West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion

Full name	West Bromwich Albion Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion
Short name	WBA, West Brom
Founded	1878 (1878) (as West Bromwich Strollers)
Ground	The Hawthorns
Ground Capacity	26,852 [1]
Owner	Guochuan Lai
Chairman	John Williams
Head Coach	Tony Pulis
League	Premier League
2016–17	Premier League, 10th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

West Bromwich Albion Football Club /ˈbrɒmɪtʃ/, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or simply WBA, is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands. The club was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground, The Hawthorns, since 1900.

Albion were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20, and have been runners-up twice but they have had more success in the FA Cup, winning it five times. The first came in 1888, the year the league was founded, and the most recent in 1968, their last major trophy. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. The club's longest consecutive period in the top division spanned twenty-four years between 1949 and 1973, and from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever spell out of the top division. They currently play in the Premier League.

The team has played in navy blue and white stripes for most of the club's history; and the club badge features a throstle perched on a hawthorn branch. Albion have a number of long-standing rivalries with other West Midlands clubs; their traditional rivals have always been Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the latter of whom they contest with in the Black Country derby.

History

Early years and glory (1878–1950)

The club was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by workers from George Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich, in Staffordshire.^[A][2] They were renamed West Bromwich Albion in 1880, becoming the first team to adopt the Albion suffix; Albion was a district of West Bromwich where some of the players lived or worked, close to what is today Greets Green.^[2] The club joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881 and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way. In 1883, Albion won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. Albion joined the Football Association in the same year; this enabled them to enter the FA Cup for the first time in the 1883–84 season.^[3] In 1885 the club turned professional,^[4] and in 1886 they reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2–0 to Blackburn Rovers in a replay. They reached the final again in 1887, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa. In 1888 the team won the trophy for the first time, beating strong favourites Preston North End 2–1 in the final.^[5] As FA Cup winners, they qualified to play in a Football World Championship game against Scottish Cup winners Renton, which ended in a 4–1 defeat.^[6]

In March 1888, William McGregor wrote to what he considered to be the top five English teams, including Albion, informing them of his intention to form an association of clubs that would play each other home and away each season. Thus when the Football League started later that year, Albion became one of the twelve founder members.^[7] Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3–0. They met Villa again in the 1895 final, but lost 1–0. The team suffered relegation to Division Two in 1900–01, their first season at The Hawthorns.^[8] They were promoted as champions the following season but relegated again in 1903–04.^[9] The club won the Division Two championship once more in 1910–11, and the following season reached another FA Cup Final, where they were defeated by Second Division Barnsley in a replay.^[10]

Albion won the Football League title in 1919–20 for the only time in their history following the end of World War I, their totals of 104 goals and 60 points both breaking the previous league records.^[11] The team finished as Division One runners-up in 1924–25, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield Town, but were relegated in 1926–27.^[12] In 1930–31, they won promotion as well as the FA Cup, beating Birmingham 2–1 in the final.^[13] The "Double" of winning the FA Cup and promotion has not been achieved before or since.^[14] Albion reached the final again in 1935, losing to Sheffield Wednesday, but were relegated three years later.^[15] They gained promotion in 1948–49,^[16] and there followed the club's longest unbroken spell in the top flight of English football, a total of 24 years.^[17][18]

Success and decline (1950–1992)

In 1953–54, Albion came close to being the first team in the 20th century to win the League and Cup double. They succeeded in winning the FA Cup, beating Preston North End 3–2, but injuries and a loss of form towards the end of the season meant that they finished as runners-up to fierce rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league.^[19] Nonetheless, Albion became known for their brand of fluent, attacking football, with the 1953–54 side being hailed as the "Team of the Century". One national newspaper went so far as to suggest that the team be chosen en masse to represent England at the 1954 FIFA World Cup finals.^[20] They remained one of the top English sides for the remainder of the decade, reaching the semi-final of the 1957 FA Cup and achieving three consecutive top five finishes in Division One between 1957–58 and 1959–60.

Although their league form was less impressive during the 1960s, the second half of the decade saw West Brom establish a reputation as a successful cup side. In 1966, under manager Jimmy Hagan, they beat West Ham United in their first League Cup appearance, winning 5–3 on aggregate in the last two-legged final. The following year they reached the final again, the first at Wembley, but lost 3–2 to Third Division Queens Park Rangers after being 2–0 up at half-time.^[21] Albion's cup form continued under Hagan's successor Alan Ashman. He guided the club to their last major trophy to date, the 1968 FA Cup, when they beat Everton in extra time thanks to a single goal from Jeff Astle.^[22] Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final and European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final in 1969, and were defeated 2–1 by Manchester City in the 1970 League Cup Final.^[23]

