Matt Maher: Managerial search first big step in new West Brom era

When Shilen Patel and his colleagues arrived at The Hawthorns last February they found a club brought to the brink of financial disaster by Guochaun Lai.

Yet much of the structure, at least where day-to-day business was concerned, was in decent nick, with good and experienced operators in key positions. Nowhere was that better exemplified than in the head coach’s office.

Unlike the vast majority of new owners taking over a football club, Bilkul knew where Carlos Corberan was concerned they did not have a decision to make. It is not an exaggeration to claim the Spaniard’s presence in the dugout added to the general attraction of the club. At the very least he was engaged with the prospective new custodians during the protracted takeover process.

His departure now, midway through the season, leaves Albion with a big hole to fill and provides the first real test of the Bilkul machinery which has been building steadily in the background over recent months. In the coming days and weeks we are going to learn a whole lot more about their operations and long-term vision for the Baggies. Their first managerial appointment also feels like the first step into a new era.

Leading the search for Corberan’s successor is Andrew Nestor, Bilkul CEO and also sporting director at The Hawthorns. 

Credited with reviving the fortunes of Tampa Bay Rowdies when he served as president, CEO and general manager, the American also spent two years as a director of Bologna having been involved in their 2015 takeover. Corberan’s prominence meant at Albion he had largely existed in the background but now he is very much to the fore and will take ultimate responsibility for the new appointment.

Sensibly, it does not appear a decision which will be rushed. Like any other competent club, Albion have long had a list of possible successors should Corberan depart which will now be re-examined.

Yet importantly, there is also an acknowledgement making the right call is more important than making a quick one. Decisions do not get bigger than picking a new manager.

There is time, too, even allowing for the current hectic fixture list. True, it would be better if Albion were currently in the Championship’s top six, rather than just outside it. But with half a season still to play, the Baggies could conceivably wait until mid-January before recruiting the new man and there would still be everything to play for.

There will certainly be no shortage of interest in the job. Albion might now be more than three seasons removed from the Premier League but this is still a post which will attract any manager with aspirations of taking a club into the top flight.

Granted, it could in no way deemed an easy gig. Lai and the threat of financial Armageddon might be gone but as Corberan so publicly noted just prior to his departure, scars remain. The Baggies need to remain within profit and sustainability margins has restricted what Bilkul can do and that will continue to be the case in the short-term. Yet in time, it will get better and Corberan has already demonstrated what can be achieved, even working to tight budgetary constraints. 

By the end, there was a sense that after more than two years he had become a little worn down by the challenge and in many senses you cannot blame him. There are undoubtedly other managers who would have tried to force a move far earlier. Instead, during the toughest time Corberan seemed the perfect man for a crisis. He understood the assignment and the reasons why. Most importantly, he understood the club.

That is what made him going public on playing budget cuts earlier this month so striking. For more than two years Corberan had side-stepped any questions about the club’s finances and yet here he was, laying difficulties bare. 

It smacked of a man who had become frustrated and just perhaps, irritated by a belief the job he had done was not being fully appreciated. The timing of his exit felt terrible, announced at 20 minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve. Yet in hindsight, it probably had become only a matter of time. Albion might have genuine aspirations of returning to the Premier League but they are also a club in recovery. More patience will likely be required. Even Corberan’s was finite.

The departure will also preserve his legacy and the job he did, during arguably Albion’s bleakest hour, deserves to be considered among the most important in the club’s history. For as much as you hoped he would lead the club back into the Premier League and for all there might feel a sense of unfinished business, there is no question on the pitch Corberan has left the Baggies in a far better place than he found them. Whoever is chosen for the role will be building on solid foundations.

The onus is now on Bilkul and Nestor to identify the candidate who can best continue his work. 

It may prove to be a familiar face, with both Slaven Bilic and Tony Mowbray among those tipped to be in the early running. Yet for the first managerial appointment of a new ownership, it may prove shrewd to expect the unexpected. Liverpool assistant John Heitinga, who led the betting markets on Friday, would be intriguing. 

Neither should we rule out a completely different, as yet untouted name, emerging. Bilkul do not see Championship experience as essential and are prepared to cast the net far before making a decision they know they must get right.