West Bromwich Albion F.C.

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

West Bromwich Albion Football Club is an English football club that was formed in 1878 by workers from Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire, now part of the West Midlands). Commonly called West Brom, or W.B.A., less commonly Albion, they currently play in the Football League Championship.

The club reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 1886, just eight years after its foundation, but ended as runners-up. They repeated this achievement the following year, but in 1888 it was third time lucky as Albion won this prestigious trophy for the first time. This, if nothing else, made them an automatic choice to be one of the twelve founder members of the Football League which was established later that year.

They won their only league title in 1920, but to date they have won the FA Cup five times. The most recent occasion was in 1968 when they beat Everton thanks to a single goal from iconic centre-forward Jeff Astle. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966, beating West Ham United in the last two-legged final.

Albion's most memorable times of more recent years came under the management of Ron Atkinson in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they qualified for the UEFA Cup twice and on one occasion reached the quarter final. Atkinson's team won widespread approval for its attractive, attacking style of football, and also for its pioneering selection of players of Afro-Caribbean origins, but material success in the form of trophies eluded it.

Since the 1980s Albion have failed to maintain even this relatively modest level of success. 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 being spent in the Premiership between 2002 and 2006) they are currently playing in the Football League Championship. The 1968 FA Cup win is still their most recent major trophy to date.

Contents

[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. They joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881, and this made them 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, 1882, Albion joined the Staffordshire FA, and that same season the club won its first trophy: the Staffordshire Cup. They also entered the FA Cup for the first time in the 1882-83 season, and in 1886 they reached the final for the first time. They finished as runners-up, and repeated this achievement the following year, but in 1888 they went one better and won the trophy for the first time. Of all the clubs that went on to join the Football League, only Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa had also won it previously; ironically, these 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, with one notable exception, but to date they have won the FA Cup a total of five times; only seven clubs have more wins. 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).

Post War heroes include Ray Barlow, Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Tony Brown, Jeff "The King" Astle, Cyrille Regis, Bryan Robson and "Super" Bob Taylor.

[edit] Into the twentieth century

Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892, but 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 was another cup final appearance in 1912, but this turned to embarrassment as Albion were beaten (in a replay) by Second Division Barnsley. Following the end of the war, however, Albion won the Football League title for the only time in their history.

This was an isolated success however, and before long they were relegated again. But this led to a unique success, when in 1930-31 they became the first club to win the FA Cup and promotion from the Second Division in the same season. As of 2006, this feat has never been 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, but their League form was affected by a series of injuries towards the end of the season and they finished as runners-up to Wolves.

Albion's last major trophy to date was the 1967-68 FA Cup. They also appeared in three League Cup finals between 1966 and 1970, winning the first of the three in 1965-66.

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

Albion had a three-year spell in the Second Division in the mid-1970s. 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. Atkinson's side twice qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their League position, and on one of these occasions they reached the quarter-finals. But material success in the form of trophies eluded the team during this time.

Atkinson was lured away to Manchester United in 1981,returning to poach star midfielders Bryan Robson and Remi Moses and although his successor Ronnie Allen guided the team to both domestic Cup semi-finals in 1981-82 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 even 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

At the end of Albion's first ever season at that level the FA Premier League was founded, and the Third Division became known as the Second. Albion had finished seventh that year, just outside the play-off places, but in 1993 they finished fourth and entered the play-offs for the first time. The second leg of the play-off semi-final, when The Hawthorns was packed to the rafters to watch Albion overturn a 1-2 deficit against Swansea City to win 3-2 on aggregate, is still cited by many fans and players as their most memorable Albion game ever.[citation needed] (It was the last major game before the stadium was converted to an all-seater.) It set Albion up for their first appearance at Wembley for over twenty years (and their last ever at the old 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 the fans' adulation quickly turned to bitterness[citation needed] when Ardiles was lured away to manage his former club, Tottenham Hotspur.

Ardiles' assistant Keith Burkinshaw was promoted to manager and Albion survived a relegation scare in 1994, a victory at Portsmouth on the final day of the season condemning local rivals Birmingham City to the drop instead.

Burkinshaw was unable to improve on this modest achievement, and neither was any of a succession of managers in the following five or six years. Albion retained their First Division status, but without ever mounting a serious promotion challenge. It was in March 2000, with the side in great danger of dropping back into the Second, that Gary Megson was appointed as manager.

[edit] The Megson revolution: 2000-2

Megson saved Albion from immediate relegation; despite having very little time left to do business before the transfer deadline, Megson nevertheless managed to recruit no fewer than six new players, and Albion avoided relegation by beating champions elect Charlton Athletic on the final day of the 1999-00 season.

The next season Albion finished sixth in the First Division and so made the play-offs. This adventure ended with a heavy defeat to Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final, but the following year (2001-02) Albion avoided the play-offs altogether by finishing as runners-up and thus securing automatic promotion. After sixteen years in the lower divisions - the club's longest ever spell out of the top flight, they took their place in the Premiership, over the heads of their bitterest local rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

[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.[citation needed] 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, and despite being bottom again as the season went into its final game, they managed to survive relegation on the final day.

