West Bromwich Albion

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West Bromwich Albion forward Karlan Grant will be sidelined for up to three months after suffering a hamstring injury in the draw at Derby on Friday.

The 28-year-old limped off just eight minutes in at Pride Park and will undergo surgery in the coming days, although the Baggies remain hopeful he will return before the end of the season.

Grant has started the past 11 Championship games and appeared in each of the past 20, scoring three goals and operating on both flanks as well as through the middle.

BBC WM's Steve Hermon also understands Albion are working on a deal to bring Crystal Palace right-wing back Danny Imray in on loan before Monday's transfer deadline.

The 22-year-old made 13 appearances on loan at League One side Blackpool in the first half of the season, scoring twice and assisting two goals as well.

West Bromwich Albion are interested in Austin FC midfielder Joseph Rosales, 25, after the Honduran international previously worked under Eric Ramsay at MLS club Minnesota United. (Diez - in Spanish), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Thursday's full gossip column here.

"It was as bad a night as I've ever had in football [the 5-0 loss to Norwich]. It was time for everyone to snap out of it, and wake up in a way, and realise the situation were are in.

"We can't hide behind the manager. We've got international players in our squad... we should know better."

West Bromwich Albion skipper Jed Wallace joins the 72+ podcast to discuss a difficult season for the Baggies and the challenges that new boss Eric Ramsay has already faced since his appointment in January.

Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.

Chris Hall
Fan writer

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Any managerial change is a risk.

However, to change manager, style and formation mid-season without the financial clout to overhaul the squad is certainly a gamble.

That's what Albion did earlier this month, parting ways with Ryan Mason and his 4-2-3-1 and appointing Eric Ramsay, who immediately transitioned the Baggies to a back three (or five, depending on your perspective) and a lower possession style.

The results were not immediate.

Albion lost their first two games under Ramsay, shipping eight goals in the process, but, with important players back and more time on the training pitch to implement his methods, the Welshman saw a much-improved display earn a point at Derby on Friday night.

So, will the gamble pay off for Albion?

Goalkeeper was a huge problem position for Ryan Mason.

Josh Griffiths and Joe Wildsmith let in around 12 more goals than the data says they should have.

The club have since moved to address this issue with the signing of Max O'Leary.

So, did Albion need a new goalkeeper more than they needed a new manager?

While issues between the sticks undoubtedly contributed to Albion's poor form under Mason, it wasn't the only factor.

The defence and midfield struggled with Mason asking them to play out from the back, and opponents had started to target the Baggies' deficiencies in this area with high presses resulting in goals against.

Then there were problems with game management, with the Baggies dropping a total of 10 points in the last 15 minutes of matches.

So, it was understandable that a change was made, but the question still remains: Does Ramsay have the players to play his way?

In defence and midfield, you could argue that many are better suited to his style.

Nat Philips and Chris Mepham had their confidence sapped by Mason's desire to play through them, but Ramsay's low-possession style asks less of them in this regard.

In midfield, it seems clear that Toby Collyer was supposed to be a huge part of Mason's build-up, but the Manchester United loanee's lack of fitness, coupled with intermittent absences for Jayson Molumby and Alex Mowatt, left Ousmane Diakite often fulfilling a role he did not seem technically quipped for.

But, on Friday night, the Malian was much more the destroyer-in-chief and looked far more at home. He also carries a substantial set-piece threat, which is a vital asset to a Ramsay team.

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But there are issues.

Callum Styles is something of a hybrid full-back who should make a good wing-back, but I imagine the Baggies' coaching staff wish they could clone him so they had another on the other side.

Right wing-back has been a real problem position so far. Isaac Price and Mikey Johnston have given it a go, but both looked like a fish out of water.

Jed Wallace has looked the most at home, but has only played the role with Albion chasing the game. Whether he can be as effective from 0-0 remains to be seen.

And star man Johnston is also a problem in this shape.

The Championship's top assister has been somewhat tamed by the new system, both in his outing at right wing-back and in the narrower attacking role in which he was deployed on Friday.

The best we've seen from the Irish attacker under Ramsay was dovetailing with Samuel Iling-Junior on the left-hand side in the dynamic second-half comeback against Middlesbrough.

Albion's regular left-sided attacker, Karlan Grant, went off with a worrying-looking injury against Derby, which we hope is not serious.

If he is set for a spell on the sidelines, perhaps that could be Johnston's role for the foreseeable future.

The dramatic draw at Derby offered promise, as did the overall performance, which was much improved from the cataclysmic display against Norwich.

But if Albion are to find the kind of consistent results and performances to pull themselves clear of danger, then Ramsay must find solutions to the aforementioned quandaries in a squad that was not designed for his system.

Listen to more from Chris Hall at the Albion Analysis, external

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West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby has said players have been "too nice" during their league struggles.

A run of eight defeats in their past 11 league matches has left the Baggies 19th in the Championship, just three points and as many places above the relegation zone.

Things came to a head after an embarrassing 5-0 home defeat by Norwich last Tuesday.

"There's probably been a few strong words with each other that I won't go into detail about, but it was very much needed," Molumby told BBC Radio WM.

"I think maybe we've been too nice with each other all along.

"It's getting to the stage now where we all need to look at ourselves, ask ourselves questions and then demand more from our team-mates.

"That's the starting point from now through to the end of the season."

Chris Mepham's stoppage-time equaliser earned Albion a draw at Derby on Friday and gave Eric Ramsay his first point in his third game in charge since replacing Ryan Mason.

But Molumby has refused to blame either head coach for the team's league position.

"The previous manager did all he could, he was so invested and worked really hard for us and the responsibility has been completely on us as players," he added.

"It's up to us players on the pitch and we need to do better."

The Albion squad has to quickly get used to a new playing style under Ramsay and do not have the luxury of time to adapt, with 17 league games of the season remaining.

"Since the new manager came in, he's got his way of playing and it's different to the way we were playing, so it's tough to get a hold of, but we need to keep working, keep practising and producing more on the pitch," said Molumby.

"We're not being as aggressive, we're trying to be more compact in the middle and we need to build from that."

West Bromwich Albion head coach Eric Ramsay spoke to BBC Radio WM following Friday's 1-1 draw with Derby County at Pride Park.

"We ultimately deserved what we got. I felt it was a controlled performance and the exact performance we needed tonight," he said.

"It wasn't spectacular, but it put right a lot of the wrongs from the previous game.

"We wanted control defensively and we restricted the opposition, were very strong in that department, and carried our own threat.

"I can see very clearly how this team will and needs to be competitive, and that was the start point."

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A new initiative highlighting the work of football club charities has been launched by the English Football League (EFL).

'Scan to Smile' will be rolled out in stadiums across the EFL from Friday until the end of January, with supporters invited to scan QR codes on posters displayed around grounds.

Each scan will unlock a short, uplifting story from a person whose life has been positively impacted by the support of their local club charity.

The subjects tackled include mental health support, combating loneliness, improving physical wellbeing, employability and confidence.

The EFL said it hoped the initiative would use "the reach and influence of football to offer fans a moment of positivity on matchday".

Trevor Birch, chief executive at the EFL, said: "Behind every club are people whose lives have been positively changed through the work and dedication of their local EFL club charity.

"This initiative gives supporters the chance to see that impact first-hand and reminds us that football truly is a force for good."

West Bromwich Albion head coach Eric Ramsay said he has a "vision" for the team, but accepts it will take time to take shape.

The Baggies are 19th in the Championship table, three points clear of the relegation places, and Friday's trip to Derby County will be their third game in less that two weeks since Ramsay's appointment.

"I have a vision for the team that I think will stand us in good stead in the long run," he told BBC Radio WM.

"My standpoint will always be, it starts with the work, and the focus every day. It doesn't pay for anyone to think too much about the table, the consequences, the gravity of the situation.

"It has to be about the mornings we spend together, and how across the little prep time that we have we can start making the team feel good.

"I knew I was walking into a period of the season and a set of circumstances that was challenging, so I'm not complaining. But I'm sure everyone can empathise in that sense. It isn't easy when you're going from game to game so quickly."

Tuesday's 5-0 home thrashing by Norwich City was an eighth defeat in 10 league matches, and Ramsay's second loss in a row since taking over. He knows he needs to build back team confidence.

"A lot of the difficulty at the moment comes from the gravity of the situation.

"We have to navigate that difficulty we're having in terms of finding that solidity and sense of self, and balancing it with a recognition of what the opposition are trying to do.

"I don't want to see over the course of a season 46 different versions of ourselves according to the opposition. I want there to be a real solidity and a real assurance as to what we're doing.

"There's no magic switch that I can flick that makes the team immediately confident. Its not a case of trying to lay blame at anyone's door, but as a collective, a real sense of responsibility, and a will to meet the challenge head on.

"We are in no uncertain terms as to where we are, and what we are fighting for."

West Bromwich Albion head to Pride Park on Friday having just suffered their heaviest home defeat outside the top flight after losing 5-0 to Norwich City on Tuesday evening.

The Baggies welcome back midfielder Ousmane Diakite to their squad after a period of compassionate leave.

A victory for Derby County would move them into the top six for the first time this season.

The Rams are also looking to make it three league wins in a row for just the second time in this campaign.

• Derby have won each of their past four league games against West Brom. Only once have the Rams enjoyed a longer winning run against the Baggies in their history - a five-match streak between November 1935 and October 1937.

• Since 1920, West Brom have won just one of their 32 away league games against Derby County (D12 L19), a 1-0 success in August 2003 courtesy of a 76th-minute strike from Rob Hulse.

