BirminghamWorld Q&A: Blues on Mowbray, Emery’s priorities and The Black Country Derby preview

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The full version of the BirminghamWorld Q&A.

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00:00 So I'm joined again in the new year this time with Charlie Huffington of Birmingham World.

00:06 Charlie, let's start with Birmingham. Obviously, still this January window has been quite quiet

00:11 for the majority of clubs, but Blues had a fantastic summer in terms of spending and

00:16 bringing players in. Where are they looking like in these remaining few days of the January

00:20 window?

00:21 They're looking fairly active actually. Tony Mowbray, when he first arrived, said he wasn't

00:25 expecting much activity this window, but more in the summer. But that is changing a little

00:30 bit. Andre Dozzles come in from QPR. That was a bit of a surprise one because he's a

00:34 starting midfielder for them and they're in a relegation battle. They've got him on loan.

00:38 If it's a permanent, it makes sense. They're going to poach it from a championship rival.

00:42 But to get him on loan is just a bit of a bizarre one. Why would QPR let him go when

00:46 they're in such a position themselves? But he's a player that Mowbray has been looking

00:50 for for years now and he's finally got him. Mainly a central midfielder, but can play

00:54 a little bit further back as well if needed. So that's good signing. That's not the only

00:58 one. Another midfield addition, potential South Korean international coming in. Paik

01:03 Sung-ho, I believe it's pronounced. He's playing in his home nation, South Korea at the moment,

01:09 but he used to play for Barcelona in the youth academy. Played for Girona as well before

01:13 they became really good and become title challengers. Played briefly in Germany before going back

01:17 out to South Korea. He's in his early 20s and he's someone who is very versatile, can

01:23 play anywhere across midfields. He's got international experience. Scored at the World Cup as well

01:27 against Brazil. So he's had fantastic experience and he's someone that Mowbray clearly likes.

01:34 And how are the Blues fans settling to Tony Mowbray? It's been quite a whirlwind with

01:39 Rooney coming in for Eustace. Is it back to feeling a bit more confident in their manager

01:45 now?

01:46 I think so, yeah. I say I think so, definitely. The feel around the club is completely different

01:52 again. It's a bit more what it was like under Eustace, feeling like the manager is fighting

01:56 for the football club. With Rooney, you could see the kind of idea of the owners trying

01:59 to bring in the big name, trying to build the reputation across the pond as well. But

02:03 it just didn't work out. I think Birmingham fans are very relieved that they pulled the

02:07 trigger when they did and brought in someone like Mowbray, who's got such great experience

02:11 in the second tier. He's got the proven track record of taking clubs up to the Premier League

02:16 as well. So it's good to hope that they continue it. It's not going to be this season they

02:20 get playoffs. I think that's pretty obvious. But just to get around mid-table and to be

02:23 very comfortable, I think, is the aim.

02:27 Let's move on to Aston Villa. Obviously, they are enjoying this incredible spell under Rooney

02:32 Emre and the achievements are still possible for them. In terms of the FA Cup, you always

02:39 feel that if a club reaches these heights, they want to cap it off with a trophy. If

02:43 they do fall short in Europe, which they probably are mainly the favourites to win that, the

02:48 Conference League, you would possibly say that they want to aim to prioritise any competitions.

02:55 Is Emre making it clear that eggs are in every basket or how is he going about it?

03:00 In his press conferences, it seems like the Premier League is the priority. He's not made

03:05 that any secret. But we know very much from Emre's career that he loves European competitions.

03:10 He's a serial winner of the Europa League and he also loves the Cup competition as well.

03:14 He was gutted last year when Stevenage came to Villa Park and surprised them coming back

03:18 late to win two goals very late on in that one. It feels like this year's his redemption

03:23 in that competition. The Carabao Cup, it didn't work out. We know that already, but that one's

03:27 out the window. It just means he has more focus on the FA Cup on Europe in addition

03:31 to the Premier League. The transfer business hasn't really been there. There's window to

03:35 strengthen the squad and to get a bit more depth in. And the injuries are still there

03:39 as well. The long term ones, obviously, are Buendia and Nings and a few others coming

03:43 in now as well. Luka Dina and Jacob Ramsey, to name a couple. So it's tricky to prioritise

03:49 every single competition. But just trying to keep consistent is everything that Emre

03:53 talks about. The game plan, no matter the personnel, if you can keep that tactics and

03:57 game plan, he's just got to work with what he's got.

04:02 Now usually we do separate videos for Wolves and West Brom, but in this moment, in this

04:07 current climate, they are meeting in the FA Cup for Threat. As a Wolves fan myself, I

04:13 know the importance of this fixture. It's something that isn't really naturally played

04:19 any more as it used to maybe when both sides were in the Championship then. But it seems

04:23 that over recent times when Wolves have been promoted, West Brom have been relegated in

04:28 the same sort of season. So they've sort of missed each other. And obviously they last

04:32 met in Covid, so the fans didn't have that feeling. But Charlie, you've come into Birmingham

04:38 World and you've sort of captured the culture of the different clubs. You probably understand

04:43 yourself now. You're gaining an understanding of this derby and the history behind it and

04:48 the importance and excitement going into the game on Sunday.

