What do West Brom do next with relegation looming?

When it comes to damning statistics over Eric Ramsay's spell at West Bromwich Albion, sadly, you can take your pick.

The 0% win rate.

Four points out of 24 in the Championship, and only four goals scored.

The heaviest home defeat in the club's history outside the top flight.

The 44 days and nine games in charge.

Or maybe it is the fact that, for the fourth time in 11 months, Albion are starting another search for a head coach following Ramsay's dismissal on Tuesday.

For this proud old club, who had four permanent bosses in 11 years between March 2000 and February 2011, that is perhaps the most damning one of the lot.

Ramsay may have taken the fall, as managers always do, but with relegation to the third tier for only the second time ever a very real prospect, owners Bilkul are under huge pressure to get things right immediately.

So how and why did it all go wrong for Ramsay and, with former midfielder James Morrison back in caretaker charge for a third time, what do the Baggies - given a 50/50 chance of staying up by football statisticians Opta - do next?

'Wrong players, wrong positions, wrong systems'

"A disastrous appointment" was how Albion fan writer Chris Hall described it, while BBC Radio WM's Baggies reporter Steve Hermon called it "a horror movie".

Whatever the assessments, by appointing 34-year-old Ramsay in the first place, Albion showed they were prepared to stick with a high-stakes strategy.

Their move to give a young head coach, unproven at Championship level, a chance had backfired with Ryan Mason - sacked after seven months and nine wins in 27 games.

The arrival of former Manchester United coach Ramsay came with an inevitable concern that history might repeat itself.

Two decent seasons with unfancied Minnesota United in Major League Soccer (MLS) was the only front-line managerial experience on his broad and "untypical" CV and his penchant for playing three or five at the back would always be a challenge to the dexterity of the squad.

Both Hall and Hermon highlighted the risk of pairing Ramsay's lack of experience with a lack of a transfer budget, because of ongoing Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) considerations, to help him get the players he wanted to fit his preferred system.

A last-minute winner deprived Ramsay of a point in this first game - a 3-2 loss to Middlesbrough - before a record 5-0 hammering at home by Norwich, who also knocked them out of the FA Cup three weeks later.

Defeat by Portsmouth at the end of January saw the 3-4-3 system shelved but that had little impact on results.

Two points from three games, and no goals scored, did not convince and meant the vibe around the club for the visit of Charlton on Tuesday was do-or-die for Ramsay.

Typically, as chance after chance came and went to add to George Campbell's first-half opener, Lyndon Dykes' equaliser 20 minutes from time for the Addicks ensured Albion were denied and Ramsay paid the price.

"It was inevitable," former Albion midfielder Richard Sneekes told BBC Radio WM.

"It hasn't been good enough. He continuously picked wrong players, in wrong positions, in wrong systems.

"Even against Charlton he got his team selection wrong in my eyes - three defensive midfielders and Isaac Price on the right where he doesn't want to play."

• West Brom sack head coach Ramsay after nine games
• 'Ramsay sacking shows lack of strategy'
• Ramsay's experience belies his age - West Brom owner

'Out of his depth and confusing tactics' - Fans' views

Unsurprisingly, Albion supporters have not shied away from venting their frustration over the club's situation. Here are some of the views sent to the Baggies' BBC club page.

Stephen T: He was always the wrong appointment, his tenure has been a disaster from day one.

Stephen W: Sadly, it was the correct decision to sack Eric Ramsay albeit it should have happened after the loss to Coventry. Out of his depth and his tactics - plus playing players in wrong positions - were confusing.

Rohan: I hate sacking managers, but even though he's a good guy, Ramsay's appalling record spoke for itself.

Chris: Albion probably were right to sack Ramsay but this is really still just papering over the cracks. The problems at the club run much deeper and, whatever division we're in next season, an absolutely huge internal review is needed this summer before this club can move forward.

Nigel: The club is in such a mess right now. This is the consequence of having an owner that doesn't understand English football. One poor decision after another.

Morrison? Moore? Who do Albion appoint?

Ramsay's failure certainly increases the wattage of the spotlight now shining firmly on chairman Shilen Patel and his team.

As impressively nimble as Patel and co have been over sorting out Albion's precarious finances, they have been far less sure-footed with their footballing decisions to date.

Three managers have now come and gone under his near two-year watch, as has sporting director Andrew Nestor - who recommended both Mason and Ramsay and carried the can for those failures, among others.

Former defender, and director of football operations, Ian Pearce will now oversee recruitment and has no buffer to any future criticism now Nestor has gone.

All now have to come up with an answer over who replaces Ramsay. And they have to get it right.

Morrison, who has not lost any of this three games in interim charge, will lead the team against Oxford United on Saturday and him getting the job until the end of the season is "the most likely scenario", fan writer Chris Hall told the 72+ podcast.

"Where they go next, I don't know," he added.

"Do they find an experienced head to guide the ship? But they will probably have to find someone out of work and not being paid off by a club."

• West Brom winless in 10 games after Charlton draw
• Miles back at West Brom as Nestor exit confirmed
• Mason exit felt by all West Brom coaches - Morrison

While Morrison may be tainted with the failure of past regimes, his affinity for the club, recently saying the Baggies was "in his DNA" will soften any doubts.

"'Mozza' has shown that he can be his own man when given the reigns," BBC WM's Steve Hermon added.

"Daryl Dike has largely been a forgotten man under the permanent bosses but has started two out of the three matches he has overseen and he's unbeaten.

"Morrison is even less experienced than Mason or Ramsay, but the question is, do these players need to hear from yet another new voice?

"Or with 12 games to go, is it best to stick with someone who cares deeply about the club and will do everything he can to avoid them dropping into the third tier for only the second time in their history?"

Another former Albion player - and boss - is Darren Moore, who is out of work having been sacked by Port Vale in December.

Sneekes said he could see the 51-year-old, who was part of the club's 'Great Escape' from Premier League relegation in 2005, coming in as "a helper" until the summer.

"We need someone who is strong minded and Moore fits that bill," Sneekes told BBC Radio WM.

"We need to be hard to beat and put round pegs in round holes."

Albion facing 'biggest game in 20 years'

Although stepping back up will be familiar for Morrison, the situation the club faces is not.

Just one point above the relegation zone, Morrison will be aware dropping into the third tier for the first time since 1990-91 is unthinkable.

"Oxford is going to be massive - one of the biggest games in the last 20 years," said Sneekes.

"They are good enough. With the players we have, if you put them in the right positions, they can definitely stay up.

"It's a real dilemma. If Saturday goes well, are the board going to bring someone else in?"

That, of course, remains to be seen.

A first win in 11 Championship matches would no doubt do wonders for their hopes of survival - a toss of a coin according to Opta's supercomputer.

In more ways that one, the Baggies have to make sure their next call is the right one.

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