Football
West Brom Keeper Alex Palmer Hails Carlos Corberan’s ‘Refreshing’ Approach as the Key to Promotion Hopes
West Brom's Alex Palmer credits manager Carlos Corberan’s refreshing style with boosting the team’s Premier League promotion chances. Palmer shares insights on the influence of Corberan's methods on player development and game understanding.
Image Credits: Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images
West Brom shot-stopper Alex Palmer believes manager Carlos Corberan’s “refreshing” management style will bring the best out of the Baggies this season.
A Managerial Edge
The Spaniard came within a whisker of guiding the ambitious Midlands club to a memorable Premier League promotion last season, only to fall agonising shortly in the Championship Play-off semi-finals.
But this season the Baggies are flying high in fifth position, not far off top spot after a promising start to the season as they gun to get back in the topflight.
“His management style is so good – and refreshing,” Palmer told SportsBoom.com.
“I think we’re all so privileged to play under him, we’re only going to get better as a team.”
“With how football is nowadays and how it’s going, I feel like everyone who players under the gaffer here is becoming the best level of themselves.”
“For me personally that’s how I feel, he seems the game differently to other people.”
But this is how all the top players are being taught.
Alex Palmer
Learning from the Best
“We watch clips of teams like Manchester City, Arsenal and Brighton, all the teams that are playing this identity of football, and we’re learning so much.”
“As much as it is about with the ball, it’s also about how you play without the ball and having that game understanding.”
“It’s so important, especially for the young players coming up that want to achieve the next thing and get promoted and play in the Premier League.”
“You’ve seen it with Leicester and how important it is having a good manager, establishing an identity and sticking with it.”
It’s people taking their versions of what Pep (Guardiola) did, it’s how football has progressed.
Alex Palmer
Prepared for Promotion
Palmer had to bide his time before cementing a regular starting berth at the Hawthorns, but he admits his string of loan spells played a huge role in helping him learn the skills needed to shine in the second tier – and hopefully the Premier League next season.
“A lot is made of my loans, but I’m very much an advocate of goalkeepers, especially, getting out on loan,” stressed Palmer.
“It’s tough nowadays, so for me to get out on loan at Plymouth was massive for me. It was massive for someone to have that trust in me.”
“It (that loan) really kickstarted my career. I always say it was a sink-or-swim season for me to show people that I was capable of playing that number of games and, then, go on to the next season and do the same thing.”
“It was a real turning point for me in my career to get that chance.”
“It’s playing games first and foremost, that’s the most important thing. As a goalkeeper you need to see so many different actions and you experience so many different things, albeit with the crowd, the conditions, like playing in open stadiums where it’s windy and rainy, contending with horrible conditions.”
“That’s all part and parcel of playing games and learning your trade.”
“I always think that as you go up the levels it gets easier for a goalkeeper because you play on better pitches, you’re playing in stadiums which are stopping the wind and things like that.”
“It is really hard to perform at that level and be consistent, so it massively helps when you come up a level.”
Goalkeeper’s Journey
Palmer, 28, has enjoyed an impressive seven clean sheets in 12 appearances this season in the league.
The former England youth international hopes to continue having many more happy days between the posts, especially with the Baggies playing a solid but attractive brand of football.
“There’s a methodology to everything these days, it’s not always as quick as it used to be,” admitted Palmer.”
“But at the same time I think you see a lot more mistakes these days which frustrates fans at times.”
“You might not have seen some of those mistakes five or six years ago, but it’s part and parcel of what we train to try and perfect every day.”
“If you want to take your career to the next level then this style is what all the top players are learning.”
“That’s why the game understanding, which the gaffer and us are so hot on, is so important for us.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.