West Bromwich Albion F.C.

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Full name	West Bromwich Albion Football Club
Nickname(s)	Albion The Baggies The Throstles
Founded	1878
Ground	The Hawthorns West Bromwich
Capacity	28,003
Chairman	Jeremy Peace
Manager	Tony Mowbray
League	The Championship
2005-06	19th, FA Premier League (relegated)
Home colours 　 Away colours

West Bromwich Albion Football Club is an English football club that play in the Football League Championship. It was formed in 1878 by workers from Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich (in Staffordshire, now part of the administrative county West Midlands). It is also known as West Brom, the Baggies, the Albion, or less commonly W.B.A..

West Brom were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888, but have won the league title only once, in 1920. They have had more success in the FA Cup, with five wins. The first came in 1888, the year the League was founded, and the most recent in 1968, which was their last major trophy. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966, in the last two-legged final.

Albion's most memorable times in recent years came in the late 1970s and early 1980s under Ron Atkinson, when they qualified for the UEFA Cup twice and reached the quarter final once. Since the 1980s Albion have been less successful. From 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division, and although there has been a promising revival in recent years (three seasons in the Premiership between 2002 and 2006), they now play in the Football League Championship.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Into the twentieth century 1.3 The glory years? (the 1950s and 1960s) 1.4 So near and yet so far: the 1970s and after 1.5 The Premiership era begins - without the Albion - 1992-2000 1.6 The Megson revolution: 2000-2 1.7 The Premiership: dream or nightmare? 2002-4 1.8 Robson and the Great Escape: 2004-6 1.9 Mowbray takes over (2006 onwards) 2 Nicknames 3 Supporters 4 Rivalry 5 Current first-team squad 5.1 Players out on loan 6 Notable former players 7 Notable former managers 8 List of chairmen 9 Grounds 10 Honours 11 Records 12 Trivia 13 References 14 Footnotes 15 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of West Bromwich Albion F.C.

[edit] Early years

West Bromwich Albion F.C. was founded in 1878 by workers from Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich. The club came about as a result of the dissolution of an earlier club, West Bromwich Strollers. They joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881, and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Senior Cup. They reached the quarter finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way.

The following year, Albion joined the Staffordshire FA and won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. They also entered the FA Cup for the first time in the 1882-83 season, and in 1886 reached the final for the first time, losing 2-0 to Blackburn Rovers. In 1887 they reached the final again, but lost 2-0 to Aston Villa. In 1888 they went one better and won the trophy for the first time, beating firm favourites Preston North End 2-1 in the final. Of all the clubs that went on to join the Football League, only Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa had also won it previously, and were the two clubs that had beaten Albion in their first two finals.

This made Albion virtually an automatic choice to be one of the twelve founders of the Football League, which started in the same year. Success in the League has generally eluded them; however, only seven clubs have more wins in the FA Cup. Albion have also finished as runners-up on five occasions; only five other clubs have appeared in more FA Cup finals.

Notable pre-war players include Billy Bassett (1886-1937), who played in over 500 games; Jesse Pennington (1903-1922); Harold Bache (1914-1915), who was tragically killed in the Great War; Tommy Magee (1919-1934); and WG "Ginger" Richardson (1929-1945).

[edit] Into the twentieth century

Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3-0. However, from then until the start of World War I, the club was sorely stretched financially; the team struggled, and suffered relegation twice. The highlight of these years were two cup final appearances in 1895 and 1912. In 1895 they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa and in 1912 Albion were humbled (in a replay) by Second Division Barnsley. There was some dispute about this though as the replay was played in Sheffield, which is near Barnsley, and a train strike prevented Albion support from reaching the game. Following the end of the war, however, Albion won the Football League title in 1920 for the only time in their history. In doing so they became the first team to win the title and score over 100 goals in the same season.

