Great Goals: Sofiane Boufal – SOUTHAMPTON vs. West Bromwich Albion (October 2017)

In his two seasons with Southampton, Sofiane Boufal has only shown flashes of the promise he demonstrated whilst playing in France. The Moroccan though did produce this exceptional piece of solo brilliance in a fairly sterile game against West Bromwich Albion.

The game on the south coast looked like it was petering out towards a pretty ordinary 0-0 draw when Boufal took centre stage in the 85^th minute. The tricky winger, who had only arrived into the contest as a substitute four minutes earlier, he twisted past Allan Nyom in his own half before using his speed to leave Jake Livermore trailing in his wake. As Boufal continued his surge towards goal, he bamboozled past Craig Dawson. Desperate to keep up having been the first man beaten, Nyom ran into Dawson and both hit the turf. Gareth McAuley was the next defender who backed off and was beaten and lastly, goalkeeper Ben Foster couldn’t stop his neatly-placed effort into the bottom corner.

It was a goal fitting to win a tight match between two sides who would ultimately spend the majority of the campaign at the wrong end of the table. It didn’t sparkle Boufal’s season into life though. He was left out of Morocco’s squad for the 2018 World Cup finals and was recently excluded from the Saints’ pre-season tour of China by new manager Mark Hughes. His future at the club looks bleak.

However, this tremendous solo goal was voted by fans as the Carling Goal of the Season for the 2017-2018 campaign.

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Premier League Files: Ronnie Wallwork

Premier League Career: Manchester United (1997-2001), West Bromwich Albion (2002-2003, 2004-2006)

Ronnie Wallwork is one of the fortunate players to have a Premier League title winners’ medal to his name. He made 12 appearances in the 2000-2001 season which meant he qualified for a medal as Manchester United cantered to their seventh league championship in nine seasons.

Having been capped four times by England’s Under-20 side in 1997, Wallwork was a player who did have the potential to go further but his career would take a dramatic fall from grace.

A lifelong Manchester United supporter, he joined the club as a trainee in July 1994 and signed professional forms less than a year later. He helped the Red Devils win the FA Youth Cup in 1995 and in 1996, was voted the club’s Young Player of the Year. Things were looking good for further progression.

By the start of the 1997-1998 season, Ronnie was a regular in the reserve teams at Old Trafford but needed to make a first-team breakthrough. He got his first experience of Premier League football in October 1997, replacing Gary Pallister as a 64^th minute substitute in United’s 7-0 thumping of Barnsley. To further advance his education, he had loan spells over the next 18 months at Carlisle United, Stockport County and Manchester United’s feeder Belgian side, Royal Antwerp. It was whilst he was in Belgium that his first sign of a short temper became known.

After Antwerp lost a match to La Louviere which ended their hopes of promotion, Wallwork grabbed referee Amand Ancion by the throat. In the same incident, fellow United youth player and Antwerp colleague, Danny Higginbotham insulted the official. The Belgian FA took a dim view to both actions. Higginbotham was banned from football for a year whilst unbelievably; Wallwork was banned from playing in all FIFA-affiliated nations for life!  Antwerp secretary Rene Snelders was quoted as saying: “This is the equivalent of the death penalty.”

Whilst both actions were unacceptable, the sentencing was exceptionally harsh and after numerous appeals, both sentences were dropped down in length with Wallwork’s final penalty being a 12-month ban from all competitions in Belgium. After this messy incident, he got back to business with his parent club and made a breakthrough in the 1999-2000 season. Used largely as a defensive midfielder, he made seven appearances in the Premier League, just missing out on a title winners’ medal. The following season, he achieved the magical number required to get recognised for medals, finishing with 12 appearances but they were to be his last Premier League efforts. The signings of Juan Sebastian Veron and Laurent Blanc pushed Wallwork further down the pecking order and in the summer of 2002, he was released by his boyhood club.

In July 2002, he moved to West Bromwich Albion, becoming Gary Megson’s first signing after promotion to the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson had given his own high recommendation, saying Wallwork was the “best Bosman of the summer.” He played in 27 of Albion’s 38 Premier League matches in 2002-2003 which was a tough year personally for him after his mother passed away at the start of 2003. West Brom were relegated and after falling out of favour under Megson when the club were back in the First Division, he was loaned out to Bradford City in January 2004.

Bryan Robson was the Bradford manager at the time and he managed to add a few more goals to Wallwork’s game by playing him further forward in midfield. A broken toe sustained against Rotherham United cut short this period in Yorkshire but a four-goal return from seven appearances was impressive stats. So, when Robson succeeded Megson as West Brom manager in November 2004 with the club back in the top-flight, you could imagine Ronnie’s delight. He became an integral part of the team and started every single match from December onwards. In January 2005, he scored his first Albion goal to wrap up a 2-0 home victory over Manchester City which was Robson’s first victory as Baggies boss.

On the final day of the season, West Brom beat Portsmouth and with results going their way, they became the first club in Premier League history to be bottom at Christmas and still avoid relegation. He won Player of the Season recognition for his efforts and extended his contract in the process. There would be no happy ending though.

He played 31 games in the following season but West Brom were relegated for a second time in his stint with the Black Country club and he would be frozen out of proceedings when Robson left his position as manager. After surviving a stabbing incident at a Manchester nightclub in November 2006 which left him with wounds to his back, hand and stomach, he wound down his professional career with spells at Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday.

Wallwork’s fall from grace was complete in 2011 when he was charged with concealing criminal property in connection with offences relating to stolen cars. He was jailed for 15 months in December 2011 after pleading guilty to three counts of handling stolen cars.

It was an unsavoury end to a controversial career where a player never quite fulfilled his potential talent.

Premier League Files: Danny Dichio

Premier League Career: Queens Park Rangers (1994-1996), Sunderland (1999-2001), West Bromwich Albion (2002-2003)

Currently in Canada as Head Coach of the Toronto FC Academy Under-19 side, Danny Dichio’s best Premier League spell came at his first club Queens Park Rangers. In total, he featured in 93 matches between 1994 and 2003, scoring 19 goals for Rangers, alongside spells at Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.

Born in the Hammersmith area of London to an Italian father and English mother, Dichio made his breakthrough at Loftus Road by signing professional forms in May 1993. 15 months later, he made his Premier League debut off the bench in a home game with Aston Villa. It was a memorable moment for Dichio and a game he will never forget. He scored the second goal in QPR’s 2-0 victory – the penultimate home match in-charge for Gerry Francis before his resignation.

