Record-Breaking MLS Manager Sacked After Just 44 Days in English Championship

The 2025–26 season has been a bruising one for MLS favorites in Europe.

Eric Ramsay is out at West Brom. | Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion have confirmed they have parted ways with Eric Ramsay after just 44 days as manager.

The former Minnesota United boss, the youngest in Major League Soccer history, swapped two appearances in the Western Conference playoff semifinals for a battle against relegation in the English Championship back in January, but failed to win any of his nine games in charge.

Picking up just four points from a possible 24 in the league, Ramsay failed to win over an increasingly hostile fanbase that had been publicly calling for his departure over the last two games. “Eric Ramsay, your football is s---“ would echo around The Hawthorns in the days leading up to his departure.

“The club would like to place on record its thanks to Eric and Dennis [Lawrence, assistant manager] and wishes them well for the future,” West Brom said in a short statement confirming his exit.

---

Ramsay Follows Wilfried Nancy Out European Exit Door

Wilfried Nancy’s own European stint ended in disaster just weeks earlier. | Craig Williamson/SNS Group/Getty Images

Hopes were fairly high for Ramsay when he joined West Brom in January. The Welshman had a strong reputation in England, impressing in an academy role with Chelsea before spending three years as a coach at Manchester United.

His move into management with Minnesota in 2024 came as no surprise and Ramsay soon broke team records for points, goals scored, goals conceded and wins to earn two trips to the playoff semifinals.

Ramsay’s success in MLS clearly caught the eye in Europe and he made the return to the continent in January, one month after 2024 MLS Coach of the Year Wilfried Nancy took his talents to Scottish giants Celtic.

Nancy would last just eight games and 33 days in charge at Celtic, with Ramsay going 11 days better with West Brom.

---

Eric Ramsay’s Miserable West Brom Stats

Statistic (All Comps)	Value
Games	9
Wins	0
Draws	4
Losses	5
Goals Scored	5
Goals Conceded	18

---

Ramsay’s Brand of Soccer Fails to Translate

Ramsay’s slow start proved costly. | Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC/Getty Images

Whenever a team hires a new manager, that person gets forced into a decision. Do they try and introduce their own tactics and risk an uncomfortable start, or should they try and work with the pieces presented to them?

Ramsay went for the first choice, switching West Brom to the back-three formation he used in Minnesota even though the Baggies had not used that setup in over two years. The transition was, predictably, clunky and was abandoned after just four games, but the damage had already been done.

Across Ramsay’s first four games, West Brom scored three goals and conceded 12. The decision to switch to a 4-4-2, which yielded two 0–0 draws in a row to start off, was wise but had many supporters questioning whether Ramsay was already scrambling for a solution while the team slipped closer and closer to the relegation zone.

Selection decisions and in-game management also failed to impress fans, who began to make their voices heard and ramped up the pressure on Ramsay. His comparative inexperience had already irked a section of the fanbase at a time in which many felt West Brom needed somebody with a proven track record of success in the league to steer them away from danger.

Ultimately, West Brom needed points and victories to climb up the Championship standings and simply could not afford to give Ramsay the time he clearly needed to try turn things around. He leaves the team just one point above the relegation zone with 12 games left to play.

When he joined Minnesota, Ramsay insisted MLS would offer him a more stable environment in which to develop compared to the Championship. As it turns out, he was right.

---