# 2009–10 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

The 2009–10 season was West Bromwich Albion's 107th season in the Football League. West Bromwich returned to the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League.

## Background

West Bromwich continued with English company Umbro as the shirt designers. For the second season running, West Bromwich were unable to find a kit sponsor.
On 16 June 2009, Tony Mowbray left West Bromwich Albion to join Scottish club Celtic as their new manager. He was replaced two weeks later by former Chelsea player Roberto Di Matteo, with the job title changed to head coach.
As part of ongoing ground refurbishments at The Hawthorns, Albion replaced all of the seating in both the Birmingham Road End and Smethwick End with navy blue seats, matching those already fitted in the East and West Stands. The stadium's "iconic" large-scale seat patterns, dating back to the mid-1990s—an italic "Albion" at the Smethwick End and "WBAFC" below a blue and white scarf at the Birmingham Road End—were removed as a result of the work.

## Football League Championship

West Bromwich began their season with a 1–1 draw against Newcastle United. They then travelled to City Ground to play Nottingham Forest, whom they beat, followed by another away win. West Bromwich's second home game was against Ipswich Town, whom they defeated 2–0. This was followed by a draw at Sheffield United. They then came back from against Plymouth Argyle, then beat Doncaster Rovers. West Bromwich then won one of their most remarkable games in a 5–0 win over Middlesbrough, before losing their next two games to Crystal Palace and Barnsley.
The first game of October saw West Brom draw against Preston North End. This was followed by a 3–1 win over Reading. Former Baggie Craig Beattie scored the only goal in a 1–0 loss to Swansea City. This was followed with a 0–0 draw with Coventry City. The Baggies bounced back by thrashing Watford 5–0. A 2–1 win over Leicester City kept the Baggies second. The Baggies trashed Bristol City 4–1, and then became the top goalscorers in the Football League when they humiliated Sheffield Wednesday 4–0, scoring 15 goals in 4 games.
December began with a draw against Derby County, following this with a defeat to promotion rivals Cardiff City and a late draw against QPR. The following two games ended in wins against strugglers Peterborough United and Scunthorpe United. The Baggies then lost to Nottingham Forest, causing the Baggies to drop to third. This was followed by draws to Newcastle United and Ipswich Town. Wins against Sheffield United, Blackpool, Plymouth and Scunthorpe put them top of the table. Cardiff City held West Brom to a 1–1 draw, with Gianni Zuiverloon scoring the equaliser. Bristol City beat them 2–1 but they quickly bounced back with a 3–1 win over Derby County. West Brom started March badly with a 3–1 loss to QPR, but wins against Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool, Swansea, Preston and Coventry widened the gap between the play-offs and the automatic spots. On-form Reading held the Albion to a 1–1 draw. Playoff hopefuls Leicester City were the next to fall at the Hawthorns, where West Brom won 3–0. Chris Brunt then saved a point for West Brom after Danny Graham put Watford ahead. West Brom secured promotion back to the Premier League after a 3–2 win against Doncaster Rovers on 10 April 2010.

### FA Cup

The third round saw West Brom beat League One side Huddersfield Town. West Brom then beat fellow Championship side Newcastle 4–2 in the fourth round to proceed to the fifth round. They drew with Reading in the fifth round but lost the subsequent replay.

### League Cup

In the first round West Bromwich faced League Two side Bury, whom they beat 2–0. In the second round they were taken to extra time by another League Two side, Rotherham United, where Simon Cox scored his first goal for the club. The final score was 4–3. They were knocked out in the third round as they lost 2–0 against Arsenal.

## Players

    Squad at end of season

### First-team squad

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 | IRL | Dean Kiely |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Joe Mattock |
| 3 | DF | SWE | Jonas Olsson (vice-captain) |
| 4 | DF | SVK | Marek Čech |
| 7 | MF | SVN | Robert Koren |
| 9 | FW | CZE | Roman Bednář |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Ishmael Miller |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Chris Brunt |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Giles Barnes |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Jerome Thomas |
| 15 | FW | NZL | Chris Wood |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Luke Moore |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Graham Dorrans |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Reuben Reid |
| 19 | GK | ENG | Scott Carson (club captain) |
| 20 | MF | POR | Filipe Teixeira |
| 21 | MF | COD | Youssuf Mulumbu |
| 22 | DF | NED | Gianni Zuiverloon |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | DF | CIV | Abdoulaye Méïté |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Joss Labadie |
| 26 | DF | ROU | Gabriel Tamaș (on loan from Auxerre) |
| 27 | MF | SCO | James Morrison |
| 29 | FW | NED | Andwélé Slory |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Paul Downing |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Simon Cox |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Lateef Elford-Alliyu |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Dwayne Samuels |
| 34 | FW | WAL | Josh Knight |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Romaine Sawyers |
| 36 | MF | CHI | Gonzalo Jara |
| 37 | MF | ENG | George Thorne |
| 38 | FW | ENG | Saido Berahino |
| 39 | GK | ENG | Ryan Allsop |
| 41 | MF | ENG | Sam Mantom |
| 43 | FW | WAL | Kayleden Brown |
| 44 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |

### 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 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Leon Barnett (on loan to Coventry City) |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement (retired) |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jonathan Greening (on loan to Fulham) |
| 12 | FW | SCO | Craig Beattie (to Swansea City) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Luke Daniels (on loan to Tranmere Rovers) |
| 24 | DF | ANT | Shelton Martis (to Doncaster Rovers) |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson (on loan from Wigan Athletic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Shaun Cummings (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 28 | MF | ESP | Borja Valero (on loan to Mallorca) |
| 29 | DF | ENG | David Worrall (to Bury) |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Paul Downing (on loan to Hereford United) |
| 40 | FW | CAN | Marcus Haber (on loan to Vancouver Whitecaps) |
| 42 | FW | ENG | Frank Nouble (on loan from West Ham United) |

## Player statistics

    As of 31 May 2010
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | IRL | Dean Kiely | 8 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Joe Mattock | 34 | 1 | 26+3 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SWE | Jonas Olsson | 48 | 5 | 43 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | SVK | Marek Čech | 37 | 2 | 29+4 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Leon Barnett | 5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SVN | Robert Koren | 39 | 8 | 26+8 | 5 | 3+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jonathan Greening | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | CZE | Roman Bednář | 32 | 11 | 21+6 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Ishmael Miller | 16 | 2 | 4+11 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | NIR | Chris Brunt | 43 | 13 | 39+1 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | SCO | Craig Beattie | 5 | 2 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Giles Barnes | 9 | 0 | 1+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Luke Daniels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Jerome Thomas | 29 | 8 | 22+5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | NZL | Chris Wood | 23 | 2 | 6+12 | 1 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+3 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Luke Moore | 29 | 4 | 23+3 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Graham Dorrans | 52 | 18 | 42+3 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Reuben Reid | 8 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | GK | ENG | Scott Carson | 47 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | POR | Filipe Teixeira | 12 | 0 | 1+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | COD | Youssuf Mulumbu | 46 | 3 | 35+5 | 3 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | NED | Gianni Zuiverloon | 35 | 4 | 26+4 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | CIV | Abdoulaye Méïté | 24 | 0 | 16+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ANT | Shelton Martis | 15 | 2 | 10+3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson | 7 | 1 | 6+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Joss Labadie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Shaun Cummings | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ROU | Gabriel Tamaș | 26 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | SCO | James Morrison | 12 | 1 | 5+6 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ESP | Borja Valero | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | David Worrall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | NED | Andwélé Slory | 6 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Paul Downing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Simon Cox | 34 | 10 | 17+11 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Lateef Elford-Alliyu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Dwayne Samuels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Romaine Sawyers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | CHI | Gonzalo Jara | 26 | 1 | 20+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | George Thorne | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | CAN | Marcus Haber | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | FW | ENG | Frank Nouble | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | IRL | Steven Reid | 9 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Transfers
### Summer
#### In

| Date | # | Player | Club | Fee |
| 8 July 2009 | 31 | Simon Cox | Swindon Town | Undisclosed |
| 10 July 2009 | 21 | Youssuf Mulumbu | Paris Saint-Germain | £750,000 |
| 31 July 2009 | 18 | Reuben Reid | Rotherham United | Free |
| 10 August 2009 | 2 | Joe Mattock | Leicester City | Undisclosed |
| 14 August 2009 | 14 | Jerome Thomas | Portsmouth | Free |
| 25 August 2009 | 36 | Gonzalo Jara | Colo-Colo | £1,400,000 |

