Ex-West Brom star urges Baggies to make move for surprise managerial candidate | OneFootball

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Football League World

·18 June 2021

Ex-West Brom star urges Baggies to make move for surprise managerial candidate

Article image:Ex-West Brom star urges Baggies to make move for surprise managerial candidate

West Brom legend Ally Robertson has suggested that the Baggies should move to appoint a young manager with promise and believes that Darren Fletcher could fit the bill.

The Baggies’ quest to find the right long-term successor for Sam Allardyce has been chaotic to say the least this summer with West Brom having first seen a potential move for Chris Wilder fall through.


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That came after former technical director Luke Dowling wanted the former Sheffield United boss only for him to vetoed by the club’s hierarchy.

There were also reports that former Huddersfield Town and Schalke manager David Wagner was close to being appointed as West Brom’s new manager. However, in the end, the German opted to take up the position at Switzerland outfit Young Boys instead of making the move to the Hawthorns.

That has left West Brom back to square one pretty much in their search for a manager to lead their promotion bid in the Championship next term. The Baggies’ chief executive Xu Ke confirmed recently that following the setbacks they have suffered there is now no time limited on a new appointment.

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Article image:Ex-West Brom star urges Baggies to make move for surprise managerial candidate

Speaking to the Express and Star, Robertson urged the Baggies to go down the route of a manager that is young and promising and someone who can develop into the role after moves for more established names have fallen through. He backed former West Brom midfielder Darren Fletcher for the role.

He said: “For me we are at a point where we need to start thinking long-term. We need a clear plan.

“So I would be looking at a good professional who knows the game and has strong connections with clubs in the Premier League.

“Maybe someone like a Darren Fletcher who knows everything going on at Manchester United and would know some 20, 21, 22-years-old to buy or loan.

“I don’t think a big manager will come so I think we have to look for someone who has the potential to be a big manager.”

The verdict

This would certainly be an appointment that would come out of the blue and Fletcher does have that connection with the Baggies having spent two-and-a-half seasons at the Hawthorns in the Premier League before leaving for Stoke City in 2017. In that sense he would know the demands of the supporters and potentially be able to build a connection with them swiftly.

However, appointing someone as inexperienced in terms of management as Fletcher is would be a massive gamble for the Baggies to take this summer. Having said that, there appears to be little other options out there at the moment after more experienced managers and coaches for one reason or another have not ended up getting the job.

It would be interesting to see if Fletcher could adapt to a managerial role with him currently the technical director at Manchester United. He would as Robertson says have plenty of connections with United that might benefit the Baggies in the long run, but this would be a gamble and there should still be safer options out there than this you feel.

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