West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion is a football (soccer) club from England.
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West Bromwich Albion Football Club , also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or WBA, are an English professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county). West Bromwich Albion was formed in 1878 by workers from Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich, and have played their home games at 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 English football champions only once, in 1919-20 in English football, but have had more success in the FA Cup, with five wins. The first came in FA Cup Final 1888, the year the league was founded, and the most recent in FA Cup Final 1968, their last major trophy. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966 Football League Cup Final. Since the early 1980s West Bromwich Albion has been less successful. From 1985-86 in English football to 2001-02 in English football they spent their longest ever period out of the top division, although there has been something of a revival in recent years: Premier League 2008-09 was West Bromwich Albion's fourth season in the Premier League since 2002. They will be playing in Football League Championship in 2009–10 in English football.
The team have played in blue and white stripes for most of their history. They have a number of long-standing rivalries with other Midlands clubs; their traditional rivals were Aston Villa F.C., but more recently their major rivalry is with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., with whom they contest the Black Country derby.
History
West Bromwich Albion was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by workers from Avery Weigh-Tronix in West Bromwich, then in Staffordshire but now part of the West Midlands administrative county. They were renamed West Bromwich Albion in 1880, becoming the first team to adopt the
Albion (disambiguation) Sport suffix. Albion was a district of West Bromwich where some of the players lived or worked, close to what is today Greets Green. In 1885 West Bromwich Albion turned professional, and in 1886 FA Cup Final they reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2–0 to Blackburn Rovers F.C. in a replay. They reached the final again in 1887 FA Cup Final, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa F.C.. In 1888 FA Cup Final West Bromwich Albion won the trophy for the first time, beating strong favourites Preston North End F.C. 2–1 in the final.
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. Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892 FA Cup Final, beating Aston Villa 3–0. They met Villa again in the 1895 FA Cup Final final, but lost 1–0. The team suffered relegation to Division Two in 1900-01 in English football, their first season at The Hawthorns. They were promoted as champions the following season but relegated again in 1903-04 in English football. West Bromwich Albion won the Division Two championship once more in 1910-11 in English football, and the following season reached another 1912 FA Cup Final, where they were defeated by Football League Second Division Barnsley F.C. in a replay.
Albion won the Football League title in 1919-20 in English football for the only time in their history following the end of the First World War, their totals of 104 goals and 60 points both breaking the previous league records. The team finished as Division One runners-up in 1924-25 in English football, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield Town F.C., but were relegated in 1926-27 in English football. In 1930-31 in English football they won promotion as well as the 1931 FA Cup Final, beating Birmingham F.C. 2–1 in the final. The "Double" of winning the FA Cup and promotion has not been achieved before or since. Albion reached the final again in 1935 FA Cup Final, losing to Sheffield Wednesday F.C., but were relegated three years later. They gained promotion in 1948-49 in English football, and there followed West Bromwich Albion's longest unbroken spell in the top flight of English football, a total of 24 years.
In 1953-54 in English football Albion came close to being the first team in the 20th century to win the The Double. They succeeded in winning the 1954 FA Cup Final, beating Preston 3–2, but a loss of form towards the end of the season meant that they finished as runners-up to fierce rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. in the league. 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 West Bromwich Albion be chosen
en masse to represent England national football team at the 1954 FIFA World Cup finals. 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 in English football and 1959-60 in English football.
Although their league form was less impressive during the 1960s, the second half of the decade saw West Bromwich Albion establish a reputation as a successful cup side. In 1966 Football League Cup Final, under manager Jimmy Hagan, they beat West Ham United F.C. in their first League Cup appearance, winning 5–3 on aggregate in the last two-legged final. The following year they reached the 1967 Football League Cup Final again, the first at Wembley Stadium (1923), but lost 3–2 to Third Division Queens Park Rangers F.C. after being 2–0 up at half-time. Albion's cup form continued under Hagan's successor Alan Ashman. He guided West Bromwich Albion to their last major trophy to date, the 1968 FA Cup Final, when they beat Everton F.C. in extra time thanks to a single goal from Jeff Astle. Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final and European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final in 1969, and were defeated 2–1 by Manchester City F.C. in the 1970 Football League Cup Final.
