00:00To West Bromwich Abbey now, obviously, looking across their 2024, a bit of a missed opportunity,
00:09a chance to go to Wembley in the play-off final. They sort of slipped up in the play-offs.
00:13But to get there in the first place was very honourable for Carlos Corbijn, the shoe-shrink
00:18budget and the way the players, he's got them playing. It's not a top sort of championship
00:24echelon group of players, but they sort of have proven that they can perform like that.
00:29So maybe Baggies fans view 2024 as a bit of a learning curve, a bit of a chance to
00:34get the new sort of ownership structure right and go further. But how do you sort of review
00:392024 for West Brom? I mean, it's something that you look at going into 2025 and you can
00:45maybe think there could be some positivity ahead.
00:48Mopping up previous mistakes, the new ownership coming in, solidifying things at the basis
00:52of the football club, trying to remove the debts the club was in, not able to spend much
00:56money in the transfer window as a result. Now in the next couple of years should be
00:59able to up their spending a little bit. It's against the Premier League would be a massive
01:03help financially. That hasn't happened. The disappointment last year of losing to Southampton
01:08in the play-offs. But Albion just weren't quite ready to make that step. The fact they
01:12finished in the top six was a top six was a positive step forward, but they weren't
01:17ready to go all the way to the Premier League. Even Southampton themselves winning the play-offs,
01:21getting up and they've not been ready to compete just yet. Obviously, Russell Martin losing
01:26his job recently, rock bottom of the English top tier, and it was like an absolute miracle.
01:31One of the best ever escapes for them to escape relegation. So I don't think that'll be happening.
01:37That does put things into perspective for West Brom. Maybe they shouldn't be too disappointed
01:40that they didn't go up and maybe it wouldn't have been the right time anyway.
01:44Kicking on this season, there's been a bit of a struggle at times. So many draws, especially
01:48at the Hawthorns. I was there recently when they finally put an end to their draws at
01:52home as they beat Frank Lampard's Coventry City. They then go and lose away at Watford.
01:57Disappointing, but they're still just outside the play-off positions. Still so long to go
02:01this season. And I think maybe if they can strengthen a little bit in January, it should
02:05be able to help them kick on. But the shoestring budget, as you mentioned, is still an issue
02:10this season. It's going to be difficult to improve in key areas, but Carlos Corbijn,
02:14such a good head coach, such good at getting the best out of a bad situation. So I expect
02:19him to kick on and finish in that top six.
02:21Looking at Baggy's best players across the calendar year, who sort of stands out there?
02:27Because there has been some big impacts made by Carlos Corbijn.
02:31I think Alex Palmer, the goalkeeper, has been so impressive. He won the Golden Glove last
02:36season in the Championship. He's already got 10 clean sheets in 21 games so far this season
02:41at the time of recording, which is an incredible achievement. Just having that solid base,
02:45an experiencing goal and the leadership as well is so important. It just gives the defenders
02:50in front of him more confidence and it means you can build from the back and hopefully
02:54push on and get those wins. So Alex Palmer, superb this year.
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