The Diary

28 October 2004: Post-Megson - Any Names In The Frame, Then?

In the 24 hours or so since Megson effectively left the club ? call it ?gardening leave?, if you want, but the truth of the matter still remains, Gary is our gaffer no longer ? the wires have been positively sizzling with speculation as to who the next eager grasper of the Hawthorns thorny crown might possibly be. Incidentally, Jeremy?s decision to suspend him in effect means he?s no longer in a position to apply for the Leicester post. In any case, according to Teletext tonight, Craig Levine of Hearts is being interviewed for that job tomorrow.

Well done to The Fart, who, being ?double-booked?, so to speak, by both Sky and Radio WM, did such sterling service outside The Shrine very early this morning, much to the astonishment of Steve The Miser, who happened to be passing by at that time. I was asked to do one of ?em yesterday, but as I?m generally typing this column until the wee small hours, (and, because of the various issues thrown up over the last day or so, will be doing so once again tonight!) I don?t ?do? early mornings very well these days, so I quickly passed their request on to El Tel, who being our publicity and press liaison bloke, normally handles these sort of things for us.

Unsurprisingly, today, I?ve also received quite a lot of feedback about last night?s piece, some bad, some good. I have replied in person to those who were rational with their various criticisms of my words, but if you?re the ones reading this who chose to be abusive and/or downright obscene, then, no, I won?t. I don?t get paid a penny for this; I do it primarily because I?m a Baggie, a fanatical one at that, and I CARE, which is my prime motivation for going to all the trouble of rattling the stuff off in the early hours, purely and simply to try and keep far-flung people up to speed with what?s going on at the club, and put a personal slant on it by telling people how it actually feels to be an Albion supporter right now.

I?m not the one who sacked Megson, Jeremy Peace did, so I would suggest that those who thought my piece last night ?anti-Megson?, ?hateful diatribe? or whatever, please direct your complaints to the chairman instead. Being the majority shareholder, now, it?s his ball, and he can play with it, and that?s precisely what he has done. Gary was extremely lucky he didn?t go 18 months ago; the things that saved him then were our good results and high league position, leaving Jeremy believing he lacked sufficient mandate from our grass-roots support at that time. Trying to shoot the messenger now will do no good at all, I?m afraid. In any case, I would have thought that Megson in effect sacked himself the moment he first opened his mouth on Radio Five, a la Brian Little, immediately following our disastrous showing at Selhurst Park last Saturday.

So, as the dust finally settles on what has been a rather stormy period in the club?s history, who is most likely to be the next wearer of the Hawthorns thorny crown? Whoever it is, their remit will be much as it was when Megson first came to the club; to hit the ground running, and somehow extricate us from the relegation bother we?re currently in. It?ll be something of a tall order this time round, though, as unlike his prececessor, the new incumbent won?t have the option of an instant foray into the transfer market to get the right sort of players he wants on board. As I see it, all the smart money?s going on a Hoddle-Gorman combo right now. Other names in the frame are The Two Robsons (could be a TV comedy in it somewhere, methinks?), Houllier and Thompson, Gordon Strachan, Martin Jol, and last, but not least, Bobby Gould, who is also currently available. So rumour has it.

Having now placed the names firmly in the frame, let?s look individually at our ?likely lads?. Hoddle and Gorman? I can?t honestly say I?d care to see Glenn Hoddle alone take up cudgels on our behalf. My understanding is, whilst at Southampton, he managed to upset many supporters (and many of their players!) with his bizarre tactics, and his curious habit of not engaging brain when opening mouth, especially in front of the media. Having previously gaffered Spurs and England as well, though, he would have a significant ?plus-point? going for him, extensive experience at this level.

Coupled with Gorman as Number Two, though, that might appear to be an ideal solution to the problem for our board. His coaching abilities are very much sought-after by British clubs these days. When Gorman was previously at the Hawthorns, as deputy to the late Ray Harford, the feedback from players was unerringly positive. I was told by one in particular at that time that Gorman?s presence and intelligent input during training made it a positive pleasure to come in every day. You don?t hear that said by professional footballers all that often these days, do you?

The Two Robsons? Individually, not a good proposition, I would opine. Sir Bobby has an Albion pedigree that goes way, way back of course; for further details, just ask The Fart, who first introduced Sir Bobby to the joys of club management via coaching the Sunday League Albion supporters? side our elderly co-editor played for at the time. The main thing that might mitigate against appointing him, in my opinion, is his considerable age, 71, if my information is correct. Additionally, there would be considerable difficulties surrounding his contract at Newcastle to be overcome if he were to get the nod. Just like Megson, in effect, he?s still on ?gardening leave?.

I hate to be ageist, here, especially as I?m bordering on the realms of ?Old Fart-dom? myself, but if all those alarming reports about his inability to remember players? names at Newcastle are to be believed, it does concern me somewhat. Or were those rumours simply the result of someone at the club quietly briefing against him? It happens often enough in politics; just ask Mo Mowlam, Tony Blair?s former Northern Ireland Minister. The flip-side, of course, is his tremendous managerial pedigree, heightened sense of common decency, and good old-fashioned dignity. He is a much-respected figure in the game, even now, and his appointment would also have the advantage of restoring a certain cachet to the club?s currently risible Premiership image.

