Dan Plumley: Ron Gourlay decision will help clear up West Brom ownership tension and confusion
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at West Brom...
Dan Plumley has insisted that Ron Gourlay stepping down from his role in the West Brom Group will help ease tension and confusion surrounding the ownership.
The Finance Expert admitted that there will be a focus on getting back into the Premier League now, with that starting from the very top with these changes at The Hawthorns.
The Baggies updated their Companies House documents over the past week to show that Gourlay had stepped down, with clarification showing he was still the CEO of West Brom.
“I think it seems to be the right decision,” he exclusively told West Brom News.
“There is a lot of tension at the minute around the ownership structure, and there is a lot of confusion as well sort of externally.
“All of that stuff when you look at that from the top down, you’ve got to look at the knock-on effect on the club and what is vitally important for West Brom is, given their financial situation, and given the parachute payments and where they’re at, and what we’re seeing coming out of the club, there needs to be a focus on getting back in the Premier League as soon as possible.
“So, I think given all of that as it starts at the very top and filters down, I think this is the right decision for him to focus on the one role and remove some of the tension and confusion at the very top.”
Confusion.
That is the main word to describe the ownership system at West Brom.
Rarely anything is explained and when it is, it leaves you asking more questions than what you had before the statement comes out in the press.
Guochuan Lai did not help matters when releasing the club accounts that highlighted he had taken a loan out from the club which is set to be paid back by January.
Gourlay does appear to have streamlined matters at the club, and now that his immediate work looks to be done with the West Brom Group, it is the perfect time to concentrate on all things football.
The Premier League is the only goal, and hopefully, that can be achieved in the coming months.
In other West Brom news, Steve Bruce is now set for urgent transfer talks after a major development at The Hawthorns