‘You have to give him a bit of credit’ – Exclusive: Phillips hails West Brom owner Lai
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
West Brom fans have hardly heard anything from Guochuan Lai since the club’s relegation in 2018 with the Chinese owner practically letting the club run itself.
Mark Jenkins and Luke Dowling have been doing their best to keep Albion fans updated on what is happening at The Hawthorns in regards to the current coronavirus situation but we haven’t heard a peep from Lai.
We’re not sure exactly what Lai could tell us that Jenkins and Dowling haven’t already but plenty of club owners and chairmen in the EFL have been discussing how coronavirus has had an impact on them.
But Lai is among those to remain silent and Kevin Phillips is happy that West Brom have someone in control who stays away from the public limelight.
“Yeah, I think [it’s best for them to go about their business quietly],” Phillips told West Brom News. “It’s not just West Brom, there are a lot of teams that have been very, very quiet.
“When you turn on Sky Sports every day, you’re expecting to see loads of chairmen and CEOs coming out to talk about their team but there’s not been loads and loads.
“[Lai] is a very wealthy man so I’m not sure what West Brom’s situation is on whether they’ve furloughed staff of their players have deferred their wages. They may well have done but they might not feel as though they need to come out and tell anyone. I don’t know.
“He’s going about his business and you have to say that since he’s taken over, he’s managed to attract a top-quality manager and given him the funds to bring in players to get them out of the league. You have to give him a bit of credit for that.”
Lai has been a very silent owner at West Brom and he has only really shown his face when the Baggies have played against top teams in the Premier League.
He has attended just one match since the club’s relegation to the Championship, which has suggested that the Chinese businessman doesn’t really have much interest other than when the big boys are in town.
We appreciate that Lai has other businesses to attend to in China and sometimes, owners can be very overbearing.
It is hard to tell what Lai is really like as an owner though, simply because he has been so quiet.
In other West Brom news, Ally Robertson is thrilled by the EFL’s most recent update.