Black Country derby

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The Black Country derby is most commonly the local derby between the English football teams, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[1] The term 'Black Country derby' can also be given to a match between either of these teams and Walsall, though such matches are less common as a result of the teams relative league positionings - as of 2008, both Albion and Wolves had each played only 13 competitive matches against Walsall, compared to over 150 games against each other. In 2008 it was listed as the fiercest rivalry in English football.^[2]

1 History
2 Honours
3 Players who have represented both clubs
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The derby is one of the oldest in the world, with both clubs founder members of the English Football league. The games nearly always attracts a full houses at The Hawthorns and Molineux. The record attendance for the derby is 60,945, set on 4 March 1950 in a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns.

The first ever Black Country derby between the two teams took place on 2 January 1886 in the FA Cup, Albion won 3-1. In all, there have been 156 Black Country Derbies, seeing 62 Albion wins, 52 Wolves victories and 42 draws.

The two teams have only ever met once in the final of any competition - the Charity Shield in 1954. At the time, Wolves under then manager, Stan Cullis were widely regarded one of the best teams in the world, whilst Albion were famed for their unique brand of attacking football. The game finished 4-4 in front of huge Molineux crowd. The previous season had seen Wolves pip Albion to the league title as the latter came close to complete the first 20th century league 'double'.

The derby featured in the first 14 consecutive seasons of the Football League. However, the clubs once went 13 years without facing each other between 1911 and 1924 after West Brom were promoted from Division 2 while Wolves remained at that level for the intervening time.

In the subsequent time, the derby has featured almost annually or with minor breaks, with the longest gap since occuring between April 1984 and October 1989. The first of these dates marks the last time the sides faced one another in the top flight. The 2006/07 season saw the teams meet a record 5 times, with 2 league encounters, 2 play-off matches and an FA Cup 4th Round tie.

Recent years have seen the police intervene more closely in the timing of the games. The fixture has not been staged at the traditional English kick-off time of 3pm on a Saturday for over 12 years, although this has also often been at the request of television. Friction between the two clubs' fanbase has also seen major restrictions on local pubs on match days.^[3]

[edit] Honours

Wolves have won the league championship three times, compared to Albion's one title. Whilst Albion have won the FA Cup five times and Wolves have won four times, Wolves have won the League Cup twice and Albion have only won it once. Albion have also won the the Charity Shield (now titled the Community Shield) twice (once shared), with Wolves winning on four occasions (three shared).