Hawthorns goes wild as Albion pull off Great Escape
Baggies survive against the odds but even England legend can’t get Wolves promoted
Season 2004-05 Part One
THIS turned out to be the season when Albion pulled off their ‘Great Escape’ act.
The Baggies had been sitting at the foot of the table at Christmas but after the festivities were over, the team started to pick up vital points under manager Bryan Robson, who had come in to replace Gary Megson early in October.
In fact, Albion simply had to win their last match to retain their Premiership status. And as all their ardent fans well know, they did just that, beating Portsmouth 2-0 at The Hawthorns to stay above Southampton, Crystal Palace and Norwich City, and in doing so they became the first team to avoid the drop, having looked doomed and bottom of the pile at Christmas.
After suffering five successive defeats, including heavy ones at Birmingham City (4-0) and at home to Liverpool (5-0), Albion lost only three of their next 14 fixtures and to give themselves a terrific chance of retaining their top flight status.
However, a 4-0 thumping at Middlesbrough with only three games remaining after that, knocked the stuffing out of the team, but urged on by the boss and of course the fans, Albion stuck in there and despite suffering a 2-0 loss at Arsenal, home draws with Blackburn Rovers and third-placed Manchester United gave them an almighty boost ahead of their 38th and last game of the season – against Pompey who were only one place above the Baggies.
A crowd of 27,751 – the biggest at The Hawthorns since January 1993 – saw Albion fight every inch of the way and goals by two transfer-deadline day signings, Geoff Horsfield and Kevin Richardson, saw them home, and so clinch another term with the elite.
Albion’s full League record in 2004-05 was played 38, won six, drew 16 and lost 16, goals for 36, goals against 61, points 34.
Their best win in terms of goals scored was 4-1 away at Charlton when Rob Earnshaw scored a hat-trick, while their heaviest defeat was that 5-0 home drubbing by Liverpool.
Earnshaw was top scorer with 11 goals while Zoltan Gera weighed in with six, five of them proving vital.
Albion’s near rivals from the Midlands this season, Aston Villa and Birmingham City, finished 9th and 11th respectively in the Premiership, and the Baggies took two points of Villa and three off Blues.
While Albion had battled hard and long to stay in the Premiership Wolves, under manager Dave Jones at first and then Glenn Hoddle from December, found it tough going at times in the Championship and in the end they had to settle for 9th place with 66 points, 10 off the play-offs and a massive 28 fewer than champions Derby County.
They were even 21 behind secondplaced Wigan and 19 short of Ipswich Town who came home in third spot.
In fact, their highest position in the League all season was where they finished – ninth – which they achieved on the last day with a 4-2 win over Sheffield United.