Dichio made eight further appearances after his debut bow in the 1994-1995 season but it was the departure of Les Ferdinand in the close season to Newcastle United that gave him his major first-team breakthrough. He forged a strike partnership with Kevin Gallen and ended up with decent figures of 10 goals in 29 appearances. This included a run of six goals in four games early in the campaign, with braces in matches against Leeds United and Newcastle United.

However, QPR were relegated in 1996 to the First Division and Dichio left for pastures new, moving into Serie A for spells with Sampdoria and on-loan to Lecce. In 1998, he returned to English shores with Sunderland, who were in the First Division at the time of his arrival. His time on Wearside would be difficult. Although the Black Cats won promotion and backed this up with consecutive seventh-place finishes in the Premier League, Dichio struggled to make an impact. Only considered a back-up option to the formidable partnership of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, he would score just once across two Premier League seasons.

Next stop was West Bromwich Albion which is where Dichio spent the 2001-2002 season on-loan. He scored on his debut away at Sheffield Wednesday and in November 2001, West Brom paid Sunderland £1.25 million to make the move permanent. The Baggies came up as runners-up in the First Division, which allowed Danny to have another go at the top-flight. He seemed happier at The Hawthorns and finished as the club’s joint-top scorer in the league, netting five goals along with fellow forward Scott Dobie. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent West Brom being relegated.

He moved his family upto the Midlands to join him but was loaned out to Derby County in October 2003 and by the end of the season, was back in London playing for Millwall. Suspension ruled him out of the 2004 FA Cup final. After three further seasons at second-tier level with the Lions and Preston North End, Dichio left the English game completely in 2007 to join newly-created MLS franchise, Toronto FC.

He scored 14 goals over the course of the next three seasons, including the club’s first-ever goal in the MLS. After retirement, he went into coaching with Toronto and is looking after their academy. He combines this with an analyst role on MLS and some Premier League matches for Fox Soccer News.

Premier League Files: Jonas Olsson

Premier League Career: West Bromwich Albion (2008-2017)

Having appeared 245 times for West Bromwich Albion, Jonas Olsson returned home to Sweden in 2017 to conclude his career with Djurgardens IF. It is a career that has seen Olsson experience the pain of relegation in his first Premier League season to becoming a stable figure as the Albion became a regular figure in the Premier League fixture schedules. He also won 25 caps for Sweden and was part of their squad at the 2012 European Championships.

Olsson made his debut in professional football in 2003. Growing up, he followed the career closely of his future international colleague and fellow defender, Olof Mellberg. Mellberg would become a popular figure at Aston Villa – a long-time Midlands rival of West Brom. Olsson developed his reputation as a tough-tackling defender during three seasons in the Dutch league with NEC Nijmegen.

Several Premier League clubs had been scouting Olsson and he was linked with moves to Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Newcastle United. However, it was West Brom who got his signature on a contract in August 2008, paying a mere £800,000 for his services. He made his debut in a 3-2 home win over West Ham United a month later and soon afterwards, had his first Baggies’ goal with a typical header from a set-piece enough to beat Middlesbrough at The Riverside Stadium. He added another goal in a home win over Sunderland towards the end of the campaign and played well individually throughout the season. However, West Brom were always fighting a losing relegation battle under their manager, Tony Mowbray and their demise to the Championship was confirmed by a defeat at home to Liverpool FC on the penultimate weekend of the season.

Rather than be tempted to quit The Hawthorns for another top-flight experience, Jonas stayed firmly loyal to the club. His family had settled in the area and to prove this, he signed a four-year contract extension in September 2009. He helped the club win instant promotion back to the Premier League in 2009-2010 with four goals, including a double in a win over Doncaster Rovers. West Brom were now a much more stubborn force on their return and Olsson would then feature in the next seven Premier League campaigns. He figured regularly for all West Brom’s Premier League managers including rookie boss Steve Clarke and the experienced Tony Pulis.

Olsson formed a combative and strong partnership at centre-back with Gareth McAuley when the experienced Northern Ireland international joined from Ipswich Town on a free transfer in 2011. Together, they became two of the most feared defensive players in attacking set-pieces. In fact, in only one full campaign did Olsson fail to score during his Premier League career (2012-2013).

With stiffer competition for places in the West Brom line-up in 2016-2017, Olsson and the club agreed to terminate his contract in March 2017. He’d made just seven appearances in one of the club’s most successful Premier League campaigns and this freed him up to join Djurgardens IF back in Sweden. This meant he linked up with fellow ex-Premier League players and compatriots Andreas Isaksson and Kim Kallstrom.

He has already featured 22 times for Djurgardens IF as he winds down an impressive career. Olsson has stated that once he is done with his professional football career, he wants to qualify as a lawyer and work within the sphere of human rights. He has plans in place to be successful after he hangs his footballing boots up. Jonas Olsson is one of West Bromwich Albion’s greatest-ever Premier League players.

Premier League Rewind: 21st-23rd November 2015

Results: Watford 1-2 Manchester United, Chelsea 1-0 Norwich City, Everton 4-0 Aston Villa, Newcastle United 0-3 Leicester City, Southampton 0-1 Stoke City, Swansea City 2-2 AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Arsenal, Manchester City 1-4 Liverpool FC, Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 West Ham United, Crystal Palace 0-1 Sunderland

In a season where many surprises were being produced, this was evident on the 21^st-23^rd November 2015 Premier League weekend. The league leaders were Arsenal going into the weekend but by the end of it, 5000-1 title outside shots Leicester City were sitting top of the pile.

Leicester travelled to Tyneside to face Newcastle United, with Jamie Vardy eyeing up a Premier League record. Midway through the first half, Vardy broke clear to open the scoring and therefore, register a goal for the 10^th successive Premier League match. This equalled the long-time record, set by Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy back in 2003. Further goals from fellow forwards Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa ensured Leicester won 3-0 and recorded a fourth successive victory in the process.

Arsenal still could have been top of the table but they endured another difficult away afternoon at The Hawthorns. After taking the lead against West Bromwich Albion, their day fell apart. James Morrison levelled the scores in the 35^th minute and five minutes later, club captain Mikel Arteta put the ball into his own net. Arsenal still had an opportunity to equalise in the last 10 minutes, only for Santi Cazorla to slip over and balloon his penalty kick into orbit. The 2-1 victory was West Brom’s third in their last five games.