West Bromwich Albion were less successful during the reign of Don Howe, and were relegated to Division Two at the end of 1972-73 in English football, but gained promotion three years later under the guidance of player-manager Johnny Giles. Under Ron Atkinson, Albion reached the 1978 FA Cup semi-final but lost to Ipswich Town F.C.. In 1978-79 in English football, West Bromwich Albion finished third in Division One, their highest placing for over 20 years, and also reached the UEFA Cup 1978-79 quarter-final, where they were defeated by Red Star Belgrade. In his second spell as manager, Ronnie Allen guided West Bromwich Albion to both domestic cup semi-finals in 1981-82 in English football. The mid-1980s saw the start of Albion's longest and deepest decline. They were relegated in 1985-86 in English football with the worst record in West Bromwich Albion's history, beginning a period of sixteen years outside the top flight. Five years later West Bromwich Albion were relegated to the Football League Third Division for the first time.
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 West Bromwich Albion found themselves in the third tier, which had been renamed Football League Second Division. In 1992-93 in English football Albion finished fourth and entered the playoffs for the first time, having just missed out the previous year. Albion's first appearance at Wembley Stadium (1923) for over twenty years—and their last ever at the original stadium—saw them beat Port Vale F.C. 3–0 to return to the second level - now renamed the Football League First Division. Manager Osvaldo Ardiles then joined Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 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 in English football, and to the play-offs a year later. He went on to lead West Bromwich Albion to promotion to the FA Premier League in 2001-02 in English football. After being relegated in their first Premier League season, they made an immediate return to the top flight in 2003-04 in English football. In 2004-05 in English football Megson's successor, former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, led West Bromwich Albion 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. However they failed to avoid the drop the following season, and Robson was replaced by Tony Mowbray in October 2006. West Bromwich Albion competed in the Football League Championship play-offs final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, but lost 1–0 to Derby County. The following season Mowbray led the Baggies to Wembley again, this time in the semi-finals of the FA Cup 2007-08, where they lost 1–0 to Portsmouth F.C.. One month later, Albion were promoted to the Premier League as winners of the Championship, but were relegated at the end of the Premier League 2008–09 campaign. In June 2009, Mowbray left West Bromwich Albion to manage Celtic F.C. and was replaced by Roberto Di Matteo in the role of head coach.
Colours
West Bromwich Albion 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. A number of different colours were trialled during West Bromwich Albion'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. The blue and white stripes made their first appearance in the 1885-86 in English football 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. 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.
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 West Bromwich Albion's early history, a change strip of white jerseys with black shorts was worn. The away shirt additionally featured a large 'V' during the First World War. In the 1935 FA Cup Final however, when both of Albion and Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'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 Football League Cup Final, to be replaced by the all-white design that was worn during West Bromwich Albion's FA Cup 1967-68.
Albion players—along with those of other The Football League teams—first wore numbers on the back of their shirts in the abandoned season of 1939–40 in English football, and names on the back of their shirts from 1999–2000 in English football. Red numbers were added to the side of Albion players' shorts in 1969. Unusually for a Premier League club, Albion were again without a shirt sponsor for the start of the 2008–09 in English football campaign, as negotiations with a new sponsor were still ongoing when the season began. The longest-running shirt sponsorship deal agreed by West Bromwich Albion ran for seven seasons between 1997 and 2004 with the West Bromwich Building Society. Since 2006 Albion's Kit (football) has been manufactured by Umbro, who also produced West Bromwich Albion's clothing during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Crest
Albion's main club crest dates back to the late 1880s, when then club secretary Tom Smith suggested that a throstle sitting on a crossbar be adopted for the crest. Since then, West Bromwich Albion crest has always featured a throstle, usually on a blue and white striped shield, although the crossbar was replaced with a Common Hawthorn branch at some point after West Bromwich Albion's move to The Hawthorns. The throstle was chosen because the public house in which West Bromwich Albion 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. and was returned to the same area of the ground following redevelopment in the early 2000s.
