From the outside it doesnt look great but i try not to put all focus on what the media say because we have known for years, Albion tend to keep things quiet which leads to a lot of second guessing from media, fans, etc.
It seems suspicious Wagner is supposedly certain for the job and 12 hours later is appointed manager in a different country, if i was being cynical i may suggest that his people leaked it to the media rather than Albion to give the club in switzerland a kick up the backside to get the deal done.
We are a bit of a basket case in terms of what we are going for, we seem to be trying to go for the Ashworth approach of a director of football and a head coach but then appointing Bilic and Allardyce, both strong characters who are known for their management rather than their coaching, it makes no sense.
A director of football is central to everything, whoever comes in has to be able to work him, understand that the club signs players with the manager having a say so rather than the other way round, At the moment Dowling seems to be there for the sake of having a DOF rather than actually serving a purpose.
For it to work you have to give them the responsibility, let potential coaches know than both parties whats what otherwise you end up with half a squad that the manager wants and half he doesnt and a breakdown in relations.
From the names linked most are used to being the manager and running everything, if thats the case then get rid of Dowling, give one of these managers the job, let them get on with it, there isnt much long term thinking at Albion, Lai just wants us in the premier league so he can sell, if say Wilder is the best option then do it but let him do it his way.
Giving Wilder as an example, he will probably look at our squad, its competitive at championship level, there are potentially a couple of players who could stand out at championship level (Grant, Diangana) and he will have a few quid to add players and probably would fancy his chances of getting us up, even with a DOF he will probably think the job is worth it because there are a lot of things in our favour at championship level.
Should we do that, we will then be in the same position as the end of the last promotion season, we wont spend loads, we will be one of the favorites for relegation, should we struggle, we sack the manager, he has a promotion on his CV and a nice pay off and we are looking for a fire fighter again.
However if we are going to go for the DOF / head coach instead of manager then we have to stick to it and that will rule out a number of people for it to work because they are used to being managers, Britain still doesnt have that many, most clubs the manager tends to have the say so.
The right person can probably get on board but that is likely to be a young hungry manager who is trying to prove themselves, i think as we saw with Pulis, trying to pair a DOF with an experienced manager who has got used to doing things their way doesnt work.
For our present situation, i think Appleton fits the bill, he is a known good coach, he is ambitious, he is hungry (probably more than most due to his playing career ending so soon) and although its held against him by some for being Ex Albion, in this case it may actually work in his / our favour.
Appleton knows how the club works, who does what so would be coming in fully prepped for whats ahead, i think it was well known with Bilic it was an eye opener how we do things, Appleton knows. He can also develop players with his coaching and if we did go up, come down, he will learn and develop too, ready for another go, keep building a style and identity rather than going direct (Pulis, Allardyce) to possession (Moore) to Counter attack (Bilic).
Its not like he has been plucked form nowhere, he has earnt his stripes, he has done a good job at his last couple of clubs and if he is ever going to get the chance at Albion, this should be it. Mowbray had only managed in Scotland, Di Matteo got MK Dons to the play offs (same as Appleton) and both did good jobs at Albion.
Appleton isnt massively exciting or a name but in our present situation, i think he is the sensible option, we can worry about other stuff when we have an owner who wants to be at the club.
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