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
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.
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.