West Bromwich Albion

Former West Bromwich Albion striker Garry Thompson believes Adam Armstrong needs more support up front to unlock his full potential.

Armstrong has scored just twice for the Baggies since joining on loan from Premier League side Southampton in January.

"He needs people around him at times," Thompson told BBC Radio WM.

"He's a poacher, he's a finisher so I think you need to get someone around him, then he can play off them and he will score goals.

"The kid scores goals anyway but if he doesn't get the opportunities in the area, he's not going to score."

The 28-year-old helped Saints to promotion last season with 21 goals and 13 assists, and finished as the Championship's second highest scorer below only Blackburn Rovers' Sammie Szmodics.

Thompson says he would like to see Albion playing two up front, with Armstrong alongside on-loan Tottenham Hotspur forward Will Lankshear.

"He's [Lankshear] come down from Spurs to get games under his belt, surely you've got to give him a game every now and again," Thompson added.

"You need someone big around Armstrong who can get hold of the ball and not bully the centre-halves but lean into them a little bit, and then he [Armstrong] can do his thing."

Listen to BBC Radio WM's Football Phone-In every weeknight at 18:00 GMT.

Image source, Rex Features

West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Mowbray spoke to BBC WM after his side's 1-1 draw at home to Hull City.

"That's a disappointed dresssing room," he said. "And rightly so. We're left frustrated at the end.

"Ultimately we paid the price for only being 1-0 up. We've got to be more ruthless. We had 16 shots and only three on target. That percentage is not good enough.

"It's been difficult to do the work on the training ground, particularly this week with three games. In the international break there's some scope to work on getting more end product from our possession and play in the final third.

"We knew Hull would be a team that play on the front foot and be aggressive. When you look at where they are in the table they're better than that."

Image source, Rex Features

It is a privilege to play for West Bromwich Albion, according to Callum Styles.

The Hungarian international joined the Baggies from Barnsley in August having ended last season on loan at Sunderland.

"It's a top club and I was privileged to come to a club like this and I just wanted to play," he told BBC Radio WM

"The whole environment around the club is top with the players and staff and I'm just excited for what we can do this season."

Styles has spent much of his career as a midfielder but has found himself used predominantly on the left side of defence since moving to The Hawthorns.

"I've grown into that position - before this I only played a bit in that position as part of a back four but under Carlos (Corberan) he was very tactical and helped me grow and develop.

"Now Tony Mowbray lets you express your whole abilities and the mix of the two is helping me play some good football."

West Brom are in fifth position in the Championship as they prepare to meet Hull City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

"The whole team is doing well, we're in the play-off positions which is where we want to be.

"If we win more games than our competitiors then we'll be in the play-offs which is better than relying on other teams to drop points. We just have to take it a game at a time and come the end of the season we'll see where we're at," added Styles.

West Bromwich Albion will look to strengthen their position in a play off spot as they host Hull City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Baggies are currently in fifth, level on points with sixth placed Coventry City, but could see themselves pushed out the top six if both the Sky Blues and Bristol City take victory.

Meanwhile, Hull City are clear of the relegation zone by just five points and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to a fourth successive game.

• West Bromwich Albion have won eight of their last 10 league meetings with Hull City (D1 L1), beating the Tigers 2-1 earlier this season.

• Hull have lost each of their last seven league visits to West Brom, conceding 20 goals across those defeats. Their last win at the Hawthorns came in October 2008 in the Premier League (3-0).

• West Brom have won seven of their last nine home league games (D1 L1) and have lost just one of their last 14 at the Hawthorns (W7 D6).

• There were just 90 seconds between Joao Pedro giving Hull the lead and getting sent off against Bristol City on Saturday in Hull's last away league game. He became the first player to start a Championship game (since 2004-05), score a goal and get sent off inside the opening 14 minutes of a match.

• West Brom's Adam Armstrong has been involved in six goals in his last seven home Championship starts (4 goals, 2 assists).

Image source, Rex Features

West Bromwich Albion will not be changing goalkeepers anytime soon, says boss Tony Mowbray.

It follows Joe WIldsmith's error which led to Burnley's equaliser in their 1-1 draw in the Championship on Tuesday night.

"He's allowed a mistake every now and then, all goalies are," Mowbray told BBC Radio WM.

"It's a frustrating goal for him because it's not a blistering shot he fumbled out, it sort of spilled out of his hands and the lad was there on the spot."

Wildsmith took over the number one spot from Alex Palmer who joined Ipswich Town in January and has kept two clean sheets in seven league outings.

"I'm happy with the goalkeeper - disappointed for him of course but he's done exceptionally well," added Mowbray.

"I'm of the opinion you've got to give goalkeepers a soft one every now and then as long as it's not every week as then you can make a choice and change goalkeepers.

"But that's not something I do as a manager for the last 20 odd years - if a goalkeeper makes a mistake that costs us a goal, getting dropped? I don't think that's going to happen."

Burnley will look to go to top of the table as they host play-off hopefuls West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Clarets are just two points shy of league leaders Leeds United and have not been beaten at Turf Moor all season.

