Tim Sherwood and Lee Hendrie react to big West Brom call - 'no disrespect to him' | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundits Tim Sherwood and Lee Hendrie have identified what the Eric Ramsay succession plan should be for West Brom...

West Bromwich Albion parted ways with Eric Ramsay after a 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic on Tuesday, with Tim Sherwood and Lee Hendrie having their say on Sky Sports.

Ramsay lasted just nine games in charge, securing four draws in those matches. He is their second manager of the season after Ryan Mason spent 27 games at the helm at The Hawthorns.

He won nine of those, but West Brom sit one place and one point above the relegation zone after a difficult 2025/26 season. The club have only spent two seasons in the third tier of English football in their history, and have never been below that level.

In fact, since 2000, West Brom have finished at least 10th in English football's second division in every season, and as high as eighth in the Premier League in 2012/13. This season is guaranteed to be their worst since then.

Securing Ramsay's replacement swiftly is crucial, with Sky Sports pundits Sherwood and Hendrie having their say on the situation and on Ramsay's time at the club.

Lee Hendrie reacts to Eric Ramsay's sacking at West Brom

Speaking on Sky Sports News on Wednesday evening, Hendrie was asked if he was surprised to see Ramsay go. He said: "Not really, no. To be honest with you, I think the panic button had to be pressed for West Bromwich Albion.

"Obviously, the selection that they chose, I think it was a big gamble for them. That’s why they’ve looked at it and assessed it and thought, 'you know what? We are in a relegation battle. I think we need someone that can drive us away from there. It needs some stability'.

"It just doesn’t look good there. I’ve seen a few of the games and they’ve been nowhere near what they could be. I think that squad needs someone who can give them a little bit of a kick up the backside.

"I think, Ryan Mason, lots of people were excited. They were anxious and they didn’t know what they were going to get. And then they’ve gone in and brought in someone very similar to what he was, really, to be quite honest.

"The longer this season goes on and knowing how the Championship season could go anywhere, it could possibly be that West Bromwich Albion have gone too far and left it too late.

"It was looking at the games and where they’ve been and what they haven’t achieved this season, I thought, ‘you know what? He’s got to go. He really has’.

"That’s no disrespect to him. But you need someone that knows the Championship. It’s not an easy league to come into."

Tim Sherwood outlines who should replace Eric Ramsay at West Brom

Sherwood then asked what is needed to get WBA to safety. He added: "Listen, they need someone to keep them in the league. Yeah [they need a traditional firefighter to get them over the line]. In the short-term, for sure, they need someone who knows the division.

"I mean, they haven’t got the worst squad in the league, have they? What did Eric Ramsay get in the league? One point? Two points? I mean, any man in the street can get two points. That ain’t good enough.

"Possibly, he’s tried to complicate it too early. Similar to Ruben Amorim maybe? But at a different level. Sometimes you just need to keep it nice and simple, play the players in the positions where they’re best, and hopefully — as a collective — they can start picking up some results.

"When I look at some of their quality what they have, I don’t think they’re relegation fodder. I really don’t. But results don’t lie and they need to keep it simple.

"Someone who gets this job, the board have to trust them. You can’t get someone in there and baffle them with science and PowerPoint presentations and justifications why they do X, Y, and Z.

"It don’t matter. Go and employ someone who’s actually done the job in the Championship and got results before. It’s just for the short-term and then give yourself a breather at the end of the season and see where you are from there."