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. But yet again Albion struggled for points, and this time there was no escape (great or otherwise). They were relegated for the second time in three years, to what was by now known as The Championship.

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.

Many of the fans had lost confidence in Robson by this time, and following the draw against Southend the Board clearly agreed. Albion and Robson parted company "by mutual consent".

[edit] Back to the drawing board: 2006

The decision to sack Robson seemed to come as a shock to the players, and also to Robson's assistant Nigel Pearson who was immediately appointed as caretaker manager. On Friday 13 October 2006 it was announced that Albion's new boss would be Tony Mowbray - the appointment to take effect on Wednesday 18 October. In the intervening five days Albion played twice, Pearson's Albion beating Ipswich Town 5-1, their biggest away win for over a quarter of a century.

On Monday 16 October Pearson announced that he was leaving with immediate effect, two days before Mowbray took up his post, and within days he was appointed assistant manager of Newcastle United. This left reserve team coach Craig Shakespeare to take charge for one game, against Crystal Palace (a 2-0 victory).

Mowbray was known by fans of British football as a tough-tackling centre back with Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town 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 his first game in charge, The Baggies beat Wolves 3-0, their biggest win over their Black Country rivals for over 25 years. Albion's form dropped however, picking up one point from the following four matches and being knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal, before beating high flying Burnley 3-0 at The Hawthorns. Disappointment followed a week later with a 0-1 defeat away to Stoke.

[edit] Honours

[edit] League

[edit] Cup Competitions

[edit] Minor Cup Competitions

[edit] County Cups

  • Birmingham Senior Cup
    • Winners: 1886, 1895, 1987, 1990, 1991
    • Runners-Up: 1887, 1888, 1889, 1892, 1894, 1903, 1905, 2002
  • Staffordshire Senior Cup
    • Winners: 1883, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1900, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1933, 1951, 1969 (Shared with Stoke City)
    • Runners-Up: 1884, 1888, 1898, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1925, 1938

[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's said that it only used to sing if the Albion were winning. A giant effigy of a throstle used to perch on top of the scoreboard in the Woodman Corner of The Hawthorns, until 1994, when it was moved to the Halfords/Smethwick Corner. It returned to the re-built Woodman Corner in 2001.

The more popular nickname however has always been The Baggies. There are several theories for how this name may have originated [1]. 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'. It could also originate from the turnstile operators who took bags of money from the turnstiles to the cash office located on the halfway line. As they emerged during the first half the crowd would say 'here come the baggies', and the name then stuck. Another theory, which has little evidence to support it, is that Albion were one of the last teams to change to smaller shorts, keeping the longer baggy shorts.

Fans will sometimes refer to the team as The Stripes (for example, one of the more famous football chants is rendered at The Hawthorns as "Oh when the Stripes go marching in"). This recognises the fact that Albion are the only major team in the West Midlands that plays in striped shirts (or jerseys, as they used to be known).

The club is also known colloquially as The Albion or West Brom. The latter is clearly just an abbreviation of the club's rather cumbersome full name, while the former recognises the rarity of this suffix. West Bromwich was in fact the first club to use this as an appendage to its name, and it was later copied by such clubs 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 (along with "the Villa", "the Wolves", and "the Blues"), while further afield "West Brom" and "W.B.A." are probably more common.

[edit] Supporters

Despite its proximity to Birmingham, the majority of Albion's supporters come from the nearby Black Country. The fanbase was traditionally working class, as befits such an industrial area, and this generally still holds true today.

Albion have a supporters club, which has branches throughout the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Malta and Thailand.

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. 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.

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

 

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". (At the other end of the scale was Burnley FC with an average IQ of 76).

[2]

[edit] Rivalry

Albion have a fierce local rivalry with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa. This rivalry is long standing as all three clubs were founder members of the Football League in the late 19th century. There is also a far less aggressive rivalry with Birmingham City. Since the late 1980s, they have exercised their rivalry with Wolves the most frequently. During this time there were regular derbies with Birmingham. In 2002, Albion played Villa for the first time since 1988 and played each other over three of the next four seasons.

Albion's well-known nicknames for the supporters of rival teams include 'Dingles', 'Dogheads' or 'Tatters' for Wolverhampton Wanderers (their local rivals), who the Baggies recently beat 3-0 at The Hawthorns. Whilst generally referring to Aston Villa as "the seals".

