Mowbray: Looking to strengthen squad in close season

WEST BROM TRANSFERS
Ins: Roman Bednar - £2.3m
Luke Moore - £3.5m
Michel Danek - Undisc
Kim Do-Heon - £550,000
Gianni Zuiverloon - £3.2m
Outs:
Zoltan Gera - free
Luke Steele - free
Martin Albrechtsen - free
Kevin Phillips - free

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It has been a busy summer at The Hawthorns so far, with West Brom boss Tony Mowbray preparing his battle-plan for Premier League survival. In the latest in our Shaping up for the Season series, Simon Wilkes takes an in-depth look at what they'll need to survive in the top tier.

Introduction

The Baggies have become something of a yo-yo club in recent seasons, constantly proving they're too good for the Championship and not quite up to the Premier League.

They enjoyed top-flight campaigns in 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2005-06 but suffered relegation in two of the three seasons, pulling off a final-day 'Great Escape' under Bryan Robson in 2005, only to fall back into England's second tier the following season.

Gary Megson transformed the club during a successful spell in the Hawthorns hot-seat, but was found out tactically when doing battle with the likes of Messrs Ferguson and Wenger - as did United legend Robson.

Times have changed, though, and the Baggies are now ready to establish themselves in the Premier League thanks to Tony Mowbray.

The former Middlesbrough centre-back arrived in the Black Country with a reputation for producing flowing football, having transformed Hibernian into a genuine rival for the Old Firm giants.

Mowbray was a commanding physical presence on the pitch, but is intelligent, astute and calm off it - and demands his teams stick to his attacking principles at all times.

That outlook was rewarded last season as the Baggies responded to losing the 2006-07 play-off final to Derby at Wembley by winning the Championship title in 2007-08 and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, scoring over 100 goals in all competitions along the way.

Now the ultimate test will be to keep that attacking momentum going, as in recent seasons the likes of Watford and Sunderland have proved defensive resilience is not enough to stay up - you need to score goals.

What's happened so far

Mowbray may have been a defender in his playing days, but has spent of his time recruiting forwards so far this summer. Strikers Luke Moore and Roman Bednar have arrived from Aston Villa and Hearts respectively for a combined £5.8million.

Veteran hitman Kevin Phillips failed to agree a new contract and joined Birmingham on a two-year deal, but although Mowbray also has Ishmael Miller, Craig Beattie, Sherjill MacDonald and Bartosz Slusarski fighting for forward roles, he is expected to sign another striker, with Shola Ameobi, Milan Baros and Louis Saha all linked to the club.

Beattie, MacDonald and Slusarski are expected to leave on season-long loans or permanent deals this summer.

Goalkeeper Scott Carson arrived on a permanent £3.25m move from Liverpool to push veteran Dean Kiely for the first-team jersey, while keeper Michel Danek and midfield playmaker Kim Do-Heon, who recently netted a hat-trick for South Korea, have had loan deals turned into permanent ones, and young winger Graham Dorrans is one for the future having signed from Livingston.

Mowbray did miss out on wideman Pat McCourt, though, after the Derry man turned his back on Albion in favour of a 'dream' move to Celtic.

And after seeing Martin Albrechtsen join Zoltan Gera (Fulham) and Phillips in leaving on free transfers, with the Dane heading to Derby, the Albion gaffer signed Dutch defender Gianni Zuiverloon for £3.2million from Heerenveen and left-back Marek Cech from Porto for £1.4m.

Hungary midfielder Gera's move to Fulham has created a huge void on Albion's right wing. Derby's Giles Barnes has been mentioned as a possible replacement, but it appears more likely that James Morrison will be first-choice on the right flank with Mowbray seemingly more interested in strengthening his central midfield options.

Swansea's Ferrie Bodde and Wigan's Michael Brown are on Albion's radar as Mowbray looks to add some bite to his midfield. The boss has always insisted he needs a balance of 'soldiers and artists' in his line-up, with the likes of Greening, Koren, Brunt, Teixeira and Morrison falling comfortably into the latter category.

Polish midfielder Radoslaw Majewski is also on Mowbray's wanted list, but his club Groclin Dyskobalia rate him in the £2million bracket, with Albion looking at a deal nearer to half that amount.

What they need

Mowbray's men scored goals for fun last season, but also shipped them at an alarming rate. Left-backs Paul Robinson and Neil Clement have played in the top flight before, but the rest of defence still needs serious strengthening despite the captures of Zuiverloon and Cech.

In defence, Bolton's Abdoulaye Meite and Charlton's Madjid Bougherra have emerged as Mowbray's top centre-back targets as Leon Barnett has bags of potential but may find the step up a stiff test.

What they'll get

Mowbray's interest in Ameobi has cooled but he still wants another striker, with Saha an outside option.

Meite and Bougherra are very likely to be wearing a Albion shirt at The Emirates on the opening day as they are both within the club's price range, but Song and Traore are more likely to stay with the Gunners.

Fan's view - Steve Yates

A fantastic campaign and cup run has lifted expectations for a spirited season in the Premier League.

The promise of TV mega millions added to Curtis Davies' transfer and a theoretical profit on player sales last year has us hoping for miracles. Then the reality, before we've made any significant move in the transfer market, we lose Gera to a team many expect to see fighting for survival alongside us. A loss in many ways, out of contract and no fee involved which ultimately means we have to use some of our kitty just to restore the quality in the squad. However, in Mowbray we trust, the man is a legend already, a refreshing management style and a brand of football not seen for many years has us all feeling optimistic.

Many of us have muted the need for a holding midfielder as an option particularly away from home and Olofinjana is affordable, unproven, but we cant afford Makelele or Senna so we have to expect some unproven players at this level to be signed. Cattermole may represent a better target.

Also desperately needed are a tall dominant centre-back and a keeper who can handle high balls and set pieces. Sheff Wednesday's Mark Beevers would be my choice, but with all due respect 4 or 5 quality signings rather than 8 squad players is what I think will make the difference.

Hopefully Mowbray will convince some Premier League teams to lend us a bit of quality via season-long loans.

As a club we remain prudent and realistic, we have a manager capable of getting the best from his players, loyal fans who will fill the stadium this season and an expectation of survival. Whatever happens our target is the same, stay out of the bottom three and I predict a 16th-placed finish.

What do you think of Mowbray's moves so far? Let us know using the form below.