Premier League: Slaven Bilic sacked by West Bromwich Albion, replaced by Sam Allardyce

Slaven Bilic has been fired as West Bromwich Albion’s head coach after a year and a half in charge of the club, with Sam Allardyce replacing him.

The former England manager, who is from the West Midlands, has signed an 18-month contract at the club.

Sporting and Technical Director Luke Dowling said: “At Sam we have a man who has a proven pedigree in the Premier League with a track record of improving every club he has managed.

“We believe, and most importantly, Sam believes that we have a group of players who have the quality to give the club the best chance of surviving the Premier League.”

Allardyce had a brief stint as West Brom player-coach during the end of his playing career. He ran the Baggies reserves in 1988-89 and was later promoted to first team coach for the following season.

His return to the Hawthorns comes just hours after Bilic was fired.

“West Bromwich Albion parted ways with head coach Slaven Bilic today,” the club said in a statement.

“Assistant coaches Dean Racunica and Danilo Butorovic and first team coach Julian Dicks have also left the club with immediate effect.”

The 52-year-old Croatian is the first Premier League manager to leave his job this season.

Bilic took West Brom’s job in June 2019 and guided them into automatic Championship promotion (the second English level) the first time they asked.

He made 65 games and finished with a 40 percent winning percentage.

After a surprising 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Tuesday, Bilic told reporters: “I’m doing my job. I’m enjoying it. I’m working hard for myself, for my staff, for the players, for the club.” , that’s it.

“Everything else is out of my control. It doesn’t really bother me what happened behind the scenes. I do not care “.

Bilic’s firing isn’t entirely surprising given the club’s lackluster style of football this season and the results just don’t lie. Allardyce, Nigel Pearson, Mark Hughes and Eddie Howe are all linked to work, but because of their situation, there is only one option that stands out.

Pearson’s tarnished image after fighting over the Watford property last season is likely to put off the WBA, while Howe’s supposed aspirations for a long-term project and Hughes’ generally disappointing managerial record mean he wouldn’t be very Hard to see relegation specialist Allardyce return to the Premier League.

Defensive organization will be critical for West Brom to stay on top this season. With Allardyce in charge, they would have the opportunity to do so, having developed a portfolio of survival through their experiences at Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton in recent years. But it’s also an expensive risk and you’ll likely want significant purchasing power in January that Bilic didn’t get in the previous window.