West Bromwich Albion

To see a statistical breakdown for each season, refer to the list of West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons. For more information on the club's performance in Europe look up West Bromwich Albion F.C. on European football.

The club was formed in 1878 as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by employees who worked at George Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich within the Black Country . They changed their name to West Bromwich Albion in 1880 which was the first club that adopted the Albion suffix. Albion was a city in West Bromwich where some of the players resided or worked near what is now Greets Green. The club was a member of with the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881, and was eligible to compete in their first tournament which was which was the Birmingham Cup. They made it to the quarter-finals with a win over a number of established clubs along the way. The year 1883 was the time that Albion took home their debut trophy that year, their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. Albion was a part of in the Football Association in the same year. This allowed them to compete in the FA Cup for the first time during the 1883-84 season. In 1885 , the club became professional and they made it to the FA Cup final for the first time, but lost by 2-0 in a replay to Blackburn Rovers in a replay. They were again in the final in 1887, but fell 2 -0 against Aston Villa. In 1888, the team won their first trophy, defeating the favorite Preston North End 2-1 in the final. In 1888, as FA Cup winners, they were invited to participate in the Football World Championship game against Scottish Cup winners Renton, that ended with defeat by 4-1.

In the month of March 1888, William McGregor wrote to what was believed to the five top English teams including Albion and Albion, informing that he was planning to create an organization of teams which will play each other both home and away every season. This is why, that was the case when Football League started later that year, Albion became one of the 12 founding members. Albion's first FA Cup success came in 1892, when they defeated Aston Villa 3-0. Albion faced Villa once more in the final of 1895, but fell 1-1. The team was sent into Division Two in 1900-01, their first year in The Hawthorns. They were promoted to champions in 1902, however, they were relegated in 1903-04. The club took home their Division Two championship once more in 1910-11. The following season saw them reach another FA Cup Final, where they were defeated by Second Division Barnsley in a replay.

Albion took home their first Football League title in 1919-20 for the first occasion in their history after the conclusion the war. World War I, their totals of 60 points and 104 goals each breaking previous records of the league. Albion ended up as Division One runners-up in 1924-25 and narrowly lost against Huddersfield Town, but were exiled in 1926 and 1927. In 1930-31 they were awarded promotion, as well as winning the FA Cup, beating Birmingham by 2-1 during the championship final. This "double" consisting of promotions and winning the FA Cup and promotion has never been achieved in the past or since. Albion reached the final in 1935 but fell against Sheffield Wednesday, but were eliminated three years afterward. They were promoted in 1948-49. There was the longest uninterrupted period in the top division of English football for a period of 24 seasons.

In 1953 and 1954, Albion came close to becoming the first team in this century's 20th to complete the League and Cup double. They were successful in winning the FA Cup, beating Preston North End 3-1, but injuries and a dip in performance towards the end of the season led to them ended up finishing second to the fierce opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league. But, Albion became known for their style of fluid offensive football and the 1953-54 team being described as"the "Team of the Century". A national newspaper went as in suggesting that the team should be chosen as a whole to represent England in the 1954 FIFA World Cup finals. They remained among the best English teams throughout the rest period of this decade. making the semi-finals of the 1957 FA Cup and achieving three consecutive top five places within Division One between the years 1957-58 and 1959-60.

While their form in the league was less impressive in the 1960s, in the second part in the decade witnessed West Brom establish a reputation as a cup team that was successful. Albion were in into the Football League Cup for the first time in the years 1965-66. The team under the direction of manager Jimmy Hagan, won the final by beating West Ham United 5-3 on the aggregate. This was the final two-legged final. The next season, Albion reached the final again, this time at Wembley. They fell 3-1 against Third Division Queens Park Rangers after leading 2-0 at the half-time mark. Albion's cup run continued under the successor to Hagan, Alan Ashman. He led Albion to their final important trophy to date in 1968, the FA Cup, when they defeated Everton with extra time, thanks to one goal scored by Jeff Astle. Albion made it to their FA Cup semi-final and European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finals in 1969, but were defeated with a 2-1 loss by Manchester City in the 1970 League Cup Final.

