West Brom’s eight year stay in the Premier League is over. Their fate looked to have been sealed back in April, when the Baggies had lost eight consecutive games and had won just three games all season – two of those being their opening two games.

It was clear something had change, and Pardew was sacked as manager. Pardew had been appointed in November after Pulis’ departure, which came about when they had lost 10 games on the bounce. Pardew came in but could only manage one win in 18 games, leaving West Brom ten points from safety with six games to play. Talk at the club was probably already about the long road back to the Premier League after their inevitable relegation. The board gave former defender Darren Moore, who was part of Pardew’s backroom staff, the job.

“We need to get the unity back among everyone – the players, the staff, the fans, everyone connected with Albion, because that is the only way forward,” said Moore when he took charge. And that’s exactly what he was able to do.

His first task was to host fellow strugglers Swansea, and even though they didn’t know it at the time, if they had held onto their 1-0 lead they could have been fighting for Premier League survival this weekend. The end result was 1-1, but it was a morale booster after losing the previous eight.

Their next four fixtures were Man United, Liverpool, Newcastle and Spurs. You’d have been surprised to see the Baggies take more than a point from that run of fixtures, but Moore refused to rule out a miraculous escape act and got a 1-0 win against United at Old Trafford. That result clinched the title for Man City and gave West Brom the slightest thread of hope.

The Baggies came from two behind to draw 2-2 with Liverpool and next up was Newcastle and another 1-0 away win for Moore. Their chances were slim, but people were starting to feel like the great escape was on the cards. Next they beat Spurs with a last-minute goal at the Hawthornes and you could see how much it meant to the fans. They would be relegated unless Swansea and Southampton drew the following Tuesday, but they were mathematically in with a chance of survival.

Southampton won that game and all but guaranteed their survival, sending West Brom down to the Championship. The almost impossible task of keeping West Brom up hadn’t come off, but it took Moore just five games to win as many games as Pulis and Pardew had collectively managed in 32 games. Moore was rightly awarded manager of the month the same day his side were relegated. It’s a tale of what could have been for West Brom if he had been given the opportunity earlier.

I thoroughly believe Moore is the right person for West Brom and has the knowledge to lead by example. Bringing someone else in to do the job without giving Moore the chance to prove himself from the start of next season would be criminal.

A new manager wouldn’t know the players and would want to bring in his own recruits, which means it would also be expensive. But you have a coach like Darren who has been with the club and knows who has been giving 100% throughout the whole season, and who hasn’t been pulling their weight. A little tweaking is all that’s needed and he is ready to bring the focus and desire they have been playing with the last couple of games, into the new season.

Don’t follow the trend but stick with a coach that loves the club!

#mmlove