With the winter transfer window shut, player movements may not grab the headlines; but there is a lot of speculation on the managerial front. West Bromwich Albion parted with their Italian manager Roberto Di Matteo after his side lost 0-3 against a spirited Manchester City outfit at Eastlands. Speculation is rife with possible replacements for Di Matteo’s job.
Two men who are in the forefront include Roy Hodgson and Chris Hughton. The ironic part is that both these managers were fired from their jobs at Liverpool and Newcastle respectively, in the recent past. Michael Appleton has been appointed as caretaker manager till a permanent replacement is found. The WBA board believes that Roy Hodgson is the right man to steady the ship at the Hawthorns. If he rejects the offer, Chris Hughton is set to be approached. Derek McInnes, now in charge of St Johnstone, is also in the fray.
Roberto Di Matteo did well working on a limited budget, but WBA’s form had been suffering in the last couple of months and they were sliding perilously southwards. Di Matteo could have lost his job three weeks ago but a 3-2 win against Blackpool kept his head above water. League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan criticized the decision and launched an attack against the WBA board, ” Roberto represents yet another victim of the hire and fire mentality that pervades our game. The club have big matches ahead, against Wolves and West Ham and you have to question the decision to sack the manager. It is exactly in situations like those that we all want to see clubs back the individuals they have employed rather than see the sack as a panacea.”
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