There’s no denying it. A cross is fizzed in from the left by Jimmy-Jay Morgan, deflecting slightly off the glove of Norwich keeper Vladan Kovačević, before Heggebø bundles the ball into an empty net off his arm. He had attempted to adjust to the Kovačević deflection in order to get his foot to the ball, but there was no time whatsoever to physically do that, so in it goes off “the hand of Heg”. It’s accidental handball - no one could reasonably claim Heggebø deliberately sought to score that way, we’re not highlighting some form of machiavellian, Maradona-esque mischief here - but the referee should disallow the goal.

Yet the officials don’t see it. Goal for Albion. The luck has gone their way - the “footballing gods” were smiling down on the Baggies, on this occasion.

Days later however, the smiles become frowns. Albion announce that Heggebø will serve a two-match suspension, served by the FA who allege that the Norwegian had “successfully deceive(d) a Match Official by handling the ball in a direct successful attempt to score a goal”, a breach of Rule E3.1. in the FA’s sanction guidelines. The rule states that:

A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.

This rule was introduced at the start of the 2024/25 season and it has been used to punish players and managers, usually for improper behaviour and/or insulting words directed at match officials. It had never previously been used for a goal being scored via a missed accidental handball offence.

You have to question how the incident meets the FA’s criteria set out in the rule. A goal scored unavoidably via a players arm is not “one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.” I don’t see how it brings the game into disrepute unless it is blatant cheating, like Maradona’s “hand of God” in 1986.

One can only surmise that the FA are stretching the “acting in any manner which is improper” rule to its absolute limit, effectively saying that Heggebø should have immediately confessed that the ball went in off his arm and therefore the goal shouldn’t count. Yet if that were a realistic expectation, then hey - why do we need referees at all? Why not just let footballers police themselves, like kids on a playground playing a bit of footy at lunch time? I’m sure that would work out fabulously, with no acting in any manner that is improper arising at all.

And pigs might fly.

This isn’t the first time Albion have received retrospective punishment. In January 2023, Brandon Thomas-Asante got a three match ban for violent conduct after the referee missed him elbowing a Chesterfield player in the head, moments before scoring the equaliser that saved Albion from an embarrassing cup exit against non-league opponents.

Further back in February 2019, Dwight Gayle dived to get a penalty via simulation in the late stages of a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. Jay Rodriguez buried the spotkick “won” by Gayle to salvage a point. Gayle was subsequently banned for two matches for “successful deception of a match official”. There hasn’t been any further charge of simulation to deceive a referee in the Championship since, though there have elsewhere in the EFL.

Though they preceded Rule E3.1., both Thomas-Asante and Gayle were guilty of their offences and met the criteria for either violent conduct, or bringing the game into disrepute. The latest incident with Heggebø is far more questionable in that respect. His goal shouldn’t have counted, but the referees did not see it and therefore it did. No different to when the aforementioned Rodriguez slapped in an extremely fortuitus equaliser in a draw against Aston Villa back in 2018, which the officials completely missed. Was that lucky for Albion? Yes. Did Villa get some luck of their own against the Baggies, in the playoffs later that same season? Yes. “Swings and roundabouts” as we used to say - the all too forgotten grown up response, a shrugging reaction to how things can just go for you or against you in football, but after the final whistle we all just move on. Or we did at least.

The FA look utterly inconsistent in applying this charge. There were highly comparable incidents to Heggebø’s in the Championship recently, that went completely unpunished. Ironically it was Norwich who benefited from one of them, in December 2025 when Canaries’ forward Jovon Makama scored with his hand against Southampton. And then there’s this cheeky effort from Bristol City’s Yu Hirakawa against Preston North End in November 2024 - without doubt a case of intentional cheating. Both goals are clearly handball incidents missed by the officials, and I would argue are far more blatant and deceptive than Heggebø’s, yet neither player faced any sanction or ban afterwards despite Rule E3.1. being in place. Maybe the FA rule enforcers were out Christmas shopping and missed those incidents?

I’m not here to bash referees. I’m highly confident that they do their absolute best, in a very difficult job, and that most games are officiated really well. Sometimes they miss things that happen in a game - they always have, and they always will, because they are human beings. The introduction of VAR in competitions where that’s used has in many cases corrected those mistakes or missed incidents, but its arduous and time consuming presence has also come at huge cost to the spectacle of the game (particularly for the true football fans who actually attend matches, rather than only watching them on TV). Instead of reducing controversy around officials, it’s amplified that massively. The debate rages, and likely will rage for a long time yet, about whether football should keep VAR and make further use of refereeing technology, or use it minimally, or get rid of it altogether.

To be transparent here, I’m in the get rid, full abolition now camp. I can’t stand VAR, and I am perfectly happy that the EFL doesn’t use it. I’ll take a few more refereeing mistakes over that monstrosity making a misery of our weekend. I’m not against the use of technology - goal line technology is brilliant, because it provides an instant decision in the same way a referees whistle or a lino’s flag does. However, anything that doesn’t provide an instant decision can get in the bin as far as I’m concerned, as it’s just not fit for use in football. The game experience is more important than exact justice, and it always will be.

There’s no denying that VAR would have ruled out Heggebø’s goal however, and therefore in the aftermath of the event there was some lively debate in the media about whether the Championship should use it. Nothing wrong with that; the media are entitled to make debate after events, but you have to wonder if this extra coverage and focus on something that happened in the EFL came in part because it was the first day of the season, as per usual a week in advance of the Premier League kicking off and hogging all the football headlines thereafter. Accuse me of conspiracy if you like, but I suspect this extra noise led to the FA taking action against Heggebø, in contrast to when the Makama and Hirokawa incidents happened. It’s like the FA thought “Oh buggar, we’d better be seen to do something for once”, and therefore handed down the two match ban via a highly dubious interpretation of their own rule.

Or - perhaps even more deceptively - is this the FA doing something that by proxy moves the Championship ever closer to having to adopt VAR? Don’t put it past them.

A consequence of this whole sorry affair, as correctly pointed out by Adrian Goldberg of the excellent Liquidator Podcast, is this opens one hell of a can of worms for the FA. Now you’re going to see every possible incident that potentially falls foul of the FA’s “improper” rule be followed by demands from aggrieved fans, if not also clubs, that a retrospective punishment should follow for something that went against them and their side. You wouldn’t blame Albion for now being at pains to point out any possible incident in scope. Did a player score while pulling a defenders shirt? Did another get away with a tackle of excessive force that then didn’t result in a red card? Was a penalty not given for an accidental handball? Did a player blatantly dive to win a free kick that is then scored from? Don’t blame the referee - blame the player for not “acting in the best interests of the game”, and then ban them for it!

If that actually happens, it will be farcical and lead to more player bans than we’ve ever seen before in history. This re-refereeing of incidents in games now past by is a desperate cloying for absolute fairness, and of equality of outcomes, that ends up an inconsistent and incoherent mess. Sometimes, as in life, what happens in football is subject to fate. It’s in the hands of the gods. And after all, it’s just a game - so why not just leave it that way?

Heggebø’s retrospective ban follows not long after Albion felt another after-the-fact sting. The EFL’s decision to retrospectively adjust what is and isn’t allowable expenditure within Profit and Sustainability rules meant that they tipped the club into a breach of those rules and handed down a two-point penalty, which at the time placed the club back in relegation jeopardy. The offending transgression? Paying some club funds to the Albion Foundation - aka donating to charity. Given Albion had worked hand in hand with the EFL transparently and in good will to avoid such a penalty, that truly felt like deception on their part.

It’s not just West Bromwich Albion that get retrospectively punished, far from it. This isn’t a case of me squealing that the world is against my club. It’s more a case of being a frustrated fan of a club that seems to be caught in the crosshairs of these matters rather often of late. I guess it’s just part of the rollercoaster ride that is to be a Baggies fan.

The authorities hand out punishment for deception despite being deceptive themselves. The EFL stabbed Albion in the back, and the FA strike me as an organisation of no true values; they appear to only want to look good, not to do good. When there’s headlines they take action, when there aren’t then they just bumble on. After years of backing Gianni Infantino as FIFA president, despite him obviously valuing money and power over the good of the game for years, only now do they stick their neck out against him because others are too. They enforce a ban to Aune Heggebø when there’s more media focus than normal on a Championship matter, yet when that focus returns to competitions higher up you just know they’ll let other incidents pass without punishment. They always do.

C’est la vie. Heggebø will miss the next two games against Burnley on Sunday, then Newcastle in the League Cup on Tuesday. As it was back in April when Albion settled matters on the pitch, they must attempt to do so once more. I’m sure The Hawthorns will be laser focused on, and ultra critical of, whoever the lucky referee is for the Burnley game. He can thank his own employer for the hostile reception he and his assistants are sure to get.

Perhaps it’ll help influence something that goes the Albion’s way again however. We pray the footballing gods remain, at least somewhat, in our favour.

Thank you for reading my latest article, I hope you enjoyed it. Comments welcome as always. You’re free to tell me I’m wrong if you feel that way!

Leave a comment

“Do I not like that!”

“I would love it if we beat them. LOVE IT!”

“I think I am a special one.”

For me, one of the most memorable quotes from a West Bromwich Albion manager was uttered by Tony Mowbray, during his first (and far more revered) spell as Baggies boss:

“Teams are made of soldiers and artists, and you need to get the balance right.”

Ironically, Mowbray didn’t get said balance right during that time as Albion head coach. He had artists aplenty at his disposal; Jason Koumas, Zoltan Gera, Jonathan Greening, Felipe Teixeira, Borja Valero, and some fellow by the name of James Morrison, were just some of the technically sound and creative players that Mowbray employed between 2006 and 2009. “Lovely soft feet” (another memorable Mowbray line), all over the shop.

An abundance of artists won Albion the Championship title in 2008, entertaining no end along the way. The “best midfield in the world” as Albion fans referred to it – any four or five of Greening, Teixeira, Morrison, Gera, Robert Koren and Chris Brunt – was a creative force and a dream supply line for strikers Kevin Phillips, Ishmael Miller, and Roman Bednar. The defence behind them was a bit leaky, but what did that matter when you could score over 100 goals in a season?

Well, it turned out to matter a fair bit once Albion were in the Premier League.

The Baggies were ruthlessly exposed week by week in the top division, because they just didn’t have the soldiers to protect a defence that was far more under siege than it had been down in the Championship. Midfielders like Greening, Koren and Valero were reliable on the ball and would enable Albion to enjoy plenty of possession, but off the ball they were cut through all too easily. 67 goals were conceded and Albion went straight back down, finishing bottom of the table.

The two teams promoted with Albion – Stoke City and Hull City – survived. Their approach to Premier League football was somewhat different; they flooded their squads with soldiers and played pragmatically to grind out results.

Stoke, managed by Tony Pulis, were notoriously “agricultural” in their approach – shrinking their home pitch to be as small as regulations allowed in order to stifle opponents seeking to play expansively, and enabling their master of the long throw in, Rory Delap, to chuck the ball deep into the oppositions’ penalty area in as dangerous a fashion as a David Beckham whipped cross. The Potters’ battalion would defend their territory ferociously, then bombard their opponents’ box via set plays, where they had a multitude of big lads ready to launch themselves at the ball. It worked, especially against Albion, who for years were a guaranteed six points per season for Stoke, and at the time it was a sore reality for Baggies fans who looked down on Pulis’s effective yet ugly style as inferior to the flamboyant, entertaining, yet unfortunately naïve football that Mowbray preached.

Little did we know at the time that in the not-too-distant future, Pulis-ball would be coming to The Hawthorns. Perish the thought.

Fast forward to today and one of the artists whom Mowbray brought to the Albion is now the man in The Hawthorns hotseat. Signed from Middlesbrough in 2007, James Morrison has been with the Baggies ever since as both a player and a coach. In that time he’s seen a fair few managers come and go, as well as a variety of playing styles and player profiles preferred by each, including Pulis’s spell.

It seems to have been quite the education, and unlike Mowbray, Morrison has managed to concoct a fine balance between his soldiers and artists.

At the time of writing this piece, Albion have just signed a young midfielder from France, Rabby Nzingoula, whose self-description suggests he’s going to offer more graft than craft.

“One of my best attributes is athleticism – I can run a lot and recover balls. I can run forward and I can defend. I would like to improve with the ball and score more goals in the final third and be more decisive for the team.”

Meanwhile, fellow central midfielder Alex Mowatt is reportedly heading for the exit door, with Derby County having an offer rejected but expected to come back with improved terms. Age 31 and with just a year left on his Albion contract, the club may be wise to receive a fee for Mowatt while they still can.

Mowatt’s main strength is sitting deep and dictating possession, making him more of an artist. Yet in Morrison’s fluid box type midfield where the full backs push forward while the central midfielders protect, athleticism is key. The two defensive midfielders have a lot of ground to cover and must at times plug the holes left by both the adventurous full backs and the wide midfielders, who tend to drift inside and look to either create for the forwards, or get into the box themselves. It’s essentially a system with two sixes, and two eights.

Ousmane Diakite and Jayson Molumby are prime athletic sixes, and it would appear Nzingoula is another of that type. Three soldiers who will allow the artists at full back and the positions further forward to create danger for opponents, while they generally sit back and prevent the threat of counter attacks.

Molumby has his detractors in the Albion fanbase, and indeed there are recent whispers of a possible departure for him too, especially after he only appeared as a substitute in Albion’s season opening 4-1 victory at Rotherham in the League Cup last Saturday. He was seen heading down the tunnel looking somewhat displeased after the game. We can only speculate why that may be, but I would be surprised if Molumby is not still seen as an important player by Morrison.

The partnership Molumby formed with Diakite after Mozza took over last season was key to Albion’s run to survival, as it gave the team the strong spine it needed to stop leaking goals at the rate they had while Ryan Mason or Eric Ramsay were in charge. Molumby’s ability to cover vast distances at speed enabled Danny Imray to venture forward from right back at will. Nolan Galves looks set to continue where Imray left off, meaning that cover is still vital.

Technically, Molumby is not the most refined of players – he’s no artist. Yet his passing stats are perfectly respectable, he achieved an 86.4% pass completion rate for Albion last season, meaning he’s not in the elite passing category for a Championship midfielder like a Hayden Hackney or a Matt Grimes, but he’s not surrendering possession much either (nor, at 86.3%, is Diakite). Mowatt’s pass completion rate was 88%, better but not exactly miles ahead. Where Mowatt does excel in comparison is chance creation - he did that 53 times across the season, whereas Molumby managed 32 and Diakite 13. Yet Morrison doesn’t require his defensive midfielders to create - they are soldiers, and first things first they defend their territory.

Statistically, both Molumby and Diakite were impressive when it came to defending last season. Molumby made a huge number of recoveries (191) because he also defends high up the pitch a lot of the time, aiding Albion’s press with his relentless energy. He won the ball in the opponents final third 17 times over the season. Diakite meanwhile made a massive 153 defensive contributions, 51 tackles, and 35 interceptions playing as a more classic defensive midfielder who doesn’t venture forward so much. Mowatt’s defensive profile is similar to Molumby’s in that he made a solid 155 recoveries and won the ball high up the pitch 12 times across the season, but given he’s 31 and physically at the end of his peak, those numbers are unlikely to improve. Molumby has just turned 27 however, and therefore is now in his physical prime.

If Albion could find another defensive midfielder with the same engine as Molumby, but greater composure and passing ability like Mowatt’s, then that would be fantastic; but those types of complete midfielder are scarce and will very likely come with a significant price tag and wage requirements. That’s why players of that rare profile at Premier League level tend to cost at least £100m these days.

Nzingoula looks set to compete with both Diakite and Molumby for a place in that central pair of soldiers. He is essentially what they were when they arrived at Albion – a young, promising midfielder brought in to develop and push more established players for their place.

A look at Nzingoula’s statistics while on loan last season, for 15 games, with Bundesliga 2 club Nuremburg highlights promise but also obvious areas of improvement required to take the place of either Diakite or Molumby. His standout defensive stat is that he was only dribbled past three times, whereas Molumby and Diakite were gotten past 24 and 19 times respectively. He falls short on pretty much every other metric however, and his pass completion rate of 77.3% will also need to improve. Nzingoula is a raw talent, but he will improve at Albion and he fits the dynamic and developable profile that the club is prioritising.

If Mowatt does depart, as seems likely, then you can expect Albion may seek to replace him in order to have two back up players for the two deeper midfield spots. It’ll be interesting to see if they look for another soldier type, or if they instead seek a more artistic playmaker who can progress the ball similarly successfully to Mowatt. What’s key though is that they are defensively strong, because the Morrison system relies on that.

I expect Morrison is also keen to add to the artistry he already possesses, especially in wide areas. The attacking unit has creativity in the likes of Isaac Price and Felix Horn Myhre, who started his Albion career positively with a debut goal at Rotherham (as did forward Jimmy-Jay Morgan, who notched a debut brace), plus Harry Whitwell looks primed to breakthrough as another creative midfielder after a very promising performance in the first half at the New York Stadium. Mikey Johnston is a talent who on his day brings as much creative artistry as anyone else in this Albion squad, he can play wide or as a more central attacker; but what Albion currently lack is pace in the final third, so don’t be surprised if the club seek to remedy that deficiency in what remains of the transfer window.

Morrison is no Pulis, but nor is he a Mowbray. Having played for both, he has perhaps gained great insight into finding the right balance for setting up a team that is enjoyable to watch, while also not being a soft touch. It was interesting that after the Rotherham game, where a loss of focus led to the sloppy concession of a late consolation goal, Morrison highlighted his displeasure at not keeping a clean sheet even though for the majority of the game, his team dominated and scored four goals (a total they didn’t reach once last season). He’s keeping standards high, and demanding that if his team is to be scored against, it better be thanks to opposition brilliance and not complacency on his own players part.

The artist has become a commander in chief - you sense it’s exactly what Albion have needed.

All statistics used in this piece came from Fotmob.com

Jayson Molumby

Alex Mowatt

Ousmane Diakite

Rabby Nzingoula

Leave a comment

The point gained on that sunny day in late-April sealed Championship safety for West Bromwich Albion, and was hard fought and hard earned against the Premier League bound Tractor Boys. In the stands, a mixture of relief, joy, and furious defiance created the kind of intense energy that a football stadium emanates when it truly matters.

James Morrison had completed the job of steering the Baggies to safety. When he’d taken charge as interim head coach two months earlier, the team looked bereft of confidence and spirit - never more so than in Morrison’s first game, the defeat at Oxford, after which a seething Mozza publicly scolded a team that had frequently, by this point, been told they were unfit to wear the shirt by the fans, but hadn’t yet heard it from their manager.

It stirred them into action. Ten gritty unbeaten games later they hauled themselves over the line marked “survival”, even leaping the extra hurdle of the EFL imposing a two-point penalty before that Ipswich game.

Morrison was tasked with keeping the Albion in the Championship. He delivered emphatically, was rewarded with a fresh two-year deal as head coach, and backed to form his own coaching team.

So what’s the new objective, ahead of the new season?

Well surely, at the very least, it’s an improvement on the last one. You know that was a bleak campaign when after the dust has settled on it, your owner starts his open letter to the fans by saying:

“Last season was challenging and humbling, and I must begin here: I sincerely apologise to our supporters and everyone within and around the club for the extremely disappointing runs of form and other setbacks throughout what became a historically poor season.”

Full marks for contrition, Shilen Patel.

Patel’s letter expands plentifully on his aims and plans for progressing the club on and off the pitch, but it makes no mention of the aims for the season ahead - no hint of a promotion push, or to at least reach the playoffs (which from this season is achieved by finishing as low as 8th). That has generally been the target every season since relegation from the Premier League back in 2021, but following a campaign where the club survived demotion to the third tier, it’s hardly reasonable to place an objective of promotion on Morrison’s shoulders.

It’s not just Patel who experiences a “humbling” from this no longer being a realistic expectation; every Albion fan takes that on the chin, along with the realisation that the Baggies are essentially back where they were at the beginning of the millennium, fresh from escaping the Division 1 (as it was known back then, kids) trapdoor in the first months of Gary Megson’s Albion tenure.

Reason for optimism however; the following season, Megson did take Albion to the playoffs and although they fell short there, a further year later they celebrated automatic promotion to the Premier League. Don’t you go cynically thinking that jumping from survival to the playoffs in one season was possible then but wouldn’t be now - only last season, Hull City achieved promotion via the playoffs having finished 21st in the Championship in 2024/25. I’m not saying that should create any expectation of Albion repeating the feat, but it highlights that football’s a funny old game, and we love it because it always allows us to dream, thanks to so many previous stories of success against the odds.

Yet lets not get too excited just yet. We’ve also seen the other side of the coin.

Bryan Robson succeeded Megson in 2004 and achieved the most memorable and improbable of Premier League great escapes. Alas, that failed to be the springboard to better times in the top division and just a year later, following a season of drab football and drabber results, Albion were unable to escape the drop again.

Fast forward twelve years and the Baggies were relegated from the Premier League once more, but with some pride restored by a former Albion playing hero stepping up as caretaker head coach. Absolutely certain relegation under the hapless Alan Pardew almost turned into the most miraculous of escapes under Darren Moore, whose wonderful ability to build a strong sense of togetherness and spirit in the club was backed to lead Albion straight back up to the promised land in 2018/19. Unfortunately (and arguably unfairly), Moore didn’t even make it through to the end of that season.

These are cautionary tales for Morrison, who has risen to his position in very similar circumstances to Moore’s as a much loved former Albion player, who progressed through the coaching ranks at the club and was turned to as caretaker in a grim hour of need. There are echoes of both Robson and Megson in Morrison too; in Robson’s case a once classy midfield player from the north-east, part of a successful and fondly remembered Albion team. In Megson’s case, the motivational and tactical acumen for putting together a team that achieves results through, first and foremost, a bloody-mindedness not to be outcompeted or physically dominated.

We’ll have to see who Mozza ultimately and truly emulates in due course.

It’s not all on the head coach however. What about the playing squad Morrison has to work with?

The summer has not been one of radical change for the Albion team, but there have been ins and outs.

Departing The Hawthorns were the out of contract quartet of Jed Wallace, Daryl Dike, Karlan Grant, and Josh Maja. In a way, it was refreshing to see all of them go. Each represented the old Albion - the one that reeked of wasteful disappointment under the lacklustre leadership of Lai. They commanded high wages and big fees, yet often were injured, or struggling to perform. There were some good moments along the way too, flashes of quality that reminded you why the club invested in them at all, yet the return on investment was all too minimal, which did Albion no favours in terms of success on the pitch, nor for balancing the books. Best that we wish them well, and move on.

Goalkeepers Josh Griffiths and Joe Wildsmith departed too; Griffiths sold to Stoke, Wildsmith released. Both had a difficult time with the Baggies last season and were displaced by Max O’Leary in January, who proved an instant upgrade. His initial deal was a short term one, but thanks to the part he played in Albion’s survival, MOL has been retained and looks likely to start the season as Baggies No. 1, deputised by another new arrival, Matt Ingram, signed on a free from Oxford.

Albion’s other arrivals to date this summer are mostly intriguing, if not genuinely exciting. In his open letter, Patel outlined the transfer strategy:

“Our core strategy remains the same as when I arrived. We aim to build a squad of dynamic, hard-working, and well-coached players with an emphasis on talent we believe will grow in their time with us.”

Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Barney Stewart, Nolan Galves and Felix Horn Myhre certainly appear to fit the strategy. Morgan and Stewart are both forwards in their early 20’s who bring zest, pace, and hopefully goals to more than adequately replace Dike and Maja. Galves, 23, is an attacking right back signed for less than £1m from Ligue 2 Rodez in France, filling the gap left by last seasons loan hero Danny Imray, who Albion tried to tempt back but instead saw spirited away to the minted Hollywood darlings Wrexham.

Horn Myhre may well be the most exciting signing of the lot. As has now seemingly become customary, Albion have gone summer shopping in Norway and brought home a trendy Scandinavian item. Following in the footsteps of Torbjørn Heggem and Aune Heggebø, Horn Myhre sounds like he’s got a bit of everything you want in a midfielder, based on how he describes himself in his first Albion interview.

“I’m a hardworking midfielder and I can cover a lot of distance. I like to get into both boxes, I love to have the ball at my feet and I want to dictate the tempo of the game and make the other team run.”

At 27, Horn Myhre is in his prime now rather than one to develop and potentially sell for profit, but with his fee being a reportedly not all too extortionate £3m, it sounds like good business. He has former Brann team mate Heggebø to help him settle in too. Perhaps if the pair of them light it up this season, we can look forward to scenes of the whole Brummie Road End doing the Viking Row.

