James Morrison Prepares West Brom for New Season
James Morrison cuts a relaxed figure as the new season looms, and with good reason. West Bromwich Albion have moved early, moved decisively, and their head coach is in no mood to panic as the transfer window ticks on.
Six signings are already through the door. For a manager preparing for his first full campaign in permanent charge, that is not a bad place to start.
A squad taking shape
The real work begins on Saturday with a Carabao Cup trip to Rotherham, a curtain-raiser before the Championship grind kicks in a week later. Morrison looks at his squad and sees structure rather than gaps, a platform rather than a scramble.
"We're in a good place," he told BBC Radio WM, a phrase he returned to more than once. He knows the temptation in late August: chase every rumour, lurch from target to target, confuse activity with progress. He wants no part of that.
"As a club now we've got to be patient and find the right ones," he said. The message is clear. West Brom will not be dragged into short-term thinking just to make a splash.
He talks about excitement, but not as a sales pitch. For Morrison, good players are there to lift the training ground as much as the stands. "I want good players to arrive so they create that good feeling around the place and excitement for the fans." Six already have. He sounds content with the balance between what he has and what might still come.
"We've done some good business, signed six players, we're in a good place, I'm happy with everything's going," he said, before offering a glimpse into his own evolution. "I understand the market, I've understood myself - I'm not trying to get to want, want, want - I'm thinking about the bigger picture."
A clear alignment behind the scenes
That bigger picture runs through the club’s football structure. Morrison has been working closely with head of football operations Ian Pearce, and the partnership appears to be functioning smoothly.
"It's about working relationships, different opinions, identifying what type of players we need, so I've been really happy with the way we've been working," he explained. No drama, no tension, just a manager and recruitment chief aligned on profile and purpose.
The process has already delivered one of the more intriguing arrivals of the summer: Norway midfielder Felix Horn Myhre.
The Norwegian on the radar
Some signings arrive by committee. This one carries a clear manager’s stamp.
"I picked him out. I liked the way he moved, the way he was with the ball, the way he got forward," Morrison said. There is no attempt to disguise it as a chance opportunity. Horn Myhre has been tracked, assessed, and pursued.
"He's been on our radar for quite a long time," Morrison added. The appeal is obvious: a midfielder used to European competition and international football, a player who has already lived with the demands of high-level games. In Morrison’s words, he is "well equipped" and expected to "fit in really well."
The tone from the head coach is not one of a man still hunting for a lifeline in the market. It is of someone who believes the core of his squad is in place, and that any further additions will be carefully chosen rather than desperately chased.
West Brom head into the new campaign with a settled manager, a clear recruitment strategy and a dressing room reshaped early rather than late. The window is still open. The question now is not whether they will move again, but whether this measured approach can turn a “good place” in August into something far more meaningful by May.
