List of West Bromwich Albion F.C. records and statistics
Transfers -- Progression of record transfer fee paid
Table:
#

Name

Fee

Paid to

Date

Notes

1
Bobby Blood
£4,000
Port Vale
February 1921
[31]

2
George Shaw
£4,100
Huddersfield Town
December 1926
[31]

3
Cecil Shaw
£7,500
Wolverhampton Wanderers
December 1936
[31]

4
Jack Vernon
£9,500
Belfast Celtic
February 1947
[31]

5
Ronnie Allen
£20,000
Port Vale
March 1950
[31]

6
Bobby Robson
£25,000
Fulham
March 1956
[31]

7
John Kaye
£44,750
Scunthorpe United
May 1963
[31]

8
Colin Suggett
£100,000
Sunderland
June 1969
[31]

9
Willie Johnston
£138,000
Rangers
December 1972
[31]

10
David Mills
£516,000
Middlesbrough
January 1979
[31]

11
Peter Barnes
£748,000
Manchester City
January 1979
[31]

12
Kevin Kilbane
£1,250,000
Preston North End
13 June 1997
[32][33][34]

13
Jason Roberts
£2,000,000
Bristol Rovers
26 July 2000
[35]

14
Jason Koumas
£2,250,000
Tranmere Rovers
29 August 2002
[36]

15
Lee Hughes
£2,500,000
Coventry City
29 August 2002
[37]

16
Martin Albrechtsen
£2,700,000
F.C. Copenhagen
3 June 2004
[38]

17
Robert Earnshaw
£3,500,000
Cardiff City
30 August 2004
[39]

18
Borja Valero
£4,700,000
RCD Mallorca
22 August 2008
[30]

19
Shane Long
£5 million
Reading
9 August 2011
[29][C]

20
Stéphane Sessègnon
£6.6 million
Sunderland
2 September 2013
[28]

Looking at the tabular data and the supplementary paragraphs listed.

Respond to the question below: How many games for the Danish national team did a player play who came from a team that has won 13 Danish Football Championships and 8 Danish Cups ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

