West Brom are flying high after an excellent start to the Premier League season, belying a summer of upheaval where they lost their experienced manager Roy Hodgson.

Overview

During the long, thoughtful days of summer I agonised for quite some time about the LFW Season Preview which tends to be lots of words that nobody reads about predictions which never come true. The starting point for those thoughts was me wondering whether West Brom might finish bottom of the league.

The Baggies had lost Roy Hodgson to the England job from the season before and replaced him with Steve Clarke in his first job as a number one and this rang alarm bells for me for several reasons.

First and foremost, Roy Hodgson is an incredibly experienced manager who has proven many times that he achieves things with clubs like West Brom and Fulham above and beyond what they should really be capable of. Steve Clarke, on the other hand, has no experience of managing teams of any size at any level.

Secondly, Roy Hodgson is well known for having a very particular, labour intensive, monotonous style of coaching a team. Sessions are based entirely around the pattern of play and the shape of the team during different scenarios. They involve running drills repetitively for hours on end to ensure that everybody knows where they should be standing and what they should be doing at any given point in the game. Even when this approach took Fulham to the Europa League final the team captain Danny Murphy admitted the team found the training a ball ache. Presumably – as nobody does it like that anymore – Steve Clarke doesn’t run things in a similar way. So not only did the Baggies have to go through the usual transition period from one manager to another, and get used to a very inexperienced manager after working under somebody with more than 30 years in the coaching game, but they were also going to see a total change in method on the training ground.

And finally, I’ve never actually bought into this idea that Steve Clarke is even that good as a number two. Sure the success he enjoyed with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, and the Portuguese’s subsequent ringing endorsements of him, were impressive but considering what Mourinho achieved at Inter Milan and Porto – with far less money to spend than Chelsea throw about it should be said – I wasn’t that convinced that Clarke had that much to do with it. He then went to West Ham, first alongside Gianfranco Zola and then Avram Grant during which time a team capable of finishing comfortably in the middle of the Premier League was turned into a relegated one inside three years. Then he went and sat next to Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool when only the status of the Scotsman at Anfield prevented the pair of them being sacked a long, long time before they were as they never went close to the Champions League places and played some bloody awful football in the process. If you do want to give him some credit for Chelsea’s success, you can’t then absolve him of responsibility for the subsequent failures at West Ham and Liverpool.

But then West Brom signed Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea to add to an already impressive collection of attackers that includes Chris Brunt, James Morrison, Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie, and I decided I rated four or five other teams even less than them in any case. I eventually put them down for a low midtable spot – below even QPR would you believe.

What I did there was pick the wrong reason for them possibly struggling, and the wrong reason for them probably not.

Had Steve Clarke been brought in as a manager then I might have had a point about the comparisons with Hodgson, but he wasn’t - he was very deliberately brought in as a head coach. And unlike QPR -who believe the solution to every problem lie in the transfer market like an alcoholic searches for answers at the bottom of pint pots - the success and failure of Albion isn’t relying on signing players like Lukaku.

This is a squad built carefully over a long period of time in a model more favoured on the continent and usually frowned upon on these shores. The idea that a manager is interchangeable, and more of a coach in any case, rather than the centre of the club’s whole universe isn’t popular in the UK. When you see a traditional English manager like Harry Redknapp walk into Spurs, sweep the continental system aside, and lead them from the bottom three to the Champions League you can see why. Similarly, at QPR when Iain Dowie was named “head coach” and Flavio Briatore furnished him with sub-standard youngsters on loan from his friends’ clubs around Europe it didn’t do the image of the model much good either.

But West Brom are something that every club of our size should aspire to. Under chairman Jeremy Peace and sporting director Dan Ashworth a team and a club has been steadily built. Twice they’ve won promotion to the top flight only to quickly be relegated again, but never did they spend money they didn’t have trying to artificially do things too quickly. Every time they’ve been relegated in the last decade they’ve been promoted again within two years. They’ve invested the Premier League money wisely and built the club on solid foundations.

Clarke and Lukaku are largely irrelevant to all of this – just pieces in the puzzle. West Brom recognise that managers and players come and go; success is in the strategy they buy into while they’re here. When QPR hired Mark Hughes they admitted that the Welshman had interviewed them, rather than the other way around.

Of greater significance is Ashworth’s impending departure for a job at the FA at the end of this season. Who they replace him with is of far more importance than any new player or manager.

