West Bromwich Albion haven’t spent longer than three seasons in the Championship since we exited the 20th century. The Baggies look set to earn a chance of extending that record in the end-of-season playoffs.
Despite suffering two successive defeats to Sunderland and leaders Leicester City, the men from the Hawthorns are in pole position to secure a top-six finish.
Manager Carlos Corberan has improved West Brom this season following two seasons finishing mid-table in the second tier. The former Huddersfield Town boss took charge of The Albion in October 2022 after Steve Bruce was dismissed with the club sitting in the 23rd spot.
If the club do confirm their place in the four-team promotion shootout come the end of the season and are successful, many will be asking if they are equipped to survive in the Premier League.
The Real EFL were given the opportunity to ask former Baggies manager Tony Pulis about their survival chances. Pulis was in charge of the club between January 2015 and November 2017, guiding them to safety in the top flight when he took the reins from Alan Irvine.
The Newport-born gaffer said, “I think it’s getting more and more difficult for clubs who are getting promoted to stay in the league because of the financial benefits that a club staying in the Premiership for a year or two years gains.”
He went on to comment about what will be key for survival and gave a little insight into how signing players has changed.
“Recruitment again, everything is recruitment and I think one of the big issues in football today and one of the big things I find is that these people who are recruiting are doing it off stats and stats alone, they’re not watching the players and not finding out about their character.”
“Characters are so important, characteristics are so important in football, not just on the pitch but off the pitch. When I was a manager, I watched players maybe two or three times.”
“I would have my scouting set up watching them two or three times and I’d be trying to find out if they were drinkers, were they good pros and what frailties they had.”
The 66-year-old believes in his ability to work with players but stressed how important having the right characters is to being successful.
“I remember saying this to one chairman I worked with when I was very young and when I got the job he asked me what I look for in a player and I just said ‘character, character and character’.”
“I think I can improve players and I can improve teams but the most important thing is the characters of the players. I think putting a team together you have to have strong characters in that team for that team to be successful at any level.”
Tony Pulis was speaking to The Real EFL courtesy of OLBG.
Writer’s View
Football seems to have changed dramatically since the days of Tony Pulis putting together a Stoke City team to challenge the big guns. We hear all the time about teams lacking leadership and needing to be motivated. Using statistics to sign players may well work for many clubs, but some would prefer a more old-fashioned approach.
Should they make the playoffs, West Brom will have as good a chance as any to gain promotion. The issue they will have is staying there. The Premier League is so financially strong, that clubs are having to shell out tens of millions just to give themselves a chance.
