00:00Coming up in your weekly football roundup, we'll start at West Bromwich Albion where
00:08their momentum in the Championship has stalled slightly, then to Birmingham City where there's
00:12some new contracts on the table, across the West Midlands to Wolverhampton Wanderers where
00:17there has been an injury in the goalkeeping department and then finally we'll move north
00:21to Merseyside. First we'll look at Liverpool's injury situation and then to Everton with
00:26a stadium update. And so to West Bromwich Albion where results have dried up at the
00:32Hawthorns, a loss at home to Middlesbrough being perhaps one of the most notable. Why
00:37is this? Well, we've been finding out. West Bromwich Albion obviously started the season
00:43fantastically well, we're top of the division. They've slipped down to fourth with 17 points
00:48still. I mean, I'm sure most or all of West Bromwich fan base would have taken that at
00:54this stage. But without a win in three, losing obviously Sheffield Wednesday and then Middlesbrough
01:00at home and then drawing to Millwall at home, a bit of momentum has sort of gone. How have
01:07they sort of revived that? There's some winnable fixtures coming up but comparing it to the
01:12start of the season, has much changed or do they just need to sort of get back with that
01:16confidence? Well, it's a strange one really because I don't think anyone expected West
01:21Brom to start the way they did winning pretty much every single game apart from that draw
01:26against Leeds United at home, another goalless one. Josh Major starting a lot better than
01:31a lot of people would have expected as well. Seven goals in seven, that's now seven in
01:35nine. Just the output up front hasn't quite been there in his last three games. Did score
01:39twice away at Sheffield Wednesday, which isn't too bad. Just an off day defensively that
01:43one. The Middlesbrough game maybe just outsmarted a little bit, Hayden Hackney getting the late
01:48goal in that and then Millwall, they sat back and they played for a nil-nil draw. There
01:52was no doubt about that. West Brom had 80% of the ball in that game at the Hawthorns
01:56and just such a frustrating game for Albion, they couldn't make a way through. I think
02:00we might see a few changes for this weekend against Oxford United. It's inevitable when
02:06they're not scoring goals too much in the last few matches and it needs to be a bit
02:09more clinical. Jed Wallace has been on the bench for much of this season. Could we see
02:13him maybe getting a start? Tom Fellows has been in and out of the team the last few weeks.
02:18Surely he's got to play. He's one of the most exciting players in the whole squad. And then
02:21Mikey Johnston not quite hitting the ground running as people would have hoped. Is Karlan
02:25Grant the better option? Lots of selection dilemmas for Corbran, but a good problem really
02:29to have such depth in attack. Yeah, and just on the fixtures coming up, obviously Oxford away,
02:35Blackburn away, Cardiff City are rock bottom at home. I mean, you look at those fixtures
02:40and if you are going to be a team that's going to be reaching those playoff places
02:43and maybe challenging in a possible title race come the end of the season and the big
02:48parts of the season, these are games that you have to get points at. Yeah, I think the
02:52Oxford one, it's a newly promoted team. They've drawn three and lost three and won three of
02:57their games. So it's been a bit of a shaky and strange start for them. I mean, three
03:01wins out of nine is not too bad at all for a newly promoted team, but the golfing quality
03:05in the two squads, you would expect West Brom to get a decent result there. Blackburn's a
03:09lot trickier. John Eustace has led them to very good starts this season, but they've
03:14maybe been overperforming a little bit. They've been quite clinical. If you look at the expected
03:18goals figures so far this season, they have been outperforming what they should be doing.
03:22So another one where you'd fancy at least a draw maybe. And then that final game against
03:26Cardiff City, it's simply got to be three points. You've got to be beating those teams
03:30in the round the bottom of the table if you're going to be getting promoted to the Premier League.
03:34At Birmingham City in League One, there's some new contracts that have been offered.
03:39Charles Hague-Jones can tell you more.
03:42On to Birmingham City, obviously suffering a loss to Charlton in their last League One game.
03:48I mean, it just sort of exaggerated that League One isn't quite a walkover that it might look
03:54after their unbelievable start to the season. How are fans reacting after that? Obviously,
03:59it's no time for panic stations, but it certainly is a little reminder that it can
04:04prove quite a tough division to escape. And if you get a bit complacent, like the likes of
04:09Sunderland did in the past, it can sort of get you. We've seen teams with a lead of 10, 12,
04:1613, 14 points in League One, and that gets heavily reduced at the end of the season. We saw in the
04:20championship last year of Leicester City, they start to get a bit complacent and then a bit
04:24squeaky bum time towards the end of the season. These teams either they do act up and then they
04:29manage to see it on through and get promoted, or they can fall away and lose it completely
04:34so early doors for Birmingham to see if they're going to be falling away or not. But that Charlton
04:39game is a reminder, as Chris Davies, the manager, has been saying this whole time, you can't take
04:44any League One game for granted, any win for granted. Charlton, they're not exactly the best
04:49team in the world, and they lost their best player Alfie May to Birmingham in the summer, but Blues
04:54didn't even have a shot on target at the Valley. Charlton did set up quite defensively after they
04:59got their goal, as you would do against the best team in the league, and they worked hard to get
05:03that three points. I think the main reaction from the Blues fans is, oh, okay, right, maybe Davies
05:08is right, this isn't going to be so easy. I think they're a little bit disappointed that unbeaten
05:12record is gone, but realistically, you're never going to get an unbeaten record in 46 matches.
05:18It would have to be one of the most perfect seasons we've ever seen.
05:21Yeah, and obviously, we've mentioned the massive summer, the amount of signings,
05:25there's been some contract situations being updated. What quite appeals to me is that
05:32the length of these contracts as well, the sort of 2028 and three or four years' time.