The one signing who doesn’t particularly fit the ‘dynamic and developable’ mantra that Patel espoused is the returning left back Conor Townsend, age 33 and back after two years at Ipswich Town where he’s rarely played and torn his ACL. What did I say earlier about the Lai days reeking of wasteful disappointment? Townsend was around for much of that era, and though he’s an experienced professional who may bring some leadership to the dressing room while playing second fiddle to Callum Styles, it seems an odd signing to me, lacking imagination and strategic benefit.

Assuming Morrison keeps to the 4-4-2 (or 4-2-2-2?) system he played last season, my best guess of what his line up will be initially is as follows.

The defence is effectively the same that finished last season, only with Galves replacing Imray and given similar licence to burst forward. That in turn will allow Horn Myhre to operate more centrally, supported by Galves’ overlaps, seeking to create for the forwards or make runs into the box. There’s also the possibility of Horn Myhre interchanging position with Jayson Molumby, who has the legs to drive forward and to allow the Norwegian to dictate play from a little deeper and more centrally.

On the left, Callum Styles and Isaac Price developed a good partnership last season and will surely continue as first choice, although the return from injury of Mikey Johnston may create competition for Price. Styles gets forward but more selectively than Galves likely will, usually allowing Price the freedom to make late runs into the area, something he’s especially adept at. Now with 18 months experience of Championship football, this could be a big season for Price; if he kicks on and gets well into double figures for goal involvements, then lucrative interest from elsewhere will probably increase.

The spine of the Albion team is solid. George Campbell’s move to centre back last season was a major contributor to Albion’s improved form under Morrison, while Nat Phillips offered rugged physicality next to him. I think Campbell is one of the first names on the team sheet now, but Phillips will need to play well if he is not to lose his place to either Chris Mepham or Kristian Bielik, both waiting in the wings and hopefully eager to impress more than they did in their first season at The Hawthorns. In central midfield, Molumby and Ousmane Diakite are the kind of rugged pair that no opponent particularly relishes coming up against - their relentless stamina and ability to win frequent duels is key to Morrison’s tactical approach.

Up top, former Chelsea prospect Jimmy-Jay Morgan has looked very promising in pre-season friendlies and is likely to start alongside Heggebø. Last season, Heggebø adapted to Championship football well and showed he can certainly put himself about, as well as score goals; but by the tail end of the season he looked knackered, primarily because when he joined the Baggies he’d already played a fair chunk of the Norwegian campaign (something we’ll need to see how Horn Myhre copes with too). In the season to come however, thanks to a summer of rest, I think we’ll see Heggebø step up a gear and lead the line strongly. Morgan appears to be complimentary to Heggebø’s grafting strongman skillset, as a flighty second striker type who makes runs in behind defences from deep and then finishes with composure. That’s the type of forward Albion missed hugely last season, and Morrison appears to know it - along with signing Morgan, there’s rumoured interest in Cameron Archer of Southampton. Barney Stewart, signed from Falkirk where he scored 8 goals in 17 games last season, appears a classic penalty box poacher and perhaps initially will be a super sub who seeks to bag winners off the bench.

I like Morrison’s tactical set up and the types of players he wants to play in it. It’s tactically interesting; far more so than the bland 4-2-3-1 employed by Carlos Corberan and then Ryan Mason, with their cautious inverting full backs and narrowing of the pitch that often made for dull, stodgy games. Morrison’s use of adventurous full backs is a breath of fresh air, as is playing two strikers, which is a fairly rare sight nowadays. This way of playing is only possible with an XI made of committed workers however, and when the team doesn’t have the ball it forms a compact 4-4-2 shape where the wide midfielders are required to track back and play their part in the two banks of four. In his defensive set up, there are definite shades of Roy Hodgson and Tony Pulis to Morrison’s choice of strategy.

In his open letter, Patel mentions our old friend the game model and promises:

“We will continue to emphasise a prudent approach to team building, with a focus on traits that fit our game model and players ready to play for the shirt.”

That game model seems to have shifted a bit since the days when former President and Sporting Director Andrew Nestor banged on about it, yet blatantly just copied what Corberan already had working; but the shift seems a positive one, and the players brought in this summer certainly do seem aligned to both the tactic and the hard working personality that Patel clearly wants the clubs’ culture to evolve from.

Overall, the squad is looking healthy enough but may benefit from a few more additions to offer greater depth.

O’Leary is a decent keeper, but Ingram seems more of an emergency back up who you don’t really want to actually call into action, rather than a stopper who’s genuinely going to compete for the gloves. In two years at Oxford, he made one league appearance plus six in the cups. Former Baggie Alex Palmer appears surplus to requirements at Ipswich Town and rumours persist that he may return, but he’ll be on good wages nowadays that may stretch Albion’s budget a little further than it can be. If Palmer is not to return, then an alternative is necessary to find.

In defence, there’s a plethora of centre halves available but at full back, it’s a different story. Styles and Galves appear the obvious first choices, but beneath them are Townsend, who’s fitness is in question until proven otherwise, and young Alex Williams, who looked set to compete for first team opportunities last season but then suffered an ankle break that stalled his progress. He’s been given minutes during pre-season however, and appears to be part of the first team squad according to the Albion website, so hopefully he is ready to at least deputise for Galves, if not push the Frenchman for his place. If such a player is available however, it may be wise to bring in a full back comfortable on either flank to provide extra cover and competition.

In midfield, Albion’s depth could be improved. Alex Mowatt can slot into the central two, as can Horn Myhre, Price, or even Styles; but if Diakite were not available, I see no direct replacement for him as the midfield powerhouse, especially as Souleyman Mandey, who looked a possible candidate for that role, has now been sold. Youngster Matt Crowther, all 6’3 of him, may develop to come into contention eventually but he is yet to play first team football and might benefit from a loan spell at a lower level first. In the more advanced wide midfield roles, it’s possible Johnston could play there; plus lets see if Harry Whitwell or Ollie Bostock may stake a claim, although unlike Williams they appear to be in Albion's PL2 squad, and may end up out on loan for more regular first team action. An addition to truly compete with Price and Horn Myrhe may be wise to draft in, if the right player is available.

In attack, we’ll see if Morrison can add Archer or another proven Championship goal scorer, but there is already reasonable depth with Heggebø, Morgan, Stewart, Johnston (who Morrison has hinted may be used in a more central attacking role from now on) and, if he can stay fit, might Tammer Bany at last show us why Albion bought him back in January 2025?

So, circling back to the question of what is the aim for this season - realistically?

Personally I think a mid table finish, with a small possibility of playoff contention should Albion sign Palmer and Archer (or suitable equivalents), plus one or two further midfielders, to collectively provide the squad depth needed to challenge for the top eight.

Bettering that would be some effort. It has to be appreciated that Albion are still in the process of righting several years of wrong, and are therefore a mid table Championship club with a mid table Championship budget these days, just as Jeremy Peace famously said Albion were anyway, before selling the club to Lai and effectively locking in that destiny.

The clubs coming down from the Premier League will have the usual parachute payment power and therefore should challenge for promotion. Burnley know the drill; we’ll have to see how West Ham and Wolves handle the shock and depression of relegation, but they certainly have the cash to build teams easily capable of a swift return to the big time. Southampton also have parachute money and looked ominously strong ahead of the playoffs last season, at least before they were outed as spying cheats and disqualified. The four point penalty they start the season with shouldn’t prevent them from being in the running for promotion.

Then there’s the affluent ambitious sorts who don’t have parachute money, but are further down the road of having their house in profitable order than Albion are. Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, and Wrexham have done some impressive business so far this summer and likely will do more before the transfer window shuts. Those three will all be aiming for the playoffs at least.

Then there’s the rest of us, Albion included. This isn’t a season for promotion expectation, it’s one for enjoying rather more than the last (please!) and for seeking signs that the club has now truly turned a corner under the stewardship of Bilkul Albion. It’s a fresh start, there are new faces to bring intrigue and excitement, led by a highly familiar face in the dug out. Behind the scenes the club now seems settled, with all the key positions filled now that Dominic Price has arrived as Technical Director. It’s time to push on and commence the climb back to where Albion should be, and the season that begins this Saturday with a League Cup clash at Rotherham is one that starts mainly with a sense of realism, but also a glint of optimism.

The Hawthorns atmosphere is set to crackle once more. Here’s hoping it’s a successful season ahead Baggies.

Thoughts and feedback welcome as always, dear reader! How are you feeling about the season ahead? Where do you think Albion may finish? Where do you think the team needs strengthening - and with whom? Leave a comment to let me know.

Leave a comment

We all know that chant - sung with a kind of innocent pride at the lad living our dream, representing our club, having grafted his way through the academy and youth teams. There’s an extra warmth if he’s local too, one of ours in every sense.

Albion’s academy has produced plenty of players who’ve carved out solid - and in some cases impressive - professional careers in recent years. Many of our graduates are thriving across the footballing world, which makes it all the more frustrating that so many of “our own” are doing it in colours other than navy and white.

There are reasons for that, of course, and I’ll come to them later. But first, I’ve put together an Albion Academy Departees XI: players still active today, where they are now, why they left, and the question that inevitably follows - if you brought them all back together, how good would they actually be?

The WBA Academy Departees

Rules of selection for each player:

• Must still be playing professionally (as recently as season 2025/26)

• Must have made at least one appearance for an Albion youth team

• Must have made a first team appearance for another club since leaving WBA

• Current Albion players not included

Goalkeeper - Alex Palmer

Alex Palmer is a tall, calm, technically reliable goalkeeper whose game is built on positioning, handling security, and consistency rather than spectacular athleticism. He is a classic steady No.1: dependable and composed.

Born in Kidderminster in 1996, and making his senior debut there on loan at Harriers, Palmer first appeared in an Albion squad as an unused sub in a 4–1 defeat at Arsenal in May 2015. What followed was the classic goalkeeper apprenticeship: Kidderminster (twice), Oldham, Notts County, Plymouth, Lincoln and Luton, before finally making his Albion debut in August 2021. Fittingly, it was again against Arsenal, in the infamous League Cup tie where Valérien Ismaël fielded the kids and reserves and Albion were thrashed 6–0.

His league debut didn’t come until September 2022, when Steve Bruce finally dropped the hapless David Button for a 1–0 defeat at Preston. A clean sheet against Luton followed, Bruce was removed shortly after with Albion 23rd, and Palmer became Carlos Corberán’s No.1 - and arguably our most reliable keeper since Ben Foster.

His importance was laid bare that season. With Palmer, Albion averaged 1.74 points per game. During his 12‑game injury absence, that fell to 1.50, with Button and fellow academy graduate Josh Griffiths deputising. Had Palmer stayed fit and the PPG held, Albion would almost certainly have made the playoffs instead of finishing 9th - a remarkable turnaround given the mess Bruce left behind.

In 2023/24, Palmer was ever‑present as Albion did reach the playoffs, keeping 18 clean sheets and another in the home leg of the semi‑final against Southampton, but was powerless to stop the Saints in the second leg of the tie.

Ipswich came calling the following season, signing Palmer for a reported £2m rising potentially to £5m. Before leaving on January deadline day, he’d played 30 more games for Albion in 2024/25, keeping 11 clean sheets and conceding just 27 goals. His departure hurt: Joe Wildsmith and Griffiths couldn’t match his level, and Albion again drifted to 9th, a repeat of the Palmer‑shaped dip from two years earlier.

At Ipswich, Palmer couldn’t prevent their immediate Premier League relegation, playing 13 games, conceding 30 and keeping no clean sheets. Back in the Championship last season, he began as No.1 but a calf injury against Charlton in October saw Christian Walton take over. Palmer played only two FA Cup ties as Ipswich secured automatic promotion barely using his services.

That limited involvement has sparked talk of a possible Albion return - especially if Ipswich recruit a top‑flight keeper. Yet with Max O’Leary now signed up for more, it’s unclear how realistic that is; but few Albion fans would turn down the chance to see Palmer back at The Hawthorns.

Right back - Taylor Gardner-Hickman

Born in Telford in 2001, Taylor Gardner‑Hickman is a versatile, technically sharp, high‑energy midfielder who can also operate at right‑back or wing‑back. He’s one of those players whose value comes from intelligence, adaptability, and clean technique rather than raw physicality. At his best, he’s a progressive passer, aggressive presser, and tempo‑setter.

“TGH” is something of a utility man, and there are question marks over which position suits him best. I’ve slotted him into this team at right back, not where he’s played the most but due to a dearth of alternative options amongst our academy grads, he gets the nod from me. Inverted wing-backs who roam into midfield are all the rage these days anyway, right?

Like Palmer, Gardner‑Hickman first appeared in an Albion squad as an unused sub in a defeat at Arsenal (May 2021), and like Palmer he made his debut in that same 6–0 League Cup hiding a few months later. His breakthrough came in 2021/22 under Valérien Ismaël, whose frantic 3‑4‑3 style suited TGH’s energy and versatility. After Ismaël’s departure, Steve Bruce used him mainly in central midfield, and it was in that role he scored his first Albion goal, a fizzing long‑range strike at Reading. Bruce wasn’t there to see it however, as it came in the first game after he was sacked.

Corberán’s arrival effectively marked the beginning of the end. He saw TGH as a central midfielder, but with Okay Yokuşlu, Jayson Molumby and Alex Mowatt ahead of him, minutes were scarce. Even Nathaniel Chalobah was preferred. In summer 2023 he joined Bristol City on loan with an option to buy, which was triggered in January after 40 appearances. Yet by August 2024 he was deemed expendable and sent back to the West Midlands, joining relegated Birmingham City on loan - again with an option to buy, again activated in January. He made 44 appearances, mostly at right‑back, as Blues cruised to the League 1 title.

The pattern repeated in 2025: another loan, this time to Blackburn Rovers, another option to buy. He played 31 games, almost all in central midfield, helping Rovers avoid the drop. This time, though, the option wasn’t taken up, so he returns to Birmingham this summer, and you wouldn’t rule out yet another loan.

Could that next move be back to Albion, as some have suggested for Palmer? It’s possible, but nothing concrete has emerged, and if Albion do bring in a right‑back, most fans would far rather see Danny Imray return after his excellent loan spell.

Centre Back - Dara O’Shea

Dara O’Shea is a modern, front‑foot, ball‑playing centre‑back who mixes old‑school defensive commitment with a calm, composed style in possession. He’s intelligent, tactically adaptable, and one of those defenders who quietly raises the level of the back line through positioning, anticipation, and reliability.

Signed from Dublin’s St Kevin’s Boys in 2015, O’Shea worked his way through the academy and after loans spells at Hereford and Exeter, earned his Albion debut under Slaven Bilić in 2019. Bilić often used him as a defensive right‑back, particularly in the second half of the promotion season when fellow academy graduate Nathan Ferguson’s injuries derailed his career. O’Shea played his part in going up and then made 28 Premier League appearances the following year - a grim campaign for Albion, but valuable experience for him. He later credited Branislav Ivanović for helping him mature as a defender during that season.

He started 2021/22 superbly under Valérien Ismaël, scoring twice in the first five games as Albion went unbeaten. Then came the turning point: on international duty against Portugal in September 2021, he broke his ankle in a challenge with Diogo Jota. The game is remembered more for his shithousery that wound up Cristiano Ronaldo enough to miss a penalty, but the injury kept him out for six months. By the time he returned in February, Ismaël had been sacked. O’Shea played every minute of the final five matches, mirroring the strong start he’d made before the injury.

The following season he was ever‑present under both Bruce and Corberán until, once again, international duty intervened - a March 2023 injury ended his season early and, like Palmer’s absence, contributed to Albion falling short of the playoffs. That summer he joined promoted Burnley for £7m to play under Vincent Kompany. He couldn’t prevent their immediate relegation in 2023/24, but he’d shown enough to stay in the top flight, moving to another newly promoted side, Ipswich.

Unfortunately, the pattern continued: Ipswich went straight back down too. Three Premier League seasons, three different clubs, three relegations. Last season, though, he was a key figure as Ipswich bounced straight back up again. Let’s see if 2026/27 is fourth‑time lucky for Dara.

Centre Back - Caleb Taylor

Like father, like son; Caleb Taylor is a big, dominant, old‑school centre‑half, the kind of defender who thrives on physical battles, aerial duels, and protecting his box, just like his dad Martin was. He’s not a modern ball‑playing sweeper; he’s a defensive specialist whose strengths are built on size, timing, and commitment.

Caleb was born in Burnley in 2003, but raised in Dorridge thanks to Martin’s move from Blackburn to Birmingham in 2004, where he played for six years and perhaps most famously encountered Arsene Wenger demanding he face a lifetime ban from football, after he snapped Arsenal forward Eduardo’s leg in half with a strong (yet not malicious) challenge.

Taylor junior joined Albion’s academy from U10’s level and just like Gardner-Hickman, made the Albion match day squad for the first time for the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal in May 2021. His debut came in - you guessed it! - the 6-0 walloping in the League Cup the following August. He didn’t see any first team action again until a 28 minute cameo in the final game of the season, a 4-0 win against Barnsley. A week later, he captained Albion’s U23 side to a PL Cup Final victory at The Hawthorns against Wolves, a 2-2 draw that the Baggies youngsters won on penalties.

His first proper step into senior football came with a season‑long loan at Cheltenham Town in 2022/23, where he made 45 appearances and helped them finish 16th in League One. The following year was more stop‑start: limited minutes for Albion, then a January loan to Bolton cut short by an ankle injury after just seven games. In 2024/25 he headed back to League One with Wycombe Wanderers, this time playing regularly and impressing. Albion briefly recalled him in January, and he scored his only goal for the club in a 5–1 cup defeat at Bournemouth, before returning to Wycombe to continue his development.

By summer 2025, many Albion fans hoped Taylor might finally be ready to step up to Championship level. He was - just not for us. Albion sold him to Millwall for around £2.5m, the kind of pure academy profit that always appeals when the books need balancing. At The Den he formed a towering partnership with Jake Cooper (together they have a combined height of 12ft 10in!) and helped Millwall keep 18 clean sheets, the most in the Championship, on their way to a surprise third‑place finish before losing to Hull in the playoffs.

Left Back - Zac Ashworth

Zac Ashworth is an intelligent left‑sided defender; a calm, technically clean footballer who offers control, intelligence and reliability rather than raw athleticism. He’s naturally a left‑back, but he has also been used as a left centre‑back in a back three because of his composure and distribution.

Left‑backs haven’t exactly flowed out of the Albion academy in recent years, so Ashworth gets the nod here - though the most memorable thing about him at The Hawthorns was arguably his surname. As the son of former Technical Director Dan Ashworth, he came through the system during the academy’s most admired era, in no short part thanks to his father being in charge.

Zac made just two senior appearances for Albion, debuting as a substitute in a 1–0 win at Reading in 2022 and featuring again against Barnsley on the final day. Over the next two seasons he went out on loan to Burton Albion and then Bolton to build experience, before being sold to Blackpool in 2024. Game time was initially limited there, prompting a loan to Ross County, but he returned to Bloomfield Road and made 28 appearances for the Tangerines in 2025/26.

Central Midfielder - Sam Field

Sam Field is a tall, left‑footed defensive midfielder whose game is built on positioning, work‑rate, and reliability. He is not a flashy playmaker, he is a control-and-destroy type of midfielder, valued for discipline, defensive intelligence, and consistency.

Field is as local as they come - born in Stourbridge, raised by Albion fans, and a genuine boyhood Baggie. He made his Premier League debut just after turning 18, coming on as a late sub for Tony Pulis against Liverpool on the final day of 2015/16. More appearances followed the next season, split between the first team and the U23s.

His real breakthrough seemed to arrive in 2017/18 when he started the first two Premier League games, both 1–0 wins over Bournemouth and Burnley. Then came the Pulis slump: ten winless games, no minutes for Field, and Pulis eventually sacked. Caretaker manager Gary Megson briefly restored him, and Field scored his first Albion goal in a draw against Newcastle, one that lit up The Hawthorns given Sam’s well known Baggies affiliation. However, once Alan Pardew arrived for his ill‑fated stint, Field was back to the fringes as Albion’s eight‑year Premier League stay came to an end.

Relegation didn’t bring the fresh start he needed. Darren Moore barely used him in the league, preferring the experienced likes of Livermore, Barry, Morrison and Brunt, though Field did play every minute of Albion’s six cup ties. The following season, Slaven Bilić loaned him to Charlton, where Field made 18 appearances before a knee injury side-lined him until the post‑Covid restart. Albion were promoted without him, and back in the Premier League Sam again struggled for minutes.

In January 2021 he left for QPR, initially on loan, and finally found the regular football he’d been denied at The Hawthorns. He joined The Hoops permanently that summer and became a key figure in their midfield for several seasons, only losing his place in 2025/26 and heading to Norwich on loan for the second half of the campaign.

Where he goes next is unclear, but if Albion ever offered the chance of a homecoming, you’d imagine the lifelong Baggie would see it as the opportunity to grasp the first team football he always hoped for at B71.

Central Midfielder - Tim Iroegbunam

Birmingham-born Timothy Emeka Iroegbunam is a powerful, energetic central midfielder whose game is built on ball-carrying, ball-winning, and athletic coverage of midfield spaces.

Iroegbunam came through Albion’s academy, playing for the U18s and U23s, and made the bench for the final game of the 2020/21 season - a defeat at Leeds, and the last time Albion were seen in the Premier League, but just the beginning of the journey there for Tim.

That summer he was poached by Aston Villa, who had become a magnet for Albion’s former academy staff after several defected across the Midlands, reportedly unhappy with how Technical Director Luke Dowling was running things. Iroegbunam wasn’t the only promising youngster to make that move - as we’ll come to later.

He made a handful of senior appearances for Villa before heading to QPR on loan for 2022/23, where he played 32 times in midfield (alongside Sam Field). The following season he featured intermittently back at Villa Park, and in 2024 he was sold to Everton for around £9m - a deal that looked as much about balancing the books as footballing logic, with Villa and Everton both dancing around Profit and Sustainability limits. Lewis Dobbin went the other way for a similar fee, which, based on his later disastrous loan spell at Albion, now looks like daylight robbery by Everton.

Iroegbunam has settled well in the blue half of Liverpool however and looks like much better value for money, becoming a regular under David Moyes and making 52 appearances for The Toffees to date.

Right Winger - Tom Fellows

Tom Fellows is a proper chalk on his boots type winger, who beats his man with pace and trickery, and gets a cross into the box for the forwards. His signature move is the stepover, remarkable in that it’s so predictable and yet so difficult to stop for opposition full backs. The service he provides is a strikers dream.

Fellows, born in Birmingham, joined Albion’s youth teams at U10’s level and is another of Ismael’s debut lambs slaughtered in that bloody 6-0 defeat to Arsenal in 2021. After a season‑long loan at Crawley Town in 2022/23, he returned to The Hawthorns as an impact substitute, embracing the role of late‑game runner at tired legs. It wasn’t too long before he was properly breaking into the side in the second half of the campaign, and from January onwards he contributed four goals and three assists as Albion reached the playoffs, eventually falling to Southampton in the semi‑finals.

In 2024/25, Fellows went up another level. He became Albion’s first‑choice right‑winger, racking up 14 assists and earning a place in the England U21 squad that won the European Championship, even if he didn’t feature heavily. Interest was inevitable, and with Albion needing to comply with PSR, Southampton - freshly relegated but flush with parachute payments - made their move. Fellows joined the Saints in August 2025 for an initial £8m, potentially rising to £10m with add‑ons.

He delivered eight assists in his first season on the south coast and helped Southampton back into the playoff mix, only for “Spy‑gate” to derail their promotion hopes entirely.

Attacking Midfielder - Finn Azaz

Finn Azaz is a technically gifted, intelligent, creative attacking midfielder - the kind of player who knits attacks together rather than relying on raw pace or physicality. His game is built on vision, timing, and clever movement, and he’s developed into one of the most effective final‑third playmakers in the EFL in recent years.

Born in Westminster but raised in Birmingham, Azaz joined Albion’s academy at nine and developed into one of the most technically gifted youngsters in the system. He never made a senior appearance for the Baggies, instead making his professional debut on loan at Cheltenham Town in 2020/21. When his Albion contract expired that summer, Aston Villa snapped him up - part of the wider trend of Albion prospects heading across the Midlands.

Villa immediately sent him out again, this time to Newport County, where he impressed enough to be named League Two Young Player of the Season. In 2022 he stepped up to League One with Plymouth Argyle and helped them win promotion, then returned on loan for their Championship campaign in 2023/24. He took to the second tier instantly, producing seven goals and five assists by January before Villa recalled him to sell him to Middlesbrough for £2.5m.

Azaz continued his rise at the Riverside, earning his Republic of Ireland debut in March 2024 and finishing the following season with 12 goals and 11 assists - one of the Championship’s standout attacking midfielders.