This was not an isolated success, as Albion came runners-up in 1925, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield. However, before long they were relegated again. But this led to a unique "Double", when in 1930-31 they became the first club to win the FA Cup (beating Birmingham City 2-1) and promotion (from the Second Division) in the same season. As of 2007, this feat has yet to be repeated. Once again relegation followed a few years later, and Albion found themselves in the Second Division once more at the start of World War II. They gained promotion in 1948-49 however, and there followed the club's longest ever continuous run in the top flight of English football: a total of 24 years.

[edit] The glory years? (the 1950s and 1960s)

During the 1950s and 1960s clubs from the Midlands flourished, the most successful Midlands club, in the 1950s at least, being Stan Cullis' Wolves. But it was a golden era for Albion as well; during this period they won the FA Cup twice. In 1953-54 they came close to being the first team in the 20th century to win the elusive League and Cup double. They succeeded in winning the Cup, beating Preston 3-2, but their League form was affected by a series of injuries towards the end of the season and they finished as runners-up to fierce rivals Wolves. Throughout the 50s Albion were renowned for their fluent, attacking football. Great players included: Ronnie Allen, Bobby Robson and Don Howe. In 1955 Albion reached the final of 'le soir festival de foot' in Paris but lost to the great Hungarian side Honved 5-3. Albion later became the first English side in history to be invited to the Soviet Union, then firmly under the iron curtain. The Soviets were later invited back to England and the Albion beat the Soviet Central Army 6-5 at the first floodlit Hawthorns game.

The sixties was a time of great cup success for the Albion. In 1966 they beat West Ham in their first League Cup appearance. The following year they reached the final again but were humiliated by QPR, losing 3-2 after being 2-0 up. Albion's last major trophy to date was the 1967-68 FA Cup, when they beat Everton in extra time thanks to a single goal from iconic centre-forward Jeff Astle, who became the first footballer ever to score in every round of the FA Cup. In 1969 Albion again reached the cup semi-finals but narrowly lost out to Leicester City. The following year Albion reached the League Cup final again but lost out to Manchester City 2-1. Astle again scored to become the first player to score in both the league and FA Cup finals. Another highlight of the decade was when Albion defeat the newly crowned European Champions Manchester United 6-3 at the Hawthorns. This is regarded by some as one of the greatest Albion performances ever. Great Albion players of the era included: the legendary Jeff Astle, Tony Brown, Bobby Hope and Clive Clark.

[edit] So near and yet so far: the 1970s and after

The early 70s was a poor time for the Albion. They did however, take part in one of the most notorious matches in English football against Leeds United. To take a big step towards the title Leeds needed to win at home against an Albion side who had not won away in 18 months. The Albion, already leading 1-0, scored again when Jeff Astle was blatantly offside. The Albion victory eventually cost Leeds the title. Albion had a three-year spell in the Second Division in the mid-1970s but gained promotion under the guidance of Johnny Giles. This was followed by another golden era in which the team, under manager Ron Atkinson, won many friends for its open, attacking style of play,^{[citation needed]} and also for its pioneering selection of players of Afro-Caribbean origins. These included Brendon Batson, Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham. In 1978 Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final again but lost to former-Albion star Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town. The following year was dominated by fantastic football at the Albion. The Baggies should have won the league, but a huge pile up of fixtures and an end of season slump meant that Albion slipped to third, losing the title to Liverpool. Albion also reached the UEFA cup quarter-final, where they were defeated by Red Star Belgrade. Many Albion fans consider the highlight of the season to have been the famous 5-3 victory away at Manchester United. In a stunning display, Albion became the last away team to have scored 5 goals at Old Trafford. At the end of 1979, Albion let go of some their best players, selling Laurie Cunnigham to Real Madrid for a record fee. Many Albion fans have accused the board of lack of ambition and incompetence during this period.

Atkinson was lured away to Manchester United in 1981, returning to poach star midfielders Bryan Robson and Remi Moses. His successor Ronnie Allen guided the team to both domestic Cup semi-finals in 1981-82, which was the last time the club has reached that stage in a cup competition. At the time, although the record has now been surpassed by Manchester United, Albion held the record for reaching the most number of semi-finals. The team then went into the longest and deepest decline in its history. They were relegated in 1985-86 (with the worst record in the club's history) and five years later worse was to follow when they were relegated to the Third Division for the first time.

