“Worth a shot” – West Brom urged to rival Leicester City for 51-year-old
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Bromwich Albion are currently on the hunt for a new manager after parting company with Tony Mowbray.
Mowbray returned to West Brom for a second spell in January, replacing Carlos Corberan following his move to Valencia the previous month, but the decision to bring him back to the club proved to be a mistake.
The 61-year-old won just five of his 17 games in charge of the Baggies, drawing four and losing eight, before being sacked after just over three months at the helm, and coach James Morison took charge of the final two games as Albion recorded a disappointing ninth-placed finish.
| 2024-25 Championship table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 9 | West Brom | 46 | 10 | 64 |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 8 | 64 |
| 11 | Swansea City | 46 | -5 | 61 |
| 12 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | -9 | 58 |
| 13 | Norwich City | 46 | 3 | 57 |
| 14 | Watford | 46 | -8 | 57 |
| 15 | QPR | 46 | -10 | 56 |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 46 | -13 | 54 |
Sky Sports reported last month that West Brom had held talks with the representatives of QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes, and it looked as though the Spaniard was set for a move to The Hawthorns after he was placed on gardening leave by the West London outfit, but it has since been revealed that he is not on the club’s shortlist of possible candidates.
Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason is believed to be on the Baggies’ radar, but any potential deal is being delayed by Spurs’ ongoing involvement in the Europa League, which could open the door for other names to emerge in the frame.
West Brom told to consider Lee Carsley move
Lee Carsley has made a name for himself during his time as manager of England Under-21s, and his profile grew even further when he had an interim spell in charge of the senior Three Lions team last year.
Carsley may have been overlooked for the permanent job in favour of Thomas Tuchel, but he won five of his six games in charge, leading England to promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League, and he is believed to be in the frame for the Leicester City job should the Foxes decide to part company with Ruud van Nistelrooy this summer following their relegation to the Championship.
When asked if Carsley is someone the Baggies should also consider, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess insisted that the 51-year-old should feature in the thoughts of the club’s hierarchy as they search for a replacement for Mowbray.
“I think Lee Carsley would be a really good appointment for Albion,” Callum said.
“Obviously the work he did with England Under-21s when he won the European Championships shows he’s great at working with young players.
“He does play good football like he tried to do with the England senior team, and if he was open to going into club management, which I think he wasn’t interested in doing in the past when he was previously interim manager at Brentford many years ago, he should be someone who Albion should consider.
“He’s a good manager with good ideas.
“He has had some less successful times, like when England lost 2-1 to Greece, but he’s definitely worth a shot for a Championship team looking to get into the top six or for a Premier League team looking to go from a more pragmatic manager to someone who wants to be more risky or progressive.
“I think he’d be a good appointment for many Championship sides.”
West Brom could face double Lee Carsley stumbling block
Carsley has certainly shown enough during his coaching career to suggest that he could do a job at Championship level, but West Brom could face two problems if they decide to pursue a move for him.
During his interim spell in charge of England, Carsley refused to directly confirm whether he wanted the permanent job, and he has often appeared to be fairly reluctant to make the step-up to senior management, so it may be tough for the Baggies to convince him to take over at The Hawthorns.
Even if Carsley decides it is the right time for him to move into club management, he is believed to be on Leicester’s shortlist, and given that the Foxes are a newly-relegated club with parachute payments, they will have greater financial resources than Albion, so he may view the King Power Stadium as a more attractive destination.
