Lead West Brom academy coach departs to ‘pursue opportunity’
Albion under-21s boss Richard Beale has departed the club after four seasons in his role.
He has led Albion under-21s for four seasons and in his debut campaign was in charge for the memorable Premier League Cup triumph with a penalty shootout success against Wolves.
He had a three-match caretaker stint in charge of first-team affairs after Steve Bruce’s sacking in October 2022.
Beale moved to the club from senior football with Solihull Moors in 2021 and had previously worked briefly at Villa, as youth team manager.
‘Awful business’: A club record & and string of flops – the story of West Brom’s 2014 Premier League transfer window
West Brom have done some impressive transfer business in the last two windows – which has been an improvement over what came before.
Under the previous ownership, Albion’s transfer business was criticised at times as they worked under the financial constraints of the old regime.
Prior to the downfall under Guochuan Lai, Albion did spend wisely at certain times in the Premier League.
It was an underwhelming choice for many supporters and it didn’t last long. After just 22 games and five victories, Irvine was axed and Tony Pulis came in to steer Albion away from relegation to a 13th placed finish.
Irvine’s spell in charge is not one that will stick in the memory of Albion fans and neither will the transfer business that was conducted during his time at the club.
The big money signing of that summer, Albion smashed their transfer record to bring in Ideye.
His goal record spoke for itself with 74 league goals in 182 games, in a career that had seen him gain Champions League and international experience.
However, despite a brief purple patch he netted just seven goals in 30 games, making only one apperance in his second campaign.
He was sold to Olympiacos with Albion manging to recoup around £5m for the forward.
Spells in China, Greece, Spain, Turkey and then Kuwait followed, and he is currently still playing in Nigeria.
Christian Gamboa
One of a string of poor signings, the Costa Rica international was one of two players to arrive at Albion after impressing in the World Cup that summer.
Signed from Rosenborg for £2m. He would feature just 17 times for Albion across three seasons.
