West Brom figures advised Guochuan Lai to appoint Dean Smith before Aston Villa
West Brom figures supposedly advised Guochuan Lai to appoint Dean Smith before he went to Aston Villa back in 2018.
That’s according to Steve Madeley, who believes there has been no long-term answer since that move was decided against.
Smith has guided our near rivals to mid-table in the Premier League, with the Baggies becoming somewhat of a yo-yo team between the Championship.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, Madeley shared the frustration surrounding the ordeal over the past three years.
“Hard not to look back and imagine where Albion might be had they appointed Dean Smith, as Lai was advised to by his ‘men on the ground’, in 2018,” he wrote.
“They’ve had some good times since then but it’s all felt a bit short-term. Smith does long-term. He does it very well.”
Silly?
Well, this looks like a decision that has come back to bite us.
Looking at some of the appointments since then, and Valerien Ismael feels like the only one that can be classed as a long-term project.
Alan Pardew, Darren Moore, Jimmy Shan, Slaven Bilic and Sam Allardyce were the other names in charge since 2018, and there is no inspiring choice in there.
Smith, on the other hand, as transformed the fortunes of Villa, taking them up and keeping them there – something we haven’t been able to do for quite some time now.
Hindsight is a funny thing in the end, and none of this will count for anything should Ismael get us back into the Premier League and keep us there, and if anyone could, it would be him.
The Frenchman has been a breath of fresh air since arriving, and hopefully, he can finish the job he has already started – bring it on.
In other West Brom news, ‘Awful’ – Chris Lepkowski fumes at the Baggies despite 2-1 win v QPR