A full version of our Q&A with Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld.com
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00:00And Charlie, looking at Wolves and Vitor Pereira's reign obviously came in and hit the ground
00:07running with a fantastic away win late December against Leicester, then a home win on Boxing
00:13Day against Manchester United. I mean, a perfect start really to his Wolves tenure. But in
00:18terms of the sort of atmosphere that's gone on and the change that he's implemented, I
00:23mean, it seems night and day really from the end of Gary O'Neill's spell, which was sort
00:28of a shame that it had to end that way. What's your sort of thoughts on Pereira so far and
00:33the impact he's had at Wolves?
00:36I think he's had a really strong impact. Winning your first two games is always going to be
00:40very positive against big opposition in Manchester United as well at Molineux. It kind of reminds
00:45you of Gary O'Neill at the start, doing a double over Tottenham and beating Chelsea
00:49and Manchester City and having all of those enjoyable days. Hopefully it doesn't go down
00:55the same route as it did under O'Neill. Of course, after that defeat to Coventry in the
00:58FA Cup last season, things did go down the pan, but there were so many injuries in that
01:02situation. I think the squad depth is improving now. There haven't been so many injury problems
01:07this season. Touch wood on that. And Pereira, he just seems to be a bit more versatile than
01:12O'Neill and knows what he's doing with his game management. Sometimes it's a bit too
01:15gung-ho from O'Neill. Pereira, I think, can settle things down a bit defensively. Looks
01:20a bit more solid from the initial signs. Obviously, I can do that big signing in this
01:25winter transfer window. Should help in that department. But it's just been quite a few
01:28players that have improved under Pereira. Seems to have new confidence. Players that
01:33were completely out of it under Gary O'Neill. I think Rodrigo Gomez comes to mind. Obviously,
01:38a very exciting signing in the summer. Wolves fans wanted to see a lot of him from the offset.
01:43Didn't really get the chance. Sat on the bench quite a lot. Had a few fitness concerns as
01:48well. But now, seems to be raring to go. He can play as a wing-back. He can play as
01:52part of the front three as well. Very energetic. Decent on the ball. A good delivery. I think
01:57we'll see more of him. Gonzalo Guedes as well. Someone who seems to be rebirthed under Pereira.
02:03We thought he'd be leaving the club in the summer and then again this month. But he seems
02:07to be playing very well and competing with Juanqui Chan in the forward position. So,
02:10yeah, very positive and players improving under the new manager.
02:14And just to look at the sort of tough run that they have. They obviously want to go far in the
02:20FA Cup but it's maybe not sort of viewed as a priority for them this season. I mean, it looks
02:25sort of end of February time where they are looking at more winnable games in a row. They
02:30need to dig in now. How important is this sort of run until the end of Feb?
02:36Yeah, I mean, having played Newcastle and Chelsea, having Arsenal and having Aston Villa,
02:42the game away at Blackburn is not too easy. John Eustace in good form as their new manager this
02:46season. Liverpool in there. Bournemouth who have been reborn this season. As you mentioned,
02:50the end of February is when things start to pick up. Let's see how he compares to Gary O'Neill
02:55because of course he really struggled in this same run of fixtures. And then I think we'll
02:59really know if Pereira is the real deal. So, Charlie, looking at Aston Villa and obviously
03:06the transfer latest now, there's been a few rumours in and out. Some big names rumoured as
03:11well to be joining. They've made some signings. Let's start with the defensive part of the side.
03:18It's something that we spoke about. There's been a fair few big names come through. Certainly
03:24European quality, the likes of Diego Carlos, Pau Torres over the last few seasons. They're after
03:29a wing back. What's the latest you can tell us defensively? Let's start off with them and any
03:35new signings that have been brought in this month. Yeah, well, the understanding for the last few
03:40months really is that Unai Emery has been desperate to bring in a new right-sided defender.
03:45Someone who can play either as a right back, right wing back, or as a central defender. A
03:49little bit like Ezra Konza has done so over the last year or two. When Tyrone Mings was out,
03:55I know he was mainly left-sided, but occasionally played on the right with Pau Torres on the left.
