West Bromwich Albion

Steve Hermon
BBC Radio WM journalist

Image source, Shutterstock

A third of the season is complete, and the Baggies are14th in the table.

It's been an underwhelming start to the campaign for many fans. That feeling mainly stems from the perceived promise of attacking football that club president and sporting director Andrew Nestor has spoken about in the past.

It's yet to come to fruition under Ryan Mason on a consistent basis, and some of the games have been a tough watch as a result.

This month's goalless draw with rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday sparked boos of boredom from The Hawthorns crowd.

However, here's some perspective. On the day the 34-year-old was appointed, I wrote that patience would be required. He is only 15 games into his first full-time job as a senior head coach.

Tony Mowbray was sacked after just 17 matches, so Nestor won't want his second managerial appointment to have a similarly short reign.

Also, his recruitment team are still shaping a squad for the former Spurs assistant that must meet financial rules thanks to the mess owner Shilen Patel inherited when completing his takeover 19 months ago. That takes time.

There are a couple of on-the-field comparisons that offer perspective too.

At the same stage, a year ago, Carlos Corberan's Albion were fifth on 25 points. If Mason's team had avoided conceding late goals against Leicester, Ipswich, Charlton, and Derby, they'd have enough points to be in the play-offs right now, so the current boss is fair to point out that they are not 'far away'.

Going further back my co-commentator and Albion's record goalscorer Tony Brown has remarked to me that his favourite ever manager, Jonny Giles, also had a slow start to his first campaign 50 years ago.

If a win would've been worth three points back then, the Irishman would have had just 20 points from his first 15 matches in charge.

Former midfielder Giles, who was in his mid-30s at the time, would lead the Baggies to promotion from the second tier at the end of that 1975-76 season.

I'm not saying Mason's debut campaign is going to end with similar celebrations, particularly because he doesn't have a 'Bomber' to bang in the goals right now.

But if they can pick up some positive results between now and January to keep in touch with the top six, then the pressure will shift from Mason to Nestor when the transfer window opens.

A few additions in key areas could make a big difference in a division that, apart from the Baggies' next opponents, Coventry City, feels wide open.

After almost five years without top flight football - their longest spell outside the Premier League in a quarter of a century - the supporters just want their team to have a go at getting back there.

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

This is something of a golden era for Norwegian football.

The Scandinavians currently sit proudly atop World Cup Group I with a 100% record and can all but qualify for their first World Cup since 1998 with a win at home to Estonia on Thursday night.

They have talent throughout their squad, but it's hard to argue that their path to the USA has been blazed by the goals of Erling Haaland, who has so far netted a staggering 12 times in qualifying.

This is, of course, alongside the 14 goals he already has in the Premier League this season, but where one blonde bombshell of a Norwegian striker has flourished in England this campaign, another has found it harder going.

Aune Heggebo bagged just his second league goal for West Bromwich Albion on Saturday against Oxford, and he will hope that is a catalyst for more after the international break.

Whether or not that proves to be the case is not entirely down to the Norwegian, however.

Heggebo's goal at the weekend was a bullet header from a wonderful, clipped Isaac Price cross, but that kind of service has been all too lacking for much of this season.

Frankly, the forward must have been surprised and delighted to see the ball offered up to him, having mustered just one shot in his previous five Albion appearances!

Heggebo's work-rate and physicality in Norway earned him the nickname 'The Hulk', and his endeavour has never been in question with The Hawthorns faithful.

Some had, however, begun to question whether he had the instincts of a goalscorer.

But, without service strikers can do very little and Albion's chance creation record for their attackers this season has been among the worst in the Championship.

The Baggies are fourth bottom of the division's xG table, so while his international compatriot in Manchester is at the all-you-can-eat buffet, Heggebo has been dining on scraps.

However, Albion's meagre chance creation numbers have been showing signs of improvement.

They have already generated more xG in just three games in November than they managed in the five matches over the course of October.

If Ryan Mason is finally starting to get his attack purring, then Heggebo will hope to be the one to profit. He showed at SK Brann that he can be a goalscorer.

His record of a goal every 1.5 games over the past two years in Norway must have been a big part of what persuaded Albion to part with £4.7m for him.

So, the solution seems simple, Albion just need to create more six-yard box chances for the Norwegian as they did on Saturday and leave Hulk to, well, smash!

