00:00 I'm joined with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to do our catch-up, which we discuss
00:05 our four clubs in the West Midlands. Charlie, let's start with Wolves. Up to eighth now
00:11 in the league, it's an incredible job that Gary O'Neill's doing. But Wang He Chan is
00:15 a player who before he went away to the Asian Cup was absolutely firing on all cylinders
00:20 for Wolves. What's the latest you can tell us about him? He obviously took a knock in
00:24 that warm-up before the Sheffield United game. And also some of the ongoings after the game
00:31 with his fans coming to get their shirts signed. It was really nice after the game. I'll start
00:37 with that. A very wholesome moment for Wang He Chan and all his supporters. I was walking
00:41 out with Molineux about 90 minutes after the game had finished, because of the press conference
00:45 and writing things up afterwards. You don't expect to see any players at that point, but
00:49 Wang was still there. God knows how long he'd been there for. I stood there for about 10
00:53 minutes and watched on. And the queue hardly went down in that time. So he must have been
00:57 there for about an hour, I reckon. And he didn't just rush it with fans. He spoke to
01:01 them for maybe 15, 20 seconds each as well and signed shirts, signed programs, took pictures,
01:08 did the whole lot. It wasn't just young fans either. It wasn't just Asian fans. Other Wolves
01:13 fans being there as well. Really good to see. In terms of his performance, though, it wasn't
01:17 quite what we normally see from Wang. He didn't make too many sprints. He did press quite
01:22 well and he made some good runs in the channels. But whenever he got forward, he just seemed
01:25 to be jogging and not running at full pace. Gary O'Neill says he was actually fine during
01:30 the game, Wang, and it was just tiredness. But I'm not sure if I believe that too much.
01:34 Wang, in the warm-up, stepped on the ball and rocked his knee a little bit and felt
01:38 some pain. I reckon he was taking it a bit carefully during the game because of that,
01:42 rather than fatigue. We'll see what happens then the next few games. Obviously, Brighton
01:47 on Wednesday, I'm expecting him to be up to speed again for that one.
01:51 Moving on to Aston Villa, obviously, Diaby has had his praise from us. Ollie Watkins
01:57 has as well. Douglas Luiz has been some huge names and big performances throughout the
02:03 season so far. But Leon Bailey is a player who they signed a few years ago and you thought
02:08 maybe this was his chance. He didn't really make that perfect start, but it's looking
02:13 as of late that he's becoming that go-to man for them.
02:18 This season, Leon Bailey has been tremendous for Villa and nothing short of. Probably one
02:22 of the players of the season in that squad and that's difficult to beat when you've got
02:26 so many key men in there. But Moosa Diaby started the season really well and has fallen
02:31 back since. The last few months, it's all been about Leon Bailey and that right wing
02:35 role, whether it be on the right mids or maybe as a shadow striker, just to the right of
02:39 Ollie Watkins. Whichever role he's in, he's impressing. He looks a lot more clinical,
02:44 his decision making has improved, he's got confidence, he's got a swagger, he takes on
02:49 players and at the weekend against Forest, a goal and an assist. The goal was nice and
02:53 easy, a tap in, but he had to be in the right place at the right time. And then the assist
02:57 was just sublime, taking it on the right hand side, nutmegging one defender and passing
03:02 through the legs of another to find Ollie Watkins at the far post. Really good vision
03:06 and really good skill for that one. And that just shows the kind of player he's becoming
03:10 for Villa and finally showing the form he had in his Leverkusen days.
03:14 And on to Birmingham City, obviously we've had the news of Tony Mowbray being yielded
03:20 at their boss now. What's the latest you can tell us on that? There's been so many tributes
03:24 coming in from clubs he's managed previously and clubs in general as well.
03:31 Yeah, it's been really nice to see the response to it. Very wholesome from lots of different
03:37 clubs, not even those that Mowbray's been at, playing at or as a coach, just everyone
03:41 in the footballing community coming together. Ipswich, of course, a former club of his as
03:45 a player, they were very good at the weekend, putting up photos on the screens and a minutes
03:50 of applause for Mowbray and so many other gestures as well. The story is that Mowbray's
03:55 had a diagnosis. We don't know what the diagnosis is, but it's got to be something potentially
04:00 serious otherwise he wouldn't be spending so long out of it. Six to eight weeks it is
04:05 initially, whether that extends or not, we'll find out. But Mark Venus, his assistant, has
04:10 taken over in the meantime. Mowbray is still present on video calls and he's still having
04:15 an input. He's just not there at the training ground, he's not there at the games and Venus
04:20 taking responsibilities. But Venus and Mowbray worked together for the last two decades in
04:24 coaching and they were also teammates at Ipswich. So plenty of trust in Venus and I'm sure he'll
04:29 do a good job.
04:30 And finally, on to West Bromwich Albion. They're making a bit of a playoff charge. They are
04:36 some of the fair few people's favourites to ensure that they are in those playoff positions
04:41 by the end of the season. They've got to draw away at home. It's a playoff rival, it's a
04:46 point away from home. They're starting to look more professional as the weeks go on.
04:53 They are looking really professional and composed. Earlier in the season away from home the performances
04:57 weren't great, the results weren't great. Now I know it wasn't a win away at home, but
05:02 their direct competitors and rivals in this fight to keep them below is really important.
05:07 One point of difference at the moment. If it wasn't for Darnell Furlong scoring and
05:10 Hull went on to get all three points, all of a sudden the baggies in the team in sixth
05:14 that everyone's chasing, although the gap is not as big as they'd hoped. Four points
05:18 at the moment to seventh and eighth. Just having that extra point makes a difference.
05:22 As I say, I think it's more important just to keep Hull below them. Obviously the winner,
05:26 the Plymouth before, 3-0. Soon after defeat to Southampton was disappointing, but there
05:30 were some positive signs at the end of the first half. Then of course the wins over Cardiff
05:34 and the draw at Ipswich. There's some good performances, more consistency being built.
05:39 Even when Carlos Corbijn had his suspension, it didn't seem to make too much of a difference
05:43 because the players know exactly what they need to do now. The style has been fully implemented
05:46 and it's good to see. I see West Brom definitely finishing in that top six as much as fans
05:51 might be apprehensive.
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