Carlos Corberan situation must interest some at West Brom right now | OneFootball

West Brom fans may welcome a return to Carlos Corberan given his slump at Valencia amid Ryan Mason’s struggles at The Hawthorns.

West Brom’s struggles under Ryan Mason continued after a drab 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

Another uninspiring performance at The Hawthorns leaves Albion 12th in the Championship table after 13 league games, with the Black Country outfit tasting victory just twice from their last nine second-tier outings.

And frustration is starting to set in for Albion supporters towards Mason, who has been very pragmatic when setting up his teams and failed to make many proactive decisions during his short tenure in the dugout.

The Baggies faithful have been left exasperated by a rancid style of play, with the system failing to get the team clicking in the final third despite the club possessing some appealing forward options at this level.

This was demonstrated against the Owls, as Mason’s men only recorded six shots on target despite having almost 62% possession.

Over the last nine games, West Brom have only scored six goals, with Mason failing to revert away from a 4-2-3-1 system that is clearly having next to no impact.

While Mason has been stretched by the lack of personnel available in recent weeks, there is still enough there to tweak and find a style that could see an upturn in results, and if it doesn’t change, you feel his first-ever managerial stint will go up in flames.

The next two games could prove pivotal to Mason’s future as another international break rolls around. Albion travel to The Valley to take on high-flying Charlton Athletic in midweek while they host another relegation candidate in Oxford United on the weekend.

A failure to win any of those two games could see the ex-Tottenham Hotspur coach face the axe, with the hierarchy potentially looking over at the South Coast to see what Southampton have done with their young boss Will Still.

Over the course of the last few years, the one West Brom manager with the most success was Carlos Corberan.

The Spaniard arrived at The Hawthorns in October 2022, taking over a side bereft of confidence and sitting 23rd in the Championship after two wins in 16 league matches under Steve Bruce.

He then completely transformed the club’s fortunes, as the side won nine of his first 10 matches in charge before finishing just shy of a place in the top six.

The following season saw Corberan guide West Brom to the play-offs, but they were beaten in the semi-final by Southampton over two legs.

And in his third season, Corberan waved goodbye to the club at Christmas, electing to depart to join his boyhood Spanish side Valencia. The Baggies squad felt his departure as they slumped away from the play-off chasing pack with Tony Mowbray at the helm.

But now Corberan is experiencing testing times in Spain, with questions about his future starting to be raised, and as Mason is getting nearer to the exit door at Albion, supporters may have one eye on his situation should the club need to appoint a successor.

Carlos Corberan’s struggles at Valencia

Just like at West Brom, Carlos Corberan inherited a Valencia side that were staring down the barrel of relegation out of the Spanish top-flight, while having financial issues.

And once again, the ex-Huddersfield Town boss rallied his troops and propelled them up the La Liga table, as Valencia finished 12th.

But this season has seen Corberan’s men perform poorly. A 4-0 defeat over the weekend to Real Madrid has seen Valencia slump to a fourth defeat in five league games, with the side scoring just two goals in that period.

After 11 league matches, Valencia find themselves in the bottom three on goal difference, but there’s a fear they may get cut adrift from safety if this kind of form carries on.

Naturally, after a run of desperately poor results, questions about Corberan’s future at the club are surfacing, with a report by One Football revealing the 42-year-old may have just two games against Real Betis and Levante to save his job.

On social media, supporters from both Southampton and Wolves have been calling for Corberan to be considered for their vacancies should he depart eastern Spain, although a move to the latter and their bitter Black Country rivals would be a dagger into the hearts of Albion fans.

West Brom may consider Carlos Corberan return if he becomes available

Despite trying to allow for patience with Ryan Mason in his first full-time managerial role, the West Brom team looks like it’s regressing at an alarming rate, and the Baggies boss is failing to do much to try and rectify the situation.

The football of his team is lifeless, slow and predictable, and a continuation of this could see the club walking into a relegation battle, particularly when they can’t overcome a team stranded at the bottom of the league at home.

While Corberan’s style of play at The Hawthorns was far from inspiring either, he did have the ability to grind out results and make his team hard to beat.

Dealing with a struggling financial backdrop, Corberan got the best out of the playing squad he inherited, developing a system that made the Baggies rock solid at the back and meant more often than not, they only had to score one goal to win a game.

Under Mason, the Albion team is regularly conceding despite revamping the backline, and the goals at the top end of the pitch are just not coming regularly enough for the team to consistently win games.

And with the fanbase turning on the boss, it seems inevitable at this moment in time that Mason won’t be at the club come the turn of the new year.

Whether Corberan would return to the Baggies, though, is another matter. The Spaniard grew increasingly frustrated himself by the supporters’ discontent at the playing style, while the hierarchy have been insistent on wanting to watch their team play front-foot football, although that has not managed to come to fruition under Mason.

Jobs at Southampton or Wolves do look more appealing than West Brom at the moment. Despite Southampton’s woes, they remain one of the heavyweights in the division from a financial perspective, while Wolves remain in the Premier League for now, and could provide an opportunity for Corberan to work his magic in the top-flight.

Time will only tell whether timing could merge Corberan and West Brom back together, but some may be hoping it happens as the club has been on a downwards spiral ever since the Spaniard departed.