'You’d be silly' – Claim made on potential West Brom return for Carlos Corberan | OneFootball

FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has spoken about whether he would welcome Carlos Corberan back to The Hawthorns to replace Ryan Mason.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Brom are on the lookout for a new manager after parting ways with Ryan Mason earlier this week, and there will undoubtedly be an abundance of options on Albion's shortlist.

The ex-Tottenham and Hull City midfielder’s last game in the Albion dugout was a 2-1 defeat at Leicester City, where the Baggies were very unfortunate to be on the losing side after being so dominant in the second period.

But a thumping volley from Abdul Fatawu right at the death condemned the Black Country outfit to a 10th straight defeat on the road, matching a club record that was set 99 years ago.

It left Mason’s position untenable, with controlling shareholder Shilen Patel now searching for his third permanent manager since Carlos Corberan exited the club in December 2024.

Mason leaves Albion languishing 18th in the Championship table and seven points off the bottom three, although promotion is not out of the question either, as the Black Country outfit sit just 10 points outside the top six.

With rumours beginning to swirl about who could be the next man to take over the hotseat at The Hawthorns, some Albion fans will be wondering whether Carlos Corberan could make a return to the Black Country, particularly when his future at boyhood club Valencia is under serious threat.

Valencia are currently on the cusp of dropping into the bottom three under the Spaniard’s guidance in La Liga, with supporters aiming their frustrations at the 42-year-old following a damaging 4-1 defeat away at Celta Vigo at the beginning of the year.

Calls for Corberan to resign were directed towards the boss, and if he was relieved of his duties soon, he could be on Albion’s shortlist to return just over a year after departing.

Some Baggies supporters are bound to welcome the appointment given the fact he lifted the club off the foot of the Championship table to just outside the top six when replacing Steve Bruce, and that kind of transformation is needed once again if Albion are to taste any success this term.

With this in mind, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on whether he would welcome Corberan back to The Hawthorns, should he exit his role at Valencia.

West Brom would be “silly to say no” to Carlos Corberan return

Speaking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess believes West Brom should welcome Carlos Corberan back to the club if the opportunity became available, believing he would be the best manager in the second-tier if he returned.

When asked about a Corberan return, Callum said: “I think with the position we’re in, you’d be silly to say no to taking Corberan back.

“He took us over in a much worse position than we were when Steve Bruce had us rooted to the bottom of the Championship table, then getting us on the verge of the play-offs by the end of the season.

“There may be some unwillingness to take him back given the amount of draws in his last season in charge, but I think he did well after initially taking over at Valencia.

“In the summer he had some of his best players sold, Cristhian Mosquera, whose gone to Arsenal, sold cheaply, and he’s been left to deal with the rubble that was left over to him, and of course it’s not been going that well this season, which has led to circumstances deteriorating.

“I’d imagine that you’d see Corberan in for Premier League jobs, or in the summer, if he’s still available, teams that have been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, because I’d definitely have him as one of, if not the best manager in the league.

“So yeah, of course I’d want him back.”

West Brom supporters will always be grateful to Carlos Corberan for coming into the club at a desperate time and returning them to being promotion contenders.

After inheriting a side bottom of the Championship under Steve Bruce, Corberan got the team on a run of nine wins in his opening 10 league games in charge and narrowly missing out on a place inside the top six, a remarkable feat in itself.

And in the following term, the Baggies did make the play-offs, eventually being beaten by Southampton in the semi-final, but Corberan was hamstrung in the forward department, resorted to playing Jed Wallace as the leading striker.

But after some time, supporters did begin to grate with Corberan’s meticulous style of play, with some finding it too slow and dull to watch as there was a big emphasis on recycling the ball at the back and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, which sometimes, never came.

There was a feeling that the Spaniard had taken the West Brom team as far as he possibly could, and his strained relationship with the fans was a big reason for him departing before Christmas in 2024 to take up the job at his boyhood club Valencia.

There is also the saying of ‘you should never go back’, demonstrated by Tony Mowbray’s disastrous return to West Brom last season, which saw the club’s hopes of finishing inside the play-offs vanish under his guidance.

So from this, you wouldn’t envisage Corberan would be jumping at the chance to return to B71, and if he was to return to England, he would be eyeing up a role either in the Premier League or at a side who has a strong chance of being towards the top end of the Championship.