Their "Section 5" hooligan firm have infamously clashed with supporters of clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Walsall, Aston Villa,Bristol City, Birmingham City and Cardiff City

[edit] Current first team squad

No. Position Player
1 Switzerland GK Pascal Zuberbühler
2 England DF Steve Watson
3 England DF Paul Robinson
4 England DF Chris Perry
5 England DF Neil Clement
6 England DF Curtis Davies (captain)
7 Scotland MF Nigel Quashie
8 England MF Jonathan Greening
9 England FW Nathan Ellington
10 Wales FW John Hartson
11 Hungary MF Zoltán Gera
12 England MF Richard Chaplow
13 England GK Luke Steele
No. Position Player
14 Denmark DF Martin Albrechtsen
15 Senegal FW Diomansy Kamara
17 England MF Darren Carter
18 Denmark MF Thomas Gaardsøe
19 Wales MF Jason Koumas
20 Republic of Ireland DF Paul McShane
21 England FW Kevin Phillips
23 England DF Jeff Forsyth
25 England GK Russell Hoult
27 England FW Rob Elvins
28 England DF Jared Hodgkiss
30 England GK Luke Daniels
33 England FW Michael Nardiello

[edit] Players out on loan

No. Position Player
22 England FW Stuart Nicholson (on loan to Bristol Rovers)
24 England MF Ronnie Wallwork (on loan to Barnsley)
26 Wales MF Rob Davies (on loan to Kidderminster Harriers)
29 Poland GK Tomasz Kuszczak (on loan to Manchester United)

[edit] Managerial History

Note that all managers prior to 1948 were given the title secretary-manager

  • Louis Ford, (1890 - 1892)
  • Henry Jackson, (1892 - 1894)
  • Edward Stephenson, (1894 - 1895)
  • Clement Keys, (1895 - 1896)
  • Frank Heaven, (1896 - 1902)
  • Fred Everiss, (1902 - 1948)
  • Jack Smith, (1948 - 1952)
  • Jesse Carver, (1952)
  • Vic Buckingham, (1952 - 1959)
  • Gordon Clark, (1959 - 1961)
  • Archie Macaulay, (1961 - 1963)
  • Jimmy Hagan, (1963 - 1967)
  • Alan Ashman, (1967 - 1971)
  • Don Howe, (1971 - 1975)
  • Johnny Giles, (1975 - 1977) & (1984 - 1985)
  • Ronnie Allen, (1977) & (1981 - 1982)
  • Ron Atkinson, (1978 - 1981) & (1987 - 1988)- had three-and-half years at the helm during which Albion were one of the country's most feared sides
  • Ron Wylie, (1982 - 1984) - had two unsuccessful seasons as manager
  • Nobby Stiles, (1985 - 1986) - failed to make a difference to Albion's terrible form which saw them relegated to the Second Division
  • Ron Saunders, (1986 - 1987) - failed to prevent relegation and was sacked after failing to mount a promotion challenge
  • Brian Talbot, (1988 - 1991) - failed to impress as player-manager and was finally ousted as Albion slid towards the Second Division drop zone
  • Bobby Gould, (1991 - 1992) - took Albion to their lowest ebb of relegation to the old Third Division and moved to Coventry a year later having failed to win promotion
  • Osvaldo Ardiles, (1992 - 1993) - had one great season in charge and guided Albion to glory in the Division Two playoffs
  • Keith Burkinshaw, (1993 - 1994) - spent one season in charge and was sacked after Albion almost went down from Division One
  • Alan Buckley, (1994 - 1997) - spent two-and-a-half years in charge before being sacked for failing to get Albion anywhere near the top of Division One
  • Ray Harford, (1997) - spent 10 months as manager before being lured away by QPR
  • Denis Smith, (1997 - 1999) - ensured Division One survival for two seasons running but was sacked after just 18 months in charge
  • Brian Little, (1999 - (2000) - lasted just eight months before Albion's dismal form cost Little his job and almost cost Albion their Division One status
  • Gary Megson, (2000 - 2004) - achieved promotion to the Premiership twice but was sacked after announcing he would leave at the end of the season, with Albion struggling.
  • Bryan Robson, (2004 - 2006) - achieved Premiership survival in 2005 but was unable to prevent relegation the following season. Left the club by mutual consent on 18 September 2006 after the team won only three league matches out of the first eight.
  • Tony Mowbray, (2006 - current) appointed following his departure from Hibernian.

[edit] List of chairmen

[edit] Grounds

  • 1900 - Present Hawthorns

[edit] Trivia

  • Albion achieved a unique "double" in 1931 when they became the first team to win F.A. Cup and promotion to the First Division in the same season. 75 years later, no other team has yet achieved this feat.
  • 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. 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".
  • Albion has hosted various sporting events at the Hawthorns

[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.
  • Rollin, G&J (2001). Rothmans Football Yearbook 2001-2002. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7260-3.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the FA Premier League. At the same time, the Second Division was renamed the First Division, and the Third Division was renamed the Second Division.
  2. ^ http://home.skysports.com/column.aspx?hlid=284528&lid=Back_of_the_Net_column&title=Goran+goes+for+Baggies
  3. ^ Clapton claimed to support Albion after racist comments were attributed to him during the mid-1970s, when West Bromwich Albion were at the height of fighting racism in football. He also played a concert for John Wile's testimonial, and the back of the Album Backless features an Albion scarf draped over a guitar.

[edit] External links

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