Football pundit Clinton Morrison has been discussing West Bromwich Albion’s decision to sack Slaven Bilic and replace him with Sam Allardyce on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.
Despite having led the Baggies back into the Premier League earlier this year, the club’s hierarchy decided to pull the trigger on the Croatian just 13 games into the current season. Allardyce, who previously managed England, only took charge of one game with the national team before his contract was terminated by mutual agreement following his ‘inappropriate’ conduct off the field.
When discussing Bilic’s sacking and his now confirmed replacement, Morrison was asked if the club had made the right move. This is what he had to say:
“No, it wasn’t the right decision.
“Why not just sack him after the Newcastle game? That’s because they were thinking he’ll go to [Manchester] City, get beaten by five or six and then we can sack him [without the uproar].
“They’re going to give Sam money in January, why not give it to Slaven?
“They need to really have backed Bilic and they haven’t, I don’t think it was the right decision.”
Were West Brom correct to sack Slaven Bilic?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Clinton Morrison’s comments regarding Slaven Bilic’s sacking…
It could certainly be argued that considering West Brom had only just come up, perhaps the club’s expectations of a better points tally at this point were a little unrealistic. Given that Allardyce has never suffered relegation from the Premier League as a manager, you can also assume that he has perhaps been given guarantees regarding the January transfer window that persuaded him to take the role in the first place.
It was reported by The Athletic that West Brom were looking to replace Bilic prior to the Manchester City game but were unable to do so due to restrictions around the virus – which would make Morrison’s theory an inaccurate one – but regardless of the specific timing, it’s fair to say the former Premier League striker thinks the club have nevertheless made a mistake.