Darren Moore paid the price for West Brom chiefs underestimating the Championship
Some owners think they should go straight back up but life for newly relegated sides is getting more difficult
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DARREN MOORE paid the price for the powers that be at West Brom completely underestimating the Championship.
After being relegated from the Premier League, some owners believe they have a God-given right to go straight back up.
But that’s not how it works and it just shows they don’t have a good enough understanding of the division.
I’ve been covering it for four years now and it’s changed so much even in that small time.
The gap between the bottom six in the Premier League and the top six in the Championship is now smaller than ever and life for newly relegated sides is getting more difficult.
In the last five years only one in three teams have gone back up at the first time of asking.
It’s not as easy as just throwing money at it — you start the season with a hangover and it can be a real shock to the system.
Some players will be annoyed at not getting a move, some won’t have played in the Championship for a long time, if at all, while certain clubs have new managers implementing new ideas.
Moore was doing a good job and West Brom still have hope of going up via the play-offs.
But one of the biggest issues Moore faced was having to adapt to playing a different style of football.
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When towards the bottom of the Prem, you will likely look to play on the counter-attack as teams get on the front foot against you.
But after being relegated you become a big fish and a huge scalp for other teams.
The onus is on you to dominate, so you have to change into a more possession- based side.
That can be very difficult to change in such a short space of time, as West Brom have found.
In the 24 games so far where they have had more of the ball, they have picked up 34 points — compared to winning 30 points from the 13 games with less possession.
With teams looking to dig in and sit back, your playmaker becomes so important in breaking down defences.
The Baggies have one of the best squads in the league but compared to the top three teams, they are definitely lacking in this department. Harvey Barnes was on fire for them but went back to Leicester in January, while Matt Phillips has struggled with injuries at various stages.
In comparison, the main creative forces for the top three teams have been mainstays all season. Moore has also been a victim of inconsistent home form.
They were without a win at The Hawthorns since Boxing Day and with 90 per cent of fans only seeing home games, frustration started to creep in.
The Championship is such a tough league these days — the whole dynamic of the club has to change — and if West Brom’s chiefs had grasped this quicker, Moore could still be in a job.