'Trust': Why West Brom have put huge faith in Ryan Mason as new Albion era begins

Express & Star

Jonny Drury and Lewis Cox discuss the appointment of Ryan Mason as the club's new head coach. Mason took over on Monday, signing a three year deal at The Hawthorns after becoming the club's number one candidate. The ex-Spurs man has been tipped for the job for some time - and Lewis and Jonny discuss the news, and why Albion have put huge faith in Mason.

Transcript

00:00The six-week search for Tony Mowbray's success is over. I call it a search. The man who has

00:13taken over has been top of the list for some time. Ryan Mason has penned a three-year contract

00:19with Albin. It was a kind of long and drawn-out process. Obviously, Tottenham being in the

00:24Europa League would have played a part in it, but he comes to Albin's new manager, one of

00:29Albin's youngest ever managers. He brings with him a new backroom team. Nigel Gibbs comes as

00:36assistant head coach from Reading. Sam Pooley, men's first team coach and head of performance.

00:42He arrives from Rangers and also with Spurs. Is it just relief that it's done and we can move on now?

00:51I think so, Jonny. Relief for you and I, I would say. It's been a long six weeks and a long five

00:59weeks since the end of the season. We can slightly relax on that front now. Obviously, Ryan Mason's

01:08name has been there from the off, hasn't it? When it started, you were thinking, I get it,

01:15but is that maybe a name that's out there peddled just in the interest of Ryan Mason and his team,

01:21his representatives? You so often see that in manager hunts, obviously. But yeah, as the process

01:27went on and I spoke with people in the game, it came apparent to me over stages that this is a very

01:33real target, someone of very real interest, someone actually that the club and Bilkel as an ownership

01:39have shown interest in before, back in January, when Alvin obviously appointed Mo Gray. We broke

01:45that news about previous interest in Mason and then obviously went on to find out his contract was up

01:50at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Obviously, it's strange, isn't it? Because where do you rank Spurs'

01:58season? You know, 17th. Let's be honest, lucky to survive because of how bad the three

02:04relegated teams were. But then first silverware in two decades and he's all of a sudden a hero,

02:12isn't he? And look, Ryan Mason's a massive part of that. And Ryan Mason's been a massive part of

02:15Spurs for a long time. He's very well thought of, obviously, down there. It's his club. But I think

02:21by people in the game as well. And I've just done a comment piece, actually. We're speaking on the day

02:28after his appointment. And when people watch this video, they'll be able to read my comment piece online

02:32and in print. There's a lot to say about the appointment, isn't there? There's a lot to say.

02:38When his name first emerged, there was talk of, oh, he's not managed before, lack of experience,

02:42risk gamble. But actually, you know, sort of see past it and see this as clean slate, fresh start,

02:49you know, the owner's project, what start of something, how they see the club wanting to be run,

02:55what they want to build. And yeah, it'll be tough. It'll be tough for Mason, new environment,

03:00new experience. But I think this fresh start is really needed for everyone at the club.

03:05And I guess it's up to Mason and his staff there that you've just mentioned and the hierarchy above

03:11him, Andrew Nesta, Ian Pearce, obviously Shilla Patel, to help put things in place via recruitment.

03:18And then up to Mason and his team to show they can coach, develop, improve, organise tactics to

03:24show that Albin can be competitive next season. You know, I'm hopeful they can. It's hard to have

03:30too much evidence, isn't it? But, you know, I'm optimistic about something fresh and new.

03:35Yeah, I think a lot of Albin fans will be. We heard a bit from Shilla Patel last night, or

03:42when are we looking? Monday night. It seems that Mason's very much been at the top of this kind of

03:48list of potential candidates. I'm sure Albin had made contingency plans after the Raphael

03:55wiki disaster in January. It seems, Coxy, they've done an awful lot of research on Mason. It seems

04:01like they know absolutely everything about him. And there's been some fans that have been critical.

04:05They talk about this data-led approach. Albin, you know, it's difficult to, I imagine, you know,

04:11be led by data when a manager hasn't had a full-time job. But it seems that they know everything about

04:16Mason. They believe that he is, you know, they've invested an awful lot of, you could say,

04:21an awful lot of time and an awful lot of kind of trust in Mason, you know, by the fact that it's

04:26it's taken so long to get this over the line. That doesn't mean there's been complications.

04:30You know, like I think you said in your piece, as we reported, it was reported in certain

04:35outlets over the weekend that Mason was on an hour and making his mind up. That wasn't the case.

04:40There was a few bits of paperwork to be ironed out. He'd agreed that he was coming to Albion.

04:44But Albion have put an awful lot of time and an awful lot of kind of trusted him. He's chosen

04:51Albion, you know, so it shows Albion have put the work and they believe he is the right man. Because,

04:56don't get me wrong, there would have been other candidates out there that Albion could have

04:58probably turned to, but they've hung their hat on Mason now, which in a way is positive.

