West Brom take the easy way out with confirmed James Morrison appointment
West Brom have confirmed that James Morrison will remain in charge until the end of the season.
The former Baggies midfielder was placed in temporary charge following the sacking of Eric Ramsay last week, before his side fell to a 2-1 defeat away at Oxford.
Ramsay became the second manager to be sacked by West Brom this season, as his side played out a 1-1 draw with Charlton, under three months after Ryan Mason lost his job at The Hawthorns.
Albion need points, and they don’t look like getting them soon, pointing in the direction of Morrison’s appointment being nothing other than the easy way out for the club.
The Black Country outfit are languishing just above the relegation zone, and need improvements rapidly.
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James Morrison appointment is the easy way out for West Brom – fans won’t be happy
Having made over 300 appearances for the club as a player, Morrison is adored by Albion supporters and is now in his third spell at the helm following prior interim periods.
From the club’s perspective, though, it is absolutely the easy way out.
The Baggies have let themselves down in the manager market twice this season, leaving themselves in the dire situation that they currently find themselves in – the decision to put the popular Morrison in charge looks to be nothing more than a desperate attempt to get supporters back on side, which, quite frankly, is not going to work.
It has been reported this week that they opened contact with former manager Slaven Bilic, before the Morrison announcement was made.
All this does is once again make it clear that the club’s hierarchy are thinking more about appeasing supporters than the quality brought through the door in the Black Country.
This is something that fans will see right through.
No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, Albion supporters will find it hard to turn on Morrison, even if they were to drop to the third tier.
The Baggies had the chance to bring an experienced head in to steady the ship until the end of the term.
Instead, a club legend inexperienced in his current role has been placed directly in the firing line to potentially take them down to League One.
West Brom will hope that James Morrison can inspire resurgence
From an operational perspective, Albion are acting like a club already condemned to the drop – not a club that currently sits outside the relegation zone.
The Baggies had the chance to bring in the required experience and know-how to guide West Brom away from the current mess, but they’ve instead chosen to throw Morrison straight in at the deep end.
At the same time, Leicester and Blackburn are aiming to secure their own respective spots in the division under Michael O’Neil and Gary Rowett – two individuals at the opposite end of the managerial experience scale to Morrison.
The hope will be that Morrison can inspire a resurgence through his reputation within the squad.
But if Saturday’s loss to Oxford is anything to go by, West Brom are a long way away from that.
In what appears to be an attempt to avoid getting egg on their face for the third time this season, Albion have taken the easy way out with Morrison, and have pinned all of their survival hopes on a manager with just four matches in the dugout on his CV.
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