Monday 29 December 2014 23:50, UK
West Brom have dispensed with head coach Alan Irvine but there is little reason to believe that will be the end of their problems, writes Adam Bate...
The exit of Alan Irvine will be mourned by few West Bromwich Albion supporters. In truth, many of them were angry and frustrated by his appointment in the first place. But as Albion’s head coach departs having presided over four wins in 19 games, there remains confusion regarding quite what it was that the Baggies hierarchy expected from the man they turned to in the summer.
Albion finished just one place above the drop zone in May, limping over the line with a mere 36 points - a tally that could have relegated them in each of the previous three seasons. As a result, there was an understandable relief when a fraught campaign came to a close. However, it should have been accompanied by a realisation that the problems were far from over.
Although the progress of young forward Saido Berahino provided headlines, the underlying impression was that of an ageing squad that had been relied upon for too long. Albion’s veteran defence was starting to break up with Jonas Olsson past his best, Gareth McAuley turning 35 and the full-back pairing of Steven Reid and Liam Ridgewell moving on. Pace was lacking throughout.
The task of freshening things up fell not to Irvine but to those in charge of transfers. That was the responsibility of Richard Garlick until May when the erstwhile sporting and technical director moved to an administrative position to allow former Wimbledon boss Terry Burton to fill the role.
Recruitment is a big part of Burton’s job, although Irvine can claim some input in the acquisition of the pick of the summer signings with Joleon Lescott citing his new boss as a “massive” factor in his decision to join the club. The former Everton defender had worked with Irvine when the Scot was assistant manager at Goodison Park.
By contrast, Irvine admitted he’d never seen Brown Ideye play – despite the Baggies breaking their transfer record to sign the 26-year-old Nigerian from Dynamo Kiev. It was a curious move for an otherwise prudent club, especially given that Ideye had endured an underwhelming year in Ukraine, and the striker has rarely looked like justifying the fee – scoring just one Premier League goal.
Ideye’s arrival was one of a series of summer gambles that included Cristian Gamboa, Sebastian Blanco and Georgios Samaras. But it remains unclear whether this is a case of a head coach failing to successfully integrate talented individuals or a man saddled with shoddy signings. After all, even good workmen are sometimes left blaming their tools.
This cuts to the heart of the problem. Albion have been heralded as a model of good governance throughout their time in the Premier League and their policy of separating not only the scouting but also the coaching function from that of the head coach has provided a continuity of sorts.
But that desire to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn’t much help when you can’t distinguish the difference between the two. For example, will coaches Keith Downing and Dean Kiely survive the axing of another head coach? And how can those responsible for the struggling signings be absolved from blame for their lack of impact?
Instead it is Irvine who loses his job, the third West Brom head coach to depart in a little over 12 months. Steve Clarke and Pepe Mel are both back in work. And while Irvine might count himself fortunate to be in that company to begin with, his exit comes with more questions than answers. He wasn’t the solution, but supporters might be left wondering whether he was the problem either.
