WEST BROM APPOINT NEW MANAGER

THURSDAY JANUARY 09th 2014

West Brom have appointed former Real Betis manager Pepe Mel as their new head coach on an 18-month deal.

The Baggies have been looking for a new manager since sacking Steve Clarke on 14 December.

Spaniard Mel, 50, held talks with West Brom in December but was ruled out after it became clear he wanted to bring his own backroom staff.

After three years in charge of Betis, Mel was replaced by Juan Carlos Garrido at the start of December.

Pepe Mel factfile
Age: 50
Nationality: Spanish (Born in Madrid)
Playing career: Was a striker in the 1980s and 1990s, including a four-year spell with Real Betis.
Coaching experience: 14 years in Spain, with nine different clubs.
Spent three years as Betis coach where he secured promotion. Guided them to seventh place in La Liga last season and qualification for Europa League.

Mel is set to work with Baggies assistant head coach Keith Downing, who has been caretaker manager for the last five matches, and goalkeeper coach Dean Kiely.

Downing will remain in charge for Saturday's game at Southampton, where Mel will watch from the stands.

Mel will take the team for the first time for the home game against Everton on 20 January.

West Brom, who face Aston Villa, Liverpool and Crystal Palace after the games against Southampton and Everton, are 14th in the Premier League, four points above the relegation zone.

Sporting and technical director Richard Garlick said: "I'm delighted to welcome Pepe to the club.

"His appointment concludes an extensive recruitment process during which we have cast the net far and wide to identify the most suitable candidate to take the Club forward.

"Pepe was a strong contender from the outset due to his impressive achievements and has emerged as our number one candidate.

"He is a forward-thinking coach whose teams are renowned for playing an attractive and positive style of football."

Former Betis striker Mel was appointed manager of the club in 2010 and guided them back into La Liga as Segunda Division champions 12 months later.

Betis finished seventh in La Liga last season but Mel was sacked after a run of eight domestic games without a win, with just two victories in all competitions before the start of December.

Mel has also had spells at eight other clubs, including Tenerife, Alaves and Rayo Vallecano, in his 14-year coaching career.

Clarke was sacked following four straight defeats and after guiding West Brom to just seven wins in 34 Premier League games in 2013.

Odd after they rejected him before.

It seems impossible but we aren't the worse club for sorting out our managers lol

Don't really see how he's any better than Steve Clarke or any number of British managers.

Don't want to sound like Redknapp but it does seem like if you have an interesting name you're more likely to be hired.

West Brom appoint Pepe Mel as head coach
Jan 10,2014
LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- English Premier League side West Brom have appointed former Real Betis manager Pepe Mel as their new head coach on an 18-month deal.

Mel is replacing Steve Clarke, who was sacked on December 14.

The BBC said that Spaniard Mel, 50, held talks with West Brom in December but was ruled out after it became clear he wanted to bring his own backroom staff.

After three years in charge of Betis, Mel was replaced by Juan Carlos Garrido at the start of December.

Mel will take the team for the first time for the home game against Everton on 20 January.

West Brom, who face Aston Villa, Liverpool and Crystal Palace after the games against Southampton and Everton, are 14th in the Premier League, four points above the relegation zone.

At least this will shit browny up told him malky wasn't going to west brom

Think they were about to appoint him but waited on Malky who was their preferred choice.
Obviously Malky has other ideas so they went back for Mel.

January 10, 2014, 12:39am
PREMIER League strugglers West Brom have appointed Spaniard Pepe Mel as head coach ending their month-long search to replace former boss Steve Clarke.

Mel has signed an 18-month deal and will watch from the stands tomorrow as the Baggies, four points clear of the relegation zone, travel to out-of-form Southampton.

The 50-year-old had initially held talks with the club two weeks ago, following Clarke’s dismissal on 14 December, but negotiations were said to have broken down when Mel was told he could not appoint his own coaching staff.

However, he has now agreed to work alongside assistant head coach Keith Downing, who takes charge of the team for the sixth and final time at St Mary’s, and goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely.

West Brom sporting and technical director Richard Garlick said: “Pepe was a strong contender from the outset due to his impressive achievements and has emerged as our No1 candidate.

“He is a forward thinking coach whose teams are renowned for playing an attractive and positive style of football.”

Mel successfully guided Real Betis to promotion to La Liga in 2011-2012, then seventh place in the top flight last season and consequently qualification to the Europa League.

The former Real Madrid striker was sacked last month, however, with Betis bottom of the table having only won twice all season.

- See more at: http://www.cityam.com/article/138931439 ... lXbW6.dpuf

Odd after they rejected him before.

It seems impossible but we aren't the worse club for sorting out our managers lol

It was because he agreed to keep the current back room staff.

What really happend was mel rejected them the first time because he wanted to take his own staff, but he must of changed his mind and now he's accepted it an agreed to keep the staff already there.

Nothing to do with malky at all.

I rekn they wanted downing to stay on till the Summer till they could find someone else. Hey ho ...

Surprised that Malky isn't the new manager. Malky will probably wait until the summer before getting back into management.

West Brom weren't looking for a manager. They just wanted a head coach.