OPINION
Mark Jenkins is reportedly jetting out to China next week for meetings with West Brom owner Guochuan Lai.
According to the Express & Star, Albion’s chief executive is set to make contingency plans for next season with Lai, who has only attended one fixture since the Black Country club was relegated from the Premier League last season.
Lai seems completely disinterested in the club he bought off Jeremy Peace in a deal worth up to £200million in 2016, having only shown in face in the West Midlands a handful of times, and mainly just to see West Brom play against some of the Premier League’s elite.
For a businessman who spent a lot of money to buy West Brom, Lai’s knowledge of football seems to be shockingly limited, and that has been made apparent by this Express & Star report.
It is understood that one of the reasons Jenkins is going out to the Far East is because Lai wants to know the difference between a second season in the Championship and a return to the Premier League.
It is shocking that a man who has made a lot of money in his life is so unaware of the differences between life in the Premier League and life in the Championship, all he needs to do is look at a fellow Chinese businessman Tony Xia to see how he got along at Aston Villa. Even this report by the Express & Star details most of the numbers that Lai should know.
Darren Moore’s side has suffered two major blows in their bid for promotion in the last couple of weeks, losing to both Sheffield United and Leeds United to leave them fourth in the table and seven points away from the top two.
Albion are more than likely going to have to try and seal promotion via the play-offs, but results against teams like Middlesbrough and Derby County have also been poor this term, so there is a huge chance that Moore will be unable to achieve promotion.
Lai should have known all this stuff last season when Albion’s relegation was confirmed.
West Brom fans should be furious with this lack of understanding by the man who owns their club.
It would be in the best interests of all the supporters if Lai sells up and leaves before anything gets worse under his ownership.