I think it’s become clear that the club has started to go back to its disastrous run of coaches. There was always a succession plan in place when it came to the coaching side. Mowbray, Di Matteo, Hodgson, Clarke all followed the same principles for the club. From then it has been a who’s who of styles. Mel, Irvine, Pulis, Pardew, Big Dave, Bilic, Allardyce, Ismael, Bruce, Corberan, Mowbray again, Mason and now Ramsay.
No clear plan, no continuation where a new coach wouldn’t need to change much because they have the same principles. Just shit and chaos. Now to be fair to the club, they have tried in the past year to put a plan in place. I’ve spoken previously about the wanting to have a younger squad and younger coaching team in place, something that is becoming bigger in the English game. The problem has been the implementation of said plan. The squad has been made younger but has deteriorated in quality rather than increased as it should have. The coaching side has seen Mason and Ramsay be thrust into a job that is above them, especially Ramsay, and the continuation where Mason goes and someone similar comes in hasn’t happened as Ramsay and Mason are is chalk and cheese in style and ideas.
Relegation to League One will be a disaster but it could be a disaster that this club needs to actually reset itself. Not the soft reset of when we went down from the Premier League and continued the same inconsistent cycle in the Championship, but an actual reset. A reset with a 5 year plan in place, not a year by year plan. A plan where the coaching staff is young and hungry and wants to play good football. A plan to invest in young players, and give our youth a chance to shine. Have a continuation plan in place, like Ashworth used to have. Look abroad to Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway for young talent that won’t cost a lot and will have the hunger and desire to bring the club forward. Hell, look at Middlesbrough and their Swedish Head Coach and what he has done so quickly. It was risky and brave but it has worked. Albion in that situation would have overlooked him for a British coach who’s worked in the Premier League as a First Team Coach and nothing more.
The club can endure relegation to League One but it has to come out of the other side better for it. That will mean taking risks and punts but the reward out of it is bigger than continuing with the same old, uninspiring decision making.
As an example, we could look at Fredrik Holmberg from GAIS in Sweden. In his 5 years he has taken them from the third decision to 3rd place in the Allsvenskan, and that’s with a tiny budget. That’s the bravery and risk, with potential high reward, that I talk about.
No clear plan, no continuation where a new coach wouldn’t need to change much because they have the same principles. Just shit and chaos. Now to be fair to the club, they have tried in the past year to put a plan in place. I’ve spoken previously about the wanting to have a younger squad and younger coaching team in place, something that is becoming bigger in the English game. The problem has been the implementation of said plan. The squad has been made younger but has deteriorated in quality rather than increased as it should have. The coaching side has seen Mason and Ramsay be thrust into a job that is above them, especially Ramsay, and the continuation where Mason goes and someone similar comes in hasn’t happened as Ramsay and Mason are is chalk and cheese in style and ideas.
Relegation to League One will be a disaster but it could be a disaster that this club needs to actually reset itself. Not the soft reset of when we went down from the Premier League and continued the same inconsistent cycle in the Championship, but an actual reset. A reset with a 5 year plan in place, not a year by year plan. A plan where the coaching staff is young and hungry and wants to play good football. A plan to invest in young players, and give our youth a chance to shine. Have a continuation plan in place, like Ashworth used to have. Look abroad to Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway for young talent that won’t cost a lot and will have the hunger and desire to bring the club forward. Hell, look at Middlesbrough and their Swedish Head Coach and what he has done so quickly. It was risky and brave but it has worked. Albion in that situation would have overlooked him for a British coach who’s worked in the Premier League as a First Team Coach and nothing more.
The club can endure relegation to League One but it has to come out of the other side better for it. That will mean taking risks and punts but the reward out of it is bigger than continuing with the same old, uninspiring decision making.
As an example, we could look at Fredrik Holmberg from GAIS in Sweden. In his 5 years he has taken them from the third decision to 3rd place in the Allsvenskan, and that’s with a tiny budget. That’s the bravery and risk, with potential high reward, that I talk about.