Roberto Di Matteo sacked as Head Coach of West Bromwich Albion
Roberto Di Matteo is shocked at being sacked by West Bromwich Albion and has expressed his disappointment at not being able to continue the Baggies Premier League survival campaign.
West Bromwich Albion is one of three promoted clubs in this Barclays Premier League season. Their best standing in the Premier League was at fourth position, back in the start of October. During this time the Baggies managed a spectacular away victory over
Arsenal and a crucial draw at Old Trafford. Roberto Di Matteo was also named as the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month in September after his team went unbeaten during that period.
However, since then things dramatically changed at West Bromwich Albion and the Baggies impressive start to the season started to fade. In October, the Baggies managed only one win in four Premier League matches and were slumped into the second half of the
table. Roberto Di Matteo’s squad continued to struggle in their Barclays Premier League survival campaign as the Baggies suffered several more defeats.
West Brom lost by three goals against Manchester City last weekend. Following the defeat the Italian manager was axed by the board. It was West Brom’s 13th defeat in their last 18 matches which took them to the 16th position in the
Barclays Premier League. This is only two points clear of the relegation zone.
Michael Appleton, West Brom’s first team coach, has been named as caretaker manager for the time being. Roberto Di Matteo was not at all happy with the board’s decision and commented that he was extremely surprised by the timings of the decision.
Roberto Di Matteo released a statement through the League Manager’s Association (LMA) stating, "Winning promotion to the Barclays Premier League with West Brom last season was without doubt one of the highlights of my career and certainly my managerial career.
Playing in this league is tough and we have had to compete against some fantastic sides but we have shown that we can compete with the best.”
The Italian manager claimed that the club has not been in the relegation zone since the first week of the league when the Baggies suffered a six nil defeat against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786. West Bromwich Albion will play their next two matches against two lower ranked teams,
West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderer. Di Matteo added that he is disappointed because he would not be able to lead the Baggies in this crucial time.
Moreover, the former West Brom manager has thanked the staff and the fans for showing their extraordinary support and trust in him.
West Bromwich Albion’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Bevan, was frustrated by the club’s decision at sacking Roberto Di Matteo. He said: "Roberto represents yet another victim of the 'hire and fire' mentality that pervades in our game. The club has big
games ahead, against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wolves-c40952 and West Ham, and you have to question the decision to sack the manager. It is in exactly situations like these that we all want to see clubs back the individuals they have employed rather than see the sack as a quick-fix panacea.”
Richard Bevan backed Roberto di Matteo and said that the club should have shown support to the manager who brought them to the Barclays Premier League in his first season in charge. The Chief executive also hailed Matteo’s achievements with the club and
claimed that he was unfairly sacked by the club.
Tags: