West Brom reveal talks to hire 4-2-3-1 manager, a major upgrade from Morrison

West Bromwich Albion fans made their feelings known after the Baggies’ defeat to Oxford United on Saturday.

In an ideal world, West Brom would have avoided immediate relegation in the Championship by getting rid of Eric Ramsey, and James Morrison would have scored an important win at Kassam when he returned as caretaker manager.

Instead, West Brom suffered their 18th defeat of the season against America, who actually sit in the bottom three of the division, and Leicester City’s point deduction turned out to be a huge blessing for the West Midlands outfit, who still managed to stay just one point from the drop zone.

Coach Morrison slammed the performance as the full-time whistle sounded, calling it “unacceptable”. West Brom’s powers are now certain to have their sights set on other managerial targets rather than handing the Baggies legend the full-time reins.

West Brom are looking for a replacement for Ramsey

No one at West Brom would have faulted Morrison’s passion at the final whistle for not shying away from the disastrous nature of his performance at Oxford.

But at the moment he doesn’t seem like the right man to pull the Baggies out of Championship misery. West Brom are currently without a win in their last 11 games in the second tier and are in real danger of dropping to League One.

A fresh face may be what Morrison needs, having been part of a backroom staff that has endured Ramsey’s brutal nine-game tenure.

Rumors abound as to who might take over to right the wrongs of the former Minnesota United head coach’s dismal one-month reign, and Slaven Bilic’s name could be mentioned as one of the candidates to return to the Hawthorns.

Furthermore, Carlos Corberan has also been named as a candidate to replace Ramsey as he makes a dramatic return to the West Midlands following his time as Valencia manager.

Surprisingly, West Brom are reportedly further linked with bringing Tony Mowbray back for a third spell as Baggies manager. In fact, according to Football Insider, they have entered preliminary talks to bring the EFL veteran back to Albion.

He may just be needed as a short-term relief, as he is a major upgrade by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Why Mowbray’s appointment is a big upgrade for Morrison

Of course, Baggies supporters will be wary of re-appointing Mowbray again, given that he only won five games in 17 games last season after being handed the job after Corberan.

But this is a gamble potentially worth exploring, with West Brom now here, apart from their previous play-off aspirations, desperate to win at all costs, and given the team’s no-show at Oxford, Morrison is ill-suited to the pressures of a full-time job.

Mowbray, on the other hand, brings a wealth of experience to the team, with an impressive 193 Championship wins to date during his career on the road, and will be a calming presence during the turbulent times ahead at the Hawthorns.

Moreover, like Morrison, he has been in charge of the West Midlands for the last 157 games and knows how passionate the West Brom faithful can be when everything goes well, even guiding him on the path to lifting the Championship title at the end of a jubilant 2007-08 season.

He also has a reputation for being well-liked by the majority of players who have worked for him, with former Blackburn Rovers star Bradley Dack hailing him as “the best manager” he has ever worked with, and who has always given him the “confidence” to succeed as a much-loved manager.

This is exactly what West Brom need now to turn around their disastrous fortunes, and perhaps Mr Morrison lacks the same inspiring energy that was stoked by the previous government.

It will be interesting to see if West Brom, who prefer a 4-2-3-1 formation and have endured Ramsey’s nightmarish stay, will target Mowbray as a short-term fix as the relegation-threatened side need to get the next roll of the dice right.