West Brom have been a Championship team since 2021, and the days of yo-yoing between the top level and the second tier are over.

And their latest stint in the Premier League was brief, with Slaven Bilic leading them back to the promised land, only to be fired after 13 games of the 2020-21 season, with only one win.

No sooner had Bilic departed The Hawthorns had his replacement confirmed: Sam Allardyce, a wily old veteran, was entrusted to save the sinking Baggies ship.

Sam Allardyce admits huge West Brom mistake.

Despite being a childhood fan of their arch rivals Wolves, Allardyce attempted to salvage Albion from relegation despite their precarious position, but the appointment did not pan out.

Albion and Allardyce were relegated with three games to spare, having won only four of their remaining 25 fixtures.

When questioned about his biggest mistake in football, Allardyce, who has been without a job since his brief stay at Leeds United in 2022-23, admitted that accepting the West Brom position was definitely up there.In an interview with The Peter Crouch Podcast, Allardyce stated that the team was improved by bringing in four loan players.I genuinely said,

‘Look, you’re going to have to help me, and we need new players,’ and they said, ‘Look Sam, we can’t buy new players, but we can get you some loan players.

We worked extremely hard for the loan players, but it still wasn’t enough…and COVID destroyed everything I did. There was no way to change the situation.We were travelling on two coaches, sitting in your own bedroom, there were no team meetings in regions, and if you didn’t wear a mask, you were fined, I’m not sure how much it was, 20, 30, 40 grand (£40,000) at a time.”

COVID partially responsible for West Brom’s collapse under Sam Allardyce.

As previously stated, Allardyce did not receive the resources he desired and possibly required at West Brom to save the club from relegation; the only permanent transaction was a cheap one for Robert Snodgrass, in addition to three loanees.

Albion’s troubles during the behind-closed-doors campaign may have contributed to a lack of support from fans at stadiums.There was a lack of information that you would typically receive at the time to turn things around as quickly as possible, and of course, if you don’t do it within two or three weeks, it’s very tough – time runs out from the moment you arrive,” Allardyce continued.

“But that was a huge mistake; if I could do it over again, I would not have gone. “And empty stadiums…it was hard and depressing.”I have to admit that I probably made the wrong decision there, but at the time I was excited to go back in, but I should have given it more thought.”

Sam Allardyce should not be remembered for his last few managerial disasters.

With his final two appointments at West Brom and Leeds, both of which resulted in relegation to the Championship, Allardyce was viewed as a potential short-term fixer for both clubs, but neither worked out.

But for much of his career, Allardyce was one of the best managers in English football, from guiding Bolton Wanderers into Europe to his four-year term with West Ham and then his brief stint as manager of the Three Lions at international level.

It’s been well over three years since the 72-year-old was in a managerial role, and he’s since turned to podcasting to get his point of view out there. There may not be any more managerial work for the veteran in the future, but he should not be remembered for his struggles at West Brom, which appeared to be a thankless task.