West Ham United made Slaven Bilic the fourth Premier League manager to be sacked this season but could West Bromwich Albion boss be next?
West Ham relieved Bilic of his duties this week in the wake of the club’s 4-1 defeat to Liverpool which left them languishing in the relegation zone.
Bilic joins Frank de Boer, Craig Shakespeare and Ronald Koeman out of a job but if West Brom boss Tony Pulis does not arrest the Baggies’ slide he could well be next.
Pulis is feeling the strain and has jetted off on holiday during to Barbados to escape the pressure, as reported by The Sun.
The Welshman has faced criticism from supporters this season after their latest defeat at Huddersfield Town left them 16th in the table.
West Brom’s woes go back further than just this season, though, with only two wins from their last 20 games in the Premier League.
Amongst the biggest complaints from Baggies fans is the style of football under Pulis.
The pragmatic approach which makes his teams famously hard to beat is not always the most entertaining fare.
But while it is getting results fans are accepting of it. When it doesn’t the pressure builds quickly.
Pulis is one of the favourites to be the next manager to lose his job and if he does should West Brom offer Bilic the job?
The Croatian plays an attacking brand of football that was perhaps too open this season to West Ham’s detriment.
But he proved in his first season with West Ham that he can couple exciting football with results, leading the Hammers to within four points of the Champions League with their best ever Premier League points total and first positive top flight goal difference since 1986.
The Hammers were also unbeaten home and away against the top six that season and had they turned one of their league high 14 draws into wins – many of which were the result of poor refereeing decisions – then they would have made the Champions League places.
Bilic’s style would placate fans while a fresh face, voice and ideas on the training ground may help reinvigorate the players and club as a whole as it so often does.
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