West Brom: 'Really disappointing' verdict lands on Tony Mowbray, Shilen Patel controversy | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion have been rocked by comments made by Tony Mowbray against Shilen Patel's ownership at The Hawthorns...

Current Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has spoken out about the ownership issues at West Bromwich Albion since departing the club in April 2025.

Having managed West Bromwich Albion for just shy of three years in his first stint, Tony Mowbray was reappointed head coach of the Baggies on a two-and-a-half-year contract. However, in April 2025, Mowbray was dismissed by West Brom after a run of poor results.

He has been without a job since then, having only just taken the role at Blackburn Rovers earlier this month in June 2026. He won just five of his 17 games in those three months and was swiftly sacked, in spite of having penned a two-and-a-half-year contract at The Hawthorns.

Since then, Mowbray has hit out at West Brom's ownership, citing that there were even attempts to meddle with the players he selected on a matchday. He hit out at that aspect, which perhaps now explains why the relationship quickly broke down and he lasted just three months in charge.

The West Brom verdict on Tony Mowbray's Shilen Patel comments

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FLW's West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess was asked about the fact Mowbray has opened up on his second stint at West Brom, claiming that the hierarchy would try and influence team selection.

Also, that there was a lot of AI usage and a lack of transparency within recruitment. He was asked for his thoughts, whether it concerns him and what he makes of it all under Shilen Patel as well.

He responded: "It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of Mowbray's comments about his time at Albion were the workings of Andrew Nestor, who was a previously self-declared president of the club. He, of course, left in January.

"He had a lot of references to data and game model during his time at Albion, which he believes led to the appointment of Ryan Mason. A kind of disagreement on where things were taking the club saw his departure after Mason left as well.

"I think that with a lot of his comments during those statements during his time with the club where he spoke about data a lot, I think with Mowbray's references to AI, I think it might have been more the works of him.

"Where he was placed in charge by Patel to oversee a lot of ongoings at the club. I think from Mowbray's point of view, he'll have been disappointed by how his time at Albion unfolded.

"It's really disappointing how we weren't able to kick on when we had a much better team than we had the last two seasons, last season, and probably going into this season as well.

"Personally, I think that, hopefully, these problems are no longer at the club."

Why West Brom fans should not care about Tony Mowbray's comments

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Patel's tenure as West Brom owner has been largely positive since completing his takeover of the club in early 2024. He inherited a difficult situation, with supporters frustrated by years of uncertainty under the previous ownership of Guochuan Lai.

Inarguably, despite a difficult 2025/26, he has quickly brought greater stability to The Hawthorns off the pitch. Patel has overseen improvements behind the scenes, backed efforts to modernise the club's operations, and absolutely demonstrated a commitment to creating a more sustainable future.

There have, of course, been challenges along the way. West Brom have yet to achieve their ultimate goal of returning to the Premier League, while some managerial and recruitment decisions have attracted scrutiny. That's potentially why Mowbray is bitter about his departure and perhaps his comments should be taken with a pinch of salt.

However, the overall direction of travel appears encouraging despite the league finish last season. Financial concerns have eased immensely, communication with supporters has improved, and there is a growing sense that the club is on firmer footing than it has been for several years.

The club will be eyeing the top half after their points deduction last season, which is why West Brom fans should not be overly concerned by Mowbray's frustration and not working out well with them back in 2025.