The club were less successful during the reign of Don Howe, and were relegated to Division Two at the end of 1972–73,^[24] but gained promotion three years later under the guidance of player-manager Johnny Giles.^[25] Under Ron Atkinson, Albion reached the 1978 FA Cup semi-final but lost to Ipswich Town.^[26] In May of that year, Albion became the first English professional team to play in China, going unbeaten on their five-game trip.^[27][28] In 1978–79, the team finished third in Division One, their highest placing for over 20 years, and also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final, where they were defeated by Red Star Belgrade.^[29] The team around this time was notable for simultaneously fielding three black players: Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson; and is considered to be an integral part of the acceptance of black footballers in the English leagues. In his second spell as manager, Ronnie Allen guided the team to both domestic cup semi-finals in 1981–82.^[30] The mid-1980s saw the start of Albion's longest and deepest decline. They were relegated in 1985–86 with the worst record in the club's history,^[31] beginning a period of sixteen years outside the top flight. Five years later, the club were relegated to the Third Division for the first and only time.^[32]

Recent years and revival (1992–present)

Albion had spent the majority of their history in the top-flight of English football, but when the FA Premier League was founded in 1992 the club found themselves in the third tier, which had been renamed Division Two. In 1992–93, Albion finished fourth and entered the playoffs for the first time, having just missed out the previous year. Albion's first appearance at Wembley for over 20 years – and their last ever at the original stadium – saw them beat Port Vale 3–0 to return to the second level – now renamed the First Division.^[33] Manager Ossie Ardiles then joined Tottenham Hotspur, however, and a succession of managers over the next few seasons saw Albion consolidate their Division One status without ever mounting a serious promotion challenge.

The appointment of Gary Megson in March 2000 heralded an upturn in the club's fortunes. Megson guided Albion to Division One safety in 1999–2000, and to the play-offs a year later. He went on to lead the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2001–02.^[34] After being relegated in their first Premier League season,^[35] they made an immediate return to the top flight in 2003–04.^[36] In 2004–05, Megson's successor, former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, led the team to a last-day "Great Escape", when Albion became the first Premier League club to avoid relegation having been bottom of the table at Christmas.^[37] This feat was repeated by Sunderland in the 2013–14 season and Leicester the following year, but West Brom remain the only team to also have been bottom during the final day of the season. Despite this success, they failed to avoid the drop the following season,^[38] and Robson was replaced by Tony Mowbray in October 2006.^[39] The club competed in the Championship promotion playoff final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, but lost 1–0 to Derby County.^[40]

The following season, Mowbray led the Baggies to Wembley again, this time in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they lost 1–0 to Portsmouth.^[41] One month later, Albion were promoted to the Premier League as winners of the Championship,^[42] but were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 campaign.^[43] Mowbray left the club to manage Celtic and was replaced by Roberto Di Matteo,^[44] who led the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt,^[45] but was dismissed in February 2011 and replaced by Roy Hodgson.^[46] May 2012 saw Roy Hodgson, having led West Brom to a tenth-place finish in his first season, leave to become the manager of the England national team. Steve Clarke then led Albion to an eighth-place finish in 2012–13, their highest in the Premier League, but was sacked halfway through the following season^[47] and replaced by Pepe Mel,^[48] who left by mutual consent at the end of the campaign. After the brief tenure of Alan Irvine,^[49] Tony Pulis was appointed head coach on 1 January 2015.^[50][51] On 5 August 2016, it was announced the club had been sold to a Chinese investment club headed up by Guochuan Lai, and John Williams replaced Peace as chairman.^[52]

Colours and crest

Colours

West Brom have played in navy blue and white striped shirts for the majority of their existence, usually with white shorts and white socks. The team is occasionally referred to as the Stripes by supporters.^[53] A number of different colours were trialled during the club's formative years however, including cardinal red and blue quarters in 1880–81, yellow and white quarters in 1881–82, chocolate and blue halves in 1881–82 and 1882–83, red and white hoops in 1882–83, chocolate and white in 1883–84 and cardinal red and blue halves in 1884–85.^[54] The blue and white stripes made their first appearance in the 1885–86 season, although at that time they were of a lighter shade of blue; the navy blue stripes did not appear until after the First World War.^[55] For the regional leagues played during the Second World War, Albion were forced to switch to all-blue shirts, as rationing meant that striped material was considered a luxury.^[56]

