48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Callum Styles and West Bromwich Albion agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Glenn Middleton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mikey Johnston provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.86 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Dan Chimeziri has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Josh Vickers and West Bromwich Albion agree another 3 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” West Bromwich Albion may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tammer Kumar and West Bromwich Albion agree another 5 years.
93 minutes played. Oskar Pietuszewski found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Lincoln City went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Tottenham paid $15.8M and West Bromwich Albion took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Oskar Pietuszewski did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Callum Olusesi has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Add another name to the list: Tottenham have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jayson Molumby. The answer from West Bromwich Albion has not changed — yet.
The chase for Fabian Mrozek ended with $2.0M changing hands and Liverpool out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Leicester City paid $2.9M and West Bromwich Albion took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Alfie Gilchrist was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at West Bromwich Albion will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Tranmere Rovers pay $100.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. West Bromwich Albion told Callum Olusesi something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The offer from Oxford United for Max O'Leary was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Ben Killip has come up in conversations West Bromwich Albion were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tammer Kumar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 88th, and Shrewsbury Town spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Two goals and a mark of 8.02 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
1‑4 to Stockport County, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Glenn Middleton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 7.70 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, West Bromwich Albion had the best player on the pitch.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” West Bromwich Albion may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Alfie Gilchrist was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Harry Whitwell and West Bromwich Albion agree another 4 years.
Marked 7.80 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, West Bromwich Albion had the best player on the pitch.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what West Bromwich Albion can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at West Bromwich Albion hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oskar Pietuszewski. 2‑1 against Leyton Orient, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Out, 0‑3 to Sheffield United, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Glenn Middleton is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what West Bromwich Albion can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Oskar Pietuszewski did not need any: 7.98, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Alfie Gilchrist was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oskar Pietuszewski. 1‑0 against Stevenage, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Callum Olusesi is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Barnsley spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Isaac Price falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Callum Olusesi has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at West Bromwich Albion hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Tranmere Rovers are out and West Bromwich Albion go through, 3‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
A mark of 8.14 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alfie Gilchrist and West Bromwich Albion agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Isaac Price has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Rio Patterson-Powell has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Tranmere Rovers tried to reorganise, West Bromwich Albion did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” West Bromwich Albion have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Shrewsbury Town moved on, Harry Whitwell reports back to West Bromwich Albion, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Chris Mepham has improved at 29, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Alfie Gilchrist has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at West Bromwich Albion has been clear about where Ousmane Diakité stands, which is more than many ever get.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. West Bromwich Albion know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tammer Kumar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Doncaster Rovers will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. West Bromwich Albion were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” West Bromwich Albion have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Birmingham paid $3.0M and West Bromwich Albion took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Price is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 19 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
33 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
13 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Callum Olusesi is living that version at West Bromwich Albion, and it tends to show in the first month.
The name of Aune Heggebø has come up in conversations West Bromwich Albion were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Chris Mepham has improved at 29, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The offer from Shakhtar for Max O'Leary was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at West Bromwich Albion is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tammer Kumar falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at West Bromwich Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Gamba Osaka for Aune Heggebø was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Sheffield United paid $5.7M and West Bromwich Albion took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mikey Johnston is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The fee is $2.2M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Doncaster Rovers drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mikey Johnston is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The medical room confirms 64 days on the sidelines for Joe Wildsmith, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Daryl Dike has improved at 27, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at West Bromwich Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Carl Johnston has just signed for West Bromwich Albion, and for once the answer mattered.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
32 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
12 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at West Bromwich Albion, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Max O'Leary has improved at 30, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
31 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
11 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” West Bromwich Albion have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
10 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
The offer from America de Cali for Aune Heggebø was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alfie Gilchrist is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
29 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It is arithmetic now, and the arithmetic is done. A summer of hard questions starts early at West Bromwich Albion, and next season's fixture list reads very differently.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Luke Brown has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
9 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
28 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 8 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Jed Wallace was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Norwich City left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 May 2027
Alex Mowatt falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
27 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
26 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
0‑1 to Queens Park Rangers, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 May 2027
Danny Imray falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
25 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
24 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 May 2027
Daryl Dike falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
22 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
21 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
20 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nat Phillips trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
19 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daryl Dike is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
11 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
16 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
10 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jed Wallace and West Bromwich Albion agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
15 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 9 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Diakité is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
8 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daryl Dike is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josh Maja is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Position 24 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danny Imray is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and West Bromwich Albion will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
0‑7 against Birmingham, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Habib Diarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. West Bromwich Albion have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Daryl Dike falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Peterborough United will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Carl Johnston has pre-agreed a move to West Bromwich Albion, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Habib Diarra falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
The chase for Ben Killip ended with $1.2M changing hands and Portsmouth out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Diakité is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Position 24 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Plymouth Argyle paid $560.0K and West Bromwich Albion took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Mowatt is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what West Bromwich Albion can pretend not to have heard.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The name of Akeel Higgins has come up in conversations West Bromwich Albion were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josh Maja is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Miller McDonald is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” West Bromwich Albion have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Mowatt is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” West Bromwich Albion have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Diakité is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
Player ratingsAlex Mowatt changes it off the bench
Player ratingsChris Mepham spends the afternoon fouling
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Stoke City left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Aune Heggebø's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Aune Heggebø wins it after the whistle should have gone
90 minutes played. Aune Heggebø found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Watford went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Position 22 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aune Heggebø. 1‑0 against Watford, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
0‑3 against Leicester City, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at West Bromwich Albion can tell you which week it ends in.
The words a physio says slowly. 51 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Miller McDonald is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
68 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at West Bromwich Albion has to find a result from somewhere.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Diakité is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
0‑4 against Swansea City, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Saxon Earley is living that version at West Bromwich Albion, and it tends to show in the first month.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what West Bromwich Albion can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Tammer Kumar has come up in conversations West Bromwich Albion were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
In brief
SquadOusmane Diakité falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 106 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
115 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Bromwich Albion lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Chris Mepham and West Bromwich Albion agree another 4 years.
Isaac Price was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Max O'Leary and West Bromwich Albion agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at West Bromwich Albion this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at West Bromwich Albion, another week without a signature from Max O'Leary.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.