# 2015–16 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was West Bromwich Albion's sixth consecutive season in the Premier League and their 138th year in existence. This season West Bromwich Albion participated in the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

## Background

The writers of the Birmingham Mail forecast that Albion would finish somewhere between 10th and 16th, the average of all their predictions being 13th place. The Guardian also forecast a 13th-place finish for Albion, predicting that Tony Pulis would "be able to drive his side to safety" in his first full season in charge.
The club created a "fanzone", in which up to 2,000 supporters could gather before and after home matches. The fanzone is based in the vicinity of the 19th century Grade Two listed Hawthorns pub, adjacent to Albion's home ground, The Hawthorns. In order to facilitate this, the wings of the pub building were demolished and the central structure renovated inside and out. The work was initially delayed due to the discovery of horsehair in the building's plaster, which needed to be tested for anthrax spores. Work resumed once the tests came back negative.

## Players
### First-team squad

Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ben Foster |
| 3 | DF | SWE | Jonas Olsson |
| 4 | DF | WAL | James Chester |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Claudio Yacob |
| 6 | DF | NIR | Jonny Evans |
| 7 | MF | SCO | James Morrison |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Craig Gardner |
| 10 | FW | NGA | Victor Anichebe |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Chris Brunt |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Boaz Myhill |
| 14 | MF | IRL | James McClean |
| 15 | DF | BEL | Sébastien Pocognoli |
| 16 | DF | CRC | Cristian Gamboa |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Rickie Lambert |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Saido Berahino |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Callum McManaman |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Alex Pritchard (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 23 | DF | NIR | Gareth McAuley |
| 24 | MF | SCO | Darren Fletcher (Captain) |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Craig Dawson |
| 29 | MF | BEN | Stéphane Sessègnon |
| 30 | MF | BRA | Sandro (on loan from Queens Park Rangers) |
| 33 | FW | VEN | Salomón Rondón |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Jack Rose |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Alex Palmer |
| 41 | MF | ENG | Joe Ward |
| 42 | FW | ENG | Kyle Edwards |
| 43 | DF | ENG | Callam Jones |
| 44 | FW | WAL | Tyler Roberts |
| 45 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Leko |
| 46 | DF | IRL | Shaun Donnellan |
| 47 | MF | ENG | Sam Field |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Joleon Lescott (to Aston Villa) |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Brown Ideye (to Olympiakos) |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Liam O'Neil (to Chesterfield) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | GK | DEN | Anders Lindegaard (on loan to Preston North End) |
| 31 | MF | GER | Serge Gnabry (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Adil Nabi (to Peterborough United) |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ben Foster | 19 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Boaz Myhill | 25 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | SWE | Jonas Olsson | 32 | 1 | 25+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | WAL | James Chester | 19 | 0 | 9+4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | NIR | Jonny Evans | 34 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | BEL | Sébastien Pocognoli | 5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | CRC | Cristian Gamboa | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | NIR | Gareth McAuley | 39 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Craig Dawson | 43 | 4 | 38 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | ARG | Claudio Yacob | 37 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SCO | James Morrison | 19 | 4 | 17+1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Craig Gardner | 38 | 3 | 20+14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Chris Brunt | 26 | 0 | 20+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | IRL | James McClean | 42 | 2 | 28+7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Callum McManaman | 15 | 0 | 2+10 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Alex Pritchard | 3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | SCO | Darren Fletcher | 42 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | BEN | Stephane Sessegnon | 31 | 2 | 21+4 | 2 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | BRA | Sandro | 13 | 0 | 5+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | ENG | Sam Field | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 10 | FW | NGA | Victor Anichebe | 14 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Rickie Lambert | 24 | 1 | 5+14 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Saido Berahino | 35 | 7 | 17+14 | 4 | 3+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | VEN | Salomón Rondón | 40 | 10 | 30+4 | 9 | 4+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | WAL | Tyler Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Leko | 6 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | ENG | Joleon Lescott | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Brown Ideye | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | DEN | Anders Lindegaard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | GER | Serge Gnabry | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Last updated: 15 May 2016 Source: Competitions

