Comment - Measuring success for Darren Moore and West Brom this season is more nuanced than usual

For the first time in eight years, Albion have a chance of finishing a season top of the pile.

There is no glass ceiling in the Championship separating the big six from the rest, the title race is wide open, and only a fool would pick three teams to go up and be completely sure of their choice.

Which begs the question, what would represent success for the Baggies this season?

Every supporter will have their own opinion on that.

Some will argue automatic promotion should be the aim, considering the strength of the squad and the financial superiority over others.

Some will say reaching the play-offs constitutes success in such a competitive league, and gives the club a chance of bouncing back up.

But after several years of finding and grinding any way to 40 points in the Premier League, there will be those content with a mid-table finish, as long as they see a swashbuckling brand of football and fall back in love with their club.

Such a season may be even more readily accepted with Darren Moore at the helm, because supporters are keenly aware this is his first time in the hot-seat and they are desperate for him to succeed.

A promising yet ultimately promotion-less season of consolidation is more appealing under Moore than a more experienced name because he is a fledgling manager learning his trade who could be expected to improve.

However, the reality of relegation means this is Albion’s greatest chance of bouncing back up.

As parachute payments dwindle, so does the financial clout, and as player contracts run out, so does the quality.

Players like Jay Rodriguez, Salomon Rondon, Jake Livermore, Kieran Gibbs, and Matt Phillips may stay for this season, but they are unlikely to stay for two.

In a strange way, Moore’s success must be measured by a different barometer to the club’s.

He is an inexperienced manager, thrust into a tough situation, and his first summer in charge has seen him caught in the crossfire between players agitating for moves and a board that is rapidly depleting.

Is it fair to expect him to lead Albion straight back up in his first full season? Arguably not.

But is it fair to expect the owners and the board to be able to make the right decisions that take the Baggies back up? Arguably yes.

This does not mean Moore was not the right appointment. He was, but his inexperience should be taken into account.

He won’t see it this way, of course. Once you agree to step into management, you agree to everything that comes with it, the pressure, the scrutiny, and the reliance on results.

But ultimately, a football club is its fanbase, and if they are happy, that’s all that counts.

Everyone wants Moore to succeed, and the majority of supporters are willing to give him time to grow into the role.

They’re aware that he could be a good thing for the long-term health of the club, perhaps epitomised best by this comment following the recent coup of bringing in Graeme Jones as his assistant.

“I don’t like to say too much about this but I’m changing the culture around here and the first thing we have to do is recruit people with respect and humility for everyone who we come into contact with,” he said.

Yes, promotion would be welcome, and a season of winning games would be salve to the wounds from the last campaign.

But with Moore in charge, Albion fans may start measuring success in more nuanced ways than simply results on the weekend and a final finishing position in the table.