Slaven Bilic: The Unlikely Man who Bagged the Baggies Job

Slaven Bilic was announced as the new Manager of West Bromwich Albion taking over from Jimmy Shan who completed his time as Caretaker Manager with a lot of class throughout. This appointment raised a few eyebrows as West Brom are renowned, generally, for sticking to British coaches. However, it is one which has been greeted by a huge level of excitement and relief from the supporters who had been growing increasingly frustrated by an ownership that was deemed to be holding back financially and were growing more and more fearful that there may be a "budget" appointment.



Last season was a very mixed season for the Albion fans. The season started with huge excitement as Darren Moore, who inspired the Albion to an incredible finish to their final season in the Premier League, brought in the pacy and talented Harvey Barnes on loan, alongside Dwight Gayle, who had shown himself as a prolific player at Championship level. This excitement was matched by some very strong performances on the pitch, none more memorable than the 7-1 trashing of QPR. However, as West Brom shot up the table, Leicester's interest in Harvey Barnes, who they had loaned to The Baggies, increased also and he was recalled in January, much to the despair of The Hawthorns' faithful. With his departure came a turn in form which ultimately led to the dismissal of Darren Moore and he was replaced by Jimmy Shan.



Shan managed to steady the ship and led the Albion to a Playoff semi final where they were down to 10 men in both legs and managed to still bring the tie to penalties against an Aston Villa side who were the in-form team of the Championship. However, without having the experience of the likes of Rodriguez, Gayle and Brunt on the field by the end of the second leg, ultimately, Villa managed to squeeze past West Brom. Following this, it was clear Shan was not to be the permanent manager and the hunt for a new coach began. In the past couple of weeks, the likelihood of Chris Hughton moving to West Brom increased. There were a few other names like Northern Ireland's Michael O'Neill, Lee Bowyer who had guided Charlton to promotion and Danny Cowley of Lincoln City who had also been in the mix for the role and definitely sounded appealing to a lot of fans too. Of course you had the few mentioning Sam Allardyce and Mark Hughes also, but hey- would it be right if they weren't mentioned at some point amidst it all?



Out of nowhere, the Slaven Bilic rumour began to gather a bit of momentum and before long he was seen as a front runner for the role. Now one thing can not be disputed, whilst Bilic may not have the knowledge of "what it takes to get out of the Championship" like the previously mentioned Hughton and Allardyce, the man definitely has a vast experience in football. The easiest to recall being his  recent run as West Ham United manager where he led them to a finish in the Europa League places. However, that would be ignoring the impressive six year stint he had with the Croatian national side and of course the time spent at Turkish giants Besiktas.

When managing Croatia, Bilic led his side to a European Championship quarter final in 2008 having introduced the likes of Luka Modric into his side and began a revolution with the Croatian side. Sadly, the European Championships in 2012 placed his side in a group with the eventual finalists and of course, the Republic of Ireland. Bilic showed his ability as he swept aside our Irish hopes (even though we deemed Croatia the "easy" side in our group) but was unable to stop either the Spanish or Italians on their way.



Bilic's time at West Ham started off so well; however, it did end up quite sour as the board were unwilling to provide him with the investment he felt that he needed to replace the quality that Dimitri Payet had provided. Bilic led West Ham to their record points total and their first season with a positive goal difference since the Premier League commenced during his time there and is remembered very fondly by the Hammers. However, will he be able to replicate such achievements with the Albion in what is a role where instant success is required.

With previous issues regarding the finances provided by the West Ham board, there most definitely is cause for concern that Bilic may not be too happy with the situation that the Baggies find themselves in with Financial Fair Play rulings. The Albion are currently undergoing cost-cutting measures which have resulted in them allowing Dwight Gayle to say his goodbyes to The Hawthorns and return to Newcastle where he has had a very up and down time so far in his career. With that, Salomon Rondon, who enjoyed an incredible season at St James Park as part of the Gayle trade, is returning- if only for a short period of time. With Wolves and Newcastle reportedly keen on the Venezuelan, I sadly can't see Rondon giving West Brom one more season. With the loans who were so essential in West Brom's late season push like Holgate, Johansen and Murphy returning to their parent clubs and doubts over the future of Rodriguez, there will be need for a low cost rebuild of a West Brom squad that is not very young either.



Bilic, who hasn't had a long-term job since leaving Croatia faces a huge challenge of deciding which of the older heads like Barry, Brunt and Morrison he can utilise going forward in the short term. Both Barry and Morrison are awaiting confirmation either way regarding new contracts and the reliance on Chris Brunt was an alarming development late into the season and one which proved costly as he got himself a red card in the playoff semi final. However, should he plan on bringing the Albion back to the Premier League and building for the future, there is a few young starlets who can only excite the new Baggies manager. None of these are quite as fascinating as Rekeem Harper who showed he most definitely has what it takes to be at the heart of the midfield for the coming few years. With Sam Field, Jonathan Leko, Morgan Rogers and Rayhaan Tulloch also showing huge promise, there is no need to be too worried about the future also. Bilic has shown he does trust youth players by throwing in the likes of Reece Oxford into the side at West Ham, a player who has since been linked with a move to West Brom also.



Bilic faces two huge challenges when he gets the players in for pre-season training in advance of the new season: Replacing the goals they will have lost with Gayle's departure, Barnes not being there for the first half of the season and a potential Jay Rodriguez departure which is no easy take. Secondly, he will desperately need to improve the defence who conceded two goals less than Milwall- who finished 21st last season. The defence was clearly the downfall of the promotion push this season and it would be safe to say, defensive solidity is something Bilic would not be renowned for either. It looks unlikely that it would be possible to get Holgate back on loan; however, his signing was a revelation and reduced the time spent watching the hapless Tyrone Mears at right back. Should the possibility of getting him back arise, I'm sure West Brom would not be the only team with huge interest. There is a distinct lack of pace in defence with Dawson, Hegazi and Kyle Bartley (who has joined last summer) all being of the Tony Pulis defender mould.



Should Oliver Burke who spent the end of last season at Celtic and Matt Phillips both leave, there will most definitely be a need for Bilic to find the Championship equivalent of Dimitri Payet. I believe retaining Matt Phillips has to be a main priority for the Albion side who lack much pace outside of him. Kyle Edwards who bust onto the scene late in the season and Leko will also need to mature and become more consistent to ensure they form part of Bilic's plan. Hal Robson Kanu, a player who probably should be disposed of also, will be key due to the lack of alternatives available.

Bilic arrives at West Brom at what is a huge make or break moment for the club. As they find themselves in financial trouble, money which they would land from promotion would keep them afloat and with the lack of depth available in the squad, you feel like there will need to be a lot of luck involved for West Brom to get back to the Premier League. However, with the positive reaction to this appointment amongst the fan base, Slaven Bilic may be the man to unify the club once again. A club that has just lost its edge in recent seasons.