The club was not as efficient under Don Howe, and were moved to Division Two towards the end of 1972-73. They then gained the promotion three seasons later with supervision of the player-manager Johnny Giles. Under the guidance of Ron Atkinson, Albion reached the 1978 FA Cup semi-final but lost to Ipswich Town. In May of the same the same year Albion were the very first English professional team to compete in China with no losses on the five-game trip. In 1978-79, the Albion team was the third place in Division One the highest position they have had in more than 20 years, and also made it to their UEFA Cup quarter-final, where they lost to Red Star Belgrade. The team at this time was notable for having the three players of black origin: Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson. This is thought to be a crucial part that influenced the acceptance and acceptance rate of African-American players within the English leagues. In his second stint in charge, Ronnie Allen guided the team to the national cup semi-finals in 1981 and 1982. The mid-1980s witnessed the beginning of Albion's longest , most severe decline. The club was relegated in 1985 and 1986 with the lowest record in the club's history. It began the period of 16 years without a place in the top division. A few years after, they were sent into the Third Division for the first and only time.

Albion have spent the majority of their time in the top division of English football, however at the time they joined the Premier League was founded in 1992, the team was in the third tier that was named Division Two. From 1992 to 1993, Albion was fourth in the league and were in the play-offs their first-ever time. Albion's debut appearance at Wembley for more than 20 years - as well as their final game at Wembley's original arena - witnessed them defeat Port Vale 3-0 to return to the second level , later renamed"the First Division. Manager Ossie Ardiles was then a part of Tottenham Hotspur, however, and the succession of managers over the next couple of seasons witnessed Albion achieve Division One status, without ever launching any serious challenge for promotion.

In the end, Albion's appointment Gary Megson in March 2000 brought a change in Albion's fortunes. Megson was the one who led Albion up to Division One safety in 1999-2000 and then to the play-offs one year later. He was later able to lead Albion to promotion into the Premier League in 2001-02. After being knocked out of their debut Premier League season, they returned to the top league in 2003-2004. In the 2004-05 season Megson's successor was the former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, led the team to a final-day "Great Escape" that year, when Albion made history as the only Premier League club to avoid the drop after being at the bottom of the table prior to Christmas as well as at the at the bottom on the last date of their season. They were not able to avoid the dropping the following season which is why Robson got replaced Tony Mowbray in October 2006. The club played at the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007 but fell by 1-0 against Derby County. The next year, Mowbray led the Baggies to Wembley again but this time during the semifinals of the FA Cup, where they were defeated 1-0 by Portsmouth. The following month, Albion were promoted to the Premier League as winners of the Championship but they were removed from the league at the end of the 2008-09 season. Mowbray left the club , and became replaced Roberto Di Matteo, who took the team towards it's place in the Premier League at the first attempt, but was then dismissed in February of 2011 and was then replaced with Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson managed Albion to an 11th place finish in the season 2010-11. Following that was an eight-season uninterrupted campaign within the Premier League. This included an 8th place performance in the 2012-13 season under Steve Clarke, and 10th-place results with Roy Hodgson in 2011-12 and Tony Pulis in 2016-17. 5 August 2016 it was revealed that the long-term owner Jeremy Peace had sold the club to an investment group from China. Chinese investment company headed by Lai Guochuan. In the meantime the club had began to slide into an insanity state, and they were sent to the Championship at the conclusion in the season 2017-18, thereby ending its eight-year Premier League stay. Pulis and his successor Alan Pardew were both sacked in the course of the season. Albion ended up finishing fourth in their debut season returning to the Championship under the direction by Darren Moore, and later the interim manager James Shan, losing the Championship play-off semi-final to Aston Villa on penalties. Slaven Bilic was appointed as manager on June 13, 2019 and led Albion towards automatic promotions into the Premier League during the 2019-20 season. After a disappointing beginning to life within the Premier League, Bilic was fired on 16 December, 2020. Sam Allardyce was appointed as his replacement on the day after. Following Albion were dropped from their Premier League during the 2020-21 season, Allardyce resigned from his job as manager. The club named Valerien Ismael as his replacement prior to this season in 2021. Ismael was fired 2 February 2022 only eight months into the contract for four years, losing five of his previous six league games. Steve Bruce was appointed Manager the next day.

