West Bromwich Albion’s season so far has been incredibly underwhelming. Relegated from the Premier League in 2021, West Brom have been in a playoff race virtually every year since.
But not this time. The appointment of Ryan Mason at the start of the season was seen by many as brave, given the Englishman’s lack of managerial experience.
It’s safe to say that the risk did not pay off with West Brom currently sat 18th in the table.
Mason was recently given his marching orders so who will be the next manager at The Hawthorns?
Michael Carrick has been out of work since being sacked by Middlesbrough in June last year. His start to life at The Riverside was electric, taking the club from the relegation zone to the playoffs in his first season.
However, Boro would finish just outside of the top six in back-to-back seasons afterwards.
This doesn’t sound so bad but given the quality of the squad that Carrick had at his disposal, these finishes were seen as an underachievement.
Appointing Carrick could see Albion fly up the table as they try and salvage something from this campaign.
The Spaniard was only managing West Brom last season, but a reunion could soon be on the cards. Corberan returned to his hometown club Valencia, who were second bottom of La Liga at the time, guiding them to a 12th place finish.
However, this season hasn’t gone to plan. Valencia are once again in a relegation battle, and their fans are calling for Corberan’s head.
If he were to return, West Brom will hope that the 42-year-old will be able to pick up where he left off.
Whilst Ryan Mason had zero managerial experience in the Championship when he was appointed, Russell Martin has it in spades.
The 40-year-old managed Swansea City before moving to Southampton, where he would guide the Saints back to the Premier League.
Although Martin’s success in the second tier makes him a desirable candidate, his recent performances have been disastrous. He was sacked by Southampton after only one win in sixteen Premier League games.
Rangers would be his next destination, but things would go from bad to worse. Martin was sacked in early October with Rangers trailing league leaders Hearts by eleven points.
Undoubtedly a good manager at this level, Martin’s stock is very much down at the moment so appointing him would certainly raise eyebrows.
Another manager who was sacked in October last year, Jon Dahl Tomasson could be making his return to the Championship. The Dane led Blackburn Rovers to 7th during his first season, only missing out on the playoffs by goal difference.
However, Tomasson would leave the club by mutual consent the very next season, six days after describing the club as being in a ‘very serious situation.’
Only a few weeks later, the 49-year-old would become manager of the Swedish national team.
But things would not go well for Sweden’s first foreign coach and Tomasson was sacked following a poor start to World Cup qualification. We’ve seen what the Swede can do in the Championship at a chaotic Blackburn.
Could his attacking style of play be just what the Baggies need?
