West Brom 0 Norwich 5: Pitiful hosts sink to new low with Hawthorns drubbing on dark night

Norwich thrashed five unanswered beyond their pitiful hosts, including four in a second-half humiliation in what was just new boss Eric Ramsay's second game in charge.

The recent appointment from Minnesota in the United States has now lost his first two games, both at The Hawthorns, but this was as bad as it has been at The Hawthorns in at least a generation.

Albion absolutely collapsed in the second half as the Canaries ran riot to leave Ramsay's men now perilously close to the Championship relegation places. Just three points now separate the 19th-placed Baggies and the dotted line.

A penny for the thoughts of Albion owner and chairman Shilen Patel, who watched on from the sidelines feeling the force of every sickening punch to the gut delivered by Norwich, a form team down the bottom.

Most billed the clash as Albion's most important since the play-off clashes of two seasons ago and daren't even consider the prospect of a defeat.

But the Norfolk visitors absolutely trounced the hapless Baggies with goal after goal worthy of a comedy blooper VHS.

You would go back to the era of VHS tapes for the last time Albion shipped five in the second tier. This was a woeful new low for a club appearing to sink quickly and the ground was full of misery, despair and anger.

The new head coach - in his first head coach job in English football - has so far been unable to stem the tide and relegation to League One has developed into a very real fear.

A little over three years ago Carlos Corberan's appointment helped drag Albion from the foot of the second tier to the cusp of the play-offs. Corberan's response began in his second fixture - Ramsay's second fixture could not have gone any worse.

There was a nervousness, edginess and silence around The Hawthorns both ahead of kick-off and into the clash.

The opening lacked the tempo, bite and encouragement from the first 10 or 15 minutes of Ramsay's bow against Middlesbrough on Friday.

Instead Albion were sluggish, lethargic and nervous. The nerves in the stands certainly looked to have transmitted themselves to the pitch - or certainly to the blue and white stripes.

The first 10 or 15 minutes were a total non-event. The only noteworthy goings-on were home jitters between goalkeeper Josh Griffiths and his edgy backline. The ball was played out from the goalkeeper and lost on more than one occasion and each time the crowd grew more exasperated.

The silence became more deafening - bar a buoyant away end - as Philippe Clement's men needed just 16 minutes to find the lead.

The goal highlighted Albion's total lack of midfield as Schwartau was picked out the wrong side of makeshift colleagues Callum Styles and Krystian Bielik.

A simple pass from skipper Kenny McLean dissected the midfield and played into Danish attacker Schwartau in the pocket, 25 yards or so out.

Albion's three centre-backs were statuesque and got no pressure on the attacker, who was allowed all the time and space in the world to lash a wicked swerving finish into the bottom right corner beyond Griffiths.

It was a desperate start but Ramsay's side looked to respond. Karlan Grant - playing as the striker with Josh Maja and Johnston in support - headed over at the back post from Johnston's free-kick.

Maja had replaced the tired Aune Heggebo as his side's only change but was anonymous in the first period and unsurprisingly hooked at the interval as part of the triple change.

Norwich created next-to-nothing else in the first period aside from the goal, but it did not stop a hesitance among the home players as angst spread around The Hawthorns.

The Baggies were by some way second-best but still forged the better chances of the half.

It took some individual quality from Johnston - back in an attacking role with Isaac Price switched to wing-back - to liven the hosts up after half hour. He jinked past four or five pink away shirts before being stopped by untroubled goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic.

The resulting corner from Johnston was headed just over by Samuel Iling-junior from four yards. It was as clear as a chance would arrive that half.

Captain Bielik flicked a header wide as Styles recycled a corner.

Ramsay's Baggies went closer still as Iling-Junior smacked the woodwork from 25 yards. His swerving strike arrowed on to the left post with Kovacevic beaten.

The home fans let their opinions on the first period be known with loud jeers at referee James Bell's whistle.

Ramsay must have concurred, as not only did he send his side almost five minutes before the visitors - he also made a triple change.

Maja was joined by Price and Nat Phillips to be replaced as Heggebo, Jayson Molumby and Jed Wallace entered.

It went from bad to worse less than five minutes after the restart, however, as new Canaries recruit Ali Ahmed side-footed a rising effort beyond Griffiths and towards his top corner while unmarked from 12 yards. He was picked out by away sub Anis Ben Slimane.

It drew an angry response from the Smerhwick End of "you're not fit to wear the shirt' after Griffiths denied Kellen Fisher a third.

Ramsay introduced the returning Alex Mowatt after the hour but things were about to get much worse.

Norwich made it three with another pitiful goal as half-time sub Anis Ben Slimane converted his own rebound after Griffiths had tipped a slow strike on to the post. Slimane was the only one alive to react to the rebound.

Choruses of "you're not fit to wear the shout" grew louder and more angry.

And yet four goals later the hosts shipped a fourth. A free-kick was tossed in and home players fell over one another in failing to clear to allow former Villa youngster Ben Chrisene to crash high into the net.

The final 15 minutes plus stoppages were a precession. Norwich could have scored a fifth.

Heggebo dragged a very late strike word but it was not even worthy of footnote status. Especially after the visitors scored the most comical of the lot as sub Mathias Kvistgaarden tapped into an empty net after Papa Amadou Diallo had been able to dance beyond the defence and goalkeeper.

The Hawthorns was understandably bordering on empty as those remaining still let out piercing boos as the home players were put out of their misery.

Some attempted embarrassed applause but the jeers in the rain were rightly brutal as the players trudged down the tunnel.

Albion (3-4-3): Griffiths; Phillips (Molumby, 45), Mepham, Taylor; Price (Wallace, 45), Bielik (c) (Campbell, 80), Styles (Mowatt, 63), Iling-Junior; Johnston, Grant; Maja (Heggebo, 45)

Subs not used: Wildsmith, Gilchrist, Bostock, Dike

Norwich (4-2-3-1): Kovacevic; Fisher, McConville, Darling (Cordoba, 45), Chrisene; McLean (c), Mattsson; Springett (Slimane, 45), Schwartau, Ahmed (Diallo, 63); Makama

Subs not used: Grimshaw, Stacey, Medic, Jurasek, Wright, Kvistgaarden

Referee: James Bell