The crest has been subject to various revisions through the years, meaning that West Bromwich Albion were unable to register it as a trademark. As a result of this, the crest was re-designed in 2006, incorporating the name of West Bromwich Albion for the first time. The new crest gave Albion the legal protection they sought.
The main club crest 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 West Bromwich Albion's history, although the Stafford knot featured on West Bromwich Albion jerseys for part of the 1880s. The West Bromwich town coat of arms were worn on the players' shirts for the 1931 FA Cup Final, 1935 FA Cup Final and 1954 FA Cup Final 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, with the throstle moved to the collar of the shirts.
Albion's first regular shirt crest appeared in the late 1960s and featured the familiar throstle, but without the blue and white striped shield of West Bromwich Albion crest. During the 1881-82 in English football season they played at Bunn's Field, also known as The Birches. This had a capacity of between 1,500 and 2,000, and was Albion's first enclosed ground, allowing West Bromwich Albion to charge an entrance fee for the first time. Albion drew 1–1 with Derby County F.C. in the first match at the stadium, on 3 September 1900. The record attendance at The Hawthorns was on 6 March 1937, when 64,815 spectators saw Albion beat Arsenal F.C. 3–1 in the FA Cup quarter-final. The Hawthorns became an all-seater stadium in the 1990s, in order to comply with the recommendations of the Taylor Report. Its capacity today is 28,003, At an altitude of 551 foot (length) (168 m) above sea level, The Hawthorns is the Highest English football stadia by altitude of all the 92 Premier League and The Football League grounds.
Supporters
The official West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club has branches throughout the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Malta and Thailand. Albion's "club anthem" is
The Lord's my Shepherd, a setting of Psalm 23. Supporters of West Bromwich Albion celebrate goals by bouncing up and down and chanting "Boing Boing". This dates back to the 1992-93 in English football season, when West Bromwich Albion was promoted from the new Football League Second Division. In recent years fans of West Bromwich Albion have celebrated the end of each season by adopting a Costume party theme for the final away match, including dressing as vikings in 2004 in honour of Player of the Season Thomas Gaardsøe. In 2002–03 Albion's fans were voted the best in the Premier League by their peers, 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".
Publications
West Bromwich Albion has published an official matchday Event programme for supporters since 1905. The publication was entitled
Albion News for many years, but was renamed
Albion from the 2002-03 in English football season onwards. It won Premier League Programme of the Year in 2002–03 and Third Division Programme of the Year in 1991–92. In 2007–08 it was awarded Championship Programme of the Year by both Programme Monthly and the Football Programme Directory. The programme has a circulation in excess of 8,000 copies. 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, West Bromwich Albion no longer has any fanzines dedicated to it.
"Baggies" nickname
Although known in their early days as "The Throstles", West Bromwich Albion's more popular nickname among supporters came to be
The Baggies, a term which West Bromwich Albion 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. One suggestion is that the name was bestowed on Albion supporters by their rivals at Aston Villa F.C., 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. Club historian Tony Matthews however suggests that it derives from the "bagmen", who carried West Bromwich Albion's matchday takings in big leather bags from the turnstiles to the cash office on the halfway line. Other theories relate to the baggy shorts worn by various players during West Bromwich Albion's early years.
Rivalries
Historically, Albion's greatest rivals were Aston Villa F.C. 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 seen Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. as their main rivals. Albion and Wolves have contested the Black Country derby more than 150 times; their first major clash was an FA Cup tie in 1886. The rivalry came to prominence when the two clubs contested the league title in 1953–54, and during the 1990s it intensified to new heights among supporters, with both clubs languishing in Division One for much of the decade and only local pride at stake. A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com confirmed that the majority of both Albion and Wolves supporters consider the other to be their main rival, Baggies fans naming Aston Villa and Birmingham City F.C. as their second and third rivals respectively. Walsall F.C. are seen as lesser rivals, having played in a lower division than Albion for most of their history. The hooligan firm who associate themselves with Albion are known as Section 5.
