Hughes in fine form but not a great season for the Albion
Season 1998-99 Part Two
Wolves battered Barnet but were dumped out by Bournemouth
WHILE Wolves spent the season going in and out of form, neighbours West Bromwich Albion were not much better.
Indeed, the Baggies finished five places below the Wanderers with a record of played 46, won 16, drew 11 and lost 19, goals for 69, goals against 76 for a points tally of 59.
Albion’s best wins were both by 4-1 against Sheffield United and Watford, while their two heaviest defeats were both by 5-1 – away at Grimsby and at home to Crewe Alexandra.
Lee Hughes had a fine goalscoring season for the Baggies, netting 31 in the League alone while Fabian De
Frietas was next in line with just seven. Manager Denis Smith used 25 different players, none of whom were ever-present, Kevin Kilbane making the most appearances with 44. In the FA Cup competition this term, Wolves started well by knocking out Bolton Wanderers but then went down 2-1 at Arsenal. Albion fell in the third round, ousted by Bournemouth, while Walsall went out a round earlier, beaten 2-0 at Preston. In the other domestic knockout tournament, the League Cup, Wolves eliminated Barnet 6-2 on aggregate in round one before falling to Bournemouth; Albion went out in the first round, defeated by Brentford, whereas Walsall accounted for nonleague side Gresley Rovers 1-0 before falling to Preston in round two.
Checking around the grounds … the Wolves-arsenal FA Cup-tie at Molineux realised record gate receipts of £319,141 … and Wolves played their 2,000th home League game in February 1999, drawing 2-2 at home with Huddersfield Town.
Albion signed two Italian midfielders, Enzo Maresca from Cagliari and Mario Bortolazzi from Genoa.
De Frietas arrived from Spanish club Osasuna and goalkeeper Phil Whitehead was recruited from Oxford United.
Out of The Hawthorns went two defenders, Garry Strodder (to Hartlepool) and Shaun Murphy (to Sheffield United).
Baggies’ brothers Adam and James Chambers became the first set of twins to play for an England team when they lined up together in the Youth World Cup tournament in Nigeria.
Like Wolves, Albion also played their 2,000th home League game, drawing 2-2 with Portsmouth in April. And Amy Raynor became the first female to officiate in a senior Albion game when she ran the line in home fixture with Crewe.
And finally, this was Albion’s and Wolves’ 100th season in the Football League (1888-1999).