West Brom talking points: Subtle Mowbray changes & a need to have a go

Despite having spells of pressure, Albion were able to turn it into clear cut chances and were caught out by two long range efforts from Boro.

It was a disappointing start to Mowbray's second spell at Albion, that left the new head coach with positives and much think about.

Jonny Drury takes a look at two talking points to come from Mowbray's second opener.

Playing forward

It was never going to be reasonable to expect wholesale changes, and for Albion to play in a free flowing and attacking style that Mowbray teams have been known for, especially after just one training session.

But there were signs, certainly early on that Mowbray has already had a slight influence on his Albion players.

Much of their play under Carlos Corberan was around defensive solidity, keeping the ball and being compact. At times that led to Albion playing in a very 'back and sides' style, opting for safe passes rather than breaking lines.

But certainly in Albion's opening spell, we saw something different. At almost every opportunity, midfielders and wide players, and even those at the back were looking to play forward.

They were willing to take on more riskier passes, which looked very much like a directive from the coach. That wasn't always the case throughout, because at times in the second period and late on that faded away somewhat.

But early on there was a subtle change. Moving forward and with more time on the training field, Mowbray will want that to be something that his players can sustain over longer periods.

Have a go!

Albion had a spell early on in the first half and then finished the half strong, and that was followed by sustained periods of possession in the attacking third in the second half.

But out of they only created two chances you could count as clear cut. However, there were times when it opened up for Albion and they could have got shots off. Mikey Johnston had one in either half and Alex Mowatt got into an area in the first period. They just didn't pull the trigger.

Mowbray made a point in his press conference that it was real the difference between the two sides. Boro's two goals came from shots outside the box with players willing to have a go.

That is something Albion do not do an awful lot, and at times this season and at Boro it seemed like the wanted to walk it in rather than having a pop at goal.

It is something Mowbray will certainly be working on with his attacking players, because he has already expressed that his side does possess real attacking quality players, who should be scoring more goals.