Manchester City were seen as the title favourites by many and were unbeaten in two months when they entertained a Liverpool FC side that were still finding their feet under Jurgen Klopp. Klopp had only recorded one victory from his first four league matches. However, his side were about to put on a blistering attacking display at The Etihad Stadium. Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino were in sparkling form. Both Brazilians scored and Martin Skrtel hammered home a fourth goal in the second half. Liverpool won 4-1 to move into ninth place in the table. It was a Saturday evening for City to forget and particularly for Raheem Sterling, who was facing his old employers for the first time since his summer move.

Defeats for City and Arsenal meant Manchester United quietly crept into second position with a 2-1 victory at Watford. Memphis Depay gave them an early lead but Troy Deeney’s late spot-kick looked to have rescued a point for the Hertfordshire side. That was until a late winner for the Red Devils with Deeney scoring an unfortunate own goal. It would be their final league victory of 2015 as a dire December would follow for manager Louis van Gaal.

Tottenham Hotspur extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches with a resounding 4-1 victory over London rivals West Ham United, who were missing their influential playmaker Dimitri Payet due to injury. Harry Kane scored twice for the home side. At the wrong end of the table, Aston Villa’s crushing 4-0 defeat to Everton left them bottom with just five points and five points adrift of safety. Sunderland climbed above AFC Bournemouth after a Jermain Defoe goal was enough to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on the Monday Night Football at Selhurst Park.

What else happened in November 2015?

• The world is left appalled by a string of terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday 13th November. The Bataclan concert hall, bars/restaurants and the Stade de France are all targeted. 130 people are killed.
• In tennis, Great Britain wins the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after defeating Belgium in the final.
• Storm Abigail is the first storm to be officially named by the Met Office. It leaves 20,000 people without power and much disruption to many travel services.
• Alton Towers confirms that human error was the cause behind The Smiler rollercoaster crash in June that seriously injured five people.
• ITV confirms it will air The Voice UK and The Voice Kids from 2017, poaching it from the BBC.
• Children in Need raises over £37 million, which is a new record. It is the first time since its launch in 1980 that the legendary Sir Terry Wogan is unable to fulfil presenter duties following a back operation.
• Turkey shoots down a Russian fighter jet in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.

Shock Results: Charlton Athletic 1-4 West Bromwich Albion (March 2005)

Goalscorers: Geoff Horsfield 9, Jonatan Johansson 24, Rob Earnshaw 73, 84, 90 PEN

Teams:

Charlton Athletic: Dean Kiely, Talal El Karkouri (SENT OFF), Mark Fish, Hermann Hreidarsson, Luke Young, Paul Konchesky, Jerome Thomas, Danny Murphy (Dennis Rommedahl 77), Matt Holland, Jonatan Johansson (Jason Euell 70), Shaun Bartlett (Bryan Hughes 82)

West Bromwich Albion: Russell Hoult, Martin Albrechtsen, Neil Clement, Thomas Gaardsoe (Darren Moore 22), Paul Robinson, Kieran Richardson (Rob Earnshaw 64), Ronnie Wallwork, Jonathan Greening, Zoltan Gera (Richard Chaplow 86), Geoff Horsfield, Kevin Campbell

Referee: Mark Halsey, Attendance: 27,104

Bottom of the league going into this clash at The Valley, time was starting to run out for Bryan Robson and West Bromwich Albion. They’d won just two matches under his reign and were winless away from The Hawthorns. They were facing a Charlton side that were in seventh place and leading the race for the final UEFA Cup qualifying spot.

West Brom were boosted from a 2-0 victory a fortnight earlier at home to Birmingham City and they made a flying start off the back of this win. Nine minutes had been played when Zoltan Gera picked out Geoff Horsfield. Horsfield headed home from close-range with Charlton defenders looking rather static.

This sloppy start was not expected by the home team but it aroused Alan Curbishley’s side from their slumbers. Replacing Dennis Rommedahl in the starting XI, Jonatan Johansson had a point to prove and he delivered with the equaliser. Having just flashed a shot narrowly wide moments earlier, he was played through by Jerome Thomas and made the most of a fortunate bounce off the advancing goalkeeper Russell Hoult to guide the ball into an empty net.

The outcome of the game changed in the 29^th minute when referee Mark Halsey flashed out his red card at Charlton defender Talal El Karkouri. El Karkouri’s feet left the ground in a nasty challenge on Gera. Albion players were livid with the tackle, surrounding the Moroccan international who was quite rightly sent off by Halsey. Despite the deficit of playing a man light, Charlton nearly led before the interval. Darren Moore, who had come on for the injured Thomas Gaardsoe had to clear a goal-line effort from Hermann Hreidarsson.

With 25 minutes left to play, Robson elected to switch to a 4-3-3 formation, sacrificing Kieran Richardson for Rob Earnshaw. The Welshman would have a sensational outcome on the match. Nine minutes after his arrival, he gave the visitors the lead. Paul Robinson had acres of space and produced a delightful cross to the back post. Horsfield won the header against Paul Konchesky and Earnshaw was in the right place to guide the ball past Dean Kiely.

With six minutes remaining, it was game over. Gera produced his second assist of the afternoon, with a neatly-threaded pass into Earnshaw’s path. He exposed the Charlton high offside line and commandingly beat Kiely to make it 3-1. However, there was one more moment of joy for the Albion supporters. In stoppage-time, Richard Chaplow was scythed down on his Premier League debut by Bryan Hughes. Halsey awarded a penalty and Earnshaw dispatched it effectively, to make it 10 Premier League goals for the season. It also meant he became the first player to score a hat-trick in all of England’s top four divisions, the FA Cup, the League Cup and at international level for Wales. It started West Brom’s amazing escape act, as they survived on the final day of the season.

Seasonal Records: 2004-2005

For all the statistical fans out there, here are some of the season’s records from the 2004-2005 Premier League campaign. It was a season to remember for Chelsea as the Blues won their first Premier League title, 50 years on from their last top-flight success, losing just one match all season.

