There's no such thing as a good relegation, but if you want to enhance your chances of rebuilding in the Championship and bouncing back at the first attempt, it's better if your demise is unforeseen and spectacular. There's no finer example than Sunderland of what can happen when an ailing club clings on to its Premier League status for too long.
West Brom finished last season in miserable form, taking one point from their last eight matches. But they still finished 10th and invested heavily in the summer, making them a 6/1 shot for the drop at the start of this campaign. By the time they'd won their first two matches, half of the division were considered more likely to go down.
Since then, the Baggies have averaged less than half a point per game, winning just one of their last 29 league matches. Ten points adrift of safety with only nine games to play, you can now get nearly 50/1 on them to stay up. The situation is so dire, they can't even be bothered to sack Alan Pardew. What would be the point?
If there was a single Hawthorns regular who hadn't already made peace with the prospect of going down after seeing their team emerge from a critical run of four 'winnable' fixtures with four straight defeats, then the latest financial accounts ought to push that admirable optimism from a place of hope to one of relief. Relegation is probably a blessing.
Nine months ago, Albion had £40m in the bank. Today, they find themselves dipping into an overdraft facility for the first time in more than a decade, with returning chief executive Mark Jenkins this week revealing the full extent of that summer spree. Another year or two trying to right those wrongs and the Baggies might have been in real trouble.
Jenkins isn't culpable, so talking openly about the matter isn't a problem for him and putting his cards on the table in this way is probably a shrewd move. It paves the way for a clean slate in the summer and sets the tone for a complete reboot, but it hardly improves Pardew's chances of making anything worthwhile of the seven games that remain.
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Pardew has denied there's a break clause in his contract that means he will be due less compensation following relegation, but reports continue to link current Leicester assistant Michael Appleton with the job and this is probably just a matter of everyone fulfilling their obligations over the remaining six weeks.
New owner Gouchuan Lai has reiterated his long-term commitment to the club and Jenkins is promising greater communication with fans and a more responsible approach in terms of transfer business, albeit not quite as prudent as he was under former own Jeremy Peace. As a model, the parallels between Albion then and Burnley now won't be lost on him this weekend.
The Clarets are back in fine fettle after their mid-season slump, ending a run of 11 winless matches with back-to-back victories over Everton (2-1) and West Ham (3-0). With key players Tom Heaton, James Tarkowski and Chris Wood back to full fitness, they look a solid wager at odds-against in the 'draw no bet' market.
A switch from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1 has been the main catalyst for the upturn in recent weeks with Ashley Barnes making the breakthrough as a lone striker in each of the last three matches, before dropping into the No.10 role to accommodate Wood on the last two occasions, with the 6ft 3in Kiwi then helping himself to three goals in 75 cameo minutes.
Recommended bet:
Burnley to beat West Brom (draw no bet) at 11/10
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