Jonny Drury and Lewis Cox bring you their take on West Brom's 1-1 draw with Stoke - and Tony Mowbray's return to Albion.
Returning Stoke loanee Nathan Lowe threatened to spoil the party as he put the Potters ahead, before Grady Diangana netted a late equaliser.
Lewis and Jonny discuss how Albion did enough to win the game, look at Mowbray's return and explain the challenges he has ahead of him.
Returning Stoke loanee Nathan Lowe threatened to spoil the party as he put the Potters ahead, before Grady Diangana netted a late equaliser.
Lewis and Jonny discuss how Albion did enough to win the game, look at Mowbray's return and explain the challenges he has ahead of him.
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00:00Baggies fans, welcome to ExpressAndStyle.com, my name is Jonny Trieri, I'm here alongside
00:12Albin Cross and Matt Lewis-Cox on what has been a pretty special day down at the Hawthorns.
00:17A 1-1 draw against Stoke, that's not the special part, it's kind of the sideshow, the football
00:22was arguably the sideshow really because Tony Mowbray is back at the Hawthorns after 16
00:26years away, after a year-long battle with illness, the stars kind of aligned and he's
00:31come in to replace Carlos Corbran, he was unveiled before the game today to the supporters,
00:36probably the best atmosphere of the season before the game got to and when Tony Mowbray
00:40walked out on the pitch, met with fans as well before and then oversaw his side come
00:46back from 1-0 down to earn a battling point against Stoke City and we'll start there Cox
00:50because that is the story, you know Tony Mowbray back here today, in the stands, was in the
00:56dressing room at half-time, we've just been told and spoke to the players before the game
00:59and much for him to chew over from a 1-1 draw today.
01:03I think so, just quickly on something you mentioned there before I forget to make the
01:07point, you mentioned the atmosphere before the game being among the best of the season
01:11or half-jokingly but when Grady's late equaliser went in, Grady Deangarna's equaliser went
01:17in 20 minutes from time, for me it was the loudest this place has been this season comfortably,
01:23probably since the play-off game for some time and obviously it's no secret that the
01:29place hasn't been booming of late has it for one reason or another but I just thought it
01:36was no coincidence when the goal goes in today, late goal equaliser, it's a big goal in the
01:41context of the play-offs and all that but I think the Tony Mowbray factor last night,
01:47him being here today, a new era, an exciting period for supporters clearly, his return,
01:55I think that's what's cranked up the decibel levels today when Grady's equalised with a
02:01fine goal, a really deserved point, let's be honest I'm not going to stand here and
02:06say it was brilliant and perfect today because it was the 14th draw in 27, which is more
02:13than 50% which is mad really, you said two over and that's what Tony Mowbray asked the
02:23two over, 14 draws in 27 games isn't it, look at the squad, I doubt he's going to sit and
02:31watch all 90 minutes of all 14 draws, who knows, maybe he might depending on how much
02:35he's got planned, but why, why has this squad only been capable of doing that, what can
02:43he get out of them collectively, tactically to sort that out, individually to sort that
02:48out with some of the talent that's here that hasn't been firing this season and maybe most
02:53importantly out of all of that, or certainly one of, what does he need in the last two
02:57weeks of the window, I've been linked quite heavily with an attacker haven't they, Isaac
03:03Price, a Northern Ireland player, I think he's a number 10 creative start player and
03:07sounding like those reports are strong, an attacker, a creative attacker, someone who
03:12can score, but look clearly the squad need to work in this window, but very clearly Tony
03:17Mowbray has been brought in to develop the side, develop and improve the players.
03:21That would be, for me, I've penned a few words on it already, you can see it on expressastar.com,
03:26that for me would be maybe his main takeaway today, he would be excited by some of the
03:30things that he saw, but ultimately you'll know that the likes of, we saw Dean Garner
03:34flourish today, that hasn't happened too often this season, and Albion just lacked that,
03:38I just spoke to Chris Brunt about it, they lacked that kind of conviction, that lack
03:42of, it would be decision making cost them, and that's probably, that's the stumbling
03:46block that Albion have got to get over to turn these draws into wins, and one of the
03:49best operators in the championship now has got his work cut out to go and do that.
03:53Decision making I think comes off edginess and a confidence doesn't it, if you're flying
03:59and winning and scoring, you think less, you're more instinct, and I think that's
04:06definitely a thing, so how can you get results and get a bounce to get some quick results
04:11and get that sort of confidence going, like Albion at the start of the season were winning
04:14games, alright not big margins, but we're winning games, and I think that decision making
04:18comes there, the draw record we were just on about, nothing against the interim coaches
04:24who've done a great job stepping in, but it's, draws have continued in this little
04:30period, post Carlos, Albion should have won at Swansea, they should have won today, 23
04:35shots Albion had today, now I'm going to, 4 on target, I'm going to spend my Saturday
04:41night going through Albion results to see if they've had more than 23 shots in a game
04:46this season.
04:47So Mrs Cox on Saturday night, that's what you're doing, go through those statistics.
04:51Some would say I have no life, but not you, no but in all seriousness, certainly under
04:59Carlos Corbijn it's not a, it was an aside that free scoring, free flowing created loads
05:05of chances wasn't it, that would be a bit of an outlier I think, so no coincidence perhaps
05:11that they created that much today, Stoke were a bit limited and a bit sort of unambitious
05:17weren't they Stoke, and Albion were, most of the pitch too strong for them, they kept
05:22coming at them, kept coming at them, and it was in those moments, it was the most important
05:26part isn't it, the decision making, and also the quality of technique of finish, it didn't
05:32happen for a few forwards did it, like you said there under Carlos Corbijn, Albion maybe
05:37wouldn't create a bucket load of chances today, they did, maybe not a bucket load of clear
05:40cut chances, but a bucket load of openings where they got in, and that's what, similar
05:45to Swansea wasn't it if you remember, someone like Tony Mobay is going to be trying to pump
05:50so much confidence into the likes of Fellowes, Deangarna, Johnston, you know Fellowes has
05:54done it on a regular basis, Johnston has been hot called, so has Deangarna obviously, Swift,
05:58Grant, and you can see it, we can't predict what's going to happen in the next few weeks
06:02but you can just predict him getting maybe a bit of a tune out of that, and that's why
06:05I think he will leave the ground today quite excited from what he's seen, and the potential
06:09that Albion have got now, from Tuesday onwards when he takes charge against Hillsborough.
06:13Without giving too much away, obviously you went into the post-match to speak to Brunty
06:17today, I was down in the tunnel, in the mix zone kind of area to speak with Grady, first
06:24time in a long while, he doesn't do too much press, obviously he's had a long time outside
06:28hasn't he, last spoke to him, that Christmas game where he scored the winner against Leeds,
06:33before he went away to Africa that was, so a long time ago, and he spoke well but I asked
06:40him about Tony, and he said he wants to work with him, he loves players that love football,
06:46and it was nice, and he said what Tony has said is come and speak to me about what you
06:53want, and I think a big thing that we'll be able to stress over the coming days and weeks
06:58about this appointment, videos of podcasts that we'll do and written pieces is that I
07:02think, and this is not to be detrimental about the predecessor, but I think the atmosphere
07:09around the training ground, within maybe the dressing room and on the training pitch
07:13could change really, I think you've got a scale of personalities between, Corbran and
07:21his coaching staff and Mowbray, I think you're at different ends of the, and that's not that
07:25Mowbray can't be a strict disciplinarian, that's not that he's not got that side to
07:35him, but he's clearly the man-management side, the arm around side, that's what Chris
07:41Blunt alluded to in the outing, Chris Blunt said he's a fantastic developer of players
07:46and that man-management style, it feels like he's kind of, that's why it feels like it's
07:50the perfect fit for Alistair.
07:51Yeah and I'm not saying, again I don't want to stress that, I'm not saying that Corbran
07:54wasn't, how detailed was he with players, he's overseen Fellowes' rise to a £20m player
08:01from nothing, and nobody would put more time than Corbran into individual meetings and
08:06all that, but it's going to be different, it's a different way of man-management I would
08:10say, and this is not against Mowbray, but a bit more old school perhaps, just a bit
08:16more, and that's natural because he's been in the game for 40 odd years.
08:21Maybe covering everything, because something else that Chris Blunt referenced in there
08:25and mentioned, I think it wasn't one of my questions, but saying he's maybe got a bit
08:28more pragmatic the more he's moved on, and he kind of is very modern, but then old school
08:35in terms of that, arm around the shoulder, being a man-manager, that's why I think this
08:41appointment and today just showed that it's the right move for Albion.