Ownership and governance
In West Bromwich Albion'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 (Sixpence (British coin)). Albion's first chairman was Henry Jackson (football manager), appointed in 1885, with West Bromwich Albion becoming a limited company in June 1891. 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 West Bromwich Albion's committee or board of directors. Bassett became chairman in 1908, and helped West Bromwich Albion to avoid bankruptcy once more in 1910 by paying the players' summer wages from his own pocket. He remains Albion's longest-serving chairman, having held the position until his death in 1937. The club's longest-serving director was Major H. Wilson Keys, during the period 1930–1965, including 15 years as chairman. He became The Football Association vice-president in 1969.
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. In 1996 West Bromwich Albion became a Public limited company, issuing shares to supporters at £500 and £3000 each. The shares were quoted on the Alternative Investment Market, but West Bromwich Albion withdrew from the stock exchange in order to become a private company again in 2004. 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. Current chairman 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. 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. Later that year, Michelle Davies became Albion's first female director. Jeremy Peace announced in June 2008 that he was looking for a major new investor for the club, but no firm proposals were received by the 31 July deadline.
Records and statistics
West Bromwich Albion's record victory was their 12–0 league win against Darwen F.C. on 4 April 1892. 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 F.C. on 4 February 1937, while a 0–5 defeat to Leeds United F.C. on 18 February 1967 represents Albion's heaviest FA Cup loss.
Albion's most capped international player, taking into account only those caps won whilst at the club, is Stuart Williams (footballer), who appeared 33 times for Wales national football team. Jesse Pennington is West Bromwich Albion's most capped England national football team international, with 25 caps. The highest transfer fee paid by West Bromwich Albion is £4.7 million to RCD Mallorca for Borja Valero in August 2008. The record transfer from Albion to another club is that of Curtis Davies to Aston Villa F.C. in July 2008, for a fee of £8.5 million.
Out on loan
For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers winter 2008–09.
Former players
As part of West Bromwich Albion'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 Bromwich Albion 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 national football team international. The list of sixteen is as follows:
Other notable honours bestowed upon West Bromwich Albion players include the PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was presented to Cyrille Regis in 1979. 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. Bryan Robson was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, to be joined two years later by Geoff Hurst. Bobby Robson, a player with Albion, has also been inducted, although this was for his achievements as a manager. In 1919-20 in English football, Fred Morris (footballer born 1893) became the first Albion player to finish as top goalscorer in Football League First Division, a feat which has since been repeated by Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Jeff Astle and Tony Brown. Brown, who holds West Bromwich Albion records for goals and appearances, was voted into the Professional Footballers' Association Centenary Hall of Fame in July 2007.
Managers
The following managers have all led West Bromwich Albion to at least one of the following achievements whilst 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.
Honours
- Football League First Division (old)
- - Champions: 1919-20 in English football
- - Runners-up: 1924-25 in English football, 1953-54 in English football
- Football League Second Division (old), Division One (modern), Football League Championship
- - Champions: 1901-02 in English football, 1910-11 in English football, 2007-08 in English football
- - Runners-up: 1930-31 in English football, 1948-49 in English football, 2001-02 in English football, 2003-04 in English football
- Division Two (modern)
- - Play-off Winners: 1992-93 in English football
- FA Cup
- - Winners: 1888 FA Cup Final, 1892 FA Cup Final, 1931 FA Cup Final, 1954 FA Cup Final, 1968 FA Cup Final
- - Runners-up: 1886 FA Cup Final, 1887 FA Cup Final, 1895 FA Cup Final, 1912 FA Cup Final, 1935 FA Cup Final
- Football League Cup
- - Winners:1966 Football League Cup Final
- - Runners-up: 1967 Football League Cup Final, 1970 Football League Cup Final
- FA Charity Shield
- - Winners: 1920, 1954 (shared with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.)
- - Runners-up: 1931, 1968
- Victories in minor cup competitions
- - FA Youth Cup: 1976
- - Tennent Caledonian Cup: 1977
- - Birmingham Senior Cup: 1886, 1895, 1988, 1990, 1991
- - Staffordshire Senior Cup: 1883, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1933, 1951, 1969 (shared with Stoke City F.C.)
- - Watney Cup: Runners-up: 1971
Footnotes
Related pages
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic