The Baggies bounce back as Wolves take a tumble
Season 2003-04
Wolves ended up bottom of the table, 57 points off champions Arsenal
ALBION, under the managership of Gary Megson – the club’s longestserving boss since Vic Buckingham in in the 1950s – had an excellent League campaign, which saw them return to the Premiership after spending just one season in the First Division.
They actually finished runners-up to Norwich City with a total of 86 points – and in fact if they had won their last three games instead of losing them all, they would have been champions! Promotion was clinched with a 2-0 home win over Bradford City on 24th April.
Winning 25 and drawing 11 of their 46 games, the Baggies were always there or thereabouts at the top end of the table. They won five games on the bounce soon after the start of the season; won four out of five in late September/early
October and ended up doing exceedingly well, collecting eight wins from 10 starts before losing their final three matches. Their best two wins were both by 4-1 at The Hawthorns over Burnley and Ipswich Town. They also came back from 3-0 down (inside 22 minutes) to win 4-3 at West Ham and they defeated Coventry City and Nottingham Forest by 3-0. And they won at Derby for the first time in 84 years, beating the Rams 1-0. The team’s heaviest defeat was a 4-1 away loss at Stoke City in their penultimate game. Lee Hughes (11 goals), Jason Koumas and Rob Hulse (10 each) and Geoff Horsfield (7) led the scoring charts and in fact 14 different players figured on the scoresheet. As Albion went up, Wolves came crashing down – relegated from the top flight under manager Dave Jones.
In fact the Wanderers ended up bottom of the table with 33 points, six away from safety, 57 fewer than champions Arsenal.
They won only seven League games, drew 12 and lost 19, scored just 38 goals and conceded 77.
Their best win (in terms of goals scored) was 4-3 at home to Leicester while their heaviest defeats were those of 5-0 at home to Chelsea and 5-1 away to Blackburn, and 5-2 at Tottenham and once again, Chelsea.
Wolves failed to win any of their first seven League games; won only three out of the next 11 and managed just one victory out of 12 leading up to mid-april.