00:01So Charlie, starting with West Bromwich Albion and obviously Ryan Mason appointed as the next manager, a big statement, I mean obviously he's a manager coming in and he's fresh ideas, he's obviously got some fantastic experience in the top flight, the highest level, you know, he'd been tried to be poached before and he decided to stay on with Ange Postacar, who obviously helped deliver that Europa League, which was fantastic for them as a club.
00:26I mean, it all sort of makes sense, you feel, for all parties involved, it gives him the chance, it gives him a platform, it gives West Brom maybe this ambition that they need to go on and have a bit of a fresh start maybe over the last couple of seasons, obviously with Carlos Corbran's exit and then the return of Mowbray not quite working out and them falling short.
00:45So just firstly, your thoughts on Ryan Mason as manager and, you know, how are Albion fans feeling? What's the feeling around the Hawthorns ahead of the new campaign?
00:56I think it's a feeling of excitement, obviously it took so long to get the Tony Mowbray replacement in, but I think it was a lot of patience and consideration.
01:04Even with Mowbray, there was a lot of patience, but they made the wrong decision ultimately and I think they wanted to make sure they made the right one this time around.
01:11They knew that the playoffs were already kind of over for last season and I think if next season they don't get in the playoffs, then this club could really just kind of be stalemated into the, stagnated in the championship rather.
01:23Ryan Mason, he's not in a proper managerial role before and I think there are concerns over that.
01:28However, if you look at Chris Davies at Birmingham City, also coming from Tottenham, he's done so, so well.
01:34Ryan Mason as well, very highly thought of amongst the Tottenham backroom staff.
01:38Antiposti Koglu, of course, not at the club anymore, but he really favoured having Mason amongst his coaching ranks.
01:43Of course, he was the one who took interim charge of Spurs on a couple of occasions, so there's obviously a lot of trust there.
01:49Is he ready for management? It's difficult to say, isn't it? I think the jury will be out for quite a while, but it's quite positive that he's got quite a few relationships at Tottenham.
01:58Potentially West Brom could take advantage of that in the transfer market.
02:02The likes of Mikey Moore and Jamie Donnelly have already been linked for potential loan moves.
02:07Those would both be fantastic signings, in my opinion, for West Brom, can really take them forward, give them a bit of young energy into that team.
02:13I think just in terms of the squad overhaul that's likely to happen as well, having someone like Mason in there who's quite raw, he's still quite young, seems to have a good tactical knowledge.
02:23I know that managers aren't necessarily that involved in their recruitment at West Brom, but I think they probably can tap into Mason's, maybe not experience because he hasn't got that, but he seems to have a decent mindset when it comes to it tactically.
02:36Yeah, they're obviously going to be hoping for this fresh start, but in terms of expectations, they will remain the same, and if not, possibly go even higher.
02:45They want to make sure they are returning to the Premier League sooner rather than later.
02:50To full short in the way they did, maybe that's what triggered this rebuild this summer, how important it was to get the right people in this summer.
02:59So, in terms of expectations for West Brom, I'm sure there could be a little bit of leeway for Mason, but Baggy's fans are really going to be stubborn in terms of they're going to be expecting him to hit the ground running with this side and take them one step closer to returning to the top flight.
03:17Yeah, I think it's going to be tricky because it's going to be quite a squad overhaul in terms of transfers, which means a lot of new players having to gel with one another.
03:24Quite a few experienced heads leaving the club, high earners that have been there for a long time.
03:29It's going to be tricky to hit the ground running, but you're right, he does need to because West Brom fans, understandably so, are going to get impatient otherwise.
03:36It's only so long that you can be in the Championship club the size of West Brom and be content with that.
03:42They need to get back into the playoffs at the bare minimum, you feel, and I think Mason comes in with that knowing that that is the expectation.
03:49He's ready to take on that challenge.
03:51It might take a couple of months maybe to gel, as I say, but once he does get going, hopefully West Brom will be back to being at their best and can challenge for those playoff positions.
04:01Yeah, just on the summer business, the overhaul, as you say, a lot of players were nearing the end of their contracts and have been let go from the club.
04:10And there's obviously plenty of links, plenty of players coming in.
04:14Nat Phillips joining from Liverpool, which is a decent sign.
04:17You have to say after some fantastic loan spells that he had, in terms of their summer business, where do they go and where do they move forward?
04:25Because, you know, when you do lose a big core of the squad, it's going to be quite the challenge to replace it in such a short amount of time, you know, before we know it, the season will be upon us.
04:35Yeah, the likes of Grady Dean Garner and John Swift, Semi Ajayi leaving the club.
04:38I think fans are actually quite happy to see them go because they were on high wages, getting towards the end of their prime years and weren't quite having the same impact anymore.
04:46Those players will need to be replaced, though.
04:48You could argue that Ajayi has been replaced already by Nat Phillips joining.
04:52I think a pretty decent signing.
04:54Not sure what the fee is exactly, but it's likely to be pretty low.
04:56So you only have a year left on the Liverpool contract and, of course, was only playing in the bottom end of the championship last season.
05:02I think that's a decent addition.
05:03They definitely will need to sign a new winger.
05:05If it could be Mikey Moore on loan from Spurs, I think that's probably the best option because it's low risk, isn't it?
05:10It's only a loan.
05:11You're not spending a big transfer fee.
05:13And then an attacking midfielder, a bit more creativity in there.
05:16But they might find that for a player who's already at the club.
05:19Tami Abani, who signed in the winter for ÂŁ3 million, didn't really get going because of fitness problems.
05:25But with a proper pre-season under his belt, he could have a good impact and he's supposed to be a very creative player.
05:30Ryan Mason, I think we'll have a little bit of money to spend this summer,
05:33a little bit more than the likes of Mowbray and Corbran had in the past.
05:37So, yeah, there could be quite a few exciting additions for West Brom
05:39and the team could look very different next season.
