FootyChatter.com

This video can not be played Albion boss Ryan Mason reacts to the 1-0 defeat at Swansea on New Year's Day West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says the run his side are on at the moment is "embarrassing" after losing 1-0 at Swansea on New Year's Day. He told BBC Radio WM: "Obviously a lot of anger, a lot of frustration. It's a tough game to analyse. We are not able to make changes because of our squad at the moment. "We came up against a team who made four changes and I think in the first half you could feel the energy difference. "But they didn't really create anything in the first half and then second half I thought we grew into it, we were by far the better team. "We had chances but the reality is a lot of our games this season have hinged on moments and being clinical and we weren't clinical today. "If you don't take them, you open yourself open to conceding a worldie from 25 yards. That was the difference. "The run we have been on is incredible, it's embarrassing. But if you actually go through those games, we have had a lot of opportunities - probably a lot better than we had today in fairness. " Manchester United have recalled midfielder Toby Collyer from his loan spell at Championship side West Bromwich Albion. The 21-year-old academy graduate joined the Baggies in August in order to gain regular first-team experience. Collyer made 12 appearances for Ryan Mason's side, starting three matches, and registered one assist during his time at The Hawthorns. His season has been disrupted by injury, with a calf problem sustained in West Brom's match against Birmingham City on 26 November leaving him sidelined in recent weeks. Collyer now returns to Old Trafford to focus on his recovery and potentially bolster Ruben Amorim's midfield options. Collyer made his senior United debut in August 2024, becoming the club's 251st academy graduate. He went on to make 13 appearances during the 2024-25 season. Swansea City will look to continue their climb up the table as they host West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day (15: 00 GMT). The Swans have won four of their past six matches (D2) to see them seven points ahead of relegation danger. But pressure is mounting on Baggies boss Ryan Mason as the West Midlands side get lost in the midtable and the 34-year-old will want to start 2026 off with a bang to quieten his doubters. Swansea City have lost only one of their last 10 home league meetings with West Bromwich Albion (W7 D2), going unbeaten in their last five (W3 D2). West Bromwich Albion beat Swansea 3-2 earlier this season at home and will be looking to complete a league double over the Swans for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign under Darren Moore and then James Shan. Swansea City have won their opening fixture in just one of the last four calendar years (D1 L2), though it was a 1-0 home win against West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day 2024. No team have suffered more defeats on New Year's Day in the Football League than West Bromwich Albion (29 – level with Preston), though the Baggies did beat Preston North End 3-1 on this day last year. In the reverse fixture in November, Swansea City's Zan Vipotnik netted the second quickest goal on record in the Championship (since 2013-14), scoring after 11 seconds in his side's eventual defeat. Steve Hermon BBC Radio WM's West Bromwich Albion commentator Tammer Bany has just been ruled out for four months with a thigh injury First and foremost, I feel sorry for Tammer Bany. He's a polite and pleasant lad and this has been a rotten first year in English football for him. I spoke to him during the club's pre-season training camp in Austria where he was looking forward to finally making an impression after struggling with minor injuries in his debut campaign in English football. He'd made just four substitute appearances under previous boss, Tony Mowbray after arriving for a reported fee of around £3m from Danish side FC Randers in the January transfer window. In that interview, Bany spoke about his quick rise through the Danish league system. It wasn't long ago that the 22-year-old was playing at a level the player himself likened to League Two in our pyramid system. Not long after we spoke, he picked up another injury that kept him out until November. Since then, he's appeared on the bench eight times, and played a single minute in in an away defeat for QPR, where the PA announcer was perhaps as surprised as everyone else at his cameo appearance because he was announced as fellow midfielder, Ousmane Diakite. Despite head coach Ryan Mason explaining his absence on multiple occasions in interviews and revealing just last week that the young midfielder is even struggling with the rigours of training, frustration has grown amongst supporters over his lack minutes, particularly after he made his international debut for Jordan in November. He played 70 minutes in a goalless draw with Mali, while in 11 months for the Baggies, he's not started a single game and played a combined 51 minutes off the bench. Perhaps it was down to the anticipation of seeing him play after sporting director Andrew Nestor cited "significant interest" from across the Europe in the midfielder, who he called "one of the most effective attacking midfielders in Denmark", when they announced his signing on a three-and-a-half-year deal at the start of 2025. A fair chunk of money was spent based on that data and his potential to grow, but at the moment it's looking like a poor use of limited funds by the club, who've already revealed they don't have money