After falling short at the crucial moment, West Brom head into the off-season with plenty to consider. A poor end to the campaign has left fans disappointed, especially after hopes of a stronger finish. Now, attention turns to what comes next—and how the club responds.
We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld to get a sense of the mood at The Hawthorns following a season that promised more than it delivered.
We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld to get a sense of the mood at The Hawthorns following a season that promised more than it delivered.
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00:00After falling short at the crucial moment, West Brom head into the off-season with plenty to consider.
00:10A poor end to the campaign has left fans disappointed, especially after hopes of a stronger finish.
00:16Now attention turns to what comes next and how the club responds.
00:20The baggies must now assess the squad, make smart moves in the transfer window and define exactly what their ambitions are.
00:29Heading into next season, do they stick with the current core or will they reshape things to go again?
00:36With a competitive championship awaiting, this summer could be crucial in determining whether West Brom push forward or fall further behind.
00:45We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to get a sense of the move at the Hawthorns following a season that promised more than it delivered.
00:54There's a feeling that big decisions need to be made both on and off the pitch.
01:01Charlie starting with West Brom at Chalbion and just to catch up on the situation, obviously, Tony Mowbray sacked after the disappointing Easter weekend.
01:10Obviously, we mentioned that Easter weekend can be so important in terms of championship and the EFL in general.
01:15Six points up for grabs in the space of a few days, West Brom really failed to excite the fans and it all sort of came crashing down on Mowbray's tenure.
01:26What went wrong? What do you feel was the issue and do you feel it was the right decision to let Mowbray go?
01:32Obviously, the championship experience is undeniable, but the results just weren't there.
01:37Yeah, it was a real shame really to see Tony Mowbray leave the way he did and to see the games go the way they did because obviously such a legend at the football club, 18, 17, 16 years ago, winning the championship as well.
01:51In the past, the fans absolutely loved him and they welcomed back of open arms, but it just didn't work out as they would have hoped.
01:57His tactical style just not quite there.
01:59He went on a lot about trying to dominate games and wanting to play entertaining football, but a lot of the time, passing was sideways.
02:05It was backwards. It wasn't very quick. It wasn't fast flowing.
02:09I know it's difficult when you face up against a low block and that was often the case, but West Brom just not able to penetrate enough and swinging balls into the box when there wasn't really a target man there or vice versa.
02:20When there was a target man, they weren't putting crosses into the area, so it just didn't really make sense at times and the results weren't there.
02:27Losing as many as he did just wasn't acceptable to fall away from the playoff fight when they did not acceptable as well.
02:32I was there for both games over the Easter weekend. The Coventry City defeat was just horrendous.
02:38They could have lost by far more goals than they did. Just such a lapless, a hapless performance rather.
02:44And then against Derby County, a team that's fighting relegation, losing 3-1 at the Hawthorns as well.
02:51Meant to be a fortress. It's been anything but that recently.
02:54And you could just feel the discontent from the fans, the booing.
02:56And then after the game, sat in the press room and we had half an hour with Tony Mowbray in his final press conference.
03:04We didn't know at the time it would be his final press conference.
03:06Trying to work out as well if he knew at that stage.
03:10But then about half an hour after that ended, he was sacked by West Brom.
03:14So a real whirlwind weekend over Easter.
03:17And since West Brom, of course, was falling away, guaranteed not to get into the playoffs.
03:21A complete failure of a season in the end after it looked so good at the start.
03:25Yeah, I mean, you know, ignoring Carlos Corbran and the success he had with such a small, you know, squad, small budget.
03:32Before that, you know, it's sort of a bit of paper over the cracks.
03:35Albion's recruitment in terms of managerial stints, as you know, I saw a stat not long ago that the number of permanent head coaches that have been in the Hawthorns dugout
03:44has been incredible in the last sort of five, six, seven years or so.
03:49So, you know, it's so important that they do get the next recruitment right because it's just sort of a recurring problem.
03:57Who do you feel could be any candidates to come in and maybe to look at this summer?
04:01It just sort of shows back to square one.
04:04They need to reset and they need someone with a bit of a fresh identity and a bit of a fresh bit of passion to get the fans back on board.
04:11Yeah, it's so important to take the right amount of time and patience with this one.
04:16That was the approach with Mowbray and it didn't quite work out.
04:19I think with Shilam Patel, the new owner, the honeymoon period is over because of that decision.
04:24They need to get the next one right.
04:26They need to make sure the next manager is the correct one because if they don't get champion,
04:30if they don't get playoff football next season, there's a risk they could just get stuck in a championship for years and years and years.
04:36Like we saw with Birmingham City, just stuck mid-table mediocrity for so, so long.
04:41It could take a few weeks for them to get their new man through the door.