Southampton, as they had with Tom Fellows, moved for him in August 2025, paying £12m. He delivered 10 goals and 7 assists in his first season on the south coast, cementing his reputation as a true No.10: creator, scorer, and constant threat to opposition defences. Letting him leave for nothing five years earlier looks, in hindsight, a painful misstep for Albion.

Left Winger - Morgan Rogers

Rogers is an exceptional talent - the best player to come through Albion’s academy in recent history. He’s a tall, powerful, technically gifted attacking midfielder/winger whose game blends ball-carrying, creativity, and intelligent movement. Which makes it rather annoying that he’s thriving for, even winning a trophy for, them down the road.

Born in Halesowen, Rogers joined Albion’s academy at seven and was long regarded as one of the club’s brightest prospects. He made his senior debut at just 16 in an FA Cup replay against Brighton in February 2019. That summer, Manchester City swooped in with an initial £4m deal - potentially rising to £8m - and Albion lost another elite talent before they’d had the chance to benefit from him.

Rogers spent four years at City without making a first‑team appearance, developing in their academy and taking in loans at Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool. In 2023 he moved to Middlesbrough for £1.5m plus a hefty sell‑on clause, and it was there his career finally ignited. Within months, Aston Villa triggered an £8m deal to bring him back to the Midlands in February 2024.

What followed was extraordinary. Rogers has since produced 31 goals and 29 assists for Villa, become a full England international, and won the Europa League - scoring in the final. His blend of power, ball‑carrying and end product has made him one of the most coveted young attackers in Europe.

At the time of writing, he’s being linked with some of the continent’s biggest clubs for a fee that could reach nine figures. If Middlesbrough really did secure a 20% sell‑on, then they’re about to hit the jackpot.

Striker - Chris Wood

Chris Wood is a classic, physically dominant centre‑forward who combines aerial power, penalty‑box instinct, and intelligent link‑play. He is not a modern “press-and-sprint” striker - instead, he excels as a target man, a finisher, and a focal point for direct or transitional teams.

Wood is the least local lad in this XI - born in Auckland in 1991 - but his route across the globe to The Hawthorns was pure chance. Former Albion academy coach Roger Wilkinson was working at Hamilton Wanderers and tipped the club off about a powerful 17‑year‑old striker worth a look. Wood impressed on trial and, within months, made his Premier League debut in April 2009 during an injury crisis, featuring against Portsmouth just weeks before Albion were relegated under Tony Mowbray.

He signed his first professional deal that summer and became a squad striker under Roberto Di Matteo as Albion won immediate promotion in 2009/10. Early that season he scored his first goal for the club against Doncaster, where after bumping a couple of defenders aside he smashed home a stunning 25‑yard half-volley, still one of the best strikes I’ve seen at The Hawthorns. A few months later, aged just 18, he was representing New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Promotion was great for Albion, but less so for Wood. With forwards like Peter Odemwingie, Shane Long and later Romelu Lukaku ahead of him, he spent the next few seasons on loan at Barnsley, Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol City and Millwall. In January 2013 he left permanently, joining Leicester City for £1m.

After helping Leicester to promotion but failing to fully convince in the Premier League, Wood moved to Leeds in 2015. It was at Elland Road that he truly exploded, scoring 44 goals in 88 games and earning a £15m move to Burnley. Under Sean Dyche he became one of the league’s most reliable penalty‑box forwards, scoring 53 goals in 165 games across five and a half seasons.

Newcastle triggered his £25m release clause in January 2022, a survival‑driven move at the time that ultimately kept the Toon up and sent Burnley down. Wood’s spell on Tyneside was mixed however, and in January 2023 he joined Nottingham Forest, initially on loan before completing a £15m transfer that summer.

At Forest he has enjoyed a late‑career renaissance, scoring 41 goals in 102 games to date. Never reliant on pace, his game has aged well: strength, movement, aerial dominance and penalty‑box instinct - traits that tend to endure long after the legs slow down.

The stories of these players underline a simple truth: most academy graduates don’t stay at their boyhood club forever. There are the rare one club men - Giggs, Maldini, Totti, Puyol, Carragher - but they’re the exceptions, that tend to only be possible for world class players at clubs already at the highest level… and Tony Hibbert.

For most, one of three things happens, and the first is the most brutal for the club that hones their talent.

They get poached while still very young

The fight for young talent is ferocious, especially with the richest clubs circling like sharks. Morgan Rogers is the perfect example: just 17, with a single senior appearance to his name, and Manchester City swooped in with a deal rising to £8m. He never made it at the Etihad, but his rise since shows exactly why they were willing to gamble so early.

For clubs outside the Premier League - or even those in its lower reaches - it’s almost impossible to keep hold of the brightest prospects now. If a young Bryan Robson were in Albion’s academy today, City, Villa, Chelsea and the rest would be offering him and his family a king’s ransom before he’d even finished his GCSEs.

The modern example here is Jude Bellingham. Birmingham did well just to keep him long enough for him to play one full Championship season at 17, but then sold him to Dortmund for £25m - and promptly retired his number 22 shirt, a gesture usually reserved for decades of service, not a single teenage season.

Albion have felt this with more than just Rogers. Louie Barry, spoken of as one of the finest talents in the land at age 16, left for Barcelona in 2019 for no fee at all, only to end up - inevitably - at Villa. Unlike Rogers, his career hasn’t taken off, but the principle remains: if a giant wants your kid, you’re fighting a losing battle.

They aren’t good enough (yet)

Even when a young player shows real promise, they often need more time, more minutes and more physical development before they can genuinely challenge for a first‑team place. For most, that means loans - and the pattern of those loans usually tells you how the story ends.

A couple of well‑chosen loans can be the making of a player. Dara O’Shea (two spells) and Tom Fellows (one) returned stronger, earned their chance and never looked back, eventually becoming key players who were sold for sizeable fees. But it’s not a guaranteed pathway: Sam Field had a productive spell at Charlton, yet when Albion were promoted he still couldn’t get a look‑in and ultimately had to move on to QPR to play regularly.

When the loans start piling up, the writing is usually on the wall. Players develop, but they also get tired of waiting. Caleb Taylor and Chris Wood both went out repeatedly, came back to find the door still closed, and eventually left to launch their careers elsewhere - Wood becoming a Premier League stalwart, Taylor now looking like he might follow a similar upward curve.

The one real exception is goalkeepers. Their development curve is slower, and multiple loans are almost expected. Alex Palmer had several before finally becoming Albion’s No.1, and Josh Griffiths has followed a similar path, albeit without yet convincing he’s ready to inherit the gloves. Keepers peak later, so a long list of temporary homes doesn’t derail them in the same way it does outfield players.

The third and final reason is a much more modern phenomenon.

Profit on the books

Football clubs have always sold players. Sometimes because they have to, sometimes because the offer is too good to refuse. But in the age of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), a player’s book value has become just as important as their footballing value.

When a club buys a player, the transfer fee and employment costs are spread across the length of their contract. A £10m outlay on a five‑year deal becomes £2m a year on the books. Sell that player with two years left for anything above the remaining £4m, and the surplus counts as pure profit.

Academy players, though? They cost almost nothing. No transfer fee, low wages, minimal amortisation. Their book value is tiny, but their market value can be huge. And when a club is staring down the barrel of PSR penalties, that gap becomes irresistible. Yes, a young player might be worth even more next year… but he might get injured, lose form, or turn out to be an appalling individual who makes national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Better to bank the guaranteed profit now.

This becomes even more attractive - or necessary - when a club has been run into the ground. Imagine, for instance, an owner who drains money out of the club while sanctioning around £56m on overpriced duds like Oliver Burke, Kenneth Zohore, Grady Diangana and Karlan Grant… only for all four to eventually leave for nothing. In that scenario, the next regime is left scrambling to plug holes, and the quickest way to do that is to sell academy graduates for less than their true worth.

That’s how you end up with Alex Palmer going for at most £5m, Dara O’Shea for £7m, and Tom Fellows for £8m. Around £20m combined for three established first‑team players - not great value, but when you’re over a barrel, you take what you can get.

And then you get a points deduction anyway for spurious reasons. Gah!!

So then dear reader, the Albion Academy Departees XI in full:

Looking across this XI, the pattern is unmistakable. Every player’s story - whether they became a Premier League regular, a Europa League winner, a Championship stalwart or a nearly‑man - feeds into the same truth: academies produce talent, but they rarely get to keep it.

Some are poached before they’ve even had a chance to lace their boots in the first team. Some simply aren’t ready yet and need the kind of game time their parent club can’t offer. And some, in the modern era, are sold because the balance sheet demands it, not because the manager or fans want to lose them. Albion’s recent history has featured all three in abundance.

And yet, when you put them together - Palmer, O’Shea, Fellows, Rogers, Azaz, Wood and the rest - you see the scale of what the club has produced. This isn’t a wistful “what might have been” XI made up of players who fizzled out. It’s a team full of internationals, promotion winners, top‑flight regulars, and players who have commanded serious transfer fees. A team that, if kept together in some alternate universe, would probably be pushing for the Premier League, or even competing within it.

But that’s the nature of football now. The academy is both a development pathway and a revenue stream. The best kids attract predators. The nearly‑ready ones need loans. The ones who break through become assets. And when a club has been mismanaged, or is boxed in by PSR, those assets get cashed in.

What this XI really shows is that Albion’s academy has continued to do its job - even through years of chaos, churn and questionable leadership. It has produced players good enough for the Premier League, good enough for Europe, good enough to be sold for serious money. The frustration isn’t that the talent isn’t there. It’s that Albion haven’t always been in a position to benefit from it.

Maybe that changes in the years ahead. Maybe the next generation - the Bostock’s, the Whitwell’s, the next wave of U18s - get to stay a little longer, play a little more, and form the spine of a team that grows together rather than disperses, especially as the club effectively begins a new era under the stewardship of Bilkul Albion.

But even if they don’t, this XI stands as proof of what the club, and its region, can still produce. A reminder that, whatever else has gone wrong, the conveyor belt has kept turning. And that somewhere out there, in a school hall in Sandwell or a park in Smethwick, the next one is already pulling on a pair of boots.

Soon enough, there will be another young talented lad who we serenade as one of our own.

I’d love to know your thoughts, in the comments below, how you feel this XI would do were it actually put together? What level do you think it would operate at, and which former (or current?) Albion manager would be best for getting the most out if this line up?

Let me know in the comments below, and thank you as always for spending some reading time in The Throstles Nest.

Leave a comment

Somewhat fittingly, it ended disappointingly last weekend. A 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday that brought back memories of just how grim it had all been for the Baggies under previous head coaches Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay. Two soft goals conceded (one of them to former Albion midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah), and a tragically limp attacking performance where even Albion’s 1 came via a pathetic attempted set piece delivery, that fortunately fell kindly via a deflection for Karlan Grant to stab home. Did that lead to a rousing attempted come back? Did it heck.

James Morrison’s 12-game tenure through to the end of the season was bookended by listless 2-1 defeats away to teams ultimately relegated from the Championship. Thankfully, the ten games in-between were an unbeaten run that ensured Albion didn’t drop too, despite the EFL docking the club two points in the meantime. That run of performances and results deservedly led to Morrison getting the gig full time, a two-year deal to lead the Baggies into next season and, fingers crossed, for those two years and more successfully.

The last time Albion finished 21st in the second-tier, it was the beginning of both the 21st century and of a new era under a manager who would become pivotal in the clubs history. Gary Megson had taken the reigns in early March and steered the club to safety, by making a previously soft side suddenly much harder to beat and ready to get competitively stuck in. 26 years later, Morrison repeated the trick.

If he can repeat what Megson did after that, he’ll go down in Albion folklore - even more than he already has, given he’s been at the club as a successful player and then coach for nearly two decades.

The chance to continue has been handed to Morrison, deservedly so. After much of the season was spent treading water under Mason, then nearly drowning under Ramsay, it turned out the right man for the job was in the building all along. A fortunate outcome too, given owners Bilkul Albion have not established a positive track record of hiring head coaches to date.

The rescue from the relegation scrap was sensational, and now Morrison needs to be supported to avoid his team ending up in the same tedious melee next season. The good news is that he has already formed a template on which to build. You don’t see many teams play 4-4-2 anymore, yet Morrison’s Albion found the balance every team desires playing in that formation; devilishly difficult to break down, whilst still being dangerous in attack. This was aided by Morrison finding the right partnerships in each area of the team.

The system worked best with most of the width on the right - Danny Imray, the best attacking full back seen at Albion in years, pushing forward along with an out and out winger in Jed Wallace, both able to deliver crosses for the forwards. On the left, Isaac Price would naturally drift into midfield while full back Callum Styles would judiciously pick his moments for when to spring forward on the overlap or when to just sit and be available to recycle possession. In central midfield the industrious engines of Jayson Molumby and Ousmane Diakite provided steel and stamina, necessary when up against the majority of teams who would play three in midfield. At centre back, Nat Phillips and George Campbell were both commanding aerially and crucially, Campbell’s pace offered genuine covering protection to the slower Phillips, and allowed the whole defence to step up higher, enabling the rest of the team to press with more confidence. Up front, any two from the the three rotated forwards Aune Heggebø, Daryl Dike, and Josh Maja offered muscular physicality as an outlet duo who would press off the ball and threaten from crosses and set plays.

These 11 players, along with goalkeeper Max O’Leary and stand in central midfielder Alex Mowatt, were the core group who Morrison trusted almost exclusively to claw Albion to survival. When Wallace got injured, Molumby was pushed out wide and Mowatt came into the side in central midfield. The rest of the squad available to Morrison were primarily young lads, who he did not want to thrust into a relegation battle. Their day may come, but Mozza needed men in this situation.

The reason for his trust in that core group was laid bare in the Sheffield Wednesday game. Swapping out just two of them - Phillips and Molumby, replaced by Alfie Gilchrist and Ollie Bostock - exposed weaknesses that even the worst team in the Championship could take advantage of. Without Phillips’ leadership and aerial prowess, Albion messily conceded twice from set pieces. Without Molumby’s tenacity and non-stop running, Albion looked sluggish. Throughout the game the team looked inept in attack, and that didn’t improve whatsoever when Tammer Bany and Grant were introduced at half time along with Dike. Grant did score with an opportunistic toe poke from a set piece that fell kindly to him, but otherwise delivered his standard meek left wing performance. Bany was eager but his first touch often let him down and he doesn’t appear to possess the physical qualities needed in the Championship. Wednesday sat deep and easily repelled the predictable, ponderous attempts Albion made to break into the final third.

Okay, it was a dead rubber game after survival had already been earned, but it highlighted that Morrison needs greater depth in his squad next season, and that’s while he still has the soon to be out of contract Dike, Maja, Wallace, Grant, and O’Leary around. It wouldn’t be surprising if one or two of them sign new deals at The Hawthorns, but most are high earners (with concerning injury records) on the kind of contract the club can no longer offer, so don’t be surprised should most if not all need to be replaced. Imray has been on loan and impressed so much that the club are apparently very keen to keep him - hopefully a deal can be done there, even if simply another loan spell from his parent club Crystal Palace.

Over to you, Director of Footballing Operations Ian Pearce. But may I recommend learning some lessons from the past two years recruitment - here’s what I’d venture as the “don’t do this again” list of actions:

1. Don’t sign six centre backs in one window like you did last summer - Campbell, Phillips, Gilchrist, Charlie Taylor, Chris Mepham, and Kristian Bielik. Signed to play in a back four. Attempts to play any of them at full back didn’t work and we don’t want to see that anyway, it was okay for surviving in the Premier League under Tony Pulis but in the Championship we like full backs who can get forward and support attacks.

2. Don’t sign Aston Villa players on loan. In case you’re unaware, Albion fans don’t like Villa and don’t want their club to develop their youngsters, not even when they’re a former Baggie from a family of Baggies like Jamal-Jimoh Aloba. It’s even worse when they turn out to be rubbish players like Lewis Dobbin or Samuel Iling-Junior. Stop it.

3. Don’t sell key players and then fail to replace them adequately. Everyone understands why Tom Fellows was sold for much needed profit to support the clubs financial situation, but effectively replacing him with Iling-Junior was madness. Selling Darnell Furlong and then just expecting one of the centre backs to fill in was also poor squad planning.

4. Don’t keep Grant - it’s been six years of “Klarna”, the best of which for Albion was the one when he got turfed out on loan to Cardiff. Signed for £15m to be the supposed centre forward who would score the goals Albion needed in the Premier League, Grant ended up being a jobbing Championship left winger of little end product. Don’t keep Maja or Wallace either, both have shown quality at times but we need more pace and they’re expensively slow and injury prone players.

Do try to re-sign Imray and O’Leary, and Dike too if he wants to stay but on reduced and realistic terms.

Do sign players with more pace and attacking adventure, especially on the wings to compete for a place with Price and Mikey Johnston, and a quick forward who can get in behind defences would be ideal too.

By all means do keep shopping in Norway, given Heggebø and Torbjorn Heggem have been good signings. The profit made on Heggem was impressive, and Heggebø was Albion’s top scorer this season - not bad for his first season in the Championship, and after a well earned break this summer I believe he will kick on and improve further next term.

The club would do well to keep hold of coach Matt Gill too, if possible - behind the scenes he appears to have been an established, quality coach on Morrison’s staff. If he doesn’t stay however then a good replacement for him is added to the list of vacancies in the coming weeks.

No doubt recruitment will not be easy against the backdrop of financial difficulty that remains at Albion - but hopefully, worries around that can now reduce to some extent. Shilen Patel and his board have done much to remedy the situation inherited when they bought the club, and even though that still could not prevent the points penalty for a PSR breach this season, the responsible work undertaken will set Albion onto a safer financial footing moving forward. How much freedom that offers the club to spend in this summers market however, we will have to wait and see - you can’t rule out the possibility of Albion selling further first team players if there is reasonable interest in their services.

If the club can spend, and spend smart, then there can be optimism that next season will be much improved in comparison to this one. It’s too early to make predictions, as we don’t know what the squad will look like yet, but in Mozza we trust off the back of his sterling survival success and his stellar reputation as a true Albion man, which provides fan-backing and optimism that can be built on to ensure that at the very least, Albion progress back toward the top half of the Championship, where their history demands should be the lowest aspiration allowable at this famous old club.

Let’s hope this season was the dark before the dawn, and that Jimmy can be the new Gary.

Let me know your thoughts on the summer ahead - who would you let go? Who should Albion seek to sign that would fit Morrison’s style of play? Comments welcome as always dear reader!

Leave a comment

After grinding out a 0-0 draw against Ipswich Town in the penultimate game of the season, Albion could breathe a huge sigh of relief. They say you need to reach 50 points to avoid relegation from the Championship, yet it was the 51st that assured the Baggies would remain in the second tier for 2026/2027.

Yet just a day earlier, the Albion had 52 points. That was until the grey people in grey suits at the English Football League (EFL) handed down a two-point penalty for the Baggies, due to a breach of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) relating to the accounts for the three year period up to 2024/2025. Suddenly, with just two games remaining of the season, Albion were again at risk of relegation, albeit only needing one point more to claw themselves (back) over the line. This wasn’t a total surprise - news of the PSR breach had been reported already and if any points deduction was necessary, EFL rules mandated that this must happen in the current season.

What was not expected however was the reason for the punishment. The club statement that followed the breach of less than £2m was as follows:

“Proceedings were brought by the EFL’s Club Financial Reporting Unit (CFRU) following a change in the CFRU’s approach to Community Development Expenditure. In 2023/24, the CFRU accepted that the Club was entitled to include in-kind donations of the Club’s facilities, staff time and resources to its official charity partner, The Albion Foundation, in its P&S calculation. Earlier this year, the CFRU informed the club that it had changed its approach and imposed a retrospective adjustment to the Club’s P&S calculation.

“Without the CFRU changing its approach to the Community Development Expenditure, the Club would not have breached the P&S Rules. The Club will continue to support the great work of The Albion Foundation and its community programmes.”

Put simply, Albion alleged that the breach had been due to the Football League retrospectively punishing them for putting money into the clubs’ charitable arm - one that raises money for the fight against cancer, increases participation in girls football, engages with local schools and supports inclusive projects like enabling blind people and wheelchair users to play football. Indeed the work of the Albion Foundation is so fantastic and supportive that it was actually celebrated by the EFL in 2024, when Albion were named by them as Championship Community Club of the Year.

Little did we know at that point that for the corresponding year, when the club put more than a million quid into the Albion Foundation, the very same organising body that lauded the club’s benevolence would later on decide to change their mind that this was allowable within PSR rules and instead punish the very club whose foundation was, in their view, so outstanding.

In addition, Albion had been working openly and compliantly with the EFL regarding their finances for a couple of years - the losses sustained by the club had been very much thanks to the previous ownership of Guochuan Lai, who used the Baggies as his own personal zero interest loan facility while lumbering the club with loans from MSD Holdings - initially £20m in October 2022, followed by another £8m in November 2023. The interest rate on that major chunk of borrowed cash was at least 10% (likely more) and therefore a significant challenge for balancing the books.

In case you weren’t already aware, Lai was a disgrace of an owner who took Albion extremely close to the precipice of administration and all the hell that ensues from that before being bought out by Shilen Patel, who has responsibly managed the club’s finances since inheriting a very messy situation, hence working collaboratively and compliantly with the EFL to resolve that and cutting the Baggies cloth accordingly, selling established first team players like Tom Fellows, Torbjorn Heggem, Darnell Furlong and Alex Palmer to provide much needed revenue. Patel is also a philanthropist, so the Albion Foundation is dear to his heart and that is surely a significant reason for the club having, despite their financial difficulties, continued to fund the Foundation and its work.

All of the above makes the EFL’s decision to punish Albion with a points deduction - one that put their survival at risk just a week before the season’s end - feel like a disgraceful stab in the back. We await their published reasoning, but for now there is only silence, even as they are accused of changing the rules after the fact to punitively rap the knuckles of one of their founder members. This is a club whose woes were caused exclusively by a now‑departed charlatan, a club that has complied in good faith with the authorities to avoid sanction, and yet has been pushed over the line because it directed a fairly insignificant sum towards charity - something that provides no competitive advantage whatsoever at the expense of other clubs, and a matter they lauded and applauded the Baggies for just two years ago. The EFL come out of this looking deceptive and cold-blooded, and pending their stated reasons, they may also need to justify their actions were legal.

EFL, PSR, CFRU… acronyms AOTS. “FTEFL” is no doubt the choice version for Baggies currently. It rang out with gusto at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

Albion’s statement after receiving the points deduction was defiant.

“West Bromwich Albion has a right of appeal and is considering its options. The Club will provide further comment once it has received the written reasons.

“For now, we will settle this on the pitch.”

And that they did. That they have.

Cast your mind back just two months to the 28th February. Albion trudged off the pitch following a lame 2-1 defeat away to Oxford United, in a crucial fixture against a relegation rival. Days earlier the club had sacked Eric Ramsay after just 44 days in charge where he oversaw nine games yet zero victories. James Morrison had been appointed interim head coach, yet the performance that day had been no different to the sluggish, insipid displays delivered under Ramsay. The fans in the away end slaughtered the players with boos, whistles and chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt.” Morrison lambasted the players in his post-match interview, publicly declaring their performance as “unacceptable.”

On that day, any Albion fan offered a six-point gap above the relegation zone with two Championship games left to play would have snapped your hand off, while looking to the sky expecting a flock of pigs to fly past.

Since then, the Baggies are undefeated in ten. The same number of games Ryan Mason lost away from home in succession in order to be fired in January. Four wins, six draws; seven clean sheets, eighteen points. That run has included games against promotion chasing Southampton, Hull City, Wrexham, Millwall, and Ipswich Town.

Albion had dispatched Preston North End and Watford in the past week, two sides in iffy form and who had little left to play for, just the kind of “on the beach” opponents you want to face toward the end of the season when battling for survival. Ipswich were the opposite however - a side with automatic promotion still in their hands, and a squad laced with quality, including a back line with former Albion stars Furlong, Dara O’Shea, and Cedric Kipre. Yet for the first hour of the game, you wouldn’t have known which of the two sides was the actual promotion contender as Albion more than held their own against the Tractor Boys, playing some excellent football at times and forcing the Ipswich keeper Christian Walton into action on numerous occasions. Albion tired in the final third of the game and had to dig deep to protect their point (plus be thankful that the linesman flagged Kipre offside when he tucked away on the rebound from a Max O’Leary save), but the draw was more than earned, and as the final whistle blew The Hawthorns rose to its feet, not just in celebration but also in defiance, proud of a battling group of players whom just a couple of months prior they had suspected to be spineless relegation fodder.

What a difference a leader makes. Morrison has taken a team that appeared both mentally and defensively weak, and moulded it into a side that refuses to be scored against whilst embodying grit and determination. The seven clean sheets have come from the last eight games - an astonishing run of defensively solidity. Mozza shares the same initials as Jose Mourinho, and his Albion side of late have been a throwback to the famously impenetrable Chelsea and Internazionale sides of the self-proclaimed “special one”.

