Why West Brom fans should not be surprised by Alan Irvine

Less than a month ago, West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace told supporters the last twelve months had been the toughest since he arrived at the club 12 years go.

Things, he said, must change.

‘The most important thing is that we can attempt to correct the mistakes that have been made. I recognise the frustration many of our supporters have been feeling this season.’

Yet his first major decision since making that statement, has only served to further fan the flames of such frustration.

Not since the Denis Smith’s arrival at The Hawthorns from Oxford United in 1997 has a managerial appointment been met with such universal disapproval among Baggies fans.

The club website introduced Alan Irvine on Saturday as the manager of Everton’s Youth Academy with “a wealth of Premier League experience having assisted David Moyes in helping Everton finish in the top seven in three out of five seasons.”

The club’s fans though see a manager who oversaw Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation from the Championship in 2010, a year after being sacked by League One Preston, and many are asking why on earth he is now managing their Premier League football club.

It is understood Albion hierarchy was for a backlash – and it came in bucket loads.

It was hard to find a single supporter on social media on Saturday with anything positive to say about their new manager.

I’ll spare you the vitriol, but at the heart of fans’ frustrations is the belief that Alan Irvine’s appointment represents a lack of long-term ambition; a continued reluctance to spend money; and the insistence of the board to work only with managers who will accept their vision without question or debate.

That is how some Albion fans appear to view their Chairman, and yet they were still hugely surprised by Alan Irvine.

Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood had emerged as Pepe Mel’s likely successor. Chris Hughton, Brian McDermott and Gianfranco Zola had all been touted. There was even talk of current Albion coach Keith Downing being called upon to take the hot seat.

Though in truth none appeared to inspire or excite in the way Roy Hodgson’s appointment once did, it’s doubtful that any of the above would have caused the anger and disillusionment that greeted Saturday’s announcement.

No one expected Alan Irvine, and yet we should have.

He is exactly the kind of coach Peace has preferred for nearly a decade (Roy Hodgson, we now see, was the exception).

It began with Tony Mowbray: a young manager poached from a much smaller club, Hibernian; unproven at a top English club, with good coaching credentials and big ambitions.

Then came his replacement, Roberto Di Matteo. Again young, with even less experience, just one season at MK Dons of League One, but with a raft of coaching badges and historical ties at clubs like Chelsea.

After RDM’s replacement Roy Hogdson left for bigger and better things, Peace resorted to type. In came Steve Clarke: young and inexperienced but with a reputation as a first-rate coach at some of England’s biggest clubs, and a ringing endorsement from Jose Mourinho.

Pepe Mel arrived in January 2014 with plenty of managerial experience in Spain but none in England. Like his predecessors, he had ambition; Albion was his chance to prove himself.

What all Peace’s appointments have in common is this: they are grateful for the opportunity; they see West Brom as a step-up from their previous clubs; they are inexperienced with plenty to prove.

Therefore, as a result of the above, they are usually cheaper than other options; they demand less in way of funds for transfer targets; they are happy to work within the club’s current coaching set-up; they are unlikely to bring with them their own backroom staff due to their previous lack of time and experience in management. They won’t rock the boat.

Alan Irvine ticks all these boxes.

He comes with a a Clarke-esque reputation as a good coach; he has no managerial experience managing a top flight club; he has ambitions to manage and sees Albion as the perfect opportunity to prove himself; and he is, without doubt, very grateful for the opportunity.

Alan Irvine is Steve Clarke, in the way Steve Clarke was Roberto Di Matteo and Di Matteo was Tony Mowbray. Cut from the same cloth - he is a continuation of a theme.

Peace and the West Brom board will argue it’s a theme that has been relatively successful.

As for Irvine, they will point to glowing references from David Moyes, Everton boss Robeto Martinez and others; to Irvine’s time at Preston when he steered them clear off relegation before taking them to the Championship play-offs, and to his work harnessing young talent at Everton’s Youth Academy, talent like England star Ross Barkley.

Many Albion fans appear to care little for such arguments. Alan Irvine begins the next chapter of his career at a club where its fans don’t appear to want him.

But he’s not the first, and Albion’s fans must understand, that he won’t be the last.