Interview

A game with West Brom means it’s LoftforWords’ bi-annual chance to catch up with Dr Matt Graham for his opinion on the latest situation at The Hawthorns. We thank the good doctor for his time as always.

A great start to the season for West Brom, the mood around the place must be good at the moment? How far can this team go this season?

As you would expect, the mood around the Hawthorns is buoyant. Great victories against the two Merseyside clubs started the season off brilliantly and results (except the aberration against Fulham and Odemwinge’s stupid dismissal) have been good so far. To be sitting in sixth at the moment and to seemingly have rectified our home form can only be positive. It has given us hope that the Albion’s steady, evolutionary progress over the last few years is now paying dividends and we are on the cusp of the next level which would be top ten and challenging for Europe. I am not going to get carried away by our great start. It is a long season, and we were in a similar position under Di Matteo a few seasons back, and we only scrapped survival; but I do think in and around the tenth mark would be another excellent season

What did you make of the Steve Clarke appointment in the summer? Have you changed your opinion since?

I think an important thing to keep in mind was that we were looking for a Head Coach, rather than a traditional manager, so our net was being cast far and wide. I must admit that I was initially sceptical about the appointment of Clarke; a brilliant and highly regarded coach (see Mourinho’s glowing endorsement for example), but not a manager per se. Furthermore the fans had been promised a ‘big’ name, we were linked to people like Ranieri, and so it came as a bit of a surprise when they announced Steve Clarke. However, I shouldn’t really have been surprised, as previous managers/head coaches such as Di Matteo and Mowbray were pretty leftfield choices. So I think around the Hawthorns there was an air of scepticism in pre-season. But, in football there is only one way of proving your doubters wrong – win and do it in style, and that is exactly what he has done.

What has Clarke changed from Roy Hodgson's time, if anything?

He has kept the defensive base, but given the team a license to be a bit more expressive. Under Hodgson we played a very rigid 4-4-2, which meant that we were economical in the way we played and once we lost the ball, everyone dropped back. Clarke has ensured that we still have the two holding midfielders to ensure stability, but we then have a front 3 which adds a bit more spark to our overall play. So we are playing with a little bit more flair and panache than under Hodgson.

What impact will Dan Ashworth's departure at the end of the season have on the club? He seems to be at the heart of all the recent success.

This was a terrible piece of news for West Brom. I was secretly hoping that the FA would make a hash of it and Dan Ashworth would decide to stay, but sadly no. The only positive is that it is an enormous honour for our club of our size that the FA came calling twice within a six month period. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that Ashworth has been at the beating heart of our progress since 2007. Most of his work went under the radar, and so when it was announced he was leaving for the FA, I think many people outside of the Midlands were wondering what on earth was going on. He acts as the link between the board and the head coach; oversees international scouting; and has had a crucial part in developing our training facilities and sports science department, successfully ensuring we gained the elite youth development award. Some of the youngsters are now on the fringes of the first team. Also some of the players he has found have been phenomenal and at bargain basement prices. Against the context of QPRs spending he has been immense. For example in the expected starting line-up: McAuley (free); Olsson (650K); Mulumbu (150k); Yacob (free). These players have added to our team enormously. A bright light is that Peace managed to negotiate a year’s grace period and that Ashworth will have a say in finding his replacement.

Who are the star men and weak links in the West Brom team at the moment?

This is really hard as so many players have started particularly well. Foster has been superb and regularly keeps us in games; the giant pairing of Olsson (mental) and McAuley have forged a great understanding, and they make up for their lack of pace with determination and wholehearted defending; Yacob our Argentine midfielder has been a revelation: tough tackling and with a great eye for a pass; Morrison has been simply excellent, especially in terms of his vision, passing range and goals; and finally Long has started the season in fine form, working defences hard (tiring them in preparation for Lukaku’s appearance) and chipping in with goals.

Our main weakness still lies at right-back. I know I said this last season, but Reid and Jones are not that great. Both struggle for pace and their positioning leaves something to be desired. Jones has started the last few games, and he was torn apart by both Fulham and Villa’s wingers. In the attacking midfield positions, Clarke hasn’t quite decided his preferred players and as a consequence, players like Brunt, Gera and Odemwinge have not quite fulfilled expectations.

Short, medium and long term ambitions?

Short term is still survival. I have seen too much of the Albion over the last few years to think otherwise. Continual, but steady progress is a must. If no rash decisions are made by the board, we build the squad -this is the best I’ve seen it, as we now have some strength in depth - and quietly improve each season with the aim for a top ten position, an FA Cup run and maybe Europa League? Ultimate aspiration is to be like Everton.

