‘No-brainer’ – Exclusive: Kevin Phillips delivers verdict on major West Brom decision
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…
Kevin Phillips believes it was a “no-brainer” for West Brom to hire Sam Allardyce as Slaven Bilic’s successor at The Hawthorns.
Albion announced Allardyce’s arrival on Wednesday, just hours after they sacked Bilic, who had led his side to a 1-1 draw away at Manchester City the night before.
Bilic’s exit sparked a lot of anger among West Brom supporters on Twitter while Allardyce, a divisive character, failed to quell the unrest with his appointment.
Howver Phillips claims that West Brom’s move to appoint the former England manager makes sense due to his record of keeping teams in the top-flight.
“I’m pretty certain they would have had him lined up already. He was appointed hours after they pulled the trigger,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“It’s a no-brainer really. I did mention his name while Slaven was in the job when talking about if he went.
“He’s got pedigree, he’s got history of keeping teams in the Premier League and never been relegated so he’s obviously the ideal candidate.
“He was out of work, he still lives in the North-West which isn’t a million miles away. It all just falls into place.”
Allardyce has a big job to keep West Brom in the Premier League.
Bilic oversaw just one win in 13 Premier League matches and that was in a less-than-convincing 1-0 win at home against Sheffield United, who are bottom and have just one point to their name.
West Brom’s poor run under Bilic goes all the way back to February with the Baggies winning just four of 24 league matches in the Premier League and Championship.
Guochuan Lai’s refusal to boost the transfer budget in the summer didn’t help Bilic at all as he’s had to do his work in the top-flight with one arm tied behind his back.
We’re gutted it didn’t work out for Bilic because we really wanted him to stay at the club as long as possible and help re-establish Albion as a Premier League club.
But we’re not gutted he’s been sacked and replaced by someone who is more likely to keep this team in the Premier League when the cost of being relegated is greater than ever.
In other West Brom news, Jonathan Greening has blasted the club for sacking Bilic and has made a claim about Tony Pulis.
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