Perhaps the biggest disappointment of Roy Hodgson's opening week at Albion is knowing that the sleek, black, flared-wheel-arched 2-door Jaguar XKR sports car parked in the manager's spot is, indeed, not his.

It's basically a Carlos Vela - on loan.

Shame. I had visions of Hodgson cruising down the high streets of Birmingham with his shades on.

Sadly not.

But Hodgson will deserve a better image than the one he arrived at Albion with if he gets this side out of their current predicament. Sure, they're not actually in the bottom three as yet. And there are no guarantees they will be come Monday night when they pitch up at Stoke.

Yet we've all winced at the fixtures. It's not ideal in a culture where managers need anything between six-to-12 months to manage a transition of change. Even less ideal when there are just 11 games left to claim survival.

Where Hodgson has experience of keeping clubs up, he will have an issue addressing the no-win culture.

The West Ham game - notwithstanding the poor substitutions - underlined this. We all knew what was coming once West Ham's goal came in.
And you could whiff the tension during the Wolves game. At least that's what I think it was.

Hodgson needs help. He's not going to be able to do this on his own. Nor will the players.

They need full support from the stands. Isolated booing during the substitution of a clearly hobbling Graham Dorrans - which, incidentally, handed a nice tabloid line for the red tops - won't help matters, nor will getting on the back of Marc-Antoine Fortuné.

If Albion do stop up then they will be doing so the hard way. The hard way because of the lack of players they brought in, the hard way because of the nonsensical timing of their decision to sack Roberto Di Matteo, no matter how correct that decision was.

Hodgson has a smile on his face again. He is no longer the grey, anguished character stood in front of a backdrop of Standard Chartered logos.

His decision to swerve the question about whether this Baggies squad was good enough to stay up, after just one 90 minute coaching session, wasn't designed to be negative. It was honesty - an honesty worth buying into. It's surely better than reckless bravado? And, let's be honest, if he is to take credit for keeping them up, then there will be those pointing the finger if he takes them down.

Hodgson has since relaxed (he calls it 'tired') following some fairly intensive training sessions.

He has embraced the club. Sir Bobby Robson and Don Howe left him in no doubt over the years how important a part West Brom played during their respective careers. Hodgson has twice referred to their influence in the three press conferences he's held since his appointment.

Albion fans, he claims, 'understand and know their football'. His words.

Mrs Hodgson is already helping him choose an appropriate base to call home in one of the better areas of Sutton Coldfield.

A long chat this week underlined his deep, comprehensive knowledge of football and players. He already knew - and wanted - some of the Albion players just from his coaching experiences at home and abroad, long before they turned up at The Hawthorns.

Throughout this discussion he was throwing in players that he expected us to have heard of, including an obscure young Swedish captain from the 1970s. He also added, later on, the names of some far-fetched Dutch League players from the early part of the 2000s. The nods of agreement from those of us sat around were more out of politeness - it was like he'd hacked into some retro version of Championship Manager.

I get the feeling he'll be teaching Albion's scouting network a thing or two. Perhaps that was a key part of their 16-month union.

It's a shame Liverpool didn't tap into that knowledge a little bit better. For all that Kenny Dalglish has transformed the Anfield club, Hodgson comes with an impressive contacts book and immense clarity on football. He was there at the wrong time, under the wrong owners.

This job works both ways. Albion need him. He needs Albion.

Hodgson will deserve great credit if he keeps Albion up. If he does, it'll have been achieved in spite of the predicament he found himself in.

The only downside of all of this is that he lives up to the stereotype of a wealthy 63-year-old - he can't wait to swap the sports car for a four-door, four-seater executive saloon.

More's the pity. Some people deserve a better, racier public image.

Hodgson, given what we saw at Anfield, is certainly one.

Question: What links the following?

Keith Burkinshaw, Bobby Gould, Ron Saunders and Brian Little.

The answer you might be looking for is silverware.

By my reckoning I make it one League title, three FA Cups, two League Cups (and a few finals) and a UEFA Cup win between the quartet during their managerial careers.

All had 'experience' by the time they pitched up at Albion.