03:59Konza was so important. Diego Carlos as well, when he has long-term injury,
04:02Konza was important. But you can't rely just on him. And when you have Matty Cash on the right
04:08being quite inconsistent, could have some outstanding games, but some very poor games,
04:13very susceptible to giving away penalties. I think Emery just wants a few more bodies in that
04:17position and a few more options, especially for Champions League football this season.
04:21It has been very tricky. In terms of targets for that position, Mingueza, who is a right back at
04:27Celta Vigo, can play in the centre as well, or he can play as a wing back, fits the bill. He's got
04:32a £16 million release clause. He's a player that Aston Villa are considering. There's Andres
04:37Garcia as well, also in Spain. He's got a £10 million release clause, but he's in the second
04:42division rather than the top, so not quite as experienced at the highest level. In terms of
04:47a central defender, out and out, you've got Loic Bardet of Sevilla. £25 million should be enough
04:53for him. And we could see Diego Carlos move in the other direction. So they're the latest rumours at
04:58the moment, but Villa are definitely prioritising that defence. Yeah, and in terms of attack,
05:04they've made one signing on the right-hand side, possibly to replace the outgoing of Moussa Diaby.
05:13What's the latest you can tell us on him? Are Villa fans excited about what this new signing
05:18can bring for the remainder of the season, where at the end of the day, halfway through, they've
05:23got a big running ahead of them Champions League-wise, Premier League-wise as well.
05:29They can really go for it and make a push. Is this signing the man to aid that?
05:34Yeah, Daniel Marlon from Borussia Dortmund, £23 million when you include add-ons,
05:38the same amount that Villa have sold Jadon Filigin to Ipswich Town for. I think that's
05:43incredible business personally. Filigin, Emery was hoping he could step back up from the Championship,
05:47that's why he came back, didn't quite work out. But Marlon, he can play on either side,
05:52he can play through the middle if we want, if Villa wants. And Moussa Diaby obviously leaving
05:56in the summer is a big miss. Marlon is a fairly similar profile player and he should really help
06:01the likes of Leon Bailey are out of form.
06:04Charlie, looking at West Bromwich Albion and the current manager situation, obviously we mentioned
06:10the terrible Christmas gift that Carlos Corberán gave the Albion fans. In all fairness to him,
06:16he gave them a fantastic spell at the club with a real shoestring big budget and got them out of
06:22a lot of situations, obviously got that play-off run, which wasn't to be. But it was an amazing
06:28time for them and it's the first time in quite a long time that they've really experienced a
06:34decent slash top manager. Obviously, he's parted ways, so it's sort of been an awkward position
06:41for them. They are doing well in the Championship, well enough to certainly push on and get the
06:46play-off places come the end of the season. What's the latest you can tell us on maybe names that are
06:51linked? Obviously, Chris Brunt turned down the option of taking it on full-time. It's an awkward
06:58position for Albion fans. What's the latest you can tell us? It is an awkward position, as you say.
07:03Dragging on for weeks upon weeks without a manager is never an ideal situation. There have been so
07:08many different names linked and spoken to, but none of them quite cutting through. Raphael Wiki,
07:14who was most recently at Young Boys in Switzerland, seemed to be the man, as West Brom had advanced
07:19talks with him, potentially going to employ him. But then it broke down over talks about
07:24backroom staff and work permits for his backroom staff. Also, compensation needs as well. It just
07:29wasn't quite the right situation there, so that one has fallen through. Tony Mowbray is my
07:35understanding, anyway, that West Brom have spoken to him about the possibility of coming back to the
07:40club many years on from his departure. But his recent health scare, the reason he left Birmingham
07:45City in 2024, it means that he's not quite in the position just yet to come back into management.
