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West Bromwich
Albion
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.
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).
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)
The Jeff Astle gates at The Hawthorns
The Jeff Astle gates at The Hawthorns
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, Derek Kevan 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. In 1957 Albion became the first
British professional team to win a game in the Soviet Union, at that
time firmly under the Iron Curtain. They played three games, drawing
against FC Zenit in Leningrad (Russia) and beating Dynamo Tbilisi
(Georgia) and the Soviet Army side, CSKA Moscow (Russia). The Soviets
were later invited back to England and Albion beat the Soviet Central
Army 6-5 in 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.
The early 1970s was a poor time for the Albion, and they were relegated
to Division Two in 1973, but gained promotion in 1976 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. Around this time, Albion
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".
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.
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.
he 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.
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.[2]
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.
Robson's assistant Nigel Pearson was immediately appointed as caretaker
manager. Albion remained unbeaten during his period in charge, which
included a 5-1 defeat of Ipswich Town, their first away win in the
league since January. Despite this, 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.
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. The match enraged Wolves season ticket
holders, who had to give up the Jack Harris stand to a huge following of
Albion supporters. 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. Albion then however lost narrowly to
Premiership Middlesbrough on penalties in the FA Cup and March saw a
poor run of league form, including a 1-0 defeat to fierce rival
Wolverhampton Wanderers. Albion, did however, secure a play-off place
with a 7-0 rout at home to Barnsley on the last day of the season. They
will now play their local rivals Wolves in the playoff semi-finals, the
first leg at Molineux on Sunday 13th May and the second leg at the
Hawthorns on Wednesday 16th May.
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.[3]
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.
The official West Bromwich Albion supporters club has branches
throughout the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, Australia, Canada,
Denmark, Malta and Thailand.[4] The supporters of West Bromwich Albion
are famous for the "Boing Boing" celebration, which involves the fans
bouncing up and down when the team scores a goal, while the preferred
song 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 previous years have
included suits, beachwear and even dressing as vikings. Albion fans
adopted an Irish theme - in honour of players Paul McShane and Dean
Kiely - for the match against Coventry City on 28 April, 2007 . The
6,411 away following was believed to be Albion's largest travelling
support for 13 years.[5] 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".[6]
Famous people who are known to support West Bromwich Albion include:
* Adrian Chiles (television presenter)
* Adrian Goldberg (broadcaster)
* Goran Ivanišević (tennis player)[
* Matthew Marsden (actor)
* Frank Skinner (comedian)
* Richie Woodhall (boxer
Notable former 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)
Chairmen
Name
Period
Sir Bert Millichip 1974 - 1983
John Silk
1988 - 1992
Trevor Summers 1992 - 1994
Tony Hale
1994 - 2000
Paul Thompson 2000 - 2002
Jeremy Peace 2002 -
Present
Grounds
The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.
The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.
Main article: The Hawthorns
West Bromwich Albion have played at the following grounds:[14]
* Coopers Hill (1878 - 1879)
* Dartmouth Park (1879 - 1881)
* Bunns Field (1881 - 1882)
* Four Acres (1882 - 1885)
* Stoney Lane (1885 - 1900)
* The Hawthorns (1900 - present)
Honours
* Football League Division One (old),[] FA Premier
League
o Champions: 1920
o Runners-Up:
1925, 1954
* Football League Second Division (old), Division One
(modern), Football League Championship
o Champions:
1902, 1911
o Runners-Up:
1931, 1949, 2002, 2004
* Football League Third Division (old),Division Two
(modern), Football League One
o Play-off
Winners: 1993
* FA Cup
o Winners: 1888,
1892, 1931, 1954, 1968
o Runners-Up:
1886, 1887, 1895, 1912, 1935
* Football League Cup
o Winners: 1966
o Runners-Up:
1967, 1970
* FA Charity Shield
o Winners: 1920,
1954 (shared with Wolves)
o Runners-Up:
1968
* Victories in minor cup competitions
o FA Youth Cup:
1976
o
Tennent-Caledonian Cup: 1977
o Birmingham
Senior Cup: 1886, 1895, 1987, 1990, 1991
o Staffordshire
Senior Cup: 1883, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1900, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1924, 1926,
1932, 1933, 1951, 1969 (Shared with Stoke City)
Records
All-time club records:
* 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, W. G.
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
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