[edit] The Premiership era begins - without the Albion - 1992-2000

Albion made a good start to their first ever season at that level, and topped the table after six matches, but they were unable to sustain that form throughout the season and ended up in seventh place, just missing out on the play-offs. The FA Premier League was founded that year, and the Third Division became known as the Second; in 1993 Albion finished fourth and entered the play-offs for the first time. The second leg of the play-off semi-final was the last major game before The Hawthorns was converted to an all-seater stadium, and the gound was packed to the rafters to watch the Baggies overturn a 1-2 deficit against Swansea City to win 3-2 on aggregate. This set Albion up for their first appearance at Wembley for over twenty years (and their last ever at the original stadium), when they beat Port Vale 3-0 to return to the second level - now renamed the First Division. Ossie Ardiles, the manager who had led Albion to this success, became an instant hero, but he was immediately lured away to manage Tottenham Hotspur, with whom he had enjoyed huge popularity and no little success as a player.

Keith Burkinshaw, who had been Ardiles' manager at Tottenham and his assistant at Albion, was promoted to manager. At the end of his first season in charge Albion survived a relegation scare when a victory at Portsmouth on the final day of the 1993-94 season condemned local rivals Birmingham City to the drop instead.

Burkinshaw was unable to improve on this modest achievement, and a succession of managers in the following five or six years did little better, despite the goalscoring exploits of Bob Taylor and Lee Hughes. Albion retained their First Division status, but without ever mounting a serious promotion challenge. Financial difficulties necessitated the sale of key players, such as Kevin Kilbane to Sunderland and the young Italian star Enzo Maresca to Juventus. It was in March 2000, with the side once more in great danger of dropping back into the Second Division, that Gary Megson was appointed as manager.

[edit] The Megson revolution: 2000-2

Megson's first game in charge was away to Stockport County, a club that he had led to its highest ever League finish two years earlier. This game was one of contrasts for Albion as Lee Hughes scored what proved to be the winning goal after just 12 seconds, but then Larus Sigurdsson suffered the first of a series of knee injuries that would eventually end his career.

The transfer deadline was looming, but Megson wasted no time in assessing the resources at his disposal and managed to recruit no fewer than six new players. There was little progress in terms of results however, and after the aforementioned win at Stockport the Baggies took just seven points from the next nine games. This left them needing to beat champions elect Charlton Athletic on the final day of the 1999-00 season to be sure of avoiding relegation. Albion won 2-0; it was a measure of the desperate straits that the club was in at the time, that this was seen as a major achievement on Megson's part. In doing so, they condemned local rivals Walsall to relegation.

The improvement continued over the next two seasons. In 2000-01 Albion reached the First Division play-offs, but this adventure ended with a defeat to Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final. Albion led 2-0 at the Hawthorns but in the last ten minutes Bolton scored twice. Bolton then beat Albion 3-0 at the Reebok Stadium. The fans were delighted just to have got that far, given the situation just a year earlier, but the following year (2001-02) their most optimistic hopes were exceeded when Albion secured automatic promotion by finishing as runners-up to Manchester City.

In winning promotion, Albion had overhauled their fierce local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, to take the coveted place in the Premiership. At the beginning of March, Wolves had been top of the League, ten points ahead of Albion; but while Albion took 26 points from their last ten games (and Manchester City took advantage of their games in hand to return to the top of the table), Wolves took just ten from their last nine games. Bob Taylor was the hero for Albion and on the last day Albion beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to secure return to the top flight. Albion finished three points ahead of Wolves, and Megson was hailed as a hero. Shortly afterwards, they were joined in the Premiership by another local rival - Birmingham City, who won the playoffs.