FINAL TABLE

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Chelsea	38	29	8	1	72	15	+57	95
2	Arsenal	38	25	8	5	87	36	+51	83
3	Manchester United	38	22	11	5	58	26	+32	77
4	Everton	38	18	7	13	45	46	-1	61
5	Liverpool FC	38	17	7	14	52	41	+11	58
6	Bolton Wanderers	38	16	10	12	49	44	+5	58
7	Middlesbrough	38	14	13	11	53	46	+7	55
8	Manchester City	38	13	13	12	47	39	+8	52
9	Tottenham Hotspur	38	14	10	14	47	41	+6	52
10	Aston Villa	38	12	11	15	45	52	-7	47
11	Charlton Athletic	38	12	10	16	42	58	-16	46
12	Birmingham City	38	11	12	15	40	46	-6	45
13	Fulham	38	12	8	18	52	60	-8	44
14	Newcastle United	38	10	14	14	47	57	-10	44
15	Blackburn Rovers	38	9	15	14	32	43	-11	42
16	Portsmouth	38	10	9	19	43	59	-16	39
17	West Bromwich Albion	38	6	16	16	36	61	-25	34
18	Crystal Palace	38	7	12	19	41	62	-21	33
19	Norwich City	38	7	12	19	42	77	-35	33
20	Southampton	38	6	14	18	45	66	-21	32

 

THE BASIC STATS

Goals Scored	975
European qualifiers	Chelsea (UEFA Champions League) Arsenal (UEFA Champions League) Manchester United (UEFA Champions League) Everton (UEFA Champions League) Liverpool FC (UEFA Champions League) Bolton Wanderers (UEFA Cup) Middlesbrough (UEFA Cup) Newcastle United (UEFA Intertoto Cup)
Longest winning run	8 games (Chelsea)
Longest unbeaten run	29 games (Chelsea)
Longest winless run	15 games (West Bromwich Albion)
Longest losing run	6 games (Bolton Wanderers & Tottenham Hotspur)
Highest attendance	67,989 (Manchester United vs. Portsmouth)
Lowest attendance	16,180 (Fulham vs. West Bromwich Albion)

 

AWARDS

PFA Players’ Player of the Year	John Terry (Chelsea)
PFA Young Player of the Year	Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Football Writers’ Award	Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
PFA Team of the Year	Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Arjen Robben, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Thierry Henry, Andy Johnson
Manager of the Year	Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
Premier League Goal of the Season	Wayne Rooney (MANCHESTER UNITED vs. Newcastle United)

 

HAT-TRICK HEROES

Player	Teams	Score	Date
Yakubu	Portsmouth vs. Fulham	4-3	30th August 2004
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Blackburn Rovers vs. Middlesbrough	0-4	16th October 2004
Eidur Gudjohnsen	Chelsea vs. Blackburn Rovers	4-0	23rd October 2004
Milan Baros	Liverpool FC vs. Crystal Palace	3-2	13th November 2004
Jermain Defoe	Tottenham Hotspur vs. Southampton	5-1	18th December 2004
Thierry Henry	Arsenal vs. Portsmouth	3-0	5th March 2005
Rob Earnshaw	Charlton Athletic vs. West Bromwich Albion	1-4	19th March 2005
Thierry Henry	Arsenal vs. Norwich City	4-1	2nd April 2005

 

TOP SCORERS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Goals
1	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	25
2	Andy Johnson	Crystal Palace	21
3	Robert Pires	Arsenal	14
4=	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	13
4=	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Middlesbrough	13
4=	Jermain Defoe	Tottenham Hotspur	13
4=	Yakubu	Portsmouth	13
8=	Eidur Gudjohnsen	Chelsea	12
8=	Andy Cole	Fulham	12
8=	Peter Crouch	Southampton	12
11=	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United	11
11=	Tim Cahill	Everton	11
11=	Shaun Wright-Phillips	Manchester City	11
11=	Robbie Keane	Tottenham Hotspur	11
11=	Rob Earnshaw	West Bromwich Albion	11
16=	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	10
16=	Freddie Ljungberg	Arsenal	10
16=	Robbie Fowler	Manchester City	10
16=	Emile Heskey	Birmingham City	10
16=	Kevin Phillips	Southampton	10
21=	Jose Antonio Reyes	Arsenal	9
21=	Paul Scholes	Manchester United	9
21=	Milan Baros	Liverpool FC	9
21=	El-Hadji Diouf	Bolton Wanderers	9
21=	Paul Dickov	Blackburn Rovers	9

BIGGEST VICTORIES

Arsenal 7-0 Everton	11th May 2005
Fulham 6-0 Norwich City	15th May 2005
West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Liverpool FC	26th December 2004
Arsenal 5-1 Crystal Palace	14th February 2005
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Aston Villa	1st May 2005
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Southampton	18th December 2004
Charlton Athletic 0-4 Chelsea	27th November 2004
Arsenal 4-0 Charlton Athletic	2nd October 2004
Charlton Athletic 0-4 Manchester United	1st May 2005
Everton 4-0 Crystal Palace	10th April 2005

 

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES

No of Goals	Teams	Date
9	Tottenham Hotspur 4-5 Arsenal	13th November 2004
8	Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough	22nd August 2004
8	Norwich City 4-4 Middlesbrough	22nd January 2005
7	Arsenal 7-0 Everton	11th May 2005
7	Manchester United 5-2 Crystal Palace	18th December 2004
7	Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Everton	1st January 2005
7	Newcastle United 4-3 Manchester City	24th October 2004
7	Portsmouth 4-3 Fulham	30th August 2004
7	Southampton 4-3 Norwich City	30th April 2005
6	Fulham 6-0 Norwich City	15th May 2005
6	Arsenal 5-1 Crystal Palace	14th February 2005
6	Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Aston Villa	1st May 2005
6	Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Southampton	18th December 2004
6	Arsenal 2-4 Manchester United	1st February 2005
6	Fulham 2-4 Liverpool FC	16th October 2004
6	Aston Villa 4-2 Newcastle United	28th August 2004
6	Portsmouth 4-2 Charlton Athletic	9th April 2005
6	Blackburn Rovers 3-3 Birmingham City	21st November 2004
6	Southampton 3-3 Fulham	5th January 2005
6	Crystal Palace 3-3 Norwich City	16th April 2005

 

YOUNGEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
James Vaughan	Everton 4-0 Crystal Palace	16 years, 8 months, 27 days	10th April 2005
Cesc Fabregas	Everton 1-4 Arsenal	17 years, 3 months, 11 days	15th August 2004
Philip Ifil	Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Liverpool FC	17 years, 8 months, 27 days	14th August 2004
Anthony Grant	Manchester United 1-3 Chelsea	17 years, 11 months, 6 days	10th May 2005
Nedum Onuoha	Manchester City 1-1 Norwich City	17 years, 11 months, 20 days	1st November 2004
Matthew Bates	Middlesbrough 3-2 Manchester City	17 years, 11 months, 26 days	6th December 2004
Leon Best	Southampton 1-2 Newcastle United	18 years	19th September 2004
Ricardo Vaz Te	Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Aston Villa	18 years, 1 month, 13 days	13th November 2004
Tom Soares	Aston Villa 1-1 Crystal Palace	18 years, 2 months, 15 days	25th September 2004
Martin Cranie	Southampton 0-0 Charlton Athletic	18 years, 3 months	26th December 2004