The answer, of course, is that they are four of the worst managers to ever take charge of Albion. I make it two relegations, a near-miss and a failed attempt to climb out of Division Three. Not bad given their experience.

So why is there such an obsession with this word 'experience' when it comes to management.

It's becoming a cliche.

One of Albion's suggested routes is bringing in an elder statesman, or at least some one 'with Premier League experience', to oversee a hopeful survival.

Let's assume that someone might be Roy Hodgson - for argument's sake.

Indeed he did a great job at Fulham by keeping them up three seasons ago and then transforming them into Europa League finalists.

Excellent job.

Let's assume he comes in until the end of the season on a huge bonus and keeps Albion up.

Baggies fans will expect the board to keep him on. If they do, there is no way Albion - under their current financial model - will be able to bankroll a manager of his esteem with a suitable
budget for new players. It'll end in tears.

In the worst case scenario he takes Albion down. And so the job advert gets re-posted again. And we prove, for once and for all, that no manager can work his magic at Albion when it comes to the highest level.

But why the obsession with Premier League experience?

In my view, the Baggies hierarchy could do a lot worse than keep an eye on Michael Appleton during the coming few days.

I've known Appy for 10 years. I ghosted his column for the Sports Argus during my first year on the Birmingham Mail, during which time he was to suffer his career-ending injury.

I've monitored his progress since, watched the growing admiration and respect among Albion players for his coaching abilities and listened to considered views about his development as a trainer.

If Albion have any sense they will give his application - no matter how informal it is at this stage - serious consideration.

Forget the fact that a 20-minute press briefing yesterday left us in no doubt about his enthusiasm and desire to do well.

Anyone can say those things. Give me a drum and bash it as loudly as the next person.

But behind the hyperbole is an intelligent, perceptive and progressive coach.

A coach who, to all intents and purposes, was way more experienced on the training pitch than his predecessors Roberto Di Matteo and Eddie Newton yet, for all too often, was left marginalised. Unfairly in my view.

His was never the main voice - more often Appy was the support act who made up numbers with drills while Newton issued the instructions. Or, in the worst case scenario, he put the props out onto the field and dished out the bibs.

But Appleton was learning all the time. He was learning when Gary Megson realised that his midfielder, with an increasingly irreparable knee, was too important to be simply released out of the door.

I recall being sat at a football writers' dinner in the company of Megson when he spoke with almost a father-like pride of Appleton's determination to return to fitness when we all knew, deep down, the eventual outcome was retirement.

Megson was incredulous that a footballer with so much to give, so much ambition and so respected was being given the duff hand when others around him - the then Baggies boss cited one or two individuals - couldn't be bothered to even turned up on time to training.

Fast forward seven years. Appleton has worked with three managers and several coaches since. He played for Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes.

By all accounts Sir Alex has retained an open-door policy for Appleton since testifying on his behalf during the legal battle which ensued following his retirement. Any questions, just get on the phone Michael...

And this cliche about a manager lacking Premier League experience?

Where does a Michael Appleton, or indeed a Derek McInnes or Sean O'Driscoll, fit into this?

Being a manager - which Albion aren't looking for remember - involves administrative tasks, team preparation, hands-on coaching, scouting, paperwork, being able to judge a player. Does it change much in the Premier League? Probably not - apart from the headed paper carrying a different logo. And you need to raise the quality of your players.

I'd say Appy scores fairly well. Can he cope with the pressure of managing a Premier League side? Why can't he? He's handled worse. He's been in and around football clubs as a coach for the best part of a decade. Issuing instructions, organisation, pre-match drills, dossiers on opponents are not alien to him.

And while he wasn't managed yet, he has the respect of the players. He also has a sound eye for a player. I'm told that he sussed out one player - who was to play under two Albion managers - within a few weeks of his arrival. He knew that player wasn't right for Albion.

Players respond to Appleton. He knows how to coach and he has the intelligence to manage - let's not forget that many of those 'managerial' duties will be the domain of Dan Ashworth and his support staff anyway.

This team doesn't need a lot. It needs organisation - which Appleton or anyone with a bit of nous, you would hope - will address. And it needs a spark.

Sadly, one or two games isn't enough time, but it's all he might get.

