4 Eric Ramsay replacements West Brom must consider ASAP ft Darren Moore | OneFootball

FLW lists four names West Brom must consider to replace Eric Ramsay.

Yet more chaos has unfolded in West Brom’s season after the club parted ways with Eric Ramsay on Tuesday evening.

The Welshman’s 44-day reign in the Albion hotseat was brought to an end after a 1-1 draw at home to Charlton Athletic, which meant the Baggies boss had failed to record a single victory from the nine Championship games he was in charge of.

After completing his media duties, Ramsay, alongside assistant Dennis Lawrence, were called up to the boardroom by controlling shareholder Shilen Patel and told they were no longer part of the football club, with massive pressure now on the hierarchy to get the right person in for the final 12 games of the campaign.

It means the Black Country outfit are now on the search for their third permanent manager of the season and fourth new boss since Carlos Corberan departed 14 months ago, highlighting the decline the club has been on since the Spaniard’s exit.

West Brom currently sit 21st in the Championship and hang precariously over the bottom three, with it seemingly only a matter of time before they fall back into it given Leicester City have secured two draws since Gary Rowett was appointed.

With Albion now hunting for another manager, they have to ensure he comes in, can hit the ground running and inject some confidence into these players, with this the only way that the club will avoid being sucked through the League One trapdoor.

The next decision controlling shareholder Shilen Patel makes is vital to the future of this club, and he will have to think carefully as to who he trusts to help turn this mess around.

With this in mind, FLW lists four names West Brom should have on their shortlist to replace Ramsay in The Hawthorns dugout.

Slaven Bilic

While they say you should never go back, Slaven Bilic could be someone the West Brom hierarchy look to.

The Croat is still a hugely popular figure at The Hawthorns after he guided the Baggies back to the Premier League during the 2019-20 season.

Ever since exiting Albion during their top-flight term, Bilic has had spells in the dugout with Beijing Guoan, Watford, and Al-Fateh, but has been out of work since August 2024.

It seems as if he’s interested in a return to management and in the Championship though, revealing he was in contention for the Blackburn Rovers job following Valerien Ismael’s sacking, but turned it down as it wasn’t the right time to pursue that opportunity.

Whether his feelings would change over returning to his old club West Brom remains to be seen. His infectious passion and willingness to kick every ball on the touchline would certainly reinvigorate the fanbase at least, while the ex-West Ham boss seems a figure players would want to battle and scrap for given his unwavering love for the game.

Could Bilic have a second stint at West Brom? Or will Albion avoid it given what happened with Tony Mowbray? Only time will tell.

Darren Moore

Another popular West Brom figure who could make a return to The Hawthorns is Darren Moore, who himself is available after leaving League One outfit Port Vale towards the end of December.

The former Baggies defender, nicknamed ‘Big Dave’, took over coaching duties in B71 during the latter stages of the 2017-18 Premier League season when Alan Pardew was dismissed, winning three and drawing two of his 6 top-flight games in charge, which almost gave Albion a chance of surviving the drop.

After restoring confidence to a once bereft group of players, Moore was handed the job on a permanent basis on their return to the Championship, but was sacked 36 games in after the Baggies were fourth in the table and failed to beat then basement boys Ipswich Town at home.

It could have been argued they should have been higher up the table given they had players such as Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez on their books, but the January exit of loanee Harvey Barnes played a massive part in their failure to break into the top two.

Since then, ‘Mooro’ has had managerial spells at Doncaster Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town and Port Vale. In that time, the 51-year-old managed to get the Owls back to the Championship from League One via the play-offs, while he also pinned another promotion onto his CV by getting Port Vale into the third-tier.

However, his inability to get the Valiants rising up to the challenge of League One will be a concern, with Moore sacked after recording just three wins from 21 matches.

Moore is another figure who bleeds the blue and white stripes and has a passion for the club that the players could take through with them onto the pitch.

He managed to galvanise the club when they were in the Premier League, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him do it again if given the opportunity, so he definitely should be someone on Albion’s radar.

Whether he’d be interested over a return is another matter, but the Baggies could well test his resolve.

James Morrison

Meanwhile, West Brom could look closer to home with James Morrison, who is currently stepping in on an interim basis again while the managerial search is conducted.

The former Scotland international is no stranger to this situation, taking games against Cardiff City and Luton Town last season after Tony Mowbray’s sacking, while he led Albion to victory in the FA Cup over Swansea City this term after Ryan Mason was relieved of his duties.

Despite managing just three games, Morrison is yet to taste defeat and hasn’t been afraid of stamping his own authority on team selections.

Most recently in South Wales in the FA Cup, Morrison utilised Josh Maja and Daryl Dike in a front two, while handing Ollie Bostock a debut off the bench, where the academy graduate assisted and scored the winning penalty to send Albion through to the fourth round, so there is a hope ‘Mozza’ would be able to try different things in order to transform their fortunes.

There’s also a question of whether the Baggies can actually afford to spend money on a third permanent manager this season.

After handing out long contracts to previous bosses, Albion are likely to still be paying off Tony Mowbray, let alone Ryan Mason and now Eric Ramsay, while finances are already tight as they still try to comply with P&S rules.

The cheaper but most sensible decision could be to hand it to Morrison until the end of the season. Of course, there’s a question of whether he wants to take on this Albion team for such a long period of time, but the supporters would certainly get behind him given he was a fan favourite during his playing days and still has a desire to see the club do well.

Sean Dyche

Sean Dyche rounds off the list of targets that Albion should consider.

While it could be viewed as ambitious, or lunacy, one of the two, you do feel the Baggies need this type of appointment If they are to save their Championship skins.

The 54-year-old is coming off the back of an exit from Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest, where he won six out of his 18 top-flight matches in charge and left the Reds three points above the relegation zone at the time of his departure.

But despite an underwhelming performance at the City Ground, the Baggies could use the opportunity of him being available to help get some grit back into what is a rudderless squad at the moment.

Crucially, Dyche has the experience of managing at Championship level. He has not worked in the second-tier of English football since 2016 with Burnley, but he has a track record of delivering success in the division after leading them to the title in that year.

Paired with then keeping the Clarets in the Premier League for five successive seasons, alongside his roles at Everton and Forest, all of that experience would make him a very appealing appointment and see West Brom land a real coup in their quest for survival.

The only doubt over this move is what is the incentive for Dyche to go from a Premier League survival race all the way down to the bottom end of the Championship?

After a turbulent time dealing with controversial Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, Dyche is most likely wanting to put his feet up and assess his options heading into next season, with the right opportunity likely to not arrive with just a few months remaining until the close of the 2025-26 campaign.

Meanwhile, Dyche would be risking his reputation completely. If he failed to keep West Brom in the Championship, he would be seen as a laughing stock and deemed not even fit to manage at that level, so it doesn’t seem to be a gamble worth taking on from his perspective, particularly when this Albion squad has consistently thrown many managers under the bus through abject performances and results.