It’s Morrison who’s special to the Albion fans however. That was true before he took the reigns and guided the team to safety, given he’s been at The Hawthorns for almost two decades and was a fantastic player - but now he’s proven himself in the dugout too, and is surely the only candidate for the job of leading the Baggies into next season. It would feel absurd to not reward him with the position, and even though some Albion fans fear that could mean an eventual painful departure like that of Darren Moore in 2019, that wouldn’t make it the wrong decision. He’s earned it.

There is a template already on which Morrison can build ahead of next season - his 4-4-2 system is tactically sound, it suits the players and enables them to shut out opponents whilst also offering threat in attack, even more of which would be apparent if the likes of Mikey Johnston, Jed Wallace, Karlan Grant and Tammer Bany hadn’t been injured for most if not all of Morrison’s tenure. We’ll see who out of that group - along with the soon to be out of contract Daryl Dike and Josh Maja - are still Albion players come next season, but it’s likely critical that the club invests in new attacking talent over the summer that can add even more endeavour going forward while retaining the staunch solidity that has been so crucial to Albion’s successful survival.

We will settle this on the pitch. Now that is a statement - if not a rallying cry - one that means business and that resonates with both players and fans. It perfectly aligns with the West Bromwich Albion that Morrison has curated - it can (should?) be the mission statement of a club that identifies with the grit and the graft of the part of the world it represents.

The next step for the club is to appoint Morrison as the permanent head coach, and support him to continue making the Baggies fearsome opponents on the pitch - even while those off it make that unnecessarily more difficult.

Thank you as always for reading my post - please do leave a comment with your thoughts on the article, or on anything else Albion related!

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

Towards the end of the ride, all that stood between me and a well earned shower back home was a short, yet rather steep, hill to climb. Having barely cycled at all for 18 months due to a knee operation this time last year, this was going to be a test of my severely reduced stamina. I shifted down to a low gear, and so began the slow, suffering grind.

Every fellow cyclist knows how this kind of climb goes. You find your rhythm, and you lock in. No let up, but no rushing either - steady as you go, it’s not a race, no need to blow up trying to get there quicker. Keep the breathing steady; you can feel your heart pumping furiously, and the sweat raining from your forehead, but you know as well that by holding this pace, you’ll reach the top. And therefore I did just that - to the relief of the several patient cars behind who could now overtake me safely.

My grind to the top of that hill was analogous to the way West Bromwich Albion are currently grinding out results that steer them to Championship safety. It’s not pretty, it’s certainly arduous, but game by unbeaten game they are getting there. Last night’s 0-0 tie with Millwall made it seven unbeaten for James Morrison’s battling Baggies.

Five of those seven games have been draws, and three of those draws have come in the last week, starting with a 2-2 tie at home to Wrexham on Good Friday, and then scoreless stalemates at Blackburn and then under The Hawthorns lights against the promotion chasing Lions of south-London. The Wrexham result was disappointing given Albion led at the break 2-0, but the Red Dragons came back strong in the second half and showed why they are in the hunt for a playoff spot. At Ewood Park, with both clubs feeling the threat of relegation they played out a cagey, joyless and fatigued game of very few chances. Yet with Oxford and Portsmouth drawing with each other, and Leicester also only claiming a point at Sheffield Wednesday, neither Blackburn nor Albion conceded any ground to those below and could be happy enough with a share of the spoils. Respect the point.

Taking more than a respectable point off Millwall was always going to be a tough ask, given they are genuine promotion contenders. The draw was a fair result however, based on chances created. Millwall’s first chance was by far their most presentable, when in the 17th minute Josh Coburn volleyed wide with the goal at his mercy had he chosen to head the ball instead. Mihailo Ivanović crashed a long range strike off the bar 20 minutes later, and Max O’Leary then denied Camiel Neghli with a smart stop as Millwall ended the first half strongly, having weathered a fair amount of Albion pressure in the opening 35 minutes.

Pressure is something Albion can deliver, but attacking craft is unfortunately in rather short supply. In his first spell as Albion manager, Tony Mowbray famously quoted that a football team needs the right mixture of “soldiers and artists”. It’s not unfair to say that this current Albion side is exclusively a well drilled battalion of soldiers - albeit one that’s got an iffy aim when it comes to hitting the target. Ironically, it’s one of Mowbray’s artists of that time who currently leads this band of brothers into battle, but Morrison is not the one responsible for the make up of this squad - he is simply charged with getting it out of the trenches and over the line marked “safety” come 3pm on the 2nd of May.

It’s the lack of artistry in the side that prevents the Baggies from winning games like this one, and which has dogged them all season. They carry more threat from the flanks when the likes of Mikey Johnston and Jed Wallace are available, but those two are likely out for the remainder of the season with injuries. The paucity of wide options, since Wallace’s injury especially, meant that Morrison resorted to playing Jayson Molumby on the right of his four-man midfield against Millwall, while Alex Mowatt came into central midfield. You could see the sense in this, as Molumby is a true workhorse who will shuttle and press all day, and could tuck in to allow rampaging full back Danny Imray to overlap him and put crosses in. Unfortunately however, Imray often played it safe and wouldn’t venture too far forward - whether that was due to fatigue or instruction, only he knows.

Isaac Price looked more comfortable back on the left of midfield than he had on the right at Blackburn, but had yet another game where his first touch often let him down and he struggled to show any quality end product. Ditto the rest of the team - crosses from promising positions were constantly wasted, often not even beating the first man. This game had a throw back feel about it, where both sides played 4-4-2 and sought to get deliveries into the opponents area for aerially threatening forwards. The problem the two teams encountered via this approach, however, was that the crosses would invariably be repelled by the big strong centre backs that both teams could rely on. Nat Phillips and George Campbell have formed a solid partnership recently for Albion, while for Millwall, the massive Jake Cooper and former Baggie Caleb Taylor brought back memories for me of Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley in their Albion heyday.

The second half began in an end to end fashion, but the lack of attacking quality remained for Albion. Just after the hour mark, Aune Heggebø could have been played in on goal had Molumby just played the ball into the space in front of him rather than behind. Soon after that Mowatt did find Daryl Dike at the back post with a much better cross than most attempted up to that point, but the big American’s looping header sailed over. Then Molumby dragged a shot wide from a promising range. Then Campbell fired over in amongst the chaos of a long throw from Imray. Chances were coming, but rarely high quality and never forcing Millwall keeper Anthony Patterson into action. Down the other end, Imray denied Tommy Watson in the 74th minute with a brilliant defensive header to deny an otherwise certain goal.

Then came the big Albion chance - a corner played to the edge of the area, Callum Styles whipped the ball low into a sea of bodies and it fell to Molumby, whose point-blank strike finally gave Patterson something to do. The on-loan from Sunderland stopper spread himself superbly and deflected the ball wide off his trailing leg. It was a remarkably (and frustratingly) similar save to that of Wrexham’s Arthur Okonkwo denying Dike a late winner a week prior, although that one was all the more incredible for somehow spinning the ball over the bar rather than wide. Albion had also been denied by keeper heroics at Blackburn, when Heggebø’s fierce half-volley was brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Balazs Toth. These are the moments you have to hope swing the Baggies way in games to come.

From the corner resulting from Patterson’s save, Ousmane Diakite headed a highly presentable opportunity wide. Diakite had an excellent game overall, scoring the winner would have been the cherry on the cake of his performance. Voted Albion’s man of the match for the third successive game, Diakite has been a major reason for the teams upturn in form; adding power, mobility, and steel to the midfield in the same way Campbell has in defence, providing Albion with a much stronger spine. Strong enough to keep Millwall to nil, the first time any Championship side had managed that since New Years Day.

The game petered out with little more goalmouth action - Albion remained the stronger side as they had throughout the second half, but created nothing for substitute strikers Josh Maja or Eseola Sule (making his league debut in blue and white stripes). Those were the only subs Morrison made, demonstrating the players he starts in practically every game are the ones he trusts in the heat of a relegation battle, rather than turning to the younger, rawer talent on his bench. News this week of a possible return from injury of Karlan Grant, Tammer Bany, and Chris Mepham in the near future may bolster his options a little in the remaining weeks of the season. It was also good to see Dike last 83 minutes of a game because lord knows how many years it’s been since he last managed that, and although he didn’t score in this game, the minutes can only help him get sharper and perhaps get that goal he craves at a crucial point in one of the final four fixtures.

Those remaining games are Preston away, Watford home, Ipswich home, Sheffield Wednesday away. Albion sit on 46 points - usually 50 is enough for survival, but wins today for Oxford and Portsmouth has drawn the relegation zone uncomfortably close to Albion once more. Leicester City look, at this stage, like they don’t have the spirit to save themselves, so that final relegation spot is most likely going to be one from Oxford, Portsmouth, or Albion. Pompey have a game in hand, but it’s against in-form promotion hunters Ipswich this Tuesday, so far from an easy one.

Three of the remaining Albion games are certainly winnable - Preston, Watford, and Wednesday have little left to play for, which is the kind of opponent you want at this stage. Ipswich are obviously a different proposition, fighting hard for automatic promotion, but based on recent performances Albion will give them a damn good game at the Hawthorns, as they have recently against other promotion contenders.

Two Albion victories is very likely enough. In fact just one more win plus another draw or two may do the trick, given Oxford’s remaining games look very tricky on paper; but this is the Championship, and Portsmouth’s win at Middlesbrough today is just the latest reminder that anyone can beat anyone in this division, so Albion must do what it takes themselves in order to reach safety. Winning games is not much of a habit for the Baggies; the fact is they have only won two of their last eighteen Championship games.

That’s a grim statistic, yet take some heart from this - there are only three Championship teams unbeaten since the start of March, and they are Ipswich, Southampton, and Albion. True though it is that the Baggies would be no worse off points wise had they won one and lost two of these last few games they drew, there is a stoic, honourable pride that comes from simply not being beaten for several successive games. The soldiers of Albion keep showing their grit, keep taking at least a point from whoever they face, and keep on telling their rivals no, we are not going to let up, we are going to keep grinding out the results we need to survive.

Mozza’s Baggies have found their rhythm; they’re locked in, no let up now, fatigued by a long and difficult journey of a season, but with enough grit left to keep their momentum and not let those behind them catch up. Albion fans’ hearts are pumping, the sweat pours from their brow, but The Hawthorns sings with belief thanks to the effort and endeavour on show.

The grind goes on for now - but the summit is in view.

How are you feeling about Albion’s chances of survival following another gritty performance and result? Let me know your thoughts in a comment, and thank you as always for spending some reading time in The Throstles Nest.

Leave a comment

The sun is beaming, the daffodils are blooming, the trees are blossoming. Evenings are getting lighter for longer, the temperature is comfortably warmer.

And best of all, along with this seasonal sense of renewal and growth, West Bromwich Albion are winning football matches again.

Subscribe now

On Saturday, the Albion followed up a ferocious 3-0 home victory against Hull the previous weekend with a solid, rarely ever in doubt 1-0 win at Bristol City - the first time they’d brought three points home from an away game since before the clocks went back (to put that in perspective, they go forward again this weekend).

The Tigers and the Robins; no match for the Throstles, seasonally singing merrily in the springtime.

The Baggies are now unbeaten in four Championship games after these victories followed creditable draws against Sheffield United and Southampton, and have opened up a four-point gap between themselves and those occupying the relegation zone. Yet perhaps more importantly than that, they’ve brought back the pride and the belief that the long, dark, wet winter months had pretty much washed away entirely.

January and February especially were a shivering shower of shit. They began with two away defeats at Swansea and Leicester that cost Ryan Mason his job as Albion head coach. Behind the scenes, ‘president’ Andrew Nestor was being ushered aside too, as owner and chairman Shilen Patel pulled rank on Nestor to appoint Eric Ramsay as Mason’s successor. Nine grim winless games later, Patel had no choice but to relieve Ramsay of his duties; the Welshman’s only achievement of sorts at The Hawthorns being to turn nervous concern about relegation to League 1 into a despondent, apathetic expectation of it.

You couldn’t be blamed for believing that no matter who the head coach was, it barely mattered given the total absence of quality, confidence, spirit or fight delivered across several months by the Albion squad. The players came under considerable fire, especially after diabolical performances during pastings at home to Norwich and away to Portsmouth. Fans in the stands made it abundantly clear they considered the players unfit to wear the famous blue and white stripes, while those of us who like to write about the Baggies were similarly minded, again and again. And again.

Yet between the torrid tenures of Mason and Ramsay, there had been a brief ray of sunshine for the Albion faithful. Managed on a caretaking basis by James Morrison, the Baggies had managed to win at Swansea in the FA Cup third round thanks to a penalty shootout, and a switch to playing in a 4-4-2 formation that appeared to suit the players quite nicely. It was by no means a vintage performance and Albion rode their luck a fair bit to even make it to extra time, but it was a rare happy day nonetheless.

Morrison took the reigns once more after Ramsay departed, on an interim basis until the end of this season. The upturn since his appointment has been unexpectedly pleasing considering the malaise Albion were in at that point. It didn’t start too well - the 2-1 defeat in a six-pointer away to Oxford United gave us all the impression that Mozza was about to be let down by the Albion squad in the same way Mason and Ramsay were. Unlike his predecessors however, Morrison came out after that game and publicly laid into his players in the post-match interview, declaring their defending of Oxford’s two set-piece goals “unacceptable” and questioning their bravery in attacking situations. Then came further insight about what he had said in the dressing room after the match:

“There were words in the dressing room after the game, but I want what was said to remain in the dressing room. There were some harsh words, but there has to be. You can see that I’m frustrated. That was a big game for us today. The supporters have every right to show their frustration. We feel that frustration. I don’t want to use the clichés of sticking together or anything like that. They come in their numbers to support us and it’s up to us to turn it around. We have a week of work between now and our next game and we will be working.”

Whatever those harsh words were, they seem to have been the catalyst for marked improvement. On that final day of February, we saw the last feeble display from Albion since. Morrison wielded authority over the squad in a way that you suspect Mason nor Ramsay ever could - their post-match interviews would often be criticised for seeming weak by the way they would search for positives, and rarely be critical, even in circumstances where criticism and accountability had to be dolled out in response to some of the woeful performances delivered by the team. Though the way they talked was unnecessarily mocked as “LinkedIn language” at times, there’s no hiding from the fact that football isn’t a local government office job, it’s a hard environment and sometimes the boss has to pull out the hairdryer to blast some heat on his players.

Little did we know it back then, but perhaps the time Morrison apparently cuffed a young Saido Berahino in the dressing room, after his mistake had cost Albion three points against Cardiff in a relegation six-pointer, was a sign that one day Jimmy would be a tough and demanding head coach.

Motivating your team with authority is not the only necessary ingredient for a successful manager however - you also need to be tactically savvy, able to plan and coach a system and playing style that suits the players you have available. Morrison has thankfully demonstrated this ability too. The 4-2-3-1 formation almost exclusively used by Mason, and also employed by Ramsay after his initial switch to a 3-4-2-1 had imploded spectacularly, has been adjusted to a good old-fashioned 4-4-2. Every player is now in their most natural position and (unsurprisingly) looking better for it, in particular George Campbell at centre back, Danny Imray at right back, and Isaac Price on the left of midfield (possibly not Price’s most natural position, but he’s been a lot better there than he was as a central attacking midfielder). The players have appreciated Morrison’s back to basics approach.

Albion are playing with much more purpose too, not seeking to dominate possession but when they have the ball, they look to burst forward and play off the two strikers. Off the ball they hunt in packs and squeeze the opponent with energetic counter-pressing. This is a significant difference to the (often sterile) cautious possession based style of Mason, and the way too passive, low block approach of Ramsay. Overall the balance of the team, both in defence and attack, looks so much more cohesive and assured now than it had previously all season, and that’s despite losing the teams most creative attacker, Mikey Johnston, to injury in the Oxford game. What was a leaky defence has now kept two consecutive clean sheets, in part thanks to limiting their opponents to just three shots on target across those two games.

Morrison has been open recently that he sought the advice of some of his previous managers from his playing days at Albion, in order to ultimately make a judgement call on his tactical plan. He called Tony Pulis, Steve Clarke, and Tony Mowbray for guidance, showing intelligent wisdom in doing so - why not tap into the knowledge and experience of respected people who have, collectively, managed thousands of football matches? In addition to seeking the wise counsel of his elders, Morrison also added former Southampton coach Matt Gill to his staff, further recognising the need for extra experience to support his overall leadership of the team.

Speaking of leadership, that seems at last to be growing within the team as well.

Jed Wallace has really stepped up in recent games, displaying the busy and productive wing play we expected upon signing him from Millwall a few years ago, and forming a dangerous partnership down the right flank with Imray. Without Johnston available, Wallace’s improved form as been much needed, and he has set the tone as a club-captain should.

Campbell, playing next to Nat Phillips, has swiftly become Albion’s most indispensable centre back and an important source of goals - his equalising 25-yard drive at Bramall Lane began the unbeaten run and his dominant header from a corner was the winner at Ashton Gate. The big American now has four goals this season, making him Albion’s third highest scorer after Aune Heggebø and Price, and is beginning to cultivate a cult-hero status with the Baggies fans.

Jayson Molumby and Ousmane Diakite have formed a physical, non-stop running partnership in central midfield. What both lack in craft is more than made up for in graft; their pressing intensity is immense and along with Campbell and Phillips they give Albion a strong spine. There was a time when Alex Mowatt seemed like a must-play for the Baggies, and of the midfielders available he certainly has the most composure and passing range, but in terms of pure legs he can be found lacking. In Morrison’s 4-4-2, Molumby and Diakite are the best options.

Up front, Heggebø and Josh Maja have started the two victories and both scored against Hull. You would ideally play one or the other with a more mobile, run-in-behind type of forward, but with Karlan Grant injured and Daryl Dike requiring careful management, they start together and form a sturdy if not pacey partnership. Jamal-Jimoh Aloba offers flair and unpredictability as an alternative option, but he is more an attacking midfielder than a genuine striker.

Morrison has done such an excellent job that the questions about his long-term prospects for the head coach role have inevitably begun to be asked. For now however, the clubs’ decision makers would surely be wise to wait and watch how the remaining seven Championship fixtures go. If Albion disappointingly regress and suffer relegation then few will blame Morrison for that, but a season of experimenting with rookie head coaches will surely convince Patel and the board that they need to quit that habit.

Should Morrison continue to inspire the recent performances and results however, then how can you look past him as a very strong contender for the job? Since joining Albion from Middlesborough in 2007, he has remained at the club as a player and then a coach, working his way through the coaching badges to go from youth team to first team on the training pitch. He is part of the fabric of the club, engrained in its culture and its ways. The fans remember Mozza as a shrewd, reliable yet technical player and an important part of a team that was established in the Premier League for eight seasons, the best we’d known at The Hawthorns in decades. Now they back him as a coach who enables the type of football they respond to - front foot with attacking quality and intent, but also gritty, honest, and where necessary, stoic. Morrison embodied these qualities as a player, and now you can see them in the team he leads.

You could see what the fans thought after full time in Bristol on Saturday - at last, an away day to savour, and the final whistle was celebrated like a late winning goal. Morrison punched the air in front of the adoring away end after a priceless victory.

Momentum is building, and belief is growing. James Morrison took the hottest of Albion hot-seats in a moment where everything looked lost. Yet hope springs eternal, even in the most difficult or unlikely situations. At the start of Spring, Albion have sprung to life. Come the summer, we’ll see if Mozza earned the right to remain in charge, via guiding his beloved Baggies to safety, and by showing the leadership qualities needed to make it as a football manager.

We might be witnessing the start of something beautiful.

How are you feeling about Albion’s survival prospects now Baggies fans? Do you think Morrison will not only keep the club up, but also continue to lead the team next season? Or is this optimism misplaced while there’s still a job to do to remain in the Championship?

Comments welcome as always.

Leave a comment

It feels like an odd thing to say about West Bromwich Albion. Last night, a late Southampton equaliser denied the Baggies their first win of 2026 and dropped them to 23rd in the Championship, extending the winless run to thirteen games. Relegation rivals Oxford United and Leicester City both claimed crucial midweek victories, and Albion couldn’t keep pace. Cyle Larin’s sucker‑punch goal arriving in injury time only deepened the cruelty and despair on a night when genuine hope had finally begun to flicker around The Hawthorns.

And yet, the nature of Albion’s performance means that glimmer of hope survives - especially after a similarly encouraging, hard‑earned point at Sheffield United last Saturday. Interim head coach James Morrison has coaxed spirit and resilience from this group, qualities sorely missing under Eric Ramsay and Ryan Mason.

Against Southampton, one of the strongest and most in‑form sides in the division, Albion more than held their own. The Saints dominated possession, but Morrison’s compact 4‑4‑2 shape frustrated them throughout. With Daryl Dike and Aune Heggebø leading the line, Albion always had a muscular out‑ball to beat the press and stay defensively secure. When they did manage to keep the ball, the home side carried some threat - not creating enough from open play, as has been the pattern all season, but winning set pieces where they remain dangerous. Heggebø was denied by a fingertip save from Daniel Peretz after flicking on an Alfie Gilchrist long throw, and just before half‑time, from a corner, Jayson Molumby fired Albion ahead after Peretz had blocked a powerful Dike header.

From a tactical perspective, what really struck me was Albion’s increased mobility in defence. It gave the players further forward more licence to press Southampton, disrupting their ability to create chances despite dominating the ball. Before kick‑off, the Baggies faithful could have been forgiven for feeling a sense of trepidation when Gilchrist was named at centre‑back alongside George Campbell, as Kristian Bielik was ruled out with a shoulder injury, Nat Phillips was only fit enough for the bench, and Charlie Taylor was unavailable against his parent club. The last time Gilchrist appeared at The Hawthorns, he was being hauled off to sarcastic cheers after a nightmare outing at right‑back against Coventry City - the sort of experience that can shatter a player’s confidence.

Yet at centre‑half, Alfie was a glass ’alf full, producing by far his best performance since arriving last summer. The former Chelsea defender, alongside Campbell, was composed, positionally secure, and formed the quickest centre‑back pairing Albion have fielded all season. His long throw remains a serious weapon, too. Their presence allowed Molumby and Ousmane Diakité to get stuck into their midfield battles without feeling the usual burden of protecting a defence so often vulnerable to balls in behind - a vulnerability that typically forces them to drop deeper and the team to invite pressure.

Additional mobility came at right‑back through Danny Imray. Unlike Campbell and Gilchrist - centre‑backs who have for much of this season been filling in out wide - Imray is a natural full‑back with pace and a willingness to support his winger. His tenacious defending against Southampton’s quality on the flanks was impressive throughout, even if the sheer workload of this game may have contributed to the fatigue he showed allowing the cross for Larin’s equaliser.

It’s a mystery to me why Albion have seemed allergic to signing proper full‑backs in recent years. Callum Styles has been used at left‑back since his arrival and has done a solid job, but he’s naturally a central midfielder. Tjorborn Heggem filled in there at times last season too, yet like Campbell and Gilchrist he was clearly far more comfortable as a centre‑back, which is exactly where he now plays in Serie A for Bologna. When you add Campbell and Gilchrist to the other summer ’25 arrivals - Phillips, Bielik, and Chris Mepham - that’s five players signed in the same window who are all most naturally right‑sided central defenders. Then there’s Charlie Taylor, a left‑back for most of his career but now only really equipped to operate as a left‑sided centre‑half. Nice one Ian Pearce, Andrew Nestor, et al.

To me, this lack of proper full‑back recruitment reeks of trying to mimic the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, where Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola routinely use natural centre‑backs as inverted full‑backs. That’s all well and good when you’ve got exceptional talent like Jurriën Timber or Joško Gvardiol, but it’s a different story with the likes of Gilchrist or Taylor. Baggies fans must now cross their fingers that Imray and Styles avoid injury or suspension in the final nine Championship fixtures - thankfully Styles dodged his tenth booking of the season against Southampton, sparing him the two‑game ban he would have served had he gone into the book again.

In midfield, the performances against Southampton were generally impressive. Diakité was colossal, delivering a man‑of‑the‑match display despite strong competition for that award. His passing can be iffy at times, but it’s also often more penetrative and purposeful than that of Albion’s other midfielders, who tend to be more cautious in possession. In pressing and duels, the Malian was dominant - repeatedly putting his body on the line and finishing the first half with a Terry Butcher‑esque bandaged head after an aerial clash with Saints right‑back James Bree. Alongside him, Molumby was his usual combative self, albeit in a disciplined manner that seems to have grown in him this season since the costly red card at Coventry back in November. In a 4‑4‑2, you need two central midfielders who can cover huge distances - Diakité and Molumby certainly did that, and it was no surprise to see both asking, shattered, to come off later in the second half, even if their replacements, the less mobile and less aggressive Alex Mowatt and Harry Whitwell, inevitably weakened the side.