08:46Yeah, I mean the previous two jobs of his for the last decade really isn't it, Sunderland
08:52and Blackburn, I know Blackburn were lower down at one point, but those two clubs in
08:58this division, it's not top two, top three clubs is it, with all of the facilities and
09:05all of the money to bring in all the players, it's not the riches he had here, but the calibre
09:12of players he had here in his first period and he's had at other clubs, you have to be
09:17a bit more pragmatic if you're Blackburn in the Championship I guess, even though they
09:21are with Eustace now aren't they, but I think the most recent example when he had Sunderland,
09:27I've said this before when he came here with Sunderland, probably what, April 23 was it
09:31roughly, yeah, I've seen others say this, it was the most impressed I felt with an opposition
09:41against Corbijn's Albion, which says a lot, and yeah, I think he's really going to, going
09:49back to the point I started with about Grady, I think he's really going to be a loving figure
09:55to the players, not overly, not too much, but just that right amount of support, it's
10:01like someone calling him Uncle Tony on Twitter, support and advice and coaching, on top of
10:09that a very good manager as well, yeah, what he doesn't know about the game obviously isn't
10:14worth knowing, but he'll have forgotten more than most would ever know and it's exciting
10:20isn't it, there was a different feel around that, even when Stoke were winning, which
10:27was a large, most of the game wasn't it, let's be honest, Stoke 9th minute opener and Grady
10:32equalised 71 minutes in, and I think partly credit to the players, because I thought Albion
10:39did okay today, they kept going, and they kept, alright it wasn't clear chance after
10:44clear chance, but it was a final third, final third, and look the same happened at the first
10:51half at Swansea when Albion should have put the game to bed, and it was a problem in South
10:54Wales and it was a problem here today, and believe me everyone watching this will be
11:00fed up with draws, we're fed up with draws, the players are fed up with draws, I think
11:04it would feel like even Bronte is fed up with draws, and are Albion going to have any
11:11sort of success this season and that is finishing in the top six, obviously they can't get to
11:15game 46 with 24 or 25 draws, I mean if they do it'll be a record, and not a record anyone
11:22wants, and it certainly won't be enough to finish sixth will it, they'll be down 8th,
11:269th, 10th, and that's the challenge, the Mowbray inspiration, the help from January,
11:33just remember this was the first game without top scorer, best player Josh Madger who really
11:39brings everything together, and has brought everything together in the final third this
11:43season, Tom Fellows is the other with his ammunition, but Madger has made everything
11:47work in that, how many of his goals have been winners, equal, earned so many points, and
11:54Grant, shout out to Grant as well, he's having a wonderful time of it and worked hard as
11:58he does today, but Madger, what a loss, and how can Mowbray make the side work post Madger
12:05for a couple of months, obviously they'll hope for the reinforcements in the window
12:09to make a difference, there's a conversation about DK that we don't need to have now for
12:13another day, but hopefully we're not looking too far down the line for another striker
12:17that should be able to make an impact with him, touching a bit of wood, but yeah it's
12:25Mowbray's got, I was going to say time on his hands then, but he's got tonight, tomorrow,
12:29Monday when he'll be busy training and meeting the media, to sort of put plans in place,
12:36first of all for a very emotional night at the Riverside on Tuesday night, he's the club
12:41he captained as a player, the club he managed, the club very close to his heart, probably
12:46with Celtic as well, it's a Mowbray derby Tuesday night, it's perfect, the whole
12:54script and story of his return is pretty wonderful on several levels, in fact his
12:58first games at Borough, where until this job, as recently as I guess yesterday and still
13:05now, he's living up there, close to there, it's a bit strange for him, but he's got a
13:11lot to think about, to plan, to address, how am I going to line them up, how are we going
13:19to score more than we have managed, how can I return 23 shots into a couple of goals,
13:26to address the season, but we'll be at training ground on Monday won't we?
13:31We will be indeed.
13:33As I mentioned, Tony's unveiling officially to the press, where he'll be joined by Andrew
13:37Nesta, a sporting director, who we've not spoken to on the record before have we, we've
13:42not interviewed Andrew Nesta.
13:43No, it'll be interesting to get his take on things.
13:45Yeah, it very much will, and Mo Gray as well, the transfer window, a lot to cover, and we'll
13:53be there won't we, possibly with another colleague, so we'll have a lot of coverage
13:57from that won't we, we'll have another video from the training ground, all the live blog
14:00stuff, obviously social media updates, reports, yeah, there's a lot going on isn't there,
14:06and not to mention a long old trip north east.
14:09There certainly is indeed, it's been a special day here at the Hawthorns today, not the
14:14kind of result we wanted, but it wasn't a defeat, it was another draw, but as we said,
14:18much for Tony Mo Gray to ponder after a fantastic return and a fantastic reception.
14:22Final score here, Albion 1 Stoke 1.
14:24For all the rest of your reaction from today's game, you know where to go, expressandstart.com.