After nine wins, four draws and five defeats, Eric Ramsey was sacked by West Bromwich Albion, the second young manager to experience failure in a matter of months.
The Baggies’ faith in their inexperience is as admirable as it is worrying for those at the Hawthorns, and Ramsey’s tenure could not have been more disastrous.
The 34-year-old hasn’t even enjoyed the typical new manager bounce. His side were doomed from the start, losing 5-0 to Norwich City in his second game in charge.
West Brom are back to square one, sitting one point above the Championship drop zone and searching for their next manager. But why did Ramsay’s tenure go so wrong?
What went wrong with Eric Ramsey at West Brom?
First impressions matter in this life, especially in English football these days. It’s a lesson Ramsey has had to learn the hard way in recent months, with the aforementioned defeat at Norwich presenting him with an impossible task before making his mark on the Baggies.
The 5-0 defeat instantly set records for all the wrong reasons as the club’s biggest ever home defeat outside the top flight. Records continued to be born from there.
After facing sacking after just 44 days in charge, Ramsey endured the shortest tenure as a permanent manager in West Brom’s history with a 0% win rate.
Eric Ramsey’s results at West Brom | competition |
|---|---|
West Brom 2-3 Middlesbrough | championship |
West Brom 0-5 Norwich | championship |
Derby County 1-1 West Brom | championship |
Portsmouth 3-0 West Brom | championship |
West Brom 0-0 Stoke City | championship |
Birmingham City 0-0 West Brom | championship |
Norwich 3-1 West Brom | FA Cup |
West Brom 0-2 Coventry City | championship |
West Brom 1-1 Charlton Athletic | championship |
Goals were a particular problem during Ramsey’s reign. The Baggies scored just five goals in nine games, two of which came in his first game as manager, against Middlesbrough.
Even after switching from a 5-4-1 system to a 4-2-3-1 towards the end of his tenure at the club, it is clear that the young manager’s system did not sit well with the Hawthorns.
So how can they replace him?
West Brom could make immediate repeat hire of Mowbray
Remember when West Brom sacked Tony Mowbray for failing to stay in the play-offs? Oh, how good it would have been for the Baggies almost a year later if failure to make the play-offs was their biggest problem.
The veteran manager was only three months into his second stint in charge of the club, and while he wasn’t perfect, he was clearly the best man for the job compared to Ryan Mason and Ramsey.
However, given that Mowbray won promotion to the Championship in the 2007-08 season, this is West Brom’s first tenure and they will be aiming to repeat it again.
But who can repeat that feat? According to Sportsboom, Sean Dyche is the West Brom manager’s top target.
After going through two young managers this season, West Brom finally look set to bring in much-needed experience and perhaps a manager to rival the great Mowbray.
Like Mowbray, Dyche’s preferred system these days is a 4-2-3-1. But don’t be fooled by its broad sound. Dyche is not the kind of manager who prioritizes style over winning, and that’s exactly what West Brom need if they want to avoid relegation.
The tough battles at Everton and Nottingham Forest were notable, but even after being deducted points Dyche continued to hold the Toffees against the odds and lead the latter to survival.
Dyche is a man who knows exactly what it takes to avoid relegation, having done so previously at Burnley, and with the right support could even turn that survival into promotion.
Like Mowbray, he represents the endangered breed of classic English managers that West Brom will have to turn to in the face of Ramsey’s sacking.
West Brom considering former trophy-winning Southampton and Bundesliga manager to replace Ramsey
The Baggies are in dire straits.