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Albion's emblem for the club was first introduced in the 1880s in the latter half of the century in the late 1880s, the time when Club Secretary Tom Smith suggested that a the throstle (song thrush) resting on a crossbar should be used as the badge. The badge has undergone numerous changes since the time it was first introduced. The badge has always had the throstle, typically on the blue and white stripes shield. However, the crossbar was replaced by the hawthorn sometime after the club's move to Hawthorns. The throstle was selected because the public residence in which the team would change had a thrush as a pet in the form of a cage. It also was the source of Albion's initial nickname, Throstles. The hawthorn tree is the most popular throstle-friendly bush that were often found on the pre-stadium estate and in the local areas. In the 1930s a caged throstle would be situated near the touchline at times during games and it was believed that it would only sing when Albion were in the lead. in 1979, an image of a throstle was placed over the scoreboard at half-time of the Woodman corner of the Hawthorns It was moved to the exact area of the stadium following its renovations in the early 2000s.

The badge was issued in 1975. A new version of this badge (on the form of a roundel, not shield) was awarded to the College of Arms to the Football League for licensing to the club. It was described by the heraldic blazon "On the roundel of 13 argent with azure and the mistle thrush resting on an afro-pine branch, which is left and fructed right." This is the only occasion when the branch was described as a strawberry branch instead of a hawthorn one: Rodney Dennys, the person responsible for the officer of arms could have been ill instructed.

The badge was revamped in 2006 and incorporated the club's name to the foreground. The new badge was designed to secure and reinforce the identity of the club. Before this, the club's primary badge did not match the one worn on the team's strip. There was no badge on the kits for the bulk of the club's existence, but the Stafford knot was featured on jerseys of the team for a portion of the 1880s. It was the West Bromwich town arms were displayed on jerseys of the players for the 1931, 1935 , and 1954 FA Cup finals. Its Latin slogan "Labor Omnia Vincit" means "labour overcomes all obstacles" or "work conquers everything". The town's arms were reintroduced as a badge on shirts from 1994 to 2000, and the throstle was moved into the collar of shirt.

Albion's first badge for the shirt was introduced in the latter half of the 1960s and the early 1970s when the badge was blue. While it did feature the throstle, it didn't have the white and blue stripe shield of the club badge. Similar designs were employed in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. In the mid-1970s a more modernized version worn in the club's uniforms as in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, an embossed WBA logo was used, an abbreviation used to describe the name of the club in print. It wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century did the complete club badge be seen on the shirts of the team.

West Brom have played in navy white and blue striped shirts throughout their existence, typically sporting white socks and shorts. The team is sometimes called the Stripes by the fans. Many different colors were tried during the club's early years of formation, such as the cardinal blue and red quarters in 1880-81, as well as white and yellow quarters from 1881 to 1982, blue and chocolate halves in 1881-82 , 1882-83, white and red hoops in 1882-83 and 1883-84, chocolate and white in 1883 and 1884 and the cardinal blue and red halves between 1884 and 1885. The white and blue stripes appeared for the first time in the 1885-86 season but at the time, they were lighter blue. The navy blue stripes didn't show up in the following season, shortly after during the First World War. In regional leagues in the Second World War, Albion were required to wear blue-only shirts because the restrictions on striped materials was considered to be a luxury.

Like most teams in football, Albion have a second (or "change" strip when they are at home away against teams whose colors match their own. Since the 1890s and through most of Albion's early period, a "change strip" consisting of black and white shorts was in use. The away shirt also had an oversized 'V' in the First World War. The 1935 FA Cup Final, however the kits of Albion as well Sheffield Wednesday's kit clashed it was changed to simple navy blue uniforms. The all-red strip was adopted towards the end of the 1950s, but it was removed after losing in the League Cup Final, to be replaced with the all-white pattern that was used during the team's FA Cup run of 1967-68. Since then, the away strip has been changed frequently with the green and yellow stripes being the most popular of the various designs that have been used. In the 90s and 2000s the third strip has also been released.

Albion players - as well as the players of different Football League teams - first put names on the reverse of their shirt during the 1939-40 season that was abandoned as well as names were added to the reverse of their jerseys in 1999 to 2000. The red numbers were added on the back of Albion shorts worn by players in 1969.

