West Brom came into this campaign with high hopes of a return to the Premier League, but instead, they’ve found themselves stuck in mid-table frustration.
We caught up with Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWolrd who has followed the Baggies closely this season to understand the mood around the club and why they’ve fallen short once again.
We caught up with Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWolrd who has followed the Baggies closely this season to understand the mood around the club and why they’ve fallen short once again.
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00:00West Bromwich Albion came into this campaign with high hopes of a return to the Premier League
00:08but instead they found themselves stuck in mid-table frustration.
00:13The fans are restless, the atmosphere at the Hawthorns is flat
00:17and questions are being asked of the club's direction.
00:21We caught up with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World
00:23who has followed the baggies closely this season
00:26to understand the mood around the club and why they've fallen short once again.
00:32From a lack of investment in key areas to inconsistent performances and tactical struggles
00:38West Brom's issues go beyond just results.
00:41With another year outside the top flight looming
00:43the spotlight now turns to the board.
00:46Will they stick or twist when it comes to the current set-up
00:49and is a summer overhaul the only solution?
00:54Charlie starting with West Bromwich Albion
00:56and just to catch up on the situation,
00:58obviously Tony Mowbray sacked after the disappointing Easter weekend.
01:02Obviously we mentioned that Easter weekend can be so important
01:05in terms of championship and the EFL in general.
01:08Six points up for grabs in the space of a few days.
01:12West Brom really failed to excite the fans
01:15and it all sort of came crashing down on Mowbray's tenure.
01:19What went wrong?
01:20What do you feel was the issue?
01:22Do you feel it was the right decision to let Mowbray go?
01:25Obviously, you know, the championship experience is undeniable,
01:28but the results just weren't there.
01:31Yeah, it was a real shame really to see Tony Mowbray leave the way he did
01:35and to see the games go the way they did
01:37because obviously such a legend at the football club,
01:3918, 17, 16 years ago, winning the championship as well.
01:44In the past, the fans absolutely loved him
01:46and they welcomed back a vote from arms,
01:47but it just didn't work out as they would have hoped.
01:49But his tactical style, just not quite there.
01:52He went on a lot about trying to dominate games
01:54and wanting to play entertaining football.
01:56But a lot of the time, passing was sideways.
01:58It was backwards.
01:59It wasn't very quick.
02:00It wasn't fast flowing.
02:02I know it's difficult when you face up against a low block
02:04and that was often the case,
02:05but West Brom just not able to penetrate enough.
02:08And swinging balls into the box
02:10when there wasn't really a target man there
02:11or vice versa, when there was a target man,
02:14they weren't putting crosses into the area.
02:15So it just didn't really make sense at times
02:18and the results weren't there.
02:19Losing as many as he did just wasn't acceptable.
02:22To fall away from the playoff fight
02:23when they did, not acceptable as well.
02:25I was there for both games over the Easter weekend.
02:28The Coventry City defeat was just horrendous.
02:31They could have lost by far more goals than they did.
02:33Just such a lapless, a hapless performance rather.
02:37And then against Derby County,
02:39a team that's fighting relegation,
02:41losing 3-1 at the Hawthorns as well.
02:44Meant to be a fortress.
02:44It's been anything but that recently.
02:47And you could just feel the discontent
02:48from the fans, the booing.
02:50And then after the game, sat in the press room
02:52and we had half an hour with Tony Mowbray
02:55in his final press conference.
02:56We didn't know at the time
02:57it would be his final press conference.
02:59Trying to work out as well if he knew at that stage.
03:02But then about half an hour after that ended,
03:05he was sacked by West Brom.
03:07So a real whirlwind weekend over Easter.
03:09And since West Brom, of course,
03:12was falling away, guaranteed,
03:13not to get into the playoffs.
03:14A complete failure of a season in the end after.
03:16It looked so good at the start.
03:19Yeah, I mean, you know,
03:20ignoring Carlos Corbran and the success he had
03:22with such a small, you know, squad, small budget.
03:25Before that, you know,
03:26it's sort of a bit of paper over the cracks.
03:28Albion's recruitment in terms of managerial stints,
03:31as you know, I saw a stat not long ago
03:33that the number of permanent head coaches
03:35that have been in the Hawthorns dugout
03:37has been incredible in the last sort of five,
03:40six, seven years or so.
03:43You know, it's so important
03:44that they do get the next recruitment right
03:46because it's just sort of a recurring problem.
03:49Who do you feel could be any candidates to come in
03:52and maybe to look at this summer?
03:54It just sort of shows back to square one.
03:57They need to reset and they need someone
03:58with a bit of a fresh identity
04:00and a bit of a fresh bit of passion
04:02to get the fans back on board.
04:03Yeah, it's so important to take the right amount of time
04:07and patience with this one.
04:09That was the approach with Mowbray
04:10and it didn't quite work out.
04:11I think with Shilin Patel, the new owner,
04:14the honeymoon period is over
04:15because of that decision.
04:17They need to get the next one right.
04:19They need to make sure the next manager
04:20is the correct one
04:21because if they don't get champion,
04:23if they don't get playoff football next season,
04:25there's a risk they could just get stuck
04:27in a championship for years and years and years.
04:29Like we saw with Birmingham City,
04:30just stuck mid-table mediocrity for so, so long.
04:34The likes of Gary O'Neill, Steve Cooper
04:36have been mentioned by the bookies,
04:38but at the moment,
04:39it seems as if Westbrook were taking their time
04:41and it could take a few weeks
04:42for them to get their new man through the door.