Robert Blood ( 18 March 1894 - 12 August 1988 ) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward and was noted for his powerful strikes . He played non-league football for various teams based around Buxton , and served in the Army for three years during World War I , before he started his professional career after signing for Port Vale in November 1919 . He scoring 44 goals in 53 Second Division games and earned himself a £4,750 move to West Bromwich Albion in February 1921 . He scored 26 goals in 53 First Division games , before moving on to Stockport County for a £3,000 fee in December 1924 . Three years later he signed for non-league Winsford United , later turning out for Mossley , Ashton National and Buxton .
Port Vale Football Club is a professional association football club based in Burslem , Stoke-on-Trent , England . The team compete in League Two , the fourth tier of the English football league system . Port Vale is one of the few English league clubs not to be named after a geographical location , their name being a reference to the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal . They have never played top-flight football , and hold the records for the most seasons in the English Football League ( 108 ) and in the second tier ( 41 ) without reaching the first tier . After playing at the Athletic Ground in Cobridge and The Old Recreation Ground in Hanley , the club returned to Burslem when Vale Park was opened in 1950 . Outside the ground is a statue to Roy Sproson , who played 842 competitive games for the club . The club 's traditional rivals are Stoke City , and games between the two are known as the Potteries derby . After becoming one of the more prominent football clubs in Staffordshire , Burslem Port Vale were invited to become founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892 . They spent 13 non-consecutive seasons in the division , punctuated by two seasons in the Midland League , before they resigned due to financial difficulties and entered liquidation in 1907 . The name of Port Vale continued in the North Staffordshire Federation League , and this new club were successful enough to be reinstated into the Football League in October 1919 . They spent 16 non-consecutive seasons in the Second Division , punctuated by them winning the Third Division North title in 1929-30 , before dropping back into the third tier for a much longer stay at the end of the 1935-36 campaign . The 1953-54 season saw manager Freddie Steele 's Iron Curtain defence win both a Third Division North title and a semi-final place in the FA Cup .
George Edward Shaw ( born 13 October 1899 ) was an English professional footballer who played for Doncaster Rovers , Gillingham , Huddersfield Town , West Bromwich Albion , Stalybridge Celtic , Worcester City and Floriana . Shaw played for Gillingham for two seasons before moving back home up north to Doncaster to play for his local club Doncaster Rovers . In a season which saw Doncaster become runners up in the Midland League and win the Wharncliffe Charity Cup , Shaw scored 6 league goals , 5 of them penalties , plus one penalty in the cup rounds . The following season , 1923-24 , Rovers were selected for promotion back to the Football League for the first time since 1905 . In their first match of the season Shaw managed to send his penalty kick into the stand , thus missing out on scoring their first return goal and failing to win the match . His last match for Doncaster was at Walsall on 26 January 1924 , after which he transferred to Huddersfield Town to play in their first of three successive First Division Championship seasons . He was the elder brother of Wilf Shaw , who also played full back for Doncaster Rovers , until he was killed in action in World War II .
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club in Huddersfield , West Yorkshire , England , which competes in the Championship . Huddersfield became the first English club to win three successive English League titles in 1926 , a feat which only three other clubs have matched . The first two league titles were won under legendary manager and pioneer Herbert Chapman , who also led the club to an FA Cup win in 1922 . In the late 1950s the club was managed by Bill Shankly and featured Denis Law and Ray Wilson . Following relegation from the First Division in 1972 , Huddersfield spent 45 years in the second , third and fourth tiers of English football , before returning to the top flight in 2017 . They were relegated back to the Championship at the end of the 2018-19 season .
Cecil Ernest Shaw ( 22 June 1911 - January 1977 ) was an English footballer who played as a full back .
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club /ˌwʊlvərˈhæmptən/ ( listen ) , commonly known as Wolves , is an English professional football club based in Wolverhampton , West Midlands . Formed as St. Luke 's FC in 1877 , the club has played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and competes in the Premier League , the top division of English football , after winning the 2017-18 EFL Championship . The Wolves also compete in the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League : this is the first time the club has qualified for a European tournament for 39 years , by virtue of finishing in seventh place in the 2018-19 Premier League , their first season in the top tier since the 2011-12 season . Wolves was one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 . The club in 2019-20 is enjoying its 65th season of top flight football ; Wolves 's longest continuous period in the top tier was 26 consecutive seasons in the 33 years between 1932 and 1965 ( n.b . there was no league football between 1939 and 1946 due to World War II ) . In the 1950s , Wolves were English League champions three times ( 1953-54 , 1957-58 and 1958-59 ) , under the management of Stan Cullis . Wolves have also finished League runners-up on five occasions , most recently in 1959-60 . Wolves have won the FA Cup four times , most recently in 1960 , and finished runners-up on a further four occasions . The club has also won the Football League Cup twice , in 1974 and 1980 . In 1953 , Wolves was one of the first British clubs to install floodlights , taking part in televised floodlit friendlies against leading overseas club sides between 1953 and 1956 in the run-up to the creation of the European Cup in 1955 and the first participation of an English club side in that competition in 1956 . Wolves reached the quarter-finals of the 1959-60 European Cup and the semi-finals of the 1960-61 European Cup Winners ' Cup , and were runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur in the inaugural UEFA Cup Final in 1972 .
John Joseph Vernon ( 26 September 1918 - 24 August 1981 ) also referred to as Jackie Vernon , was an Irish footballer who played for , among others , Belfast Celtic and West Bromwich Albion . Vernon was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams - the IFA XI and the FAI XI . He also played on two occasions for a Great Britain XI .
Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club in Ireland ( now Northern Ireland ) that was founded in 1891 , and was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949 . It left the league for political reasons , as the team and its supporters were largely Catholic and Irish nationalist , and its players had been violently attacked by a mob against its main rival Linfield in December 1948 . Belfast Celtic were one of four clubs that attracted the biggest crowds in the Irish League , the other three being Linfield , Distillery , and Glentoran .
