Interviews

Barber: We keep tabs on emerging managers all the time

Chief executive on how a new manager will be chosen.

By Bruce Talbot • 08 September 2022

By Paul Hazlewood
Chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber.

Paul Barber has outlined the process by which the club will appoint our new head coach.

Andrew Crofts is in charge for Saturday’s trip to AFC Bournemouth but the club’s search for Graham Potter’s replacement is already underway.

Speaking on the MyAlbion TV podcast, recorded in the summer, the club’s deputy chairman and chief executive said that the process of identifying talent for senior roles is ongoing.

“We keep tabs on coaches and managers around the world all of the time,” said Barber. “We know where the emerging talent is and what type of contracts they are on because that’s forward planning and making sure that you've always got a plan B and the opportunity to move quickly if you need to.

“I think you have to pick your manager or your head coach for the point in time that the club is at and its evolution. So, you try and match the type of personality, character, experience and knowledge that the club needs at any given time.

“The board has a particular type of coach that we like to work with. I think ten years on from the early days of the Amex the club's culture now is very noticeable. It's distinct. People in football that come here talk about our culture because they can feel it.

“That means that certain personalities work well within it and others would work less well with it. But that's the same in any business. People that work well at Marks and Spencer wouldn't necessarily work well at Amazon and vice versa and we're no different.

By Paul Hazlewood
Graham Potter has left for Chelsea.

“We've developed a very strong culture. It's no coincidence that a lot of our executive team have been here a long time because they get it. And that consistency and that stability has helped the club to progress.”

Potter left the club with Albion fourth in the Premier League, the highest position in our history. But Barber believes it’s during unsettling times when the club’s culture comes to the fore.

“The best football clubs in the world should never be judged when they're doing well. They should be judged when they have bumps in the road because that's when the culture stabilises the club, and it allows it to continue its journey almost uninterrupted at times. And that's the measure of, I think, a good club.”