The 2009–10 season was West Bromwich Albion's 107th season in the Football League. West Bromwich returned to the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League.
Background West Bromwich continued with English company Umbro as the shirt designers. For the second season running, West Bromwich were unable to find a kit sponsor.
On 16 June 2009, Tony Mowbray left West Bromwich Albion to join Scottish club Celtic as their new manager. He was replaced two weeks later by former Chelsea player Roberto Di Matteo, with the job title changed to head coach.
As part of ongoing ground refurbishments at The Hawthorns, Albion replaced all of the seating in both the Birmingham Road End and Smethwick End with navy blue seats, matching those already fitted in the East and West Stands. The stadium's "iconic" large-scale seat patterns, dating back to the mid-1990s—an italic "Albion" at the Smethwick End and "WBAFC" below a blue and white scarf at the Birmingham Road End—were removed as a result of the work.
Football League Championship West Bromwich began their season with a 1–1 draw against Newcastle United. They then travelled to City Ground to play Nottingham Forest, whom they beat, followed by another away win. West Bromwich's second home game was against Ipswich Town, whom they defeated 2–0. This was followed by a draw at Sheffield United. They then came back from against Plymouth Argyle, then beat Doncaster Rovers. West Bromwich then won one of their most remarkable games in a 5–0 win over Middlesbrough, before losing their next two games to Crystal Palace and Barnsley.
The first game of October saw West Brom draw against Preston North End. This was followed by a 3–1 win over Reading. Former Baggie Craig Beattie scored the only goal in a 1–0 loss to Swansea City. This was followed with a 0–0 draw with Coventry City. The Baggies bounced back by thrashing Watford 5–0. A 2–1 win over Leicester City kept the Baggies second. The Baggies trashed Bristol City 4–1, and then became the top goalscorers in the Football League when they humiliated Sheffield Wednesday 4–0, scoring 15 goals in 4 games.
December began with a draw against Derby County, following this with a defeat to promotion rivals Cardiff City and a late draw against QPR. The following two games ended in wins against strugglers Peterborough United and Scunthorpe United. The Baggies then lost to Nottingham Forest, causing the Baggies to drop to third. This was followed by draws to Newcastle United and Ipswich Town. Wins against Sheffield United, Blackpool, Plymouth and Scunthorpe put them top of the table. Cardiff City held West Brom to a 1–1 draw, with Gianni Zuiverloon scoring the equaliser. Bristol City beat them 2–1 but they quickly bounced back with a 3–1 win over Derby County. West Brom started March badly with a 3–1 loss to QPR, but wins against Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool, Swansea, Preston and Coventry widened the gap between the play-offs and the automatic spots. On-form Reading held the Albion to a 1–1 draw. Playoff hopefuls Leicester City were the next to fall at the Hawthorns, where West Brom won 3–0. Chris Brunt then saved a point for West Brom after Danny Graham put Watford ahead. West Brom secured promotion back to the Premier League after a 3–2 win against Doncaster Rovers on 10 April 2010.
FA Cup The third round saw West Brom beat League One side Huddersfield Town. West Brom then beat fellow Championship side Newcastle 4–2 in the fourth round to proceed to the fifth round. They drew with Reading in the fifth round but lost the subsequent replay.
League Cup In the first round West Bromwich faced League Two side Bury, whom they beat 2–0. In the second round they were taken to extra time by another League Two side, Rotherham United, where Simon Cox scored his first goal for the club. The final score was 4–3. They were knocked out in the third round as they lost 2–0 against Arsenal. Players Squad at end of season First-team squad
Left club during season
Player statistics
Transfers
Summer
In Date#PlayerClubFee8 July 2009 31 Simon Cox Swindon Town Undisclosed10 July 2009 21 Youssuf Mulumbu Paris Saint-Germain £750,00031 July 2009 18 Reuben Reid Rotherham United Free10 August 2009 2 Joe Mattock Leicester City Undisclosed14 August 2009 14 Jerome Thomas Portsmouth Free25 August 2009 36 Gonzalo Jara Colo-Colo £1,400,000
Out Date#PlayerClubFee Kim Do-heon Suwon Bluewings £360,000 Sherjill MacDonald Germinal Beerschot £650,00021 August 2009 Carl Hoefkens Club BruggeFree27 August 2009 Craig Beattie Swansea City £500,000
Winter
In Date#PlayerClubFee5 January 201040 Marcus Haber Vancouver WhitecapsFree1 February 201029 Andwélé Slory FeyenoordFree3 February 201012 Giles BarnesNoneFree
Out Date#PlayerClubFee 29 David Worrall Bury Free 6 Neil Clement Retired Paul Robinson Bolton Wanderers Undisclosed1 February 2010 24 Shelton Martis Doncaster Rovers Undisclosed
