Kyle Bartley lifts lid on lowest point at West Brom & shock Prem star who agreed Albion move

Kyle Bartley lifts lid on lowest point at West Brom, shock Premier League star who agreed Albion move and 'N'Golo Kante' in the club's academy.

I remember him [Steve Bruce] speaking to me after that game and telling me to find a new club…

Kyle Bartley was speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction.

In terms of proud moments for the club, aside from winning promotion, I’d have to say the game where we beat QPR 1-0 away from home in 2022. That was off the back of a game we lost against Birmingham, where I looked like I’d never played football before – I’d had an absolute shocker and, to be honest, I thought my West Brom career was over, under Steve Bruce. I remember him speaking to me after that game and telling me to find a new club… a few weeks later, Steve got sacked and Carlos [Corberan] came in. After a couple of injuries, I managed to get myself back to full fitness and I can remember sitting in Carlos’ office and telling him that he thought I was one of the best centre-halves in the league, and that he didn’t want me to go anywhere.

That gave me the confidence I really needed at the time, and so when I was back to full fitness, I came straight back into the team – we kept three clean sheets in a row and I scored two goals in that time – the first being in that QPR match. And those three games saved my West Brom career, really. I thought I was done at the club, so to come back from such a low point was a real proud moment for me personally.

Being so low after that Birmingham game, and knowing I wasn’t in the manager’s plans at the times, to then have that will and drive, and resilience to come back, put the shirt back on, play well, score a couple of goals and win the fans over… it was a really satisfying moment for me.

When it comes to Steve Bruce and his time at the club, I think it’s fair to say we weren’t in a good place at the time, at all. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I know Steve has said he would have turned things around if he’d have had more time… I think Carlos [Corberan] would have disagreed with that, for sure.

I think it was just a bad fit for the club at the time, and him coming in when he did, it just didn’t work out. Things just went from bad to worse around that time. You know, Steve came in towards the end of a season, and we didn’t do very well. And then I think the fans – and the players, to be honest – expected a new manager to come in in the summer, because Steve was out of contract. And so when the club announced he’d be staying on, I don’t think it gave anyone a lift, really: the players or the fans.

It just wasn’t a right fit for us at the time, which is a shame because Steve is a really good guy and obviously is a great manager in his own respect; his CV speaks for itself, he’s got loads of promotions on there, so he clearly knows how to create a winning atmosphere. But at West Brom, it just didn’t work.

 can’t remember whether we were injured or suspended, but me and Jake Livermore didn’t play in Slaven Bilic’s last game for West Brom. We travelled together to go and watch it, and the lads managed to get a 1-1 draw there, which was incredible, and probably a surprise for everyone, to be honest.

Obviously that night is more famous for Bilic losing his job straight after… those types of things at the board level are often done a few days – or even weeks – prior, and if we’re being honest, they probably looked at that fixture and thought ‘OK, well he’ll lose that game and then we can sack him afterwards’. That way, it just looks a bit better in the media, or to the fans, but obviously the lads ended up getting a draw at the Etihad, and the manager lost his job straight after it. And then, literally the next day, Big Sam [Allardyce] was in. Knowing Big Sam, he probably said ‘I’m not coming in for that game!’, so that’s how it all panned out.

I had some great memories working with Slav, though; he’s up there for me as one of the best three managers I ever worked with, to be honest. The standout moment has to be winning promotion in 2020. It was obviously really difficult because of what was going on in the world, it meant we weren’t able to celebrate properly with the fans, and with our friends and family, so that took some of the gloss off the occasion, but it was still an incredible achievement.

It's funny, Eberechi Eze played for QPR and scored on that night, and after the game, I remember me and Slav actually spoke to him and were trying to get him to sign for us that summer. He said yeah, that he would do, and obviously it never happened for us in the end, which was unfortunate because he would have been incredible in that team!

I spent seven years at West Brom and played nearly 250 times for the club; I’ve never really thought about what people think of me, and I’ll never really know, I suppose. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but if you asked anyone at the club, I’d like to think they’d say I always put the club and the team’s interests first. Sometimes that might have even been to my detriment; I think back to my first season at the club and I basically played left-back for a year, and hated every second of it.