Like all football clubs, Albion sport a secondary or "change" strip when playing away from home against a team whose colours clash with their own. As long ago as the 1890s, and throughout much of the club's early history, a change strip of white jerseys with black shorts was worn.^[57] The away shirt additionally featured a large 'V' during the First World War.^[58] In the 1935 FA Cup Final, however, when both of Albion and Sheffield Wednesday's kits clashed, a switch was made to plain navy blue shirts. An all-red strip was adopted at the end of the 1950s, but was dropped following defeat in the 1967 League Cup Final, to be replaced by the all-white design that was worn during the club's FA Cup run of 1967–68.^[57] Since then the away strip has changed regularly, with yellow and green stripes the most common of a number of different designs used. In the 1990s and 2000s a third kit has occasionally been introduced.^[59]

Albion players – along with those of other Football League teams – first wore numbers on the back of their shirts in the abandoned season of 1939–40,^[60] and names on the back of their shirts from 1999–2000.^[61] Red numbers were added to the side of Albion players' shorts in 1969.^[57]

Kit sponsors

BSR Housewares became the club's first shirt sponsor during the 1981–82 season.^[55] The club's shirts have been sponsored for the majority of the time since then, although there was no shirt sponsor at the end of the 1993–94 season, after local solicitors Coucher & Shaw were closed down by the Law Society of England and Wales.^[62] Unusually for a Premier League club, Albion were again without a shirt sponsor for the start of the 2008–09 campaign, as negotiations with a new sponsor were still ongoing when the season began.^[63] The longest-running shirt sponsorship deal agreed by the club ran for seven seasons between 1997 and 2004 with the West Bromwich Building Society.^[55][64] Other sponsors have included T-Mobile (2004–08), Homeserve (2010–11), Bodog (2011–12), Zoopla (2012–14), Intuit Quickbooks (2014–15), TLCBET (2015–16) and K8 group (2016–2017).

Since May 2011, West Brom's kit has been manufactured by Adidas, who are contracted until 2016.^[65] Previous manufacturers have included Diadora (2003–2006) and Umbro (2006–11).

Badge

Albion's main club badge dates back to the late 1880s, when club secretary Tom Smith suggested that a throstle (song thrush) sitting on a crossbar be adopted for the badge.^[66][B] Since then, the club badge has always featured a throstle, usually on a blue and white striped shield, although the crossbar was replaced with a hawthorn branch at some point after the club's move to the Hawthorns. The throstle was chosen because the public house in which the team used to change kept a pet thrush in a cage. It also gave rise to Albion's early nickname, the Throstles. As late as the 1930s, a caged throstle was placed beside the touchline during matches and it was said that it only used to sing if Albion were winning.^[66] In 1979, an effigy of a throstle was erected above the half-time scoreboard of the Woodman corner at the Hawthorns,^[67] and was returned to the same area of the ground following redevelopment in the early 2000s.^[68]

In 1975, a version of the badge (on a roundel rather than a shield) was granted by the College of Arms to the Football League for licensing to the club. The badge was described in heraldic blazon as, "On a roundel paly of thirteen argent and azure a missel thrush perched on a raspberry branch leaved and fructed proper." This is the only known occasion on which the branch has been described as a raspberry branch rather than a hawthorn branch: Rodney Dennys, the officer of arms responsible, may have been imperfectly briefed.^[69]

The badge has been subject to various revisions through the years, meaning that the club was unable to register it as a trademark. As a result of this, the badge was re-designed in 2006, incorporating the name of the club for the first time. The new badge gave Albion the legal protection they sought.^[70]

The main club badge should be distinguished from the badge displayed on the first team strip, as the two have rarely coincided. No badge appeared on the kit for most of the club's history, although the Stafford knot featured on the team jerseys for part of the 1880s.^[71] The West Bromwich town arms were worn on the players' shirts for the 1931, 1935 and 1954 FA Cup finals. The town's Latin motto, "Labor omnia vincit," translates as "labour conquers all things" or "work conquers all". The town arms were revived as the shirt badge from 1994 until 2000,^[C] with the throstle moved to the collar of the shirts.

Albion's first regular shirt badge appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s where it was blue. Although it featured the throstle, it did not include the blue and white striped shield of the club badge.^[55] A similar design was also used during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the mid-1970s, a more abstract version of the throstle was used on the club's shirts, while in the late 1970s through to the mid-1980s, an embroidered WBA logo was displayed, a common abbreviation of the club's name in print.^[55] Not until the early 21st century did the full club badge appear on the team's shirts.^[55]

Stadium

The speed with which the club became established following its foundation is illustrated by the fact that it outgrew four successive grounds in its first seven years. The first was Cooper's Hill, where they played from 1878 to 1879. From 1879 to 1881, they appear to have alternated between Cooper's Hill and Dartmouth Park.^[72] During the 1881–82 season, they played at Bunn's Field, also known as the Birches. This had a capacity of between 1,500 and 2,000,^[73] and was Albion's first enclosed ground, allowing the club to charge an entrance fee for the first time.^[71] From 1882 to 1885, as the popularity of football increased, Albion rented the Four Acres ground from the well-established West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club. But they quickly outgrew this new home and soon needed to move again. From 1885 to 1900, Albion played at Stoney Lane; their tenure of this ground was arguably the most successful period in the club's history, as they won the FA Cup twice and were runners-up three times.

