# 1976–77 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

The 1976–77 season was West Bromwich Albion's 99th season in existence and first season back in the First Division, following promotion in the 1975–76 season, in which they finished 7th. The club also competed in the FA Cup, League Cup (being eliminated in the third round of both) and Anglo-Scottish Cup (where they were eliminated in the group stage).

## Background

The club were managed by Johnny Giles on a player-manager basis, and had been since 1975 when Giles joined the club for a fee of £48,000. Giles led West Brom to promotion to the First Division in the 1975–76 season, Giles' first as player-manager, but announced he was to resign at the end of the 1975–76 season, being dissatisfied with his role and wanting more influence over transfers and contract decisions; Giles was later convinced to remain as player-manager until the end of the 1976–77 season.

## Review

West Bromwich Albion's season opened away to Leeds United in the First Division on 21 August, and despite taking a first-half 2–0 lead with goals from Alistair Brown and Tony Brown, they drew 2–2 after two late Leeds goals. A pair of home matches followed, first a 1–0 defeat at home to Liverpool and then a 2–0 victory over Norwich City, again with goals from both Alistair and Tony Brown. A 1–0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers was followed by a 1–0 victory over Birmingham City again with Tony Brown scoring. Following a 1–1 draw at home to Coventry City, the club re-signed Irish international Ray Treacy, who scored both West Brom goals of a 2–2 draw away to Derby County in his first game back.

## Competitions
### First Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 64 | 49 | +15 | 49 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 47 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 45 | |
| 8 | Arsenal | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 64 | 59 | +5 | 43 | |
| 9 | Everton | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 62 | 64 | −2 | 42 | |
* ↑ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1976–77 FA Cup winners.

#### Matches

First Division match results :
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 21 August 1976 | Leeds United | A | 2–2 | A. Brown, T. Brown | 40,248 |
| 25 August 1976 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | | 29,735 |
| 28 August 1976 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | A. Brown, T. Brown (pen.) | 16,434 |
| 4 September 1976 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | | 18,876 |
| 11 September 1976 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | T. Brown | 38,448 |
| 17 September 1976 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | Wile | 24,474 |
| 25 September 1976 | Derby County | A | 2–2 | Treacy (2) | 24,278 |
| 2 October 1976 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4–2 | T. Brown (pen.), Martin, Treacy (2) | 23,461 |
| 6 October 1976 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | | 28,757 |
| 16 October 1976 | Manchester United | H | 4–0 | Giles, A. Brown, Cantello, Treacy | 36,615 |
| 23 October 1976 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | | 23,169 |
| 30 October 1976 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | Martin, A. Brown (2) | 20,396 |
| 6 November 1976 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–7 | | 26,706 |
| 10 November 1976 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | Wile | 41,867 |
| 20 November 1976 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | | 36,656 |
| 27 November 1976 | Everton | H | 3–0 | T. Brown, Cross, Treacy | 21,078 |
| 11 December 1976 | Leicester City | H | 2–2 | Treacy, Cross | 19,049 |
| 18 December 1976 | Stoke City | A | 2–0 | Statham, Trewick | 15,989 |
| 27 December 1976 | Bristol City | H | 1–1 | Cross | 30,497 |
| 3 January 1977 | West Ham United | A | 0–0 | | 25,236 |
| 15 January 1977 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | Cross | 39,195 |
| 22 January 1977 | Leeds United | H | 1–2 | T. Brown (pen.) | 25,958 |
| 5 February 1977 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | | 19,613 |
| 12 February 1977 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | Wile | 18,342 |
| 22 February 1977 | Sunderland | A | 1–6 | Robson | 30,317 |
| 28 February 1977 | Birmingham City | H | 2–1 | Robson, A. Brown | 28,639 |
| 5 March 1977 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | Robson | 19,280 |
| 8 March 1977 | Arsenal | A | 2–1 | Cross (2) | 19,517 |
| 12 March 1977 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–0 | Robson, Cross | 28,834 |
| 16 March 1977 | Ipswich Town | H | 4–0 | Robson (3), Cunningham | 23,054 |
| 19 March 1977 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | Cunningham | 23,843 |
| 23 March 1977 | Manchester United | A | 2–2 | Cross, Robson | 51,053 |
| 2 April 1977 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | Cunningham, Johnston | 18,519 |
| 5 April 1977 | Bristol City | A | 2–1 | Hunter (o.g.), Cross | 23,752 |
| 9 April 1977 | Arsenal | H | 0–2 | | 24,242 |
| 16 April 1977 | Manchester City | H | 0–2 | | 24,899 |
| 19 April 1977 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | Wile | 19,136 |
| 30 April 1977 | Sunderland | H | 2–3 | Cunningham, Cross | 21,859 |
| 7 May 1977 | Leicester City | A | 5–0 | Martin (2), Cross, Cunningham, T. Brown | 18,139 |
| 14 May 1977 | Stoke City | H | 3–1 | Martin, Cunningham, Cross | 22,754 |
| 16 May 1977 | Everton | A | 1–1 | T. Brown | 20,102 |
| 23 May 1977 | Aston Villa | A | 0–4 | | 42,532 |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match results :
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 8 January 1977 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | Johnston | 38,195 |
| Third round replay | 11 January 1977 | Manchester City | H | 0–1 | | 27,218 |

### League Cup

League Cup match results :
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round | 31 August 1976 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | Giles | 22,984 |
| Second round replay | 6 September 1976 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | Martin | 22,622 |
| Third round | 22 September 1976 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–2 | | 18,728 |

### Anglo-Scottish Cup

Anglo-Scottish Cup match results :
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Group stage | 7 August 1976 | Bristol City | A | 0–1 | | 4,941 |
| Group stage | 10 August 1976 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–3 | Mulligan, Mayo | 7,018 |
| Group stage | 14 August 1976 | Notts County | H | 3–1 | Mayo (2), Johnston | 6,936 |

### Friendlies

Friendly match results :
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 August 1976 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 6–2 | A. Brown (2), Cantello, T. Brown (pen.), Nisbet | 1,089 |
| 21 December 1976 | Kettering Town | A | 2–3 | Treacy, Mayo | 1,699 |
| 29 January 1977 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | | 3,924 |

## Appearances and goals

    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players' appearances and goals by competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Anglo-Scottish Cup | Anglo-Scottish Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| FW | SCO | Alistair Brown | 19 (3) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 (3) | 6 |
| MF | ENG | Tony Brown | 36 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 8 |
| MF | ENG | Len Cantello | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | David Cross | 27 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 12 |
| FW | ENG | Laurie Cunningham | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 6 |
| FW | WAL | Ian Edwards | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | IRL | Johnny Giles | 36 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 40 (1) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Allan Glover | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Tony Godden | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | WAL | Wayne Hughes | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| FW | SCO | Willie Johnston | 34 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 42 | 3 |
| MF | IRL | Mick Martin | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 6 |
| FW | ENG | Joe Mayo | 9 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 (1) | 3 |
| DF | IRL | Paddy Mulligan | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 48 | 1 |
| GK | ENG | John Osborne | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| DF | SCO | Ally Robertson | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Bryan Robson | 21 (2) | 8 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 (4) | 8 |
| DF | ENG | Derek Statham | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| FW | IRL | Ray Treacy | 20 (1) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 (1) | 6 |
| DF | ENG | John Trewick | 5 (2) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 (2) | 1 |
| GK | ENG | Bob Ward | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | John Wile | 42 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 4 |