Out wide, Jed Wallace was full of running on the right but looked rusty in the first half, with his crossing particularly underwhelming. It was disappointing - you can accept that Wallace no longer has the legs he once did, but there’s no excuse for poor deliveries from a player whose crossing has long been one of his major strengths. It blunted the aerial threat that Dike and Heggebø should have offered. Wallace did improve after half‑time, however, and Albion looked more dangerous in the second period, even if they couldn’t find a second goal.

On the left flank, Isaac Price produced his best performance in months. Young Isaac remains something of an enigma - I’m often impressed by his off‑the‑ball work yet frustrated by what he doesn’t do on it. He has spent most of the season playing as a “10” in a 4‑2‑3‑1, where his pressing intensity is excellent but his lack of combination play or service for the striker has been glaring. The knack for ghosting into goalscoring positions that he showed early in the campaign seems to have deserted him. Quite simply, he isn’t a “10”, and the positional change has suited him. Against Southampton he tracked the full‑back well and made intelligent runs from deep off the left to link with the forwards, leading to efforts on goal that didn’t quite come off this time but should bear fruit if he keeps driving forward. He also linked neatly with left‑back Styles, drifting inside onto his right foot and allowing Styles to overlap into crossing positions.

With chief creator Mikey Johnstone sidelined by an ankle fracture that will likely keep “MJ” out for the rest of the season, Albion’s wide players now have to shoulder the creative burden. Price and Wallace (and Ollie Bostock, who I expect will often appear as an impact substitute), supported by Styles and Imray, must provide the supply line for Heggebø and Dike - a powerful strike partnership who should thrive on quality deliveries into the box. Molumby and Diakité bring industry and steel in midfield, but they are unlikely to offer much in terms of creativity, so the wide men have to take responsibility.

If they can stay fit, Heggebø and Dike should profit. There were signs against the Saints of a genuine strike partnership beginning to form, and it’s encouraging to see Dike playing regularly and working himself back towards full fitness. His horrendous luck with injuries has undoubtedly cost him a yard of pace, but he remains a willing runner with enough power to trouble defenders. He was unlucky not to score twice here: in the first half his header from a corner was saved before Molumby tucked away the rebound, and in the second half Peretz just managed to prevent another header from squeezing over the line. Heggebø had few chances beyond his early flicked header from Gilchrist’s long throw, but playing as the support striker suits him far better than being relied upon as the primary goalscorer. The same applies to Josh Maja, which is why he and Heggebø don’t make for a natural pairing; both are at their best alongside a runner who stretches the lines. It’s a shame Karlan Grant is injured, as he’s a capable channel runner who would complement Heggebø or Maja well, easing the burden on Dike, who we know must be managed carefully.

The structure is in place. Morrison has settled on a formation and playing style that suits the players available to him, and it’s clear the squad has bought into it - they look far more motivated now than they ever did under Ramsay, and only occasionally did under Mason. Yet survival remains a tall order. For all Albion’s fight, they are still not winning, and until they rediscover that elusive taste of victory, not experienced since 29th December against QPR, they remain in serious peril.

To start winning games, the Baggies must break their habit of surrendering points late on. This was the fifth time this season they had dropped points in injury time, costing them seven points overall. Had they held on in those moments, they would be sitting in 19th place with some breathing room over their fellow relegation battlers.

There are two ways to address this. Either finish teams off with another goal - ideal, but difficult for a side lacking attacking quality and depth - or shut up shop and lock the opposition out. Given Albion’s abundance of centre‑backs, Morrison would be wise to take a leaf from his former manager Tony Pulis: withdraw the full‑backs (or push them forward to act as ultra‑defensive wide men in place of the wingers) and bring on extra height to sit deep and head away everything that enters the penalty area. Survival‑ball, pure and simple - never pretty, but sometimes essential.

You also need leaders with the nous and authority to organise the team and avoid silly, costly mistakes. Just before Southampton’s equaliser, Albion had a throw‑in high up the pitch, which Gilchrist inexplicably hurled into the box despite barely any blue‑and‑white shirts being there. Peretz collected it with ease and launched the move that ended with Larin’s header agonisingly looping over Max O’Leary and clipping the underside of the bar as it went in. Had that throw‑in gone short to retain possession and shape, Albion might have held on. Perhaps with older heads like Wallace, Molumby and Heggebø withdrawn for inexperienced lads like Bostock, Whitwell and Hindolo Mustapha, that leadership wasn’t present enough - but when you’re in the relegation mire, lessons have to be learned quickly.

Next up for Albion is Hull City - a strong playoff contender and a very capable side, yet at The Hawthorns this has to be seen as a realistic opportunity to get the win they desperately need. Southampton may sit below Hull, but their squad is one that should have been far closer to the top two, and Albion probably should have beaten them. You sense that if Albion can finally secure that victory, confidence will grow and more wins will follow. We gifted Oxford a win not long ago; now they’ve won three on the bounce. Albion need that kind of momentum too. If they can find it, Blackburn and Portsmouth look vulnerable and may wobble under the pressure of being dragged back into the heat by Leicester, Oxford and - hopefully - Albion.

While there’s life, there’s hope - and for the first time in months, Albion look alive again. The football is still raw, the margins still cruel, and the table still unforgiving, but there is finally a pulse, a sense of a team rediscovering its purpose. Survival will demand more - more composure, more ruthlessness, more belief - but belief is beginning to return, both on the pitch and in the stands. The Hawthorns crowd were right behind the team last night, and will remain so while the team deliver the kind of effort levels shown in the last two games.

Nine games remain, each bringing its own tension, its own tests, its own moments where resolve is measured. Albion have given themselves a chance - no more than that, but no less either. In a season where so much has gone against them, that in itself feels like progress.

Now we wait, still hoping rather than expecting, but believing survival is achievable that little bit more.

How are you feeling after this game - more hopeful for Albion’s survival chances, or crushed to despondence by the late equaliser? Comments welcome from all, as always!

Leave a comment

You don’t need another analysis article from me on what went wrong with Ramsay’s reign - that’s been done by many others this week. All I’ll say is that, with the benefit of hindsight of course, he should never have been hired in the first place.

Subscribe now

The art of recruitment is to find the right people, with the right skills, at the right time. Lord only knows why those in charge at Albion thought this was the right time to hire a young head coach with no prior experience of management in English football, so soon after sacking another of such similar profile. Nine games, zero wins, just 44 days in charge - for Ramsay this was hardly a Championship apprenticeship, more a Championship work experience placement.

The previous trainee in The Hawthorns hotseat, Ryan Mason, had been ousted after just six months in the job. That’s an age in comparison to Ramsay’s tenure, but not exactly long enough to build anything sustained at the Albion. Mason’s predecessor, Tony Mowbray, had only been in the job for just three months when he got his marching orders. Based on the last three managerial appointments, a West Brom head coach gets 18 games, on average, to make a good impression. In the managerial dating game, the Baggies just can’t seem to find the one - at least not since Carlos Corberan ran off with Valencia on Christmas Eve in 2024.

On the eve of a major game away to fellow relegation battlers Oxford United, James Morrison is parachuted in once more to deliver caretaker duties. It’s unclear right now whether Morrison gets the gig until the end of the season, or if that depends how things go at the Kassam Stadium, with the club simply saying that Mozza “will oversee first-team affairs on an interim basis.”

The Baggies faithful are hoping Morrison can replicate the interim success of a fellow north-eastern former midfielder synonymous with “the Barclays era” - Michael Carrick. Manchester United brought Carrick back to Old Trafford after they sacked Ruben Amorim, a manager who had done well abroad, but favoured a 3-4-3 approach ill-suited to the squad at his disposal - it all sounds strangely familiar doesn’t it. Former Middlesbrough boss Carrick has delivered impressive results so far, unbeaten in six games that included victories against Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two fixtures. If Morrison can have anything like as similar an impact, The Baggies will hopefully take giant strides away from the League 1 trapdoor, currently yawning menacingly beneath them.

What Albion desperately need from Morrison is what they didn’t get from Ramsay - a new manager bounce.

In the Championship, where there’s always a managerial merry-go-round, instant success is mandatory in order to avoid a swift P45. It’s startling how many second-tier sackings have been for managers in the early stages of their job - Mason and Ramsay are not the only two by any means.

Of the Championship managers appointed in the 2025 pre-season:

• Sheffield United had a hot summer fling with Ruben Selles, but he lost his first five games in charge, making them realise they wanted Chris Wilder back for a third time

• Norwich dumped Liam Manning, who they’d only just managed to divorce from Bristol City, for Philippe Clement

• Southampton got no fill from Will Still, replacing him with Tonda Eckert

• At Watford, who you suspect must have a revolving door on their managers office, Paulo Pezzolano was replaced by Javi Gracia (his second stint at Vicarage Road) in October, and then Gracia got replaced by Ed Still in February

• At Leicester City, Marti Cifuentes limped through half a season before getting the chop, leading to Gary Rowett (sacked by Oxford earlier this term) taking the reigns

• Rob Edwards left Middlesbrough just months into his time there, but he was seduced by his childhood sweetheart Wolves rather than sacked, and Boro continued their promotion charge after installing Kim Hellberg

The only other two Championship managers sacked this season were Valerian Ismael (Blackburn) and Alan Sheehan (Swansea) - both appointed in February 2025, neither lasting beyond a year in post.

Those who have survived the termination of their employment since being hired in the 2025 pre-season are Sergej Jakirovic (Hull City), Gerhard Struber (Bristol City), and Julien Stephan (QPR). Each is doing a good, if not very good, job so they’re safe for the time being at least.

The lesson from this is clear - hit the ground running, or you get run out. The Championship is brutal, jam packed with clubs who start each season believing a playoff push is at least fairly realistic for them (even before the EFL potentially extend that to be possible for clubs finishing as low as eighth), so when that expectation doesn’t become reality, fans will soon get their strop on and board members will start to feel that itch in their trigger finger.

It’s difficult to say if this rapid hiring and firing of managers is ridiculous, or if it’s just how things are in the modern football landscape. The term “manager” is now fairly outdated - Albion employ a head coach to oversee training and selecting the team, and that same model is common across many clubs nowadays. The recruitment of new players is no longer the remit of the man who will actually manage the players as the “Director of Football” takes the lead on this, with the logical reasoning behind that being that they can free the head coach up to simply work with the team, while they deal with agents, contracts, transfer negotiations etc.

That all makes sense, but what makes less sense is that when results go awry, it’s always the head coach who gets the boot, and very rarely the director. Albion’s “Director of Football Operations” is Ian Pearce, incumbent in said position since 2023 after originally joining the club as a scout in 2018. Pearce was a Premier League footballer back in the day, and presumably has been entrusted this role because he has an eye for a player and extensive knowledge of the game, yet his recruitment record is sketchy to say the least.

The Baggies shopping spree last summer - which included signing five right footed players whose most natural position is centre back, as well as a left winger to replace right winger and assist machine Tom Fellows (sold to Southampton to balance the beleaguered Baggies books) - has been a significant contributing factor in the Albion malaise this season. It certainly didn’t do Ryan Mason any favours as the only transfer window of his Albion tenure.

In January, to help(!) new head coach Ramsay address Albion’s horrendous form, Pearce signed three players of no Championship experience whatsoever - Danny Imray, Jamal Jimoh-Aloba, and Hindolo Mustapha, all kids on loan from Premier League clubs. Yes, Albion were tightly constricted by profit and sustainability margins, and perhaps those three really were all the club could afford; but it gave Ramsay no real aid and ultimately, no real hope.

Recruitment is so key in football. Get it right and you can have very happy times, times like Albion enjoyed in Morrison’s playing days, but get it wrong thanks to the naïve selection of head coaches, or by making really odd decisions on who to draft into your squad, and your season can be absolutely dismal - as those at The Hawthorns are now well aware.

The right people, with the right skills, at the right time.

Lets hope Mozza is the right man for this time at the Albion.

Do you have faith in Morrison to keep the Albion up, or do you think this is probably too much to ask of him, or maybe that he should be given more help with an extra experienced coach next to him? Let me know by leaving me a comment below!

Leave a comment

West Bromwich Albion, without a league win since late December, faced Frank Lampard’s Coventry City, Championship leaders, fresh from a convincing victory over promotion rivals Middlesbrough the previous Monday. I knew damn well it would be a tough game against a good side, yet the previous two league games, goalless draws against the City’s of Stoke and Birmingham, had given me hope that Eric Ramsay was building something with the Baggies, making them steely and resilient, and ready to make life very hard for the Sky Blues in this game.

Subscribe now

Yet upon arrival at the ground, I could tell that my upbeat outlook wasn’t exactly shared by most. As I approached the turnstiles to the Brummie Road End, the only noise of note was that of the Christian preacher near McDonalds, prattling on about relegation to hell should we not accept the lord into our hearts. We’ll take any saviour you’re offering right now pal, but it doesn’t feel like our prayers are being answered.

Shuffling through the grey, glum concourse, the fans are huddled as usual, drinking from their plastic cup of whichever greedily overpriced drink is to their taste. Before this season began, the club gave the outside of the stadium a fresh lick of paint - it would be nice if they freshened things up inside the ground too. Out of nowhere, a man from within one of the huddles loudly exclaims “assume the position!” - presumably alluding to his expectation that the Albion are in for an afternoon of, ahem, uncomfortable action. A prescient warning, it transpired.

Out into the stands, I’m up near the back of the Brummie, in line with the goal. A good seat. I stand watching on the big screens what appears to be a new pre-game video of action from Albion games this season, which includes several saves by Max O’Leary, a reminder that although he’s only been at the club for a few weeks, he’s been a busy man. I’m sure the video has a decent soundtrack too, but the same old dodgy speakers struggle to make that clear. Another rather obvious sign of decay in our historic home.

Out on the pitch, Boilerman wobbles about; as usual a mixture of absurdity and amusement. The players stride out of the tunnel, and ready themselves for action. No Liquidator to belt out before kick off though, which is a shame as the fans are now making some noise and seem primed to create an atmosphere. Despite the discontent about the relegation battle the club has waded into, the Albion faithful feel a sense of duty to get behind the lads.

The game kicks off and the Albion are immediately at it, moving the ball decisively, leading to a Jed Wallace cross that doesn’t amount to anything, but the desire seems to be there. Promising. And then, naturally, Coventry score with their first attack. The ball is lofted simply over the Albion defence, Ephron Mason-Clark runs in and loops it over O’Leary into the net. Fans around me remonstrate at the linesman that Mason-Clark was offside, but no flag is raised. Five minutes in, 1-0.

Albion respond with heart, but no quality. They press and harry, affording Coventry little time on the ball, but once they win it back there’s just nothing, no idea, no plan for how to attack cohesively and create chances. The ball is played sideways and backwards, again and again, until someone tries something just a little more risky and loses it. Isaac Price cheaply surrenders the ball in midfield, Jack Rudoni strides forward with the ball, and Alfie Gilchrist affords him the freedom of The Hawthorns to smash a sweet strike past O’Leary from distance, the kind of goal his manager used to score routinely. 2-0, and you know it’s already over. The Albion players look dismayed - Jayson Molumby appears to berate Gilchrist, a player looking dreadfully out of his depth. The acidic chants begin - “you’re not fit to wear the shirt!” and “Eric Ramsay, your football is shit.”

To me, the football is what it has been at Albion for ages now. Bland, low quality, cautious - insert any head coach’s name, it’s invariably shit, but it’s all these players seem able to serve up, going all the way back to Carlos Corberan’s final months at the club. The Baggies are supposedly playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but Jamal Jimoh-Aloba, apparently the left winger in said formation, seems disinterested in being anywhere near the left side and instead constantly roams in field, time and again leaving no forward passing option for left back Callum Styles. If this is a tactical plan of Ramsay’s then it appears nonsensical, limiting Albion’s attack via having so little width.

The fans around me bristle with discontent. The lads behind rant about Ramsay, the “PE teacher” (that old chestnut) who “doesn’t have a clue and has been even worse than Ryan Mason.” That’s true - game eight for Ramsay and he’s still to win. There’s been no new manager bounce whatsoever since his arrival, more like a new manager splat, one that’s made a right bloody mess but that the clubs’ decision makers seem disinterested in quickly cleaning up.

Not even two months into his tenure, it already seems Ramsay is done. It feels like when, not if - as I write this piece he remains Albion head coach, but we’re very much into constant refresh mode on the socials, expecting a corner flag club announcement any moment.

Do the players respect Ramsay, a man who never played football professionally? In the away dugout was Lampard, former England international and winner of Premier Leagues and a Champions league, a glittering career. At the very least, his players will respect his playing days achievements, and trust his messages on how to play and develop themselves as footballers. Stark contrast to Ramsay and his journey to date, one that certainly includes achievements too, but clearly not enough to inspire the Albion players. Perhaps Ramsay is a great coach, but time will tell if he can also be a great manager, and no one remains convinced he can prove that while at The Hawthorns.

Ramsay did an impressive job in the USA at Minnesota United, he developed a team laced with counter attacking and set piece threat playing a five man defence formation, but has been unable to replicate that with the Baggies and instead has had to revert to, basically, playing the same way Mason did, yet without the ability to gain the same mediocre (yet probably enough at least to survive) results that Mason was achieving. It’s actually starting to look like poor Ryan, despite some fairly obvious managerial weaknesses, may have been doing a decent enough job with a squad nowhere near as good on the pitch as it can seem on paper.

You fear that if Ramsay is still in charge for the Charlton game on Tuesday, and things don’t start well, it’s going to be an exceptionally toxic night. That game is massive, and the one after it at Oxford just as big. Without at least four points from those two games, you have to wonder how on earth Albion can survive the drop to League 1.

The worry for me however is that if Albion do remove Ramsay, it likely doesn’t change much. It may draw a little poison from The Hawthorns atmosphere, but whoever takes charge next works with the same players, who look utterly shorn of confidence and belief. Some feel we should give the job to James Morrison for the rest of the season, which makes sense in some respects - he’s still respected as a former key player from much better days, who has stayed with the club as a coach since retiring. Yet he’s also been around this whole time as part of a coaching team producing awful football and results, and would be yet another young, virtually untried and untested head coach. How much difference could he actually make? Is he not just part of the overall Albion decline?

Back to the game - 40 minutes in, Gilchrist gets hooked early for George Campbell. Sarcastic cheers abound as the wretched Gilchrist runs off and heads straight down the tunnel. Many Albion fans have already done likewise, preferring to head for the bar than watch any more of this crap.

Maybe one day we’ll see why the clubs recruitment team thought Gilchrist was worth a £2m punt last summer. He’s a young player more natural at centre half than right back, but right now he looks a right waste of money. The transfer business overseen by Andrew Nestor, Ian Pearce et al this season has played a major part in the clubs’ malaise. Some of the sales may have been necessary for financial reasons, but the replacements have seriously underwhelmed. The lack of pace and ingenuity in the side makes watching Albion try to attack a depressing experience. Nestor is gone, Pearce remains but his continued employment is surely up for discussion too.

Half time arrives. Boooooo. The elderly man next to me says “I saw my first game here when I was 8 years old. I’m now 77. This is the worst Albion team I’ve ever known.” Yikes.

In the second half Albion huff and puff but, as per, they barely threaten. The likes of Josh Maja, Daryl Dike, and Mikey Johnston enter the fray but cannot lay much of a glove on Coventry, who see the game out professionally. Their fans sing about playing Arsenal away next season, Albion’s sing of playing Walsall away in response. Gallows humour; it’s all we’ve got left. This is presumably not what Kyle Bartley was encouraging in the days before the game when he urged the fans to get behind the team. Maybe “shit beard” Bartley should take the reigns as Albion head coach when Ramsay goes? The irony of a squad downing tools on him would be quite something.

Full time. More boooooo’s. A late Stoke equaliser against Leicester City has kept the Foxes a point beneath the Throstles in the table however, so Albion remain just outside of the relegation zone for now. You feel like if the Baggies are to survive, it will in part be thanks to Leicester and Oxford somehow being even worse.

The players sheepishly walk around the pitch, clapping the fans. Some politely clap back, others choose alternative hand gestures that are less than polite.

As we disgruntled fans traipse out of the ground, there’s a vehicle surrounded by police on the Birmingham Road, clearly smashed up in a collision, and oh so fittingly congruous with Albion’s car crash of a season.

Thankfully I completed my own drive home in one piece, but the optimism I’d felt on the journey to The Hawthorns had fizzled away considerably. There’s such a feeling of decline at the Albion, a rot that began under previous owners but that the current club custodians have so far shown little nous to put right. Twice this season they have gambled on rookie head coaches, and twice it has failed.

The drop to English football’s third tier feels horribly inevitable, each listless performance and dismal result a further nail in the coffin. It’s strange to feel this way, given we’re a point above the drop zone, not ten from safety, yet the vibes around the club are so low right now, and no one really knows how to restore positivity. It’s hard to escape that sinking feeling.

A win on Tuesday would help. Can the Baggies achieve that? Will Ramsay even be there to witness it? You wouldn’t put your money on either.

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

I anticipate that most Albion fans, if asked the question “what should West Brom aim to be?”, would answer as follows:

“A Premier League club.”

That’s an understandable answer, for many reasons. Albion have been a Premier League club for 13 seasons since the “Premiership” was introduced in 1992, and sit 11th in the all time league table of English football. History suggests the Baggies should be in the big time, and they are the highest ranked club in that all time table who aren’t currently sat in the top flight.

There’s also the financial aspect; being in the Premier League is to a football club what buying the winning lottery ticket is to you or I. And there’s also just wanting to see the club reach as high as possible; realistically for Albion that’s probably not going to be Premier League champions any time soon, however just reaching the top division is hardly an unrealistic ambition (even if right now, you’d be forgiven for considering it a pipedream).

Were I in charge of the Albion however, Premier League football would not be my central vision; it would instead be a by-product of successfully achieving something else - an identity.

That identity would be one of playing attacking, attractive football. Always. The “Albion Way” would be to get you out of your seat, to entertain fans and make you excited to go and watch the Baggies in action. When fans leave the The Hawthorns after a game, no matter the result they’d be proud that they’ve watched a good game of football, and seen their team go for the win.

This identity would be the clubs’ north star, under which all else is built to achieve it. The youth academy would focus on producing players of technical excellence, comfortable with the ball at their feet rather than simply being physically fast and strong. The recruitment team would scour lands near and far for players with the skill and personality to want the ball at their feet, and with intent to move it forward. The manager would be selected based on their commitment to playing brave attacking football, with the ball primarily kept on the floor and the aim of scoring a lot of goals. Possession, but with purpose.

The level Albion play at, and how naïve it may seem to embrace this style based on how their squad compares to others at that level, would be irrelevant. There would be no turning to a defensive firefighter when times get tough, no modifying of this vision if certain players leave. We play our way, and we never relent from that. Go for glory, or go home.

There are times in the Albion’s past where they did aim to play in such a manner.

Albion won the FA Cup in 1954, and almost achieved a league and cup double that season, finishing second behind Wolves (of all clubs), but beating Preston North End at Wembley to lift the cup. The manager of that Albion side was Vic Buckingham, a pioneer of the “press and possess” style that is common nowadays, but that back in the 50’s was going against the grain, when “kick and rush” was generally in vogue.

After his time at Albion ended, Buckingham decided to move to the continent to play his favoured style where it would be more appreciated, and it was while he managed Ajax that he handed a debut to a talented 17-year-old lad called Johann Cruyff. Some years later Buckingham also managed Barcelona, adding the Copa del Rey to his trophy cabinet whilst there in the early 1970’s. He had left Camp Nou by the time Cruyff himself arrived at Barca, by that point one of the greatest players ever, a thrice European champion with a historic Ajax side managed by Rinus Michels. Michels had succeeded Buckingham in Amsterdam, would do so again in Catalonia, and he and Cruyff would leave a legacy at both clubs that forever wed them to a style of football that would become, in future years, the ideal of how to play football and how to develop immense talent. Michels and Cruyff were the legendary proponents of Total Football; yet Buckingham played no small part in helping them do that, and is West Bromwich Albion’s link to that revered style.

Albion have not always played Total Football, that’s for sure. There have been times when they played some great stuff mind you - the late 1970’s for example, when on one famous day they went to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United 5-3, scoring some fantastic goals thanks to having the talent of Cyrille Regis, Bryan Robson, Tony Brown and Laurie Cunningham in their ranks. There was the team of Ossie Ardiles that played great stuff on the way to promotion from Division 2 in 1993, and then under Tony Mowbray between 2006-2009, Albion played superb attacking football and scored for fun on their way to winning the Championship in 2008. In 2019/2020, under the management of Slaven Bilic, Albion were again promoted and played some excellent football where the talent of Matheus Pereira, Romaine Sawyers and Grady Diangana shone brightly in a flamboyant, possession based system.