Listen to more from Chris Hall at the Albion Analysis, external

Image source, Shutterstock

West Bromwich Albion striker Aune Heggebo says maintaining self-belief is helping him adapt to the physical demands of the Championship.

The 24-year-old snapped a nine-match run without a goal by hitting the winner in the 2-1 victory against Oxford on Saturday - his third goal since his summer move from Norwegian side Brann.

"It's been a great challenge," he told BBC Radio WM. "Of course, it's a step up from Norway, but it's been really nice.

"I've been trying to keep up a good self-confidence and always believing, never letting the negative emotion take over.

"It's always about the next day and the next training, and doing the best you can."

Heggebo also broke into the Norway international squad after his move to The Hawthorns and has made two appearances for the national side.

"That was surreal, I did not expect it," he said. "It was a great experience, and it was a really proud moment to get the chance to represent my country."

He made his debut as a late substitute for Erling Haaland in September's World Cup qualifier against Moldova, having enjoyed a front-row seat as the prolific Manchester City striker hit five goals in an 11-1 thrashing.

"He has a great striker's ability, and it's his mentality and movement," Heggebo added.

"The physicality is really impressive and it's a great inspiration. You always try to learn from the best."

Image source, Shutterstock

West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says he was happy with his side's reaction as they came from behind to win 2-1 at home to Oxford United.

A Greg Leigh own goal and header from Aune Heggebo ensured the Baggies ended a four-game winless run and moved up to 13th in the Championship.

"It was important, you could feel it, But not just the win - I thought the performance, the attitude, the intensity we played with was really pleasing after a really disappointing way to lose the game on Tuesday," he told told BBC WM.

"I'm really happy with the reaction, we created so many opportunities; we probably should have scored a lot more than two, but I'm pleased to win the game.

"They scored against the run of play. In the first half we had 15 shots at the goal, we don't come away with anything to show from it, but that happens.

"The players stuck to what we worked on, what we wanted from them, and some improvements today in terms of balls arriving in the box -I thought we had so many penalty-box entries.

"We need to keep working on the final action and arriving in the areas we want to, but we scored two really good goals in my opinion today, so we're happy. "

Image source, Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion boss Ryan Mason is not considering Saturday's game against Oxford United as "must-win" despite pressure growing on the 34-year-old.

The Baggies are on a four-match winless run (D1 L3) and have fallen to 15th in the Championship.

However, Mason remains confident that his side can reunite the fans during their upcoming matches.

"I'm not thinking like that [Oxford as a must-win]," Mason told BBC Radio WM. "I've prepared the game and we've prepared the game exactly the same as any other.

"You speak to the fans by results and performances, it's very easy as a head coach to sit here and say the right words. Fans want to see action.

"We are not far away, I know that, from the position, the points, looking and feeling totally different."

While the results have not gone Albion's way as of late, Mason believes their points total doesn't reflect their performances.

"Sometimes things can take longer to connect with players and build relationships but I'm not going to sit here and make any excuses," he added.

"Some of our performances have deserved and warranted better results.

"I'm pretty calm about the job we are doing. I've got so much passion, so much belief in the group and hopefully we can change this around quickly."

Mason confirmed that midfielders Jayson Molumby and Toby Collyer have both had one training session however whether or not they will feature against Oxford is yet to be decided.

Image source, Opta

West Bromwich Albion will seek to get back on track as they welcome struggling Oxford United to The Hawthorns on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Baggies have slipped to 15h in the Championship off the back of one point from their past four games, though all three defeats came on the road.

Ryan Mason's men are unbeaten in their past three games at home, but haven't scored in 326 minutes, since Isaac Price's opener at Watford on 22 October, and were stung by a stoppage-time 1-0 defeat at Charlton on Tuesday night.

After picking up four points from their previous two games the U's were beaten 3-0 at home by Stoke the same night and lie six places and five points below Albion, four points above the drop-zone.

• West Brom have only lost one of their 12 home games against Oxford in league competition (W9 D2), with that only defeat coming in October 1997 in a second tier meeting (2-1 to the visitors).

• Oxford boss Gary Rowett is winless in his past three league meetings with West Brom (D2 L1), while seeing his sides fail to score in all three matches (two 0-0 draws with Millwall and a 0-2 defeat with Oxford in this fixture last season).