A win would at least place them in the top two come the end of the day, with second-placed Sheffield United facing Bristol City in the late kick-off.

The Baggies could fall out of the top six should they lose and the Robins prevail at Bramall Lane.

• Burnley are unbeaten across their last six league games against West Bromwich Albion (W2 D4), since a 1-0 defeat in August 2017.

• West Bromwich Albion have won just two of their last 18 away league games against Burnley (D9 L7), winning just one of their last eight games (D4 L3).

• Burnley are unbeaten in each of their last 12 midweek league games (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), winning seven of them (D5), including each of their last four.

• West Brom are winless in their last 10 away league games (D6 L4), their longest run outside the top-flight since February 2000 (11 games).

• Burnley manager Scott Parker has drawn six of his eight previous managerial encounters with West Brom in the top four tiers (W1 L1), with his only victory coming with Fulham in the Premier League in November 2020 (2-0).

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West Bromwich Albion's Darnell Furlong will serve a three-match ban after the club's appeal against his red card in their 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday was rejected.

The 29-year-old right-back was shown a straight red card in first-half stoppage time against his old club for elbowing Hoops winger Koki Saito.

Albion submitted a claim for wrongful dismissal to the Football Association on Monday but that has now been rejected and Furlong will not play the next three games.

Furlong will miss the trip to Burnley on Tuesday, the home game against Hull City on Saturday, 15 March and the match against Norwich City at Carrow Road after the international break on 29 March.

He will be available again when the Baggies face Sunderland next month.

Image source, PA Media

West Bromwich Albion have appealed against the red card given to defender Darnell Furlong during Saturday's 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.

The 29-year-old was sent off by referee Adam Herczeg in first-half stoppage time for elbowing Koki Saito and is facing a potential three-game ban.

But Albion submitted a claim of wrongful dismissal to the Football Association on Monday in the hope the red card and suspension will be overturned.

Furlong was shown a straight red following a coming together with Saito as the pair challenged for a high ball just inside the Baggies' half moments after Adam Armstrong had given Tony Mowbray's side the lead.

Speaking after the match, Albion boss Mowbray said he had a good view of the incident.

"It happened right in front of me. Darnell tried to block the guy, there was no elbow, but the lad tried to duck under his shoulder to avoid the block and caught his face on the top of Darnell's arm," he said.

"I'm not sure any of the officials saw it. I would suggest it was really harsh."

As it stands, Furlong is set to miss the trip to Burnley on Tuesday, the home game against Hull City on Saturday, 15 March and the match against Norwich City at Carrow Road after the international break on 29 March.

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West Brom boss Tony Mowbray indicated they may lodge an appeal against Darnell Furlong's sending off after they beat QPR 1-0 at The Hawthorns.

Full-back Furlong was shown a red card for using his elbow in stoppage time at the end of the first half after Adam Armstrong's penalty had given the Baggies the lead.

"It happened right in front of me. Darnell tried to block the guy, there was no elbow, but the lad tried to duck under his shoulder to avoid the block and caught his face on the top of Darnell's arm," Mowbray said afterwards.

"I'm not sure any of the officials saw it. I would suggest it was really harsh and I'm sure we will look to appeal it."

Mowbray praised a "Herculean effort" by his side, who remain sixth in the table, two points clear of Bristol City and three ahead of Blackburn Rovers.

"It was a huge win in the context of the points missed if we'd have lost or drawn," he added. "It means we can go to Burnley on Tuesday night with the same confidence we showed at Leeds United (last weekend) and look to pick up something."

West Bromwich Albion winger Jed Wallace says life since new boss Tony Mowbray took charge is "completely different" compared to under Carlos Corberan.

The Spaniard left Albion in December to take over at hometown club Valencia after two years with the West Midlands side.

The Baggies then reappointed Mowbray, who re-joined the club after he was forced to depart Birmingham City due to health concerns in February 2023.

"When I think of West Brom getting into the play-offs with Carlos, I would think something like 18 clean sheets and probably between 12 and 15 wins by one goal and getting 1-0 up and being really, really hard to beat. That was our strength as a team," Wallace told the 72+ podcast.

"I think now, if we are going to get in the play-offs this year, it's going to look like Adam Armstrong getting seven or eight goals between now until the end of the season and us blowing teams away, potentially at home, but also us letting a few in at the other end."

But Corberan and Mowbray's differences aren't just related to the performances on the pitch.

"Carlos is very stand-offish and you dread getting called up to the managers office, it's like getting called up to the headteachers office," Wallace added.

"Whereas the gaffer might call you up and he just wants to catch up and have a cup of tea. See how you're feeling, why you didn't play well on the weekend, how's the mood in the camp - so it's been, to be honest, complete opposite ends of the spectrum."

You can listen to Wallace's full thoughts and more on the Football Daily podcast.

West Bromwich Albion will seek to consolidate their Championship play-off spot as they host Queens Park Rangers on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The sixth-placed Baggies are unbeaten in three games but there are four sides below them within three points with 11 league games remaining.

After back-to-back defeats, QPR are now eight points behind Albion in 14th and have lost their past three away games in succession.