By 1900, when the lease on Stoney Lane expired, the club needed a bigger ground yet again and so made its last move to date. All of Albion's previous grounds had been close to the centre of West Bromwich, but on this occasion they took up a site on the town's border with Handsworth and Smethwick. The new ground was named The Hawthorns, after the hawthorn bushes that covered the area and were cleared to make way for it.^[74] Albion drew 1–1 with Derby County in the first match at the stadium, on 3 September 1900.^[75] The record attendance at the Hawthorns was on 6 March 1937, when 64,815 spectators saw Albion beat Arsenal 3–1 in the FA Cup quarter-final.^[76] The Hawthorns became an all-seater stadium in the 1990s, in order to comply with the recommendations of the Taylor Report.^[77] Its capacity today is 26,850,^[77] the four stands being known respectively as the Birmingham Road End, Smethwick End, East Stand and West Stand.^[78] At an altitude of 551 feet (168 m) above sea level, the Hawthorns is the highest of all the 92 Premier League and Football League grounds.^[79]

The Hawthorns is certificated under the highest UEFA pitch surfaces which means it is ready to host almost any competition if required, however attendance may scupper this. Its West Stand could be developed over the Halford's Lane road at the back of the stand to allow an upper tier, approximately adding around 5,000 to the capacity of The Hawthorns. Other developments can include the filling in of The Millennium and East-Rainbow corners if and when required.

West Bromwich Albion as a football club own many retail outlets around The Hawthorns stadium including its Megastore, its club store in Merry Hill and seasonally a club store for the first time in 2014, in West Bromwich Town Centre. They also own the former Hawthorns Pub, a Grade II listed building behind the West Stand on the corner of Halford's Lane and the Birmingham Road. This was opened against the home fixture against Southampton in September 2015 and serves as the official club fanzone with licensed bars, live music, fan favourites – such as mascots and children activities – as well as being shared with a high street food outlet. The pub is to compete with the famous The Vine pub in Roebuck Lane which a popular destination for all visiting and home football fans year-round.

Supporters

“	The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want: He makes me down to lie In pastures green; he leadeth me The quiet waters by.	”
— Lyrics to first verse of "The Lord's my Shepherd", from CCEL[80]

The West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club has branches throughout the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, Australia, Malta, Greece (unofficial), Jersey, Northern Ireland, United States (unofficial), India and Thailand.^[81] Albion's "club anthem" is The Lord's my Shepherd, a setting of Psalm 23.^[82] Supporters of the team celebrate goals by bouncing up and down and chanting "Boing Boing". This dates back to the 1992–93 season, when the team was promoted from the new Second Division.^[83] "The Liquidator" instrumental by the Harry J. Allstars has also been popularly used in the stadium since the late 1960s. In recent years fans of the team have celebrated the end of each season by adopting a fancy dress theme for the final away match, including dressing as vikings in 2004 in honour of Player of the Season Thomas Gaardsøe.^[84]

In 2002–03 Albion's fans were voted the best in the Premier League by their peers,^[85] while in the BBC's 2002 "national intelligence test" Test the Nation, they were found to be "more likely to be smarter than any other football supporters, registering an average score of 138".^[86]

Famous fans include comedian Frank Skinner, TV presenter Adrian Chiles, One Direction singer Liam Payne, comedian Lenny Henry, actress Julie Walters, actor Matthew Marsden, The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, tennis player Goran Ivanišević, television presenter Cat Deeley, boxer Richie Woodhall and guitarist Eric Clapton.^[87]

Publications

The club has published an official matchday programme for supporters since 1905.^[88] The publication was entitled Albion News for many years, but was renamed Albion from the 2002–03 season until the close season of 2013, when it was renamed back to Albion News.^[89] It won Premier League Programme of the Year in 2002–03 and Third Division Programme of the Year in 1991–92.^[90] In 2007–08, it was awarded Championship Programme of the Year by both Programme Monthly and the Football Programme Directory.^[91] The programme has a circulation in excess of 8,000 copies.^[92] The first West Bromwich Albion fanzine, Fingerpost, was published from 1983 until 1992, and was followed by several others, most notably Grorty Dick (1989–2005) and Last Train to Rolfe Street (1992–1995). Since Grorty Dick ceased publication in 2005, the club now only has one fanzine dedicated to it; 'Baggie Shorts' which is produced by the West Bromwich Albion Supporters' Club London Branch.^[93]

"Baggies" nickname

Although known in their early days as "the Throstles", the club's more popular nickname among supporters came to be the Baggies, a term which the club itself looked down upon for many years but later embraced. The phrase was first heard at the Hawthorns in the 1900s, but its exact origins are uncertain.^[94] One suggestion is that the name was bestowed on Albion supporters by their rivals at Aston Villa, because of the large baggy trousers that many Albion fans wore at work to protect themselves from molten iron in the factories and foundries of the Black Country.^[95] Club historian Tony Matthews however suggests that it derives from the "bagmen", who carried the club's matchday takings in big leather bags from the turnstiles to the cash office on the halfway line.^[96] Other theories relate to the baggy shorts worn by various players during the club's early years.^[94][96] The official club mascots are named Baggie Bird and Albi; both are based on the throstle depicted on the club crest.^[97]

Rivalries

Historically, Albion's greatest rivals have always been Aston Villa from nearby Birmingham. The two clubs contested three FA Cup Finals between 1887 and 1895 (Villa winning two and Albion one). More recently, however, most Albion fans have begun to see Wolverhampton Wanderers as their main rivals, particularly between 1989 and 2002, when Albion and Villa were never in the same division but Albion were in the same division as Wolves for 11 out of 14 seasons. With Albion and Villa being in different divisions for so many years, however, the rivalry became less heated and Aston Villa supporters now consider Birmingham City as their main local rivals and not Albion despite geographical distance between the two clubs. A less-heated rivalry also exists with Birmingham City, with whom Albion contested the 1931 FA Cup final, as well as a semi-final in 1968.^[98][99]

A number of hooligan firms associate themselves with Albion, including Section 5, Clubhouse and the Smethwick Mob.^[100]

Black Country Derby

West Bromwich Albion have contested the Black Country derby with the Wolverhampton Wanderers over 150 times, making this derby one of the oldest in world football. The first major clash between these two clubs came in an FA Cup tie in 1886. The rivalry came to prominence when the two clubs clashed in the League Cup final in 1953–54 (the Wolves triumphed - Wolves also narrowly beat West Brom to the league title, by 4 points); in the 1990s, this rivalry gathered even more fervour as both clubs languished in Division One for much of the decade.^[101] In 2002, Wolves were on track to receive promotion as Albion suffered a deficit of 11 points from the top of the table - though late in the season, Albion rallied and dethroned the Wolves, securing a hard earned promotion. The rivalry was further heightened after the sides met in the play-offs in 2007. A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com confirmed that the majority of both Albion and Wolves supporters consider the other to be their main rival. Despite their geographical location, fellow Black County club Walsall are seen as lesser rivals, having played in a lower division than Albion for most of their history.

West Bromwich Albion–Aston Villa Rivalry

Ranked by The Daily Telegraph as the most fierce in the region behind the Black Country derby and the Second City derby, games between Aston Villa and West Brom are quite fierce.^[102] The two first met on 9 December 1882, in the second round of the Staffordshire Cup: Villa hosted a 3–3 draw in front of 13,900 fans, while in the replay West Brom won by a single goal with an attendance of 10,500. On 3 January 1885, they met for the first time in the third round of the FA Cup: a goalless draw at West Brom was followed by a 3–0 victory for them away at Villa.^[103] The following year, both teams became founder members of the Football League. They met first in a league fixture on 19 January 1889, Villa winning 2–0 at home, and again the next week in a 3–3 draw.^[104] The two teams met in two further FA Cup finals in the 19th century, a 3–0 win for West Brom in 1892 and a 1–0 win for Aston Villa in 1895.^[103] Birmingham City were relegated from the Premier League in 2011 and Wolverhampton Wanderers a season later, leaving Aston Villa and West Brom as the only West Midlands teams in England's top division and without their respective main rivals^[105] and with Albion finishing above their nearest rivals for the second season in a row, the historic rivalry is re-surfacing. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Aston Villa were relegated, leaving West Brom the only West Midlands team in the top flight for the 2016–17 season.

