West Brom academy rebuild is showing signs of success

But Albion are showing change can be a good thing after the under-18s thrashed Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup.

The Baggies thumped the Londoners 5-0 – despite playing a chunk of the game with 10 men.

Managed by Peter Gilbert, they are now hoping to do even better than they did in 2019 – when they reached the semi-finals of the competition.

Their success has arrived despite the academy undergoing some large-scale changes in recent years.

For over a decade, the Baggies youth set-up was widely regarded as the best in the West Midlands and one of the best in the country.

But neighbours Villa weren’t enjoying the same success.

Everyone knows about Jack Grealish. But with the exception of Gabby Agbonlahor, there aren’t many local lads that have made a significant impact on Villa’s first-team in recent times. With those in B6 having looked upon Albion’s academy with envy for a number of years, Villa decided to hire some of Albion’s senior staff.

Mark Harrison ended a 13-year association at The Hawthorns to become their academy manager in 2019. Talent spotter Steve Hopcroft also made the switch.

Those departures led to concern amongst Albion’s fanbase.

But within the corridors of the Baggies’ Walsall training base, it is understood key figures at the club already felt the academy needed modernising and taking into a new direction.

By September 2018, Luke Dowling had arrived as the new sporting and technical director. He wanted to modernise how the club developed its young talent.

And that led to a recruitment drive that saw the Baggies snap up some of the most exciting and in-demand staff in the country. Richard Stevens was appointed academy manager after 12 successful years at Coventry where he developed the likes of Callum Wilson and James Maddison.

Baggies favourite Boaz Myhill joined as a goalkeeping coach.

Club legend James Morrison – recently promoted to be part of Sam Allardyce’s backroom team – began his coaching journey with Albion’s youngsters.

While the club also appointed former Blues midfielder Mick Halsall as head of academy coaching, a man who discovered Troy Deeney, Scott Dann, Jamie Paterson and Matty Fryatt when working as a youth coach at Walsall.

All those additions helped breathe new life into Albion’s academy. But there was another man they were desperate to keep.

Kevin Dove was the scout who, somewhat under the radar, first spotted Sam Field, Rayhaan Tulloch, Kemar Roofe, and Romaine Sawyers.

He had been set to retire. But instead of allowing that to happen, Stevens promoted him to academy recruitment officer.

Those changes have allowed Albion to retain some crucial experience whilst also bringing fresh ideas into the club.

And it has ensured the club’s academy is an excellent place – with a host of talented youngsters now catching the eye.

Tim Iroegbunam, Ethan Ingram and Rico Richards are amongst a host of players the club has high hopes for.

Boss Gilbert, who was part of the under-18s coaching team which reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup in 2019, is certainly excited about the future.

“I was lucky enough to be involved two years ago in taking the boys to the semi-finals of this competition, but the strength of this team now is just fantastic,” he said.

“The togetherness and belief as a team has always been strong and there’s no reason why they can’t go as far as we did a couple of years ago, or even further.”

For a long time, Albion were recognised as the club which had the best academy in the Midlands.

There has been some significant changes. But those changes have been done right.

And that has ensured the club is still leading the way when it comes to developing the region’s young talent.