West Brom open talks to hire 4-2-3-1 manager who’s a big Morrison upgrade

West Bromwich Albion fans made their feelings well known at the end of the Baggies’ defeat to Oxford United on Saturday.

In an ideal world, James Morrison – who is back in interim charge – would have secured a vital win at the Kassam, as West Brom jumped away from immediate relegation danger in the Championship after getting rid of Eric Ramsay.

Instead, West Brom succumbed to their 18th defeat of the season on their travels to the U’s, who are actually sat in the bottom three positions of the division, with Leicester City’s points deduction acting as a major blessing for the West Midlands outfit, as they still somehow remain one point off the drop zone.

Morrison blasted the performance at the full-time whistle as “not acceptable”, as the powers that be at West Brom surely have their eyes set on other manager targets, now, rather than handing the Baggies playing legend the full-time reins.

West Brom’s hunt for a Ramsay replacement

Nobody with West Brom affiliations would have faulted Morrison’s passion at the final whistle, as he didn’t shy away from the dire nature of the performance at Oxford.

But, he doesn’t look like the right man – at this moment in time – to lift the Baggies out of their Championship misery, with West Brom now winless in their last 11 second-tier clashes, meaning they are in real danger of dropping to League One.

A fresh face might be what is needed with Morrison part of the back-room staff that endured Ramsay’s atrocious nine-game stint in charge.

There are plenty of rumours swirling in the air as to who could come in to try and right the wrongs of the dismal one-month reign of the ex-Minnesota United head coach, with Slaven Bilic one name potentially in line to make a return to the Hawthorns dug-out.

Moreover, Carlos Corberan is also in the running to replace Ramsay to complete his own dramatic return to the West Midlands, with his time in charge of Valencia on thin ice.

Amazingly, West Brom have been further linked with bringing back Tony Mowbray for his third spell at the Baggies helm. Indeed, according to Football Insider, they have entered preliminary talks to bring the EFL veteran back to Albion.

He might well just be what’s needed, as a short-term remedy, as he’s a big upgrade by Morrison.

Why appointing Mowbray would be a big upgrade on Morrison

Of course, there will be some caution on the end of Baggies supporters when it comes to re-appointing Mowbray yet again, considering he could only collect five wins from 17 games in charge last season after being handed the job post-Corberan.

But it’s a gamble that is potentially worth exploring this time around, with West Brom in the here and now – away from previous playoff aspirations – desperate to pick up victories no matter what, with Morrison not cut out for the pressures of the full-time gig, based on his side’s no-show at Oxford.

Whereas Mowbray has so much experience on his side that he will likely be a calming presence during turbulent times to come at the Hawthorns, with a bumper 193 victories collected in the Championship across his well-travelled career to date.

Moreover, like Morrison, he knows how passionate the West Brom faithful can be when everything clicks into place, having taken charge of 157 games in the past in the West Midlands, which even led him down the path of lifting the Championship title at the close of a jubilant 2007/08 season.

He also has a reputation of being well-liked by the vast majority of the players who have worked under him previously, having been hailed the “best manager” ex-Blackburn Rovers star Bradley Dack has ever worked alongside, as he always gave him the “confidence” to succeed as a much-loved man-manager.

This is just what West Brom need right now to turn around their disastrous fortunes, with Morrison perhaps lacking that same inspiring energy, having been burnt by previous regimes.

Preferring a 4-2-3-1 formation, it will be intriguing to see if West Brom do go after Mowbray as a short-term fix, as the relegation-threatened side desperately needs to get this next roll of the dice correct, after the nightmarish stay of Ramsay

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