Matt Maher: Carlos Corberan offers a reason for hope at West Brom
Those two crucial second halves of the season for Albion and Wolves delivered two deeply contrasting outcomes.
At Molineux, there is joy and no little relief at the rescue act engineered by Julen Lopetegui which saw Premier League status secured with three matches to play.
Down the road at The Hawthorns, however, the mood is rather different. Undoubted admiration at how Carlos Corberan took a team sitting bottom of the Championship in October to within a whisker of the play-offs has quickly given way to questions of what, precisely, it all means for Albion’s financial health?
Only those with knowledge of the club’s accounts will know for sure but there was enough contained in the release last month of the 2021-22 figures to suggest the next few months are likely to be painful.
The loss of parachute payments means things are going to get a whole lot tighter. According to the directors’ report included in the most recent accounts, the Baggies will look to generate funds from player sales yet in a market where the only clubs prepared to pay fees reside in the Premier League or abroad, that may be easier said than done.
Yet before we get too gloomy, it is worth reflecting on a couple of reasons for hope.
The first of those is Corberan, who was quick to reinforce his commitment to the cause after Monday’s season-ending defeat at Swansea. No doubt the Spaniard, like many supporters, will be reflecting on opportunities missed over the campaign’s final weeks when the Baggies were unable to stamp their ticket to the play-offs.
But considering the position of the team he inherited, the job he did can only be seen as a very good one. There’s confidence in knowing you have a decent coach in the dugout.
The other reason for optimism is the fact missing out on promotion means absentee owner Guochuan Lai can no longer deploy his previous tactic of kicking the can down the road. Parachute payments previously provided some cover but the £20million MSD loan to aid the day-to-day running of the club won’t last forever. Any credible, serious offers for the club can no longer be ignored.
The water may soon get choppy, yet perhaps the fact things must surely at some point come to a head may prove for the best in the long-term.
