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Joint top of the Championship with a club legend at the helm and chasing a seventh win this century at the home of their greatest rivals. West Bromwich Albion are on the march again and while these are early days, the turbulence of last season is starting to fade from memory.
On Sunday, West Brom tackle Wolves in one of English football’s great fixtures and Baggies fans head for Molineux feeling positive.
Promising head coach James Morrison has guided Albion to 14 points from seven games, the finances look much healthier and supporters have a team starting to make them proud again.
Most importantly, chairman Shilen Patel and the Bilkul Football group appear to have found their feet, two-and-a-half years into their tenure. There should be no repeat of the chaos of last winter, when Eric Ramsay was sacked after only 44 days in charge.
Albion understand there will be trickier days ahead. Yet nearly two years after their impressive boss Carlos Corberan left for Valencia, they are feeling good about themselves once more. And in Morrison, they might just have found Corberan’s natural successor.
As they prepare for the season’s first Black Country derby, Daily Mail Sport looks at how West Brom are building for the future...
West Brom have made a fine start to the season and sit fourth on 14 points, the same total as league leaders West Ham
Club legend Morrison, who takes his team to rivals Wolves on Sunday, was rewarded with a two-year deal last April after keeping Albion up
A CLEAR PLAN
Even when West Brom were staring at relegation to League One, they already knew which way they would go this season. There were plans for both divisions but the focus was clear – invest in youth.
Finally clear of EFL financial restrictions, Albion paid fees totalling £15million for eight outfield players and of those, only 27-year-old midfielder Felix Horn Myhre was over the age of 23.
Midway through last season, Patel discussed the way forward with director of football Ian Pearce and technical director Dominic Price. The trio concluded that if Albion could stay up, it was the perfect chance to reset.
Karlan Grant had been costing the club £2.5m per season under the terms of his move from Huddersfield in 2020 but this summer, his contract finally expired. Other high earners Jed Wallace, Krystian Bielik and Alex Mowatt departed, along with Daryl Dike and Josh Maja.
Albion know that if summer buys Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Rabby Nzingoula or Kareem Tunde shine this season, they may not be able to keep hold of them. It would also mean selling at a profit – far better than watching a highly-paid player in his late-20s or early-30s drift out of contract.
If money is a player’s motivation, you might as well sign him when he’s young and hungry. The standard pay bracket in the second tier is £10-15,000 a week and West Brom are still striving to lower their wage bill since their parachute payments expired in 2023.
You want a better contract? Perform well and you’ll get one. How about Premier League wages? Attract the attention of those clubs by delivering for Albion. This is surely preferable to signing a wealthy journeyman who, naturally, will have at least one eye on his final ‘big’ contract.
Morrison does not scout the players, but Albion would never sign one he had vetoed. Similarly, his recommendations will be heeded.
Former Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer was on a list of midfielders presented to Morrison as possible targets. Once Morrison insisted Collyer was the only one he wanted, Albion got the £3m deal done. In the case of Morgan, Nzingoula or Tunde, Morrison was handed the information and gave his approval.
West Brom do not pretend this is a revolutionary strategy. At least it is a strategy, though. Don’t forget that last January, West Brom hired Ramsay on the strength of his interview the previous June. Whatever supporters think of the current offering, at least they understand what the club are trying to achieve.
Jimmy-Jay Morgan, 20, joined the Baggies from Chelsea in the summer and already has five goals to his name in all competitions
Albion paid fees totalling £15million this summer for eight outfield players and of those, only 27-year-old midfielder Felix Horn Myhre (pictured) was over the age of 23
NO MORE 'MOZZA’
Morrison was an Albion hero long before he even thought of management. He played for the club from 2007 to 2019, making 341 appearances.
He immediately started coaching in Albion’s impressive academy and when Sam Allardyce was appointed in December 2020, he promoted Morrison to his own backroom team.
With Albion in freefall last February, Morrison stepped up where others might not have. Since then, he has overseen 21 matches in all competitions, winning nine and losing only four.