[edit] The Premiership: dream or nightmare? 2002-4

The joy of everyone associated with the club turned to dismay within days however, when chairman Paul Thompson resigned his post after a major disagreement with Megson over policy.^[1] The summer of political wrangling left Megson and new chairman Jeremy Peace with very little time to bring in new players with the limited funds available, and as the season progressed it became clear that Albion were seriously unprepared for the rigours of the Premiership. They were relegated in 19th place (last but one).

However, the squad was kept more or less intact for the 2003-04 season, and the team won promotion at the first attempt. Albion were better prepared for their second Premiership campaign, and players of the calibre of Kanu and Zoltan Gera signed in the summer of 2004. Points seemed just as hard to come by however, and by October it was clear that Megson had taken the club as far as he could. He left in acrimonious circumstances, and Bryan Robson, a playing hero of the Albion side of the Atkinson era, was appointed to replace him.

[edit] Robson and the Great Escape: 2004-6

Robson had become a household name through his exploits with Manchester United and England, and had already experienced mixed success as a manager elsewhere. For a while Albion continued to struggle, sliding to 20th and last place in the Premiership table by the time Christmas had arrived. It was a well-documented fact that no team had ever avoided relegation from the Premiership after being bottom at Christmas; by the end of January however results started to go Albion's way. Towards the end of the season Albion went on a great run of form, largely thanks to Manchester United loan signing Kieran Richardson. Nevertheless, on the last day of the season, Albion were still bottom of the table when they faced Portsmouth at home in front of a packed out Hawthorns. Meanwhile, Norwich faced Fulham away, Southampton played Manchester United at home and Crystal Palace away at Charlton Athletic. Albion beat Portsmouth 2-0, with Horsfield and Richardson scoring the goals. Meanwhile Norwich were thumped 6-0 and Southampton drew against United. Palace were leading, but in the last few minutes Charlton equalised to keep Albion in the Premiership.

Expectations were high for the 2005-06 season, boosted by the arrival of players such as striker Nathan Ellington from Wigan Athletic and goalkeeper Chris Kirkland (on loan from Liverpool). Minutes before the transfer deadline, Curtis Davies joined from Luton Town for what was a club record fee for a defender. At first all seemed well, and by February Albion appeared set to survive. However, Kanu and Kamara left for the African cup of nations and Albion slumped terribly, eventually being relegated.

The Board kept faith with Robson through the summer of 2006, and once again the squad was kept more or less intact; Kanu and Kirkland were the most notable departures, and several experienced players (as well as one or two promising youngsters) were brought in. Hopes of another successful promotion campaign were high. Albion were undefeated in their first five games, but then after losing to Sunderland and Preston North End and failing to win at home to Southend United they found themselves with only twelve points from eight games, five points behind the leaders Cardiff City and in ninth place.

With Diomansy Kamara injured and Jason Koumas only just back to full fitness, Robson had not had a chance to pick his best XI in the early days of the 2006-07 season. But many of the fans had lost confidence in him by this time, due to his 'one-up front' formation and following the draw against Southend the Board clearly agreed. Albion and Robson parted company "by mutual consent" on Monday 18 September 2006.

[edit] Mowbray takes over (2006 onwards)

Robson's assistant Nigel Pearson was immediately appointed as caretaker manager. Despite Albion remaining unbeaten under his charge, he made it clear that he was not interested in the job on a more long-term basis. On Friday 13 October 2006 it was announced that Albion's new boss would be Tony Mowbray, and within days Pearson left to become assistant manager at Newcastle United. Albion had been unbeaten during his period in charge, which had included their first away win away since January - a 5-1 defeat of Ipswich Town.

Mowbray had been the manager of Hibernian for the previous two years - this being his first managerial post, apart from a brief spell in charge of Ipswich Town. In his playing days he had been an uncompromising centre back with Middlesbrough, Ipswich, and Celtic. Mark Venus, who had been Mowbray's assistant at Hibs, was appointed to the same role at Albion on the day that Mowbray took charge.

