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For Sam Allardyce, the return to the Premier League after an absence of two and a half years should have been a moment to savor.
When his appointment as West Bromwich Albion coach was confirmed on Wednesday, there was certainly personal euphoria for a man who surely wondered if the call would return.
But within five minutes of their first game back, when Aston Villa opened the scoring in a game that went from bad to worse for the Baggies, he might have been wondering if they could have fared better.
Obviously, Sunday’s 3-0 loss was in itself a cause for concern, but there was also the fact that his new team recorded only one shot on goal. And Captain Jake Livermore was expelled for recklessly cutting Jack Grealish.
And then when the match ended, a reminder that next is a trip to Anfield to face a Liverpool side undefeated at home in the league since April 2017.
It was a totally depressing night for a manager entering uncharted territory. Of course, Allardyce knows how to get around a relegation fight, but he is the first new Premier League appointment this season and thus the first to try to galvanize a team without fans to help the new manager rebound.
When Allardyce, wearing the mandatory mask, walked away from the second of the two coaches who stopped in front of The Hawthorns 90 minutes before kickoff, there was no reaction. The only people who witnessed his arrival at his new club were half a dozen administrators. Smethwick End’s only support came from the orange-jacketed stewards on the lower level and a handful of club staff on the upper level.
If this was really the start of one of those famous Allardyce all-odds survival matches, it was a pretty miserable way to start.
What can West Brom expect from Allardyce?
There is no magic formula here. West Brom has accumulated just one point in its last four games. They are the second end of the table. His position is terrible.
Allardyce is not the tactical Neanderthal his critics like to portray. The team he built at Bolton did not draw with Bayern Munich and beat Atlético de Madrid on their way to the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup by continually kicking the ball out of bounds. Jay-Jay Okocha was one of the most creative Premier League players of his day.
But the 66-year-old build likes it. Their short-term plan was outlined before the start in notes contained in the show that presumably many Baggies fans have mailed to them as a way to invest in their club’s games at a time when they can’t actually go see them. to play.
“I want to find out why the players think they haven’t gotten the results that they feel they deserve,” he said.
“The little moments can define your season. If you focus when these little moments come and stop the mistakes, then you stop conceding goals. That’s the end goal for me at the beginning.”
Obviously, conceding in the fifth minute to a routine cross at the far post does not meet Allardyce’s criteria. “It was a simple cross, we left his man in our six-yard box.”
He was not impressed.
The problem is obvious. Prior to Leeds imploded at Old Trafford on Sunday morning, West Brom had by far the worst defense in the top flight. So far this season, two teams have conceded seven in a game and now two have conceded six. Neither of these teams is West Brom.
But they give away too many goals, too often.
However, while the comparison may be unfair, for many fans Allardyce’s plan sounds too much of the Tony Pulis era for their liking, a period in which they felt the enjoyment left their team and ultimately, They didn’t even have the safety compensation, even if the Welshman was fired earlier that became a reality in spring 2018.
How big is the job to keep them up to date?
The size of this task cannot be underestimated.
In the era of the Premier League, no club with less than eight points after 14 games has stayed up. This was West Brom’s fourteenth game. They have seven points, three safety but with worse goal difference.
The Baggies concede too many goals and do not score enough, which is often fatal.
This was the seventh time they failed to score, and they only kept two clean sheets. They haven’t scored more than once in a game since blowing a three-goal lead against Chelsea on September 26.
Loan midfielder Conor Gallagher and Callum Robinson are their top scorers, with two. Karlan Grant, whom ex-boss Slaven Bilic persuaded West Brom to pay Huddersfield £ 15 million on the day of the deadline, found the net for the only time against Brighton, in their second game, on October 26.
Allardyce has a lot of work to do.
Will Baggies fans welcome Allardyce?
Without fans in the stadium, it is difficult to measure. But reliable barometers of the Baggies’ fate are suspicious of Allardyce’s arrival.
This is not because they have something against the former England boss, or that they wish Bilic hadn’t been fired. Although the Croatian was well liked, it is accepted that for almost a year the results have been in a downward spiral.
What they are concerned about is that Allardyce’s arrival is not seen as part of a larger plan by owner Guochuan Lai, but rather about staying in the Premier League to maximize the chances of a potential sale.
There have been no financial contributions from the owner since he bought the club in August 2016 and there is no indication that it will change. He does not attend games and although he has regular contact with his board, it does not make sense that he understands what the club’s fans are looking for from an owner, and even less if he is willing to hand it over.
And that is a problem.
Sunday’s loss was only the second time Allardyce lost his first Premier League game as a manager. The first came at Crystal Palace, which was in a similar situation to West Brom now, and where it took them six games to get a first league win.
Palace’s response was to give Allardyce £ 30 million to spend on Luka Milivojevic, Patrick van Aanholt and Jeffrey Schlupp. This triggered the upgrade that kept Palace running.
Similar funding is unlikely this January.
Are they more likely to stay awake now?
Allardyce said after his appointment that he did not want to end his record of never being relegated from the Premier League.
Whether it’s complaining to the fourth official after Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez escaped without a yellow card for an early ball out of the box, putting his head in his hands at another mistake or the fierce way he dealt with the aftermath of the Livermore red. card, showed he’s ready for the fight.
“I’m upset with the red card,” he said. “He was reckless and will be fined.
“He has apologized, but I will not accept another expulsion, whatever happens. Someone else has to be captain now because Jake is suspended for three games. It depends on who can handle the bracelet, but they can keep it to me.”
Allardyce is pragmatic. He said he could understand the fans who watched his opening night and saw nothing to give them hope relegation will be avoided.
But he thinks otherwise, and praised the 10 players Livermore left to fight for more than half the game.
But for now, finesse will have to give way to the fight if West Brom is to have any chance of extending Allardyce’s treasured survival record.
“It’s a win at 14,” he said. “My first battle is to make sure they don’t lose confidence in their own ability. Then I need to guide them to fight their way out of this position, because they can’t come out to play.”