In popular culture

In the 2000s BBC television drama series New Tricks, the characters Jack Halford, Brian Lane and Gerry Standing were so named by the writer Roy Mitchell in honour of the Halford Lane standing area of Albion's ground.^[106]

The 1960s television documentary programme Look at Britain screened an episode called "The Saturday Men" focusing on the club^[107]

Frank Skinner and Paula Wilcox starred in the comedy series Blue Heaven which followed the adventures of an Albion supporter in the 1990s and included scenes from the Hawthorns. Skinner is a real life Albion supporter.^[108]

The testimonial match of Albion player Len Cantello was the subject of the BBC documentary Whites Vs Blacks: How Football Changed A Nation.^[109]

Ownership and governance

In the club's formative years, West Bromwich Albion were run by a seven-man playing committee, and funded by each member contributing a weekly subscription of 6d (six pence) (2½p).^[110] Albion's first chairman was Henry Jackson, appointed in 1885, with the club becoming a limited company in June 1891.^[111] Other early chairmen of Albion included Jem Bayliss and Billy Bassett, both of whom had earlier played for the club. Indeed, from 1878 to 1986 there was always an Albion player or ex-player on the club's committee or board of directors.^[111] Bassett became an Albion director in 1905, following the resignation of the previous board in its entirety. The club was in deep financial trouble and had had a writ served upon them by their bank, but Bassett and returning chairman Harry Keys rescued the club, aided by local fund-raising activities.^[112] Bassett became chairman in 1908, and helped the club to avoid bankruptcy once more in 1910 by paying the players' summer wages from his own pocket.^[113] He remains Albion's longest-serving chairman, having held the position until his death in 1937.^[114] The club's longest-serving director was Major H. Wilson Keys, during the period 1930–1965, including 15 years as chairman. He became the FA's vice-president in 1969.^[115]

Sir Bert Millichip served as Albion chairman from 1974 to 1983, after which he chose to concentrate on his role as chairman of the Football Association.^[116] In 1996, the club became a public limited company, issuing shares to supporters at £500 and £3,000 each.^[117] The shares were quoted on the Alternative Investment Market, but the club withdrew from the stock exchange in order to become a private company again in 2004.^[118] The name of the company thus reverted from West Bromwich Albion plc to West Bromwich Albion Limited, the latter becoming a subsidiary of West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited. Jeremy Peace took up the post in 2002, after a rift between previous chairman Paul Thompson and manager Gary Megson forced Thompson to quit the club.^[119]

In September 2007, Peace acquired additional shares in West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited, taking his total stake in the company to 50.56%. This triggered a requirement, under the Takeover Code, for him to make a mandatory cash offer for the remaining shares in both WBA Holdings Ltd and WBA Ltd.^[120] Later that year, Michelle Davies became Albion's first female director.^[121] She, however, has since stepped down from this position.^[122] Jeremy Peace announced in June 2008 that he was looking for a major new investor for the club,^[123] but no firm proposals were received by 31 July deadline.^[124]

On 24 July 2015, Jeremy Peace announced that his sale exclusivity deal was now off after potential buyer was unable to fulfil terms of sale.^[125]

In July 2016, Peace announced that he had managed to find a buyer in the form of Chinese entrepreneur Guochuan Lai, the figure agreed upon is believed to have been £175 million. This take over was successfully completed ahead of schedule on 15 September the same year.^[126]

Players

Current squad

As of 10 August 2017^[127]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Ben Foster 2 DF Allan Nyom 4 FW Hal Robson-Kanu 5 MF Claudio Yacob 6 DF Jonny Evans (captain) 7 MF James Morrison 8 MF Jake Livermore 9 FW Salomón Rondón 10 MF Matt Phillips 11 MF Chris Brunt 13 GK Boaz Myhill

No. Position Player 14 MF James McClean 19 FW Jay Rodriguez 21 MF Callum McManaman 22 MF Nacer Chadli 23 DF Gareth McAuley (vice-captain) 25 DF Craig Dawson 26 DF Ahmed Hegazy (on loan from Al Ahly) 28 MF Sam Field 34 FW Rekeem Harper 40 GK Alex Palmer 45 MF Jonathan Leko 49 DF Kane Wilson

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 29 FW Zhang Yuning (at Werder Bremen until 30 June 2018) — DF Jack Fitzwater (at Forest Green Rovers until 3 January 2018)

Reserves and Academy

Coaching staff

Position	Staff[128]
Head Coach	Tony Pulis
Assistant Head Coach	Gary Megson
Assistant Head Coach	Mark O'Connor
Assistant Head Coach	Ben Garner
First Team Coach	Gerry Francis
Goalkeeping Coach	Jonathan Gould
Director of Football Administration	Richard Garlick
Director of Performance	Mark Gillett
Performance Physio	Richie Rawlings
Fitness Coach	Matt Green
Academy Director	Mark Harrison
Under-21 Senior Professional Development Phase Coach	James Shan
Professional Development Phase Coach	Darren Moore

Notable former players

As part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations in 2004, a survey was commissioned via the official West Bromwich Albion website and the Express & Star newspaper to determine the greatest West Brom players of all time. A modern-day, 16-man squad was compiled from the results; all selected players are depicted on a commemorative mural displayed at the Hawthorns. Fourteen of the sixteen players are English-born, with a fifteenth, Cyrille Regis, being a full England international. The list of 16 is as follows:^[129]

