to another flat performance but waiting until there is just 15 minutes left to make any substitutions had left many in the stands scratching their head. The fact that on many occasions, the substitutions also came with a total abandonment of any team shape, replaced by a gung-ho ‘hope something drops with all these forwards on the pitch’ mentality resulted in yet more puzzled looks.
To many, the change had been a necessity for a while. To others, the case to keep him in charge was becoming increasingly harder to argue with each passing non-performance. On the whole, Albion supporters, whichever camp they were in, were not overly-surprised. In fact, the only people who were at best surprised, and at worst astounded or disgusted by the news were the national media collective who have little to no real interest in life outside the top half dozen clubs. Clarke had after all masterminded a win away at Old Trafford earlier this season so how the hell could little West Brom be so stupid as to sack him? I remember similar media uproar at the time of Roberto Di Matteo’s dismissal, but history will show that that didn’t work out too badly for any of the parties involved.
The task at hand now is to install a new Head Coach in timely fashion before a frantic festive fixture list eats up another chunk of the season. There is no period of comfort available in which Albion can identify their chosen man at their own leisure, instead being pressed by time thanks to the mid-season decision to relieve Clarke, along with one if his assistants Steve Keen, of his duties.
So who is available?
In short, a tired old collection of managers who have been around the block more times than a keep-fit enthusiast. Perhaps most ridiculously amongst them, not to mention one of the early favourites with the bookies, is Di Matteo, a man sacked by the club once already. If I was a rich man, I would be laying that like a hyperactive carpet-fitter on Betfair. Alan Curbishley is another lurking a little further down the market as he usually does whenever a new post becomes available. I find it hard to believe that he isn’t in some form of partnership with at least one bookmaking firm. He has been out of the business for long enough now yet his odds normally start low before drifting like a rudderless ship in a storm. If either are appointed, I will need a lie down in a darkened room for a while.
The out of work Martin Jol, Mike Phelan, Stuart Pearce, Paolo Di Canio, Ian Holloway and Owen Coyle are also lurking in the market but none, with the possible exception of Martin Jol, would be welcome in my little world. They are out of work for a reason as, Phelan aside – who would be unwanted by the majority of Albion fans who remember his disappointing spell at The Hawthorns towards the end of his playing career, they have all recently failed. Ex-player Jol would’ve been an attractive appointment to most fans prior to his spell in charge of Fulham which culminated in them looking as toothless in battle as Albion currently do going forward. Lack of shape, commitment and determination are not traits that are needed at such a pivotal time.
Two names apparently receiving plenty of support are yesterdays conqueror Malky Mackay of Cardiff City and the up and coming, gravelly-voiced Burnley boss Sean Dyche. Concerning Mackay, I don’t really understand the attraction myself, as prior to yesterday, his Cardiff side had an identical 8 match form record as Clarke’s Albion. That they didn’t look impressive in victory against what was a pitiful performance from a team devoid of confidence didn’t raise his stock any in my eyes. He has more experience than Dyche but his appointment would be nothing more than a sideways step for me. Dyche is still making his mark in just his third season as a boss and although the job he is doing at Turf Moor is admirable, the step up to the Premier League is not one that should be underestimated and at this point would come too soon for him in my humble opinion.
Two other interesting yet inexperienced names in the mix are the ‘baby-faced assassin’ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is refusing to commit his long-term future to current club Molde and Paul Clement, decorated coach and trusted aide of Carlo Ancelotti following him around since his days at Chelsea to Paris Saint Germain and now Real Madrid. It is unclear whether the brother of former Albion left back Neil Clement would find the attraction of West Bromwich enough to prise him away from the Galactico’s of Madrid. Again, both leave question marks about their suitability for the role thanks to a lack of experience, but then again, how do you get it if nobody will give you a chance, something Albion have proved willing to do in the past.
To me, the fact that this is a mid-season appointment lends itself to a more experienced Head Coach and with that, brings Ralf Rangnick, heavily-linked with the post last time around, firmly into the equation. Currently Sporting Director at both Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Leipzig, he has an extensive coaching and managerial background, with a renowned reputation as a type of ‘German Wenger’ who, given chance, will build an empire at a club. One other interesting facet to this would be that Red Bull have been making noises about their preference to find an English club to invest in. Whether that club is West Bromwich Albion remains to be seen, but they obviously trust Rangnick. Could he therefore be the catalyst for a takeover?
It is with a tinge of sadness that I wave goodbye to Steve Clarke and will always have a fondness for him thanks to individual games like the result achieved at Old Trafford this season and indeed the 8th place finish last season, but in football, there is no time for sentiment and we must look forward.
Things could have been so different for Clarke had things fell differently, Ramires for example in the last minute of injury-time at Stamford Bridge recently, or the spate of penalty decisions that went against his team in recent weeks, or indeed the glut of gilt-edged chances spurned by the club’s record-transfer signing Stephane Sessegnon during this sticky patch, but facts will tell us that they didn’t, and with that, nobody can really blame Peace for acting when he did. The key thing now is to make the right appointment.
My choice would be Ralf Rangnick, but opinion amongst supporters is about as split as the WACA pitch being played on in The Ashes.
It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks ahead.
COYB
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