• West Brom have gone three Championship matches without a goal – they've not gone more league games without scoring since a run of five in January/February 2022.

• Oxford have won two of their past five away league games (D1 L2), as many as in their previous 25 combined (D9 L14). The U's last recorded consecutive away victories in the second tier back in November 1998 under Malcolm Shotton.

• Only Coventry (19) and Bristol City (13) have scored more first half goals in the Championship than Oxford this season (12). However, the Us have netted a division-low three goals after half-time.

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, BBC Sport

Certain moments in football seem pivotal and I wonder how big a moment Sonny Carey's 95th-minute winner for Charlton will prove to be in the story of Ryan Mason's tenure as Baggies boss.

It was another game where Albion had drawn a blank (that's 326 mins plus injury time without a goal now for anyone who is counting) but Mason's men had survived the award of a questionable penalty, created chances themselves and were preparing to leave south London with a creditable point and some positives.

However, that was all ripped away as Carey's last gasp deflected strike wrong-footed Josh Griffiths and crept over the line, leaving fans to focus on the negatives.

Sadly for Mason, there are a lot of them.

As stated, that's just shy of five and a half hours now since the Baggies bagged a Championship goal.

Albion have only scored 12 times all season – no team outside the division's bottom five has had a measlier return.

Unsurprisingly, results have taken a downturn for the goal-shy Throstles. Four defeats in their last six games and just four points in the same period have left many Albion fans asking whether time has run out on their rookie manager.

A conservative approach to matches coupled with an apparent lack of willingness to make positive changes in games has fans questioning more than just the results; they are asking where the entertainment value is too.

However, if Mason is disposed of after less than six months in charge, there's another question for fans to ponder: do they trust those at the top of the club to find an adequate replacement?

Andrew Nestor is Albion's president and sporting director and has been responsible for two managerial hires at the club, neither of which makes for pretty reading.

Tony Mowbray was brought in to replace Carlos Corberan after a farcical failed pursuit of Raphael Wicky.

Mowbray lasted just 17 league games before being dismissed.

Mason has been in charge for 14 Championship matches, with many feeling anything less than a win against Oxford United on Saturday could spell the end of his tenure.

If so, will Nestor show that the third time truly is the charm and finally appoint the right man?

Or will Mason prove his doubters wrong and start to turn the tide with a win this weekend?

Only time will tell.

Listen to more from Chris Hall at the Albion Analysis, external

Ryan Mason insists it is his responsibility to turn around results after his side slipped to a fourth consecutive defeat on the road for the first time since March 2023.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM after a late 1-0 defeat at Charlton, the Baggies manager said: "It's another one that we shouldn't have lost but we have done and the feeling inside the dressing room is a lot of anger.

"It's football and I know what it takes. I am in this position and I can handle it but for whatever reason at the moment the results aren't good and that is the coach's responsibility to fix.

"The one thing I will say is they [the players] are giving me everything and they are putting everything into it but it's not enough at the moment."

Ryan Mason's West Bromwich Albion travel to Charlton Athletic on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) with both sides looking to end winless runs.

Just the two points separate them with Charlton knowing a win could see them jump into the play-off positions.

The Baggies boss admitted his side were "disjointed" in their 0-0 draw with struggling Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and will be hoping to change that at The Valley.

• Charlton Athletic are winless in each of their past five league games against West Bromwich Albion (D4 L1), since a 2-1 away win in September 2005 in the Premier League.

• Each of the past three league meetings between West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic have ended in a draw, with both fixtures in their most recent shared campaign ending 2-2 in 2019-20 – the Baggies had led both 1-0 and 2-1 in each of those fixtures.

• Charlton Athletic have won eight of their past nine midweek (Tue/Wed/Thu) league games, drawing the other, since a 2-1 home defeat by Crawley Town in December 2024.

• West Bromwich Albion have lost each of their past three away league games, last losing four straight on the road between January and March 2023 under Carlos Corberan.

• West Bromwich Albion manager Ryan Mason met Charlton Athletic just once as a player, assisting Jonathan Obika for Yeovil Town in a 1-1 draw back in the 2009-10 League One campaign.

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West Brom boss Ryan Mason admitted he was disappointed with his side's performance as they were held 0-0 by bottom club Sheffield Wednesday.