Name	Nat.	Years	Apps	Goals	Position
Bassett, BillyBilly Bassett		1886–99	311	77	Outside right
Pennington, JesseJesse Pennington		1903–22	496	0	Left back
Richardson, W. G.W. G. Richardson		1929–45	354	228	Centre forward
Barlow, RayRay Barlow		1944–60	482	48	Left half
Allen, RonnieRonnie Allen		1950–61	458	234	Centre forward
Howe, DonDon Howe		1952–64	379	19	Right back
Brown, TonyTony Brown		1963–81	720	279	Wing half/Inside forward
Astle, JeffJeff Astle		1964–74	361	174	Centre forward
Osborne, JohnJohn Osborne		1967–72 1973–78	312	0	Goalkeeper
Wile, JohnJohn Wile		1970–83	619	29	Centre half
Johnston, WillieWillie Johnston		1972–79	261	28	Outside left
Robson, BryanBryan Robson		1974–81	249	46	Central midfielder
Statham, DerekDerek Statham		1976–87	373	11	Left back
Cunningham, LaurieLaurie Cunningham		1977–79	114	30	Winger
Regis, CyrilleCyrille Regis		1977–84	302	112	Centre forward
Hoult, RussellRussell Hoult		2001–07	213	0	Goalkeeper

Other notable honours bestowed upon West Brom players include the PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was presented to Cyrille Regis in 1979.^[130] In 1998, Billy Bassett and Bryan Robson were named among the list of Football League 100 Legends, along with Arthur Rowley, Geoff Hurst and Johnny Giles.^[131] Bryan Robson was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002,^[132] to be joined two years later by Geoff Hurst.^[133] Bobby Robson, a player with Albion, has also been inducted, although this was for his achievements as a manager.^[134] In 1919–20, Fred Morris became the first Albion player to finish as top goalscorer in Division One, a feat which has since been repeated by Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Jeff Astle and Tony Brown.^[D][135] Brown, who holds the club records for goals and appearances, was voted into the PFA Centenary Hall of Fame in July 2007.^[136]

Player of the Year

Year Winner 1979 Bryan Robson 1980 N/A 1981 Tony Godden 1982 Cyrille Regis 1983 N/A 1984 Paul Barron 1985 Garry Thompson 1986 Stephen Hunt 1987 Stuart Naylor 1988 Carlton Palmer 1989 Chris Whyte 1990 Bernard McNally 1991 Graham Roberts

Year Winner 1992 Daryl Burgess 1993 Bob Taylor 1994 Daryl Burgess 1995 Paul Mardon 1996 Andy Hunt 1997 Ian Hamilton 1998 Alan Miller 1999 Lee Hughes 2000 Larus Sigurdsson 2001 Neil Clement 2002 Russell Hoult 2003 Jason Koumas 2004 Thomas Gaardsoe

Year Winner 2005 Ronnie Wallwork 2006 Jonathan Greening 2007 Diomansy Kamara 2008 Kevin Phillips 2009 Chris Brunt 2010 Graham Dorrans 2011 Youssouf Mulumbu 2012 Ben Foster 2013 Gareth McAuley 2014 Ben Foster 2015 James Morrison 2016 Darren Fletcher 2017 Ben Foster

Partial list of managers

The following managers have all led West Bromwich Albion to at least one of the following achievements while in charge of the club: winning a major trophy or reaching the final, achieving a top three league finish in the top flight, winning promotion or reaching the quarter-finals of a major European competition.

Name	Nat.	Years	P	W	D	L	Achievements
Ford, LouisLouis Ford[E]		1890–92	58	18	10	30	FA Cup winners 1892
Stephenson, EdwardEdward Stephenson[E]		1894–95	36	14	5	17	FA Cup runners-up 1895
Heaven, FrankFrank Heaven[E]		1896–02	214	86	45	83	Division Two champions 1901–02
Everiss, FredFred Everiss[E]		1902–48	1520	656	331	533	Promotion as Division Two winners 1910–11, FA Cup runners-up 1912, 1935, Division One winners 1919–20, Division One runners-up 1924–25, Promotion as Division Two runners-up 1930–31, FA Cup winners 1931
Smith, JackJack Smith		1948–52	179	70	46	63	Promotion as Division Two runners-up 1948–49
Buckingham, VicVic Buckingham		1953–59	301	130	78	93	Division One runners-up 1953–54, FA Cup winners 1954
Hagan, JimmyJimmy Hagan		1963–67	201	78	49	74	League Cup winners 1966, League Cup runners-up 1967
Ashman, AlanAlan Ashman		1967–71	182	64	49	69	FA Cup winners 1968, European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finalists 1968–69, League Cup runners-up 1970
Giles, JohnnyJohnny Giles		1975–77, 1984–85	159	60	42	57	Promotion from Division Two 1975–76
Atkinson, RonRon Atkinson		1978–81, 1987–88	212	85	68	59	Division One 3rd place 1978–79, UEFA Cup quarter-finalists 1978–79
Ardiles, OsvaldoOsvaldo Ardiles		1992–93	55	30	11	14	Promotion as Division Two play-off winners 1992–93
Megson, GaryGary Megson		2000–04	221	94	50	77	Promotion as Division One runners-up 2001–02, 2003–04
Mowbray, TonyTony Mowbray		2006–09	140	57	32	51	Promotion as Championship winners 2007–08
Di Matteo, RobertoRoberto Di Matteo		2009–11	82	40	19	23	Promotion as Championship runners-up 2009–10