to spend in next month's transfer window on a full-time replacement. It leaves Mason's already stretched midfield department now even thinner, with another injured midfielder, Toby Collyer expected to be recalled from his loan by parent club Manchester United in the next few days. West Bromwich Albion attacking midfielder Tammer Bany has been ruled out for four months with a thigh injury sustained in training which requires surgery. The Denmark-born 22-year-old made his international debut for Jordan in a friendly against Mali in November and faces a race to be fit for their 2026 World Cup campaign, which has seen the tournament debutantes drawn in a group with Austria, Algeria and defending champions Argentina next June. Bany came off the bench for the only time this season for the final minute of Albion's 3-1 defeat at QPR on 6 December, while he has been an unused sub on seven occasions. He made four substitute appearances in the second half of the 2024-25 season after joining the Baggies late in the January transfer window from Danish side Randers on a three-and-a-half year contract for a reported fee of £3. 3m. Ryan Mason hopes to lift the mood around West Bromwich Albion by ending their away day woes and building some momentum as they enter 2026. Albion won their opening two Championship games of the season but their six wins after that were all followed by a loss in their next match. They have the chance to end that run, and eight consecutive away defeats, at Swansea on Thursday (15: 00 GMT) having picked up just a second win in six games against QPR on Monday night. Mason told BBC Radio WM: "It's not normal to lose that many games in a row away from home. "We have tampered and changed a few things to give ourselves a better platform to get results. We need to stay strong with our principles, what we believe in, and try and assert ourselves. "It's not good enough, losing that many games, absolutely not, it needs to change. " Mason admitted he was surprised by boos in The Hawthorns stands when he took Aune Heggebo and Mikey Johnston off midway through the second half on Monday, but knows winning games is the only way they can lift the mood in the crowd as well as in the dressing room. "I was happy to respond [to back-to-back losses], that was the most important thing. We deserved to win, " he added. "I was surprised by the reaction. Everyone can see the physical toll the game had taken on them. It's a busy period. I think the most important thing for the players is to feel the support all the time. "When you lose games it's not a good mood. The only way to change that is by winning games and you create a different energy and feeling around the place. " Defender Nat Philips scored the opening goal against the R's and says Albion will stay level headed as they seek to build momentum to climb back up the table. "I think you can tell there has been moments where confidence has been low recently because of the form, " he said. "We recognise momentum is something that has been missing, trying to build on a previous win, so that's certainly a short term goal of ours. " Albion came from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Swansea in the reverse fixture in November and Phillips added: "We have put in some great one-half performances over the season but not over the two and that's cost us in a few games. "We are aware of [the away losing run] and we want to put it right. " Ryan Mason replaced Tony Mowbray at The Hawthorns in the summer West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason believes his side were "really good value" following their 2-1 win over Queen's Park Rangers. George Campbell's headed effort gave the Baggies a 1-0 halftime lead before Ousmane Diakite's own goal brought proceedings level. Nat Phillips then rose highest in the 55th minute from a Mikey Johnston free kick to retake the host's initial lead who saw out the rest of the match for a much-needed win. "Happy with the win, happy to respond because that was the most important thing today just to find a way to win, " said Mason to BBC Radio West Midlands. "I thought it was really good value. We played a good game. We were disciplined. We created numerous chances to score more goals. "Unfortunate to concede, but I thought the players played a good game and we deserved to win. The challenge now is to get ready to go again. "I think you're maybe nervous when you concede opportunities, but I don't think we were conceding anything. "Maybe that's a feeling in the stadium at the moment because of where we are in the league but I felt really comfortable. "If anything, I was a bit disappointed we didn't score a third or a fourth because the chances were there, we had opportunities. " Albion sit 16th in the Championship at the halfway point of the season on 28 points West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason has called Bristol City's Anis Mehmeti aerial collision with Callum Styles a "clear red card" and "reckless" following his side's 1-2 home loss. The Baggies' Styles stayed down in the 16th minute following an aerial collision against Mehmeti which the Robins striker was ultimately yellow carded for by referee Will Finnie. He then opened the scoring six minutes later. Styles stayed on the field after the incident, being replaced by Daryl Dike on the 77th minute. "To concede the [first] goal, it's clearly offside. It completely changes the energy. It disrupts us and that's a big challenge to overcome, " Mason told BBC Radio West Midlands after the match. "We have a massive opportunity very soon after, a two-on-one against their keeper, and we