Lewis Cox and Jonny Drury bring you the first instalment of the 23/24 Albion positional season review.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, Baggies fans. Welcome to ExpressAndStart.com. My name is Jonny Jury. I'm here down at the
00:12Hawthorns with Mr. Lewis Cox. No game on today. We're not here for any signings. We're here
00:16to bring you our end-of-season positional reviews. We're going to talk about the keepers,
00:21the defenders, the goalkeepers. No, I said that, didn't I? Goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders,
00:25strikers, and then we'll obviously reflect on the performance of Carlos Corbijn as well.
00:30We're going to start briefly with the goalkeepers. Alex Palmer, one of Albion's players on the
00:36season, Coxy, who has not really put a lot wrong. There was a little bit of a spell where fans were
00:42maybe getting on his back for certain mistakes, but overall, since he's come in and this season,
00:47he has been terrific. Yes, I think Palmer's been largely excellent. I mean,
00:52as the Golden Glove recently awarded to him for, what, 18 clean sheets that he shared with Melier of Leeds has shown,
01:00I don't think we could have expected too much more from Palmer in his sort of debut campaign
01:04between the sticks as the number one, full season that should be. I think he should be really pleased with his efforts.
01:10I would say, I mean, I think there's that debate among a certain quarter of the fans that maybe it's near post.
01:19Perhaps there have been occasions where he's struggled to get down or keep an effort out.
01:24I mean, I don't know, a small bone down at St Mary's, I think that's harsh, isn't it?
01:29I don't really pay subscription to that, to be honest, in terms of that thought process in Palmer.
01:37I think he's got most of what you want in terms of his qualities.
01:42He's been asked to play a certain way, I think, under Carlos Corbijn, passing it between the centre-halves, full-backs.
01:48By and large, he's calm with that. You don't always get that with keepers, do you?
01:51I'm not saying he's an absolute expert at that, that could play outfield or whatever, but he's certainly got it in his locker.
02:00I think he's one-on-one goalkeeping superb.
02:02I always say to you at games, don't I?
02:04I think when that position player, striker, goes through, I always fancy Palmer to come out on top with those 1v1s.
02:09We saw at the home leg of the play-offs how good he was there in that regard.
02:15Yes, I don't think he could have done much better, do we?
02:18What an interesting sort of topic he is, in terms of he could have gone elsewhere last summer, couldn't he, with Newton?
02:24Yes, it could have been a lot different.
02:26Obviously, yes, he would have brought Albin in a bit of money, yes, but he would have left him in a very different situation between the sticks of the season.
02:33I think Palmer deserves immense credit, really, for how he's grasped his opportunity, to be honest.
02:38And obviously, the two deputies, in terms of Josh Griffiths and Ted Kan, we obviously haven't seen any of Ted Kan, but obviously we saw Josh Griffiths in some of the cup games.
02:47Able replacements, really.
02:50We know that Ted Kan has been offered a new deal, and there's goalkeepers under that as well.
02:57It's quite a blossoming department for Albin at the moment.
03:01From the youth and the academy set-up, yes, certainly.
03:04I mean, Palmer obviously heads the way on that, doesn't he?
03:06He had to wait so long, didn't he?
03:08We wrote something on Alex Palmer last week, actually, some quotes from him talking about him having to bide his time and how he was on the first-team bench.
03:17Nine years ago, under Pulis, so that just shows how long he had to wait.
03:22Palmer's 27, sort of peak years for a keeper, really, but he's not young, is he?
03:28Josh Griffiths is an interesting conversation, isn't he?
03:30We probably speak about him every summer, and then the season's just gone.
03:34He's barely played a minute.
03:35He played in the League Cup, went out in the first game in August, played in the FA Cup against the team from the National League, and then, surprisingly, played in the FA Cup against Wolvesden in the fourth round, of course.
03:46Or Albin lost to Derby here.
03:49Interesting conversation, Griffiths.
03:50I believe he's out of contract next summer, so entering the final year.
03:53Still very young, Griffiths.
03:54I think he's 22 still.
03:56Still so highly regarded and could still have a big future.
04:00We know a lot of movement likely to happen this summer regarding players coming in, but exits from here as well.
04:07Look, I think I include the keepers in that bracket, include Josh Griffiths in that bracket, and certainly Palmer too.
04:14If a viable bid comes in, we're talking about academy graduates there, aren't we, where it's pure profit?
04:20And if bids come in that Albin think are worth the value, acceptable, then I think with Palmer and with Griffiths as well, up next summer.
04:29This is a young player in Griffiths who needs to play at some point, doesn't he?
04:32Yes, he can follow Palmer's example of waiting for his moment, and it could come in a few years.
04:37But where Albin are at the moment in terms of needing to almost future plan and improve for the club in terms of the finances and the financial fair play, profit and sustainability, Griffiths is an interesting conversation, I think.
04:49And look, is there a world where he's Albin number one next season if there's interest in Palmer this summer?
04:56I don't know. I don't know if that's too soon for Griffiths.
04:58I don't know if he's ready to step into that.
05:00I might be wrong.
05:01He might be, but he's played a handful of league games for Albin, hasn't he?
05:05He's played a lot of league games out on loan.
05:08Had his spell last season with Albin, with injuries to Palmer elsewhere.
05:12He did OK.
05:12He had a couple of hiccups, didn't he?
05:14So, I don't know.
05:17Griffiths is an interesting one for me in terms of there's been previous interest.
05:20Will it come back?
05:21There's been previous interest in Palmer, as we said.
05:23Will that come back?
05:24But you're right to point out the likes of Ted Kan, Ronnie Hollingshead, Ben Cisse.
05:28They're young players coming through the academy in goal here, and they all seem to have a lot about them.
05:34They'll be very highly regarded, and I'd like to think Albin can continue the production line, really, moving forward from Palmer and beyond.
05:43Yes, it might change this summer, and we expect exits in all departments, really, potentially.
05:49Certainly in some departments, it could be across the board.
05:52So, the production line might change, but good for the club in being able to produce these young goalkeepers, I would say.