21 games unbeaten, and Sicknote scores the 7,000th league goal for Wanderers
... while the Saddlers use a record 46 players in one season
Season 2005-06 Part Two
IN the FA Cup competition, Albion crashed out early doors, beaten by Reading in a replay.
Wolves knocked out Plymouth Argyle in round 3 but then lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United in round 4, while Walsall ousted Merthyr Town, Yeovil and Barnsley before losing in the 4th round to Stoke City.
In the League Cup, Albion ko’d both Bradford City and Fulham before losing at Manchester United; Wolves left the competition in round 2, beaten by Watford, while Walsall fell at the first fence, beaten by Crystal Palace.
The Saddlers also took part in the FL Trophy and actually reached the semi-finals after defeating Bournemouth and Wycombe Wanderers, but were then denied a place in the final by Swansea.
Checking around the clubs … this season Albion also signed, among others, defender Curtis Davies (from Luton), Diomansy Kamara (from Portsmouth), Nigel Quashie (from Southampton) and goalkeeper Chris Kirkland (on loan from Liverpool).
Among those left The Hawthorns were Darren Purse, Riccy Scimeca, Jason Koumas, Artim Sakiri, Rob Earnshaw and James O’connor, and Baggies’ ‘keeper Tomas Kuszczak pulled off the ‘save of the season’ when denying former Albion player Jason Roberts a goal in Albion’s 1-0 win at Wigan.
This game saw Darren Moore sent off and Martin Albrechtsen score a superb winner.
Wolves’ record of 21 unbeaten League games came to an end with a 2-1 loss against Leeds in August. Darren Anderton, affectionately known as ‘Sicknote,’ had the pleasure of scoring Wolves’ 7,000th goal in League football versus Sheffield Wednesday in December and a third of the players who appeared in senior games for Wolves this term were non-british.
And finally – the Saddlers used no less than a club record 46 different players during the course of this season.