05:37What's the latest you can tell us on the contract situation, and how pleased should Blues be to
05:43secure these names for a few more years? Yes, the main two recently have been Paik Sang-ho,
05:49the midfielder, and Ethan Laird, the right-back, both, I believe, until 2028, which is a long-term
05:56commitment for both players. Paik Sang-ho, in particular, is showing his quality. He's
06:01definitely a division above, if not higher. If they go up to the championship,
06:05they should be pretty comfortable starting those two players every single week. And then Ethan
06:08Laird maybe leaves a little bit to be desired defensively with his positioning and his tracking
06:13back. But going forward, he's got so much energy, so much charisma. And his delivery may be a little
06:19bit inconsistent at times, but he's definitely got the potential to be a top quality player for
06:22Blues. Obviously, formerly of Manchester United as well, he's had that good upbringing and training
06:27at Old Trafford. So, yes, to tie those two players down is very important. And I think it
06:32assures Blues that they're not just spending money for the here and now. They're looking
06:35to several years ahead. These crazy sums that we're seeing, it is a long-term plan. It's not
06:40just for this season. At Molyneux, Jose Sarr has picked up an injury in goal for Wolves. This has
06:47meant that Sam Johnston has had to step in to replace him. What is the latest on that situation?
06:53Yes, there's obviously a massive change with Jose Sarr, the club's number one for the past
06:59three or four seasons. He's shipped straight out for Sam Johnston, the backup keeper at Crystal
07:04Palace. That is a decision that, if it works, you're seen as a massive favourable with the
07:12fans. If it doesn't work, which it probably hasn't, you could say, with the amount of goals
07:16they're now conceding, that has to go down to the manager's decision. I mean, it's a crazy
07:22situation. How does Jose Sarr get back into the side? He's completely been outcast. He was
07:30obviously linked with Saudi in the summer as well. It's a massive decision that Gary O'Neill's
07:34probably got wrong. Essentially, I think time will tell, they've been leaking goals no matter
07:39what the goalkeeper is. Of course, Jose Sarr conceded six against Chelsea. We can't be
07:44forgetting that. He kept getting beaten at his near post consistently. His distribution wasn't
07:48good enough. The confidence had gone in him, to be honest. I know over the years he's been a great
07:52goalkeeper, but his confidence just wasn't there. Sam Johnston, you hoped that he'd maybe hit the
07:57ground running a little bit better, but when you're continuing on from so many goals being
08:01conceded, it is difficult to do that. I think cut Johnston a little bit of slack for now,
08:06but it's not exactly a good overview at the moment, is it, with how many goals are going in?
08:10Is it more the defence at fault? Is it the goalkeepers? Is it a knock-on effect where
08:14the goalkeepers haven't got that confidence because of the defence in front of them? I think
08:18it's probably a mix of all of those elements. Stuff really needs to improve soon. Otherwise,
08:23well, as you say, it's a very difficult situation in goal at Wolves.
08:28Now to Merseyside, where Liverpool are preparing to face Chelsea
08:32at Anfield on Sunday. Before that, though, we have an injury update for the Reds.
08:38Not in the immediate future. It looks like the Liverpool goalkeeper is going to be out for
08:43around six weeks with a hamstring injury, which is a blow for Liverpool because the
08:51backbone of the team has been magnificent so far this campaign. They conceded two goals
08:59in their opening seven league games. That's been the real bedrock of Liverpool's early success.
09:07Finally, to Everton, who of course are playing at Goodison Park for the final season in their
09:12history. Next year, they'll be at Bramley Moor Dock and we have an update on the stadium.
09:19Well, looking at Everton and their new mega stadium, obviously we've mentioned the progress
09:23and how quick they've shot it up and the fantastic infrastructure and the sort of jobs it'll bring
09:29to the area and how well it'll represent the city as well. Just give us a little update on it and
09:37how are fans sort of feeling about the fact they are going to have to move home and
09:42Goodison's been there so, so long. It's quite a mixed bag, I'm guessing.
09:48It is, yeah. I mean, Goodison Park, it's a real historic stadium, isn't it? It's synonymous with
09:54Everton Football Club, but I think supporters accept that change is needed and if Everton
10:00want to really kick on, then they need to move with the times and that is at the new stadium
10:06at Bramley Moor Dock and it's coming towards the end now. Everton get the keys at the end of the
10:13year. We're seeing more updates as the days go by, you know, the big screens have been put up and,
10:20you know, fans are putting drone footage up and it looks, it does really, really look incredible.
10:26I think the challenge now for Everton, one will be securing stadium naming rights,
10:32which the Chief Commercial Officer Richard Kenyon's talked about in the matchday programme
10:37before the Palace game, he said that Everton are in talks with several parties and
10:45that will be at least, he says, a 10-year deal they're looking for and it's interesting when
10:50it comes to this naming parties one because whoever gets those, let's be frank, you'll be
10:57calling the stadium that for years to come, even after, say, the deal ends and I'm not saying that
11:02Everton are in line to broker a deal with Saudi Arabia, but I think that was worth between 250
11:08and 300 million euros, so that's another barometer that Everton can use and, of course, supporters
11:15want to secure the seat, they want to be around friends and family who they've sat with for years,
11:19maybe some fans want to sit at a completely different area of the stadium, you know,
11:25and have a new vantage point, but yeah, keys are imminently going to be handed to Everton and then
11:31you're looking at test events etc and then all eyes will be on the, you know, the 25-26
11:39campaign buffet, you know, the main point is that Everton are a Premier League club when they do go
11:45there because results have picked up before the international break, but by no means are Everton
11:51very much clear of danger, they need to continue their upward trajectory and
11:55ensure that they go into the new stadium as a Premier League outfit.
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