RickyH

General Information

League: English Premier Division
Club: West Brom
Full Name: West Bromwich Albion
Nickname: Baggies
Reputation: National
Ground: The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
Capacity: 30,500 all seater with under-soil heating
Training Ground: Top facilities plus youth academy
Chairman: Jeremy Peace
Continental competition: None
Key Players: Nathan Ellington, Zoltan Gera, Curtis Davies
Board Expectations: Fight bravely against relegation
Fans Expectations: Stay clear of relegation


Finances

Balance: £1,003,096
Transfer Budget: £3M
Wage Budget: £275,000
Current Wage: £241,000
Wage Difference: £34,000


General Impression

West Brom have got a good enough squad and transfer budget to survive with the right tactic and all positions are covered fairly well, the only concerns I suppose you could have are the goalkeeper once Kirkland has gone and the back up wingers or lack of. At the beginning of the game Chaplow and Koumas are both on loan and it would be a good idea to recall them as they are both good enough. If you are going to add to the squad I suggest bargain hunting at first then in January you will have money to spend and you will also have a clearer idea of the team. If you use all of your budget you will go into nearly 2M debt which will not be healthy and could eventually mean selling your star players.


Playing Staff

Goalskeepers – West Brom have 3 Keeper’s that will provide good enough quality, Russel Hoult is ok but is getting no better and I would suggest selling him as he is valued at over 1M pounds. Tomasz Kuszczack is a good young keeper and will provide more than adequate cover. The number 1 keeper is Chris Kirkland and he is a brilliant keeper one of the best in the game and if you get the chance he is a must buy although he could prove to be a bit expensive.

Defence – If you are playing a flat back 4 your best starting line up would probably be Watson, Davies, Clement and Robinson. The centre of the defence is fairly well covered so there would be no need to touch that but you may want to invest in a back up right back because only Watson is an right back with experience there is Albrechtsen but then if you use him there is no left back cover.

Midfield – As I have already said two wingers will be need as only Koumas, Grrening and Gera are competent enough and two cheap back up’s will be needed and with the likes of Mokoena and Larsen out there it should not be hard to find. There are plenty of central midfielder’s 7 easily compentant players like Kozak, Chaplow, Carter, Quashie just to name a few.

Strikers – West Brom have decent strikers with Kanu, Ellington, Horsfield and Kamara, Campbell but maybe a striker that would inspire a bit more confidence is needed like Eddie Johnson, you could raise funds by selling Kamara and should easily get 3M for him.


Up and Coming Players

Richard Chaplow – Attacking Midfielder
Curtis Davies - Defender
Darren Carter – Midfielder

Suggested Players In

Lebohang Mokoena – Attacking Midfielder, Orlando Pirates
Eddie Johnson – Striker, FC Dallas
Augustine – Striker, Free

Players Out

Diomansy Kamara
Russel Hoult

Backroom Staff

If you was to get shown the staff at West Brom without knowing which club they are from you would say that judging by their ability they are from a Championship side, I think it is for the best that you bring in a asiistant manager, 2 coaches a physio ands a scout in order to help your players and the club. Out of them all I would only have confidence in Nigel Pearson and Joe Corrigan to coach my players to a decent level.

Tactics

If you were to play without signing any players then a flat 4-4-2 is the best option as you don’t have good enough depth to play 3 centre half's at the back, also 3 up front is not a good suggestion because I personally would only have confidence in Nathan Ellington and maybe Geoff Horsfield. 4-5-1 Is also a decent tactic but can Ellington play up front on his own? I don’t know but with the right signings this could work out well for a club like West Brom. I play a 3-1-3-1-2 formation but I have 6 strong centre backs and have back up for all those positions.


Conclusion

West Brom are tipped for relegation but have a great chance of staying up, the key as for most smaller clubs is bargain hunting, if you get the right players then you could be enjoying success in no time, get it wrong though and you could find it very, very hard and could be looking for a new job soon. A good target would be 13th place.