# 2007–08 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 2007–08 English football season, West Bromwich Albion competed in the Football League Championship. They finished the season in first place, thus earning promotion to the Premier League the following season.

## Season summary

After the previous season's play-off final heartbreak, Tony Mowbray set about restructuring his squad, moving out several players for multimillion-pound fees after press reports of dressing room division. High-profile players such as Jason Koumas, Diomansy Kamara and Curtis Davies were sold to Premier League clubs for large fees, joining Paul McShane, Nathan Ellington, Darren Carter and Steve Watson in leaving the Hawthorns. Mowbray replaced them by signing a total of 14 permanent and loan players in the summer transfer window, making an overall profit in the process.
Despite the large changes in his squad, Mowbray won the Championship Manager of the Month award in September, after Albion gained 13 out of the maximum 15 points and climbed to second. At the start of 2008, Mowbray's young Albion team topped the table, receiving growing plaudits from the media and supporters alike for their attractive brand of attacking one touch passing football, a reflection of Mowbray's staunch footballing philosophy.
Mowbray guided Albion to the Football League Championship title and promotion to the Premier League, the first league title won by the club since the old Division One in 1920. The club also reached the FA Cup semi-final. The semi-final, the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, pitted Albion against Portsmouth, the only remaining Premier League team left in the FA Cup. Portsmouth won the match 1–0 with the only goal of the game coming from former Albion striker Nwankwo Kanu. Mowbray won the Championship manager of the month award for April, as well as the League Managers Association manager of the year award.

## Kit

English company Umbro remained West Bromwich's kit manufacturers. T-Mobile remained the kit sponsors.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | West Bromwich Albion (C, P) | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 88 | 55 | +33 | 81 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Stoke City (P) | 46 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 69 | 55 | +14 | 79 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Hull City (O, P) | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 75 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Bristol City | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 54 | 53 | +1 | 74 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 58 | 42 | +16 | 71 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |

## Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 11 August 2007 | Burnley | A | 1–2 | 15,337 (2,191) | Phillips |
| 18 August 2007 | Preston North End | H | 2–0 | 19,556 | Phillips, Miller |
| 25 August 2007 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 23,491 | |
| 1 September 2007 | Barnsley | H | 2–0 | 18,310 (932) | Teixeira, Beattie |
| 15 September 2007 | Ipswich Town | H | 4–0 | 19,460 (1,013) | Miller, Teixeira, Phillips (2) |
| 18 September 2007 | Bristol City | A | 1–1 | 16,571 (2,019) | Koren |
| 22 September 2007 | Scunthorpe United | A | 3–2 | 8,307 (1,800) | Barnett, Brunt, Teixeira |
| 30 September 2007 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 5–1 | 24,757 (785) | Phillips (2), Miller, Koren, Greening |
| 3 October 2007 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | 20,048 (1,384) | Barnett |
| 6 October 2007 | Southampton | A | 2–3 | 21,967 (2,218) | Koren (2) |
| 20 October 2007 | Colchester United | A | 2–3 | 5,798 (1,000) | Phillips, Miller |
| 23 October 2007 | Blackpool | H | 2–1 | 22,030 (1,382) | Miller, Morrison |
| 27 October 2007 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | 20,247 | Miller, Phillips |
| 3 November 2007 | Watford | A | 3–0 | 18,273 (2,200) | Miller, Phillips, Albrechtsen |
| 6 November 2007 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–1 | 19,807 (1,726) | Phillips |
| 12 November 2007 | Coventry City | A | 4–0 | 18,566 (2,818) | Robinson, Teixeira (2), Koren |
| 25 November 2007 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 27,493 (2,600) | |
| 28 November 2007 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–1 | 14,348 | Bednář (2) |
| 1 December 2007 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 15,247 | Hudson (own goal) |
| 4 December 2007 | Coventry City | H | 2–4 | 20,641 | Bednář (2) |
| 8 December 2007 | Leicester City | A | 2–1 | 22,088 | Gera, Beattie |
| 15 December 2007 | Charlton Athletic | H | 4–2 | 20,346 (787) | Bednář, Gera (2), Phillips |
| 22 December 2007 | Stoke City | A | 1–3 | 18,420 (2,439) | Bednář |
| 26 December 2007 | Bristol City | H | 4–1 | 27,314 (2,600) | Bednář, Koren, Phillips (2) |
| 29 December 2007 | Scunthorpe United | H | 5–0 | 25,238 (584) | Phillips (2), Koren, Gera, Beattie |
| 1 January 2008 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | 24,000 | |
| 12 January 2008 | Hull City | A | 3–1 | 18,391 (1,524) | Phillips, Morrison, Bednář |
| 19 January 2008 | Cardiff City | H | 3–3 | 22,325 (2,453) | Bednář, Albrechtsen, Johnson (own goal) |
| 29 January 2008 | Preston North End | A | 1–2 | 12,473 | Gera |
| 2 February 2008 | Burnley | H | 2–1 | 22,206 (2,081) | Cesar, Bednář |
| 9 February 2008 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | 13,083 (2,065) | Morrison |
| 12 February 2008 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | 22,643 | |
| 23 February 2008 | Hull City | H | 1–2 | 22,716 (1,424) | Bednář |
| 1 March 2008 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 3–0 | 22,503 (1,346) | Gera, Miller, Bednář |
| 4 March 2008 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–0 | 18,805 | Phillips |
| 12 March 2008 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 20,378 | Phillips |
| 15 March 2008 | Leicester City | H | 1–4 | 22,038 (1,736) | Koren |
| 21 March 2008 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | 23,412 | Phillips |
| 29 March 2008 | Colchester United | H | 4–3 | 20,433 (686) | Phillips, Brunt, Bednář, Morrison |
| 1 April 2008 | Cardiff City | A | 0–0 | 13,915 | |
| 8 April 2008 | Blackpool | A | 3–1 | 9,628 (1,900) | Phillips (2, 1 pen), Miller |
| 12 April 2008 | Watford | H | 1–1 | 26,508 | Barnett |
| 15 April 2008 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 27,883 (2,600) | Gera |
| 19 April 2008 | Norwich City | A | 2–1 | 25,442 (2,500) | Koren, Gera |
| 28 April 2008 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | 26,167 (1,263) | Brunt |
| 4 May 2008 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–0 | 18,309 (2,600) | Do-Heon, Brunt |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 2008 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | 12,682 | Miller |
| R3R | 15 January 2008 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 (won 4–3 on pens) | 12,691 | Bednář, Morrison |
| R4 | 26 January 2008 | Peterborough United | A | 3–0 | 12,701 | Bednář, Koren, Phillips (pen) |
| R5 | 16 February 2008 | Coventry City | A | 5–0 | 28,163 (5,000) | Brunt, Bednář (2, 1 pen), Miller, Gera |
| QF | 9 March 2008 | Bristol Rovers | A | 5–1 | 12,011 (1,500) | Morrison, Miller (3), Phillips |
| SF | 5 April 2008 | Portsmouth | N | 0–1 | 83,584 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 14 August 2007 | Bournemouth | H | 1–0 | 10,250 (432) | Beattie |
| R2 | 28 August 2007 | Peterborough United | A | 2–0 | 4,917 | Gera, Ellington |
| R3 | 25 September 2007 | Cardiff City | H | 2–4 | 14,085 | Miller (2, 1 pen) |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | IRL | Dean Kiely |
| 2 | DF | BEL | Carl Hoefkens |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Robinson |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Leon Barnett |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement |
| 7 | MF | SVN | Robert Koren |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jonathan Greening |
| 9 | FW | CZE | Roman Bednář (on loan from Hearts) |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Craig Beattie |
| 11 | MF | HUN | Zoltán Gera |
| 12 | MF | KOR | Kim Do-heon (on loan from Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Luke Steele |
| 14 | DF | DEN | Martin Albrechtsen |
| 15 | FW | NED | Sherjill MacDonald |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Jared Hodgkiss |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Ishmael Miller |
| 18 | DF | ANT | Shelton Martis |
| 19 | GK | CZE | Michal Daněk (on loan from Viktoria Plzeň) |
| 20 | MF | POR | Filipe Teixeira |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Stuart Nicholson |
| 23 | DF | MOZ | Tininho |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Luke Moore (on loan from Aston Villa) |
| 25 | DF | SVN | Boštjan Cesar (on loan from Marseille) |
| 26 | DF | CPV | Pelé |
| 27 | MF | SCO | James Morrison |
| 29 | MF | NIR | Chris Brunt |
| 30 | FW | POL | Bartosz Ślusarski |
| 32 | MF | ENG | David Worrall |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Curtis Davies (on loan to Aston Villa) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Nathan Ellington (to Watford) |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Richard Chaplow (to Preston North End) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | FW | WAL | John Hartson (retired) |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Ronnie Wallwork (to Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Luke Daniels (on loan to Motherwell) |

## Transfers
### Out

* Chris Perry – released (later joined Luton Town), 1 June 2007
* Diomansy Kamara – Fulham, £6,000,000, 9 July 2007
* Steve Watson – Sheffield Wednesday, free, 10 July 2007
* Jason Koumas – Wigan Athletic, £5,300,000, 10 July 2007
* Paul McShane – Sunderland, £1,500,000, 26 July 2007
* Darren Carter – Preston North End, £750,000, 9 August 2007
* Nathan Ellington – Watford, £3,250,000, 29 August 2007
* Curtis Davies – Aston Villa, season loan, 31 August 2007

### In

* Shelton Martis – Hibernian, £50,000, 2 July 2007.
* Craig Beattie – Celtic, £1,250,000, 3 July 2007
* Filipe Teixeira – Académica, £600,000, 17 July 2007
* Leon Barnett – Luton Town, £2,500,000, 26 July 2007
* Tininho – Beira-Mar, £230,000, 31 July 2007
* Boštjan Cesar – Marseille, season loan, 7 August 2007
* Carl Hoefkens – Stoke City, £750,000, 7 August 2007
* James Morrison – Middlesbrough, £1,500,000, 7 August 2007
* Pelé – Southampton, £1,000,000, 9 August 2007
* Chris Brunt – Sheffield Wednesday, £3,000,000, 15 August 2007
* Ishmael Miller – Manchester City, loan, 15 August 2007(made permanent 31 January 2008 for £900,000)
* Bartosz Ślusarski – Dyskobolia Grodzisk
* Michal Daněk – Viktoria Plzeň, loan
* Roman Bednář – Hearts, loan