# 2004–05 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, West Bromwich Albion competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season summary

West Bromwich Albion managed to retain their Premiership status despite being at the bottom of the table on Christmas Day. This marked the first time in the history of the Premiership that a club has done so. Since then, three other teams have matched this feat: Sunderland in 2013–14, Leicester City in 2014–15, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022–23, although they secured survival before the final day.

### Final day

For the first time since the inaugural Premiership season in 1992–93, no team was assured of relegation going into the final round of matches. In each of the last three weekends of the season, the team that was bottom of the table at the start of the weekend finished it outside the drop zone. The final round of the season on 15 May started with West Bromwich at the bottom, Southampton and Crystal Palace one point clear and Norwich City in the last safe spot and two points from the bottom. Even worse, only one would survive the drop. The final matchday was publicized by Sky Sports as "Survival Sunday", with accompanying promotional material advertising the last matchday like a title fight or epic movie blockbuster.
West Brom, who had been bottom of the table and eight points from safety at Christmas, did their part by beating Portsmouth at home 2–0. Norwich, the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands, needed a first away victory of the season at Craven Cottage against Fulham to secure their top-flight status and relegate everyone else irrespective of their results. Instead, they were thrashed 6–0 and went down. Southampton, despite leading early on, lost 2–1 at home to Manchester United and were relegated. At The Valley, Crystal Palace led Charlton Athletic 2–1 in the 71st minute, but Jonathan Fortune equalised for Charlton with eight minutes left to send them down. As a result, West Brom stayed up, and made history by becoming the first club in Premiership history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas.
After all four matches ended, cameras focused on the Hawthorns, as confirmation of other results began to filter through. Once the realisation dawned on the players and fans that survival had been achieved, a mass pitch invasion was sparked, with huge celebrations. The Portsmouth fans in the away end of the ground also celebrated despite their defeat as, through losing, they had "helped" relegate arch-rivals Southampton. The defeat itself mattered little to Portsmouth, as they would be unable to improve on their 16th position due to 15th-placed Blackburn Rovers' greater goal difference.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 42 | |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 39 | |
| 17 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 34 | |
| 18 | Crystal Palace (R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 41 | 62 | −21 | 33 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 19 | Norwich City (R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 42 | 77 | −35 | 33 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |

## 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 | ENG | Russell Hoult |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Riccardo Scimeca |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Robinson |
| 4 | DF | DEN | Thomas Gaardsøe |
| 5 | DF | JAM | Darren Moore |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Darren Purse |
| 7 | MF | WAL | Jason Koumas |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jonathan Greening |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Andy Johnson |
| 11 | MF | HUN | Zoltán Gera |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Richard Chaplow |
| 14 | DF | DEN | Martin Albrechtsen |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Kieran Richardson (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Rob Hulse |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Dyer |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement |
| 20 | MF | MKD | Artim Šakiri |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Kevin Campbell |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Ronnie Wallwork |
| 25 | FW | NGA | Nwankwo Kanu |
| 28 | GK | IRL | Joe Murphy |
| 29 | GK | POL | Tomasz Kuszczak |
| 33 | MF | JPN | Junichi Inamoto |
| 34 | FW | WAL | Robert Earnshaw |

### 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 |
| 12 | FW | SCO | Scott Dobie (to Millwall) |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Sean Gregan (to Leeds United) |
| 16 | DF | ROU | Cosmin Contra (on loan from Atlético Madrid) |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Dyer (on loan to Coventry City) |
| 21 | DF | ISL | Lárus Sigurðsson (retired) |
| 22 | DF | SUI | Bernt Haas (to SC Bastia) |
| 23 | MF | IRL | James O'Connor (to Burnley) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | DF | MLI | Sékou Berthé (released) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | James Chambers (to Watford) |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Simon Miotto (released) |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Phillip Midworth (to Burton Albion) |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Adam Chambers (to Kidderminster Harriers) |
| — | MF | ENG | Simon Brown (to Mansfield Town) |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Marshall (retired) |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of end of season
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premiership | Premiership | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Russell Hoult | 39 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | POL | Tomasz Kuszczak | 4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ENG | Paul Robinson | 33 | 1 | 28+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | DEN | Thomas Gaardsøe | 31 | 0 | 25+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Darren Moore | 17 | 0 | 10+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Darren Purse | 24 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | DEN | Martin Albrechtsen | 28 | 0 | 20+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Neil Clement | 38 | 3 | 35 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 2 | MF | ENG | Riccardo Scimeca | 36 | 0 | 27+6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | WAL | Jason Koumas | 13 | 0 | 5+5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jonathan Greening | 37 | 0 | 32+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Andy Johnson | 23 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | HUN | Zoltán Gera | 42 | 6 | 31+7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Richard Chaplow | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Kieran Richardson | 12 | 3 | 11+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Dyer | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | MKD | Artim Šakiri | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Ronnie Wallwork | 23 | 1 | 19+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | JPN | Junichi Inamoto | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield | 32 | 4 | 18+11 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Rob Hulse | 7 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Kevin Campbell | 18 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | NGA | Nwankwo Kanu | 30 | 3 | 21+7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | WAL | Robert Earnshaw | 34 | 14 | 18+13 | 11 | 2+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred or loaned out during the season ||||||||||||
| 12 | FW | SCO | Scott Dobie | 6 | 1 | 1+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ROU | Cosmin Contra | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | SUI | Bernt Haas | 10 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | IRL | James O'Connor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 June 2005 Source: Competitions