Dare I ask for an outsider's point of view on the QPR car crash at the moment?

Can I say it seems to have been a bit of a disaster so far? I cannot believe the sums of money QPR have spent over the last few seasons, and for what? It takes more than money to build a team, and from what I have seen there is a lack of cohesion and even basic preparation at times. There is also appears to be an inability to see games out or dare I say it, keep 11 men on the pitch. QPR have some excellent players, such as Cesar and Taraabt, but the rest either don’t seem interested or just aren’t good enough. It also doesn’t help that Mark Hughes comes across very badly, arrogant, excuses for his own misgivings and an inflated sense of his own self-worth. I hope QPR sort themselves out soon, as I like them, but I fear what might happen if things continue as they are.

Scout Report

Well, if you fancy a positive thought to take with you on the journey on Saturday you should reassure yourself that QPR should by now be quite well versed in dealing with the challenges West Brom are going to pose us. Judging by their performance at Aston Villa last weekend – when I thought they were very unfortunate not to win having been the better team for long periods – this is simply going to be more of the same sort of thing we’ve just had dished up by Reading and West Ham.

Most importantly, Rangers are again going to face a physical challenge. West Brom are nowhere near as direct in their play as either the Hammers or the Royals but they’re just as well built. The back four at Villa was made up of former Preston full back Billy Jones (the weakest of the four both in presence and ability) Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley at centre back and Goran Popov at left back. It’s a fearsome unit with McAuley and particularly Olsson also posing a big threat at attacking set pieces – watch out for Gera blocking the goalkeeper as McAuley and Olsson attack out swinging deliveries. Popov also got great traction attacking down the left side. They were well drilled, well coached, well settled and backed by one of the league’s best goalkeepers in Ben Foster.

The defence is protected by two deep lying midfielders – Claudia Yacob and Youssuf Mulumbu. Again: physical, well drilled, clear in their roles, disciplined. For those hoping that Adel Taarabt will start and have a similar influence to Monday night don’t get too carried away – Yacob is the only player this year who has successfully picked up Everton’s Marouane Fellaini and kept him quiet as the Baggies beat the in form Toffees 2-0. They’re yet to concede a goal at home in three league outings this season.

Ahead of that is the creation and guile. James Morrison made them tick at Villa, Chris Brunt is very consistent and Zoltan Gera’s a good player as well. Up front in the lone striker role is Shane Long, who was later changed for the totally different Romelu Lukaku – so the Baggies can go from craft and guile to brute strength and raw pace with one second half substitution. Long spent the entire Villa game drifting into the space between the centre back and full back which, given the way Matt Jarvis was able to profit from exactly the same position on Monday, doesn’t exactly bode well for us here.

It should also be said that despite losing Chris Brunt to a hamstring injury before half time, and Billy Jones – himself covering for Liam Ridgewell - immediately after the break their replacements slotted straight into the system, knew their jobs and did them well.

They’re tremendously well balanced and coached. They’ve scored 12 goals this season in the league, with nine different scorers responsible for them, compared to QPR’s four league goals which prior to Taarabt’s screamer on Monday had come exclusively from Bobby Zamora.

So, basically, we’ve got issues. Play the same four man midfield we went in with against West ham and we’ve lost the game before we even begin. We need to return to the tight, deep lying midfield three that worked well for us at the end of last season – Granero and Faurlin are well capable of being two of them, and the third can either be Park or, preferably, Mbia. Whoever is fit to play in the defence must be prepared to communicate better than they have been of late because otherwise Long will just repeat the job Jarvis did to us in the last match.

It’s a very, very difficult task ahead of QPR here.

Links >>> Official Website >>> Express and Star, local paper >>> WBA Unofficial Forum >>> West Brom Mad >>> Baggies Blog

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Pictures – Action Images

Photo: Action Images

simmo added 11:48 - Oct 5 Mulumbu for 150k has to go down as one of the finest acquisitions in recent memory. Exactly the type of player all modern teams need.
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TacticalR added 01:46 - Oct 6 Thanks to Clive and Matt. The setup at WBA sounds good, but it seems it's taken a long time (and a few promotions and demotions) to get where they are. It's strange how the sporting director concept works well at some clubs, but not at others. In principle it seems sensible because you need some continuity in the club, but it could go wrong if the manager doesn't see eye to eye with the sporting director, or becomes a fall guy for decisions he hasn't made and players he hasn't bought.

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