BSR Housewares became the club's first shirt sponsor in 1982-81 season. The Albion shirt has since been sponsored by BSR Housewares for vast majority of the time since however it was not possible to find a shirt sponsorship until the conclusion of the 1993-94 campaign, following the local lawyers Coucher & Shaw were closed down by the Law Society of England and Wales. As is typical for an Premier League club, Albion had no shirt sponsor at the beginning of the 2008-09 season, since negotiations for the new sponsor were going on when the season began. A shirt sponsorship contract which the club had signed for seven seasons from 1997 and 2004, with The West Bromwich Building Society. Today , the club's main patron is Ideal Boilers. Other sponsors include T-Mobile (2004-08), Homeserve (2010-11), Bodog (2011-12), Zoopla (2012-14), Intuit Quickbooks (2014-15), Tlcbet (2015-16), K8 group (2016-2017) and Palm Eco-Town Development (2017-18).

Since July of 2018, West Brom's kit was produced by Puma. The past manufacturers include Scoreline (1989-91), Influence (1991-92), Pelada (1993-95), Patrick (1995-2002), Diadora (2003-2006), Umbro (1974-89 and in 2006 and 2011) in addition to Adidas (2011-18).

The speed at that the club was established after its founding is demonstrated through the way they outgrew four times in the initial seven years. First one was Cooper's Hill, where they played from 1878 until 1879. From 1879 until 1881, they were able to switch in between Cooper's Hill and Dartmouth Park. In the 1881-82 season they played at the Bunn's Field which was also known in the Birches. It was able to accommodate between 1,500 and 2,000 and was Albion's first ground enclosed that allowed players to pay an entry cost for its first game. From 1882 until 1885, when soccer's popularity grew, Albion rented the Four Acres ground from the established West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club. They quickly outgrew the new stadium and had to relocate again. From 1885 until the year 1900 Albion were at Stoney Lane and their time at this stadium was perhaps the most successful time in Albion's history because they took home the FA Cup twice and were runners-up three times.

In 1900, after the lease for Stoney Lane expired, the club was in need of a larger stadium to play on and thus it made its final move until now. Albion's earlier grounds were in the middle of West Bromwich, but on this occasion, they occupied an area that was located on the town's borders to Handsworth as well as Smethwick. The new venue was called The Hawthorns, after the hawthorn trees that dotted the entire area, and were removed to make way for. Albion were able to draw 1-1 with Derby County in the first match played at the stadium on the 3rd of September, 1900. The most attended game of the Hawthorns was recorded on the 6th of March 1937, when 648,815 people were present to watch Albion defeated Arsenal 3-1 to reach the FA Cup quarter-final. The Hawthorns was converted into an all-seater stadium during the 1990s, in order to meet guidelines of the Taylor Report. Its current capacity is 26,850 with the four stands being referred to in the following order: Birmingham Road End, Smethwick End, East Stand and West Stand (Halfords Lane). It is located at 551 feet (168 meters) over sea level Hawthorns is one of the highest of the stadiums in the 92 Premier League and Football League ground.

The Hawthorns is certified under the most prestigious UEFA pitch conditions, which means it can host virtually any sporting event needed. This stadium's West Stand has the potential to be built over Halfords Lane at the back of the stadium to allow for an upper tier increasing The capacity at The Hawthorns to around 30,000.

West Bromwich Albion own many retail outlets in the vicinity of The Hawthorns, including its Stadium Megastore and seasonally a club store located in West Bromwich town centre. They also have the old Hawthorns Pub, a Grade II listed building located behind The West Stand on the corner of Halfords Lane and the Birmingham Road. The pub has served as the official fanzone for the club that has licensed bar, live entertainment popular with fans like mascots, the mascots, and kids' activities and is part of a high-street food chain. The pub is a rival to The Vine pub in Roebuck Lane which is a favorite place for both home and visiting football fans all year round.

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The officially recognized West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club was established on October 4, 1951. In the time since more than thirty clubs have been set up across in the United Kingdom and in Jersey, Ireland, Spain, Malta, India, Thailand and Australia. There are also groups of supporters for people with disabilities, Punjabi supporters and LGBT individuals. Albion's "club song" has the tune The Lord's my Shepherd, an adaptation from Psalm 23. Fans of the team cheer on goals by jumping around and down, and shouting "Boing Boing". The tradition dates back to the 1992-93 season when the team was elevated from the newly created Second Division. The Liquidator instrumental performed by The Harry J. Allstars has been played frequently in stadiums since the mid 1960s. The reggae track "West Bromwich Albion" by Ray King is another club music staple played prior to games. In recent times, supporters of the club have celebrated the close of every season by adopting a the theme of fancy dress to the final home game in which they dressed like Vikings in 2004 to honor of the Player of the Season Thomas Gaardsoe.