 

OLDEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Kevin Poole	Bolton Wanderers 1-1 West Bromwich Albion	41 years, 5 months, 11 days	1st January 2005
Nigel Martyn	Everton 2-0 Newcastle United	38 years, 8 months, 26 days	7th May 2005
Colin Cooper	Middlesbrough 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	38 years, 1 month, 26 days	23rd April 2005
Les Ferdinand	Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Blackburn Rovers	38 years, 10 days	28th December 2004
Fernando Hierro	Bolton Wanderers 3-2 Everton	37 years, 1 month, 22 days	15th May 2005
Craig Short	Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Fulham	36 years, 10 months, 12 days	7th May 2005
Youri Djorkaeff	Chelsea 4-0 Blackburn Rovers	36 years, 7 months, 14 days	23rd October 2004
Graeme Le Saux	Southampton 1-2 Manchester United	36 years, 6 months, 28 days	15th May 2005
Dennis Bergkamp	Birmingham City 2-1 Arsenal	36 years, 5 days	15th May 2005
Shaka Hislop	Portsmouth 0-1 Blackburn Rovers	35 years, 10 months, 24 days	15th January 2005

 

CLEAN SHEETS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Clean Sheets
1	Petr Cech	Chelsea	24
2=	Roy Carroll	Manchester United	15
2=	Brad Friedel	Blackburn Rovers	15
4	Nigel Martyn	Everton	14
5=	Paul Robinson	Tottenham Hotspur	12
5=	Dean Kiely	Charlton Athletic	12
7=	Jens Lehmann	Arsenal	11
7=	David James	Manchester City	11
7=	Thomas Sorensen	Aston Villa	11
10	Gabor Kiraly	Crystal Palace	10

The Clubs: West Bromwich Albion

All data correct upto 23^rd February 2018

All-Time Premier League Record

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded	Goal Difference	Points	No of Seasons
445	109	126	210	465	680	-215	453	12

 

Most Premier League Appearances

Player	Appearances Total
Chris Brunt	258
James Morrison	244
Gareth McAuley	203
Jonas Olsson	201
Ben Foster	198
Youssef Mulumbu	157
Claudio Yacob	157
Craig Dawson	142
Graeme Dorrans	121
Jonathan Greening	106

 

Most Premier League Goals

Player	Goals Total
Peter Odemwingie	30
James Morrison	29
Chris Brunt	24
Saido Berahino	23
Salomon Rondon	21
Shane Long	19
Romelu Lukaku	17
Gareth McAuley	15
Youssef Mulumbu	12
Zoltan Gera	12

 

Biggest Premier League Victories

Match	Date	Season
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-5 West Bromwich Albion	12th February 2012	2011-2012
West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Everton	19th November 2005	2005-2006
West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Sunderland	25th February 2012	2011-2012
West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Burnley	28th September 2014	2014-2015
West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Burnley	21st November 2016	2016-2017
Charlton Athletic 1-4 West Bromwich Albion	19th March 2005	2004-2005
Everton 1-4 West Bromwich Albion	27th November 2010	2010-2011
West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Middlesbrough	17th January 2009	2008-2009
West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Sunderland	25th April 2009	2008-2009
West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Blackburn Rovers	7th April 2012	2011-2012

 

Worst Premier League Defeats

Match	Date	Season
West Bromwich Albion 0-6 Liverpool FC	26th April 2003	2002-2003
Chelsea 6-0 West Bromwich Albion	14th August 2010	2010-2011
Fulham 6-1 West Bromwich Albion	11th February 2006	2005-2006
West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Liverpool FC	26th December 2004	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Manchester United	27th January 2009	2008-2009
Birmingham City 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	18th December 2004	2004-2005
Middlesbrough 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	23rd April 2005	2004-2005
Chelsea 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	24th August 2005	2005-2006
Manchester United 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	18th October 2008	2008-2009
Sunderland 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	13th December 2008	2008-2009

 

Managers

Manager	No of Seasons managed	Left the Club
Gary Megson	2	26th October 2004
Bryan Robson	2	18th September 2006
Tony Mowbray	1	16th June 2009
Roberto Di Matteo	1	6th February 2011
Roy Hodgson	2	14th May 2012
Steve Clarke	2	14th December 2013
Pepe Mel	1	12th May 2014
Alan Irvine	1	29th December 2014
Tony Pulis	4	20th November 2017
Alan Pardew	1

 

Highest Home Attendances

Match	Date	Attendance Figure	Season
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Portsmouth	15th May 2005	27,751	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Manchester United	27th November 2004	27,709	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Manchester United	18th March 2006	27,623	2005-2006
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Liverpool FC	1st April 2006	27,576	2005-2006
West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Liverpool FC	26th December 2004	27,533	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur	28th December 2005	27,510	2005-2006
West Bromwich Albion 1-4 Chelsea	30th October 2004	27,399	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Arsenal	2nd May 2005	27,351	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur	25th August 2004	27,191	2004-2005
West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Manchester United	11th January 2003	27,129	2002-2003

 

Intro

Having been the ultimate yo-yo club of the first decade of the new millennium, West Bromwich Albion have become a stable Premier League side. 2017-2018 is their eighth successive campaign in the top-flight and they are usually a solid, organised side who keep a raft of clean sheets and are one of the best teams at scoring from set-pieces. However, their Premier League place is looking in serious doubt as we enter the final three months of the current campaign.

 

2002-2003

West Bromwich Albion’s debut campaign in the Premier League was one about learning for future experiences. Gary Megson had done brilliantly to guide them into the top-flight unexpectedly but their first season at England’s highest level since 1986 would end with a swift return to the First Division.

The big arrival over the summer was the £2.5 million acquisition of highly-rated midfielder Jason Koumas from Tranmere Rovers. After losing their first three matches, West Brom achieved three successive 1-0 victories over Fulham, West Ham United and Southampton. However, they would win just three more matches in the league and were relegated on Easter Saturday 2003, despite a rare away success at bottom-placed Sunderland.

Goalscoring was a major problem with their joint-top scorers in the league, Danny Dichio and Scott Dobie, managing just five goals.

 

2004-2005

The Baggies’ second Premier League adventure is one of the most dramatic in the league’s archives. Having earned an instant return at the first attempt of asking, Megson brought in 10 players in the close season; including Nigerian forward Kanu, Danish defender Martin Albrechtsen and hotshot forward Rob Earnshaw. The season started poorly though and after a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace in mid-October, Megson resigned after falling out with the board.