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
| No. | Pos. | Name | MS | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Russell Hoult | 39 | |
| 5 | RB | Darren Purse | 24 | |
| 14 | CB | Martin Albrechtsen | 24 | |
| 4 | CB | Thomas Gaardsoe | 27 | |
| 19 | LB | Neil Clement | 38 | |
| 11 | RM | Zoltán Gera | 35 | |
| 8 | CM | Jonathan Greening | 34 | Ronnie Wallwork has 22 starts |
| 2 | CM | Riccardo Scimeca | 30 | Andy Johnson has 23 starts |
| 3 | LM | Paul Robinson | 31 | |
| 25 | CF | Nwankwo Kanu | 23 | |
| 34 | CF | Robert Earnshaw | 20 | Geoff Horsfield has 20 starts |

## Transfers
### In

* Riccardo Scimeca – Leicester City, 18 May, undisclosed
* Martin Albrechtsen – København, 3 June, £2,700,000
* Darren Purse – Birmingham City, 18 June, £750,000
* Tomasz Kuszczak – Hertha BSC, 14 July, free
* Jonathan Greening – Middlesbrough, 29 July, £1,250,000
* Zoltán Gera – Ferencváros, 30 July, £1,500,000
* Nwankwo Kanu – Arsenal, 30 July, free
* Robert Earnshaw – Cardiff City, 30 August, £3,000,000 (rising to £3,620,000 depending on contractual incentives)
* Cosmin Contra – Atlético Madrid, 31 August, season-long loan
* Junichi Inamoto – Gamba Osaka, 31 August, £200,000
* Kevin Campbell – Everton, 10 January, free
* Kieran Richardson – Manchester United, 29 January, season-long loan
* Richard Chaplow – Burnley, 31 January, £1,500,000

### Out

* Phil Gilchrist – released, 10 May (later joined Rotherham United)
* Daniel Crane – released, 10 May (later joined Burton Albion)
* Joost Volmer – released, 10 May (later joined Den Bosch)
* Delroy Facey – released, 10 May (later joined Hull City on 25 June)
* Tamika Mkandawire – released, 10 May (later joined Hereford United on 9 July)
* Mark Kinsella – released, 10 May (later joined Walsall on 27 July)
* Lee Hughes – contract terminated, 9 August
* Sean Gregan – Leeds United, £500,000 (rising to £750,000 dependent on appearances), 16 September
* James Chambers – Watford, £250,000, 25 September
* Scott Dobie – Millwall, £750,000, 8 November
* Larus Sigurdsson – retired, 2 December
* Simon Brown – Mansfield Town, 6 December, £50,000
* Lloyd Dyer – Coventry City, three-month loan, 22 March
* Lee Marshall – retired, 22 April
* Bernt Haas – released, 21 January (later joined Bastia)
* Rob Hulse – Leeds United, 9 February, season-long loan
* Sékou Berthé – released, 9 February
* Simon Miotto – released, 9 February
* Adam Chambers – released, 9 February (later joined Kidderminster Harriers)
* James O'Connor – Burnley, £175,000, 24 March
* Phillip Midworth – released (later joined Burton Albion on 11 February)
    Transfers in: £10,800,000
    Transfers out: £1,675,000
    Total spending: £9,125,000