The problem is however that after each one of these revered managers left the club, those in charge would turn to someone else who was less inclined to play entertaining, possession based attacking football, and consequently never having one particular style develop to become the clubs identity.

Back in the Mowbray days, Stoke City’s Tony Pulis and his team of horrible, physical, hoof-ball exponents was essentially seen as the anti-Christ by Albion fans - yet only a matter of years later, Pulis was in The Hawthorns hotseat himself, delivering the same style of play that made Stoke hideous to play against, but also hideous to watch. After Bilic came Sam Allardyce, like Pulis a set piece reliant defensive organiser who specialised in Premier League survival (at least until he pitched up at Albion, with whom his never been relegated reputation went up in smoke). Big Sam initially made a team built for Bilic’s possession based style look absolutely dreadful, until he could make several January additions more aligned to his methods which did improve performances and results, albeit not enough to avoid the drop.

This season, it seems history is once again repeating itself. Ryan Mason will not be remembered fondly by Albion fans like Ardiles, Mowbray, or Bilic generally are, but he did try to instil something of a possession based style after his appointment in the summer of 2025. Unfortunately it was also a meek, overly cautious style that rarely went for the throat and led to dismal results, especially away from home. Mason was replaced by Eric Ramsay, a more defensive and counter attacking manager who is yet to win after seven games in charge, the latest of which was a cup defeat at Norwich City where Albion played their second string, were starved of the ball for long periods, and were generally quite miserable to watch. No one can expect Ramsay to turn the current Albion squad into an equivalent of Michels’ Ajax side, he’s doing his best just to make them hard to score against and able to score themselves from counters and set plays; typical “survival-ball”, with a team whose only aim for the remainder of this season is to try and escape relegation to League 1.

Time will tell if a) Ramsay gets to manage Albion beyond the end of this season (if even until then), and b) if he can instil more of an entertaining approach in the long term, should he keep the club up and be backed to remain in charge. Personally I hope he can be successful, I think he’s a bright young coach who has already proven his credentials at Minnesota United, but taking on this Albion side at this point in the clubs history looks a difficult task for him right now.

My message to Shilen Patel and the Albion ownership is this - if you’re in it for the long haul at Albion, and you want to make the club a success, then recognise that the fans want to be entertained. That means don’t plump for really inexperienced managers with barely any track record at all, let alone for coaching entertaining football. That also means don’t fill the squad with players who lack technical quality and have barely any pace. West Bromwich Albion is historically a big club with a proud history that shouldn’t be anywhere near the third tier, and (especially when outside the Premier League) should play with the confidence and ability to control games and the hunger to always go for the win.

For far too long there’s been no true vision at West Bromwich Albion, it’s just been “we want to be in the Premier League”, but that’s not a vision; it’s an objective. The vision should be to emulate the likes of Ajax and Barcelona; not necessarily in a winning trophies sense (though that would be nice!), but via developing an identity for playing beautiful football whether times are good or not, and to produce outstanding young footballers thanks to a commitment to a defined play style that’s enjoyable, both to play and to watch. A play style Vic Buckingham would have appreciated, that fans can be proud of, and that the clubs history resonates with.

Make the Albion something we can love again. Please.

Is this is a vision you could get on board with, or would yours be different to mine? Let me know in the comments!

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

In his press conference ahead of West Bromwich Albion’s home clash with Stoke City, Albion Head Coach Eric Ramsey said:

“The table is meaningless to me from the perspective of the messages that I give to the players and the way in which we prepare for an individual game. It’s again, not helpful, I think, to be drawn into the situation as a whole. You have to have that laser focus on day-to-day because, I think, otherwise the whole situation starts to feel too heavy.”

To some this is a coach understandably seeking to reduce the pressure on his players that comes from dropping into the relegation zone, as Albion had thanks to Blackburn Rovers victory against Sheffield Wednesday a couple of days prior. Ramsay wanted his team to focus on winning the next game, not troubling themselves too much over the concern of dropping to League 1. This is known as a systematic approach; focusing on the smaller, more immediate task in hand rather than the larger objective, and is common in sport - for example cyclists in a three-week grand tour race will often say “we take it day by day”, implying the overall race is long, but each stage on each day of the race is important to focus on one at a time.

Yet some Baggies fans felt Ramsay had pedalled the wrong message, and did not react well to his comment. They felt it was tone-deaf; a head coach pretending everything was fine despite the situation Albion are in, akin to crashing into a roadside ditch and seeing their wheels come off.

“How can the table be meaningless?!? We look like we’re going to be relegated, people at the club will lose their jobs, does this PE Teacher not care?!”

Even worse, Ramsay had the temerity to serve what some describe as a “word salad” - a jumble of words and sayings more suited to a LinkedIn post than most football fans care for. Save it for the High Performance Podcast, Eric; your smarter than typical football vocabulary isn’t welcome. Especially from a bloody ‘PE Teacher’ - a tag that I interpret is to deride the fact that Ramsay was a university student rather than a professional footballer, and had only been a head coach in the USA’s MLS prior to taking the Albion job. The fact he has also coached at Chelsea and Manchester United, and was the youngest British person ever to achieve UEFA’s highest coaching badges, is somewhat by the by. Ramsay is literally a student of the game, but that’s not enough to earn your stripes in the English game.

Emotions are running high within the Albion fanbase of late, so perhaps inflammatory reactions to what would normally be unremarkable quotes are to be expected. And perhaps also, the Baggies faithful are tired of those in charge of the club trying to be too clever. This is a reasonable view.

Ever since Bilkul Albion became owners of the club, there’s been a lot of talk about doing things smarter. Initially this was most welcome, given the previous owners had been anything but smart in their approach to running the club, which is why they bought an established Premier League outfit for about £200m and then sold at a monumental loss just eight years later. Bilkul, led by Shilen Patel and Andrew Nestor, were bringing the Moneyball; a data-centric approach born in their US homeland, that would enable the Albion to remain Championship promotion contenders even while cutting the wage bill and selling the clubs’ most sought after talent, in order to remain on the right side of Championship profit and sustainability rules. Sell high, buy intelligently low, take the same successful road that the clever likes of Brighton and Brentford have travelled to the Premier League promised land.

Maybe they had the map upside down. Or maybe they had the wrong map entirely, and should’ve asked to borrow the right one from Dan Ashworth. The road to success has not been located, the club instead seem have veered onto the highway to hell.

Last week, Nestor left Albion. The club afforded him the briefest, tersest of goodbye messages on the club website. The President was no longer deemed fit for office, and it would appear Patel and Nestor had developed serious disagreements on the clubs’ direction of travel. That would explain why, when Ramsay was appointed successor to Ryan Mason, it was Patel who presented him to the media while Nestor was nowhere to be seen.

Why had it come to this?

Nestor had previously been open about adopting a “game model” (playing style) that he’d effectively inherited thanks to Carlos Corberan being Albion head coach when Bilkul arrived. The Spaniard favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation and a cautious, possession based style of play. When Corberan left to become Valencia manager, Nestor sought a replacement who would build on the same template but add a bit more attacking verve. In hindsight, this was naïve.

First, Tony Mowbray was appointed - those who remember his first spell at Albion knew this meant cavalier, attacking football that back in 2008 led to goals-a-plenty and a Championship title. That was with a supremely talented (by second tier standards) team however, with several players who had been Premier League standard or would become so later. The 2025 Albion was not the same vintage, with nowhere near the same attacking quality. Nestor had pointed out upon Mowbray’s arrival that “Tony’s recent track record is among the best in the last five years in terms of individual player uplift and squad performance. There is strong alignment on how we are already building out the club’s broader sporting structure and, most importantly, the way we are seeking to build the positive culture we wish to continue to foster here.”

Alas, only three months later Mowbray was dismissed with no positive culture in sight. By the end, Mowbray was openly scathing of the lack of leadership and courage in the team, and of the disconnect between him and the recruitment team, saying:

“When I was here 18 years ago, I was the manager, I picked the players, I coached the players, I sold the players. That’s how it happened but I don’t do that anymore.”

It’s not uncommon nowadays for football clubs to operate in this manner. The head coach picks the team and coaches the players but has little to no input on who is recruited to the squad - that responsibility lies with others now. Clever clubs now have scouts and analysts pour over data and analytics, recommending potential signings up to a Director of Football. In Albion’s case, that’s Ian Pearce. Pearce joined Albion as a scout in 2018 and was promoted to Director of Football in 2023, a role he kept after Bilkul’s takeover. His track record when it comes to recruitment is sketchy to say the least, and it will be interesting to see what becomes of him and his role once the rumoured addition of Dominic Price as Technical Director happens.

Last summer, Nestor went all in on a rookie head coach in Ryan Mason, while Pearce led the recruitment of players who have collectively not impressed. This laid the ground for what has been a grim campaign for the Baggies, and if these incomings really were based on data, the Albion fanbase would love to know who provided the dodgy metrics.

Effectively a whole new defence needed sourcing. Tjorborn Heggem departed to Bologna for an excellent profit, but a genuine left footed replacement was not signed, unless you count left back Charlie Taylor for that role, now known to be a considerable downgrade. Semi Ajayi was released and Kyle Bartley retired, plus Caleb Taylor and Darnell Furlong were sold. The never ever used left back Gianluca Frabotta left for free to join Cesena.

In came Nat Phillips, Chris Mepham, Krystian Bielik, George Campbell, and Alfie Gilchrist. Of those, only Campbell has seemed genuine value for money so far, ironically the only one who arrived without Championship experience. Given Albion’s plan under Mason was to continue the 4-2-3-1 game model approach, signing five right footed centre backs (the most natural position for all of them, even if Campbell and Gilchrist can play right back and Bielik can play in midfield) seemed a bit much and left Albion with a dearth of natural full backs.

In midfield, Grady Diangana and John Swift were released, two players who could often frustrate through inconsistency but who did possess match winning talent and creativity too. Tom Fellows also left, heading to Southampton for £8m, a bargain for the Saints but much needed cash in the coffers for Albion’s PSR constraints. Diangana and Swift were not replaced until January by the loan signings of Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba from Aston Villa and Mustapha Hindolo from Crystal Palace, therefore trading two experienced Championship creators for two untested kids. Fellows was supposedly replaced by another Villa loanee, Samuel Iling-Junior - a left footer who looked more comfortable as a left wingback than a right winger, and who Villa recalled last week in order to pack him off to Pisa for the second half of the season. Given Fellows had been so key to Albion’s attack in the last two seasons playing as a proper chalk on his boots type right winger, to replace him with someone of such a different profile was a ridiculous decision.

Up front, Aune Heggebø arrived for just shy of £5m, and his return far this season of eight goals isn’t too bad considering the stark lack of service any Albion striker receives nowadays. Mikey Johnston is the exception to that, with nine assists he’s actually the leading creator in the Championship, but unfortunately for Albion no one else seems particularly interested or capable when it comes to chance creation, unless you count young Ollie Bostock, last seen assisting a lovely goal and then scoring the winner in a cup shootout at Swansea, but not used since. It seems Albion prefer to loan others kids rather than play their own, which doesn’t seem very clever if the plan is to develop and sell players for considerable profit.

The lack of creativity was all too apparent on Saturday, when on a filthy February afternoon, Albion and Stoke delivered a goalless stalemate that was somehow even grimmer than the weather. It wasn’t raining goals at The Hawthorns… it was just raining. The point was hard earned, the clean sheet was welcome, as was Ramsay showing the adaptability he had been credited with by Patel when he first arrived by switching from his usual five at the back approach to the good old 4-2-3-1. Albion weren’t great, but at least there was fight (which had been utterly lacking in the previous game at Portsmouth), and the point lifted the Baggies out of the relegation zone too. The fans in attendance did their bit as well - sensing that despite a lot of disappointment in the players this season, the team needs its twelfth man in the battle to stay up.

Small positives, that can hopefully be built on to eventually drag Albion over the line marked ‘survival’. The jury remains somewhat out on Ramsay however, who has only collected two points in his first five games in charge, and if Albion do drop down to League 1 come May then his appointment as a young and fairly untested manager is going to be severely scrutinised (despite his UEFA badges and obvious high potential as a coach), when the club could have opted for a more experienced Championship operator to oversee their scrap for survival. It seems naïve to the point of recklessness that in a season where Albion were at their most challenged by PSR constrictions, they opted to hire two extremely green head coaches of rather different footballing philosophies. Clever? Not really.

Perhaps the culture Patel seeks to install at Albion is one of developing the young. Bring them in at an early stage of their career, whether player or coach, and aim to see them leave for a healthy profit that can be invested in the next whizz kid. That’s fine if it is the long term plan, but build the foundations first Shilen, upon the knowledge and expertise of football people who know what they’re doing because they’ve done it before.

Overall, Albion fans are imploring the club to get back to basics. No one fails to appreciate that the previous owners landed the club in serious financial conditions, and no one fails to appreciate the work Patel et al have done to steady the ship in that regard. Yet the chronic failure to perform basic squad renewal, or to appoint a head coach who fans can have genuine faith in to get results, and who players can have genuine faith in to develop them to better footballers, is exceptionally disappointing.

Nestor has paid for that disappointment with his job. Mark Miles now returns as “Executive Director” for another crack at being part of the club leadership team, having only left his role as “Managing Director” at Albion last September. Time will tell if he can direct Albion onto safer, steadier ground.

As for Ramsay, he’ll no doubt continue with his systematic approach, preparing the players for the next game (a tough one, away to Birmingham City, who are very strong at home). Taking it day by day, seeking gradual performance improvement, laser-focused on getting Albion the results they need to steer clear of the trapdoor.

Whether his interviews irritate you or not, let’s hope his approach leads to success, and is a catalyst for long term improvements at The Hawthorns.

Let’s hope his appointment turns out to be clever.

Subscribe now

Do you feel the Albion board need to get back to basics, or do you think they just lack intelligence and need to bring it in? Let me know in the comments, as always I love to hear your views.

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

Last week I wrote a piece that preached hope that Chris Mepham’s late equaliser at Derby County may be the moment on which Albion build a positive end to the season. A point on the road (at last), and signs of hope that new head coach Eric Ramsay was starting to get a tune out of this Albion side, after the terrible home defeat to Norwich that ended 5-0, and with The Hawthorns informing the team that their performance was indefensible and that they were not fit to wear the famous blue and white stripes.

Not an unreasonable accusation, because perhaps they just aren’t.

Whatever hope emanated from the draw at Pride Park was leached from every Baggies supporter today at Fratton Park. Albion were utterly grim again, easily drubbed once more in a relegation six-pointer. Portsmouth 3-0 Albion. When the stakes are high, it seems the current Albion squad just don’t have the guts, the heart, the spine for the occasion.

How did it come to this? Until his dismissal, most fans blamed Ryan Mason for the malaise, seeing him as too inexperienced for the job, and lacking in both charisma and tactical intelligence. Yet Eric Ramsay has come in (not vastly experienced either, but at least able to point to an impressive previous job in the US at Minnesota United), and overseen three defeats in four games where Albion have scored three but conceded twelve - if anything, looking worse than they ever did under Mason.

Considering Ramsay has sought to make the Baggies a tighter defensive unit, that’s an awful start, especially considering the two heaviest defeats have been against relegation rivals. Many fans don’t feel his favoured 5-4-1 formation is well suited to the Albion squad, and are disappointed that a head coach described as adaptable and pragmatic upon arrival has seemed anything but so far.

You have to ask though, what formation does suit this squad? Is that even relevant? No matter what formation or tactical style you use, there are some rather key ingredients required for any team in football:

• Mental strength

• Technical quality

• Pace

Albion’s squad is devoid of all.

Mentality is arguably the biggest issue of the three. When a big match arrives, Albion crumble and lose heavily (Norwich, Portsmouth). The team often allow their opponent to take control of the game early on and dictate it on their terms, resulting in conceding and having to chase the match (Albion have fallen behind in 19 Championship games this season, and only recovered to win twice). When actually on top in a game, for example at Leicester a few weeks ago, they don’t have it in them to seize the moment and win it, and instead lose eventually. When actually leading a game (something that feels like a distant memory, having not occurred for several weeks now), they sheepishly sink deep into their own territory yet often concede anyway (losing 12 points from a winning position so far this season). Only rock-bottom, doomed from the start Sheffield Wednesday have conceded more goals in the Championship than Albion.

There’s so little technical ability in the team too. Hardly any of them truly look capable of playing anything but risk-averse passes. Watching the team try to build an attack is painful, and usually results in them cautiously playing the ball back to the defenders or keeper to launch forward, resulting in nothing. Any team that presses Albion with intensity completely negates the Baggies from building cohesive attacking moves, and can often result in forcing mistakes they score from. At Portsmouth, Albion managed a paltry four touches in the opponents box during the entire game. Four. Being a forward for this team must be incredibly frustrating, the midfield creates next to nothing in most games, and the striker (usually Aune Heggebø) has to spend most of their time either defending behind the ball, or battling for long balls (often just to flick it on to no one who can arsed to run, or, to play the ball backwards to a midfielder who will also play it sideways or backwards, until what may have looked like a promising attack fizzles out). Credit to Mikey Johnston who has bucked that creative trend somewhat, if anyone creates chances for Albion then its him (MJ has a solid nine assists to his name so far this season), but relying on just one player for all your chance creation is unwise, if not foolish.

As for pace and agility, there just isn’t any. Ramsay wants Albion to be a counter attacking team, that sits in and waits for space to open up that can be exploited. Yet who will do that? The one who may have taken some joy from this approach is Karlan Grant, who we may not see again in an Albion shirt due to a hamstring injury ruling him out for three months, and who usually flatters to deceive anyway. Otherwise, Heggebø is not quick, nor is Josh Maja, and any time we see Daryl Dike sprint we wince in anticipation of yet another muscle or tendon imploding within poor DD’s cursed limbs. Isaac Price? Doesn’t seem interested in the ball or making runs onto it. Jed Wallace? Lost his pace a while ago. Samuel Iling-Junior? The jury is out on whether he even wants to be at Albion, or to sprint. Danny Imray? Too soon to tell (hauled off at half time on his debut at Portsmouth, not exactly promising). Ollie Bostock? Never plays. I think the stat that highlights Albion’s lack of pace and ability to run with the ball more than any other is the number of penalties won this season: zero. Not one of them can carry the ball into the box to draw a foul, and as stated above, all too rarely to create a chance either.

Poor defensively, dismal in attack… Albion are in deep, deep trouble.

In his Christmas message to the Baggies fans, club president Andrew Nestor crowed about the clubs transfer activity and how it had reduced both the wage bill and the overall age of the squad. This was despite the difficult financial restrictions inherited by new owners Bilkul Albion upon purchasing the club. Nestor said:

“In just three transfer windows, we have transformed a squad that was the oldest in the division based on minutes played and amongst the most expensive in terms of player costs, into a younger squad with substantially higher long-term value and a growing cohesiveness that fits the style of play we are building toward, setting the club on a course for future financial stability, and a platform to compete for promotion.”

Compete for promotion? Right now it feels hard to believe Albion will do that in League 1, where they may well be kicking off in August at this rate!

The transfer business of summer 2025 is not looking good right now. Of those brought in, Heggebø and Campbell have looked decent enough. Nat Phillips and Mepham however, despite being experienced Championship defenders, have seriously underwhelmed - looking shorn of grit and confidence. Krystian Bielik seems a solid defender, but with an all-too-often broken body. Alfie Gilchrist is young and may improve, but to date has looked very short of quality. Loan additions Iling-Junior and Charlie Taylor have generally been so underwhelming that you wonder if lads in the under-21’s side should have been used instead, to no less effect; Toby Collyer barely played due to injuries before being returned to Manchester United.

In addition to these questionable incomings, you look at many players in the current squad and wonder if their heart isn’t truly in it at Albion, because they likely don’t have a future at the club. This summer, contracts come to an end for Grant, Wallace, Maja, and Dike - on paper a pretty decent Championship front four, and very likely some of the clubs top earners, yet all are prone to injury and/or iffy performances. You wonder why Albion didn’t make more effort to shift them all last summer when at least a modest fee could still have been commanded in return; perhaps no one was seriously interested, but usually a deal can be struck at the right price for all involved, and Albion would have been better off with fresher, hungrier attacking talent.

Also, in Wallace’s case, he’s club captain but the squad seems perpetually short on leadership. He never starts, possibly because he’s not fit enough for a full game. He likely knows he’s going to be released in June. You wonder if this has a negative consequence - the dressing room leader isn’t long for the club, perhaps therefore isn’t so invested in the club, and so does this cause an issue for the dynamic of the younger squad? Who knows, and for the record I think Wallace is a decent man who likely does have plenty of professional pride, yet the lack on on-pitch leadership and all too often lethargic team performances suggests there may well be a problem here.

Meanwhile, those who were sold are doing marvellously. Tom Fellows is racking up assists at Southampton, Caleb Taylor is developing superbly at playoff chasing Millwall, and Tjorborn Heggem is playing in Serie A for Bologna. Even Reyes Cleary is looking terrific now he gets first team football at Barnsley, and being coveted by some of Albion's rival Championship clubs. All were sold/released to balance the books, without which we may have seen Albion docked points and be even more threatened by relegation than they are now; but it’s wretched for Albion fans to watch these players doing so well while those who stayed/came in have been so underwhelming.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Something seems rotten within The Hawthorns, despite what initially felt like a bright new era when Shilen Patel and Bilkul Albion bought the club and removed it from the clutches of Guochuan Lai and his “Chinese web” of investors, who had bought the Baggies for about £200m when in the Premier League and eventually sold them at a substantial loss as an ailing Championship outfit. The toxicity that enveloped the club in that time was obvious; as much as there was admirable defiance from fans, who protested loudly and proudly to highlight the situation within which Lai had landed Albion, there was also a dark negativity that could be felt in the fanbase, both in the stands and online - a sickness of sorts that ironically seemed to land at around the same time as the Covid pandemic in 2020. It’s hard to shake the suspicion that this sickness somehow remains, a hangover for the club and those within it who no doubt want to do well and deliver success at Albion, yet who remain encapsulated within a culture that delivers little except further decline.

It doesn’t help either that Patel and Nestor et al seem oh so keen to be all Billy Bean, with analytics led decision making, yet appear more akin to Mr Bean when it comes to recruitment. Nestor professes to wanting to make data led judgements that deliver “front foot” football, yet Albion seem to get worse with each head coach appointed by our supposedly smart new owners. When Tony Mowbray came in, that actually did seem a good choice - we all know Mogga demands front foot, attacking football and has a great track record in the Championship. That didn’t go so well at first, but had the club stuck to their guns (and perhaps, had Mowbray not returned to football so soon after severe illness) he could well have been the right man to rebuild the club culture with. Instead he was sacked after just three months, and replaced by the rookie Mason, a determined bloke but one whose results, playing style, and personality were rather uninspiring. Now Albion have moved onto Ramsay, whose approach is more defined than Mason’s but isn’t what anyone would describe as “front foot”.

The same merry-go-round of head coaches with different tactical philosophies that Albion had in the Lai days is still spinning at such a rate that it makes for a dizzying, discombobulating ride for the Baggies onboard. Just four (four!) games into his tenure, Ramsay is already being informed by the away fans that his “football is shit” - a chant that has been the death knell for previous managers at The Hawthorns, such as Tony Pulis and Valerian Ismael.

It seems incredible (and thoroughly depressing) to write this, but I fear that if the performance and result at home to Stoke City next Saturday is not positive, the fans may turn in abundance on Ramsay. That will be hugely embarrassing for Patel and Nestor, who I genuinely believe care for the club, and of course deserve great thanks for taking us out of Lai’s hands and working hard to make the Albion financially sustainable again, but whose football related decision making has so far been highly questionable. The fact they have placed faith in Ian Pearce, part of the old regime and promoted to be “Director of Football Operations” despite having a rather sketchy record on transfer deals and scouting, seems ever more questionable too.

Albion sit precariously above the relegation zone by just one place, and just three points. Blackburn Rovers sit below in 22nd, but with a game in hand against Sheffield Wednesday, and Albion still to play at home - which considering the Baggies’ away form this season and their propensity to lose such key games is very bad news (or very good news, if you’re a Rovers fan).

Perhaps the end of the rotten cycle Albion are in is going to be relegation to League 1. It’s not like they’d be the first to experience this - we’ve seen Wolves, Blues, Derby, and Ipswich all drop that low before rebounding successfully. Like a drug addict, perhaps Albion really need to “hit their rock bottom” before they can recover renewed, kicking the habit of recruiting expensive yet mediocre players and replacing them with hungry new ones who are driven to play for the club and the head coach who fits the owners preferred long term game model.

