The glaring reason why West Brom sacked Ryan Mason | OneFootball

Ryan Mason was sacked by West Brom on Tuesday morning after just over seven months in charge of the Baggies, and it's no surprise why.

Ryan Mason has been sacked by West Bromwich Albion following a late 2-1 defeat to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday evening, with the Baggies now hunting for a new manager.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City midfielder took charge of the West Midlands outfit in June following Tony Mowbray's dismissal just weeks before the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign, but Mason was unable to lead his side towards the top six of the Championship.

Instead, West Brom have found themselves in a relegation scrap at the bottom of the second tier, with their loss against Leicester leaving them just seven points clear of the bottom three in 18th place.

The Baggies are now looking for their fourth permanent manager in just over a year, but Mason was on borrowed time with one clear issue plaguing his future at The Hawthorns, and now the incoming boss in B71 has to turn the situation around.

West Brom's away form left Shilen Patel with one option regarding Ryan Mason

After missing out on the play-offs last season, bringing in a new head coach with very little experience was a risk, but a strong start saw a lot of those question marks disappear.

However, Mason was unable to crack the away form, and West Brom started to suffer. The Baggies lost 10 away games in a row before the 34-year-old parted ways with the club on Tuesday morning, a run that stretched back to the start of October.

Only Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth have picked up fewer points on the road in 2025/26, with West Brom's record of three wins, 11 defeats and no draws from their 14 away games leaving them 10 points behind the play-off places.

With a trip to Derby County their next away adventure, chairman Shilen Patel decided now was the right time to let go of Mason, with the Rams boasting an impressive record against Albion over the years - winning all six of the two sides' last six meetings in all competitions.

Turning the club's away form around is the priority for the incoming manager, and while responsibility ultimately lies at the feet of the one in the dugout, the players must also show more in their upcoming matches.

Mason can perhaps find himself a tad unfortunate though, given the circumstances of their defeat against Leicester. The Baggies were dominant in the second half at the King Power Stadium and should've really come away with all three points from the contest, yet were punished for their wayward finishing in stoppage time, with Abdul Fatawu's volley securing a last-gasp win for the Foxes.

West Brom's next five away Championship fixtures

The FA Cup third round gives West Brom a break from their torrid league form this weekend, but Albion will be on the road on Sunday afternoon as they face fellow Championship side Swansea City in South Wales.

Nevertheless, it will be in the league where Mason's successor will be keen to find improvements, starting against Middlesbrough at home on January 16.

While their home form has been steady, it is on the road where the challenge lies, with Derby their next trip away from The Hawthorns.

Relegation-threatened Portsmouth then await the Baggies at Fratton Park, before they visit Birmingham, Oxford United and Sheffield United. All five of these games are against sides in the bottom half of the division, and supporters will fancy their chances - especially against Pompey and the U's.

Moreover, with the Championship still tightly packed together in mid-table, the play-offs certainly are not out of reach and if the incoming head coach can find a solution to West Brom's problems away from home, then a top six finish is still a possibility.

They do however need to get this next managerial appointment right - the experimental hire of Mason hasn't worked, and a more experienced figure could now be turned to to try and get the best ouf of the current Baggies squad.