Lewis Cox: No place to hide for Shilen Patel as West Brom plummet

Bilkul's third permanent head coach appointment in a year was a disaster of historical proportion.

The hapless Eric Ramsay was very clearly the wrong man at the wrong time.

At the head coach's unveiling on January 15, Patel expressed hope it "would be years" before he had to find another boss. Instead, it didn't even take two months for a new search to start.

Ramsay's miserable 44-day reign was record-breaking for all the wrong reasons. The shortest tenure of any permanent Hawthorns manager or head coach, the 34-year-old is the only one to have left without a single victory. One result which is on his record is the heaviest home defeat outside the top flight in the club's proud history.

Ramsay suffered public humiliation as Albion, somehow, fell towards the trapdoor in the second tier.

The young, up-and-coming head coach, in a similar ilk to Ryan Mason, was a 'project' appointment to be made last summer, when Ramsay and Mason vied for the hotseat.

But the former Minnesota United head coach was never the man to dig the Baggies from the mire. The appeal was clear - defensively solid and able to outperform his budget to guide an unfancied side in the relegation-free MLS - but he was not the man to stave off the drop in the Championship with no prior experience.

How much Albion's squad, who liked Mason, ever really took to Ramsay is up for debate. He came in and tried to make sweeping tactical changes but 5-0 and 3-0 defeats to lowly rivals Norwich and Portsmouth respectively soon put paid to that.

Six winless weeks later and third-tier football for the first time in more than three decades has become a frighteningly realistic possibility.

Ramsay carried the can with his job but there is no hiding for Florida-based Patel here.

Two years ago, having saved the club from financial Armageddon under Guochuan Lai, Patel could not have had more credit in the bank with Baggies supporters.

But the direction of travel changed for the worse from December 24 2024 when Carlos Corberan walked out for Christmas.

The 14 months since have been utterly disastrous.

There is no more 'president' Andrew Nestor - the departed former sporting director whose sporting decision-making was mostly shambolic - to shield Patel this time.

Patel trusted and appointed Nestor. The chairman has taken some accountability for the disastrous failings that have led the club to this perilous position and it is down to him to save the club he salvaged 24 months ago from an unthinkable relegation.

Penny for Nestor's thoughts, after his exit this month following embarrassing boardroom in-fighting in the wake of Mason's sacking?

Penny for Mason's thoughts, after his squad further unravelled at a spectacular rate after the correct decision to dismiss him?

Penny for Dominic Price's thoughts - the 35-year-old incoming technical director appointed from Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, due to start work soon at a increasingly fraught club, seemingly spiralling towards League One?

What next for Albion is a huge question.

For now first-team coach James Morrison takes the reins as caretaker for a third time and the only hope is his familiarity and popularity with a flailing squad sparks some emotional upturn.

Albion are a mess and Patel's popularity and goodwill with supporters has plummeted.

He continues to bankroll the club and many insiders will state that the club only continues with its lights on thanks to the chairman's backing. That is fair and should be remembered.

But there are only so many bad decisions any lingering goodwill from the takeover will mask. Patience among the fanbase has eroded, quickly.

Patel has critical calls to make with both survival and Bilkul's reputation on the line.