Former player Bryan Robson was appointed as his successor but results didn’t improve. A 4-0 defeat to Birmingham, followed by a 5-0 drubbing at home to a Liverpool FC side that had won just once all season away from Anfield left them bottom at Christmas. No club had survived from this position in Premier League history.

Robson used the January transfer window to strengthen the squad. He signed Kevin Campbell, whose goals had saved Everton from relegation in 1999 and took Kieran Richardson on a loan deal from Manchester United. Both signings worked well and a 2-0 home win over Manchester City in mid-January saw them achieve only their second win of the season.

An improvement in form followed. Earnshaw scored a hat-trick off the bench in an impressive 4-1 away win at Charlton which was their first away success of the season before a Zoltan Gera header defeated Champions League-chasing Everton. West Brom had hope of ‘The Great Escape.’ Yet on the final day, they were still bottom of the table and had to win, whilst hoping results went their way.

They played Portsmouth and midway through the second half, substitute Geoff Horsfield scored with almost his first touch to put them infront. Richardson added a second goal to ensure the 2-0 victory they needed. Now, it was a case of waiting and hoping. Relegation rivals Norwich and Southampton both lost, whilst a late Charlton equaliser meant Crystal Palace’s 2-2 draw at The Valley was not enough.

Once the realisation dawned on the players and fans that survival had been achieved, a mass pitch invasion was sparked, with huge celebrations. West Brom had become the first team to ever survive in Premier League history having been bottom on Christmas Day.

 

2005-2006

The club were unable to repeat their escape act of 2004-2005. The squad wasn’t strengthened hugely during pre-season and despite home victories over Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and a 4-0 beating of Everton, West Brom won just seven league matches all season.

It looked like they might just avoid the drop again but Portsmouth’s tremendous run at the end of the campaign, coupled with no wins in their last 13 matches meant they slipped out of the top-flight. Robson would leave his post in September 2006.

 

2008-2009

West Brom returned to the Premier League for the 2008-2009 season with Scot Tony Mowbray now in-charge. They made a stronger start to the season, earning 10 points from their opening seven matches, including an away win at Middlesbrough with Jonas Olsson’s first goal for the club. A terrible run of two points from the next 10 games though saw them slip into familiar territory and despite a pre-Christmas 2-1 victory over Manchester City, West Brom were bottom again on Christmas Day.

This time, there would be no repeat of 2004-2005. Just four more victories were recorded and although they convincingly defeated Middlesbrough and Sunderland at home (3-0 on both occasions), their third Premier League relegation was confirmed on the penultimate weekend of the season, thanks to a 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool FC.

Mowbray left the club at the end of the season to take the managerial post at Celtic and he would be replaced by Roberto Di Matteo, who had guided Milton Keynes Dons to the League One play-offs.

 

2010-2011

Di Matteo guided West Brom back to the Premier League at the first attempt and there were very early promising signs. Nigerian forward Peter Odemwingie joined the club and became the first Baggies player to win the Premier League Player of the Month award for his exploits in September. This included a shock 3-2 away win at The Emirates Stadium over Arsenal.

They were also the only side all campaign to take a point from Old Trafford, coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United. That left them sixth in the table, before a winter collapse. 11 defeats in 16 matches saw them slide to 16^th and just one point above the drop zone. After a 3-0 loss at Manchester City in early February, Di Matteo was placed on gardening leave and replaced by Roy Hodgson, who was available after his dire spell as Liverpool FC manager.

The club had the leakiest defence in the division on his arrival and priority number one was tightening this area up. Hodgson achieved this and five wins in the final three months, including a 2-1 success over his former employers from Merseyside ensured a comfortable end to the season. Somen Tchoyi’s final day hat-trick in the 3-3 draw with Newcastle United ensured an 11^th place finish.

 

2011-2012

Hodgson broke West Brom’s transfer record in the summer of 2011 to acquire Shane Long from Reading for £7.5 million. Despite four defeats in their first five games, West Brom were never in danger of any relegation trouble. The highlight of an impressive season was a 5-1 demolition of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in February. Odemwingie scored a hat-trick in a result which remains the club’s biggest victory in the Premier League era.

For the first time, West Brom finished in the top 10 but Hodgson would not be staying. In late April, he was chosen as Fabio Capello’s successor to become manager of the England national team.

 

2012-2013

Roy’s replacement was rookie boss Steve Clarke, who made the step-up after serving as an assistant manager at Newcastle United, Chelsea and Liverpool FC. Clarke made a fantastic start, with Liverpool beaten 3-0 on the opening day. This was despite spending just £4 million in the summer and that was to make goalkeeper Ben Foster’s move from Birmingham City into a permanent transfer.

The signing of Romelu Lukaku on-loan from Chelsea was a masterstroke. The Belgian scored 17 times, including a final day hat-trick in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match as a manager. West Brom showed great character to recover three-goal deficits and draw 5-5 in an incredible ending to their season.

They beat Chelsea at home for the second successive campaign and achieved a league double over Liverpool FC. This was their best-ever Premier League season, finishing eighth with a record-points total of 49 points and 14 wins.

The only sour note was Odemwingie’s desire to leave. An issue over contract talks saw him try to force a move through to Queens Park Rangers on transfer deadline day in January. He even stupidly turned up at QPR’s training ground car park, believing a deal had been agreed between the two clubs. It hadn’t and he was forced to return reluctantly to The Hawthorns. The fans didn’t forgive him and his time with the club was effectively over.

 

2013-2014

There were high hopes for a similar campaign in 2013-2014 but it didn’t materialise. Odemwingie was sold to Cardiff City but Clarke missed out on getting Lukaku again on-loan. The Belgian chose Everton on transfer deadline day.

The season started solidly and they hit the heights of 9^th place after a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in November which was nearly a victory until a controversial penalty was awarded to the home side in stoppage-time. Four successive defeats though did for Clarke and he was sacked in mid-December after a 1-0 away loss to Cardiff.

After Keith Downing took over in caretaker charge during Christmas, Pepe Mel was the surprise choice as permanent boss. It didn’t work out. He won just three of his 17 matches in control, which included blowing big leads at home to both Cardiff and Tottenham Hotspur. West Brom finished just one position above the bottom three and Mel was sacked a day after the season concluded.

The highlight of the season was a 2-1 away win at Old Trafford over champions Manchester United.

 

2014-2015

Alan Irvine took over in the summer of 2014 but he didn’t last long. A run of poor results saw him dismissed two days before the year was out. Under his stewardship, West Brom won just four times although they did record one of their biggest Premier League victories; 4-0 over Burnley in September.