don't take it and then a clear red card, five yards from the referee, that he chose not to send the player off for a really dangerous elbow that's probably broken Cal's [Callum Styles] nose. "It was a poor challenge, really poor, dangerous, reckless. We had a player sent off last week for not touching the opposition, and it wasn't rescinded either. "So that seems to be the way at the minute, those types of things. It seems okay to make these decisions against us and we'll probably get our 10th email in a couple of days saying there were a couple of massive mistakes again. " West Brom have taken more than double the number of points at home than they have away so will be relieved be back at The Hawthorns having suffered eight successive defeats on the road. Bristol City have won just one of their past on the road. West Brom have won seven of their past eight home league games against Bristol City, with the exception being a 2-0 loss in October 2022. Bristol City won their last league game against West Brom 2-1 in April but haven't won consecutive league meetings with the Baggies since December 1993. West Bromwich Albion have played more games on Boxing Day than any other side in English Football League history, with this year's being their 108th. They have won 46 of their 107 so far, with only Manchester United winning more (54). Bristol City have won their past two Boxing Day league games, last winning three in a row between 1995 and 1997. In English football, Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber's only previous Boxing Day match was against West Brom in 2019 when he was Barnsley manager, drawing 1-1 at Oakwell. This video can not be played Mason's West brom side have failed to win back-to-back matches since he arrived in the summer West Bromich Albion manager Ryan Mason is demanding a "positive mentality" as they head into the busy Christmas and New Year shedule. The Baggies play four games across 11 days, and are currently 16th in the table after three defeats in their last four matches. Mason told BBC Radio WM they must relish the tough schedule. "The mentality is the most important thing. For me, that trumps everything, " he said. "You'll be amazed what the body can do. I've brought some experts in, and there are some really good people here who are planning training and pitching it to a certain point, and a lot of the physical stature - you can see that. "I do believe the best teachers are the best psychologists, and there's a massive responsibility from my side to get into the heads and the souls of the players. " Mason's side were fifth in the table following five wins from their opening 10 matches in October, but have won just three league matches from the next 12 games. "I think the nature of the league is about momentum. Our form after a win has been so poor, and our away form has been terrible recently, but I think the lack of ability to back a result up with another result is what has really cost us so far. "If we want to climb the league and create something and build some mometum, that's what we have to do regardless of how you play, you need to find a way to get results. " The Baggies welcome two promotion-chasing sides, Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers, before a New Year's Day trip to Swansea City who are three places and two points below them. "We're representing a massive club, " 34-year-old Mason added. "I want that expection, that demand, and I need players who want that responsibility, too, and are prepared to share that responsibilty. "That's a challenge, that's what we need to buy into. To represent this club is a big privilege. "Every game is an opportunity. We need to feel the pain of losing, for sure. I don't accept losing, its not something I want anyone to get used to. " Chris Hall Fan writer I'm sure you all know the phrase, 'it's the hope that kills you'. That rather epitomises being an Albion fan. The last time Albion supporters enjoyed back-to-back wins that weren't spread across two different seasons? 21 August 2024 - 16 months ago. Yet every time you're about to give up on the team, to quote Al Pacino, "they pull me back in". That was the case two weeks ago. After a dismal showing at QPR, followed by Southampton racing into a three-goal lead against us on the Tuesday night, most Albion fans were ready to wash their hands of manager Ryan Mason, only for the Baggies to turn in a magnificent second-half performance against in-form Sheffield United to put the Blades to the sword. Had a corner finally been turned? The Throstles then travelled to sixth-placed Hull City, and for 45 minutes they made us believe with an energetic first-half display as Mason's men created (and missed) chance after chance. But this is Albion, they give you hope and then whip the rug from under you. After being the dominant side throughout the first half, the Baggies hit the self-destruct button in injury time, gave away a needless penalty and capitulated to an undeserved 1-0 defeat following a flat second-half display. Albion have the art of shooting themselves in the foot down to a tee this season. No team in the league has made more errors leading to opposition shots on goal than the Baggies' 17. Those individual mistakes probably go some way to explaining Albion's inconsistency this season. Our record following a win this campaign reads, L, D, L, L, L, L, L, L. In short, Mason's men can't string two results together. That said, it's unfair to depict this as just a Ryan Mason problem. Tony Mowbray never achieved back-to-back wins during his Hawthorns return, nor did Chris Brunt in his six games as