West Bromwich Albion fans here in the Tavern are bitterly disappointed after the weekend’s loss as the Baggies suffered a fifth-round exit in the FA Cup.
Indeed, West Brom might just be starting to reconsider their decision to appoint Alan Pardew as their supposed saviour, with the Baggies now looking condemned to relegation at the foot of the Premier League table. The weekend’s FA Cup performance certainly won’t be a boost to their survival hopes, with Southampton inflicting a convincing 2-1 defeat of Pardew’s team at the Hawthorns.
The defeat is sure to make the mood at West Brom even worse, and so they are quickly entering a make-or-break period in the season. If they don’t turn things around quickly, their season could be over very quickly.
Clearly, change is needed, and at present, it doesn’t look like Pardew is going to provide that change. However, that doesn’t mean that this is an unsolvable situation.
To the contrary, our landlord thinks that these TWO men could have a say in turning the campaign around if they’re given a chance…
Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp is one of the most established managers in the footballing world after stints at a number of English clubs during his long and illustrious career. After racking up over 1,300 managerial games in his successful time as a manager, there’s going to be a considerable amount of knowledge that the 70-year-old can bring to a struggling team like West Brom.
But that’s not the aspect that Baggies fans will be interested in. Indeed, it’s his survival history that is likely to grasp the hopes of many at the Hawthorns.
Indeed, the Englishman managed to engineer an iconic relegation escape at rivals Birmingham City in the Championship last year, the kind of outcome that the Hawthorns is crying out for given the current bother that the club finds itself in.
Paul Clement
Paul Clement has enjoyed a rather successful time of things since branching out from his usual assistant role at previous clubs, having now managed at both Swansea City and Derby County over the past three years. It’s fair to say he’s pulled off some pretty impressive results at both of the English clubs.
What may attract West Brom the most is his stint at Swansea City. Sure, it didn’t end too well, but he proved that he can engineer an escape from the relegation zone – and that could be huge for the Baggies.
A long-term stint isn’t likely to be fruitful, given his history, but a short-term deal could work out for all parties.
