West Brom blogger Warren Stephens: For your sake Jeremy, let's hope this Alan Irvine gamble pays off

'Albion are delighted to announce that Alan Irvine will be their new Head Coach' - those words will have stunned most Albion supporters on Saturday afternoon. I must admit I was staggered and I still am.

Five long weeks ago, the final curtain came down on a desperate season for Albion; it also came down on the short reign of Pepe Mel. Around 20,000 supporters shunned the traditional end-of-season lap of appreciation from the players, largely in protest at events that had unfolded in the previous months.

It was arguably as much of a slap in the face for the smattering of good, honest professionals that remain on the Hawthorns playing staff - especially for those whose contribution that day would be their last in blue and white stripes - as it was the more apathetic individuals it was aimed at, but nonetheless the gaping chasm between club and supporter had barely ever been so wide.

It was a dark, dark day in the history West Bromwich Albion Football Club.

During the time that's elapsed since, chairman Jeremy Peace has set out on a charm offensive, a mission to supposedly win back the hearts and minds of thousands of disenfranchised supporters, irked and frustrated by a perceived lack of ambition, communication, leadership and emotion at the club.

This was his chance to begin heeling that rift and lift the negativity that's hovered over the club for the past 18 months.

So far, we've seen the appointment of Terry Burton: a 'football man' to supplement some of the non-football staff in the sporting and technical department, a welcome decision the rationale behind which it's difficult to oppose.

The most prominent early barometer of Peace's intent, however, wouldn't be about support staff, nor would it be detectable in the hollow and largely meaningless sentiments of a rare club press release, it would lie in his pursuit of a new Head Coach, and so to Irvine.

Unlike many previous Head Coach searches at the Hawthorns, this time Albion were blessed with a plethora of experienced options.

David Moyes, Malky Mackay, Glenn Hoddle, Martin Jol, Michael Laudrup, Brian McDermott, Gianfranco Zola, Tim Sherwood and even Chris Hughton and Dave Jones have all managed at the top level of English football, with varying degrees of success.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly endorsing all of those options, nor suggesting that all would have taken the job. I'm actually semi-relieved we didn't appoint Tim Sherwood, for example, as I don't believe his confrontational and abrasive nature would sit well in our dressing room, nor do I believe it would be particularly conducive to the long-term harmony and prosperity of his subordinates.

In some respects, it could be applauded that Albion are willing to make a decision that isn't designed entirely to placate their fan base or conform to popular opinion, let's face it, if that was the case everywhere then old 'Arry might've been telling us in his post-match press conference on Saturday night how Italy are a good counter-attacking side and fully deserved their comfortable 4-0 romp over England in Manaus.

However, supporters aren't a football club's only customer or target market, sponsors are, players are too - those you have and those you desire - and you have to wonder what effect appointing a Head Coach with no top flight managerial experience, and whose limited management exposure in lower divisions was largely blighted by failure, will have on the players, staff and potential targets of West Bromwich Albion.

To many, it represents a startling lack of ambition, Irvine will have undoubtedly cost Albion much less to employ than many of those he was up against and seems a significantly greater gamble than Albion needed to invest in before a season which may go on to define our short to medium term prosperity.

Many others will deem it incredibly arrogant on Peace's part to gamble on a man whose own family and friends probably didn't give him a chance of getting the job when this process began.

It's incredibly difficult to decipher which parts of Irvine's application stood out from those around him.

He endured relatively barren periods as manager of Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday, indeed fans of both had some less than complimentary endorsements for him on social media sites over the weekend. The only element of credible repute on his CV has been in coaching roles, predominantly at Everton.

I must admit, to appoint somebody on the basis of coaching experience alone is something I'm incredibly sceptical of.

The Albion hierarchy appear completely fixated with the idea of a Head Coach being fundamentally different to a Manager. To my mind, the major fundamental difference between the two roles is their level of engagement in recruitment and contractual issues, yet success in both is primarily defined by the management and utilisation of the playing staff they have at their disposal.

Many a reputable coach has failed in a management position, just ask Brian Kidd, Sammy Lee and Les Reed, yet the vast majority of the most successful managers are, above all else, assertive and colourful leaders, see Messrs Shankly, Ferguson, Clough and Mourinho.

The Albion players could be forgiven for not entirely buying into the authority of a man they'll know little about when they report back for training in the coming days and wondering what their own future holds.

Another issue of contention is Peace's apparent unwillingness to be flexible in negotiation. Yes, we are a club with limited resources compared to those around us, he tells us often enough and he's quite right.

In many ways I'm glad that we, as a club, are not held to ransom by players and other clubs alike, but similarly, it's difficult to continually swallow days and weeks of protracted contract discussions when Jeremy Peace and Mark Jenkins themselves are taking approximately £40k per week out of the club in salary. If, and it would seem to be the case, Tim Sherwood was their no.1 choice, then it'd be interesting to know how many poles apart those wage negotiations regarding his assistants were and, despite contributing to the continuity that the club structure is designed to provide, is the retention of the roles of Keith Downing and Dean Kiely perhaps in danger of taking on greater significance than employing the most qualified and suitable Head Coach available?

By all accounts, Alan Irvine is a likeable and knowledgable man, he takes his profession seriously and I genuinely hope he can stand proudly in 12 months time having ceremoniously rammed all of the negativity he's been subjected to back down the throats of the perpetrators of that criticism, myself and every other Baggie included.

I'll be there on the first day of the season and on the last day and unless I'm given a reason not to, I'll be supporting Alan Irvine and his players 100%; he's merely a passenger on what's quickly becoming a reckless joyride.

However Jeremy Peace may have finally burnt his bridges amongst the Albion faithful. Where once was a ruthless and successful innovator, many now see a man who takes more from West Bromwich Albion than he gives back.

At a time when many of our dearest neighbours are struggling, this should be Albion's time to connect with it's fan-base, to aggressively market themselves to the local population on and off the field, to build on the solid foundations of consecutive top-half finishes, to tell it's players, supporters and the outside world that we're a growing institution and to allow ourselves to dream of progress. Without ambition and hope, what does a football club have left?

You said the buck stops with you Jeremy, it certainly does this time and you are becoming almost single-handedly responsible for the wave of depression sweeping the club's loyal followers.

Alan Irvine needs significant backing in the transfer market, he needs to be given the opportunity to do his job properly - from Directors and supporters alike - and above all he needs a positive start to his reign before the inevitable vultures begin to circle. For your sake Jeremy, let's hope this gamble pays off.

Good luck Alan Irvine, you'll need it.