Steve Bruce was finally shown the door by West Brom after a stalemate with Luton Town left the club 22nd in the Championship with just one win to their name.
The Baggies were amongst the pre-season favourites for promotion but they have won just one of their opening 13 games in the second tier, and the only surprise is that Bruce lasted as long as he did.
The former Newcastle United boss may point towards the expected goals for and against tables, which suggest that West Brom should be significantly higher than they are, if not for a profligate front line and shaky defence.
Recent home results against Luton and Swansea saw the atmosphere turn toxic and Guochuan Lai will be desperate to appoint a manager who can get the fans back on board, as the season can still be salvaged.
One man who could achieve this and has been linked with the vacant post at the Hawthorns is Chris Wilder.
Should West Brom hire Wilder?
The 55-year-old was sacked as Middlesbrough manager recently after a similarly disappointing start to the season but has shown in previous spells with Northampton Town and Sheffield United that he knows how to get the best out of players.
He came to prominence with the Cobblers, winning the League Two title with more than 100 points despite serious financial issues off the pitch.
From there, he would join Sheffield United, with the Blades languishing in League One at the time. His first season at Bramall Lane resulted in another title and another 100 points, emphasising his ability to unite a struggling squad.
Wilder consolidated in the Championship, earning a tenth-place finish in the 2017/18 campaign before steering the Blades back to the Premier League the following season, where he won a lot of plaudits for his style of play.
Steve McClaren was full of praise for Wilder’s performances with Sheffield United in 2020, saying:
“I said ‘how are you doing and everything’ and he said ‘we’re a team which needs to be 100 per cent, every player, every week. If we are 99 per cent or 98, we lose games. We need to be 100 per cent’.
“And what he’s doing, he’s getting 100 per cent – it’s phenomenal – (first) in the Championship and now in the Premier League.”
A first term in the top flight saw Sheffield United flirt with the European spots before they were ultimately relegated the following season after Wilder left as manager.
However, he has shown that he can produce results even in tough times and given his superb performances with Sheffield United and Northampton, Wilder could be the ideal man to get the Baggies to click in attack and defence.
The potential is clearly there for West Brom, as Bruce’s reign ended due to poor results rather than performances, and Wilder would surely demand the best from his squad in order to improve results, so Lai should bring him in if he wants to get the Hawthorns’ faithful rocking once again.