Ronald Allen ( 15 January 1929 - 9 June 2001 ) was an English international football player and manager . He was a professional footballer for nineteen years , between 1946 and 1964 , making 638 appearances in the Football League , and scoring 276 goals . He also won five caps for England national team . He later became a manager at clubs in England , Spain , Portugal , and Greece . His son , Russell , also played professional football throughout the 1970s . Starting his career in 1946 with Port Vale , he spent four years with the club , before making a record breaking transfer to West Bromwich Albion . He was one of the best strikers of the 1950s , playing over 400 games , with a ratio of a goal every two games . He lifted the FA Cup in 1954 , and helped the club to the FA Charity Shield in 1954 , and a second-place finish in the First Division in 1953-54 . In 1961 he signed with Crystal Palace , where he spent the final four years of his playing career . He helped Palace win promotion out of the Third Division in 1963-64 . His management career began in 1966 with Wolverhampton Wanderers , as he led Wolves out of the Second Division in 1966-67 . In 1969 , he took up the reins at Spanish club Athletic Bilbao , leading the club to a second-place finish in La Liga in 1969-70 .
Sir Robert William Robson CBE ( 18 February 1933 - 31 July 2009 ) was an English footballer and football manager . His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town F.C . Robson 's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years , during which he played for three clubs : Fulham , West Bromwich Albion , and , briefly , Vancouver Royals . He also made 20 appearances for England , scoring four goals . After his playing career , he found success as both a club and international manager , winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal , earning trophies in England and Spain , and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup , which remained the national team 's best run in a World Cup since 1966 until they reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup . His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team . Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002 , was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 , and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town F.C . From 1991 onwards , he suffered recurrent medical problems with cancer , and in March 2008 , put his name and efforts into the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation , a cancer research charity which has so far collected over £12 million ( March 2018 ) . In August 2008 , his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal ; he said , My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy . I am going to die sooner rather than later . But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute . He died just under a year later .
Fulham Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fulham , London , England . They compete in the EFL Championship , the second tier of English football . Founded in 1879 , they are the oldest football club from London to play in the Football League . The club has spent 26 seasons in English football 's top division , the majority of these in two spells during the 1960s and 2000s . The latter spell was associated with former chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed , after the club had climbed up from the fourth tier in the 1990s . Fulham have reached two major finals : in 1975 , as a Second Division team , they contested the FA Cup Final for the only time in their history , losing 2-0 to West Ham United , and in 2010 they reached the final of the UEFA Europa League , which they contested with Atlético Madrid in Hamburg , losing 2-1 after extra time . Fulham 's main rivalries are with fellow West London clubs Chelsea , Queens Park Rangers and Brentford .
John Kaye ( born 3 March 1940 ) is an English former footballer and manager .
Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe , Lincolnshire , England . The team compete in League Two , the fourth tier of the English football league system . The team is nicknamed The Iron , and has played in a home strip of claret and blue for most of the club 's history . They play their home games at The Sands Venue Stadium , having moved from their original stadium , the Old Showground , in 1988 . They contest Humber derby games with local rivals Grimsby Town and Hull City , as well as Lincolnshire derby games with Boston United , Gainsborough Trinity and Lincoln City . The club was formed in 1899 and turned professional after joining the Midland League in 1912 . Crowned Midland League champions in the 1926-27 and 1938-39 campaigns , they were elected into the Football League in 1950 . They went on to secure promotion as champions of the Third Division North in 1957-58 and spent six seasons in the Second Division , before they were relegated in 1964 and then down to the Fourth Division in 1968 . United spent 34 of the next 37 seasons in the basement tier , punctuated by one-season stays in the third tier after they secured promotions in 1971-72 , 1982-83 and 1998-99 . Brian Laws saw the club promoted out of League Two at the end of the 2004-05 season and his successor , Nigel Adkins , led the club to the League One title in 2006-07 . Scunthorpe spent just one season in the Championship , but victory in the 2009 League One play-off Final saw the club promoted back into the Championship . They remained in the second tier until two relegations in as many years saw them back into the fourth tier by 2013 .
Colin Suggett ( born 30 December 1948 ) is an English former professional football player and manager . He played as a midfielder in the Football League for Sunderland , West Bromwich Albion , Norwich City and Newcastle United . Born in Chester-le-Street , Suggett began his career as an apprentice at Sunderland , with whom he twice won the FA Youth Cup . He represented England Schools , and later the England Youth team . He moved to West Bromwich Albion in July 1969 for a club record fee of £100,000 . He then joined Norwich for a £70,000 fee in February 1973 . He was voted Norwich City player of the year in 1975 . He later worked as a youth coach at Sunderland 's fierce rivals Newcastle United , coaching such players as Neil McDonald . Suggett also enjoyed a brief spell as caretaker manager at the club , following Willie McFaul 's departure . In 2006 [ update ] , he was working as chief scout at Carlisle United , where he again joined up with manager Neil McDonald . Prior to this he was chief scout at Ipswich Town .
Sunderland Association Football Club ( /ˈsʌndərlənd/ ( listen ) , locally /ˈsʊndlən/ ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland , Tyne and Wear . Sunderland play in League One , the third tier of English football . Since its formation in 1879 , the club has won six top-flight ( First Division , now the Premier League ) titles ( 1892 , 1893 , 1895 , 1902 , 1913 and 1936 ) , a total only bettered by five other clubs , and has finished runners-up five times . The club has also won the FA Cup twice ( 1937 and 1973 ) and been runners-up twice ( 1913 and 1992 ) , as well as winning the FA Charity Shield in 1936 and being finalists the following year . Sunderland have also been Football League Cup finalists in 1985 and 2014 . Sunderland play their home games at the 49,000-capacity all-seater Stadium of Light having moved from Roker Park in 1997 . The original ground capacity was 42,000 which was increased to 49,000 following expansion in 2000 . Sunderland have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbouring club Newcastle United , with whom they have contested the Tyne-Wear derby since 1898 .
