West Bromwich Albion Chairman Shilen Patel provides supporters with a summer update as the club continues to prepare for the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship season.
Dear Baggies fans,
As I reflect on my first full season as Chairman, I do so with great pride in how far we’ve come since joining the Albion family, and with great optimism for what we can build on top of that progress. While it stings to not surpass the prior season’s outcome, I firmly believe we are stronger today in all facets, with a clearer path to sustained success on and off the pitch.
On the pitch – from our academy to the first teams and the sporting operations that support them – I believe we have made exciting and thoughtful moves to enable success in leagues that we compete in today and the ones we aspire to compete in soon. Our Category 1 academy is a source of pride and a pillar of our long-term strategy; securing our young players has been a priority and we are excited about the developing talents who will have an opportunity to make memories with our fans in the coming years. As for our women’s team, I have Shev and her squad to thank for my first piece of silverware with their Challenge Cup victory! With the club’s first-ever full-time women’s Manager now focusing on possibilities, we are working on growing and evolving the entire women’s programme from the first team down. A priority is securing a home ground for the team that brings them closer to The Hawthorns and is better suited for elite-level football, so that many more of our fans can appreciate the passion and intensity with which they play. Ryan has all the qualities to make a massive mark on the club and its culture as he steps in to lead the men’s first team, and I can’t wait for our fans and players to get to know him and his philosophy better. Behind all of this are the resources and systems of our sporting organisation – analysis, medical, sports science, recruitment, and other areas – that are designed to maximise the potential of every athlete who trusts West Bromwich Albion with their futures. Under the leadership of Sporting Director Andrew Nestor and Director of Football Operations Ian Pearce, there has been an urgent programme of continuous evolution and enhancement that must be core to the club’s identity if we expect to thrive in the modern game.
Additionally, success in the table has for a long time required success beyond the training ground. In a league that stands as one of the world’s most followed and most competitive by several measures, there is no shortage of innovation and ambition in every level of how a club builds the means to invest in the matchday result. Achieving our competitive goals also means excelling operationally and commercially to leverage the Championship’s growing visibility and popularity domestically and globally. We’re excited to deploy new ideas and capabilities to add value for our esteemed longtime commercial partners, and are also working to grow our partner network including a renewed global focus. As we bring more partners to the table, we will also focus on demonstrating that this club excels at driving business results. Competitive and commercial evolution are more than aspirations – they are existential realities and game-changers at the Championship level.
My dominant consideration in becoming the custodian of the Albion was its precarious financial and regulatory position, which demanded not just massive funding but also urgent attention and direct, personal investment. Those things continue to be delivered, but we must still contend with legacy and regulatory reality as we work to build our bridge to the Premier League.
We began last summer with a major challenge: with the highest payroll of any non-parachute club, we had to find a way to avoid smashing through the P&S (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) ceiling due to an inherited overrun projected at eight figures. At the same time, we were committed to investing in the future and building on the strengths of the squad, knowing we would have to sell and replace valued players to do so. Through a combination of player trading, revenue growth, cost management, and a deep review of P&S regulations, we successfully executed a plan to steer clear of penalties and point deductions. This is a remarkable feat, as today’s talent funnel represents substantially more breadth, quality, versatility, depth, and value than when we were first confronted with the P&S challenges. We can take great encouragement from the exceptional talents who have been identified and recruited in the last two windows while right-sizing our wage bill for a non-parachute Championship reality, and we are continually enhancing our approach.
The realities of P&S aren’t going away just yet, and its existence will necessarily govern our approach to the summer. Our three-year P&S rolling average calculation will no longer include the slight profit of 22/23, leaving us with a challenge similar in magnitude to last year’s. Every summer will require us to be prepared for the departure of players and the recruitment of well-vetted talents to succeed them; this summer, we will once again have to be pragmatic, adaptable, and resourceful and consider factors beyond our simple preferences in player trading. We are hopeful and equipped for a future in which English football adopts the Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) regulatory model seen across Europe and already observed by Premier League teams in UEFA competition, and we support the proposals the EFL has endorsed to invigorate the football pyramid and strengthen an industry that enhances and celebrates every corner of the United Kingdom.
Remarkably, this season marks the 125th anniversary of The Hawthorns. It is a great opportunity to gather and celebrate the memories and history that have indelibly marked this as our home since we kicked off against Derby County in September of 1900. The best way to honour a proud history, however, is with a proud future, and our celebrations include continued renewal of our home. We have undertaken a series of improvements in and around The Hawthorns from the subtle to the obvious. We’ve begun tangible upgrades across the stadium, such as paintwork and external refreshes (including the return of hawthorns to The Hawthorns), concourse improvements, fan zone updates, safe standing, improved ticketing systems, and an upgraded hospitality experience in the Millichip Suite. We are actively planning ways to make the Hawthorns a destination for fans and the public beyond matchdays through amenities and experiences, as well as looking to expand our retail footprint offsite. For our fans further away from The Shrine we’re broadening our storytelling, reimagining our membership and rewards programmes, as well as looking to build better bridges with international supporters. These mark just a step in a continuous plan to refine experience and facilities for the long-term goal of bringing Baggies fans closer to the club.
At the core of our vision is the belief that West Bromwich Albion is more than just a football club, it is an institution capable of creating great connection and great impact. It is a club with global reach, passionate support, and a history that precedes us all, but there is so much dormant potential in the Albion. Awakening that potential manifests in many spheres. It begins on the pitch, where we’re committed to assembling the strongest, most cohesive, and best-supported squad possible within the current regulations. The club’s ultimate ceiling is raised most dramatically by its play and its players, and that was a critical initial focus. From there, it extends to our home, The Hawthorns, and to every touchpoint fans have with the club. That means improving the matchday experience, investing in our facilities, and strengthening the connection between club and supporters.
At the same time, our influence radiates outward into the community and region, notably through the critical and admirable work of The Albion Foundation, which plays a vital role in the lives of thousands across the six towns of Sandwell and beyond. As we find ways for the club and foundation to work together more closely, we also believe West Bromwich Albion can and should be a catalyst for economic and social revival in the Black Country. The Hawthorns is a landmark that represents the gateway from the city to the Black Country, which was once the heartbeat of the industrial revolution and a region that deserves to be part of the growth of the West Midlands.
To that end, we are already engaged in conversations with regional leaders, including West Bromwich MP Sarah Coombes, Smethwick MP Gurinder Josan and Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker, about how we can play a role in shaping long-term growth. All have expressed publicly and privately the potential and importance of towns like West Bromwich and its Black Country neighbours.
It is an honour and a privilege to be a steward of this great club’s legacy, and it is important to understand that all of the best parts of our past - from the inception of professional football to the peak moments of our modern era - were made possible by those who focused on the club’s future. We will continue to reflect, evolve, and build to ensure that West Bromwich Albion has a future worthy of its great history. Thank you for your continued passion and your belief.
Shilen Patel
Chairman
West Bromwich Albion FC