The Albion fans in 2002-03 were voted the top of the Premier League by their peers and in an examination conducted by the BBC in 2002's "national Intelligence Test" Test the Nation, they were identified as being "more than likely intelligent than other football fans with the highest score, averaging 138".

The most famous fans are Goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Ben Foster and comic Frank Skinner, TV presenter Adrian Chiles, One Direction singer Liam Payne, comedian Lenny Henry and the actress Julie Walters, actor Matthew Marsden, The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, tennis player Goran Ivanisevic, TV host Cat Deeley, DJ Dave Haslam the boxers Richie Woodhall and Tommy Langford along with guitar player Eric Clapton.

The club has been publishing an official matchday schedule for fans since 1905. The magazine was called Albion News for many years however it changed its name to Albion in 2002-03 until the end of 2013 after which it changed its name as Albion News. The publication was awarded Premier League Programme of the Year in 2002-03, and Third Division Programme of the Year in 1991-92. In 2007-08, it was named the Championship Programme of the Year by both Programme Monthly and the Football Programme Directory. The publication has a circulation that is in more than 8000 copies. It was the first West Bromwich Albion fanzine, Fingerpost began publication between 1983 and 1992 it was followed by other fanzines, including Grorty Dick (1989-2005) and Last Train to Rolfe Street (1992-1995). In the years since Grorty Dick ceased publication in 2005, the club currently just has one fanzine that is dedicated to it, 'Baggie Shorts that is produced in collaboration with the West Bromwich albion Supporters' Association London Branch.

While they were known in their beginnings by the name "the Throstles", the club's name that was more well-known among fans was the Baggies the Baggies, a name that the club itself was snubbed over the years, but eventually accepted. The phrase first came to be heard in the Hawthorns in the early 1900s, however the exact source of the phrase is not clear. Some suggest that it is given to Albion supporters by adversaries in Aston Villa, because of the baggy, large-sized trousers most Albion fans wore while at working to guard themselves against scorched iron in the foundries and factories in the Black Country. The club's the historian Tony Matthews, however, believes that the name comes directly from "bagmen" who took the club's matchday earnings in huge bags of leather from the turnstiles and then to the cash office near the line halfway. Some theories also refer to the shorts that were oversized worn by different players in the club's beginning days. The official mascots for the club are called Baggie Bird, and Albi and both are modelled on the throstle shown on the club's emblem.

The Albion's most formidable opponents included Aston Villa from nearby Birmingham. The two clubs competed in 3 FA Cup Finals between 1887 between 1887 and 1895 (Villa winning two times and Albion only winning one). However, in recent years there have been some Albion fans have tended to think of Wolverhampton Wanderers as their main rivals, specifically between 1989 and 2002. Albion and Villa weren't part of the same group however, Albion had been in the same league as Wolves for 11 of the 14 seasons. This has resulted in Aston Villa supporters now considering Birmingham City to be their most fierce rivals. A less heated rivalry has been brewing in Birmingham City, with whom Albion played in an 1931 FA Cup final, as also a semi-final match in 1968.

Many hooligan companies are associated with Albion and Albion, such as Section 5, Clubhouse and the Smethwick Mob.

Albion and Wolves take on Wolves and Albion in the Black Country derby, one of the longest running derbies in football. It is widely regarded as one of the most intense competitions in English football. A study in 2008 revealed that it was the country's most fierce rivalry in England with one-in-four fans of both clubs believing that their rivalry was greater than football. Both sides are a match that has been played over 160 times, their first significant clash taking place in one of the FA Cup tie in 1886. The two clubs Albion as well as Wolves were the first participants in the Football League in 1888, making the derby the oldest match in English League football. The derby became famous when the two clubs battled for the title of league champions in 1953 and 1954 in the late 1990s, and the intensity grew to new heights in the eyes of fans. Both clubs were struggling in Division One for the majority of the decade with only pride for the locals to be at stake. In 2002, Albion was 11 points behind to overtake Wolves to be promoted. The rivalry grew even more intense following the match in play-offs in 2007. A survey conducted in 2004 by Planetfootball.com found there was a majority Albion and Wolves supporters regard the opposite team to be their biggest adversaries. In February 2012, the Baggies defeated Wolves 5-1 at home, as Peter Odemwingie netted a hat-trick. The game was dubbed "demolition derby day" and remains the most scorers Black Country derby of the 21st century. Despite their geographic position, their neighbours Black Country club Walsall are considered to be less of a rival due to their playing in the lower division of Albion for the majority of their time.

