[SmethDan]

......Darren tried to get us to play too much football.......

I don't think too much football was the problem so much as where (and how) much of the football was being played.

[SirTonyM]

I don't think too much football was the problem so much as where (and how) much of the football was being played.

It was tongue in cheek in the sense that no matter what style / who manager the players haven’t been able to adapt and there’s always some reason.

[TheJacko2000]

It was tongue in cheek in the sense that no matter what style / who manager the players haven’t been able to adapt and there’s always some reason.

They adapted to Moore's tactics fine and nearly pulled off the greatest escape. Jones' not so much.

[Albion79]

This is why i think whoever the manager is doesnt matter to an extent because with this group they are limited what they can do.

When Moore came in the club was in a mess, fans were staying away, the football was awful and we were going down with a whimper. He came in, spread some positivity, made us more organised and harder to beat and we ground out some results, the end game was we still got relegated but with a bit of pride and faith restored.

This season the objective was different, as a newly relegated team with our supposed stars the onus was on us to win games, he said that himself, if he had set us up to play this season the same way we finished last he wouldnt of made it to Xmas, the fans had seen enough safe and cautious football to last a life time and with us now being a big fish in a small pond in the championship instead of a small fish in a big pond in the premier league, expectations were different. I think had Rowett tried to show some signs of positive football at Stoke he may of got longer but as they were that boring and tedious, the fans turned and the board acted, i think Moore would of been the same.

There were a lot of positives to his spell, we are second highest scorers in the league and he had a 50% win rate so that suggests that the approach to games had changed and was working to a certain extent.

I think a combination of him not adapting his tactics and formations enough, the pace and energy of the championship catching up with our ageing squad and the fact our players have history in recent seasons of bottling big games when they matter was his downfall.

In a strange way this squad may of been suited to better to the premier league this season because they could play safety first football, there isnt a pressure to win games, its just to survive. I think last night showed that take them back to basics and they are fine, it wasnt pretty but it was effective, thats fine for a bit but the Albion fans are an expectant bunch, especially at this level and they voted with their feet last season and so whoever came in had to try and change that as fans wouldnt put up with boring football. (It helped last night that Swansea were one of the most open teams to play at the Hawthorns this season so it made it a decent game)

This group of players have shown they either cannot change too much or wont change too much, probably a combination of the two so you either bring in coach to suit the players which will probably mean basic boring football but not to the extreme of Pulis or you bring in a coach who wants to revamp the players and style, a bit of a revolution, however that will take time and i am not sure anybody will get that time.

[BalisPen]

Imo we should get in Carvahal on a short term deal with a big bonus for going up and then get Neil in as the long term manager.

He impressed me at Norwich and this season he had lots of injuries at Preston but turned things around brilliantly.

[TheJacko2000]

Imo we should get in Carvahal on a short term deal with a big bonus for going up and then get Neil in as the long term manager.

He impressed me at Norwich and this season he had lots of injuries at Preston but turned things around brilliantly.

What a relief you're not part of the decision making process.

[BalisPen]

What a relief you're not part of the decision making process.

And your knowledge goes as far as to jump up and down. on the SJ bandwagon because he is the obvious choice..

Very insightful and inspiring choice he is.

He is not worth £2m a year in the championship and is temperamental.

[TheJacko2000]

And your knowledge goes as far as to jump up and down. on the SJ bandwagon because he is the obvious choice..

Very insightful and inspiring choice he is.

He is not worth £2m a year in the championship and is temperamental.

Jokanovic is by some distance the best choice, and mimicking Standamans reservations doesn't display any great insight. Anyone who would advocate Carvahal under any conditions with his track record is following the wrong sport. As for Alex Neil, I've had my fill of dour Scots with no previous to speak of.


We've got a chance to start a legacy here,  let's not waste it on dross.

[BalisPen]

You'll find I wrote about my reservations about the £2m  salary elsewhere before any mentioned here, I have my own mind and unlike you don't jump on the most obvious bandwagon, up and down like kid who's had too many sweets.

The only bonus is you have not been advocating Brunt to made player manager.

[baggie82]

£2m annum is no big deal for our manager, were a football club competing to get back into the top flight not a flea market trader.

[Standaman]

£2m annum is no big deal for our manager, were a football club competing to get back into the top flight not a flea market trader.

No it is huge in the Championship it is a salary that ONLY works if we get promotion (although this increases further on promotion). The problem is that every club that has ever started on a downward financial spiral has signed  contracts that makes perfect sense if you assume success but become a millstone if that success isn't achieved. If we give him a three year contract at that salary we can barely afford it next year and cannot afford it the year after.

 If he fails and we sack him we pay up the contract and still have to fund (the much reduced) salary for his successor. 

[AlbionFan]

How do we know he wants £2m as all reports are that we haven’t even approached him yet, so all talk of wage demands are premature surely?

[BigFrank20]

Where does all this information come from about what championship managers earn?

These earnings numbers get quoted here, and elsewhere, as if they are absolutes and the person quoting them knows them to be correct

My instict is that clubs are very unlikely to openly publish how much they pay players, managers and the various assitants so I repeat where can I go to look up for myself the verified salary figures for these various potential managers?

COYB

[Albion79]

If the rumours are true that Jokanovic and Neil are the favourites the club and fans probably have to realise things will get worse before getting better.

Neil’s first season at preston was an average one, they then had a shocking start to this season where they were bottom but turned it round and now with the form they are in could make the playoffs, Farkes had a similar pattern too though they are going up automatic..

