When West Bromwich Albion appointed Eric Ramsay as head coach last month, the board spoke of a young coach who “exhibited the qualities to lead and succeed in the world’s most demanding football environment,” capable of building a modern club identity.
Just six weeks later, that vision has disintegrated into a nightmare. Ramsay’s short West Brom tenure has become a case study in tactical over-complication and a catastrophic loss of dressing room confidence.
The numbers make for grim reading. Nine games without a win. 18 goals conceded, five goals scored. It took nine games for West Brom to take the lead in a game under Ramsay in the 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic.
With each passing week, Ramsay’s position became untenable. Five key moments cemented the fact that the writing was on the wall almost as soon as he walked through the door.
First game, first defeat vs Middlesbrough
Ramsay’s appointment split opinion, as reports from the States suggested Eric Ramsay’s Baggies would be a difficult watch after his time at Minnesota.
A defensive setup wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for a team known for shipping goals. There were positives to be taken from that first performance, but ultimately, it ended the same way it had for Ryan Mason before him.
After a spirited fightback that saw Albion score two goals in five minutes, Boro substitute Delano Burgzorg hit back with a 90th-minute winner that completely turned Ramsay’s tenure on its head.
Conceding late goals is what ultimately led to Mason’s sacking, now the new manager bounce was gone in an instant as fans just saw more of the same. It could have been a moment to galvanise a fan base; it just ended with more frustration.
Although there were positives, Ramsay was now on the back foot. West Brom is a fanbase that expects a certain style, albeit wrongly in my opinion, it’s a bit of a myth used as a stick for managers who hit a rough patch.
But historically, managers who opt for a more defensive style have less grace with fans, especially if they’re not getting results. Added to that is the fact that this was the second inexperienced appointment; closing out games was the Achilles heel of his predecessor, and those with doubts were making them vocal from the start.
The 5-2-3 experiment
Ramsay faced intense criticism for insisting with a 5-2-3 formation in those first four matches. He did eventually see that it wasn’t working, but why it took so long really did fuel the fire for the increasing number of Ramsay doubters.
Before he was appointed, an interview from Ramsay’s time in America was circulating among fans.
Speaking to Mpl.St.Paul Magazine, Ramsay was asked: “You’ve said that something you see in basketball that sometimes gets lost on modern soccer is the simple idea of, ‘This guy is on today; let’s feed him the ball.”
His response impressed me, at least, when he said, “Where football has gone in the last five years from a tactical perspective is ridiculous; hence, you get more and more coaches with my background who have spent 15 years doing university degrees and studying, and they can explain complex concepts easily, they can knit together roles well, but we’ve almost started to neglect some of the basics of the sport. I think basketball has brought me back to that.”
So why was this simple idea not executed? It still seems strange now, this is a side really struggling to threaten the opposition. Attacking options were limited, but players like Isaac Price and Samuel Iling-Junior had at least shown they could make a difference in the final third; they were never going to do that playing as wing-backs.
West Brom still have no identity
When the 5-2-3 was eventually scrapped, it was replaced not by stability, but by team selections that just screamed of a manager completely unable to get a tune out of this side. Ramsay cycled through four different systems in four games with players just completely unaware of how they are meant to be playing.
In Ramsay’s defence, he isn’t the first to be left blindsided by these players; Tony Mowbray hinted at issues within the squad last season. But it’s just been a case of throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks each week. Even now, I have no idea what he was trying to accomplish at West Brom.
West Brom’s inability to take the lead
Possibly the most alarming stat of Ramsay’s reign, West Brom only once took the lead in a game under his stewardship.
Much like Ramsay’s tenure, Albion have always been on the back foot, When you consistently go behind, game plans change constantly; the squad were never able to actually carry out their manager’s instructions from pre-match training.
Mike Tyson said it best: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This West Brom side has had to drag itself off the canvas repeatedly, heaping further pressure on the attacking players who weren’t setting the Championship alight in the first place.
Norwich City humiliation
In truth, Eric Ramsay had lost the fans after the 5-0 home drubbing to Norwich City. It’s been well-documented, The Hawthorns atmosphere has long been muted, but it’s become a theatre of apathy since.
Ramsay’s post-match assessment, describing the goals as “completely unacceptable” was correct, but his failure to prevent a similar collapse just days later in the FA Cup suggested he was a head coach who lacked the ability to influence this group of players.
His reactions to defeats have not helped him. Following the FA Cup exit, Ramsay claimed he was “satisfied” with the performance. To a fanbase watching their club sleepwalk into a relegation battle, the comments were tone-deaf and disconnected from the reality of the situation.
With chants for his dismissal growing louder, and The Hawthorns looking half empty in the draw with Charlton, the board now faces the most important decision in its modern history.
Shilan Patel should be credited for how he has navigated the financial position he inherited, but the lack of footballing knowledge within the boardroom is clear. Fans won’t forgive another appointment that keeps this club spiralling towards the third tier. Here’s hoping for third time lucky.