West Brom urged to appoint Man Utd icon if Ryan Mason is sacked | OneFootball

FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has urged the Baggies to consider replacing Ryan Mason with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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 boss Ryan Mason is under mounting pressure to save his job at The Hawthorns after a desperately poor start to his first season in full-time management.

Mason has really struggled to get his Albion side showing consistency in both results and performances, with the Baggies now sitting 16th in the league table after 20 matches.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is proving to be an unpopular figure among the West Brom faithful himself, with supporters often left scratching their heads at the playing style, tactics and in-game management.

Their latest loss at Southampton in midweek made it seven straight away defeats on the spin, while the team have won just four games of their last 16 matches.

It’s grim reading under Mason’s guidance, with many supporters now justified for wanting a change in the dugout.

It does appear Mason will be given Friday evening’s clash against Sheffield United to inspire an upturn in results, but you feel his position is slowly becoming untenable, particularly with this form going way below the standards set of the football club.

If things go from bad to worse against the Blades, then Albion could be set to make a change of coach for the fourth time under Patel’s ownership.

If this happens, then the Baggies must strive for a replacement who has extensive experience of managing in the Championship and has a habit of getting teams towards the top end of the table.

With this news in mind, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on who he would like to see replace Mason, should the hierarchy pull the trigger on the current boss.

West Brom advised to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjær to replace Ryan Mason

Speaking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess has admitted West Brom do have some appealing options to replace Ryan Mason with, and believes Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the man to deliver long-term success at The Hawthorns.

Callum said: “I think there are a few decent options.

“You’ve got Michael Carrick out of work since his time at Middlesbrough, Dave Challinor at Stockport County, who has done a great job of taking them through the leagues.

“But after his comments on The Overlap where he said he was hoping to take on a Championship job, I’d be tempted to try and get Ole Gunnar Solskjær in the Albion hotseat.

“He did a really great job on the scale of things at Manchester United, and given how things have unfolded there since his departure, probably backs his claim even more after guiding them to second place.

“Then after taking a long time out of work before getting the job at Besiktas, if I remember correctly, he had about a 50% win rate, around that sort of number before he departed there as well.

“Of course, you look at his time at Cardiff City, even though it was almost a decade ago, he has some experience in the Championship, although he didn’t do the greatest, of course, getting relegated from the Premier League and not being able to turn the ship around there, but I think he’s definitely someone worth giving a call to and seeing if he wanted to take the job.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjær's passion for Championship work makes him an ideal candidate for West Brom

If West Brom were to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjær as Ryan Mason’s replacement at The Hawthorns, then they would be getting a boss who is desperate to get back into work, prove himself and lead the club to success.

In the Stick to Football podcast with Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott, Solskjær opened up about a return to management, and said he would be willing to manage in the Championship, admitting: "I'm looking, I'm open.

"When my kids ask me (where), I'm telling them mid-Championship and up, but I’m a football man. Is it Norway? Sweden? It’s about working with people. When I played Football Manager and Championship Manager, I like to defy the odds."

His stints at Manchester United and Besiktas make for impressive reading. Solskjær became the third-fastest United manager in the club’s history to reach 50 wins, while he achieved third and second-placed finishes in the top-flight, something that seems far away from United’s clutches right now.

And after joining Turkish giants Besiktas in January 2025, he was dismissed after finishing fourth and only managing a Europa League qualification place, although he did possess a win percentage of 52.17%.

The only concern for Albion would be Solskjær's previous failed stint in the Championship with Cardiff City. The Norwegian failed to help the Bluebirds avoid relegation from the Premier League in 2014, before leaving the Welsh side after eight months following a poor start to life in the second-tier.

However, that was a long time ago, and the 52-year-old has had a lot of time to develop and improve as a manager, with experiences at the likes of Man Utd and Besiktas standing him in very good stead should he have another crack at managing in the Championship.

Solskjær certainly has a very impressive pedigree that the Albion hierarchy will admire, and after appointing Mason, who had no prior experience in management, it would certainly be a mighty step-up that could help lead the club up the Championship table in the coming months.