Should relegation happen, we had better hope that successful rebound is the result - because for a club like West Bromwich Albion to sink that low at all is a serious failure, and will only be worth it if the poison is completely purged, allowing the Throstles to sing in rude health once more.

Ideally, Eric Ramsay will steer the Albion to safety and enable the club to continue its refresh with Championship status in tact. He’s up against it though, already - it’s a tough job for any head coach, given what’s at his disposal in a club still trying to recover from a sickness already cured, but that left its host weakened, frail, yet to truly regain its strength or to be successfully rehabilitated.

Can you see Albion surviving from here? Do you think Eric Ramsay is the man for the job? Do you think Bilkul Albion are failing as owners and custodians of the Baggies? And will I ever get to write a positive post about an Albion victory???

Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts, I love to hear from readers and I very much appreciate all who read my pieces and then comment (and subscribe!).

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

On Friday night, Chris Mepham’s late headed equaliser at Derby County only crossed the line by a couple of centimetres; but hey, they all count, and suddenly being an Albion fan felt a little brighter, via a moment to savour at the end of a largely grim game at Pride Park. Referee Anthony Backhouse felt the buzz on his watch to signal goal line technology had confirmed Mepham’s header successfully entered the goal, and the Baggies in the away end felt the much larger buzz of a last gasp goal and a salvaged point, that ended the Albion’s heinous record of ten consecutive league losses on the road.

This draw, and the performance that earnt it, was significant not just for ending that rancid run of away defeats, but also because it was the first positive result for Albion under new head coach Eric Ramsay. Following on from the sucker punch late defeat in his first game in charge against Middlesbrough, and then the utterly indefensible 5-0 trouncing at home to Norwich City, the appointment of Ramsay was already being scrutinised by some as another unwise punt on a young coach who doesn’t have the necessary experience for the current situation at Albion. Ryan Mason, mark II? Albion’s owners yet again selecting the wrong man - do they know anything about football? That Norwich defeat was such a horror show that you feared the Baggies morale may be in tatters, and therefore a trip to Derby, where Albion have been victorious just once in over a century, felt considerably ominous.

As it transpired, Albion’s resilience and defensive solidity were much improved.

Ramsay didn’t change his usual 3 - 4 - 3 / 5 - 4 - 1 (adjust as you see fit) formation, but he did make several changes to the starting line up. Max O’Leary, signed the previous day from Bristol City, started in goal instead of Josh Griffiths. In defence, George Campbell came in at left centre back for Charlie Taylor, while Nat Phillips remained central and Krystian Bielik dropped back from central midfield to play on the right of the three. Callum Styles moved from central midfield to play left wingback; Isaac Price started again as right wingback, even though against Norwich he’d looked lost there and been hauled off at half time. Jayson Molumby and Ousmane Diakite came into midfield. Aune Heggebø returned up front, flanked by Mikey Johnston and Karlan Grant, however Grant’s hamstring gave in after five minutes (seemingly in the process of ‘Klarna’ attempting a volley but completely missing the ball), so he was replaced by Samuel Iling-Junior, pretty much the only player to come out of the Norwich game with any respect in tact and who therefore had been unfortunate to lose his place.

The changes made a significant difference. O’Leary appeared to have been instructed not to play out from the back from goal kicks, a blessed relief given Albion had continuously looked ropey playing that way all season, and the debutant man between the sticks seemed to have more accurate long distribution than Griffiths. Campbell’s pace and mobility meant Albion’s left side of defence was no longer a considerable weakness for opponents to expose, as it had been with Taylor there. Molumby and Diakite battled fiercely and won several duels against a Derby midfield that were no shrinking violets themselves. Diakite was especially impressive, not least because he was returning after the recent tragic death of his brother, which had meant he missed the previous two games on compassionate grounds. The ‘play over the press rather than through it’ approach also suited him, as it bypassed the main weakness in his game, which is controlling and progressing the ball under pressure.

For all that Albion had gained in steel, they were still sorely lacking in creativity. Mikey Johnston, easily the Baggies’ most able source of attacking output, struggled to get into the game and seemed intent on producing flicks and tricks that never came off, in a match where Albion were otherwise thoroughly back to basics. The most likely route to a goal seemed to be via set pieces, and from a corner Campbell had sent a free header just wide.

Then, just before half time, Derby got a set piece of their own. Yet another errant and irresponsible flick from Johnston deep in his own half meant he lost the ball and Bielik clumsily upended his opponent - all very needless, and all too careless. Naturally, this led to a goal; and to top it off, it was the new man in Albion’s goal who dropped a major clanger in the process. O’Leary dropped what looked like a routine catch, and Derby’s Patrick Agyemang bundled home. Replays showed that O’Leary may have been slightly put off by Phillips jumping in front of him, but it still looked like a howler and after barely threatening throughout the whole of the first half, Derby went into the break with their noses in front thanks to a gift.

The second half was a case of Albion needing to take the game to the hosts, but struggling due to an obvious lack of attacking ability. Derby had very little on show either, and you had to wonder who at Sky Sports had decided to show this one live on a Friday night - surely even the most ardent of football purists were switching over to watch The Traitors final in their droves, as this game slogged on with quality and chances at a severe premium. Ramsay sought to impact proceedings with a triple change on the hour, switching to a 3 - 5 - 2 and throwing Josh Maja and Daryl Dike up top, plus bringing on Jed Wallace to supply them with crosses. This gave the Albion more impetus, but still they created little. Iling-Junior had a free shot from near the edge of the area, but failed to strike properly and saw it easily blocked.

As the game crept into injury time, Albion threw the proverbial kitchen sink. Campbell slung in some long throws, and one very nearly paid off, with Maja poking off target with the goal at his mercy. “That was the chance”, we all thought. Yet in that moment, fortune finally smiled upon the Baggies. Referee Backhouse thought Derby keeper Jacob Zetterstrom had saved Maja’s effort, perhaps charitably thinking that was the only way the Albion front man hadn’t converted such a presentable opportunity. From the resulting corner, Molumby’s flick was headed home - just - by Mepham, a super-sub impact as the Welshman had come on for the injured Bielik. 1-1.

Mepham barely celebrated, instead motioning to his team mates to get back into their compact shape and make sure they leave with a hard earned point. This was pleasing to see - clear recognition of the fact that Albion had thrown away far too many points in the closing stages this season, and needed to avoid falling into that same trap once more. This time, they closed it out with minimal fuss.

What did we learn from this game? Perhaps not a great deal, but my key take-aways were:

• Ramsay has recognised that Albion really struggle to build from the back, and put a stop to it with O’Leary almost always kicking long and trying to pick out the forwards. If the forwards didn’t win the initial header, Diakite and Molumby always charged in for the second ball to seek to initiate a counter attack, or simply gain possession higher up the field. This made Albion less vulnerable defensively, simply by being more risk averse.

• Set pieces are Albion’s most likely source of goals. Their Expected Goals (xG) metric for this game was 0.97 (in comparison to Derby’s rather paltry 0.29), yet 0.77 of that came from set play situations. If possible, I dearly hope that the club can add a creative attacking midfielder and a much more natural right wingback before the end of the current transfer window, so that the team is less reliant on chances from set pieces alone; but also, with Ramsay recognised as a head coach who gets his teams to profit from set plays consistently, this may be how Albion get results and points on the board in what remains of the season.

• Entertainment will likely be rare in the coming months. The lack of attacking quality in the side is chronic, and questions need to be asked of the club hierarchy as to why they have built a team so lacking in pace, flair, and passing ability. Few fans shed a tear for losing the likes of John Swift or Grady Diangana last summer, yet they did at least have some talent to make a creative difference in games, and of course the sale of Tom Fellows has been keenly felt. For large periods of this game it was depressing to watch Albion lack the ideas and ability to move into Derby’s final third and cause them more problems.

• There is spirit left in this Albion side, and a determination to make up for what was surely the seasons’ darkest day against Norwich. Next up, Portsmouth away - another relegation six pointer that feels must not lose for the Baggies, but that Pompey will surely treat as must win, and be right up for. The same grit and refusal to be beaten shown at Pride Park must also be repeated at Fratton Park. This week, Ramsay will finally have something unavailable to him so far in his tenure - a full week on the training pitch, with which to drill the players and help them better understand the playing style he wants them to excel in. We all hope that there is visible evidence of that on Saturday, and not just from a defensively organised perspective, but also in terms of improved attacking cohesion and ever more ruthless exploitation of set pieces.

• Questions remain about the goalkeeping department - O’Leary’s mistake gifted Derby their goal from their only attempt on target. Perhaps being so new and not yet forming a bond with his defence played some part, but Bristol City fans have warned on social media that catching crosses is often a weakness for ‘MOL’, meaning we may remain nervous whenever a set play in crossing range has to be faced. What Albion must truly hope from here however is that he can remedy the issue of Albion conceding the highest percentage of shots on target in the Championship (stat below from Albion Analysis on X).

• George Campbell is a much safer and more secure centre back than Charlie Taylor, plus his long throws are a useful weapon. He will surely retain his place from here, and has easily been one of the clubs most positive additions from last summers’ questionable recruitment spree. Nat Phillips and Chris Mepham have looked much more suspect since arriving then too, despite being seasoned Championship defenders; but their impact at Derby was improved and you hope their confidence is as well after a largely solid showing (and a crucial goal, in Mepham’s case).

• The Albion fans in the away end were magnificent, and richly deserved the joy of the late equaliser. I’ve no doubt they played their part in enabling the Baggies to salvage this point. I’ve also no doubt that some of them were booing the players off the pitch just 72 hours earlier at The Hawthorns after the Norwich debacle, so to turn up and get behind the lads with such noise and energy was a huge credit to them. Moving forward, I believe the Albion team will need that same level of support to push further results over the line in order to achieve safety, both home and away.

That late equaliser was fortunate, it only crossed the line by centimetres, and it only gained one point. Yet it could be the moment we all look back on as the turning of the tide for the Baggies, the one that gave the Ramsay era life and lift off. Mentally, the end of the away day hoodoo will be a giant relief for the Albion players, and just in time for another big game down on the south coast next weekend.

Given an inch, Albion may have just taken a mile.

Subscribe now

How do you feel about the Albion after the Derby game? Ready to pull themselves up the table, or likely still in for a major battle to avoid the drop? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Leave a comment

West Bromwich Albion 0 - 5 Norwich City.

Subscribe now

Who can handle a wet, windy night in January at The Hawthorns? Not the Baggies it would seem. This was the most gutless display served up by an Albion side in decades, echoing past horror shows like losing 5-1 to Crewe Alexandra and 4-2 to non-league Woking in the grim old days of the 90’s. It was the clubs’ heaviest home defeat in the Championship ever.

From a defensive perspective, this was a shocker. The first goal came in the 16th minute from Norwich midfielder Oscar Schwartou; afforded an ocean of space between Albion’s two defensive midfielders and three central defenders, Schwartou composed himself and arrowed a sweet low strike that skidded off the rain-soaked turf into the bottom right hand corner. In the 49th minute, Norwich easily worked their way through the right side of the defence - where Chris Mepham had been resembling a pissed giraffe all evening - to tee up Ali Ahmed, whose side foot effort gave Albion keeper Josh Griffiths no chance.

The third arrived on 69 minutes when Kristian Bielik meekly lost a battle with Norwich forward Jovon Makama, who fed the ball out left to Papa Diallo, who danced past the hapless Mepham, then rode another weak Bielik challenge, from which the ball bobbled to Anis Ben Slimane. His initial shot hit the post, but fell kindly to be slotted home at the second attempt past the already grounded Griffiths. It was soon four, when Albion failed to clear their lines from a set piece, allowing Ben Chrisene to thrash an impressive half volley into the roof of the net from about 12 yards. Norwich hammered the final nail into the coffin late on when Jayson Molumby lazily gave the ball away, as Albion yet again tried to play out from the back with about as much care and composure as a chimp wearing roller-skates. Diallo picked up the errant pass, skipped his way through the middle of the dishevelled Baggies backline, evaded the laziest attempt at a tackle in history from Alex Mowatt, and Mathias Kvistgaarden helped himself from the edge of the six-yard area.

The very few Albion fans who remained in The Hawthorns booed the team off with fury after the final whistle, and this was a performance that merited all the vitriol vented at the players. Truly, in this game, they were not fit to wear the shirt.

This was a match against a side in 22nd place in the Championship, but only four points behind Albion. It was a must not lose game, but the players delivered a display so dismal and pathetic that Baggies fans are now intensely worried that the unthinkable may happen - relegation to League 1. A sobering, and frankly shameful position for a club of West Brom’s size and stature to be in, but eight defeats in ten will put you in this position.

What made this occasion even worse was that it was only the second game of new head coach Eric Ramsay’s stint at Albion. The defeat in the previous fixture against promotion chasing Middlesbrough had been frustrating, yet offered some signs of positivity to feel confident of beating lower quality opponents. Just days after however, the Norwich encounter felt like the performance of a team completely abandoning their manager, as if they had lost confidence and turned on him after a prolonged period of time - yet Ramsay has been at the club for just over a week! Any hope of a new manager bounce was snuffed out here, entirely and damningly.

Ramsay has arrived at Albion heralded as a pragmatist who doesn’t have a plug and play approach. In his first two games however, he appears to be seeking to have Albion emulate his Minnesota United side, who played a back five, sat deep, soaked up opposition attacks, and countered with pace and precision, while also being a huge threat at set plays and throw ins. That suited what he had at his disposal in Minnesota; it doesn’t suit this Albion side.

Isaac Price and Mikey Johnston are not wingbacks. Krystian Bielik is too slow to play in midfield. Josh Maja is not a right-sided ‘10’, and Karlan Grant is not a capable lone centre forward. Callum Styles is better at left back than he is in midfield. Very few of our defenders are capable of passing out from the back. There is a major lack of pace and power from which to counter attack with. Hardly anyone in the squad has a good long throw.

None of this excuses the indefensible manner of how these players performed against Norwich, but square pegs in round holes in a system that doesn’t play to a squads strengths is usually a road to ruin. By all means have a long term aspiration to turn Albion into what your Minnesota side were, Eric; but for now, please show us why you arrived with the reputation of adaptability that you have.

You can question the way a manager sets his team up to play, the formation he uses, whether it fits the players at his disposal etc, but no manager sends his team onto the pitch to play in the most lacklustre, half-hearted manner that the vast majority of Albion players did in this game. The way players like Mepham, Bielik, Price, Nat Phillips and Charlie Taylor defended and tried to play out from the back was a shambolic, disorganised mess. Callum Styles, and then later Mowatt and Molumby (both brought on as subs) provided scant protection from midfield, and the role each of them played in Norwich’s fifth goal beggars belief.

I’ll stick my neck out here, because I know a lot of Baggies aren’t convinced by him, but one player I’m not critical of is Josh Griffiths. Yes, he’s picked the ball out of his net five times, but I do not lay the blame at his gloves for any of the goals, which (credit to Norwich) were dispatched ruthlessly. Griffiths distribution isn’t great, and he has let in a couple of soft goals this season, but generally I don’t think he’s a major issue and without question, he’s a safer pair of hands than Albion’s alternative keeper Joe Wildsmith.

In attack, Albion weren’t great but did create chances (bizarrely, based on expected goals, Albion should have won this game). The one player worth some praise from this match is Samuel Iling-Junior, who was largely awful while Ryan Mason was in charge, but who has seen the appointment of Ramsay as a fresh start and an opportunity to show what he can do. Against Norwich he was unfortunate not to hit the net with two long range efforts, one that crashed off the post and another tipped over by keeper Vladan Kovacevic, plus had a very presentable header from a corner that went over. Albion forced a number of set piece situations and often looked threatening from them, but failed to convert any into goals. Overall, on the night, there was one team with hunger, belief, and a ruthlessly clinical edge; and then there was Albion.

Something is, and has been, rotten at the Albion for what feels like a long time now. The club is on to its eighth head coach since the turn of the decade. During that time the club has not always had the same players, or the same backing staff, hell not even the same ownership - yet no matter who takes charge of the team, they are usually chewed up and spat out by whichever group of players are around at that time. It now appears to be a cultural expectation that the head coach will be the fall guy, while the players are ever seen as promotion hopefuls, if only the owners would just choose the right man to lead them.

The honourable exception to this was Carlos Corberan, whose strict and razor sharp attention to details approach gave the Baggies a decent couple of seasons. Yet by the end it was no secret that Corberan’s agent had been touting him for many available vacancies, and he was seeking an exit before the group of players at his disposal could leach away the strong reputation he had built while taking Albion to the playoffs the season before. What we have seen since Corberan left has been a tragic debacle - Tony Mowbray and then Ryan Mason appointed, but sacrificed at the altar by a team that has no leaders, no grit, and even less footballing quality. The only thing they excel at is throwing head coaches under the bus.

Some apportion blame to the new owners, especially President and Sporting Director Andrew Nestor, for the malaise the club is in nowadays. There are questions to be asked of Nestor and Bilkul; after all, they have selected the head coaches, and brought in many of the current playing squad. They didn’t have to appoint Mowbray so soon after he had been through a year of fighting a life threatening illness. They didn’t have to appoint a managerial rookie in Ryan Mason, or a Championship rookie in Ramsay. They have had to make painful yet necessary decisions on player sales however, to make up for the irresponsible financial management of the club prior to their arrival. The intention of reducing the general age of the squad has been delivered, but has also weakened the squad due to an inability to replace outgoing players with like for like quality.

Does Nestor know English football? Is coaching successfully in MLS anywhere near enough to qualify Ramsay for the Albion head coach role? I see these questions asked by some on social media channels, and I understand why, but I think they miss the main issue. Nestor is seeking to appoint a new Albion Technical Director precisely because he knows he needs more English footballing expertise in the club. Ramsay hasn’t only coached in the US, he’s been a highly respected coach at Manchester United and Chelsea, and is the youngest British person ever to achieve the highest UEFA coaching qualifications there are.

The main issue at West Bromwich Albion is the players, who continuously underwhelm and do not put the work in to make the fans of this great club proud.

I hope each and every one of them woke up this morning with the boos and jeers of the fans still ringing in their ears. I hope they then looked at themselves in the mirror, and made the conscious decision to take some responsibility and do better, because they’re in a relegation battle now, and they have to roll their sleeves up for the fight.

They need to prove they’re fit to wear the shirt.

As always, thank you for reading my post, please leave a comment below on how you feel about the Albion after this chastening defeat, and anything else written above.

Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a metaphor for West Brom’s defeat to Middlesbrough, you don’t need to reach far beyond Rocky III. Not the triumphant ending - the first fight. The one where Rocky takes an initial pummelling, drags himself back into the contest, but then gets floored by a punch we all suspected was coming.

That was Albion last night. Again. Just as they had in the previous two games away at Leicester and Swansea, a positive result claimed via coming back from behind was carelessly discarded via the concession of an all-too-avoidable late goal. Delano Burgzorg’s 90th minute sucker punch, to claim a 3-2 Middlesbrough victory, was once more for the Baggies what Clubber Lang likes to predict:

The frustration of this defeat was more acute given how the night began. There was fresh energy, a sense of renewal in the air. New head coach Eric Ramsay stepped out of the tunnel to warm, welcoming applause from The Hawthorns faithful ahead of his first match in charge. His initial press conference on Wednesday had impressed and enthused supporters, partly because he simply isn’t the uncharismatic Ryan Mason, but also because there’s a steely assuredness about him, a disciplined edge that looks and feels lived rather than performed. He has the aura of that PE teacher at your school who seemed sound enough, but who you instinctively knew not to cross. Ramsay’s excellent job at Minnesota United preceded him, gave him gravitas, and hinted at better days ahead for ailing Albion.

There was also a keen sense of intrigue about who the hell was playing where when the starting XI was announced. It wasn’t a total surprise that Albion appeared to be playing a three at the back formation, given Ramsay had predominantly played that way throughout his two-year stint in the US, yet injuries and a lack of genuine wingbacks in the squad made for a patched up line-up, with Krystian Bielik and Callum Styles as a makeshift midfield pair, and Mikey Johnston at right wingback.

It’s been well documented that Ramsay played a low possession, counter attacking system at Minnesota and it was quickly apparent that this was his intention for Albion too, at least in this game against a stronger opponent. In his press conference, Ramsay had said:

"I have a very clear idea how I'd like to see the team play collectively - some principles of play are non negotiable. The start point will be a high level of organisation, a clarity over how we are trying to control games with the ball and without it. I want the team to constantly look connected and I want there to be that level of expectation and consistency.”

Given he’d only had three days’ training with the team, you’d forgive Albion for not quite being the fine-tuned, organised unit Ramsay seeks to assemble. Yet the team did look impressively tight defensively to start with, regrouping into a deep 5-4-1 shape out of possession and making Middlesbrough, easily one of the best sides in the Championship, struggle to create anything of note for most of the first half. Albion weren’t seeing much of the ball, but when they did regain possession, they counter attacked quickly and created some highly presentable opportunities, not least when Aune Heggebø pick-pocketed Boro centre back Luke Ayling early doors, only to fail to compose himself and strike an effort straight at keeper Sol Brynn. Chris Mepham then struck over the bar from a corner, the first sign of renewed focus on set pieces under a manager who made Minnesota prolific from such situations.

Middlesbrough quelled Albion’s early sparring however, and began to assert their quality and control. Playing vast swathes of the first 45 minutes in Albion’s half, with the hosts seeming ever more passive and being pushed deeper and deeper, the Boro looked more and more dominant. Shortly before the break they landed the first telling blow - or rather, Albion managed to punch themselves in the face. Charlie Taylor rather inexplicably shanked a clearance into his own net after Boro midfielder (and former Albion youth prospect) Alex Gilbert had struck the post with a shot from the edge of the area. Taylor sank to his knees in despairing embarrassment, while the Brummie Road End stared incredulously back at him. It was the start of a very difficult night for Taylor, and after holding their opponents at bay until that point, Albion went into the break a goal down, against a team yet to drop a point from a winning position all season.

Albion started the second half refreshed and looking up for the fight, as Heggebø drew another save from Brynn via a low testing drive, but then Middlesbrough swung what looked like the knockout blow. Albion’s midfield let Hayden Hackney and Morgan Whittaker combine through the centre with far too much ease, before moving the ball to right winger Sam Silvera, who Taylor (him again) allowed the freedom of The Hawthorns to confidently whip the ball into the far corner past Josh Griffiths. Albion were now on the ropes, battered and bruised, gasping for respite.

It seemed the Ramsay era was to start underwhelmingly, but then the new head coach did something all too rare at the Albion of late - he made tactical changes, and they changed the course of the game in Albion’s favour, a skill Mason had been perennially short of. Heggebø and Bielik were withdrawn for Josh Maja and Jed Wallace, the Baggies two goal scorers in the previous game at Swansea. Wallace went to right wingback, where Johnston had unsurprisingly looked a bit of square peg; he slotted into his much more natural position on the left of the front three. Karlan Grant moved to centre forward, with Maja playing as an inside right link man. Isaac Price - up until this point entirely ineffectual - moved back into a deeper midfield position next to Styles. Suddenly Albion looked a lot more comfortable, more able to construct fluid attacking moves, and a comeback ensued.

First, Grant was hauled down for a free kick given right on the edge of the area. Replays showed it probably should have been a penalty, but no matter - a little shift of the ball between Grant and Wallace, and Price bent it home. A goal from a set play, likely fitting as the first Albion would score in the Ramsay era. 15 minutes to go, and it was game on. Moments later, Price (looking a totally different player in his new position) curled another shot toward the same corner of the net he’d already hit, only this time the ball just snuck wide.

Tails were up, and in the 80th minute, Albion were level. Maja had found pockets of space consistently since coming on, and he did so again to thread a through ball into the left channel for Samuel Iling-Junior, playing left wingback and looking much better for it than he had up to now during his difficult Albion loan spell. His cut back sought Price, making yet another well timed run from deep, but Hackney slid in to inadvertently guide the ball perfectly to the onrushing Wallace, who buried the opportunity with a clinical low drive. The Hawthorns was now rocking, the gloves were off; Albion had all the momentum, and now it was Middlesbrough having to roll with the punches.

At two goals down, Albion looked dazed, flat‑footed, and overwhelmed, but they found their eye of the tiger and fought their way back, thanks to Ramsay’s tactical tinkering. They rediscovered their rhythm, belief, and a bit of swagger. At 2–2, they’d done the emotional heavy lifting and earned the right to leave with something - a well earned point, a foothold, a sense of resilience restored and a positive start to the Ramsay reign.

And then came the Clubber Lang moment. Pain.

