Shilen Patel reveals grand West Brom plans after takeover as Baggies fans hailed
Shilen Patel plans to build the profile of West Brom until it is “touching the whole world” once his takeover goes through.
The incoming Baggies owner spoke to the Tampa Bay Business and Wealth magazine (27 February) and praised the club’s fanbase its “heart and soul”, having been key through the “toughest times”.
And he indicated that his hope once he is in charge at The Hawthorns is to increase the global profile of the Albion, making it a truly international club.
Patel said: “The fan community in West Bromwich and around the world is the heart and soul of the club. The fans have shown up and shown their support even in the toughest times.
“A big part of our goal is to build the profile of the club and to build the reach of the club to be something that’s touching the whole world.”
Shilen Patel wants to grow West Brom profile across the planet after Hawthorns takeover
It is often the standard plan for any new club owner in modern football to look globally in order to increase revenue, particularly when it comes to American takeovers.
In order to compete at the top table it is essentially necessary to broaden the appeal of the club as far as possible, but West Brom fans will of course hope that doesn’t come at the expense of a connection to the local fanbase.
As Patel has noted the Baggies support has been a vital element in dragging the club through some miserable years under Guochuan Lai, even if it is difficult to say how much of a practical impact it had on the takeover itself finally coming to fruition.
American ownership in the top two divisions of English football is growing all the time so Patel will be far from unique once his deal is completed, even if he doesn’t have a particular background in sports investment like some.
However, that in itself hasn’t always proven to be an avenue to success as Chelsea supporters can attest to, so the Baggies fanbase will likely hope that Patel’s impact is more in line with that at Liverpool, or even Leeds United, than Stamford Bridge.
In other West Brom news, Tony Brown branded one mooted move Patel could make “unthinkable”.
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