West Brom have enjoyed a bright start to the 2025-26 Championship campaign, but will need to demonstrate their resilience under Ryan Mason.
The Baggies slipped to a second straight loss after falling 2-1 at the Riverside Stadium to Middlesbrough, with David Strelec and Kaly Sene on the scoresheet for the hosts, while a late Aune Heggebo header for the visitors proved too little, too late.
Once again, Albion failed to show a ruthless edge in the attacking third despite dominating possession, while Boro showcased a clinical streak, ruthlessly adding their second goal just before Mason was set to introduce Mikey Johnston and Toby Collyer from the bench.
There was disapproval before the match when Mason revealed his lineup, with the former Tottenham Hotspur coach opting for a cautious approach by starting Ousmane Diakite over Mikey Johnston in the lone alteration from their home defeat to Derby County.
Fans were inevitably frustrated by such a defensive selection, and those feelings only deepened as the Baggies were unable to take anything from a crucial clash against a promotion contender.
As a young manager, Mason must be able to learn from his errors, and he should look to implement a key adjustment that will be vital to earning a positive result against another promotion rival in Leicester City, as Albion face the Foxes on Friday night at The Hawthorns.
Ryan Mason’s defensive West Brom strategy proved costly v Middlesbrough:
As mentioned above, Ryan Mason decided to make just the one tweak from their home loss to Derby County, but it was a significant one as Ousmane Diakite replaced Mikey Johnston in an attempt to reinforce the midfield against league leaders Middlesbrough.
This meant Isaac Price operated on the left wing, with Jayson Molumby pushing further forward when Albion had the ball, while supporting Diakite and Alex Mowatt to try to absorb the hosts’ pressure.
But the plan fell flat. The Albion XI were sluggish in the first half and rarely threatened the Middlesbrough goal, with Nat Phillips coming closest early on after a scramble.
Mason’s side looked quite uncoordinated, conceding a careless opening goal after leaving space in the six-yard box for David Strelec to convert, and while the visitors had plenty of possession, there was minimal penetration in the final third.
Coming out for the second half, Mason made no changes to his XI in hopes of seeing a reaction, but after another 15 minutes of lifeless football, Mikey Johnston and Toby Collyer were set to come on, only for Boro to double their lead shortly before they could enter.
After adding more attack-minded players into the mix, the Baggies began to look a more threatening side and caused problems for the Boro backline, who weren’t convincing and showed some weaknesses when Albion increased the tempo.
In the final quarter, Josh Maja was also introduced, and after sustained pressure, the Baggies cut the deficit through a late Aune Heggebo header, but there wasn’t enough time to secure a point.
West Brom showed that with more adventurous players on the pitch, they can challenge and trouble any side in the league, so it was inevitably disappointing for everyone connected with Albion to see such a cautious approach when the club needed to respond to their first defeat of the season.
Ryan Mason must take the game to Leicester City:
Ryan Mason must now recognize and correct his mistakes. He is bound to get some calls wrong being so inexperienced as a full-time head coach, but if he can prove he is learning on the job, then Albion fans will remain hopeful that he is the right man to guide the club forward under the Shilen Patel project.
From this, Mason should make a number of changes to the Albion XI to attack Leicester and give themselves a strong chance of collecting three points.
At home, Albion must be proactive and determined to control possession, so their most inventive players should get the nod and aim to make an impact to get their form back on track.
This encounter should see starts for the likes of Josh Maja to support Aune Heggebo up front, while Mikey Johnston and Samuel Iling-Junior must be included from the start to provide the Baggies with much-needed width and to test the Foxes’ full-backs all evening.
Meanwhile, George Campbell doesn’t appear to be the solution at right-back despite impressing a few weeks ago at Stoke City, so this seems the perfect chance to field a more natural right-back and hand Alfie Gilchrist his debut in the blue and white stripes.
The same applies to Charlie Taylor. Callum Styles has been filling in at left-back for some time now, and could be better suited moving into midfield to offer more attacking impetus from his natural role, while Taylor is such a seasoned presence and would add even more composure to the Baggies’ defense.
This is something Mason must weigh ahead of their fixture under the lights against Leicester if they are serious about grabbing three points and firmly rejoining the promotion race, otherwise it could be another long night in the Black Country and early doubts may creep in about whether the 34-year-old is the right manager to bring success.