17-12-2014, 13:51
Really, I think it was the defeat at Swansea in November 2012 which started the rot. We staggered on and picked up a couple of wins afterward, but you could see the cracks showing (i.e. Fulham at home, New Year's Day), and the Reading match just finished the job. Clarke didn't help himself (I found it telling after the Arsenal match on telly the other week, when he made a comment along the lines of "Alan Irvine got his tactics spot-on today; all West Brom can really do in the Premier League is keep it 0-0 for an hour and then try to nick a goal") but he was also failed big-time by recruitment. In January 2013 we needed at least one new pacy wide man, and probably a new central midfielder, too. By summer 2013 we still needed both of those things, plus two new full-backs, plus a ten-goal-a-season striker. We're still suffering the effects of that dithering even now.
It would have been interesting to see what Clarke could have accomplished in 2013 with better tools. Best of luck to him.
It would have been interesting to see what Clarke could have accomplished in 2013 with better tools. Best of luck to him.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley