New manager hunt led Bilkul to Tony Mowbray after West Brom's area to upgrade revealed
West Bromwich Albion had Tony Mowbray in mind for months before Carlos Corberan's departure - and they proceeded with his appointment once all parties had established that the returning head coach was medically clear to return to work. Mowbray was announced as Corberan's successor on Friday night and officially unveiled on Monday.
Albion owners Bilkul spent three weeks sifting through applications and identifying the suitable recruit; they'd whittled their shortlist down by the beginning of January and, once it became clear that Mowbray had received the green light following almost 12 months of suffering from bowel cancer, they pressed on with reinstating the 61-year-old, who left the club initially in 2009.
Mowbray ticked an awful lot of boxes for Albion; not only were there the original ties with the club, of which many supporters still reflect fondly for the style of football and success on the pitch, but in the intervening period he has proven time and again at various clubs that he has been able to reinvent and tease strong performances and results from the squads he's worked with.
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For Albion, who were the subject of much contact while in between managers, the process has been extensive, but Bilkul had laid the groundwork before Valencia had even made contact with Corberan just before Christmas.
"We really stuck to our plan," sporting director Andrew Nestor explained. "This is a process that started months ago, and I say that in a way like when we do squad planning - you may have players you like, but you still always plan for the future. It's the same with coaching and really the entire sporting department. Since we've taken over, we were working on what the structure looks like, the type of culture we want to build here, the type of people we want to have in the building.
"Once it was confirmed that our head coach was leaving, we were in a position where we were ready to start our process. That process revolved around a number of factors. Most importantly for us was finding a head coach who really fits our game model and playing style. You can't change too much overnight.
"You certainly don't want to have this sort of change disrupt long-term squad planning. Then it was looking for someone more attacking-minded. That was an area that we wanted to improve. From there, it's really finding the right fit in terms of culture, personality, man management style and those types of things.
"We had done a lot of research globally on head coaches, really trying to get a better sense for performance, understanding underlying conditions of those performances. Points per game and table position isn't always going to tell you the full story. You have to know what's going on with the squads that the coaches have, budgets, other circumstances. Tony's numbers were amongst the best of any coaches we've seen in recent years. He was at the top of the list and one of the first calls we made."
While the familiarity Albion and Mowbray share can be classed as a positive as he seeks to hit the ground running, it had zero bearing on the recruitment process, led by Nestor and head of football operations Ian Pearce. Simply, it was Mowbray's track record - and the way he wants his teams to play, something Albion are keen to tap into after the more conservative approach adopted by Corberan.
"It's a unique story," Nestor added. "Of course, having the history and ties to the club is a nice touch. It's certainly not why we gave Tony the call. The call was because of his recent performances, whether it's Blackburn, Sunderland, Blues. They ranked amongst the best in terms of uplift of player performances individually, squad expectations versus how the squads did.
"That's why we gave him the call, but of course, finding that right fit, the right person. A head coach is more than just a tactician. That's someone who has to manage a group of men every day, different personalities, different communication styles. You need someone who can adapt to that very well. Then, of course, your head coach is almost like a figurehead of the club. That's the image that gets put forward to the public and to your supporters.
"Of course, we want that to be someone that we highly regard. The structure's there, defensively, we're very strong. We wanted to see a bit of an improvement on the attacking side and the style of play that gets the supporters excited and out of their seats, but ultimately helps us win games."