caretaker, and, before that, Carlos Corberan only managed it twice in his final 45 games as Albion boss. This is an Albion problem; we are consistently inconsistent regardless of the manager, but it's Mason's job to find a solution to that issue. After eight consecutive away defeats, a glimmer of hope lies in the fact that Albion now face back-to-back home games. After all, we've only lost once at home in the league all season and have won three of our past four at The Hawthorns. Ah, it's the hope that kills you, isn't it? Listen to more from Chris Hall at the Albion Analysis, external Steve Hermon BBC Radio WM's West Bromwich Albion commentator Samuel Iling-Junior (second from the right) is one of the Baggies players who might not be at The Hawthorns for the second half of the season We're at that time of year where there's a last-minute rush for Christmas presents - me included - but football clubs can't make their purchases until the January transfer window opens. However, there isn't expected to be a rush to the market for Albion in the New Year. That's because the club's precarious financial situation that owners Bilkul inherited upon taking over in February 2024 hasn't gone away yet. Some fans have grown impatient with the inconsistent performances they've seen in Ryan Mason's debut campaign as head coach, so it might be frustrating to read that. But, as chairman Shilen Patel described it in an open letter back in June, it's their "regulatory reality". The EFL's profit and sustainability rules (P&S) are dictated by a three-year rolling period in which clubs can only lose around £39m in that time. While some elements of an annual loss can be discounted if it funds infrastructure, the academy or women's team, West Bromwich Group Limited, which is the part of the club governed by the financial rules, reported a £37. 6m loss in the 2023-24 season alone. That has left them very close to the line and it's a minor miracle they haven't breached it. The summer departures of player of the year Torbjorn Heggem, star winger Tom Fellows to Southampton and on-field skipper Darnell Furlong to Ipswich effectively helped avoid a points deduction. Regarding the latter two, Baggies boss Mason recently described having to sell to Championship rivals as something they needed to do to get through "a storm", and praised the owners for navigating it. But he did offer a ray of sunshine when saying there will "come a time" when the club can "kick on". Shilen Patel has been guiding Albion along a profit and sustainability rules tightrope Those gloomy financial clouds will hopefully begin to lift as soon as next summer. That's because that huge loss from two seasons ago will be in the irrelevant distance from an accounting point of view. Patel, who has covered the club's significant debts since his arrival, also revealed in his June letter that Albion started the 2024-25 campaign with the highest payroll of any team not receiving parachute payments. That legacy will be lessened when some of the remaining high earners from the previous regime are out of contract in the middle of 2026. Club captain Jed Wallace and injury-hit striker Daryl Dike are among the players most likely to move on. Something else that could happen in the near future is the EFL following the Premier League in switching from P&S to a Squad Cost Ratio model. From the 2026-27 season, it will limit player-related costs to 85% of a top-flight club's revenue. Nothing has been agreed by EFL teams yet, but it's a model the West Bromwich Albion hierarchy is believed to be supportive of. Despite walking a fine financial line, Bilkul have managed to dip into their pockets in previous windows. Almost £5m was committed towards the purchase of top scorer Aune Heggebo this past summer, a £3m deal was done for Mikey Johnston the previous year and there was significant investment in Isaac Price and Tammer Bany last January, but the next winter window is expected to be much quieter. Current loan pair Toby Collyer and Samuel Illing-Junior could be recalled by their parent clubs, Manchester United and Aston Villa, respectively. Midfielder Collyer has made just three starts because of injury, while Iling-Junior has shown brief flashes of quality but not enough to nail down a regular spot. If they are recalled, the Baggies will look to replace them. On top of that, I understand Albion's president and sporting director Andrew Nestor is working to bring in one additional player via the loan market. Perhaps most pleasing for Mason though, given his squad's lack of strength in depth, is that there aren't expected to be any major departures. The only scenario for an exit from The Hawthorns would be if an offer too good to refuse was made for a soon-to-be out-of-contract player. If that were to happen, they would be replaced, but the Baggies also wouldn't sell if they felt it would completely derail any internal hopes they still have of being in the mix for a Championship play-off place. A top-six finish does feel optimistic based on performances so far and with the Baggies currently 16th in the table. That's their joint lowest position heading into Christmas Day in 30 years, but it is only the halfway point of the campaign and a good run of results over the festive period would significantly change the external mood in the short term. The long-term hope is that the fans' patience – and likewise the ownership's with the head coach's learning curve of a campaign – will be rewarded with brighter and more exciting times in the future. Ryan Mason's West Bromwich Albion have not won away in the Championship since 1 October