Since Tony Mowbray’s return to West Brom, there’s been a noticeable uplift in energy both on and off the pitch. The team are playing with greater intensity and confidence, while the fans have embraced his comeback with enthusiasm.
His deep connection with the club has also restored a sense of identity, creating renewed optimism at The Hawthorns as West Brom look to finish the season on a high.
His deep connection with the club has also restored a sense of identity, creating renewed optimism at The Hawthorns as West Brom look to finish the season on a high.
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00:00Charlie, looking at West Bromwich Albion, they've undergone this managerial change.
00:08The changing situation there has been tough for any team to have halfway through a season,
00:12especially when you're fighting in one of the toughest divisions in the world to get
00:17out of. In terms of Mowbray and his biggest changes since he's come in, he's been dealt
00:23quite a tough hand. They obviously signed a fantastic player in Armstrong in the January
00:28window in the dying days of that. In terms of the biggest changes he's made since coming
00:34in, what do the fans feel he's done and changed and can hopefully get them over the line in
00:40this run-in now?
00:41It's been a bit of a mixed bag results-wise, two wins and two draws so far for Mowbray
00:47in the Albion dugout. Not the best, considering they're a team hoping to finish in the play-off
00:53positions this year, but certainly improvement, I think, in what was going on around Christmas
00:56and just beforehand, when it was just draws galore at the Hawthorns, home and away, drawing
01:01so many matches. The main thing that's changed, I think, is just the energy around the place.
01:07Not that Corboran had a bad energy about him, but the style of football at times was a little
01:11bit conservative. It was a bit more defence-first. Mowbray, yes, he wants to keep clean sheets.
01:16Of course he does. Who wouldn't? But he's a bit more of a focus on the attacking and
01:20the fast-paced possession football, and we've seen that already in the first few games in
01:24charge. I think Adam Armstrong coming in, scoring on his debut, obviously making a big
01:28impact. The late goal against Sheffield Wednesday as well, 96th minute. They're the kind of
01:33moments that can really spark life into a team, spark some belief that they are going
01:38to finish in that top six, and just try and get that buffer between the teams below them.
01:43Blackburn, Middlesbrough, the likes, all trying to fight to get in with them. But Mowbray
01:47has got that belief back. And also Will Wanksheer from Tottenham Hotspur, I think he's a player
01:52who can make a real difference. Isaac Price, of course, signing from Standardly Age in
01:56the winter as well. These are all very creative, attacking-minded players, quite youthful as
02:00well, got fresh ideas, and it just brings that energy back, as I say.
02:04Yeah, and just looking at West Brom's injury table and the current crop out for them, there
02:11are a few good players, especially Josh Madger, out as well. What's the latest you can tell
02:15us on him, and can Albion fans be expecting a return any time soon for some of these players?
02:21Yeah, Josh Madger, I think, will be a few weeks more yet. He had to have surgery on
02:25his hamstring problem. But Daryl Dekay has been playing for the under-21s. It's Birmingham
02:30World's understanding he's actually been pushing for a start with the West Brom senior team.
02:35A start, not even just being on the bench, but the medical team saying to him that he
02:39needs to wait a little bit longer. He won, he got 30 minutes against Newcastle in Premier
02:44League Two, so that's a great start for him. And then Semih Ajayi as well, also featuring
02:48in that match. We can expect to see him back soon. Lots of key players coming back, but
02:52as I mentioned in attack, the depth has been sorted out in the January window, and it's
02:56something that Mowbray should really benefit from in the next few months.