West Bromwich Albion

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West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby has said players have been "too nice" during their league struggles.

A run of eight defeats in their past 11 league matches has left the Baggies 19th in the Championship, just three points and as many places above the relegation zone.

Things came to a head after an embarrassing 5-0 home defeat by Norwich last Tuesday.

"There's probably been a few strong words with each other that I won't go into detail about, but it was very much needed," Molumby told BBC Radio WM.

"I think maybe we've been too nice with each other all along.

"It's getting to the stage now where we all need to look at ourselves, ask ourselves questions and then demand more from our team-mates.

"That's the starting point from now through to the end of the season."

Chris Mepham's stoppage-time equaliser earned Albion a draw at Derby on Friday and gave Eric Ramsay his first point in his third game in charge since replacing Ryan Mason.

But Molumby has refused to blame either head coach for the team's league position.

"The previous manager did all he could, he was so invested and worked really hard for us and the responsibility has been completely on us as players," he added.

"It's up to us players on the pitch and we need to do better."

The Albion squad has to quickly get used to a new playing style under Ramsay and do not have the luxury of time to adapt, with 17 league games of the season remaining.

"Since the new manager came in, he's got his way of playing and it's different to the way we were playing, so it's tough to get a hold of, but we need to keep working, keep practising and producing more on the pitch," said Molumby.

"We're not being as aggressive, we're trying to be more compact in the middle and we need to build from that."

West Bromwich Albion head coach Eric Ramsay spoke to BBC Radio WM following Friday's 1-1 draw with Derby County at Pride Park.

"We ultimately deserved what we got. I felt it was a controlled performance and the exact performance we needed tonight," he said.

"It wasn't spectacular, but it put right a lot of the wrongs from the previous game.

"We wanted control defensively and we restricted the opposition, were very strong in that department, and carried our own threat.

"I can see very clearly how this team will and needs to be competitive, and that was the start point."

Image source, EFL

A new initiative highlighting the work of football club charities has been launched by the English Football League (EFL).

'Scan to Smile' will be rolled out in stadiums across the EFL from Friday until the end of January, with supporters invited to scan QR codes on posters displayed around grounds.

Each scan will unlock a short, uplifting story from a person whose life has been positively impacted by the support of their local club charity.

The subjects tackled include mental health support, combating loneliness, improving physical wellbeing, employability and confidence.

The EFL said it hoped the initiative would use "the reach and influence of football to offer fans a moment of positivity on matchday".

Trevor Birch, chief executive at the EFL, said: "Behind every club are people whose lives have been positively changed through the work and dedication of their local EFL club charity.

"This initiative gives supporters the chance to see that impact first-hand and reminds us that football truly is a force for good."

West Bromwich Albion head coach Eric Ramsay said he has a "vision" for the team, but accepts it will take time to take shape.

The Baggies are 19th in the Championship table, three points clear of the relegation places, and Friday's trip to Derby County will be their third game in less that two weeks since Ramsay's appointment.

"I have a vision for the team that I think will stand us in good stead in the long run," he told BBC Radio WM.

"My standpoint will always be, it starts with the work, and the focus every day. It doesn't pay for anyone to think too much about the table, the consequences, the gravity of the situation.

"It has to be about the mornings we spend together, and how across the little prep time that we have we can start making the team feel good.

"I knew I was walking into a period of the season and a set of circumstances that was challenging, so I'm not complaining. But I'm sure everyone can empathise in that sense. It isn't easy when you're going from game to game so quickly."

Tuesday's 5-0 home thrashing by Norwich City was an eighth defeat in 10 league matches, and Ramsay's second loss in a row since taking over. He knows he needs to build back team confidence.

"A lot of the difficulty at the moment comes from the gravity of the situation.

"We have to navigate that difficulty we're having in terms of finding that solidity and sense of self, and balancing it with a recognition of what the opposition are trying to do.

"I don't want to see over the course of a season 46 different versions of ourselves according to the opposition. I want there to be a real solidity and a real assurance as to what we're doing.

"There's no magic switch that I can flick that makes the team immediately confident. Its not a case of trying to lay blame at anyone's door, but as a collective, a real sense of responsibility, and a will to meet the challenge head on.

"We are in no uncertain terms as to where we are, and what we are fighting for."

West Bromwich Albion head to Pride Park on Friday having just suffered their heaviest home defeat outside the top flight after losing 5-0 to Norwich City on Tuesday evening.

The Baggies welcome back midfielder Ousmane Diakite to their squad after a period of compassionate leave.

A victory for Derby County would move them into the top six for the first time this season.

The Rams are also looking to make it three league wins in a row for just the second time in this campaign.

• Derby have won each of their past four league games against West Brom. Only once have the Rams enjoyed a longer winning run against the Baggies in their history - a five-match streak between November 1935 and October 1937.

• Since 1920, West Brom have won just one of their 32 away league games against Derby County (D12 L19), a 1-0 success in August 2003 courtesy of a 76th-minute strike from Rob Hulse.

• Derby have won just one of their past six home league games (D2 L3), beating Middlesbrough 1-0 on New Year's Day.

• West Brom have lost their past 10 away league games. Only once have they endured a longer losing run on the road – 11 consecutive defeats between November 1890 and November 1891.

• Derby's Bobby Clark has scored two goals in his past four league games, having failed to score in any of his first 29 with Liverpool or the Rams.

Image source, Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion are set to sign Bristol City goalkeeper Max O'Leary, reports BBC Radio WM.

The 29-year-old has played only five Championship matches for the Robins this season, keeping two clean sheets, and featured in a 2-1 win at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day.

He missed the start of the season having had ankle surgery after Bristol City's play-off semi-final defeat by Sheffield United in May, and has since lost the number one spot to Manchester United loanee Radek Vitek.

West Brom have alternated between goalkeepers Joe Wildsmith and Josh Griffiths this season but have already conceded eight goals in new boss Eric Ramsay's opening two games in charge.

Only Sheffield Wednesday (54) have conceded more than the Baggies' 43 goals in the Championship so far this season.

O'Leary could sign in time for West Brom's trip to Derby County on Friday (20:00 GMT) with a six-month deal on the table.

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

Club captain Jed Wallace once described being summoned to former Albion boss Carlos Corberan's office as like being sent to see the headmaster.

Fast-forward 13 months and it is very clear the discipline Corberan instilled disappeared with him when he left the building.

The Baggies' players have since chewed up and spat out Albion bosses at an alarming rate.

Eric Ramsay is the third permanent incumbent of the Throstles' hot-seat since the Spaniard took his leave just over a year ago.

The fact his two predecessors had such short tenures tells you all you need to know about how their stewardship went.

Tony Mowbray was dismissed after a disastrous Easter weekend where his players seemed to visibly surrender in Midlands derbies against Coventry and Derby.

Ryan Mason outlasted Mowbray's 17-game tenure by 10 matches, largely thanks to spirited fightbacks against Oxford and Swansea when the former Spurs coach's head appeared to be on the chopping block.

Mason's downfall seemed not to be a lack of commitment from the players but a lack of focus and discipline.

For much of the season, the Baggies topped the Championship chart for mistakes leading to opposition shots on goal, while red cards at Coventry and Hull also proved costly.

So, after their individual errors cost Mason his job, the Albion players now have their third boss in just 43 league games.

And it hasn't started well.

Common issues reared their ugly head in Ramsay's first game as Albion went 2-0 down to high-flying Middlesbrough before a spirited fightback was rendered pointless by the Baggies conceding yet another late goal – a bad habit they have not been able to shake this season.

If there was optimism to be taken from the fact the team at least achieved parity before Boro's late winner, there were no such positives to take from Tuesday night as Albion were beaten 5-0 at home by relegation rivals Norwich City.

That is Albion's heaviest home defeat outside of the top flight and the way the players rolled over and allowed the Canaries to rattle in goal after goal spoke volumes about them.

Tony Mowbray gave BBC Radio WM these telling words in his final press conference as Albion boss: "I'm not concerned if the talent is there, I'm concerned if the character is there."

The culture at Albion has to be heavily questioned at this point. Results have, for over a year now, been steadily deteriorating.

While some big players have left the club in that time, on paper there still seems to be more than enough in this squad for it to be competitive.

However, since "headmaster" Corberan left, it feels like every other incumbent of the Baggies dugout has, at best, been treated like a substitute teacher.

And some might argue the current situation is more like Lord of the Flies, where the players try to govern themselves with disastrous results.

That's not to say Ramsay can't be the man to restore order. He has currently only had two games and a mere nine days in the job after all.

But it underlines the size of the job before him and the anarchy he seems to have inherited.

It also shows, quite clearly, that the problems at Albion run much deeper than who is sitting in the dugout.

Image source, Shutterstock

All English Football League games across a four-day period in February will begin one minute late to raise awareness for the Every Minute Matters campaign.

The initiative will be in place for 36 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two between 5 and 9 February.

EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have been working together since May 2024 to highlight the importance of speed when it comes to performing live-saving CPR.

Later kick-off times will serve as "a stark reminder that every minute matters", the EFL said.

Bristol Rovers defender Tom Lockyer collapsed while playing for Luton Town eight minutes into the Championship play-off final against Coventry in May 2023.

Lockyer then suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch seven months later during a Premier League game at Bournemouth.

"What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador.

"Every year, more than 40,000 people in the UK suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and most of them never make it home.

"I'm here today because of the transformative power of CPR as every minute matters when it comes to saving a life.

"This February, we want everyone to get behind this life-saving initiative, learn the skills and be ready to step in because your actions could give someone else the chance I was given."

Throughout February, the Every Minute Matters campaign will call on fans to learn CPR using the BHF's online RevivR, external tool.

"Each minute without CPR reduces a person's chance of survival, so we're urging fans to learn the skills now, before you ever need them," said Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF.

EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch added: "The one minute kick-off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death."

West Bromwich Albion boss Eric Ramsay says he "knows the gravity of the situation" after the Baggies were thrashed 5-0 by Norwich at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night.

Ramsay told BBC Radio WM: "We never felt like we had any assurance or control of the game and in critical moments we just weren't good enough when it came to individual battles from a defensive perspective and certainly moments on the ball over the course of the first half which led to us feeling like we couldn't build what we wanted to build and it ultimately made it into a very one-sided night which is certainly not what I was expecting.

"I have to be really balanced in the way I think about it at the moment because I felt like on night one there was a lot of good to that performance against Middlesbrough and I came in tonight with a lot of optimism.

"I'm eight days in, it is a situation that I have to make sure I see very clearly, that I separate my time here from everything that has gone and has led up to this because ultimately, I have come in with a real sense of energy, recognising the magnitude of the challenge.

"But I've also got to recognise that this is a tricky situation and we've got to find a way through and I will lead in that way and make sure we are really positive and constructive but also it is made very clear to the players where we fell short and why.

"I know the gravity of this situation and what it's going to need and the toughness that goes with it, as a head coach and a group of staff around a group of players that are showing some fragility.

"But I've got to make sure that we support them in the right way, we make sure we are constructive, we find positives where we can find positives, we bring the negatives front and centre and we meet some of that difficulty head on."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked you for your thoughts on new West Bromwich Albion boss Eric Ramsay before he took charge of his first league match on Friday.

Here is what you had to say:

Michael: Intrigued rather than excited - much rounder background than Mason and I like the fact he mapped out his own career route.

Very pleased Dennis Lawrence is with him, he was instrumental in Coventry's improvement under Mark Robins.

Do think they might struggle initially due to the weaknesses within the squad.

Kel: Is he there to manage or coach? Hopefully he will be allowed to bring all his coaching abilities to improve the team and let others manage the club.

Simon: A brave decision going with another young manager. However, Ramsay has more experience than Mason. Really excited about this appointment.

It's not how much possession you have, it's what you do with it. The thought of a more fast paced attack, a disciplined defensive structure with a definite style of play is what the Baggies have needed since Carlos left.

The fan base need to get behind him and the team and find a top 10 finish. The summer gives us a chance to reinvest in the first team and hopefully make a play-off push. COYB.

Dale: Anyone coming into our club have their hands tied. The squad needs improvement, which as Albion fans know we don't spend and recruitment has been poor in recent years too, so having a young manger could yet again backfire. What's needed is someone with experience to deal with what they have and deal with little to no money spent.

Andy: We took Mason from a coaching role with no previous managerial experience and now Ramsay who's from the same cohort. I'll back him, but it seems to be repeating the error?

Nick: I really hope that this was the appointment they wanted to make during the summer. Eric has a clear pedigree of managing a team for more than a handful of interim games. His results and experience far outweigh Ryan Mason's.

Eric was on the radar of many other clubs wishing to follow the trend for young coaches, like the other Albion. So I am hopeful rather than confident that we can climb the table to a respectful position. Then build on that for the 2026-27 season.

I hope that we do not suffer again in the future that when success comes our coach is tempted away to a bigger club.

Richard: Seems to be a good appointment, his record seems decent and I like he is both young and experienced. I'm glad the club are still being bold and sticking to their guns by insisting on young, hungry talent.

Euan: I'm a bit nervous, particularly considering the difficulties some other coaches have had translating MLS success to elsewhere.

The owners clearly want these young coaches with new ideas and less baggage for whatever reason. Particularly if Ramsay can develop our young players, and galvanise others out of favour with Mason (eg. Dike, Griffiths, Bielik), there is a lot to be excited about. If Ramsay knows of any gems, let's hope the club listen and back him if we have the cash.

Maybe a good cup run, and a stabilised season is all we can hope for, with (sadly) next season the big focus now.

Norwich City could escape the bottom three if they take victory against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Canaries are just one point shy of safety and could rise out of the relegation zone with just a draw before Portsmouth play Watford on Wednesday.

Albion will also want something from the game as new boss Eric Ramsay looks to take his first points since his appointment on 11 January.

• After their 1-0 win in October, West Brom could complete their first league double over Norwich City since 2007-08.

• Norwich are winless in their last four league visits to West Brom (D2 L2) since a 1-0 victory in the Premier League in March 2016.

• West Brom have only won one of their last 10 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (D2 L7), although that was against Norwich in October (1-0).

• Norwich have only won one of their last 12 league matches played on a Tuesday (D7 L4), a 6-1 win over Plymouth in November 2024.

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New head coach Eric Ramsay says he could not help but be disappointed as they lost a dramatic encounter with Middlesbrough in his first game in charge of West Bromwich Albion.

Having looked set to fall to a meek home defeat as they trailed 2-0, two goals in five minutes from Isaac Price and Jed Wallace brought the Baggies level.

But rather than grab a winner or a morale-boosting point, Delano Burgzorg struck a decisive 90th minute goal for Boro.

"It's very difficult not to feel very disappointed. I wouldn't be human if that wasn't the case and certainly after we got ourselves back into the game," said Ramsay.

"You could only see it going one way and the fact that it hasn't makes it incredibly disappointing."

West Brom and Ramsay now have three days to prepare for their next game as they welcome Norwich City to The Hawthorns.

For Ramsay, it is a case of trying to work with his new squad as best he can in such a short period of time.

"Coming into this game and irrespective of the outcome, it was going to be information for us as a coaching staff and as players which will give us food for thought as we move into Tuesday," he said.

"I'm very much wrapped in the process that we continue to get better so I'm not going to get drawn into the highs and lows but it's difficult not to get swept up in that."

Chris Hall
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It is the eternal question for young managers - when are you ready for a job in the unforgiving environment of the top two leagues of English football?

Most feel that some level of apprenticeship in the lower divisions is required or a natural progression with one club.

Very few jump straight into a job in the Championship with no experience and succeed, no matter how big their profile as a player was.

Ryan Mason was a prime example of this.

He arrived at The Hawthorns with solid coaching credentials, but Albion proved too big a challenge for someone making their first foray into senior management.

Yet a man a few months his junior seems much better prepared for the challenge as he steps into the Albion dugout for the first time on Friday night to face high-flying Middlesbrough.

While Eric Ramsay may be younger than Ryan Mason, he is more experienced.

The former Manchester United and Chelsea coach has gained an apprenticeship in management, spending two years at Minnesota United and leading them to their best ever season in Major League Soccer.

Moreover, he developed a very clear, if slightly unusual, approach in the USA.

A stick many Albion fans often used to beat Mason with was that they did not see a defined style of play or ethos to his Baggies team.

Similarly, the players often did not seem to understand what was required of them with Albion, until recently, topping the Championship chart for errors leading to opposition shots on goal.

Many of these mistakes came from hesitancy in possession and players seemingly not knowing what their next move should be.

Expect that all to change under Ramsay.

Speaking in his first press conference on Wednesday, "clarity" was a word he used numerous times. The Welshman said he was determined to spell out his style of play and expectations to the players.

He spoke of being clear about the information he was giving them, rather than overwhelming them with a lot of information in a short period of time.

This was echoed by defender Chris Mepham, someone who had worked with Ramsay before in the Welsh set-up, who said that the players came out of their first meeting with the new boss with a clear idea of how he wants them to play.

Undoubtedly this was the case at Minnesota United too.

While Minnesota had the lowest possession numbers in the entire MLS, they were organised and hard working without the ball and lightning fast on the counter-attack when they got it.

They were also the best dead-ball team in the league and were outstanding at keeping cleared set-pieces alive, returning the ball back into the box more frequently than anyone else in the league.

In short, every player knew exactly what was expected of them and executed that game plan to a level which allowed Minnesota to achieve a league position that belied their lowly budget.

Whether Ramsay can get his messages across in just five days and achieve a positive first result on Friday night, we shall have to wait and see.