Championship - West Brom appoint Di Matteo

Eurosport - Wed, 01 Jul 17:39:00 2009

Roberto Di Matteo has been named head coach of Championship club West Brom, replacing recently-appointed Celtic boss Tony Mowbray.

FOOTBALL League One MK Dons Roberto Di Matteo - 0

The Italian has signed a 12-month rolling contract at The Hawthorns after joining from League One club MK Dons.

Albion chairman Jeremy Peace said: "I am delighted with Roberto's appointment, which concludes an intensive selection process during which over 40 names were considered.

"We shortlisted two outstanding candidates, spoke to both of them after receiving permission from their clubs, and ultimately Roberto was the unanimous choice of the board."

Albion were relegated from Premier League in May after finishing bottom.

Di Matteo, a former star of Chelsea's midfield, has only one season of management experience under his belt.

He replaced Paul Ince last summer after the former Manchester United midfielder left to take the reins at Blackburn. Ince has since been replaced by Sam Allardyce.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport

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  1. NO, HE IS FAR WORSE, didnt even acknowledge the fans­ singing his name for the first 5 mths, we want ince­ back, and to loose glumface to get him would be a­ lottery win in my eyes, see you next year, we live in­ hope!

    From kitkat on tour, on Thu 2 Jul 2:25PM

  2. I hope he is not ANOTHER brian little, as our guys need­ a constant rollicking when on the pitch as everything­ they learnt on the training pitch goes out the window­ once the kick off whistle is sounded
    and if we got a­ guy who just stands about dreaming of soccer back in 10­ or 20 years ago is all we need !
    i shall give him a few­ games to see what he is doing, BUT with cox being PRE­ BROUGHT i wonder how much INPUT he will be allowed for­ NEW players ? like Mowbray i guess NONE as its ALWAYS­ the boards choice, i wonder if THEY were the ones­ picking the player of each game as some were very odd­ pickings last season

    From Drew W, on Thu 2 Jul 1:59PM

  3. he has not got the passion on the sidelines and that is­ something that will wind all you baggies up no end, go­ 2 down and he may get off his arse and point a bit,­ eddie does most of the shouting, the only reason MK­ Dons got to 3rd spot are because we have players that­ passionately want to play for the Dons, ie DEANO,­ LEVEN, GUERET, BALDOCK, without over inflated wages, we­ could have played without old glumface on the sidelines­ and still performed well. sorry baggies, but­ championship again next year, you should have got­ ADAMS. best of luck next season, my god are you gonna­ need it,

    From kitkat on tour, on Thu 2 Jul 12:24PM

  4. As it is now emerging, after the interviews, Di Matteo­ was the 1st choice for the Job, not Irvine.

    It was­ just the Irvine camp getting ahead of themselves and­ then realised they weren't being offered anything­ and got into the media 1st to pretend he didn't­ want the job.

    Well done JP on what I think is going to­ be an excellent appointment!!!!

    From Alex d, on Wed 1 Jul 10:27PM

  5. ive seen it all before mr alan c !!!
    and been a baggie­ supporter for 49 years
    so like u we ALL have a right to­ express ourselves
    and we know he wasnt peaces number­ ONE choice !
    BUT one year at a lower level dont make u­ a good manager
    he will obviously work within peaces­ small budgets
    so get back to drinking your sherry alan­ c

    From Drew W, on Wed 1 Jul 6:29PM

  6. being a baggies fan . i wont be buying a season ticket­ this year..i think that says it all..i hope he does­ well but i cant see it..why didnt we go for some-one­ who has got experiance.

    From simonclarke65, on Wed 1 Jul 5:54PM

  7. who cares?

    From Shaka, on Wed 1 Jul 4:18PM

  8. Well done drew! He hasnt even sat in his office yet and­ your running the guy down! Bet you cant wait for news­ to come on here so you can moan! Tell you what take­ your negativity and p!ss off up the dingles!

    From Alan C, on Wed 1 Jul 3:22PM

  9. LIKE so many, i guess he was the CHEAPER option of the­ ONLY 2 to be considered !
    ONLY 1 year in management at­ a lower level, cannot see us achieving too much in this­ season, BUT that will suit Peace just balance the­ books
    BUT will Matteo be ALLOWED to buy HIS players or­ will the same TECH Director do it, like they did with­ moore, meite etc etc

    From Drew W, on Wed 1 Jul 2:55PM

  10. LOL Celtic took that numpty mowbray away from you and­ you replaced him with a cracking replacement. Why didnt­ celtic go for him? Oh thats right, "he wasnt­ celtic minded". LOL eh, they septic really are a­ joke.

    From Paul G CHAMPIONS, on Wed 1 Jul 1:43PM

  11. #27 Ince?????? what drugs are you takin??????? piss­ poor player even worse manager,why not go for Keane­ &be done for iit????

    From METZ, on Wed 1 Jul 1:33PM

  12. Another manager who has left a club to early that gave­ him a break. Brendan Rodgers did this to Watford, I am­ sorry but I do hope they fall on their noses as they­ have not earned their merits yet.

    From ANDREW SMITH, on Wed 1 Jul 12:53PM

  13. Anyone think players get bad press as regards to­ loyalty?

    From Geester, on Wed 1 Jul 12:28PM

  14. Players get a bad press regards loyalty managers are­ little better
    Ince fair move to premier Di Matteo poor­ move championship
    Bring back Incey
    MK(chelsea)Fan

    From Rodger, on Wed 1 Jul 11:14AM

  15. Players get a bad press regards loyalty managers are­ little better
    Ince fair move to premier Di Matteo poor­ move championship
    Bring back Incey
    MK(chelsea)Fan

    From Rodger, on Wed 1 Jul 11:14AM

  16. Players get a bad press regards loyalty managers are­ little better
    Ince fair move to premier Di Matteo poor­ move championship
    Bring back Incey
    MK(chelsea)Fan

    From Rodger, on Wed 1 Jul 10:52AM

  17. Bobby is a great man and Baggies fans should be pleased­ to have him and look forward to a great season.­ Hopefully he will be back at Chelsea one day. Good­ Luck!

    From Tony P, on Wed 1 Jul 10:34AM

  18. NO MORE BOING BOING JUST DOWN DOWN

    From marklaura60, on Wed 1 Jul 10:29AM

  19. i am a chelsea fan and im very happy for roberto. if he­ can do half as good a job as zola at west ham then west­ broim will have no trouble coming straight back up.

    From billyball1985, on Wed 1 Jul 10:08AM

  20. there is a time to move and a time to move, this was no­ time to move. should have stayed got promoted and then­ move to somewhere where he can take the next big step.­ WBA is no progression unless you are the manager of­ Yeovil or Macclesfield, and i am surprised at WBA­ appointing him.

    From Dave H, on Wed 1 Jul 10:01AM
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