Blog: New lease of life just what West Brom need
It's always a gamble for a football club in appointing a foreign manager. West Bromwich Albion will certainly be hoping it's a big hit with newly named boss Pepe Mel, writes Albion fan Nathan Carr.
Those lingering doubts over whether they'll adapt to a new league, endear themselves to the fans, convey their message to their new group of players; it's usually hit or miss.
Watching from the stands at St Mary's last Saturday, Mel cut a cool and charismatic figure. Sporting jet-black sunglasses and a neat overcoat – the Spaniard perhaps picked the worst match to come and see Albion this season.
The side were lacking in ideas, attacking verve and crucially goals. What he witnessed was undoubtedly an unfair reflection of what the group of players are capable of. But in a weird way, maybe that kind of performance was needed to really hit home the dire situation we're in and spur Mel on to make drastic changes?
He took his first training session on Tuesday and just from glancing at pictures, he clearly isn't afraid to get stuck in.
He appears very hands-on, animated and exuberant whilst getting his points across. That's what is needed. To reignite our stumbling campaign, the club needs a large dose of energy to turn things around. Under Steve Clarke, you felt the latter stages of his tenure were dragging. The buzz had gone and been replaced by a downbeat dressing room.
Indeed, Mel arrives with quite the reputation. Real Betis supporters have had nothing negative to say about him and were clearly disheartened to see the 50-year-old go. It would have been unnatural otherwise. After all, he did a tremendous job with Betis on the whole. In a nutshell, he guided them to promotion in his debut season in charge before following it up with a fantastic seventh place finish in La Liga and subsequently earning Europa League qualification.
In those first two years he worked wonders. Renowned for playing slick, attractive football with goals aplenty – Betis couldn't stop scoring in Segunda and they carried that bold, exciting style into the top-flight. It was only this season that Mel started to come under a bit of scrutiny from both the board and media.
Béticos, as they are also known, endured a torrid start to the 2013-14 term but the bulk of the team had left. Key players departed, Mel was left shrugging his shoulders and the humiliating derby defeat to Sevilla was the final nail in the coffin. How much of that was Mel's fault is questionable. But the vast majority of Spanish football followers are adamant that Albion have acquired a very astute, energetic and capable coach.
Where does the new man start? There are plenty of things to address at the club. There's no denying that. He arrives at a pivotal time in the shape of the January transfer window. He barely knows the players and will have to learn their qualities, flaws and needs quickly. On Tuesday it was reported that Shane Long was edging ever closer to a deal with Hull. The fee touted is £6million and if that did go through, surely funds would be made available to reinvest in personnel and strengthen areas where we need strengthening. Like, for instance, left-back. I've said many a time that Goran Popov is inadequate backup to the incumbent Liam Ridgewell. The latter is steady cover but not first choice material and Mel must have detected that last weekend. If Long does leave, does another striker need to come in? Nicolas Anelka, Victor Anichebe, Saido Berahino, Matej Vydra and possibly Markus Rosenberg – depending on whether a deal can be sorted out with any interested parties – make up the rest of the strike-force and it isn't a bad one at all. However, I'm not entirely convinced there are enough goals there. It will be interesting to see if Mel flexes his muscle in the Spanish market and is able to persuade any former Betis players to hop on the plane and join Albion. I'd be surprised if he didn't.
The new manager's presence also paves the way for the likes of Graham Dorrans, George Thorne and indeed Rosenberg – all on the periphery of the squad – to stake a claim. In effect, everybody starts on a clean slate now. Past performances are temporarily put aside, fresh bonds are formed and a new chapter begins. Monday night will really give us a fair insight into what to expect under the new regime…
Everton come to town for a match set to be played infront of the Sky cameras. Roberto Martinez's men are flying high in the league and will provide a stern test for Albion, who are languishing just three points above the drop zone. It's a nice game for Mel to ease into: at home, full crowd to offer support and against a realistically beatable team. There are many questions to pose. Will Berahino start as the fans yearn for his name to be read out on the starting team sheet? Should we expect an alternative system, dissimilar to Keith Downing's new-look back-three approach? Fingers crossed, we start sharply and on the front foot. In recent outings we haven't done that and the consequences have been disastrous. Beating Everton would be a brilliant building block for Mel and the players with a massive derby against Aston Villa on the horizon. It isn't an insurmountable task.
Vitally, the supporters must stay with the Spaniard and give him the time and respect he deserves. Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton is a prime example of a foreign manager coming up trumps in the Premier League. There were doubts over his ability to adjust and he's answered by winning football matches (albeit they're not on a great run at the moment). The managerial selection process was a considerably long one and evidently Chairman Jeremy Peace believes Mel is the right candidate to add to Clarke's efforts and take the club even further. In the face of adversity, we stick together. We weather the storm and offer our full backing to the team we all love. If Mel's tenure is to be a successful one, that's what must happen.