And if it doesn't work out for him, then let's hope he isn't lost to the club.

Experience means little these days. You need someone who the players will respond to.

And if Appy is to be overlooked for a top job then what price him linking up with Derek McInnes?

So what if he manages in Scotland.

He, like Appy, knows the club and it's dynamics. They could dovetail effectively. He's managed more than 150 games - if we really must insist on 'experience' - and has a better overall wins-to-games ratio than his St Johnstone predecessor Owen Coyle. And, let's face it, Tony Mowbray was hardly a disaster when he first pitched up at Albion, despite the memories always focusing on his final year as boss.

One contact who has worked in football for several decades summed it up this week when I asked him for this thoughts. This particular gent, respected in his sector of the footballing industry, told me that Sean O'Driscoll or Derek McInnes were Albion's best options - 'if he was Sean O'Driscolli he'd be at a Premier League club by now' came the reply. Same for Chris Hughton, in many ways. Unfashionable, therefore he must be dull, hence not good enough.

We've become so obsessed with the Premier League brand that we've created an alien footballing world to the rest of football. There is a perception that what is suitable and successful elsewhere can't be transferred into Premier League.

Last time I looked, it was still football. Just a better level.

Experience is one thing, but Albion should give it to the best candidate. That might well be Roy Hodgson or an Alan Curbishley. It might well be an Appleton, McInnes or a Hughton.

But let's hope Albion aren't just counting the number of grey hairs when it comes to making their decision.

I'VE said it before. Twice.

I might as well do so again.

Albion must give more support to their next manager - or head coach, if you really insist.

The Baggies were correct to sack Roberto Di Matteo.

A few of us had witnessed an erosion of trust and respect for the Italian in recent weeks. From above and from the shop floor.

Some players will be pleased he's gone (you can probably guess who). Some players I know are unhappy he's gone. Splits within the camp were obvious.

The shock and hysteria from London-based media, some of whom haven't been to The Hawthorns this season (not to be confused with the Midlands-based media pack who cover the patch for the national press) was inevitable and predictable.

How could a nice chap like Di Matteo possibly be sacked, said they from afar.

The club should have done more to articulate their reasons.

Releasing a 508-word statement on the club's official website - I make that about £1.20 per word for an average season-ticket holder in the Birmingham Road End - and then relying on a few local and Midlands-based national media to give insight into the situation is hardly a way for Albion to treat paying customers.

That's behind us now.

The point is that Di Matteo is merely one of another notches on the doorframe as you enter the training ground.

Since the Walsall-based complex was built and expanded, Albion's administrative staff - with the exception of club shop, ticket office and the community staff - have swapped the Hawthorns for the players' and coaching staff's place of work.

Supposedly to make life easier for all. Not sure everyone sees it that way, but still.

The Baggies hierarchy need to think carefully about how much they are helping their gaffers.

All four of the club's Premier League bosses have had cause for concern over a lack of action in the transfer market. We don't hear these rumblings as consistently elsewhere in the Midlands.

Sure, Martin O'Neill liked a moan or two. And we all know how strained the relationship became between Steve Bruce and the former Blues board when they were pitched together up the road.

But it's a common theme at Albion.

Four managers, four personalities. Some abrasive, some passionate, some relaxed, some resigned to the worst. I've seen them all. And all have had cause for complaint about, not only with a lack of progress in transfer windows, but also a perceived 'faffing around' (with apologies to Gary Megson for coining his phrase).

It's no secret that Albion could have signed John Carew had they not dithered after the Fulham defeat - long enough for Emile Heskey to be sent off.

Credit must be given for Albion matching Stoke's offer once the Potters pitched in for the Norwegian but it should have been wrapped up before then.

Eric Choupo-Moting and Odefami Martins also came into the picture but never materialised.

And as for defenders? Let's not go there. We could all see the problems. Dan Ashworth picked some out potential targets. Again, they didn't arrive.

Four managers have had a good moan over the recent years. The next head coach probably will do so too because no lessons ever seem to be taken on board at B71.

It's the same every time.

For once, let's hope Albion get it right. Choosing the right successor to Di Matteo is only half of the task.