2004–05 West Bromwich Albion F.C. Season

During the 2004–05 English football season, West Bromwich Albion competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

West Bromwich Albion managed to retain their Premiership status despite being in last place on Christmas Day. This was the first time in the history of the Premiership this had happened. Sunderland and Leicester City have since equalled this feat (Sunderland in 2013–14, Leicester in 2014–15), although they secured survival before the final day.

Final day

Going into the final round of matches, no team was assured of relegation. In each of the last three weekends of the season, the team that was bottom of the table at the start of the weekend finished it outside the drop zone. The final round of the season on 15 May started with West Bromwich on the bottom, Southampton and Crystal Palace one point clear and Norwich City in the last safe spot and two points from the bottom. For the first time since the advent of the current Premier League in 1992–1993, no club was assured of relegation going into the final day. Even worse, only one will survive. The final matchday was publicised by Sky Sports as "Survival Sunday", with accompanying promotional material advertising the last matchday like a title fight or epic movie blockbuster.

West Brom, who had been bottom of the table and eight points from safety at Christmas, did their part by defeating Portsmouth at home 2–0. Norwich, the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands, lost 6–0 at Fulham and went down. Southampton lost 2–1 at home to Manchester United. Palace, away to Charlton Athletic, were leading 2–1 after 71 minutes, but with eight minutes to go Jonathan Fortune equalised for the Addicks to relegate the Eagles. Thus, West Brom stayed up, and changed history, becoming the first club in Premiership history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas.

At the end of 90 minutes in all 4 matches, Sky cameras focused on the Hawthorns, as confirmation of other results began to filter through. Once the realisation dawned on the players and fans that survival had been achieved, a mass pitch invasion was sparked, with huge celebrations. The Portsmouth fans in the away end of the ground joined in the celebrations and party atmosphere, as, through losing 2–0 to West Brom, they had "helped" relegate arch-rivals Southampton. The defeat itself mattered little to Portsmouth, as they would be unable to improve on their 16th position due to 15th-placed Blackburn Rovers' greater goal difference.

Final league table

Players

First-team squad

:''Squad at end of season''

Left club during season

Statistics

Appearances and goals

:''As of end of season''

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! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Goalkeepers

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! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Defenders

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! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Midfielders

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! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Forwards

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! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center, Players transferred or loaned out during the season

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Starting 11

:''Considering starts in all competitions''

Transfers

In

* Riccardo Scimeca – Leicester City, 18 May, undisclosed
* Martin Albrechtsen – København, 3 June, £2,700,000
* Darren Purse – Birmingham City, 18 June, £750,000
* Tomasz Kuszczak – Hertha BSC, 14 July, free
* Jonathan Greening – Middlesbrough, 29 July, £1,250,000
* Zoltán Gera – Ferencváros, 30 July, £1,500,000
* Nwankwo Kanu – Arsenal, 30 July, free
* Robert Earnshaw – Cardiff City, 30 August, £3,000,000 (rising to £3,620,000 depending on contractual incentives)
* Cosmin Contra – Atlético Madrid, 31 August, season-long loan
* Junichi Inamoto – Gamba Osaka, 31 August, £200,000
* Kevin Campbell – Everton, 10 January, free
* Kieran Richardson – Manchester United, 29 January, season-long loan
* Richard Chaplow – Burnley, 31 January, £1,500,000

Out

* Phil Gilchrist – released, 10 May (later joined Rotherham United)
* Daniel Crane – released, 10 May (later joined Burton Albion)
* Joost Volmer – released, 10 May (later joined Den Bosch)
* Delroy Facey – released, 10 May (later joined Hull City on 25 June)
* Tamika Mkandawire – released, 10 May (later joined Hereford United on 9 July)
* Mark Kinsella – released, 10 May (later joined Walsall on 27 July)
* Lee Hughes – contract terminated, 9 August
* Sean Gregan – Leeds United, £500,000 (rising to £750,000 dependent on appearances), 16 September
* James Chambers – Watford, £250,000, 25 September
* Scott Dobie – Millwall, £750,000, 8 November
* Larus Sigurdsson – retired, 2 December
* Simon Brown – Mansfield Town, 6 December, £50,000
* Lloyd Dyer – Coventry City, three-month loan, 22 March
* Lee Marshall – retired, 22 April
* Bernt Haas – released, 21 January (later joined Bastia)
* Rob Hulse – Leeds United, 9 February, season-long loan
* Sékou Berthé – released, 9 February
* Simon Miotto – released, 9 February
* Adam Chambers – released, 9 February (later joined Kidderminster Harriers)
* James O'Connor – Burnley, £175,000, 24 March
* Phillip Midworth – released (later joined Burton Albion on 11 February)

:''Transfers in'': £10,800,000
:''Transfers out'': £1,675,000
:''Total spending'': £9,125,000

Results

West Bromwich Albion's result comes first

Premier League

Results per matchday

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004-05 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season
West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons
West Brom