Jokanovic was similar, first season he did well, kept Fulham up, then they were playoffs and lost, then last season they were struggling down the bottom before he turned it round and they won the playoffs.

So there is every chance things will improve, then we will go through a bad patch, before things then improve again, its during that bad patch the fans and board have to be patient, calm and have faith in whoever the manager is.

[Albion79]

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-nor-idUKKBN1QU1P3

This to me is exactly how we should be operating for a club of our size and resources, would love the new man to come in and be given time to implement this approach alongside Dowling.

Get rid of most of the tried and trusted players, start again with a younger and hungrier squad, which will most likely be cheaper too!

[Albionic]

So..... what about if James Shan wins again at Brentford on Saturday ? How far-fetched would it be to let him in charge for the last 8 games ??   Not so far-fetched I would think.

The club could be thinking, "if we had let pardew (spit) go a few games earlier and let Darren have a few more games we may have stayed up, lets see what Shan can do, especially if the players who "run the club and are more than capable when they want to be" want to get the £10m promotion bonus!!

Its not a massive stretch to see someone (CB ?) knocking the door and saying leave it us we will sort this out !

[hardtobeat]

In fairness to Neal I am pretty sure a lot of Preston's early season problems were caused by an horrendous injury list. Also have to remember he got the Norwich gig on the back of  doing a good job in Scotland  with an unfancied side

[timdon]

Jokanovic is by some distance the best choice, and mimicking Standamans reservations doesn't display any great insight. Anyone who would advocate Carvahal under any conditions with his track record is following the wrong sport. As for Alex Neil, I've had my fill of dour Scots with no previous to speak of.


We've got a chance to start a legacy here,  let's not waste it on dross.

So on the basis that you didn't like Irvine or Clarke, you are writing off Alex Neil as dross? Who isn't at all dour by the way, though you seem to insist on labeling him as such. Oh yes and you consistently slag off Derek McInnes too whenever you get the chance. And you never liked Graham Dorrans. Nor Oli Burke.........Yes, I'm beginning to see the pattern.

[wbarenno]

How do we know he wants £2m as all reports are that we haven’t even approached him yet, so all talk of wage demands are premature surely?

Exactly this, if reports are to be believed that we haven’t approached him then this 2 million figure is rubbish .

We’ve either spoke to him and he wants 2 million or we haven’t spoke to him at all

[frazzle]

So on the basis that you didn't like Irvine or Clarke, you are writing off Alex Neil as dross? Who isn't at all dour by the way, though you seem to insist on labeling him as such. Oh yes and you consistently slag off Derek McInnes too whenever you get the chance. And you never liked Graham Dorrans. Nor Oli Burke.........Yes, I'm beginning to see the pattern.

He doesn’t like me either and I live in Scotland!

Ha. You’re on to something

[skyclad99]

Imo we should get in Carvahal on a short term deal with a big bonus for going up and then get Neil in as the long term manager.

He impressed me at Norwich and this season he had lots of injuries at Preston but turned things around brilliantly.

I am sure both Alex and Carlos would be overjoyed with that arrangement........

[cornishbaggie]

Jokanovic is by some distance the best choice, and mimicking Standamans reservations doesn't display any great insight. Anyone who would advocate Carvahal under any conditions with his track record is following the wrong sport. As for Alex Neil, I've had my fill of dour Scots with no previous to speak of.


We've got a chance to start a legacy here,  let's not waste it on dross.

We had a chance to start a legacy with Big Dave. There is absolutely no chance of WBA starting a legacy. Requires trust and patience. The board have neither.

[The Black Pearl]

We had a chance to start a legacy with Big Dave. There is absolutely no chance of WBA starting a legacy. Requires trust and patience. The board have neither.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get this legacy business, Big Dave showed he had huge tactical and managerial flaws, if you want a long term legacy, it has to start with the right head coach, much as we love Big Dave, he was not the one to do that, as the season went on, we got worse as Sheffield Utd, Leeds and Norwich improved, I just hope we get the right man next.

[Nathan]

We had a chance to start a legacy with Big Dave. There is absolutely no chance of WBA starting a legacy. Requires trust and patience. The board have neither.

We would have had chance to start a legacy if we had appointed Graham Potter last April/Summer. He comes across as very intelligent and innovative as well as having a good footballing brain and philosophy and also being a thoroughly decent human being and obviously of an age to be in a position to want to around the club for a long enough period of time in order to build that said legacy. I said at the time that we could well regret not making an approach for Potter. For as much as Darren Moore is a nice bloke, he was/is thoroughly lacking in every other department for his appointment to have been a successful long term solution.

[darbolina]

Legacy is built on success. Success is usually built on stability and strong foundations. We don't have the basics right at the club so how can we expect the rest to follow?

Maybe the club and Darren knew this and in spite of what they said, he was only ever a short term appointment like the rest the past few years. Arguably, Pulis would've been here longer, longer term (as long as he wanted) if he'd carried on boring us to staying up each year. We're arguably still paying for Pulis' legacy of helping to dismantle the structure and foundations we'd spent 10 years creating too............?

These days it's normal for coaches to stay for no more than a couple of years. We're not that different. We pulled the trigger earlier than most us thought though and we'll never know if Darren was just about to get it together enough to push us on a 7 game winning streak - didn't look that way though.

We just need a coach that's 'in tune' with the club's (latest) strategy. That seems to be simply about getting up and preferably whilst trying to keep the fans happier by playing a bit more attacking football (maybe wrong on the second bit being realistic).