Rated in The Daily Telegraph as the most ferocious region in the country, alongside those of the Black Country derby and the Second City derby, games between Aston Villa and West Brom are especially tense. They first played on the 9th of December, 1882 during the 2nd round of the Staffordshire Cup: Villa hosted a 3-3 draw with 13,900 supporters and in the replay West Brom won by a single goal in front of an audience of 10,500. The 3rd January of 1885 was the day they were first met during the 3rd round of the FA Cup: a goalless draw against West Brom was followed by the team winning 3-0 away from Villa. In the next season, the two teams were founding players of the Football League. They first met in a league game on January 19th, 1889. Villa won by 2-0 at home, and then drawing the following week, which ended 3-3. The two teams played each other in two more FA Cup finals in the 19th century. There was a victory of 3-0 against West Brom in 1892 and an unlucky win of 1-0 in 1895 for Aston Villa in 1895.

Birmingham City were relegated from the Premier League in 2011 and Wolverhampton Wanderers a season later which left Aston Villa and West Brom as the sole West Midlands teams in England's premier division. They were not facing their primary rivals and with Albion being able to beat their closest opponents for the second year in succession and the rivalry between them was revived. Then, at the close of the 2015-16 season Aston Villa were relegated, which made West Brom the only West Midlands team to make it into the top division during this season. After West Brom's downfall towards the end the season in 2017-18 Premier League, the teams met again in the EFL Championship. At the semifinals of 2019-19 EFL Championship play-offs Aston Villa defeated the Baggies by penalty kicks, after West Bromwich Albion had 2 players controversially dismissed on both legs.

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In the early years of the club, West Bromwich Albion were operated by a seven-man player committee. The club was supported by each player paying a weekly fee of 6d (six penny). Albion's initial Chairman was Henry Jackson, appointed in 1885. The club becoming a limited-company on June 18, 1891. The other early chairmanmen who were chairman of Albion were Jem Bayliss, and Billy Bassett, both of who had previously played for Albion. From 1878 to 1986, there were always Albion player or former player on the board of directors or committee. Bassett was appointed director in 1905. Albion director on 1905 after his resignation from the board in all its whole. Albion was in serious financial crisis and received a writ issued to the club by their bank, however, Bassett as well as the chairman returning Harry Keys rescued the club through local fund-raising efforts. Bassett was elected chairman in 1908 helping the club stay out of bankruptcy in the year 1910, by paying players' wages for the summer from his own pockets. He is Albion's longest-serving chairman in the role, holding it until his death in 1937. The longest-serving director at Albion was the Major H. Wilson Keys, between 1930 and 1965 and the 15-year tenure as Chairman. Keys became vice-president at the Football Association in 1969.

Sir Bert Millichip served as Albion chairman from 1974 until 1983, following which Millichip chose to focus on his duties in the role of chairman for the Football Association. In 1996, Albion became an open-ended public limited company and issued shares to supporters for PS500 and PS3,000 per share under the chairmanship by Paul Thompson. The shares were traded in the Alternative Investment Market, but the club resigned from the stock exchange to be a private corporation and again, in 2004. The company's name was changed to West Bromwich Albion plc to West Bromwich Albion Limited, which became an affiliate to West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited. Jeremy Peace took up the post in 2002 after a disagreement between the previous Chairman Paul Thompson and manager Gary Megson led to Gary Megson being forced by Paul Thompson to leave the club.

In September 2007 Peace bought additional shares of West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited increasing his shareholding to 50.56 percent. The acquisition triggered a requirement pursuant to the Takeover Code, for him to make a compulsory cash offer to purchase the remaining shares of WBA Holdings Ltd and WBA Ltd. The following time, Michelle Davies became Albion's first female director. She resigned in the year 2010. Jeremy Peace announced in June 2008 that he was seeking for a significant new investor to the club, however no concrete proposals were made before the deadline of July 31, 2008.

