West Brom must avoid making Southampton mistake after Ryan Mason sack decision | OneFootball

West Brom have sacked Ryan Mason, and they'll be wise not to get carried away if results immediately improve

West Brom have sacked Ryan Mason following their late defeat at Leicester City, which stretched their losing run away from home to a staggering 10 games.

It's been a frustrating seven months for Mason in his first proper managerial gig, who has watched his side control games more often than not, but lack that final finish to really put teams to bed.

The reality is, though, that after picking up 10 points in their opening four games, it's been just 21 points in the following 22 games, with 13 defeats along the way, too. Only Portsmouth, Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday had picked up fewer points, and the writing was on the wall for the 34-year-old.

That being said, the underlying numbers under Mason told a different story. Per Opta's expected table, West Brom should have picked up seven more points than they are currently on, and should be eighth in the Championship, which is where many expected the Baggies to be.

Now, club legend James Morrison is the caretaker boss; someone you feel the fans will get behind no matter what.

The Scotsman might be able to get the positive vibes back at the club, and with less pressure on the players now, these underlying numbers may come to light a little more, and with them, a few wins.

However, that shouldn't mean that Morrison should be considered at all for the permanent gig — Southampton will tell you that a positive caretaker spell doesn't always translate when a promotion to a full-time role comes afterwards.

Southampton may already be regretting handing Tonda Eckert a permanent deal as manager

Earlier this season, Will Still was sacked by Southampton after overseeing just two wins in his 13 Championship games in charge. However, the performances under the young Belgian boss arguably warranted more.

At the time of his sacking, Southampton were fourth in the expected table according to Sky Sports, a whole 17 places higher than where they were in reality.

They'd underperformed their xG by almost 10 goals, with the likes of Adam Armstrong and Cameron Archer scoring two fewer than data said they should have.

Football is a results-based game, however, and the Saints were hovering above relegation, so Still was sacked, with the Under-21s Head Coach Tonda Eckert put in charge on an interim basis while Sport Republic searched for a new first-team manager.

However, under Eckert, the control and dominance that Southampton were showing under Still was actually translating into results.

The Saints scored at least two goals in all five of their games, while the German was the interim manager, and three in three of those. As a result, Southampton handed Eckert a contract as permanent head coach until 2027.

Two home wins followed against two of the worst away sides in the division, in Birmingham City and West Brom, and since then, it's been all downhill at St Mary's, with no wins in six and defeats against relegation-threatened sides Norwich and Oxford United mixed within that.

It's been just a month since Eckert was handed the reins permanently, and now some sections of the Southampton fanbase are calling for him to be sacked, with many arguing that the football is worse now than it was under Still.

West Brom shouldn't repeat Southampton decision if James Morrison has a successful interim spell

West Brom's underlying numbers suggest that the group of players is good enough to pick up results in this division, but for some reason, whether it be luck, players losing faith in Ryan Mason or the pressure that comes with playing at a club with an under-pressure boss, the results aren't coming.

James Morrison has had plenty of experience in a coaching capacity, being involved in the West Brom and Scotland folds since his retirement in 2019, but his only managerial stint came at the end of last season when Tony Mowbray was sacked with two games to go.

Tonda Eckert, like Morrison, didn't have any proper experience as a first-team manager before his current stint at Southampton.

The positive results during his time as interim could arguably be put down to relieving some pressure within the squad and getting them to play to their abilities in a similar style to Still. Now he's starting to put his stamp on things, and performances are getting worse.

West Brom cannot afford to let the same happen here if Morrison has a successful interim spell. He's well-liked among the Baggies fanbase, and an opportunity to break this dire losing run away from home at Swansea City in the FA Cup and a big home game against Middlesbrough in the next two games would have the Hawthorns feeling positive once more if the wins came, but his relative inexperience won't make a long-term appointment work.

West Brom have already failed on a gamble with a manager in his first senior job in the dugout this season, and they can't afford to make that same mistake twice, even if James Morrison provides results in the meantime.