Matt Maher: Sam Allardyce has done enough to stay on at West Brom – if he wants to
Agonising though the finish might have been, Albion’s performance in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Villa was another indication of their progress under Sam Allardyce.
December’s reverse fixture at The Hawthorns had been his first match in charge and the Baggies were brushed aside in the most one-sided clash between the old rivals in recent memory.
Admittedly Villa, missing Jack Grealish, are not quite so strong as they were back then. Yet they remain a solid outfit and Albion, having fallen behind early just 72 hours on from a sobering 3-0 defeat Leicester, displayed considerable character to fight back. There was no little ability on show too.
Allardyce later claimed his team have proved over the last 10 or so matches they can now be competitive in the Premier League and it is difficult to argue with that.
The trouble, of course, is the turnaround has come too late. If the season still had 10 matches to run you would fancy Albion’s chances of escaping danger on current form. Yet there are only five and depending on other results over the weekend, relegation could effectively be confirmed by a defeat to Wolves in Monday’s derby.
It doesn’t make the resurgence irrelevant, particularly when it comes to the biggest question facing Albion as they prepare for life back in the Championship: Who should be their manager?
The argument it should be Allardyce is only getting stronger. Granted, he looks set to fail in his task of saving the club from relegation. To say his reign got off to a rocky start would be something of an understatement. Doubtless, there will still be some supporters who remain unconvinced.
But the improvement, particularly after his squad was bolstered during the January window, has been undeniable and marked. Albion finally look a team heading in the right direction and should Allardyce confirm himself up for the challenge of getting the club back from the Championship, he should be given the chance.
Relegation will hurt. It always does. Yet Albion can take some solace in the knowledge they will be returning to a second tier hit hard by the pandemic and where two clubs with the deepest resources, Norwich and Watford, are heading back to the Premier League while a third, Bournemouth, may do so through the play-offs.
Even allowing for the question marks surrounding owner Guochuan Lai, the Baggies will be well placed to bounce back immediately. Achieving that will still require taking the right steps. Securing Allardyce’s services would increasingly appear the first.
