Steve Madeley expects Chris Wilder to be West Brom boss
The Athletic’s West Brom correspondent Steve Madeley has stated that it is hard to look past Chris Wilder being the next Baggies boss.
The former Sheffield United manager has emerged as a frontrunner to take over the number one position at The Hawthorns since Sam Allardyce announced his departure.
Other names like Frank Lampard, Steve Cooper and David Wagner have been floated around, but there’s been the strongest case for Wilder’s appointment.
Having lost his job a few months ago despite guiding the Blades to promotion last season, Wilder is understood to be in the hunt for his next challenge and it could very well begin at West Brom.
Madeley also shares that opinion. In his Athletic column, he wrote, “The former Sheffield United manager is bookmakers’ favourite for a reason, namely that he has a strong chance of landing the job.
“Of the managers in contention, there is a strong argument to suggest the 53-year-old has the strongest CV, having won promotions with Alfreton Town, Oxford United, Northampton Town and twice with Sheffield United.
“If Albion are convinced Wilder has not been scarred badly by the way his spell at his hometown club ended, it is hard to look past him as a clear front-runner.”
Best man for the job
The main reason why Big Sam did not stay on is that the club want someone for the longer term.
Wilder is that man. His CV shows how he builds teams over the course of time to help them reach their targets.
Achieving promotion would only be the first step in the journey, and Wilder makes a very strong case for being the person to help take us to that next level and ensure we become a regular Premier League side.
He may have overseen Sheffield’s relegation season, but a lot of it can be attributed to bad recruitment and player injuries.
If he can achieve what he did with the Blades last season, he would have more resources at West Brom to do that and hopefully help us avoid the drop in our first year back in the top flight.
In other West Brom news, ‘I think people will remember’ – Paul Merson delivers verdict on Big Sam tenure at West Brom
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