Graeme Le Saux: Replacing Pulis is no easy job for West Brom

Graeme Le Saux
24 November 2017

Graeme thinks appointing Alan Pardew would make sense for West Brom

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Graeme Le Saux gives his thoughts on West Brom's decision to let go of Tony Pulis and what needs to be considered when seeking his replacement...

"They really do need to now be mindful of who they replace him with, he had a very specific work ethic with a tailored training programme and a squad of players built towards operating in a particular system."

I know Tony Pulis was on a really poor run of form but you do have to question West Brom's rationale for sacking him. The board must've felt that he had lost his influence on the team and that a shake-up was needed.

Whenever these situations arise with mid-table clubs I think back to Alan Curbishley's situation at Charlton when he was let go. The club had got to a point where their expectations were simply unrealistic and look where that landed them. Sometimes changes don't have the desired effect.

They really do need to now be mindful of who they replace him with, he had a very specific work ethic with a tailored training programme and a squad of players built towards operating in a particular system. They'll need to bring someone in that can effectively deliver something similar but coax a bit more out of the players that possess more flair in order to get the fans back onside.

I see that Alan Pardew has been installed as favourite with Betfair to get the role and I can understand why given his Premier League experience and the fact that he's a known quantity to the fans. It will be interesting to see whether the West Brom board do proceed with priority given to those who have managed in the league before or whether they look to a younger manager. Given that the club generally don't make too many irrational moves I suspect they'll err on the side of caution and go with someone like Alan.

That may feel slightly un-ambitious to some but I suppose you can appreciate that they might not be willing to put their neck on the line given that the basic priority has to be to steer the club away from the relegation zone.