History of West Bromwich Albion F.C.

[1] For the first two seasons of their existence, Albion played local sides on parks pitches throughout West Bromwich, Smethwick and Wednesbury, occasionally travelling as far afield as Stourbridge to get a game.

It was their run to the quarter-finals of that tournament – beating, as they did, established sides such as Elwells FC (from Wednesbury) and Calthorpe (Edgbaston) – that made their name in the Birmingham press.

They had spent a season in their own enclosure, The Birches, but the drainage there was poor and so the club rented Four Acres from their former rivals, West Bromwich FC, where they would remain for three years.

In March 1888, William McGregor wrote to what he considered to be the top five English teams, including Albion, informing them of his intention to form an association of clubs that would play each other home and away each season.

[9] The team performed well on their return to Division One, topping the league for a large part of the season, but their title hopes were ended by a run of 11 games without a win—including eight straight defeats—and they finished seventh.

Though Carver was soon to be seduced back to Italy by Lazio, (although domestic household pressures were a paramount factor) his eight months in charge were a defining moment for the club.

His replacement, Vic Buckingham, recruited from the amateur leagues, inherited an intelligent, well-co-ordinated team, playing a flowing style of attacking football that he was to build upon.

Following Buckingham's departure to Ajax in 1959 the club saw another decline, although Derek Kevan's 33 league goals in 1961–62 saw him finish as joint-top goalscorer in the First Division, alongside Ray Crawford of Ipswich.

Hagan, despite the spirit of the times, was a martinet on the training ground and frequently bred conflict with a playing squad that was beginning to enjoy the new economic and social freedoms.

During this time the club's attack was built around the strike duo of Astle and club-record goalscorer Tony Brown, with Bobby Hope prompting from midfield and Clive Clark on the wing.

After beating Colchester, Southampton, Portsmouth and Liverpool in the earlier rounds, Albion then knocked out rivals Birmingham City 2–0 at Villa Park.

Howe had just coached Arsenal to the League and Cup double and was regarded as one of the game's foremost theoreticians, but he was unable to prevent Albion's relegation to the Second Division in 1973.

Allen led the club to a brilliant start to the season, but following a row over both transfer funds and his own pay packet, accepted an offer to manage in Saudi Arabia and left after only five months.

When a relatively unknown young manager named Ron Atkinson arrived at the club in 1978, he inherited a team that already included youth-team graduate Bryan Robson and Derek Statham, Ally Robertson as well as the black pair of Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis, both acquired inexpensively from lower divisions.

Their success in the Albion side marked a watershed that allowed a generation of footballers to enter the game who would previously have been excluded by their ethnic background.

Their replacements were Romeo Zondervan, Martin Jol and Andy King; for a while things looked rosy, as Albion reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups.

A trio of high-profile names was recruited to take over: Johnny Giles, Norman Hunter and Nobby Stiles, and hopes were high; but their first game in charge—at home to Third Division Plymouth Argyle, in the FA Cup—resulted in defeat.

Albion's financial difficulties however forced Giles to sell players to lighten the wage bill, beginning with Cyrille Regis, and the replacements were generally inadequate.

Talbot's reign started well and Albion were still looking well placed for promotion with three months of the season remaining, but their form slumped during the final quarter of the campaign and they missed ou on the playoffs.

Safety was assured on the final day thanks to a 1–0 win over Portsmouth – Lee Aschcroft's goal sending the 10,000 strong army of fans in raptures.

Buckley was sacked in January 1997 and replaced by Ray Harford, who led Albion to Division One safety in 1996–97, and in the first few months of the following season the side established itself in the top six.

Megson quickly signed several new players as the transfer deadline approached, including veteran striker Bob Taylor, who returned for his second spell at the club.

A 2–0 win over champions Charlton Athletic on the last day of the season meant that Albion remained in Division One while rivals Walsall were relegated.

In 2001–02 Albion reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, their best run in the competition for 20 years, eliminating Premiership sides Sunderland and Leicester City along the way.

On the last day of the season, Albion beat Portsmouth 2–0, while Crystal Palace, Norwich and Southampton all failed to achieve the results they needed.

Albion briefly led the Championship on goal difference in February, but indifferent form over the remainder of the season meant that automatic promotion was out of reach.

[47] Roberto Di Matteo led the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt,[48] but was dismissed in February 2011 and replaced by Roy Hodgson.

Steve Clarke then led Albion to an eighth-place finish in 2012–13, their highest in the Premier League, but was sacked halfway through the following season[50] and replaced by Pepe Mel,[51] who left by mutual consent at the end of the campaign.

[53][54] On 5 August 2016, it was announced the club had been sold to a Chinese investment group headed up by Guochuan Lai, and John Williams replaced Peace as chairman.

[58] Following relegation, on 18 May 2018 Moore was confirmed as the manager of the club on a three-year contract, tasked with the job of leading the team back to the Premier League.