Irvine was replaced by Tony Pulis who immediately made the Baggies tougher to beat. They achieved 10 clean sheets in his 18 matches in charge and there were notable victories over Chelsea and Manchester United in the closing weeks of the season. West Brom finished in a fairly comfortable 13^th place.

The form of Saido Berahino was impressive throughout. He scored 14 Premier League goals in the season but that would be the high of his time with the Midlands side. Like Odemwingie previously, his head would be turned by interest from other clubs.

 

2015-2016

Home wins against Arsenal and Manchester United were the highlights of an unremarkable 2015-2016 season for West Brom which saw them finish a place lower than the previous season and one point fewer too.

Pulis broke the club’s transfer record to sign Venezuelan international Salomon Rondon from Zenit Saint Petersburg whilst Jonny Evans was another key arrival from Manchester United. Rondon responded by finishing as the top scorer with nine goals whilst Evans played his part in a strong-minded and well-drilled backline.

To demonstrate their no-thrills approach, all of Albion’s 10 victories were achieved by a one-goal margin.

 

2016-2017

For only the third time, West Brom achieved a top-10 finish in the Premier League and it could have been eighth in the table. It was a position they held from a New Years’ Eve 2-1 success away at Southampton until the final week of the season when they were overtaken by the Saints and AFC Bournemouth to wind up 10^th.

Pulis masterminded another home victory over Arsenal with their power from set-pieces being far too much for a fragile Gunners team to deal with. Craig Dawson scored twice in the 3-1 victory. Salomon Rondon scored eight times, including a hat-trick of headers to defeat Swansea City in December.

There was also a second successive 4-0 humbling of Burnley and a 2-1 away triumph at reigning champions Leicester City; a result which began to spell the end for Claudio Ranieri as Leicester boss.

Seven defeats from their last nine matches took the gloss off what was a fairly strong season for the club.

 

2017-2018

West Brom started the 26^th Premier League campaign with two successive 1-0 victories over AFC Bournemouth and Burnley but that is as good as it has got so far. Pulis was sacked after a heavy 4-0 home loss to Chelsea in November and Alan Pardew has been unable to steady the ship.

Seven points adrift of safety with just 11 games left to play, time is running out for the club to protect their Premier League status.

Shock Results: Arsenal 2-3 West Bromwich Albion (September 2010)

Goalscorers: Peter Odemwingie 50, Gonzalo Jara 52, Jerome Thomas 73, Samir Nasri 75, 90

Teams:

Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy, Laurent Koscielny (Carlos Vela 66), Sebastien Squillaci, Bacary Sagna, Emmanuel Eboue (Jack Wilshere 56), Abou Diaby (Tomas Rosicky 56), Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh

West Bromwich Albion: Scott Carson, Pablo Ibanez, Gonzalo Jara, Jonas Olsson, Nicky Shorey, Youssouf Mulumbu, Paul Scharner (Steven Reid 71), Chris Brunt, James Morrison (Graham Dorrans 78), Jerome Thomas (Somen Tchoyi 83), Peter Odemwingie

Referee: Michael Oliver, Attendance: 60,025

West Bromwich Albion arrived at The Emirates Stadium in September 2010 on a real high. They had just beaten their local rivals Birmingham City in the Premier League and dumped big-spending Manchester City out of the League Cup in midweek. Nevertheless, their chances of overcoming Arsenal were seen as quite low. 19 top-flight matches had passed since they’d won away from The Hawthorns.

Arsenal were missing the injured Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott but started strongly and it took some desperate clearances to stop West Brom falling behind very early on. Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin hit the post and the main forward, Marouane Chamakh, headed narrowly wide from a Bacary Sagna cross. However, Roberto Di Matteo’s side had taken some lessons from Sunderland having frustrated the Gunners a week earlier. Their high pressing style and ability to close down space meant Arsenal’s most influential players weren’t able to get the time and space they normally would to dictate the tempo of the match. Nine minutes before half-time, Albion had a golden opportunity to take the lead.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia charged off his goal-line and chopped down the Nigerian forward Peter Odemwingie. It was a poorly-timed challenge and Michael Oliver correctly awarded a spot-kick. Up stepped the captain of the club, Chris Brunt. However, his penalty was weak, not fully in the corner and Almunia guessed right to redeem himself for giving away the opportunity in the first place.

It was 0-0 at half-time but the visitors, who might have felt they’d squandered their best chance, would get a catalogue of charitable moments in the second half which was clearly unexpected. Five minutes into the second half, former Arsenal player Jerome Thomas escaped Sagna on the by-line and pulled the ball back for Odemwingie to finish smartly. It was his third goal in just five matches for the club.

Two minutes later, it was 2-0. Brunt’s back heel underneath Gael Clichy’s legs played Gonzalo Jara through. The full-back tried his luck and it somehow beat Almunia who made a feeble attempt to save the shot at his near post. The game was as good as over after 73 minutes. Brunt pounced on some hesitant goalkeeping from Almunia, squared the ball across the box and Thomas finished into an empty net.

Samir Nasri did pull two goals back late on but the damage had been done and West Bromwich Albion held on for a deserved victory. This was the highlight of Di Matteo’s West Brom reign. He was sacked in February 2011 after a run of 13 defeats in 18 games but under the guidance of Roy Hodgson, the club survived comfortably in 11^th position.

Great Goals: Bobby Zamora – West Bromwich Albion vs. QUEENS PARK RANGERS (April 2015)

The 2014-2015 season was a tough campaign for fans of Queens Park Rangers. One of their better days came away at The Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion.

They were already 2-0 ahead in the game when Bobby Zamora produced this remarkable moment. Played through by Matt Phillips three minutes before half-time, he beat Joleon Lescott in a sprint before producing the most delicate of lobs from the edge of the penalty area with the outside of his foot. The ball spun past a helpless Ben Foster and into the net.

Zamora would later say this was his best-ever goal in his career. Queens Park Rangers won the game 4-1 and completed a league double over West Brom for the season. However, they would end the season with the club being relegated to the Championship.

Premier League Files: Jason Roberts

Premier League Career: West Bromwich Albion (2002-2003), Portsmouth (2003), Wigan Athletic (2005-2006), Blackburn Rovers (2006-2011), Reading (2012)

Although his story isn’t quite as remarkable as the journey that Jamie Vardy has been on, Jason Roberts was another example of someone bouncing back after early disappointments and rejections. His longest Premier League spell was with Blackburn Rovers but the most fruitful spell of his career was probably with Wigan Athletic.