04:52 Yeah, I knew coming into the role how massive a fixture it was, but I don't think I realised

04:57 it was gargantuan. It's massive, isn't it? The last few weeks have just said that when

05:02 Wolves were playing Brentford in the replay, they knew that if they won, they were playing

05:05 West Brom. That was the bigger motivation than actually getting to a further stage of

05:08 the competition. I don't think they cared that much about progressing because it's not

05:12 a very likely target winning the Cup. But to be able to play West Brom and try and bring

05:17 an end to the hoodoo at the Hawthorns as well is such a great motivation for them. What

05:22 is it? Since 1990s, 1996, I think it is, the last time that Wolves won at the Hawthorns.

05:28 It's an insane record, really. 11 or 12 meetings, I think. I'm not sure the exact number on

05:33 that, but it's near a dozen, if not a dozen. That is bonkers, really, isn't it? From my

05:37 perspective, Wolves at the moment are a better footballing side, much better squads, proven

05:43 in the Premier League at the moment. West Brom have been stuck in the Championship for

05:46 a few years. You'd expect Wolves to go and get it, but this is at the Hawthorns and it

05:50 is the place that you're absolutely dread to go, isn't it, Charles?

05:53 Yes, it is, certainly. We've just not really shown what we can do. Obviously, so recently

06:01 and we've always made Molineux the fortress, but an away leg against West Brom is absolutely,

06:08 as you say, gargantuan. The size and historic background of this derby is incredible. The

06:15 way I'm going to go about this, I'm going to pick two figures out from each club. We'll

06:18 start with Wolves. I'm going to pick out Mateus Cunha. I think he's sort of grown into his

06:24 role slowly. Maybe when he first came in he wasn't so sure about the position and how

06:29 he'd play, but he's starting to link up with players. He's pretty much getting a goal or

06:33 assist in most Premier League games. How impressive have you been with him and how impressive

06:40 have you seen the progress of him as well?

06:43 To start with, he wasn't exactly the most clinical, was he, in front of goal, not scoring

06:46 too many, but he's started to bring that into his game. But even when he's not scoring,

06:50 he's creating chances. He's running at defenders endlessly, whether it's just pressing to cause

06:54 a bit of panic at the back or if it's running at them with the ball, he does both very well.

06:59 He never seems to tire too much. He's got aggression. We saw that at Brighton in the

07:03 nil-nil, pushing players over, getting pushed himself, calling for red guards for elbows

07:08 and getting involved in confrontations at the centre circle. He's got that passion and

07:12 desire that you want from a striker. Diego Costa had a bit of it, actually, when you

07:16 had him briefly, but now you've got a younger player who's a lot quicker, a lot more agile

07:20 and has got so much more technical ability than Diego Costa. So I think it's a very good

07:26 moment for you to be honest, having that forward player who's got that. But you haven't got

07:30 a number nine, really, have you? He's not quite that player, but he can play pretty

07:34 well in a false nine position, it seems.

07:37 Yes, of course. For West Brom, I've picked out Carlos Corberán. The transition of results

07:44 and sometimes he's had some periods of inconsistency, but overall, I think that's West Brom's shining

07:50 light going into this fixture. Maybe it's a chance for him to… He's obviously just

07:55 missed out on the Premier League before with Huddersfield. It's a chance to show that he's

08:00 going to be watched by millions, he's going to be watched by Premier League fans and maybe

08:04 clubs as well. Show what he's about as well. If he can take the game to Gary O'Neill and

08:10 make O'Neill replicate and have to play Corberán's way, how confident would you be if you were

08:17 an Albion fan and you've got that sort of Corberán in your ring?

08:24 Quite confident, really. I know O'Neill said the exact same thing, but Corberán's been

08:27 speaking about how he's getting his players to know if they don't already, the importance

08:31 of this and to have that on home soil, to have the home advantage is so important. There

08:36 is a gulf in quality between the Premier League and the Championship. Everyone knows that

08:39 and it's getting bigger, but it's not like West Brom are on mid-table side. They're definitely

08:43 pushing the playoffs. They're in the playoffs at the moment pretty securely. They'll be

08:47 hoping to stay there for the end of the season, which means they could quite possibly be a

08:50 Premier League team next season. It's not that big of a gap in the general scheme of

08:54 things, especially when it's a derby. It's so much importance. What's it been, three,

08:59 four years since you've played each other? The bragging rights are so strong and I think

09:04 West Brom having that home advantage, because it's all about the fans, they should be pretty

09:08 confident.

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