West Bromwich Albion recorded just their third victory of the 2022-23 Championship season after seeing off Blackpool at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night, with a late Okay Yokuslu strike securing Carlos Corberan's first win as head coach.

But the feel-good factor has not returned to the Baggies fanbase just yet, who used part of the match to protest against the ownership of the club.

Hundreds of supporters shined their phone lights in the 12th minute against the Tangerines, in a move engineered by the protest group Action For Albion against owner Guochuan Lai, and in past weeks there has been vocal discontent on the terraces towards Lai and chief executive Ron Gourlay.

 

 

 

 

The Chinese businessman took control of Albion in 2016 when buying out Jeremy Peace, and has recently received lots of criticism, not only for the appointment of Steve Bruce back in February but a general lack of investment.

Lai has been further criticised for taking out nearly £5 million of the club's money for another one of his businesses, and that is due to be repaid by the end of 2022.

Corberan has commented on the fan protest that took place this week during their win over Blackpool, and believes that whilst the supporters have the right to do what they want, he is hoping improved performances on the pitch will somewhat suppress the current negativity.

"You have to respect the behaviours of the fans but we are here to try to change the feeling," Corberan said, per the Express & Star. "We are here to make the fans proud of the team because it's the most important thing we need to do.
"The fans were supporting the team in the 90 minutes. "My task is to change any type of negative feeling. It is the challenge we have in front of us." The Verdict Even if West Brom start to put a run of wins on the board, it isn't likely going to keep the fan's frustrations quiet. It's pretty clear that the situation is a long-running one, with the Baggies' much-absent owner taking much of the flak because of the underperforming so far this season. Corberan could definitely be the man to turn the club's fortunes around, but it looks like he will need help in the transfer market as they even struggled past Blackpool this week. Whether that assistance comes remains to be seen, but the hierarchy at The Hawthorns are probably thankful that the month-long break for the World Cup is coming up so they can stop having chants directed at them on matchdays.