05:04Yeah. A few things to go out there, Johnny. I mean, you know, I wrote this in the piece I

05:10reference, but, you know, ultimately, this is a very, we said similar back in January, actually,

05:16but in very different circumstances. This is a very significant appointment and call for Bilkel,

05:22isn't it? More so because that first one they made back in January in Tony Mowbray, who obviously was

05:27at the other end of the scale to Mason in terms of a career manager or career, you know, ultimately it

05:32failed. It got muddled. It was confused. It lasted three months into the two and a half year deal, 17

05:38games, tailed off very badly. It was a sad state of a first and it will be remembered as that sadly.

05:46So, it's a few months to recover from Bilkel. You know, that didn't go to plan, didn't go well,

05:54won't be remembered well. So, it put more on this one for me. You know, I remember saying back then,

06:00you know, ownership hierarchy, decision makers, they get remembered for that first appointment,

06:05don't they? Mowbray was their first one. Yes, tough after Carlos Corcoran walks out,

06:09but I think we all saw it coming, didn't we, with Carlos, linked with about every job under the sun,

06:14eventually, obviously, left for a good one. And, yeah, and the replacement search in the middle

06:20of the season, things were tough. It didn't go well. So, it added pressure to this one, really,

06:24you know, they have to sort of right the wrongs and show and prove, really, when it comes to their

06:29football strategy, football ops, decision making, that they can, you know, make the right call,

06:37you know, decide on the right thing. I think, again, the Vicky thing back then,

06:41I've mentioned that Ryan Mason was a target last time. I wrote in my piece, I think this appointment

06:45is Bilkel's blueprint. This is what they want from a head coach. You know, someone, certainly,

06:51in terms of their attitude on the way up, looking to progress in the game, you know,

06:54this is Mason's first senior gig. He'll be looking to kick on and have success here. And, you know,

07:00if that leads to elsewhere, then so be it, but hopefully here. But also, in terms of that lack

07:05of experience and being a head coach, you know, Mowbray, distinguished, brilliant career as a

07:11manager, including at the Hawthorns. You know, the game's a different one now, isn't it? Like, you know,

07:17remember Mowbray's farewell press conference and things where he was into the recruitment. And

07:22look, Ryan Mason is here primarily to coach tactics, to organise, to set up, to develop players,

07:30to improve players. That is his primary role. That's not to say he won't have anything to do

07:34with recruitment. Of course, it has to align. Of course, we could see some Spurs youngsters here

07:38on loan. A lot's been said about that. But primarily, you know, his job is on the training

07:43field in the dugout, in the technical area, you know, in the dressing room. He's not here to be

07:48ringing up agents all the time. Look, Andrew Nester's on, you know, at the front of that,

07:53at the top of that, with Ian Pearce underneath him, with all the rest of the scouting analytics

07:57under that. That is their responsibility to make it work within the framework of what Ryan Mason wants

08:03to do. And you're right, Johnny. And, you know, we've had a bit of comms from the club so far,

08:08haven't we? Obviously, you know, I understand there'll be more to come.

08:11In terms of club comms with Mason and perhaps the hierarchy. And then we'll get the opportunity,

08:18as the press, I think, when pre-season comes around later in June, to obviously meet the

08:23new head coach and speak to him. But they've invested a lot into him. They say time, trust,

08:28responsibility. And I think the other point I wanted to make is, because of that, and because

08:32of the struggle of their previous appointment, you know, Mowbray, the ownership will desperately

08:37want and will need this to work for them. You know, this is not, and again, it's something I wrote,

08:44this is not, oh, we get to October, Mason's Albion are down in 12th or 13th. You know,

08:49it's not been wholly convincing. They're going to pull the plug. You know, this one needs buy-in

08:54and patience. I think from everyone involved, it will be given from the ownership. I hope,

08:59and I have a pretty positive feeling it will come from the stands. But look, you know, we're not

09:04daft people. We're all football fans, aren't we? When you go, you know, you want to see positive

09:08outcomes. You want to see the team at least, you know, winning more games than not, preferably,

09:14or showing that they're trying to do things in the right way. Something Shillam Patel mentioned in

09:18those comms you referenced, Johnny, was creating a unified style, didn't it, and an identity. And I

09:24know they're all buzzwords, but I've heard and seen Albion fans say that they want someone who's

09:30going to put their stamp on the team, you know, and play in a certain way. And let's see what

09:34Mason brings. I mean, I've reported so far, I expect him to be a firm and a firm leader that

09:40defies his years of 33. You know, you said, youngest Albion manager in 125 years or so, you know,

09:47more than a century. So what a thing that is really, to entrust something in someone so young. And

09:53yeah, no nonsense, I'm told. Very firm, very firm. I'm told more towards the Carlos Corbran

10:01sort of school and attitude and methods than the Tony Mowbray one. So yeah, all very interesting

10:07and stuff. I look forward to hearing and finding more about, as I'm sure you do, Johnny, and the

10:12Baggies fans as well.

10:13So

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