I played in a back three alongside Ahmed Hegazi and Craig Dawson, and both of them refused to play on the left-hand side. The way Darren Moore had us playing at the time meant I was basically playing at full-back. I’ve never claimed to have the best left foot; I don’t want tricky wingers running at me… these just weren’t my strengths at all. But the manager asked me if I’d play that role, and I’d only just signed for the club, so I said of course I would.

To be honest, I’d never understood why the manager asked me if I’d play there; I was just always the type of person who would play wherever, if it meant I was helping the team. As long as I was playing, I was happy.

So, in that first season, even though we did well as a team, it was really difficult for me personally because I was getting a bit of stick from the fans, I knew I wasn’t playing my best football, but I knew I was basically playing out of position. I wanted to show people what my strengths were, but I just got on with it for the team and for the manager, and I think that’s probably a side of the game that supporters don’t see or understand. As a player, you never get credit for that kind of thing. That’s why a lot of players just won’t do it. But I was an honest player, and I’d like to think that’s how I’m remembered at West Brom.

Matheus Pereira was brilliant to play with, but me and him had a really interesting relationship, to be honest. He was a bit of a maverick and those players can be frustrating at times; they can be a bit impulsive, and they don’t always work as hard as they could do, but he was our best player, and some days he’d surprise you by working harder than anyone.

You never knew what you were going to get with him, because he just had his own way of doing things. So, as one of the leaders in the team at the time, it was difficult to manage him. Every now and again, he’d let us down by either getting sent off in games, not tracking back, or just being late for training… things like that. So it was kind of my place to have to shout at him and keep him in line a little bit, while also being conscious of having too much of a go at him because, like I said, he was always capable of being our match-winner, and he did that so many times just with a little bit of his magic.

So, we had many back and forths, and arguments, but at the same time we always had a lot of respect for each other. And I think, in that second year with us, he understood why I was doing what I was doing, and why sometimes I shouted at him, or made a bit of a point of things, and he respected me for trying to get the best out of him.

He was great, though, a really nice lad. He was back at West Brom a few weeks ago, actually, and he sent me a message, so I do still speak to him a bit.

Could I see him coming back to West Brom? Well, I don’t think it’s a case of West Brom being the only team in England he’d want to play for. I know through speaking to him after leaving the club, he said he regretted not staying in England. But at the time, for whatever reason, there just weren’t many clubs that came in and showed the level of interest in him you would have expected. But he did say he regretted leaving England; he absolutely loves it. I know he’s been back multiple times since, and he’s been to watch a few West Brom games and he’s got a real love for the club. I think we would need to find a bit more money than what we currently have to get him back, but never say never!

I also think when you talk about Matheus, you’ve also got to talk about Grady [Diangana]. Those two had such a good relationship together, both on and off the pitch, and it was an absolute pleasure just to watch them play at times, I’ve got to say.

I remember we used to have meetings as defenders, and I used to say to the boys “lads, it’s very simple: win the ball back and give it to Matheus or Grady.”

Everyone would laugh, but I was serious. Why would we mess around passing it between each other when we’ve got those two on the pitch?!

I was a bit gutted for Grady because it never quite worked out for him after he signed for us permanently, but he’s still young enough and now that he’s gone over to Spain, I think he could rediscover a bit of that early form and fitness, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him come back and play in England in the future.

Carlos [Corberan] was just incredible to work with, honestly. You know, even after a handful of games in charge of us, he was being linked with big moves away. I think early on it was probably more a case of his agent being a good agent and trying to get him a bit more money! But yeah, it felt like he was constantly getting linked with jobs; I’ve spoken to people on the board at the club, and they said they were getting phone calls pretty much every month, from clubs asking about his contract and availability.

I’m not surprised he’s at a club like Valencia now; he’s a top, top manager who speaks well in the media. He’s without a doubt the hardest working manager I ever came across; he was an absolute workaholic. I remember when his first child was born, it was the night before we had a game, and we all expected him not to be there for the game, like any normal person… and he said he had four minutes with his son before he had to leave to make his way to the game. We won on that night and those couple of days just summed everything up about him.

It just speaks volumes of his passion for the game, and the love he had for West Brom; the club meant the world to him, and I don’t think he’ll ever lose that. I’m sure he’ll do really well at Valencia and, to be honest, I can see him reaching the highest level of football, whether that be in Spain with Real Madrid or Barcelona, or back over here in the Premier League. I think he’ll make it at the very top, top level of management.

My relationship with the club, and Ryan Mason, is great. It’s funny because me and Ryan actually played together as 15-year-olds for England, and he was in Tottenham’s youth team while I was at Arsenal, so we played against each other quite a lot growing up. So, it was weird for me this summer to go into pre-season training and have him managing me! It was a whole new dynamic for me, because he’s the youngest manager I’ve ever worked under. But he’s been fantastic for the club so far; I know everybody at West Brom absolutely loves him. I had the chance to see him and the work he puts in, for about eight weeks in the summer, before I announced my retirement, and some of his ideas are brilliant.

He's got the respect of everyone inside the training ground, and although he’s young, he’s already got so much experience when it comes to coaching; he’s worked with some great names but you can tell he wants to add his own ideas into things.

It’s important he’s given time in the role, and I know enough about the people in charge at West Brom to say that they will give him time. You know, they see this as a long-term project, and they personally hired him. He was their number one target, and I think he’ll be a real success.

I don’t know if he’ll want me to say this, but everybody at the club is striving for promotion. You’d probably say that would be via the play-offs, because I’m not quite sure we’ve got the depth to go for an automatic push, so the play-offs is what we’re hoping for.

Looking at the Championship this year, it does look a lot more open than what it has been over the last few years. You know, it’s hard to identify any team in the division as one that’s capable of running away with the title, which means there’s a real opportunity for us to push on this season. Of course you need a bit of luck, and you need to keep your players fit… I think January is going to be important because we’re a little bit light in terms of strength in depth, so I’m sure the club are working behind the scenes and are already identifying players who might come in and give the squad a lift.

In terms of standout players, I think Isaac Price is the one that stands out. He got off to a great start this season, and although he’s been a bit quieter in recent weeks, he’s the one you’d look at as your standout player from an attacking point of view. I also play a lot of golf with Pricey; I take a few quid off him, so I’ve got to give him a compliment, I suppose!

I think Karlan Grant is another one who can play a massive part this season, though. He’s missed a few games through injury, but it looks like he’s back among the first-team and that’s massive. You know, someone with that much pace and talent; if you can get him fit and confident, everyone at the club knows what he’s capable of. He could be a real key player for us.

But people also forget about players like Tammer Bany. You know, he’s been so unlucky with injuries since he came in, but he’s someone I’ve seen a lot of in training, and he’s a really, really exciting one to watch. He’s not far off a return to the first-team, and as someone who has played with him a lot, I can say he’s a really tenacious player, he’s not too dissimilar to Price, actually. He’ll run all day long, too, and I don’t think fans have seen that side of him yet, but he’s not your typical number 10 in that respect; he wants to get stuck in, he wants to defend, he’s not shy of kicking lumps out of anyone, so I’m sure fans will still see plenty of that this season, because there’s still a long way to go. He doesn’t care who he’s up against, he’s technical and physical, and that’s perfect for the English game.

Now it’s about keeping him fit. As a young lad, sometimes this kind of thing happens, where you pick up one injury, and then you try and overcorrect things and in doing that, you pick up another injury, and you’re in that cycle. But the physios have really taken their time with him, I know the boss just wants to get him fit and get some games in his legs.

West Brom fans will know all about Alex Williams; he’s definitely an exciting one for the future. Unfortunately, he’s had a big injury, but I think he’s one who will come good. In terms of other youngsters who I’m excited by, we’ve also got Dauda Idrissa, an Italian lad who plays in midfield.

I think he’s currently away with Italy’s Under-19s, and if I was to compare him to someone, it would probably be N’Golo Kante, or Moises Caicedo. He’s not the biggest, but he’s so tenacious and really, really good on the ball. He’s definitely someone I’d really be looking out for and excited by in the next year or two.

He’s already been in and around the first-team for the last 18 months or so – I don’t think he’s made a matchday squad yet, but the fact he’s regularly playing for his country at youth levels, and having played for the Under-21s at West Brom, that tells you everything you need to know about him, really.

Will he make the first-team this year? Probably not, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play in the early stages of the FA Cup, or something like that this year. 

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