The Baggies dominated possession but couldn't make it count as they failed to win for a third successive game and Mason said his team was "disjointed" and played with "anxiety".

"It was disappointing not to win," he told BBC Radio WM.

"The performance in the second half was a little disjointed. We rushed things and played a little bit on edge. Tough to accept."

Mason praised his side's start to the game but says he wants to see more from them from the first minute until the last.

"The first half for 25 minutes, I thought we played a really good game. We had loads of final third entries, loads of moments," he added.

"I understand the first goal is crucial and the longer the game was 0-0 there was probably a bit of anxiety.

"The energy shifted and we need to learn from that and be disciplined and do what we need to for 95 minutes.

"Every game in this league is demanding and challenging - we had so many moments that didn't materialise and we need to improve on that."

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West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says he and his squad are staying "calm inside" over their search for greater consistency ahead of Saturday's home game against beleaguered Sheffield Wednesday.

The Baggies were edged out by Ipswich 1-0 in their last Championship match to suffer their third defeat in their past four games.

Ahead of the Owls' visit, Mason says improving their record of two wins from their past eight is always on his mind.

"It's something we're striving for every day on the training pitch," he told BBC WM.

"Every match is so challenging and you can have a game when everything looks good and then a couple of games when you lose back-to-back and, from the outside, it can look bad.

"But we're calm inside and trying to improve every aspect of our game. We have a very tricky game at home and we need to arrive into the game with as much personality and energy as possible."

After a tumultuous period off the field which saw Wednesday put into administration and hit with a 12-point deduction, better times appear to be on the horizon for them, with three parties coming forward to express an interest in buying the club.

Mason says Wednesday's problems make them a dangerous side to play at the moment.

"Obviously they've got things going on outside the pitch. That can bring a side together," he said.

"I've watched a lot of their games and they've been tight. They've got some good players who can punish you. We need to arrive with full attention and earn the victory."

Mason also confirmed it is "not in my mind" to experiment with playing two strikers in an effort to increase their goal threat.

Albion have averaged one goal per game across their past five matches - and found the net five times in their five fixtures at The Hawthorns.

"I want to see us win games of football. We can speak about being more fluid and creating more chances, that's normal," Mason said.

"The most important thing is the team, not just individual players creating moments.

"The more emphasis we put on the team improving, I'm sure that will come."

Sheffield Wednesday will look to make inroads on their points deficit as they make the trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The Owls are currently on -6 points following a 12 point deduction after they entered administration, leaving them 14 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

However, the Baggies have lost both their previous two matches and will be just as spirited to try and avoid dropping off the pace with this season's promotion contenders at the top of the table.

• West Brom have lost just two of their last 12 league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W7 D3), scoring in all but one match during that time.

• Sheffield Wednesday are winless across their last six away league games against West Brom (D2 L4), losing on their last three visits to the Hawthorns in succession.

• West Brom are unbeaten across their last six league games against sides from Yorkshire (W2 D4), since a 3-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in September 2024.

• Sheffield Wednesday have conceded 25 goals across their opening 12 Championship matches this season, their most at this stage of a campaign since 1999-2000 (27), a campaign during which they were relegated from the Premier League.

• Only rivals Sheffield United (9) have netted fewer Championship goals than Sheffield Wednesday this season (10), though despite that, the Owls have amassed a bigger xG total (13.5) than West Brom (12.6).

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

You can't help wondering whether, when coaches study for their coaching badges, they get taught that special language only football managers use.

You know the one I mean.

"We needed to suffer for that win", "there are no easy games in this league", "he's not that type of player", etc.

Ryan Mason's go-to is to constantly talk about "moments" in interviews - but the Baggies boss is going to run out of things to say soon, as those moments are becoming few and far between.

The Baggies have scored just six goals in their past eight games and have the third-worst xG in the Championship.

For anyone who isn't an xG aficionado, this means Albion are in the relegation zone when it comes to chance creation.

Other teams seem to have cottoned onto this lack of threat, and it has emboldened them.

Albion have kept just one clean sheet in their past eight games, and opponents are creating chances with greater frequency than they were earlier in the season.

So, moments for Baggies fans to enjoy have been fleeting of late, but the lack of any real momentum is the more worrying trend.