Records

West Bromwich Albion's record victory was their 12–0 league win against Darwen on 4 April 1892.^[4] This is still the widest margin of victory for a game in the top-flight of English football, although the record was equalled by Nottingham Forest when they beat Leicester Fosse by the same scoreline in 1909.^[137] Albion's biggest FA Cup victory came when they beat Chatham 10–1 on 2 March 1889. The club's record league defeat was a 3–10 loss against Stoke City on 4 February 1937, while a 0–5 defeat to Leeds United on 18 February 1967 represents Albion's heaviest FA Cup loss.^[4]

Tony Brown holds a number of Albion's club records. He has made the most appearances overall for the club (720), as well as most appearances in the league (574), FA Cup (54) and in European competition (17). Brown is the club's top scorer in the league (218), the FA Cup (27) and in Europe (8). He is also the club's record scorer overall, with 279 goals. W. G. Richardson scored 328 goals for the club, but this includes 100 during World War II, which are not normally counted towards competitive totals. Richardson holds the club record for most league goals in a single season, scoring 39 times in 1935–36.^[4][138]

Albion's most capped international player, taking into account only those caps won while at the club, is Chris Brunt. He has appeared 38 times for Northern Ireland as a West Brom player, earning 48 caps in total.^[139][140] Jesse Pennington is the club's most capped England international, with 25 caps.^[141] The highest transfer fee paid by the club is £12 million to Zenit Saint Petersburg for Salomón Rondón on 10 August 2015; the deal could rise to over £15 million with appearance fee and other add-ons.^[142] The record transfer from Albion to another club is that of Curtis Davies to Aston Villa in July 2008 for a fee of £8.5 million.^[4]

Honours

^[143]

Football League First Division (old), Premier League (modern) (1)

• Champions: 1919–20
• Runners-up: 1924–25, 1953–54

Football League Second Division (old), Football League Championship (modern) (3)

• Champions: 1901–02, 1910–11, 2007–08
• Runners-up: 1930–31, 1948–49, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2009–10

FA Cup (5)

• Winners: 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968
• Finalists: 1886, 1887, 1895, 1912, 1935

Football League Cup (1)

• Winners: 1966
• Finalists: 1967, 1970

FA Charity Shield (2)

• Winners: 1920, 1954 (shared)
• Runners-up: 1931, 1968

FA Youth Cup (1)

• Winners: 1976
• Finalists: 1955, 1969

Minor Honours

Football World Championship ^[6]

• Runners-up: 1888

Birmingham Senior Cup ^{[144] [145] [146]}

• Winners: 1886, 1895, 1988, 1990, 1991, 2012, 2014
• Finalists: 1887, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1903, 1905, 2002

Staffordshire Senior Cup ^[147]

• Winners: 1883, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1933, 1951, 1969 (shared)
• Finalists: 1884, 1888, 1898, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1925, 1938

Bass Charity Vase ^[148]

• Winners: 1999, 2000, 2003, 2017

Tennent Caledonian Cup ^[149]

• Winners: 1977

Watney Cup ^[150]

• Finalists: 1971

Footnotes

References

General

• McOwan, Gavin (2002). The Essential History of West Bromwich Albion. Headline. ISBN 0-7553-1146-9. 
• Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-23-2. 
• Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-474-4. 
• Matthews, Tony (2007). West Bromwich Albion: The Complete Record. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-565-4. 
• Adrian Chiles (presenter) (2005). Full Throstle: The Official History of West Bromwich Albion (DVD). Manchester, England: Paul Doherty International. Cat No. WBADVD05. Retrieved 3 December 2007. 

Specific

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Bromwich Albion F.C..

• West Bromwich Albion F.C. Official Website
• Official Supporters Club
• Former Players Association
• Women's team
• West Bromwich Albion F.C. Official Hospitality Website