## Results

West Bromwich Albion's result comes first
| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Premier League
#### Results per 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 | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | D | D | D | L | L | D | L | W | D | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | D | D | D | L | W | D | L | D | W | L | W | W | D | D | L | D | L | D | W |
| Position | 14 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 17 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 1 | 14 August 2004 | Blackburn Rovers | Away | 1–1 | Clement 33' | 23,475 (2,424) |
| 2 | 22 August 2004 | Aston Villa | Home | 1–1 | Clement 38' | 26,601 (2,600) |
| 3 | 25 August 2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | Home | 1–1 | Gera 3' | 27,191 (2,589) |
| 4 | 28 August 2004 | Everton | Away | 1–2 | Dobie 7' | 34,510 |
| 5 | 11 September 2004 | Liverpool | Away | 0–3 | — | 42,947 |
| 6 | 18 September 2004 | Fulham | Home | 1–1 | Kanu 88' | 24,128 (983) |
| 7 | 25 September 2004 | Newcastle United | Away | 1–3 | Horsfield 87' | 52,308 |
| 8 | 2 October 2004 | Bolton Wanderers | Home | 2–1 | Kanu 57', Gera 65' | 23,849 (1,285) |
| 9 | 16 October 2004 | Norwich City | Home | 0–0 | — | 26,257 |
| 10 | 23 October 2004 | Crystal Palace | Away | 0–3 | — | 22,922 |
| 11 | 30 October 2004 | Chelsea | Home | 1–4 | Gera 56' | 27,399 (2,600) |
| 12 | 6 November 2004 | Southampton | Away | 2–2 | Earnshaw 29', 37' | 31,057 (3,188) |
| 13 | 14 November 2004 | Middlesbrough | Home | 1–2 | Earnshaw 37' | 24,008 (1,329) |
| 14 | 20 November 2004 | Arsenal | Away | 1–1 | Earnshaw 79' | 38,109 (2,900) |
| 15 | 27 November 2004 | Manchester United | Home | 0–3 | — | 27,709 (2,600) |
| 16 | 4 December 2004 | Portsmouth | Away | 2–3 | Stefanović 14' (o.g.), Earnshaw 45' | 20,110 |
| 17 | 11 December 2004 | Charlton Athletic | Home | 0–1 | — | 24,697 (1,344) |
| 18 | 18 December 2004 | Birmingham City | Away | 0–4 | — | 28,880 |
| 19 | 26 December 2004 | Liverpool | Home | 0–5 | — | 27,533 (2,599) |
| 20 | 28 December 2004 | Manchester City | Away | 1–1 | Dunne 85' (o.g.) | 47,177 |
| 21 | 1 January 2005 | Bolton Wanderers | Away | 1–1 | Gera 13' | 25,205 (2,300) |
| 22 | 3 January 2005 | Newcastle United | Home | 0–0 | — | 25,259 |
| 23 | 16 January 2005 | Fulham | Away | 0–1 | — | 16,180 |
| 24 | 22 January 2005 | Manchester City | Home | 2–0 | Campbell 5', Wallwork 81' | 25,348 (2,590) |
| 25 | 1 February 2005 | Crystal Palace | Home | 2–2 | Campbell 82', Earnshaw 90' | 25,092 (1,583) |
| 26 | 5 February 2005 | Norwich City | Away | 2–3 | Earnshaw 41', Richardson 49' | 24,292 |
| 27 | 22 February 2005 | Southampton | Home | 0–0 | — | 25,865 |
| 28 | 6 March 2005 | Birmingham City | Home | 2–0 | Clement 53', Campbell 64' | 25,749 (2,600) |
| 29 | 15 March 2005 | Chelsea | Away | 0–1 | — | 41,713 |
| 30 | 19 March 2005 | Charlton Athletic | Away | 4–1 | Horsfield 9', Earnshaw 73', 84', 90' (pen.) | 27,104 (2,996) |
| 31 | 3 April 2005 | Everton | Home | 1–0 | Gera 63' | 26,805 (2,596) |
| 32 | 10 April 2005 | Aston Villa | Away | 1–1 | Robinson 90' | 39,402 (3,400) |
| 33 | 20 April 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | Away | 1–1 | Gera 24' | 35,885 |
| 34 | 23 April 2005 | Middlesbrough | Away | 0–4 | — | 32,951 (2,394) |
| 35 | 26 April 2005 | Blackburn Rovers | Home | 1–1 | Richardson 32' | 25,154 (856) |
| 36 | 2 May 2005 | Arsenal | Home | 0–2 | — | 27,351 (2,599) |
| 37 | 7 May 2005 | Manchester United | Away | 1–1 | Earnshaw 60' (pen.) | 67,827 (2,500) |
| 38 | 15 May 2005 | Portsmouth | Home | 2–0 | Horsfield 58', Richardson 75' | 27,751 (2,600) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 8 January 2005 | Preston North End | Deepdale | 2–0 | Earnshaw 76', 83' | 13,005 |
| Fourth round | 29 January 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | The Hawthorns | 1–1 | Earnshaw 17' | 22,441 |
| Fourth round replay | 12 February 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | White Hart Lane | 1–3 | Kanu 12' | 27,860 |

### Football League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round | 21 September 2004 | Colchester United | Layer Road | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Horsfield 50' | 4,591 |