Express & Star

Comment: Darren Moore deserves his chance at West Brom

Nobody can begrudge Darren Moore this chance – he could have hardly done more in the short time he was given in charge.

Published
Last updated
Darren Moore. (AMA)

The 44-year-old didn’t just turn around the team’s fortunes with a series of remarkable results against strong opposition, he also visibly healed the club from top to bottom.

In six short weeks, this calm but determined young coach restored the relationship between the club and the fans by striking at the very essence of what Albion means and recognising what is important both on and off the pitch.

Players, staff, fans - they all unified under his giant frame and humble character.

Because of that, the caretaker boss has now been been made permanent, and Moore will lead Albion into the Championship next season.

These are strangely exciting times for the Baggies, who have decided to start a journey with one of their most beloved sons and see where it takes them.

Appointing him is a gamble, of course, because it is his first managerial job and barring a short stint at Blackburn Rovers he’s only been a first team coach for six months.

Brentford’s Dean Smith may well have been the pragmatic choice, a safer bet with managerial experience in the Championship.

But every appointment is a risk to some extent, and the Baggies have been burned by the managerial merry-go-round recently.

It would have been easy to trot out Moore’s inexperience in the dug-out as a reason to go for someone else.

But this is a bold choice for a man with the club’s best interests at heart that should be welcomed.

It would be wrong to dumb down this appointment to a simple matter of heart ruling head.

Moore may be inexperienced, but his remarkable form in charge of the team was no fluke.

There was a professionalism in his attention to detail, and the fact that every player wanted him to get the job – even those he didn’t pick – suggests his man-management skills are exemplary.

His impact may have surprised plenty of onlookers, but it didn’t shock his former team-mates, or those who had worked with him on the training ground.

Moore has a driven personality, and a likeable one too, he is a leader who other men want to run through brick walls for.

Ben Foster summed it up. “He’s just a real good guy and you just want to work for him and do the best you can for him.”

Those public and private backings from Albion’s senior players played a part in this decision.

Traditionalists may furrow their brow at players having so much of a say, but that is the reality of modern football.

The majority of players outlast their managers these days and those coaches who are loved and respected are the ones that get the best out of them.

But this is not a group just voting for their friend to be installed – Moore did not play alongside any of this crop.

Senior professionals like Foster and Chris Brunt want the best for the club, and they believe Moore can deliver that.

Whether this appointment convinces others to stay and fight in the Championship remains to be seen, but Albion can’t sell the whole of their squad this summer, they’ll have to keep some players.

And those that stay will now need to make good on their promise that Moore is the right man – they will need to play with the same intensity they finished the season with at the start of the next campaign.

Before the season starts, however, Albion’s new boss will need to navigate a busy summer of trading.

He may not have much experience shaping a squad but over the past six weeks he has proven himself to be a good judge of character and having played for eight different clubs across a 20-year career, he will have his own contacts in the game.

Under Tony Pulis he was in charge of the youngster’s loan spells, so he has also dealt with other clubs before.

Despite that, he will still need to lean heavily on the recruitment staff and in particular the technical director, who is currently Giuliano Terraneo, but could be somebody different by the end of summer.

On the surface, it looks like a gamble after just six games, but in truth Moore’s ascension to management has been years in the making.

He has completed all of his coaching badges, and has worked his way up the ranks after joining the club’s academy as a youth team coach.

He’s been approached by MK Dons, Oxford United and Barnsley in the past 12 months, but has stayed at the Baggies.

The cult hero from Handsworth is Albion through and through, which is important in this modern age of mercenary players and mercenary managers who flit through club doors, pick up hefty pay packets, and leave.

More importantly though, is his managerial potential. He grew into the role as the six games wore on, and refused to be affected by outside influences.

Big names were left on the bench, but nor did he bow to pressure from supporters or the local media – this writer included – to play the kids.

He kept it simple, and put a balanced team out on the pitch that he thought had the best chance of winning. Lo and behold, they won.

There have also been signs to suggest he’s got the right mentality for the role.

The way he kept his head while all around were losing theirs as Jake Livermore scored against Tottenham provided a glimpse into the psyche of a determined young coach.

Smith started out as a caretaker boss at Walsall, so why shouldn’t Moore be offered a similar route into management?

He is bound to make the odd mistake on the way, but supporters will sleep safe in the knowledge that he has the club's best interests at heart.

And that is why this is such a potentially exciting appointment. With the club, the squad, and the fanbase fully behind him, Moore could be given enough support and time to develop his skills, and to grow into a competent manager.

Every coach has to start out somewhere, everyone deserves a chance. Moore definitely deserves his.

And if anyone is going to do his utmost to make it count, particularly for this club, it will be him.