• Derby have won just one of their past six home league games (D2 L3), beating Middlesbrough 1-0 on New Year's Day.

• West Brom have lost their past 10 away league games. Only once have they endured a longer losing run on the road – 11 consecutive defeats between November 1890 and November 1891.

• Derby's Bobby Clark has scored two goals in his past four league games, having failed to score in any of his first 29 with Liverpool or the Rams.

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West Bromwich Albion are set to sign Bristol City goalkeeper Max O'Leary, reports BBC Radio WM.

The 29-year-old has played only five Championship matches for the Robins this season, keeping two clean sheets, and featured in a 2-1 win at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day.

He missed the start of the season having had ankle surgery after Bristol City's play-off semi-final defeat by Sheffield United in May, and has since lost the number one spot to Manchester United loanee Radek Vitek.

West Brom have alternated between goalkeepers Joe Wildsmith and Josh Griffiths this season but have already conceded eight goals in new boss Eric Ramsay's opening two games in charge.

Only Sheffield Wednesday (54) have conceded more than the Baggies' 43 goals in the Championship so far this season.

O'Leary could sign in time for West Brom's trip to Derby County on Friday (20:00 GMT) with a six-month deal on the table.

Chris Hall
Fan writer

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Club captain Jed Wallace once described being summoned to former Albion boss Carlos Corberan's office as like being sent to see the headmaster.

Fast-forward 13 months and it is very clear the discipline Corberan instilled disappeared with him when he left the building.

The Baggies' players have since chewed up and spat out Albion bosses at an alarming rate.

Eric Ramsay is the third permanent incumbent of the Throstles' hot-seat since the Spaniard took his leave just over a year ago.

The fact his two predecessors had such short tenures tells you all you need to know about how their stewardship went.

Tony Mowbray was dismissed after a disastrous Easter weekend where his players seemed to visibly surrender in Midlands derbies against Coventry and Derby.

Ryan Mason outlasted Mowbray's 17-game tenure by 10 matches, largely thanks to spirited fightbacks against Oxford and Swansea when the former Spurs coach's head appeared to be on the chopping block.

Mason's downfall seemed not to be a lack of commitment from the players but a lack of focus and discipline.

For much of the season, the Baggies topped the Championship chart for mistakes leading to opposition shots on goal, while red cards at Coventry and Hull also proved costly.

So, after their individual errors cost Mason his job, the Albion players now have their third boss in just 43 league games.

And it hasn't started well.

Common issues reared their ugly head in Ramsay's first game as Albion went 2-0 down to high-flying Middlesbrough before a spirited fightback was rendered pointless by the Baggies conceding yet another late goal – a bad habit they have not been able to shake this season.

If there was optimism to be taken from the fact the team at least achieved parity before Boro's late winner, there were no such positives to take from Tuesday night as Albion were beaten 5-0 at home by relegation rivals Norwich City.

That is Albion's heaviest home defeat outside of the top flight and the way the players rolled over and allowed the Canaries to rattle in goal after goal spoke volumes about them.

Tony Mowbray gave BBC Radio WM these telling words in his final press conference as Albion boss: "I'm not concerned if the talent is there, I'm concerned if the character is there."

The culture at Albion has to be heavily questioned at this point. Results have, for over a year now, been steadily deteriorating.

While some big players have left the club in that time, on paper there still seems to be more than enough in this squad for it to be competitive.

However, since "headmaster" Corberan left, it feels like every other incumbent of the Baggies dugout has, at best, been treated like a substitute teacher.

And some might argue the current situation is more like Lord of the Flies, where the players try to govern themselves with disastrous results.

That's not to say Ramsay can't be the man to restore order. He has currently only had two games and a mere nine days in the job after all.

But it underlines the size of the job before him and the anarchy he seems to have inherited.

It also shows, quite clearly, that the problems at Albion run much deeper than who is sitting in the dugout.

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All English Football League games across a four-day period in February will begin one minute late to raise awareness for the Every Minute Matters campaign.

The initiative will be in place for 36 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two between 5 and 9 February.

EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have been working together since May 2024 to highlight the importance of speed when it comes to performing live-saving CPR.

Later kick-off times will serve as "a stark reminder that every minute matters", the EFL said.

Bristol Rovers defender Tom Lockyer collapsed while playing for Luton Town eight minutes into the Championship play-off final against Coventry in May 2023.

Lockyer then suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch seven months later during a Premier League game at Bournemouth.

"What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador.

"Every year, more than 40,000 people in the UK suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and most of them never make it home.

"I'm here today because of the transformative power of CPR as every minute matters when it comes to saving a life.

"This February, we want everyone to get behind this life-saving initiative, learn the skills and be ready to step in because your actions could give someone else the chance I was given."