In their first game under the new managerial partnership, the Baggies beat arch rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0; it was Albion's biggest win over Wolves for over 25 years, in front of a packed Hawthorns. More significantly, it was their fourth consecutive victory and it extended the unbeaten run that had been established under Pearson to six games (five of them in the Championship).

Although defeat to an under-strength Arsenal side in the Carling Cup three days later was not entirely unexpected, five of the next seven Championship games ended in defeat. December, however, provided evidence that Mowbray's methods were beginning to bear fruit, as Albion went six games without defeat (scoring 15 goals and conceding only five) and returned to the play-off positions. The highlight of this run was a 5-0 humbling of Coventry City - one of the "form" teams in the division at the time, having been unbeaten in their previous five games.

January 2007 ended on a high note for Albion, who defeated local rivals Wolves 3-0 away in the FA Cup. This was their second successive away win in a run of four, a marked improvement on a previously poor record away from home. February brought more good news for Albion, as they became Championship leaders on goal difference. A poor run of form in March however, meant that a playoff place was perhaps the most they could hope for.

[edit] Nicknames

In more formal times, Albion's "official" nickname was always The Throstles. This originated because the public house in which the team used to change in its very early days kept a pet thrush in a cage ("throstle" is an alternative name for the song thrush). The bird became something of a mascot, and soon appeared on the club crest. Well into the twentieth century, a caged throstle used to be placed beside the touchline during matches. It is said that it only used to sing if the Albion were winning. A giant effigy of a throstle is still a familiar feature of The Hawthorns, as it has been for generations. It used to perch on the old scoreboard in the Woodman Corner (named after the public house that stood there until 2002); after the redevelopment of the ground in 1994 it was moved temporarily to the main stand in Halfords Lane, and it can now be seen back in its old position, albeit now in the wings of the new East Stand.

The club's more popular nickname however has always been The Baggies. There are several theories for how this name may have originated.^[2] One suggestion is that the name was bestowed on Albion supporters by their rivals at Aston Villa, because of the characteristic baggy moleskin trousers that many Albion fans wore at work to protect themselves from molten iron in the foundries of the Black Country, West Bromwich being a centre of the 'puddling industry'. Club historian Tony Matthews however suggests that it originated with the turnstile operators who carried their takings, in big leather bags, from the turnstiles to the cash office which was located on the halfway line. As they emerged during the first half the crowd would say "here come the bagmen"; this soon evolved into "baggies", and this name eventually became associated with the team. Another frequently-quoted theory, which has little evidence to support it, is that Albion were one of the last teams to change from the old-fashioned baggy shorts to the sleeker modern style.

The club is also known colloquially as The Albion or West Brom. The first of these recognises the rarity of this suffix; West Bromwich was in fact the first club to include the word Albion in its name, and it was later copied by others such as Brighton and Hove, Burton, and even Stirling in Scotland. Of these last two names, "the Albion" is more common in the local areas of Birmingham and the Black Country, while further afield "West Brom" is probably more common. In print the name is often abbreviated to "WBA". The team are also occasionally referred to as The Stripes, due to their striped shirts.

[edit] Supporters

The supporters of West Bromwich Albion are famous for the "Boing Boing" chant, which involves bouncing up and down when the team scores a goal. The "battle anthem" is The Lord's my Shepherd (Psalm 23). Albion fans are also noted for their "End of season parties", where a fancy-dress theme is adopted for the last away match of the season. Themes in past seasons have included suits, beachwear and even dressing as vikings. Albion have a supporters club, which has branches throughout the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Malta and Thailand.^[3] In the BBC's "national intelligence test", Test the Nation (broadcast in 2002), fans of West Bromwich Albion were found to be "more likely to be smarter than any other football supporters, registering an average score of 138".^[4]

Famous people who are known or rumoured to support West Bromwich Albion include:

Frank Skinner (comedian)[5] Adrian Chiles (television presenter)[6] Leslie Crowther (comedian, deceased) Richie Woodhall (boxer)[7] Julie Walters (actress) Lenny Henry (entertainer) Adrian Goldberg (broadcaster)[8] Cat Deeley (television presenter) Josie Lawrence (comedian and actress) Ronnie Wood (rock guitarist)

Goran Ivanišević (tennis player)[9][10] Betty Boothroyd (politician) John McEnroe (tennis player) Dean Headley (cricketer) Kayleigh Pearson (model) Sébastien Grosjean (tennis player) Peter Chapple-Hyam (Horse racing trainer/owner) Matthew Marsden (actor)[11] Roger Narbett (England football team chef) Eric Clapton (rock musician)[12]

[edit] Rivalry

Albion's key rival is Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom Albion contest the Black Country derby. Other local rivals include Aston Villa and Birmingham City, and to a lesser extent Coventry City, Stoke City and Walsall.

Albion's nicknames for the supporters of rival teams include 'Dingles' for Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst generally referring to Aston Villa as "The Seals" or "The Vile" (the latter of which at least is a nickname used by the supporters of a number of other clubs).

A hooligan firm known as "Section 5" are associated with Albion, and have been involved in a number of violent clashes which have seen some hooligans sent to prison, while many others have received banning orders.

[edit] Current first-team squad

No. Position Player 3 DF Paul Robinson 4 DF Chris Perry 5 DF Neil Clement 6 DF Curtis Davies (captain) 8 MF Jonathan Greening 9 FW Nathan Ellington 10 FW John Hartson 11 MF Zoltán Gera 12 MF Richard Chaplow 14 DF Martin Albrechtsen 15 FW Diomansy Kamara 16 MF Robert Koren 17 MF Darren Carter

No. Position Player 19 MF Jason Koumas 20 DF Paul McShane 21 FW Kevin Phillips 23 DF Jeff Forsyth 24 MF Ronnie Wallwork 26 MF Rob Davies 27 FW Rob Elvins 28 DF Jared Hodgkiss 30 GK Luke Daniels 31 GK Dean Kiely 32 FW Sherjill MacDonald (on loan from Apeldoorn) 33 FW Michael Nardiello 34 DF Sam Sodje (on loan from Reading)

[edit] Players out on loan

No. Position Player 2 DF Steve Watson (on loan to Sheffield Wednesday) 13 GK Luke Steele (on loan to Coventry City) 22 FW Stuart Nicholson (on loan to Bristol Rovers) 29 GK Tomasz Kuszczak (on loan to Manchester United)

For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2006-07.

[edit] Notable former players

See also: Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. players

Name	Period
Bob Taylor	1992 - 1998 & 2000 - 2003
Bryan Robson	1975 - 1981
Laurie Cunningham	1977 - 1979
Thomas Gaardsoe	2003 - 2006
Enzo Maresca	1998 - 2000
Bobby Robson	1956 - 1962
Lee Hughes	1997 - 2001 & 2002 - 2004
Robert Earnshaw	2004 - 2006
Darren Moore	2001 - 2006
Brendan Batson	1978 - 1982
Kevin Kilbane	1997 - 1999
Jeff Astle	1965 - 1974
Tony Brown	1961 - 1980
Cyrille Regis	1977 - 1984
Martin Jol	1982 - 1984
Nwankwo Kanu	2004 - 2006
Junichi Inamoto	2004 - 2006

[edit] Notable former managers

See also: Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers

• Fred Everiss (1902 - 1948)
• Vic Buckingham (1952 - 1959)
• Jimmy Hagan (1963 - 1967)
• Alan Ashman (1967 - 1971)
• Johnny Giles (1975 - 1977 & 1984 - 1985)
• Ron Atkinson (1978 - 1981 & 1987 - 1988)
• Osvaldo Ardiles (1992 - 1993)
• Gary Megson (2000 - 2004)

