West Brom: Chris Lepkowski shares unexpected Xu Ke update
West Brom would have been in a far worse position towards the end of the Guochuan Lai era were it not for the work of Xu Ke, according to Chris Lepkowski.
Also known as Ken, he was first appointed as CEO in 2020 and later replaced by Ron Gourlay but remained in a non-executive director role.
When Gourlay departed, Xu Ke remained the sole director in that capacity. The Birmingham Mail (1 March) reported that Xu Ke met with Lai to take an open letter that was signed by various shareholders and supporter groups.
Replying to a post criticising Xu Ke, Former Birmingham mail reporter Lepkowski posted on X (1 March) to say: “In fairness, xu Ke (also known as…) worked quite hard in protecting the club from Lai, especially towards the end. Without him there is no doubt we would have been in a far worse state.”
Xu Ke defended by Chris Lepkowski after West Brom exit
Lai’s ownership at West Brom was controversial and Xu Ke naturally became somewhat unpopular during his time with the Baggies due to his involvement with the hierarchy.
However, Lepkowski’s latest post suggests that he wasn’t as bad as people may think in terms of keeping the club on the straight and narrow during a difficult period.
Of course now, the Baggies have been sold on to Patel, and supporters can hopefully look forward to a more stable period and not have to worry about the threat of financial turmoil.
Chinese businessman Lai took over West Brom in 2016 but was rarely seen at matches during his tenure. Instead, other representatives such as Xu Ke were responsible for the day-to-day operations, hence why he was sometimes the brunt of the criticism.
In other West Brom news, Don Goodman has shared a ‘fear’ ahead of the Baggies’ clash against Coventry City.
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