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | LW | James McClean | Wigan Athletic | £1,500,000 |
| 29 July 2015 | CB | James Chester | Hull City | £8,000,000 |
| 31 July 2015 | ST | Rickie Lambert | Liverpool | £3,000,000 |
| 10 August 2015 | CF | Salomón Rondón | Zenit Saint Petersburg | £12,000,000 |
| 29 August 2015 | CB | Jonny Evans | Manchester United | £6,000,000 |
| 31 August 2015 | GK | Anders Lindegaard | Manchester United | Free |
Total outgoing: £30,500,000

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Wes Atkinson | Notts County | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | DM | Chris Baird | Derby County | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Donervon Daniels | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2015 | LB | Jason Davidson | Huddersfield Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RM | Graham Dorrans | Norwich City | £3,000,000 |
| 1 July 2015 | LB | Bradley Garmston | Gillingham | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | MF | Alex Jones | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | DM | Youssuf Mulumbu | Norwich City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Mani O'Sullivan | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | AM | Kemar Roofe | Oxford United | Undisclosed |
| 17 July 2015 | LW | Georgios Samaras | Free agent | Released |
| 24 August 2015 | DM | Liam O'Neil | Chesterfield | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2015 | CF | Brown Ideye | Olympiacos | Undisclosed |
| 1 September 2015 | CB | Joleon Lescott | Aston Villa | Undisclosed |
| 21 January 2016 | CF | Adil Nabi | Peterborough United | Undisclosed |
* ↑ Following Atkinson's release he joined Notts County.
* ↑ Following Baird's release he joined Derby County.
* ↑ Following Davidson's release he joined Huddersfield Town.
* ↑ Following Garmston's release ohe joined Gillingham.
Total incoming: £3,000,000

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until | Ref. |
| 1 July 2015 | RW | Serge Gnabry | Arsenal | 31 January 2016 | [31] [32] |
| 29 January 2016 | DM | Sandro | Queens Park Rangers | End of season | |
| 1 February 2016 | AM | Alex Pritchard | Tottenham Hotspur | End of season | |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| 24 June 2015 | GK | Alex Palmer | Kidderminster Harriers | 2 January 2016 |
| 5 August 2015 | CF | Andre Wright | Kidderminster Harriers | 2 January 2016 |
| 7 August 2015 | LW | Tahvon Campbell | Kidderminster Harriers | 22 October 2015 |
| 28 August 2015 | CF | Adil Nabi | Delhi Dynamos | 15 December 2015 |
| 11 September 2015 | CB | Jack Fitzwater | Chesterfield | 9 October 2015 |
| 2 January 2016 | LW | Tahvon Campbell | Yeovil Town | 2 February 2016 |
| 23 January 2016 | GK | Anders Lindegaard | Preston North End | End of season |

## Pre-season

On 1 May 2015, it was announced that West Bromwich Albion would face Walsall in a pre-season friendly on 28 July 2015. Also announced was that West Bromwich Albion will go on tour to the United States and face Orlando City, Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers. On 12 May 2015, it was announced that a West Bromwich Albion XI side will travel to Forest Green Rovers on 28 July 2015. On 7 July 2015, West Bromwich Albion announced a friendly fixture against Swindon Town.

## Premier League

For the club's final home match of the season, against Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion temporarily installed 96 red seats in the away end of The Hawthorns. Each seat featured the name of one of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and remained unoccupied throughout the match.

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Swansea City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 47 |
| 13 | Watford | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 45 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 43 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 42 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 67 | −22 | 42 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 15 May 2016. Source:

### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | D | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | L | W | W | D | L | D | D | L | W | W | D | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | D | D |
| Position | 20 | 17 | 20 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 |

### Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

## Cup competitions
### League Cup

West Bromwich Albion enter in the second round and were drawn at home against Port Vale. The third round draw was made on 25 August 2015 live on Sky Sports by Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson. West Brom were drawn away to Norwich City.