West Bromwich Albion would have undoubtedly had desires of a Premier League return this season, with Steve Bruce and his aspect most actually hoping to enhance on final 12 months’s depressing Tenth-place end within the Championship.
Nonetheless, with the Baggies at present sitting twenty first within the league – with only one win of their first 10 league fixtures – supporters on the Hawthorns will probably be left reminiscing of the great previous instances in an effort to drown out what was been an terrible begin to the marketing campaign.
One such season that would convey them pleasure is their 2012/13 marketing campaign underneath the now-Scotland supervisor Steve Clarke, who led Albion to their best-ever end within the Premier League.
The 59-year-old supervisor had joined the membership following his dismissal alongside Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, the place he was the assistant supervisor.
He spent loads of time within the backroom employees at Newcastle United and Chelsea too, however the alternative on the Baggies represented his first foray into administration.
With a strong core of a squad, Clarke gutted a lot of the deadwood and introduced within the likes of Ben Foster and Claudio Yacob completely, gamers who would keep on the membership for six years every.
Nonetheless, his principal piece of enterprise was to persuade Chelsea to permit Romelu Lukaku to come on mortgage.
The Belgian demolished the Premier League that season and was instrumental of their sensational marketing campaign.
He scored 17 targets in 35 league video games as a lone striker, one thing which West Brom may solely dream of now while they wallow in the direction of the fallacious finish of the Championship.
Steve Bruce has cultivated a toothless outfit, one which solely has simply 15 targets of their opening 10 video games – with 5 of those strikes coming within the 5-2 victory over Hull Metropolis again in August.
Would you are taking Steve Clarke again now?
Sure
No
Many supporters will probably be left wishing they now had Clarke again, to sprinkle a few of his switch magic on the squad and assist propel them again to the division wherein he excelled in his debut season as supervisor.
Having now labored wonders with the Scotland nationwide aspect – qualifying for EURO 2020 and reaching the play-offs for a spot within the 2022 World Cup – he has earned reward from the likes of Pat Nevin, who declared: “He’s bought one thing particular”.
Certainly, it appears as if it could take one thing particular to show across the Baggies’ depressing kind at current, but when anybody may do it, then supporters would absolutely depend on Clarke out of another current managers the membership have appointed.