As the clock crept towards the 90th minute, Albion slipped back into that all‑too‑familiar, overly passive low block - the default setting whenever they retreat into protection mode. They froze, statuesque, as Middlesbrough stitched together a simple passing move: Hackney into Silvera, a short ball slipped behind the once more exposed Taylor, and Burgzorg drilled a low finish past Griffiths. Pandemonium erupted in the away end; everywhere else, a wave of desolation. Another upsetting moment for Adrian - albeit Chiles and Goldberg this time - and for everyone else who’s seen this script played out far too often.

A lapse. A loss of concentration. A self‑inflicted opening. One punch, and everything Albion had rebuilt was on the floor again. “Albion That.” “Semper Te Fallant.” The usual clichés resurfacing like muscle memory.

Individual and tactical errors have plagued the Baggies all season. Making the same mistakes again and again while expecting different outcomes is the definition of insanity; Albion must cut this out, having already drifted from being play‑off hopefuls into the gravitational pull of a relegation scrap.

Albion’s problem isn’t structural; it’s psychological. They’ve now conceded nine goals after the 70th minute in the league, plus two more in the cups. These aren’t moments where the opposition grind them down with wave after wave of pressure - they’re moments where concentration flickers, decision‑making loosens, and the team collectively hands over chances that should never materialise. Conceding late goals has become habitual, a self-fulfilling prophecy for a side whose confidence appears ever diminishing.

There’s rarely a lack of effort or desire, and though some question it, it’s not obviously a lack of fitness either. It’s almost always a question of intelligence - or the absence of it in the decisive moments. Exactly the flaw that undoes Rocky in that first fight: heart without clarity, intensity without control.

Which is why the arrival of Eric Ramsay feels so symbolically neat.

After Rocky’s defeat to Clubber, it’s Apollo Creed who steps in as coach after the collapse - not to add more grit, but to re‑engineer Rocky’s entire approach. He sharpens the mind, not just the muscles. He teaches rhythm, timing, composure. He turns raw effort into something smarter, more sustainable, and more dangerous.

That’s the hope for Albion now, that after some time on the training ground, a few matches playing Ramsay’s way, and (ideally) two to three additions to the squad while the transfer window remains open, they emulate his Minnesota United side - a lean, mean, fighting machine.

Fans will also hope that Ramsay, as he alluded to in his post match interview, will learn some key lessons from this game.

Charlie Taylor’s lack of pace can all too easily be exposed as Albion’s prime defensive weakness, and though there is no left footed alternative to play on the left of the back three, it may well be wiser to move Mepham to that side, or give Alfie Gilchrist an opportunity there instead, while George Campbell plays on the right.

Mikey Johnston is no right wingback, but Jed Wallace can do a job there, and perhaps young Ollie Bostock could too. This position has to be the highest priority for Albion to strengthen in this month however, if the right player is available for the right deal (not easy while Albion remain restrained by Championship profit and sustainability rules).

Isaac Price has looked lost as an attacking midfielder for months now, yet when moved into the deeper midfield role he came to life; looking to receive the ball and play it forward to the attack rather than always playing it backwards, as seemed to be his ingrained habit when positioned higher up the pitch. His intelligent runs from deep looked an enticing goal threat too, shades of Napoli’s Scott McTominay who has made scoring via late runs from midfield into the box his raison d’etre.

It’ll be interesting to see what changes, if any, Ramsay makes to the starting line up in Tuesday’s rather important game against Norwich City, who sit in 22nd place but just four points below the Baggies. A relegation six-pointer, that the Baggies need to win to allay serious fears of a survival struggle.

What Ramsay doesn’t need to reinvent is the team’s spirit - the fightback last night showed it’s still there. What he needs to do is what Apollo did; shape a team that throws deadly punches, and teach it how to stop walking into them.

If he succeeds, the Middlesbrough game won’t be remembered as the night everything fell apart. It’ll be remembered as the Clubber Lang moment - the painful defeat that forced a smarter, sharper, more intelligent Albion to emerge.

If you were at the game, leave me a comment to tell me your thoughts on how you feel Albion faired, and what you feel is required to pull the Albion away from the survival battle and into mid table.

Leave a comment

“It is the biggest shock that the world’s greatest cup competition has ever seen!” exclaimed BBC commentator Guy Mowbray - referencing the fact that with 117 places between the two clubs in the English football pyramid, not to mention what is probably an extraordinary difference in terms of financial might, this was the largest gap between two sides in the rich history of the competition where David had overcome Goliath. Add to this the fact that Macclesfield are a phoenix club, rising from the ashes of Macclesfield Town’s demise in 2020; that the club had recently endured profound tragedy following the death of forward Ethan McLeod in a car accident; and that Palace were the cup holders, having memorably toppled Manchester City in the final just last May. All of this combined to create an occasion steeped in the romance with which the FA Cup has long been associated, and which it continues to draw upon in promoting itself as what Mowbray described as “the world’s greatest cup competition.”

Some might argue differently, however, about the cups greatness. Later that afternoon, the aforementioned Manchester City humiliated League One side Exeter City 10–1, a score line that included a debut goal for Antoine Semenyo, the latest expensive addition to the Citizens squad who had joined City for £65 million just days earlier, a sum that would comfortably buy Exeter outright several times over. As impressive as the trophy haul and entertainment have been at the Etihad Stadium since Pep Guardiola’s arrival in 2016, romance is not an emotion easily associated with a club whose success has been fuelled by the wealth of an oil‑rich nation state. In the FA Cup specifically, City have become something of a barometer for the competition’s diminishing allure. When they won the cup in 2011, beating Tony Pulis’s Stoke City 1–0 thanks to a late Yaya Touré goal, it meant the world to a fanbase that had endured 35 trophyless years. Fast‑forward to 2025 and Guardiola found himself defending the fact that the club couldn’t even sell its ticket allocation for their semi‑final against Nottingham Forest - perhaps a symptom of the apathy that arises when it’s your club’s 28th visit to Wembley in just fourteen years.

Pep did make one fair point, however, when he argued that the semi‑finals should be played elsewhere - somewhere a little closer to home for City fans, given the distance between Manchester and London feels like a pain in the backside when it becomes such a regular commute. Many of us remember the days when the two semis were held at Old Trafford and Villa Park, meaning only those who reached the final earned the right to play at Wembley. Staging the semi‑finals there as well surely diminishes the achievement of reaching the final and erodes some of the magic the FA and broadcasters so eagerly invoke to drive interest and ticket sales. Add to this the recent removal of replays, which once offered lower‑league clubs a vital financial lifeline through shared gate receipts and additional TV revenue when they earned a second tie against a Premier League giant. This feels like a loss of solidarity between those at the top of the pyramid, and those who aren’t. It has also become increasingly common for clubs to treat the cup as a lower priority than the league, resting regular starters due to the fatigue of a congested Christmas schedule, or, because they are fighting relegation or chasing promotion - the financial stakes of which are deemed far more important than the chance to win silverware and give supporters a day they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Why care about any of this? There is, of course, an argument in favour of the changes that have been made. Wembley is the largest stadium in the country and can accommodate more supporters from both clubs than any other venue, while also serving as a neutral ground for the semi‑finals. Replays add to fixture congestion and increase fatigue for already overworked players, raising the risk of injuries that could affect league performance. Cup prize money is minuscule compared with the revenues generated simply by being in the Premier League or qualifying for Europe. Tradition be damned, some say - football is a business now, and you have to follow the money.

These are logical arguments; but I fear that, in the long run, football suffers from this “business comes first” mentality. If the FA Cup becomes a competition in which the richest Premier League clubs stroll to the latter stages simply because they possess deeper squads (essentially what the League Cup has already become) then it risks sliding into irrelevance. The oldest cup competition in the world could lose its identity, if not fade away entirely. The Cup is a link to football’s past, a shared heritage that binds generations, and preserving its traditions helps maintain the emotional connection between clubs and their communities. Look at the joy in Macclesfield on Saturday. Remember the scenes of Crystal Palace fans celebrating their triumph last May. These moments of magic are rare for clubs like these, and their celebrations show that the competition still matters - deeply.

Subscribe now

Shootout joy for Bostock inspired Baggies

On Sunday, a cup tie at Swansea City delivered its own touch of magic for West Bromwich Albion fans, as young winger Ollie Bostock announced himself to the Baggies faithful with two defining moments. First, after coming on as a second‑half substitute, he evoked memories of former academy starlet Tom Fellows by racing down the wing and delivering an intelligent low cross that Jed Wallace - also returning from months in the wilderness - lashed home with conviction to give Albion a 2–1 lead in extra time. When the Baggies contrived to allow the Swans an all‑too‑easy equaliser, the tie went to penalties, setting the stage for Bostock’s second major contribution. After all ten initial spot‑kicks had been converted, the ironically Scottish Bobby Wales saw his effort saved by Josh Griffiths. Chris Mepham then stepped up with the chance to win it for Albion, only to summon memories of Jaap Stam at Euro 2000 with a strike that not only cleared the crossbar but may, by now, be somewhere near Mars. Thankfully for the Baggies, Swansea’s next taker, Malick Yalcouyé, ballooned his effort over as well, giving Bostock the chance to step forward and thump his penalty into the roof of the net - securing something Albion fans hadn’t witnessed since 1 October: a victory on the road. Sorry, Snoop Dogg - no Wembley trip for you and the Swans this May, as the Albion march on into a fourth round tie away to Norwich City.

The 11 January may well be looked back on as a truly pivotal day in Albion’s season. Just hours after the game, Eric Ramsay was confirmed as the new head coach, adding fresh optimism to that generated by the result in South-Wales and by the departure of Ryan Mason earlier in the week - a figure who had become persona non grata with most supporters and whose exit felt inevitable by the time it arrived. The performance at Swansea had offered little to celebrate; caretaker boss James Morrison called it “one of the worst 90 minutes I’ve watched,” and it certainly wasn’t easy viewing. In truth, Swansea had only themselves to blame for failing to win, having created the majority of the clear chances. Yet Albion’s determination not to suffer another away defeat was evident, and several players who had seemed entirely out of favour under Mason like Daryl Dike, Josh Maja, Jed Wallace, and Ollie Bostock gained valuable minutes and a chance to remind everyone what they can offer.

Ideally, Albion will strengthen the squad further this month (particularly if Ramsay, as he did at Minnesota United, intends to use a back‑three system), even if additions can only be made via loans. But for now, it is encouraging simply to have these players reintegrated, re‑energised, and motivated by the opportunity to impress a new head coach.

As positive as renewed inspiration may be, what these players really need is a man with a plan. Too often this season, the Baggies have looked like a side that hasn’t been coached, with no clear idea of how to manage key moments in games. That was painfully evident on Sunday when, after taking the lead in extra time through Wallace’s goal, the team descended into a shapeless mess and allowed Swansea to equalise far too easily. Instead of settling in and denying the Swans any space in behind, Albion left themselves wide open down the left-hand side, where the plodding Charlie Taylor had struggled all afternoon. Swansea winger Josh Key breezed past him, surged into space, and crossed for Zeidane Inoussa, whom George Campbell had inexplicably allowed the freedom of the box, to sweep home.

You do wonder where the leaders are in this squad at times. When that Inoussa equaliser occurred, Albion had seasoned professionals on the pitch - Nat Phillips, Mepham, Taylor, Wallace - yet none seemed able to organise the side to see out the win without resorting to penalties. It underlines the scale of the task ahead for Ramsay, who at least arrives with a reputation for drilling his teams to within an inch of perfection, helping Minnesota punch above their weight in MLS for two seasons running. In the clubs announcement of Ramsay’s appointment, both Shilen Patel and Andrew Nestor highlighted Ramsay’s adaptability - perhaps a pointed remark to highlight the acknowledgement that Mason offered next to none of that, whereas Ramsay has proven himself a savvy tactician in the US.

The silver lining to Albion’s slapstick defending was that it did at least pave the way for Bostock to have his match winning moment and turn it into a bostin’ away day in the end. Moments of magic like a kid announcing himself, or a minnow toppling a giant, these are what make the cup special, and what make football special. Protecting and cherishing that magic for generations to come matters more than ever. So thank you, Ollie Bostock and Macclesfield, for the sweet reminder that the magic of the cup still exists, and that its great history can, at least occasionally, still be honoured. Thank you for causing a scene.

Leave a comment

A day later, West Bromwich Albion sacked their own dogmatic head coach, Ryan Mason, following a tenth straight away defeat at Leicester City the previous evening. The result left the Baggies in 18th position in the Championship - their lowest position in the English football pyramid in a quarter of a century. Mason had been hired as Albion head coach just last summer, his first taste of management other than an occasional caretaking stint at Tottenham Hotspur, and though his time at Albion started well with 10 points from the first four games in the Championship, results tailed off significantly from October onwards. A poor 3-0 defeat at Millwall began the long run of away day misery that eventually led to Mason’s dismissal.

Regardless of the poor form, Mason did little to change Albion’s playing style, which appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 in possession, switching to a fairly deep sitting 4-4-2 out of possession, cautiously trying to play from the back through an opponents’ press. The players at his disposal would often struggle to execute this, lacking the composure and passing ability necessary for this style. The aforementioned Mr. Cruyff may have approved of the intent, but ultimately the likes of Nat Phillips, Jayson Molumby, and Ousmane Diakite are not players one associates with Total Football. Slapstick attempts to play through opponents’ pressing would lead to comical goals being conceded and avoidable losses in games away to the likes of QPR, Southampton, and Swansea.

When Mason was appointed on the 2nd June 2025, Albion chairman Shilen Patel remarked that Mason’s “experiences as both a first team player and coach under some of the game’s most respected minds, along with his time leading academy sides, will be instrumental as we shape a clear philosophy and unified identity at all levels at the Albion.” Albion ‘President’ Andrew Nestor also chimed in, saying:

“Ryan brings a style that will compliment and continue to evolve our club’s game model. His approach to match tactics, individual player and overall squad development informed by data and analytics makes him an ideal fit, and he joins us at an exciting time as we establish a new foundation for the future success of the Albion.”

A clear philosophy. Unified identity. Our club’s game model, our DNA - the ‘Albion way’. Yet the question is… what exactly is that?

Albion fans have seen a bumper variety of different tactical approaches in the last two decades. We’ve seen Tony Mowbray (the first time around) deliver an entertaining, goals galore, don’t worry too much about defending approach that won the Championship title in 2008 but then didn’t fair too well against Premier League opponents the season after. Slaven Bilic delivered a similarly entertaining yet exposed approach between the two leagues in 2019 and 2020. In the Baggies’ long stint in the Premier League of the 2010’s we seemingly learned from the naïve Mowbray approach and turned to the highly organised Roy Hodgson, and later on the brutishly effective yet thoroughly ugly tactics of Tony Pulis (the anti-Mowbray), where risk averse, defensive, set piece reliance for goals reigned supreme. Spells with Roberto Di Matteo, Steve Clarke, Pepe Mel, Alan Irvine, Alan Pardew, Darren Moore, and Sam Allardyce also brought the Albion a variable mixture of excitement and misery during our ‘Prem days’.

Following relegation to the Championship in 2021, we’ve endured the chaotic “Val-ball” of Valerian Ismael, a bizarre hoof and press, hot potato approach that opponents quickly realised was simply negated by just allowing Albion to have the ball. Ismael was succeeded by Steve Bruce, once a specialist in promotion but by that point a man whom the game had left behind. Often it would appear he’d told his team to “just go out and play lads”, in an era where tactical detail and data led decision making had become the norm. Bruce was inevitably sacked having led Albion to the Championship relegation zone in October of season 2022/23, so Carlos Corberan took the helm and brought the tactical detail in abundance, nearly leading Albion to the playoffs by the end of that same season, then achieving a playoff place the following term.

Corberan’s tactical system was generally possession based (typically Spanish in that respect), but also highly structured, and often centred on how Albion would counter each opponent. In tougher games Albion would be quite cautious and sit deep, respecting the oppositions’ strengths. In games where Albion were favourites, he would aim to control the game and patiently find a way to create chances to score. The players would talk of Corberan as something of a taskmaster, who demanded high standards and whose approach to detail was forensic, but they respected it and knew it was helping them achieve successful results, plus developing them individually too. This pragmatic approach worked very well, and Corberan’s reputation in the game grew to the point where he would often be linked with jobs elsewhere. On Christmas Eve of 2024 he was spirited away to his home town club Valencia, the first Albion head coach to be pinched rather than sacked since Mowbray left for Celtic in 2009.

Ironically, ‘Mogga’ returned as Corberan’s replacement for a second spell with Albion in January 2025 after recovering from serious illness (and after initial first choice Raphael Wicky turned down the role because one of his coaching staff couldn’t secure a visa). Mowbray was Bilkul Albion’s first managerial appointment since taking over the Baggies in February 2024. Nestor said of Mowbray that:

“The playing style he seeks to implement hugely compliments our model and existing squad. Tony has an attacking playing mentality and a proven track record of improving young and established players, providing a platform on which they can thrive.”

Those who remembered Mowbray’s previous spell as Baggies head coach had seen exactly this, especially in the Championship. Alas, Mowbray’s second stint as Albion boss lasted only three months. The ‘model’ of embracing an attacking playing mentality, that Nestor spoke glowingly of complimenting the squad was in reality rejected by the Albion players, who had felt more comfortable (or perhaps less exposed?) in the pragmatic style of Corberan. By the end, it appeared the players were openly trying to get Mowbray sacked; never more obviously than in the way they defended so pathetically in a 3-1 home defeat to Derby County, after which Mowbray was dismissed.

Ryan Mason then came and went, in some ways returning Albion to the more cautious approach of Corberan but without any sign of the razor sharp tactical detail and ability to make positive changes within games, nor the coaching ability to visibly improve individual players. It wasn’t pragmatism per se; more so it was having just one plan, and hoping it could work in each game. The Albion players seemed to like Mason, they never downed tools on him like they did to Mowbray, but they didn’t get results for him either.

In an interview with The Training Ground Guru in April 2025, Andrew Nestor suggested that Albion’s game model was mainly what Corberan had established it as.

“What Carlos Corberán had established here was an extremely well-organised Game Model and I didn’t want to veer far away from that.”

Fair enough - sometimes evolution is wiser than revolution, and Albion were generally successful under Corberan’s management, especially so given the off-pitch circumstances of the Baggies during that time, when fans were protesting against the dismal ownership of Guochuan Lai and then taken over by Patel’s Bilkul Football, who have had to make difficult yet responsible decisions to improve the financial situation of the club. In that same interview with The Training Ground Guru, Nestor alludes to wanting to “add more attacking style” to the game model. It’s fair to say that hasn’t happened, and Albion have been mediocre as an attacking force even since before Corberan departed. Across the 2024/25 season they scored 57 goals in 46 league games, and so far this term they have scored 29 goals in 26 league games.

It’s reasonable to suggest the attacking struggles are somewhat due to a lack of quality. It doesn’t help when you have to sell a player like Tom Fellows, who in the previous season provided 14 assists, the joint highest in the Championship. It also doesn’t help when you have £10m worth of attacking talent in Daryl Dike and Tammer Bany who endure absolutely wretched luck with injuries. Yet despite these issues, those who watch the Baggies regularly will also see that there has been a lack of attacking cohesion at the club for a long time now - I would argue as far back as after the promotion of 2019/20, when Slaven Bilic’s side had the talismanic technical quality of Matheus Pereira as a reliable source of both goals and assists, and who would conduct Albion’s attacks with precise and progressive passes, aided also by the metronomic Romaine Sawyers doing the same from deeper in midfield. Pereira is a very difficult player to replace, especially for a club of limited financial means; but if the Albion game model is to usually play 4-2-3-1, as Corberan generally did and Mason too, then a quality ‘10’ is crucial for enabling a dangerous and cohesive attack.

The most obvious attacking midfielder in the current squad is Isaac Price, recognised as a genuine talent who started the season superbly with three goals in the first two games, but who since has all too often disappeared in matches, working admirably hard off the ball but rarely doing much, if anything, on it. Was this just how Mason wanted him to play, or is it Price’s natural inclination to rarely play a part in build ups and instead just look to be the one who finishes a move constructed by others? It’ll be interesting to see how he plays under the next manager - personally I wonder if Price may be better suited to a role out wide, or deeper in midfield.

The two attacking players who have impressed so far this season are Mikey Johnston and Aune Heggebø. Johnston has picked up the mantle from Fellows for creating goals, currently leading the Championship charts for that metric with nine assists. Heggebø, signed from Norwegian club Brann in the summer, started the season looking like a rather blunt instrument who would battle in duels with opposition defenders like a Viking warlord, but didn’t appear to be a prolific poacher. That changed however when a purple patch of six goals in five games started with a brilliantly headed winner against Oxford United, and Heggebø now has eight Championship goals to his name. Fatigue has recently set in for him across the perennially packed Christmas fixture schedule, slowing his goal rate down and likely necessitating some rotation with Albion’s other forward options. Mason wasn’t able to get a tune from Josh Maja, and seemed strangely reticent to use Daryl Dike for more than five minutes in any game, despite Dike now being fit and available for a couple of months. One or both of Dike and Maja will ideally find more form and favour under the next Albion boss, unless sold in January (both have contracts expiring this summer).

Who will the next boss be? At the time of writing, Albion are apparently set to appoint Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay as Mason’s successor. Ramsay is a highly promising young Welsh coach who has worked for Manchester United and Chelsea previously, and in his first managerial role has enabled the “Loons” to punch well above their weight in MLS, embracing what sounds like a highly pragmatic and disciplined underdog approach of low possession, fast counter attacks, and being “the most aggressive set piece team in the world” (Tony Pulis will no doubt give his nod of approval). Ramsay has normally employed a 3-5-2 formation. This may not always be Ramsay’s favoured style or formation, he may simply be pragmatically getting the most out of what he has available to him at Minnesota, whose budget is significantly smaller than that of MLS rivals - yet it doesn’t exactly suggest a great fit with the Corberan inspired game model built around playing 4-2-3-1, and it’s difficult to see where our most creative attacking player, Mikey Johnston, would fit in such a system due to being a natural winger. I also don’t see any capable right wing backs in the Albion squad - the two players mainly played as right back this season, George Campbell and Alfie Gilchrist, are much better suited to the right centre back role in a back three and possess very little attacking ability. Jed Wallace might be a shout for the wing back role, but there are serious question marks over his fitness and abilities nowadays.

The stripes go marching into 2026 with their identity shrouded in uncertainty. Andrew Nestor professes the club does have its game model, and I believe that to be true, but he seems to struggle to find a head coach that can deliver it successfully on the pitch. Off the pitch, the clubs’ financial situation creates further challenge, with Nestor informing fans just before Christmas that although there is light at the end of the tunnel, “our trading in January 2026 will again face strict P&S limitations.” Albion are positioned 18th in the Championship and are nervously looking over their shoulders at the relegation battle. It’s quite the situation for Eric Ramsay to step into, and a portion of the fanbase worry that another young head coach is not what the Albion need currently, preferring the club opt for a more experienced hand to guide the team to a safe, mid table finish. Good luck Eric - here’s hoping you are able to bring your success in the US to The Hawthorns.

As for what the true ‘Albion way’ is… I really don’t think it’s possible to truly decipher. Each Baggie can point to a certain era and a certain manager and say “that’s when it was best, that’s the true Albion.” For some of a certain vintage, it’ll be the cup winners of 1968, or Ron Atkinson’s late 70’s side boasting the talent of Regis, Robson, and Cunningham (amongst others). Perhaps some will see the Albion of Gary Megson as what they identify as true Albion - a tough, solid, uncompromising unit that brought the Baggies back into the big time after nearly two decades of general mediocrity, and embodied Black Country grit. Then there will be some (including, I admit, myself) who identify most with the Albion of Tony Mowbray between 2006 - 2009, with slick passing, goals in abundance, and the “best midfield in the world” looking at times like a Championship Barcelona. I’d be surprised if even younger fans don’t most fondly remember the Albion of Bilic and Pereira, although some may have preferred Corberan’s time.

What are West Bromwich Albion? They’re a rollercoaster - and it’s up to each and every Baggie as to whether or not they’re enjoying the ride.

Leave me a comment on what the Albion are to you!

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

So, here I am instead on Substack, writing a blog for the first time to share my thoughts and views, and to see if others who share my passion for football and - especially - West Bromwich Albion, would like to read them. A new hobby for the new year.

Fellow Baggies and football fans are welcome to subscribe to my musings and to share their own thoughts in return. I am very open minded and I know that what I think may be very different to what others think, so whether you agree or disagree with what I write, I always want to hear it. I believe that when our beliefs are challenged, we grow and learn.

I will write new articles regularly, with my focus on all things “The Albion”, but I will also contribute about hot topics in football more generally too. I know there are already some prominent bloggers on the scene who have been producing content about the Baggies for some time now, and I want to add my own thoughts and perspectives to theirs because I know we have a fabulous, large fanbase who love to devour content about all things the ‘Brom.

If this sounds like what you want to read, hit that subscribe button.

Subscribe now