Roberts spent time in the youth academies at several leading professional clubs including Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. He was not retained by either side. As a youngster, these knockbacks can be devastating to a player’s career and mental approach. Despite these blows, Roberts was determined to make the big time, even if that meant taking an alternative route towards the top-flight.

A boyhood Celtic fan, he dropped into non-league football with Hayes and started to catch the eye at Bristol Rovers, scoring 38 goals in two seasons with the club from 1998 and 2000. With him and Nathan Ellington in the team, Bristol Rovers challenged for promotion to Division One but couldn’t quite complete the job. So, Roberts decided to move on to a higher level himself. He handed in a transfer request and joined West Bromwich Albion in July 2000.

Two seasons later, he was a Premier League player. Unfortunately, West Brom’s promotion campaign in 2001-2002 was a frustrating one for Jason. He had horrendous luck with injury, breaking the same metatarsal bone three times. This restricted him to just 12 league appearances. Nevertheless, he still chipped in with seven goals. Roberts’ first Premier League goal came at Highbury in a 5-2 defeat to Arsenal but he would only add another two to his tally as the Baggies’ Premier League stay was brief. Having experienced the taste of Premier League football, Roberts wanted more and would get it at Wigan Athletic a few years later.

There was a brief loan spell at Portsmouth during the first few months of the 2003-2004 campaign and another Premier League goal to his tally during his five months at Fratton Park at home to Everton. West Brom then sold him to Wigan in January 2004 for a fee of £1.4 million. His impact was instant, scoring inside 35 seconds of his debut in a victory over Preston North End. He struck 21 times in Wigan’s successful promotion campaign of 2004-2005 which meant another Premier League adventure for the Grenadian.

Roberts’ best season of his career was undoubtedly Wigan’s maiden season in the Premier League. He will always be in the club’s record books for scoring their first goal in the top-flight, netting from the penalty spot after only two minutes of a 1-0 victory over Sunderland. That came in Wigan’s third match of the season. Later in the season, he scored a dramatic late goal at Highbury which ensured the Latics knocked Arsenal out of the Carling Cup semi-finals and took Wigan to their first-ever major cup final. He started the showpiece event at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium but it ended in a 4-0 defeat to favourites Manchester United. He scored eight Premier League goals which was his best return at this level.

Unfortunately for Wigan, he couldn’t agree on a new contract and was sold to Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2006. He made over 150 appearances for Blackburn, scoring 28 goals and experienced European football for the first time. Away from the field of play, he was doing fine work. Whilst at Blackburn, he established the Jason Roberts Foundation, with the aim to provide a range of sporting opportunities for children and young people in the UK and Grenada. This meant he received an MBE in the 2010 New Years’ Honours List.

He joined Reading in 2012 and got one final experience of Premier League football. A hip injury forced him off in a defeat to Southampton in December 2012 and that was the last time he would play football. After surgery wasn’t successful, he announced his retirement from the game in March 2014. Today, he is now a regular pundit for BBC Sport on programmes including Final Score and Football Focus.

Jason Roberts did fine work away from the pitch and was a decent player who graced several clubs in his career. He was always an attacking threat and will be fondly remembered by Wigan Athletic for his heroics in their maiden Premier League campaign.

Memorable Matches: Queens Park Rangers 3-2 West Bromwich Albion (December 2014)

Goalscorers: Joleon Lescott 10, Silvestre Varela 20, Charlie Austin 24 PEN, 48, 86

Teams:

Queens Park Rangers: Robert Green, Yun Suk-Young (Clint Hill 30), Nedum Onuoha, Steven Caulker, Richard Dunne, Joey Barton, Leroy Fer, Karl Henry, Charlie Austin, Eduardo Vargas (Junior Hoilett 67), Bobby Zamora (Niko Kranjcar 80)

West Bromwich Albion: Ben Foster, Sebastien Pocognoli (Cristian Gamboa 90), Andre Wisdom, Joleon Lescott, Gareth McAuley, Graham Dorrans, Craig Gardner, James Morrison, Stephane Sessegnon, Silvestre Varela, Brown Ideye (Saido Berahino 69)

Referee: Craig Pawson, Attendance: 17,560

Going into this pre-Christmas match, both Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion were in the need for three points. Harry Redknapp’s side had failed to take a single point away from home but were in fine form at Loftus Road, taking 10 points from their last four home encounters. West Brom had just beaten Aston Villa in their last match to ease the pressure slightly on their head coach, Alan Irvine.

It was the visitors’ who made the better start and completely dominated in the first 20 minutes. Craig Gardner and Brown Ideye both came close to opening the scoring but it was a defender who would ultimately break the deadlock. Sebastien Pocognoli’s corner was flicked on by Stephane Sessegnon and Joleon Lescott headed home. Lescott was a summer arrival from Manchester City and this was his first goal since September 2012.

1-0 after 10 minutes became 2-0 after 20 minutes. Silvestre Varela linked up with Sessegnon, playing some smart one-touch football and he finished coolly inside the penalty area. Varela was on-loan from FC Porto and had struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League. It was his first goal for the club and ultimately, his only goal in the Baggies’ colours.

Redknapp’s side needed a swift response and it arrived via the penalty spot just four minutes later. Referee Craig Pawson punished James Morrison for tugging away at Leroy Fer’s shirt. Charlie Austin, back from suspension after seeing red in QPR’s last home match against Burnley, made no mistake from the penalty spot. This goal meant he had scored in each of QPR’s last five home matches.

Despite getting back into the game, QPR were still second-best for the remainder of the first half. Green’s agility levels were tested on two further occasions before the interval to deny Gardner from a deflected free-kick and a dangerous drive from the impressive Sessegnon. West Brom’s failure to take their chances would cost them dearly in the second half.

Less than three minutes into the second half, Joey Barton’s corner was headed onto the crossbar by Richard Dunne. The ball fell perfectly to Austin, who bundled home a loose ball to level the scores. A winning goal always looked likely for either side and with Austin on the pitch, QPR could not be discounted. Four minutes from time, he climbed highest to head home another Barton corner. It was his ninth goal in the last seven matches and his maiden hat-trick in the Premier League.

The result lifted QPR out of the bottom three and into 15^th spot, level on points with their opponents. Irvine lasted another two matches before being sacked. Tony Pulis succeeded him and steered Albion clear of any relegation danger. Despite the goals of Austin, QPR were relegated before the end of the season. This was their day though and one of the best comebacks of the 2014-2015 season.