07:52From sixth to twelfth in the championship, so tight again. The more it drags on, the worse
07:57it sort of gets for Albion. They need to make sure that they are still picking up wins,
08:01despite having a vacant managerial position. Yeah, we've seen quite a lot of squeaky bum time
08:07in recent matches, haven't we? Lots more draws. In fairness, that happened on the call at Carlos
08:12Corbijn, especially at the Hawthorns. So it's not too much of a change there. At least they're not
08:16losing too many matches. That's still the same position. They need to start picking up more wins.
08:21They need a bit more direction. And Chris Brunt, as much as he's a club legend, and as much as
08:25Damir Abella is a very good analyst and someone who can coach the players in certain areas,
08:31I just don't think that that's the way to lead them forward until the end of the season. They
08:35definitely need someone else in there who knows a lot more about coaching, who's got that experience,
08:40and someone who can really guide them in the right direction. I can understand the patience
08:43of trying to get the right man, but you do need someone in such a high-pressure situation to take
08:48on the job full-time. So hopefully West Brom can find that man soon.
08:52Charlie, looking at Birmingham City, and let's just touch on the EFL trophy. Obviously,
08:58they've progressed in the FA Cup as well with an amazing tie against Newcastle at St Andrews. But
09:04in terms of other trophies, it's the sort of season that Blues will certainly be focusing
09:10on League One and getting promotion. But if they can go far in a trophy and maybe reach the higher
09:17ends of the FA Cup with the EFL trophy, of course, it would be quite incredible for the fans
09:21as well to just see that progression under these new owners. Let's start with the EFL trophy. It's
09:28obviously a competition that doesn't get much of a looking outside the Championship. I mean,
09:34they are in a good position. Could they go on and win that as well if they are to win League
09:39One? It would be quite brilliant for the club. What do you think their approach should be to
09:43this competition? Yeah, as you say, it's not a high-reputation competition, but it would be
09:49silverware nonetheless if they can go and win it. And they are the favourites to do just that.
09:53Basing Swindon Town in the third round, a decent performance there. A very late winner. It was a
10:00very good performance as well from Ayuma Yokoyama, the young Japanese winger. Hasn't really had much
10:04for looking so far on the Chris Davies, but in this competition, he seems to shine. Goals in the
10:09Siska Law and a very good finish as well to open the scoring in that game at Swindon.
10:14Away into the quarterfinals now. The draw hasn't taken place just yet, but Birmingham will be
10:20looking forward to that match. As I say, they are the favourites for the competition. The teams
10:25remaining in it are the likes of Cheltenham, Bolton, Rotherham, Bradford and Peterborough.
10:30Wrexham still to play, still to discover whether they will be in that quarterfinal stage. But if
10:35you get to the final, you get to play at Wembley, which I think would be such an amazing day out for
10:40Birmingham fans. Myself as well as a reporter being there, I think it'd be great to see such
10:44a big club that hasn't been in this position for, well, since a decade since they were in that
10:50Carabao Cup final. So I think it's very good for morale, as I say. That in line with the promotion
10:55to the championship, which is boosting so much at St Andrews and they get their belief back that
10:59they can get back to the big time in the Premier League.
11:03Yeah, and just on the League One promotion race, it's obviously a real talking point. Wrexham,
11:09you know, Wickham are up there as well and the playoff race is fairly tight with the top six.
11:15I mean, just on that game, they are going to meet at Wrexham in a couple of weeks' time.
11:20It's a massive occasion of Birmingham winning the reverse fixture, which was so big at the time as
11:25well. So much attention around that game with the likes of David Beckham, for example. I mean,
11:30this is a huge game and what do you sort of see coming out of this one?
11:34Birmingham fans will be expecting another win, completing a double over Wrexham.
11:37Obviously, it seems to be the big rivalry, at least on the Hollywood end of things. So
11:42lots of anticipation and excitement around that. The television crews will be very much
11:46in attendance once again. I'll have to see which Hollywood and A-star guests are in attendance,
11:51but in terms of footballing sense, Birmingham would love to get an advantage. They've still
11:54got the games in hand and they can really make the gap insurmountable if they get a win at the racecourse.