West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason said their defeat by his old club Hull City was their own fault. Nat Phillips' handball as he jumped for a corner with his arm high above his head gave the Tigers a penalty deep in stoppage time at the end of the first half, which Olie Mc Burnie converted. After failing to take several chances, the Baggies' hopes of getting anything from the game were hindered by Alfie Gilchrist's red card on 75 minutes. Mason had no complaints about the award of a spot-kick but felt Gilchrist was very unlucky. "I've not seen the penalty back clearly but I thought it looked a pen. I thought there was a handball, " Mason told BBC Radio WM. "I thought the ref had a difficult afternoon, there were a lot of mistakes in my opinion, but I can't make excuses for losing that game. "We gave them a penalty, we didn't take our chances when we got them in the first half. " "I don't think it was a red [card]. I don't think there was any reaction from the Hull players or our players. "The foot was high but, I was there, and he didn't touch him but my opinion's irrelevant. "The loss was our mistake, our lack of discipline and we've been punished for a situation that's avoidable. "There has been an emphasis on staying disciplined for 95, 100 minutes and we weren't able to do that once again. " This video can not be played Mason: 'Grateful but painful to look back' West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says he returns to Hull City on Saturday with "mixed emotions" as he reflects on the moment that ended his playing career nearly 10 years ago. Mason suffered a fractured skull in a clash of heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill during a Premier League match in January 2017 and, after major surgery, was forced to retired just over a year later at the age of only 25. Now he is going back to the place where it happened in charge of a side for the first time and told BBC Radio WM it would be an emotional experience. "There were some fond memories there even though it didn't end how I wanted it to, so I look back on it with mixed emotions, " he said. "The club were amazing. The doctor Mark Waller, he had a crucial part in saving my life. I still speak to him. "The owners at the time were incredible. They gave me the time and opportunity to come back and play. " Despite a lot changing at Hull in the nine years since his injury, Mason said there would always be a bond with the club. "It's been a long time - I retired at 25 - it's coming up to 10 years, they have a different owner, different manager and players, " he added. "I had an incident when I was representing that club so there will always be a connection with Hull. "It's a painful period to look back on. I lost my career but my son was born in Hull on 20 December. "It's made me a better person and made people around me better as well. " For the immediate future, Mason is now fully focused on putting any sentiment aside as he tries to engineer a first away win in the Championship since the start of October and prevent the current five-point gap to the play-off places getting any wider. Ryan Mason has steered West Bromwich Albion to 16th in the Championship, five points off the play-off spots This video can not be played Mason: 'We'll see how the next period pans out' West Bromwich Albion boss Ryan Mason has confirmed it's "a possibility" that midfielder Alex Mowatt may feature during their upcoming trip to Hull City on Saturday (15: 00 GMT). The 30-year-old picked up a foot injury in the side's last away trip to Southampton and did not feature against Sheffield United on the weekend. "Mowwy [Mowatt] hasn't trained since the Southampton game so we are going to train him today and see how he goes, " Mason told BBC Radio WM. "When a player has the best part of 10 days without being on the pitch with the group it's tough, but with the type of injury it is also, there's a possibility [he can make Saturday's squad]. "Structurally, it's okay but it's a pain management thing. " Forward Tammer Bany also missed out on the win against the Blades but has returned to training this week after recovering from his illness. Listen to the full interview with Mason and more West Bromwich Albion content on BBC Sounds. Hull City will look to retain their place in the top six when they welcome West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (15: 00 GMT). The Tigers have found a rich vein of form to land them in sixth place but are only clear by one point. Though the Baggies are trying to stabilise after a topsy-turvy season and will be seeking their first back-to-back wins since August. Hull have won just one of their last 11 league games against West Bromwich Albion (D2 L8), a 2-0 home win in March 2023. After losing four consecutive away league games against Hull between 1974 and 1987, West Brom have lost just four of their last 17 visits (W8 D5). Since the start of October, only league leaders Coventry (34) have won more points and won more games (11) than Hull in the Championship (25 points, 8 wins). Following their win against Sheffield United, West Brom will be aiming for consecutive Championship victories for just the second time under Ryan Mason. The previous instance came in their opening two matches of the 2025-26 league campaign (1-0 v Blackburn and 3-2 v Wrexham). Since the start of October, only Southampton's Adam Armstrong (9) has netted more Championship goals than Hull's Joe Gelhardt (8). However, no player has scored in more different matches than Gelhardt (8) in the division in this period. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.