On the 24th of July, Jeremy Peace announced that the sale exclusivity agreement was terminated because a buyer who was interested in buying the property was in no position to meet the requirements of the sale.

In July of 2016, Peace announced that he had found an investor in the shape of Chinese businessman Lai Guochuan. The amount agreed to was thought to be PS200 million. The takeover was completed on time 15 September of the same year. Lai was initially named John Williams as Chairman of the club, but replaced Li Piyue as an associate after the club's downfall during the 2017-18 season.

"WBA Players" redirects to this page. For athletes who are members of WBA, see World Boxing Association. World Boxing Association, see World Boxing Association.

As of 15 Jul 2022

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ENG Darnell Furlong 3 DF  ENG Conor Townsend 4 DF  IRL Dara O'Shea 5 DF  ENG Kyle Bartley (vice-captain) 6 DF  NGA Semi Ajayi 7 FW  IRL Callum Robinson 8 MF  ENG Jake Livermore (captain) 9 FW  DEN Kenneth Zohore 10 MF  SCO Matt Phillips 11 FW  ENG Grady Diangana 12 FW  USA Daryl Dike

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF  IRL Jayson Molumby 18 FW  ENG Karlan Grant 20 MF  ENG Adam Reach 22 DF  ENG Kean Bryan 25 GK  ENG David Button 27 MF  ENG Alex Mowatt 28 FW  ENG Rayhaan Tulloch 29 MF  ENG Taylor Gardner-Hickman 36 GK  ENG Alex Palmer — MF  ENG John Swift — MF  ENG Jed Wallace

West Bromwich Albion Reserves and Academy are the youth squads that make up West Bromwich Albion. This reserve squad is comprised of players who are under 23 years old and functions as West Bromwich Albion's second string side. The players who are under-18, along with other age groups younger than them comprise an academy squad. They are part of the Premier League 2 Division 2 which is the second level of reserve the game in England.

As of 2 February 2022

In the course of the club's celebrations of its 125th anniversary 2004, a study was requested by the official West Bromwich Albion website and the Express & Star newspaper to find the best West Brom players of all time. A modern-day 16-man squad was drawn by analyzing the results. All selected players are depicted in the wall of commemoration in The Hawthorns. The majority of the 16 players are from England and a 15th is Cyrille Regis, who was from French Guiana also a full England international. The 16-player roster is as the following:

Name	Nat.	Years	Apps	Goals	Position
Billy Bassett		1886–99	311	77	Outside right
Jesse Pennington		1903–22	496	0	Left back
W. G. Richardson		1929–45	354	228	Centre forward
Ray Barlow		1944–60	482	48	Left-half
Ronnie Allen		1950–61	458	234	Centre forward
Don Howe		1952–64	379	19	Right back
Derek Kevan		1953–63	262	157	Centre forward
Tony Brown		1963–81	720	279	Wing half/Inside forward
Jeff Astle		1964–74	361	174	Centre forward
John Osborne		1967–72 1973–78	312	0	Goalkeeper
John Wile		1970–83	619	29	Centre-half
Willie Johnston		1972–79	261	28	Outside left
Bryan Robson		1974–81	249	46	Central midfielder
Derek Statham		1976–87	373	11	Left back
Laurie Cunningham		1977–79	114	30	Winger
Cyrille Regis		1977–84	302	112	Centre forward

Other notable honours given to West Brom players include the PFA Young Player of the Year award that was awarded to Cyrille Regis in 1979. The year 1998 saw Billy Bassett and Bryan Robson were included on in the group of Football League 100 Legends, together with Arthur Rowley, Geoff Hurst and Johnny Giles. Bryan Robson was also an first inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, and was shortly after by Geoff Hurst. Bobby Robson, a player for Albion has also been inducted, but it was due to his accomplishments as manager. In 1919-1920, Fred Morris became the first Albion player to become the most prolific scorers in Division One this feat was later repeated through Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Jeff Astle and Tony Brown. Brown is the keeper of the club record for both appearances and goals was inducted to the PFA Centenary Hall of Fame in July 2007.

