16th October 2006: Officially, the new era at West Bromwich Albion starts on Wednesday when Tony Mowbray takes over as manager, but many Albion fans can be forgiven for thinking that it has already begun. Since Bryan Robson left the club on 18th September, the Baggies have won three games, drawn one, and scored fourteen goals in the process. Compare that with the first eight games of the season under Robson, in which Albion managed to find the net on only eleven occasions, and it is easy to see it as a dramatic turnaround.

Some may ask, therefore, if Nigel Pearson should have been given a chance to take the manager's job on a permanent basis, and indeed many expected chairman Jeremy Peace to do just that. The team's performances under Pearson were an ideal opportunity for Peace to take the "cheap" option of appointing him until the end of the season, but contrary to many Albion fans' sceptical view of the chairman, the financial implications of any appointment were evidently not paramount (within reason), it was more important to get the right man.

The reasons for not choosing Pearson are not simply that he was "guilty by association" with Bryan Robson, although one has to ask why his management style seems to be completely at odds with his former mentor. It is clear to me that, when Paul McShane was sent off against Leeds, Robson would have immediately withdrawn a striker and looked to hold out for the draw - as we know, Pearson did nothing of the sort and guided the team to an impressive victory. So either Nigel was not strong enough to stand up to Robson, or he was simply ignored - either way, Pearson takes some of the blame.

But in my opinion, the most compelling reason for not choosing Pearson is a footballing one. While the attacking style of play he has advocated has been welcome, his ability to coach a team to defend solidly must be called into question. As a former centre back and first team coach under Robson, the defensive frailties that the team has exhibited for the past two years must be partly the responsibility of Nigel Pearson. And even since Robson's departure, the first half against Luton and the near late collapse against Leeds were both examples of a worrying lack of organisation at the back. And while it might be slightly unfair to Pearson, one has to say that the change in attacking fortunes is largely down to the return to fitness, and form, of Diomansay Kamara and Jason Koumas.

However, Nigel Pearson will leave the club with his head held high. He has exhibited extreme professionalism in the last month, for which he should be praised, and he has also put himself firmly in the shop window as a manager in his own right. I hope that he signs off at Selhurst Park on Tuesday evening with another good result, and I, for one, wish him every success in the future.

Returning to the choice of manager, I must congratulate Jeremy Peace and the board for appointing Tony Mowbray. It has been described by some as risky, and others as brave, but it seems that if you speak to any football person from north of the border, it is nothing short of excellent. Our oft-criticised chairman took his time over the appointment, evidently sounding out the likes of Mike Newell and Steve Cotterill, and to his credit, avoiding the easy option of appointing an established, but unemployed, "name". Perhaps it would have been safer for Peace to go down that road, to appoint someone who has immense experience of management, but one who has more than likely failed as many times as he has succeeded. There are many managers out there whose appointment would have been welcomed by the media, if only because those managers are known, liked and respected in the football world. And perhaps the appointment of Alex McLeish would have been an easy compromise, having been immensely successful at Rangers, being well-respected in the game and out of work.

But, like me, Peace saw that neither of those options would have been right for Albion now. It may be a bit of a generalism, but many of the "experienced" managers who are unemployed are in that position because their style of management not longer works - they have failed to adapt to the way that the game has changed. As for McLeish (and Curbishley for that matter), Albion would have been little more than a stepping stone to a major Premiership club - potentially successful in the short term, but not the long term appointment we need.

The chairman has, perhaps, been a little too wary of media reaction in the past. I suspect that is why Robson was not sacked in the summer. But by sacking Robson when he did, and then largely blanking the media during the search for the manager, he has made few friends in those circles and gained my respect in the process. He conducted the search on his terms, and I believe he has come up with an excellent appointment. I would have been happy with Newell, Tilson, Cotterill or Mowbray, as they seem stand out as the best of the current breed of young hungry managers, but with a reputation for playing excellent attacking football, and experience of pitting his wits against some of of the best in Europe, maybe "Mogga" stands that little bit higher.

And so we look forward to the new era. With the team's confidence high, Mowbray should hopefully be able to hit the ground running as he doesn't need to make wholesale changes quickly, and a victory over the Dingles will be a sure-fire way of winning the fans over quickly.

It is an exciting time to be an Albion fan, and I can't wait to jump on the latest ride we're about to take.





Jon Want, 16th October 2006