Sir Bobby might be getting a little long in the tooth these days, but suppose Albion did a deal to bring in his younger managerial namesake as the elderly knight?s Number Two as well? Or, maybe, took a chance on giving Brian alone the job? I would really have my doubts if the latter were to be the case, although I might, with some reservations, be persuaded to be receptive towards a double-act. Brian went to Middlesbrough as manager once his playing days were numbered, made a number of exciting signings there, succeeded in getting them out of the Nationwide, and took them to a League Cup final or two, but any success he had was to a large extent bankrolled by their chairman.

When the club was in crisis, the kitchen suddenly became far too hot for the chef, who lacked any real experience of handling that sort of recipe. I also recalled him encountering difficulties with players, mostly foreign, who seemingly wouldn?t play for him any longer, or albatross-like, had saddled Boro with enormous debts, mainly due to their highly-crippling wage demands. To be fair, when Brian went to Bradford afterwards, he found himself operating with one hand tied behind his back, virtually, because of the severe financial constraints under which he had to work, the club being in administration at that time. Although reluctant to let him go, because of the aforementioned cash-flow problems, they couldn?t afford to keep him on any longer come the end of last season. A shame, that, as he seemed to have tried to put together a half-decent side by the time they were relegated. Him being out of work ever since might, however, speak volumes about the willingness, or otherwise, of other clubs to appoint him.

Houllier and Thompson? Gerard Houllier is still out of work following his departure from Liverpool, as is his former sidekick. The Albion job would be, by the very nature of the beast, a pressurised one indeed. Would he want to take on all the worry and stress involved? Don?t forget, it wasn?t that long ago the former Reds gaffer had an operation to repair what?s called a ?dissecting aneurysm?, i.e. the medical equivalent of a tyre ?blow-out?, in which the various layers surrounding the aorta split apart and a great amount of blood gushes into the space instead; medically, it?s a very serious condition indeed, and he was very lucky to survive. Both left Anfield because of the perception among the local media, their supporters and, eventually, their board, that the Merseyside club were badly underachieving. Additionally, I?m not at all sure if Houllier would be the type of manager able to cope well with the cut and thrust of a vicious relegation battle.

Gordon Strachan? Hmmmm. I have to say, he comes over very well indeed when he plays his ?expert commentator? role alongside Baggies maniac Adrian Chiles on BBC2?s ?MOTD2? Sunday programme, plus all those times Sky plug into his extensive knowledge of the game for one reason or another. He also does a weekly column in the Guardian?s sports section, in which he previews likely tactics for one of the Prem?s juicier morsels or discussion of newsworthy issues relevant to the game, plus regular performance appraisals post-match. Although he has a voice that sounds as though he?s been gargling with neat whisky and razor-blades for two full hours before any given programme, he does come over as an extremely knowledgeable and articulate sort of chap. There?s also, of course, his extensive top-flight experience with both Coventry and Southampton. I do have the niggling feeling, though, that he might be perceived to be a little too close to Megson?s managerial style for comfort. There?s also a rumour going round he?s applied for the Leicester job, and Scotland might want to pitch in should Bertie Vogts get the bullet very soon.

Martin Jol? A bit of a dark horse, that one. Currently at Tottenham as Number Two, and gaining a pretty good reputation, by all accounts, Martin was, of course, a Baggie back in the early eighties. Would he want to return, like the prodigal, to the scene of his former glories? Or, if you wanted to be cynical about it, the scene of his numerous bookings? Yep, he did have something of a ?hard man? reputation when with us as a player, but since then, he seems to have undergone a Damascene conversion as far as thuggish on-field behaviour is concerned. He?s also very highly rated on the Continent, I believe, and that?s why Spurs went for him in the first place. He does lack experience at gaffer-level, though, which would, realistically, make him one of the rank outsiders for the post.

Bobby Gould? You actually thought I was serious? Dearie, dearie me.

And finally?..One. Profound apologies to Dave Watkin, currently of Shareholders for Albion, also formerly of the ?Grorty Dick Strollers? supporters? football team, who last Saturday managed to clock up an astonishing unbroken sequence of no less than 700 consecutive Albion games, both home and away. Which, if you think about it, is far more than the average pro achieves in an entire League career. What with all the problems associated with Megson?s imminent departure, and Saturday?s awful showing at Palace, I clean forgot to mention it. What a star you are, Dave!

Two. My God, he?s finally gone and done it! Yes, Steve The Miser finally found a surgeon willing to extract something in the region of 500 quid from his wallet ? and a very painful procedure it was, too! ? then blew the whole lot on a spanking-new PC, internet facilities and all. There is a somewhat ironic twist to the tale, though; originally, our parsimonious co-editor could have had one costing 75 quid less ? it was on special offer at the place he visited ? but he prevaricated so long about actually parting with that amount of cash, by the time he?d finally made up his mind, and returned to the shop to seal the deal, sadly, it had gone! If you should hear the sound of someone sniggering quietly in the background at any time, it?s quite likely to be me!

Three.... Jeremy Peace is the guest at a Supporters club meeting in the Platinum Suite at the ground tomorrow night. Assuming it's still on, of course. If I can take notes, I'll do so, but don't expect any startling revelations. Jeremy doesn't operate that way.

 - Glynis Wright

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