#### Out

| Date | Player | Club | Fee |
| | Kim Do-heon | Suwon Bluewings | £360,000 |
| | Sherjill MacDonald | Germinal Beerschot | £650,000 |
| 21 August 2009 | Carl Hoefkens | Club Brugge | Free |
| 27 August 2009 | Craig Beattie | Swansea City | £500,000 |

### Winter
#### In

| Date | # | Player | Club | Fee |
| 5 January 2010 | 40 | Marcus Haber | Vancouver Whitecaps | Free |
| 1 February 2010 | 29 | Andwélé Slory | Feyenoord | Free |
| 3 February 2010 | 12 | Giles Barnes | None | Free |

#### Out

| Date | # | Player | Club | Fee |
| | 29 | David Worrall | Bury | Free |
| | 6 | Neil Clement | | Retired |
| | | Paul Robinson | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed |
| 1 February 2010 | 24 | Shelton Martis | Doncaster Rovers | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| # | Player | Club | Arrival Date | Return Date |
| 26 | Shaun Cummings | Chelsea | 17 August | 2 September |
| 26 | Gabriel Tamaș | Auxerre | 1 January | End of season |
| 42 | Frank Nouble | West Ham United | 9 February | 9 March |
| 24 | Ben Watson | Wigan Athletic | 22 February | 1 April |
| 44 | Steven Reid | Blackburn Rovers | 5 March | End of season |

### Loans out

| # | Player | Club | Arrival date | Return date |
| | Paul Robinson | Bolton Wanderers | 12 July | End of season |
| 13 | Luke Daniels | Tranmere Rovers | 21 July | End of season |
| 25 | Joss Labadie | Shrewsbury Town | 3 August | 3 September |
| 29 | David Worrall | Shrewsbury Town | 6 August | 6 September |
| 8 | Jonathan Greening | Fulham | 22 August | End of season |
| 28 | Borja Valero | RCD Mallorca | 31 August | End of season |
| 25 | Joss Labadie | Shrewsbury Town | 6 September | 6 January |
| 5 | Leon Barnett | Coventry City | 4 November | 31 January |
| 25 | Joss Labadie | Cheltenham Town | 20 November | 20 December |
| 18 | Reuben Reid | Peterborough United | 6 January | 6 April |
| 30 | Paul Downing | Hereford United | 25 January | 25 February |
| 32 | Lateef Elford-Alliyu | Hereford United | 25 January | 25 February |
| 5 | Leon Barnett | Coventry City | 31 January | End of season |
| 20 | Filipe Teixeira | Barnsley | 1 February | End of season |
| 40 | Marcus Haber | Exeter City | 18 February | 18 March |
| 30 | Paul Downing | Hereford United | 25 February | End of season |
| 32 | Lateef Elford-Alliyu | Hereford United | 25 February | End of season |
| 40 | Marcus Haber | Vancouver Whitecaps | 9 April | 9 June |

## Fixtures and results

Win  Draw  Loss

### Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 11 July 2009 | Histon | A | 0–1 | 1,058 | |
| 15 July 2009 | Nafta Lendava | A | 3–0 | – | Moore, Greening, Olsson |
| 18 July 2009 | NK Varteks | A | 2–2 | – | Beattie |
| 22 July 2009 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 2–0 | 2,437 | Moore, Koren |
| 24 July 2009 | Kidderminster Harriers | A | 1–2 | 1,057 | Elford-Alliyu |
| 25 July 2009 | Walsall | A | 2–2 | 4,358 | Moore, Beattie |
| 28 July 2009 | Swindon Town | A | 0–1 | 2,482 | |
| 31 July 2009 | Cheltenham Town | A | 1–2 | – | Wood |
| 1 August 2009 | Cheivo | H | 0–0 | 3,359 | |

### Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 8 August 2009 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 23,502 (2,600) | Martis |
| 15 August 2009 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–0 | 22,794 (2,373) | own goal |
| 18 August 2009 | Peterborough United | A | 3–2 | 8,752 | Moore (2), Brunt |
| 22 August 2009 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–0 | 19,390 | Mulumbu, Koren |
| 29 August 2009 | Sheffield United | A | 2–2 | 25,169 | Bednář (2) |
| 12 September 2009 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 3–1 | 22,190 (905) | Martis, Čech (2) |
| 15 September 2009 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 3–1 | 22,184 (1,184) | Olsson (2), Wood |
| 19 September 2009 | Middlesbrough | A | 5–0 | 22,725 (1,633) | Brunt (2), Mulumbu, Bednář, Thomas |
| 26 September 2009 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | 21,007 | |
| 29 September 2009 | Barnsley | A | 1–3 | 12,191 | Brunt |
| 3 October 2009 | Preston North End | A | 0–0 | 11,180 | |
| 17 October 2009 | Reading | H | 3–1 | 20,935 | Thomas(2), Mulumbu |
| 20 October 2009 | Swansea City | H | 0–1 | 21,022 | |
| 24 October 2009 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | 20,871 | |
| 31 October 2009 | Watford | H | 5–0 | 21,421 (1,293) | Olsson, Dorrans, Moore, Zuiverloon, Cox |
| 6 November 2009 | Leicester City | A | 2–1 | 28,748 | Dorrans, Jara |
| 21 November 2009 | Bristol City | H | 4–1 | 23,444 (2,600) | Thomas, Brunt, own goal, Cox |
| 28 November 2009 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 4–0 | 20,824 | Cox (2), Thomas, Brunt |
| 5 December 2009 | Derby County | A | 2–2 | 30,127 (3,065) | Cox, Dorrans |
| 8 December 2009 | Cardiff City | H | 0–2 | 20,742 | |
| 14 December 2009 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–2 | 21,565 | Thomas, Cox |
| 26 December 2009 | Peterborough United | H | 2–0 | 24,924 | Moore, own goal |
| 28 December 2009 | Scunthorpe United | A | 3–1 | 7,221 (1,800) | Dorrans (2), Zuiverloon |
| 8 January 2010 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–3 | 22,873 (2,554) | Bednář |
| 18 January 2010 | Newcastle United | A | 2–2 | 39,921 | Olsson, Bednář |
| 26 January 2010 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–1 | 19,574 (865) | Brunt |
| 30 January 2010 | Sheffield United | H | 3–1 | 22,193 | Dorrans, Bednář, Thomas |
| 3 February 2010 | Blackpool | A | 3–2 | 7,221 (1,426) | Bednář (2), Dorrans |
| 6 February 2010 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–0 | 12,053 | Cox |
| 9 February 2010 | Scunthorpe United | H | 2–0 | 23,146 | Bednář, Zuiverloon |
| 16 February 2010 | Cardiff City | A | 1–1 | 20,758 | Zuiverloon |
| 21 February 2010 | Bristol City | A | 1–2 | 14,374 (1,587) | Dorrans |
| 27 February 2010 | Derby County | H | 3–1 | 23,335 (2,200) | Brunt (2), Cox |
| 6 March 2010 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–3 | 14,578 (2,302) | Brunt |
| 9 March 2010 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | 20,458 | Koren |
| 13 March 2010 | Blackpool | H | 3–2 | 21,592 (1,022) | Miller, Koren, Dorrans |
| 16 March 2010 | Swansea City | A | 2–0 | 17,774 (958) | Dorrans, Miller |
| 20 March 2010 | Preston North End | H | 3–2 | 21,343 (882) | Watson, Brunt, Dorrans |
| 24 March 2010 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 22,140 | Reid |
| 27 March 2010 | Reading | A | 1–1 | 20,515 (2,948) | Tamaș |
| 2 April 2010 | Leicester City | H | 3–0 | 23,334 (1,420) | Morrison, Koren (2) |
| 5 April 2010 | Watford | A | 1–1 | 14,555 | Brunt |
| 10 April 2010 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 3–2 | 12,708 (3,200) | Dorrans, Brunt, Bednář |
| 17 April 2010 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–0 | 22,548 (663) | Cox, Bednář |
| 26 April 2010 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 17,798 | Tamaș |
| 2 May 2010 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 25,297 (700) | Dorrans |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| Third round | 2 January 2010 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–0 | 13,472 | Dorrans, Wood |
| Fourth round | 23 January 2010 | Newcastle United | H | 4–2 | 16,102 | Olsson, Dorrans (2), Thomas |
| Fifth round | 13 February 2010 | Reading | A | 2–2 | 18,008 | Koren, Mattock |
| Fifth round replay | 24 February 2010 | Reading | H | 2–3 | 13,982 (1,376) | Koren (2) |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| First round | 11 August 2009 | Bury | A | 2–0 | 3,077 | Dorrans, own goal |
| Second round | 26 August 2009 | Rotherham United | H | 4–3 | 10,659 (611) | Beattie (2), Dorrans, Cox |
| Third round | 23 September 2009 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 56,592 (4,062) | |