Each of the following coaches have been able to lead West Bromwich Albion to at most one of the following accomplishments while they were in charge of their club. These include winning a significant trophy or making it to the final, having an unbeaten league position in the top division, winning promotion or reaching the quarterfinals of a significant European competition.

Name	Nat.	Years	P	W	D	L	Achievements
Louis Ford		1890–92	58	18	10	30	FA Cup winners 1892
Edward Stephenson		1894–95	36	14	5	17	FA Cup runners-up 1895
Frank Heaven		1896–02	214	86	45	83	Division Two champions 1901–02
Fred Everiss		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
Jack Smith		1948–52	179	70	46	63	Promotion as Division Two runners-up 1948–49
Vic Buckingham		1953–59	301	130	78	93	Division One runners-up 1953–54, FA Cup winners 1954
Jimmy Hagan		1963–67	201	78	49	74	League Cup winners 1966, League Cup runners-up 1967
Alan Ashman		1967–71	182	64	49	69	FA Cup winners 1968, European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finalists 1968–69, League Cup runners-up 1970
Johnny Giles		1975–77, 1984–85	159	60	42	57	Promotion from Division Two 1975–76
Ron Atkinson		1978–81, 1987–88	212	85	68	59	Division One 3rd place 1978–79, UEFA Cup quarter-finalists 1978–79
Osvaldo Ardiles		1992–93	55	30	11	14	Promotion as Division Two play-off winners 1992–93
Gary Megson		2000–04	221	94	50	77	Promotion as Division One runners-up 2001–02, 2003–04
Tony Mowbray		2006–09	140	57	32	51	Promotion as Championship winners 2007–08
Roberto Di Matteo		2009–11	82	40	19	23	Promotion as Championship runners-up 2009–10
Slaven Bilić		2019–20	65	26	22	17	Promotion as Championship runners-up 2019–20

West Bromwich Albion's record-breaking victory was their 12-0 league victory against Darwen on April 4th, 1892. This remains the biggest margin of victory in an upper-flight game of English football, though the record was beaten with Nottingham Forest when they beat Leicester Fosse by the same score in 1909. Albion's greatest FA Cup victory came when they defeated Chatham 10-1 on the 2nd March 1889. Albion's greatest league loss was a 3-10 defeat against Stoke City on 4 February 1937. A loss of 0-5 to Leeds United on 18 February 1967 is Albion's biggest FA Cup loss.

Tony Brown holds a number of Albion's club records. Brown has the highest number of appearances for Albion in all competitions (720) and also as the most games in league (574), FA Cup (54) and also in European tournaments (17). Brown is the top scorer of the club on the field in both the league (218) as well as his highest scorer in the FA Cup (27) and in Europe (8). Brown can also be the club's highest scorer in all competitions, scoring 279 goals. W. G. Richardson scored more than 328 goal for his club however the 100 goals he scored were in World War II, which aren't normally considered the club's totals for competition. Richardson holds the record of the club for the most league goals scored in a single season. scoring 39 times between 1935 and 1936.

Albion's most captained international player, considering only the caps earned during his time at Albion the most capped player includes Chris Brunt. He was a part of 55 matches as a player for Northern Ireland as an Albion player, racking up 65 caps all in all before stepping down from international football in the year 2017. Jesse Pennington is the club's most-capped England international player, having 25 caps. The highest transfer price that Albion has paid was PS15 million, which was paid by RB Leipzig for Oliver Burke on August 25, 2017. The highest transfer fee paid by Albion from a different club is for the sale of Salomon Rondon from Dalian Yifang in July of 2019 in exchange for PS16.5 million.

As per detail below.

Football League First Division / Premier League

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

Football League Second Division / EFL Championship

• Champions : 1901–02, 1910–11, 2007–08
• Runners-up: 1930–31, 1948–49, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2019–20

Football League Third Division / EFL League One

• Play-off winners : 1992–93

FA Cup

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

Football League Cup

• Winners : 1966
• Finalists: 1967, 1970

FA Charity Shield

• Winners : 1920, 1954
• Runners-up: 1931, 1968

FA Youth Cup

• Winners : 1976
• Finalists: 1955, 1969

Football World Championship

• Runners-up: 1888

Tennent Caledonian Cup

• Winners: 1977

Watney Cup

• Finalists: 1971