[edit] List of chairmen

Name	Period
Sir Bert Millichip	1974 - 1983
Sid Lucas	1983 - 1988
John Silk	1988 - 1992
Trevor Summers	1992 - 1994
Tony Hale	1994 - 2000
Paul Thompson	2000 - 2002
Jeremy Peace	2002 - Present

[edit] Grounds

Main article: The Hawthorns

West Bromwich Albion have played at the following grounds:^[13]

• Coopers Hill (1878 - 1879)
• Dartmouth Park (1879 - 1881)
• Bunns Field (1881 - 1882)
• Four Acres (1882 - 1885)
• Stoney Lane (1885 - 1900)
• The Hawthorns (1900 - present)

[edit] Honours

Main article: West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons

• Football League Division One (old),^[14] FA Premier League
  • Champions: 1920
  • Runners-Up: 1925, 1954
• Football League Second Division (old),^[15] Division One (modern), Football League Championship
  • Champions: 1902, 1911
  • Runners-Up: 1931, 1949, 2002, 2004
• Football League Third Division (old),^[16] Division Two (modern), Football League One
  • Play-off Winners: 1993
• FA Cup
  • Winners: 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968
  • Runners-Up: 1886, 1887, 1895, 1912, 1935
• Football League Cup
  • Winners: 1966
  • Runners-Up: 1967, 1970
• FA Charity Shield
  • Winners: 1920, 1954 (shared with Wolves)
  • Runners-Up: 1968
• Victories in minor cup competitions
  • FA Youth Cup: 1976
  • Tennent-Caledonian Cup: 1977
  • Birmingham Senior Cup: 1886, 1895, 1987, 1990, 1991
  • Staffordshire Senior Cup: 1883, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1900, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1933, 1951, 1969 (Shared with Stoke City)

[edit] Records

All-time club records:^[17]

• Record League victory — 12-0 v. Darwen (April 4, 1892)
• Record FA Cup victory — 10-1 v. Chatham (March 2, 1889)
• Record League defeat — 3-10 v. Stoke City (February 4, 1937)
• Record FA Cup defeat — 0-5 v. Leeds United (February 18, 1967)
• Highest attendance — 64,815 v. Arsenal (March 6, 1937, FA Cup Sixth Round)
• Most League appearances — 561 + 13 sub, Tony Brown 1963-81
• Most appearances overall — 706 + 14 sub, Tony Brown 1963-81
• Most goals scored overall — 279, Tony Brown 1963-81
• Most league goals scored in a season — 39, WG Richardson 1935-36
• Record transfer fee paid — £3.5 million to Cardiff City for Robert Earnshaw, August 2004
• Record transfer fee received — £5 million from Coventry City for Lee Hughes, August 2001^[18]

[edit] Trivia

• In 1957 Albion became the first British professional team to win a game in the Soviet Union. They played three games, drawing against FC Zenit in Leningrad (Russia) and beating Dynamo Tbilisi (Georgia) and the Soviet Army side, CSKA Moscow (Russia). A couple of decades later they became the first British professional team to play in China, a visit which was covered by the BBC TV documentary Albion in the Orient. During the Chinese tour, midfielder John Trewick was asked what he thought of the Great Wall of China. His famous reply was "Once you've seen one wall, you've seen them all".

[edit] References

• Matthews, T. (2002). The Official Encyclopaedia of West Bromwich Albion. Britespot. ISBN 1-904103-16-2. 
• McOwen, G. (2002). The Essential History of West Bromwich Albion. Hodder. ISBN 0-7553-1146-9. 

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Official Supporters Club

• West Bromwich Albion F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News - Recent results - Upcoming fixtures - Club stats
• Albion news from expressandstar.com
• Premierleague.com - West Bromwich Albion
• West Bromwich Albion Kits from the Past

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Accrington | Aston Villa | Blackburn Rovers | Bolton Wanderers | Burnley | Derby County | Everton | Notts County | Preston North End | Stoke City | West Bromwich Albion | Wolverhampton Wanderers

Football League Championship, 2006-2007
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