00:00West Bromwich Albion are preparing for another pivotal championship campaign
00:07and this time with Ryan Melsen at the helm from the very start.
00:13There's a growing sense of purpose despite his relative inexperience.
00:18Melsen has made an immediate impact with his blend of calm authority and progressive coaching.
00:23He's seemingly won over the dressing room and reconnected the fan base with a clear playing identity,
00:29focused on intensity, smart possession and tactical flexibility.
00:34This summer hasn't been about a spending spree.
00:37West Brom's recruitment has been measured in line with the club's financial reality
00:42but underpinned by long-term thinking.
00:45For more insight into West Brom's plans, we caught up with Birmingham World journalist Charlie Haffenden
00:51who believes it's time to get excited again at the Hawthorns.
00:55So Charlie, starting with West Bromwich Albion and obviously Ryan Mason appointed as the next manager.
01:04A big statement.
01:05I mean, obviously he's a manager coming in and he's fresh ideas.
01:09He's obviously got some fantastic experience in the top flight, the highest level.
01:14You know, he'd been trying to be poached before and he decided to stay on with Ange Postakar,
01:18who obviously helped deliver that Europa League, which was fantastic for them as a club.
01:22I mean, it all sort of makes sense, you feel, for all parties involved.
01:27It gives him the chance, it gives him a platform, it gives West Brom maybe this ambition that they need to go on
01:32and have a bit of a fresh start maybe over the last couple of seasons.
01:36Obviously, with Carlos Corbran's exit and then the return of Mowbray not quite working out and them falling short.
01:42So, just firstly, your thoughts on Ryan Mason as manager and, you know, how are Albion fans feeling?
01:49What's the feeling around the Hawthorns ahead of the new campaign?
01:52I think it's a feeling of excitement.
01:54Obviously, it took so long to get the Tony Mowbray replacement in.
01:58But I think it was a lot of patience and consideration.
02:01Even with Mowbray, there was a lot of patience, but they made the wrong decision ultimately.
02:04And I think they wanted to make sure they made the right one this time around.
02:07They knew that the playoffs were already kind of over for last season.
02:10And I think if next season they don't get in the playoffs, then this club could really just kind of be stalemated into the instant stagnated in the championship, rather.
02:20And Ryan Mason, he's not in a proper managerial role before.
02:22And I think there are concerns over that.
02:24However, if you look at Chris Davies at Birmingham City, also coming from Tottenham, he's done so, so well.
02:30Ryan Mason as well, very highly thought of amongst the Tottenham backroom staff.
02:34And Posta Koglu, of course, not at the club anymore, but he really favoured having Mason amongst his coaching ranks.
02:39Of course, he was the one who took interim charge of Spurs on a couple of occasions.
02:44So there's obviously a lot of trust there.
02:46Is he ready for management?
02:47It's difficult to say, isn't it?
02:49I think the jury will be out for quite a while.
02:51But it's quite positive that he's got quite a few relationships at Tottenham.
02:55Potentially West Brom could take advantage of that in a transfer market.
02:58The likes of Mikey Moore and Jamie Donnelly have already been linked for potential loan moves.
03:03Those would both be fantastic signings, in my opinion, for West Brom.
03:07Someone can really take them forward, give them a bit of young energy into that team.
03:09And I think just in terms of the squad overhaul that's likely to happen as well, having someone like Mason in there who's quite raw, he's still quite young, seems to have a good tactical knowledge.
03:19I know that managers aren't necessarily that involved in their recruitment at West Brom, but I think they probably can tap into Mason's, maybe not experience because he hasn't got that,
03:29but he seems to have a decent mindset when it comes to it tactically.
03:32Yeah, they're obviously going to be hoping for this fresh start.
03:36But in terms of expectations, they will remain the same and if not, possibly go even higher.
03:41You know, they want to make sure they are returning to the Premier League sooner rather than later.
03:46And, you know, to fall short in the way they did, maybe that's what maybe triggered this sort of rebuild this summer, how important it was to get the right people in this summer.
03:55So, in terms of expectations for West Brom, I'm sure there could be a little bit of leeway for Mason, but, you know, Baggy's fans are really going to be stubborn in terms of they're going to be expecting him to hit the ground running with this side and, you know, take them one step closer to returning to the top flight.
04:14Yeah, I think it's going to be tricky because it's going to be quite a squad overhaul in terms of transfers, which means a lot of new players having to gel with one another.
04:21Quite a few experienced heads leaving the club, high earners that have been there for a long time.
04:25It's going to be tricky to hit the ground running, but you're right, he does need to because West Brom fans, understandably so, are going to get impatient otherwise.
04:33It's only so long that he can be in the Championship.
04:35Might take a couple of months maybe to gel, as I say, but once he does get going, hopefully West Brom will be back to being at their best and can challenge for those playoff positions.
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