Throughout February, the Every Minute Matters campaign will call on fans to learn CPR using the BHF's online RevivR, external tool.

"Each minute without CPR reduces a person's chance of survival, so we're urging fans to learn the skills now, before you ever need them," said Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF.

EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch added: "The one minute kick-off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death."

West Bromwich Albion boss Eric Ramsay says he "knows the gravity of the situation" after the Baggies were thrashed 5-0 by Norwich at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night.

Ramsay told BBC Radio WM: "We never felt like we had any assurance or control of the game and in critical moments we just weren't good enough when it came to individual battles from a defensive perspective and certainly moments on the ball over the course of the first half which led to us feeling like we couldn't build what we wanted to build and it ultimately made it into a very one-sided night which is certainly not what I was expecting.

"I have to be really balanced in the way I think about it at the moment because I felt like on night one there was a lot of good to that performance against Middlesbrough and I came in tonight with a lot of optimism.

"I'm eight days in, it is a situation that I have to make sure I see very clearly, that I separate my time here from everything that has gone and has led up to this because ultimately, I have come in with a real sense of energy, recognising the magnitude of the challenge.

"But I've also got to recognise that this is a tricky situation and we've got to find a way through and I will lead in that way and make sure we are really positive and constructive but also it is made very clear to the players where we fell short and why.

"I know the gravity of this situation and what it's going to need and the toughness that goes with it, as a head coach and a group of staff around a group of players that are showing some fragility.

"But I've got to make sure that we support them in the right way, we make sure we are constructive, we find positives where we can find positives, we bring the negatives front and centre and we meet some of that difficulty head on."

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We asked you for your thoughts on new West Bromwich Albion boss Eric Ramsay before he took charge of his first league match on Friday.

Here is what you had to say:

Michael: Intrigued rather than excited - much rounder background than Mason and I like the fact he mapped out his own career route.

Very pleased Dennis Lawrence is with him, he was instrumental in Coventry's improvement under Mark Robins.

Do think they might struggle initially due to the weaknesses within the squad.

Kel: Is he there to manage or coach? Hopefully he will be allowed to bring all his coaching abilities to improve the team and let others manage the club.

Simon: A brave decision going with another young manager. However, Ramsay has more experience than Mason. Really excited about this appointment.

It's not how much possession you have, it's what you do with it. The thought of a more fast paced attack, a disciplined defensive structure with a definite style of play is what the Baggies have needed since Carlos left.

The fan base need to get behind him and the team and find a top 10 finish. The summer gives us a chance to reinvest in the first team and hopefully make a play-off push. COYB.

Dale: Anyone coming into our club have their hands tied. The squad needs improvement, which as Albion fans know we don't spend and recruitment has been poor in recent years too, so having a young manger could yet again backfire. What's needed is someone with experience to deal with what they have and deal with little to no money spent.

Andy: We took Mason from a coaching role with no previous managerial experience and now Ramsay who's from the same cohort. I'll back him, but it seems to be repeating the error?

Nick: I really hope that this was the appointment they wanted to make during the summer. Eric has a clear pedigree of managing a team for more than a handful of interim games. His results and experience far outweigh Ryan Mason's.

Eric was on the radar of many other clubs wishing to follow the trend for young coaches, like the other Albion. So I am hopeful rather than confident that we can climb the table to a respectful position. Then build on that for the 2026-27 season.

I hope that we do not suffer again in the future that when success comes our coach is tempted away to a bigger club.

Richard: Seems to be a good appointment, his record seems decent and I like he is both young and experienced. I'm glad the club are still being bold and sticking to their guns by insisting on young, hungry talent.

Euan: I'm a bit nervous, particularly considering the difficulties some other coaches have had translating MLS success to elsewhere.

The owners clearly want these young coaches with new ideas and less baggage for whatever reason. Particularly if Ramsay can develop our young players, and galvanise others out of favour with Mason (eg. Dike, Griffiths, Bielik), there is a lot to be excited about. If Ramsay knows of any gems, let's hope the club listen and back him if we have the cash.

Maybe a good cup run, and a stabilised season is all we can hope for, with (sadly) next season the big focus now.

Norwich City could escape the bottom three if they take victory against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Canaries are just one point shy of safety and could rise out of the relegation zone with just a draw before Portsmouth play Watford on Wednesday.

Albion will also want something from the game as new boss Eric Ramsay looks to take his first points since his appointment on 11 January.

• After their 1-0 win in October, West Brom could complete their first league double over Norwich City since 2007-08.

• Norwich are winless in their last four league visits to West Brom (D2 L2) since a 1-0 victory in the Premier League in March 2016.

• West Brom have only won one of their last 10 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (D2 L7), although that was against Norwich in October (1-0).

• Norwich have only won one of their last 12 league matches played on a Tuesday (D7 L4), a 6-1 win over Plymouth in November 2024.