Loans in #PlayerClubArrival DateReturn Date 26 Shaun Cummings Chelsea 17 August 2 September 26 Gabriel Tamaș Auxerre 1 January End of season 42 Frank Nouble West Ham United 9 February 9 March 24 Ben Watson Wigan Athletic 22 February 1 April 44 Steven Reid Blackburn Rovers 5 March End of season
Loans out #PlayerClubArrival dateReturn date Paul Robinson Bolton Wanderers 12 July End of season 13 Luke Daniels Tranmere Rovers 21 July End of season 25 Joss Labadie Shrewsbury Town 3 August 3 September 29 David Worrall Shrewsbury Town 6 August 6 September 8 Jonathan Greening Fulham 22 August End of season 28 Borja Valero RCD Mallorca 31 August End of season 25 Joss Labadie Shrewsbury Town 6 September 6 January 5 Leon Barnett Coventry City 4 November 31 January 25 Joss Labadie Cheltenham Town 20 November 20 December 18 Reuben Reid Peterborough United 6 January 6 April 30 Paul Downing Hereford United 25 January 25 February 32 Lateef Elford-Alliyu Hereford United 25 January 25 February 5 Leon Barnett Coventry City 31 January End of season 20 Filipe Teixeira Barnsley 1 February End of season 40 Marcus Haber Exeter City 18 February 18 March 30 Paul Downing Hereford United 25 February End of season 32 Lateef Elford-Alliyu Hereford United 25 February End of season 40 Marcus Haber Vancouver Whitecaps 9 April 9 June
Fixtures and results
Pre-season friendlies +DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers11 July 2009HistonA0–11,05815 July 2009Nafta LendavaA3–0–Moore, Greening, Olsson18 July 2009NK VarteksA2–2–Beattie22 July 2009Shrewsbury TownA2–02,437Moore, Koren24 July 2009Kidderminster HarriersA1–21,057 Elford-Alliyu25 July 2009WalsallA2–24,358Moore, Beattie28 July 2009Swindon TownA0–12,48231 July 2009Cheltenham TownA1–2–Wood1 August 2009CheivoH0–03,359
Championship +DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers8 August 2009Newcastle UnitedH1–123,502 (2,600)Martis15 August 2009Nottingham ForestA1–022,794 (2,373)own goal18 August 2009Peterborough UnitedA3–28,752Moore (2), Brunt22 August 2009Ipswich TownH2–019,390Mulumbu, Koren29 August 2009Sheffield UnitedA2–225,169Bednář (2)12 September 2009Plymouth ArgyleH3–122,190 (905) Martis, Čech (2)15 September 2009Doncaster RoversH3–122,184 (1,184)Olsson (2), Wood19 September 2009MiddlesbroughA5–022,725 (1,633) Brunt (2), Mulumbu, Bednář, Thomas26 September 2009Crystal PalaceH0–121,00729 September 2009BarnsleyA1–312,191Brunt3 October 2009Preston North EndA0–011,18017 October 2009ReadingH3–120,935Thomas(2), Mulumbu20 October 2009Swansea CityH0–121,02224 October 2009Coventry CityA0–020,87131 October 2009WatfordH5–021,421 (1,293)Olsson, Dorrans, Moore, Zuiverloon, Cox6 November 2009Leicester CityA2–128,748Dorrans, Jara21 November 2009Bristol CityH4–123,444 (2,600) Thomas, Brunt, own goal, Cox28 November 2009Sheffield WednesdayA4–020,824Cox (2), Thomas, Brunt5 December 2009Derby CountyA2–230,127 (3,065)Cox, Dorrans8 December 2009Cardiff CityH0–220,74214 December 2009Queens Park RangersH2–221,565Thomas, Cox26 December 2009Peterborough UnitedH2–024,924Moore, own goal28 December 2009Scunthorpe UnitedA3–17,221 (1,800) Dorrans (2), Zuiverloon8 January 2010Nottingham ForestH1–322,873 (2,554) Bednář18 January 2010Newcastle UnitedA2–239,921Olsson, Bednář26 January 2010Ipswich TownA1–119,574 (865)Brunt30 January 2010Sheffield UnitedH3–122,193Dorrans, Bednář, Thomas3 February 2010BlackpoolA3–27,221 (1,426)Bednář (2), Dorrans6 February 2010Plymouth ArgyleA1–012,053Cox9 February 2010Scunthorpe UnitedH2–023,146Bednář, Zuiverloon16 February 2010Cardiff CityA1–120,758Zuiverloon21 February 2010Bristol CityA1–214,374 (1,587)Dorrans27 February 2010Derby CountyH3–123,335 (2,200)Brunt (2), Cox6 March 2010Queens Park RangersA1–314,578 (2,302)Brunt9 March 2010Sheffield WednesdayH1–020,458Koren13 March 2010BlackpoolH3–221,592 (1,022)Miller, Koren, Dorrans16 March 2010Swansea CityA2–017,774 (958)Dorrans, Miller20 March 2010Preston North EndH3–221,343 (882)Watson, Brunt, Dorrans24 March 2010Coventry CityH1–022,140Reid27 March 2010ReadingA1–120,515 (2,948)Tamaș2 April 2010Leicester CityH3–023,334 (1,420) Morrison, Koren (2)5 April 2010WatfordA1–114,555Brunt10 April 2010Doncaster RoversA3–212,708 (3,200)Dorrans, Brunt, Bednář17 April 2010MiddlesbroughH2–022,548 (663)Cox, Bednář26 April 2010Crystal PalaceA1–117,798Tamaș2 May 2010BarnsleyH1–125,297 (700)Dorrans
FA Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersThird round2 January 2010Huddersfield Town A2–013,472Dorrans, WoodFourth round23 January 2010Newcastle United H4–216,102Olsson, Dorrans (2), ThomasFifth round13 February 2010ReadingA2–218,008Koren, MattockFifth round replay24 February 2010ReadingH2–313,982 (1,376)Koren (2)
League Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersFirst round11 August 2009BuryA2–03,077Dorrans, own goalSecond round26 August 2009Rotherham UnitedH4–310,659 (611)Beattie (2), Dorrans, CoxThird round23 September 2009ArsenalA0–256,592 (4,062)
See also West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons 2009–10 Football League Championship
Notes
References