• West Bromwich Albion have lost just one of their past 11 league games against QPR (W7 D3), scoring 2.4 goals per match on average across that time.

• This century, QPR have won just one of their 12 away league games against West Brom (D4 L7). That run includes a 7-1 defeat in August 2018 at the Hawthorns.

• West Bromwich Albion have won six of their past eight home league matches (D1 L1) and haven't lost any of their last 17 Championship home games against a side from London (W5 D12) since a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in September 2009.

• QPR have lost five of their past seven league games (W2), losing each of their last three on the road. They last had a longer losing run on their travels between February and April 2023.

• West Brom's John Swift has had a hand in a goal in each of his last two Championship games (1 goal, 1 assist). He hasn't done so in three in a row since September/October 2023.

Image source, Rex Features

If Leeds United go up as Championship winners this season, as expected, there maybe as few as two sides who Daniel Farke's team will have not beaten - and Tony Mowbray can take comfort that, along with third-placed Burnley, one of them is West Bromwich Albion.

After being held to a dreary 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns by Carlos Corberan's Baggies back in August, Mowbray's men more than matched that by drawing 1-1 at Elland Road, having come from a goal down.

Under Farke, Leeds have never lost a league game in which has side scored first - and he had nothing but praise for the way Albion battled back to draw and also come closest to winning it.

"Sometimes you have to settle for a draw," Farke told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We have had to this time against a really good side. West Brom got a foot back into it and you could see it coming.

"Tony Mowbray's sides always go for it. They are always brave and have a lot of quality. We had situations to bury the game but the danger was lurking."

Mowbray himself was satisfied by his side's hardest fought away point of the season. But he also knew how close they had come to an even better result.

"We believe we can win wherever we go," Mowbray told BBC Radio WM. "West Bromwich Albion are a big club.

"We know how good a side they (Leeds) are, but we came to be competitive.

"We possibly gave them a little too much respect early on, but we grew into the game. We could have scored before they did, but we got our rewards in the end."

Steve Hermon
BBC WM commentator

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Many fans will see a £33.9m loss in a single financial year and be alarmed after all the talk about having to keep losses under £39m over a three-year period as part of the EFL's profit and sustainability rules.

It is absolutely an eye-watering amount. However, there is more to that figure than meets said watery eye.

Anything spent on infrastructure and areas of the club such as the Academy or Women's team doesn't have to be included, so the actual losses are significantly lower. In the accounting world, they would be considered 'add-backs'.

It still means that the Baggies must act responsibly but, as seen with their transfer activity in the two windows that have followed, the club have been able to spend money on players.

It's also worth noting that this financial period ended just four months after Shilen Patel's takeover. And it's the first time in 22 years that Albion haven't received Premier League money, whether that's through being in the top flight or receiving parachute payments, which is the main cause for turnover dropping by more than half compared to the previous year.

On the positive side, they managed to decrease staff costs with several high-earning players departing at the end of last season.

The Baggies owner has said he arrived with 'eyes wide open', so none of this is a surprise. The club expecting to record another loss in the next financial year but crucially, don't expect to breach any financial rules.

The American is also continuing to show his commitment by bankrolling the club to the tune of £2m a month since completing the takeover.

Tony Mowbray's side still have eyes on the prize of a return to the Premier League. The future could be bright a lot sooner than some think.

BBC Radio WM's Steve Hermon has been covering West Bromwich Albion's fortunes almost from the moment when the battle began to find new owners.

He conducted the first sit-down interview when Shilen Patel took control a year ago - and has reported on all the ups, downs and bumps in the road since.

Image source, Alistair Jones

Prominent West Bromwich Albion supporter Ali Jones is convinced the Baggies are now in the right hands despite the jolt of hearing quite just how much money the club lost last season.

Albion have reported losses of £33.9m for the 2023-24 campaign and owner Shilen Patel has already warned that the financial outlook for the next 12 months will remain a challenging one.

As the head of the Action4Albion campaign which brought all the Baggies' various supporter factions together, and eventually forced the previous Guochuan Lai ownership into selling, Jones has seen close-up the work that has been done by the Patels in effectively cleaning up their predecessor's mess.

"This time last year was the most relieved I had ever been in my life," Jones told BBC Sport. "The football club, I and many love and adore, was in a critical condition, and very close to becoming insolvent.

"It was that bad the incoming owners had to put a £2.25m cash injection in to keep the club running from day one.

"Mr Patel and Bilkul Football have been a breath of fresh air. Communicative. Clear and honest with their strategy. Not only do they tell us what they are, they stick to what they say.

"They've been realistic in their goals and, in the 12 months since the takeover, they have made remarkable strides into turning Albion round from a deep nosedive to oblivion to steadily climbing back up to where we should be.

"It's one step at a time, and under this ownership the future is bright.

"We have things to navigate (profit and sustainability rules, for example) and there may be some decisions that fans may not agree with.

"But I have total confidence that these decisions will be for the long-term benefit of the club we all love. Thank you, Bilkul."

Image source, Alistair Jones