🐦 Woodman Corner #2 - Albion have already discovered a player who is 'hard to find'
Randers manager Rasmus Bertelsen speaks about the player Albion have signed in Tammer Bany, as the Baggies seal Ryan Mason's first signing ahead of pre-season
Hello and welcome to edition #2 of Woodman Corner. I’m Joe Chapman, and I’m a lifelong Albion fan, previously a season ticket holder, who has covered the club for the Birmingham Mail. Thank you for tuning in.
Woodman Corner has been created to bring you the very best bits of Albion content, uninterrupted, from across the web, and some original stuff from yours truly along the way.
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‘Special talent’ Tammer 👑
As the football-starved mind drifts over the summer, things can temporarily slip from your mind. Out of sight, out of mind as they say. For a number who follow West Bromwich Albion, seeing photos of Tammer Bany reporting to the club's training ground for pre-season testing this week, their memories might've needed jogging.
Amid the winter furore, the dramatic acquisition of Adam Armstrong and the instant impact forged by Isaac Price, Bany's introduction to life in England, to the Championship and to The Hawthorns was comparably subdued. He didn't possess the goal record of Armstrong, or the familiarity of English football which Price had to lean on.
I spoke to his manager at former club Randers, Rasmus Bertelsen, who delivered some rather interesting insight into exactly who, and what, Albion have invested in…
“From the first minute you could see a player who had something special about him. West Brom did a good job in finding him. If you get him to his top level, he is a very special player.”
👉 You can read the full long read interview with Bertelsen, which has gone live this morning, by clicking here. And thank you for your time, Rasmus 🙏
📣 Your weekly Albion round-up
👏 We’ll begin with something heartening. Albion’s Powerchair team have long been a source of pride for the club’s Foundation and they have gone continental this past week to take part in the FIPFA World Cup, based in Paris.
Albion beat Uruguayan side Club Nacional 2-1 in their first game on Tuesday before narrowly losing 1-0 to hosts Upsilon Châtenay-Malabry later in the day. On Wednesday, the Baggies eased to a comfy 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers to book their place in the semi-finals against Grafteaux Villeneuve d’Ascq on Thursday evening. The final is on Friday night.
Winger Matt Gilbert told BBC WM Sport: "It's just great to showcase people with disabilities and how competitive we can be playing at the highest level. It's such a big achievement for us and makes you feel quite proud to be representing Albion."
🏃♂️ Albion’s squad have reported for pre-season testing at the club’s Walsall training base on Wednesday, ahead of the proper stuff which begins in the coming weeks. It’ll be a time for introductions with the new gaffer present, too. Internationals Torbjorn Heggem, Isaac Price, Callum Styles and Tom Fellows are either still on holiday or still representing their countries. [Express and Star - paywall warning 🚨]
🪑 Albion chairman Shilen Patel penned a lengthy open letter to fans this week, taking into account how the summer is looking behind the scenes up to now and, most pertinently, addressing those pesky P&S rules which must be abided by. He wrote…
⮑ “The realities of P&S aren’t going away just yet, and its existence will necessarily govern our approach to the summer. Our three-year P&S rolling average calculation will no longer include the slight profit of 22/23, leaving us with a challenge similar in magnitude to last year’s. Every summer will require us to be prepared for the departure of players and the recruitment of well-vetted talents to succeed them; this summer, we will once again have to be pragmatic, adaptable, and resourceful and consider factors beyond our simple preferences in player trading.”
👨🏫 The wonderful Dave Bowler has returned to Albion as the club’s dedicated historian. He will oversee a role which has emphasis, among other things, on The Hawthorns’ 125-year anniversary this year but also the club’s 150th in three years’ time. [WBA]
👋 Welcome, Nat Phillips! Albion’s first signing of the summer and first of the Ryan Mason era. I must say I think it’s a pretty nifty signing, and so does sporting director Andrew Nestor, who told Albion’s website:
“We believe he is entering his peak years as a centre-back, and hope to see him develop even further with us here as a player and leader within our group.”
Wonder if we’ll see father of Nat’s partner Liam Gallagher walking down the Brummie Road to the sound of his favourite tune at any stage in the new season…
👋 One in, one out this week. While Albion welcomed Phillips to the club, PL2 boss Rich Beale took his leave. A fine man to deal with from a press perspective and a highly respected coach, Beale stood up in 2022 prior to Carlos Corberan’s appointment to help steady the first-team ship. Looks like he’s going into Reading as a first-team coach - best of luck, Bealey. [WBA]
Blasts from the past
Each week - and particularly at this time of the year with the transfer window open - we’ll check in with Albion players from the past, and their movements.
⚽ Who’s the best striker in the Premier League? I happened to come across coverage from the, ahem, hotly anticipated Club World Cup on Sunday night. Who should grace the screen, but Salomon Rondon? Now 35, he was still more than a handful for Real Madrid, despite being defeated 3-1 by Jude Bellingham and co. Rondon, who plays for Mexican side Pachuca, drew a foul from Raul Asencio after seven minutes and he was red carded as a result 🟥
⚽ The overseas adventure of Andy Carroll is over. Bordeaux, who forfeited their professional status last summer because of bankruptcy issues, dropped down to the fourth tier of French football - but that didn’t deter striker Carroll, who joined when others were leaving. He scored 11 goals and helped them to finish fourth last year, but he will leave France to be with his family. They paid an emotional tribute to the big man this week. 😥
⚽ Keith Andrews made himself an instant Albion hero when scoring the fourth goal in the Molineux mauling back in 2012. Since then, he’s worked in punditry and moved into coaching, linking up with the Irish squad, Sheffield United and MK Dons. He moved to Brentford last year as their set-piece coach and, after Thomas Frank left for Tottenham, this summer, Andrews looks set to take the step into management - at the highest level, no less. Best of luck!
🤝 Not an ex-player per se, but once a member of staff - former Albion technical director Nicky Hammond has joined Everton as part of their hierarchical restructure. He has been appointed to ‘lead the club’s player trading activity’. [Everton]
The transfer column
💜 Former Albion captain and Hearts boss Derek McInnes seems optimistic that striker Lawrence Shankland will end up remaining at the club despite interest from Albion and Saudi Arabia.
“If it was a ‘no’, he’d have told us. I think he sees so many positives from re-signing at Hearts. I think over the next few days we’ll find out if that’s going to be the case,” McInnes said. [BirminghamLive]
❌ Whispers that Albion are in talks with veteran midfielder Barry Bannan have been dismissed.
🧤 Ted Cann has sorted himself out with a move to Rotherham United after leaving Albion this summer, bringing an end to seven years at the club.
"I'm delighted and really excited to have got the deal over the line.” Ted told the Millers’ media channels. “For it to have happened so quickly is great for me, to have a full pre-season.”
Essential reading
Each week I’ll look to bring you something worth reading in relation to Albion in some way. This week’s offerings are Nat Phillips heavy.
🧢 You’ll struggle to find bigger fans of newbie Nat than his former boss and Liverpool icon Jurgen Klopp. The revered German considers Phillips to be one of the most improved players he ever had playing for him at any stage in his managerial career, almost on par with Robert Lewandowski 😳
I revisited those ‘absolutely insane’ quotes this past week to offer a little more insight into exactly what Albion have purchased for a sum of £3m, inclusive of add-ons.
📚 Our own Baggie Bard Andy Caulton has taken out his quill again this week in order to pen something on Albion’s first summer signing. A typically brilliant and insightful read, and I’d encourage you to check it out. [Baggie Bard]
What to look out for this week
📅 A reminder that, later on this Thursday afternoon, the EFL fixtures will be made known to the public. The fixtures are released at midday, and then later in the afternoon the Baggies will be involved in the EFL Cup first round draw, too. You can discover Albion’s via BirminghamLive.
👔 Huzzah! New boss Ryan Mason will be unveiled to the press at The Hawthorns on Wednesday 2 July, at 3pm. This newsletter, edition #3, will offer a behind the scenes reflection on how the afternoon unfolds and all the important bits from Messrs Mason and Nestor.
🕐 Not necessarily something which will affect Albion, but the 30th June deadline could see a flurry of transfers around the Championship and further afield before the date arrives next Monday. Those P&S rules mean clubs’ books must be in order for the 2024/25 year by that date. Tick tock.
🤷♂️ Like last week, I’m afraid this newsletter will be in the dark by the time it lands in your inbox, but on Wednesday evening England under 21s face off in the Euros semi-final against the Netherlands and we’ll know after that whether or not Tom Fellows and co will be in the final. Should they get there, it takes place at 8pm, on Saturday (28th). You can watch on Channel 4 📺
About Woodman Corner
🐦 This is Woodman Corner, your one-stop shop for all things Albion. I’m Joe Chapman, an Albion supporter who has followed the club as a fan for 25 years but also previously as a local reporter for five years. Like what you read? Please consider subscribing.
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Thank you for reading edition #2.