Even when Morrison was starting to pull West Brom clear of danger, few at the club genuinely believed he would be the long-term solution. He was still ‘Mozza’ rather than ‘Boss’ or ‘Gaffer’. Indeed, when club staff called him ‘Gaffer’ back then, it was usually in jest.
They would not do that anymore. Morrison was rewarded with a two-year deal last April after keeping Albion up and he made his mark instantly.
When all other football staff departed on holiday at the end of the season, Morrison was at the training ground every day for that first fortnight.
The 40-year-old could not rest until he had finalised his coaching team, now comprising Matt Gill, Gavin Strachan, Tony McMahon and Boaz Myhill, and mapped out exactly what pre-season would look like.
Until that was locked down, Morrison ignored those who urged him to take a break. That appetite for hard work is undimmed: after the 1-1 draw with QPR last Saturday, Morrison granted two days off. While his players and colleagues were recharging, Morrison spent a full day at the training ground on Monday, making plans for Molineux.
When all other football staff departed on holiday at the end of the season, Morrison was at the training ground every day for that first fortnight
Born in Darlington, County Durham and a product of the Middlesbrough academy, Morrison is a pleasing contrast to many modern bosses, with their buzzwords that come straight from a coaching manual.
He is quiet, a good listener, and gives simple messages to players. The basic framework is 4-4-2 but this structure can be tweaked game by game depending on the opponent.
There were some at Albion who believed Morrison may become their manager one day – but many more were unsure. Very few envisaged him managing other clubs after Albion. Perhaps, deep down, Morrison wondered the same.
Now, though, those same observers cannot imagine Morrison in any other role and if he, too, harboured those doubts, they have surely disappeared. The Albion boss certainly isn’t plain old ‘Mozza’ anymore.
ACADEMY BENEFITS
West Brom are close to agreeing a new deal with homegrown midfielder Harry Whitwell, whose contract expires at the end of the season. The 20-year-old has impressed this season and has interest from elsewhere, including Premier League clubs, but Albion officials are very optimistic that he will stay at the Hawthorns.
Even in the tough times, Albion continued to fund their academy and it has delivered. Tom Fellows was sold to Southampton for a possible £10m. Goalkeeper Alex Palmer joined Ipswich in a deal worth up to £4m.
Fans were not happy the club received only £6m when Dara O’Shea moved to Burnley in 2023 but at the time, Albion were probably six months from going into administration.
The respected Training Ground Guru platform recently ranked Albion’s academy – which retains Category One status – the 10th best in the country.
Morgan Rogers is often cited as the one who got away. The England forward is now one of the most expensive players of all time, having joined Chelsea from Aston Villa for £117m last summer. He cost Manchester City only £5m when they took him from Albion's academy aged 17 – yet once a wealthy Premier League club arrive on the scene, youth players are very hard to keep. It is doubtful Albion would have received any more had the matter gone to tribunal.
Under the stewardship of Richard Stevens, who has just completed seven years at the club, the academy is run with care and humility.
Though they lost key staff to Aston Villa during Christian Purslow’s time as CEO at Villa Park, Albion’s academy did not take significant damage. They are confident their methods will send more youngsters to the first team, with Whitwell the latest from the conveyor belt.
Albion have continued to fund their academy and it has delivered with Tom Fellows (right) sold to Southampton for a possible £10m
WHERE NEXT?
It has been a good start – but a start is all it is. It usually takes a little more than that to excite Albion supporters and not even a win over Wolves would have them all betting on promotion.
The most important factor now is that the key people share the same ideas. Mark Miles returned to the club as executive director last February following the departure of Andrew Nestor, who split opinion at the Hawthorns.
Miles has rebuilt the leadership team and the ownership group are prepared to allow their senior staff the space to do their jobs. Revenue was up eight per cent in the last accounts and losses down.
A long way to go, then, but West Brom are definitely heading in the right direction.