Albion haven't won back-to-back games all season, but have lost two games on the spin twice.

They also struggle to build momentum in games, having only scored more than once in a match twice all season.

Therefore, Mason would do well to worry less about moments and more about momentum in the coming weeks because November represents a real opportunity for Albion.

The Baggies are scheduled to play six times this month, and four of those fixtures are at The Hawthorns.

Furthermore, every one of those four home games is against a team currently in the bottom half of the Championship.

Opportunity knocks then to get some wins and score some goals in November, but it's an opportunity that must be taken because the Baggies fanbase demands entertainment, and, thus far this season, their demands have not been met.

Listen to more from Chris Hall at the Albion Analysis, external

West Brom boss Ryan Mason has told Josh Griffiths to learn from his costly error after his gaffe handed Ipswich a 1-0 win at Portman Road.

West Brom were frustrating Ipswich until Griffiths kicked the ball straight to Ipswich and they took full advantage to score through Jack Clarke on 83 minutes.

Mason told BBC Radio WM: "It's something he needs to learn from. We all need to learn quickly. It's disappointing to concede in the nature we did. At the end of the day, we've given them a goal and we need to improve.

"It's disappointing and we all need to take responsibility and all of us have to learn from it.

"We lacked a bit of creativity in the final third. In the second half, we had a 10-minute spell, where it was our moment to attack them and try and cause them some problems, but that didn't really materialise and that's disappointing."

Ipswich Town head into this game looking to avoid three defeats in a row in the Championship for the first time since April 2019 when they were relegated to League One.

West Bromwich Albion have lost three of their past four away league games, with their only success a 1-0 victory at Norwich City at the start of October.

• Ipswich Town have only won one of their past 13 league games against West Bromwich Albion (D4 L8) – a 2-0 victory on New Year's Day 2008.

• West Bromwich Albion have only lost one of their past six league trips to Ipswich Town (W3 D2), though have conceded on each of their past 21 league visits to Portman Road.

• Having lost each of their past two league games, Ipswich are looking to avoid losing three in a row outside the top flight for the first time since March 2020 in League One (run of four).

• Since a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City in April 2024, West Brom are unbeaten in their past seven league games against sides recently relegated from the Premier League (W1 D6).

• Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna failed to beat West Brom in either league meeting in 2023-24 (D1 L1), conceding two goals in both matches.

Image source, Getty Images

West Brom boss Ryan Mason spoke to BBC Radio WM following their 2-1 defeat at Watford.

"We got ourselves in a really good position, scored a good goal and I thought we had a lot of control in the first half hour or so," he said.

"The disappointing thing is to concede so quickly after scoring - that changes the feeling of the game. If we had got through to half-time, the feeling inside the stadium, and the feeling on the pitch, would have been different.

"In the second half, they had their best spell, were on the front foot, and for us it was about trying to get through that moment. It was important for us to get through that moment because - you see it all the time - teams have spells. It was unfortunate to lose Alfie (Gilchrist) to injury and to concede so quickly was tough for us.

"We created the best chance of the second half with Isaac Price's header and if that goes in, the momentum swings again and the feeling is better. It was disappointing for us to come away with nothing."

West Bromwich Albion boss Ryan Mason says his side will need to nurture a "mental robustness" to be successful in their three-game week.

The Baggies are preparing for their second of three games over a seven-day period, as they travel to Vicarage Road to play Watford on Wednesday night (19:45 BST).

"The players trust us to train them at a level that pushes them in order to play as many games as possible," Mason told BBC Radio WM.

"Our squad is not massive in terms of numbers, so everyone has a part to play.

"I think when a player gets a bit more experience and understanding of their body you can lean on them a little bit more, but there is also a part of weeks like this where you have to just get through it.

"I think developing that robustness mentally to get through things is really important."

Albion go into the game off the back of a 2-1 win against Preston North End, a game which saw Mikey Johnston score his second goal of the campaign.

"We know his individual ability and I think first of all the message to any of the players is that the team is first and so you have to run and compete for the team," Mason added.

"His two goals so far this season have been outstanding, but I don't believe he will score 15 of those a season. I don't know any players that have, so the challenge for him is to score more tap-ins and get into the box more often."

Listen to the full interview with Mason and more Albion content on BBC Sounds.