William McClure Johnston ( born 19 December 1946 ) is a Scottish former professional footballer , best remembered for his time at Rangers and West Bromwich Albion . He made 22 international appearances for Scotland and was selected for their 1978 FIFA World Cup squad , but was sent home from the tournament after failing a drugs test .
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow . It has played in the Scottish Premiership , the first tier of the Scottish Professional Football League , since winning the 2015-16 Scottish Championship . Their home ground , Ibrox Stadium , in the southwest of the city , is the third largest football stadium in the country . Although not the club 's official name , it is occasionally referred to as Glasgow Rangers . Rangers have played in royal blue shirts since the inception of the club . Rangers are the second most successful club in world football in terms of trophies won , behind only Egyptian club Al Ahly . The club has won more league titles and domestic trebles than any other team in the world , winning the league title 54 times , the Scottish Cup 33 times and the Scottish League Cup 27 times , and achieving the treble of all three in the same season seven times . Rangers won the European Cup Winners ' Cup in 1972 after being losing finalists twice , in 1961 ( the first British club to reach a UEFA tournament final ) and 1967 . A third runners-up finish in Europe came in the UEFA Cup in 2008 . Rangers have a long-standing rivalry with Celtic , the two Glasgow clubs being collectively known as the Old Firm , which is considered one of the world 's biggest football derbies . Founded in March 1872 , Rangers is the fourth-oldest football club in Scotland and was one of the 11 original members of the Scottish Football League and it remained in the top division continuously until a financial crisis during the 2011-12 season saw an administration event occur and the original company liquidated with the assets moved to a new company structure . The club was accepted as an associate member of the Scottish Football League and placed in the fourth tier of Scottish football league system in time for the start of the following season .
David Mills ( born 6 December 1951 ) is an English former footballer most notable for his career with Middlesbrough and becoming England 's first half-million pound footballer . He is currently working as the head scout for Leicester City .
Middlesbrough Football Club ( /ˈmɪdəlzbrə/ ( listen ) MID-əlz-brə ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough , North Yorkshire , England . They are currently competing in the EFL Championship , the second tier of English football . Formed in 1876 , they have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995 , their third ground since turning professional in 1889 . The club played at the Linthorpe Road ground from 1882 to 1903 and at Ayresome Park for 92 years , from 1903 to 1995 . Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and became one of the first clubs to be relegated from it following the 1992-93 season . The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before it was saved by a consortium led by then board member and later chairman Steve Gibson . The club 's main rivals are Sunderland , Newcastle United and Leeds United . The club 's achievements include winning the League Cup in 2004 , their first and to date only major trophy , and they also reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final , losing to Spanish club Sevilla . Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913-14 season and the club have only spent two seasons outside the top two divisions of English football . The League Cup win and the UEFA Cup run was part of an 11-year consecutive stay in the Premier League , before a relegation in 2009 . Although the club returned in 2016 , instant relegation followed . The club 's traditional kit is red with white detailing .
Peter Simon Barnes ( born 10 June 1957 ) is an English former international footballer , and the son of renowned coach and scout Ken Barnes . He is one of a small number of players to have played for both Manchester City and Manchester United . He was named as PFA Young Player of the Year after scoring in the 1976 League Cup final victory for Manchester City . He won 22 England caps , and became West Bromwich Albion 's record buy at £748,000 , but found that his career faltered in the mid-1980s . He played for Leeds United and was also a rare English export to La Liga with Real Betis . He played briefly for Coventry City , and was signed by Ron Atkinson at Manchester United in 1985 , before being one of the players that Alex Ferguson released after his arrival in the 1986-87 season . Over the next few years he struggled for opportunities as wing play went out of fashion , despite trying his hand at clubs throughout the English Football League and in Portugal , Australia , Malta , the United States , Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland .
Manchester City Football Club is an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League , the top flight of English football . Founded in 1880 as St. Mark 's ( West Gorton ) , it became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894 . The club 's home ground is the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester , to which it moved in 2003 , having played at Maine Road since 1923 . Manchester City entered the Football League in 1899 , and won their first major honour with the FA Cup in 1904 . It had its first major period of success in the late 1960s , winning the League , FA Cup and League Cup under the management of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison . After losing the 1981 FA Cup Final , the club went through a period of decline , which eventually saw them relegated as far down as third tier of English football by the end of the 1997-98 season . They since regained promotion to the top tier in 2001-02 and have remained a fixture in the Premier League since 2002-03 . In 2008 , Manchester City was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group for £210 million and received considerable financial investment . The club have won six domestic league titles . Under the management of Pep Guardiola they won the Premier League in 2018 becoming the only Premier League team to attain 100 points in a single season . In 2019 , they won four trophies , completing an unprecedented sweep of all domestic trophies in England and becoming the first English men 's team to win the domestic treble . Manchester City 's revenue was the fifth highest of a football club in the world in the 2018-19 season at €568.4 million .
Kevin Daniel Kilbane ( /kɪlˈbæn/ ; born 1 February 1977 ) is a former professional footballer who played as both a left back and a left winger . Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team , fourth behind only Robbie Keane and Shay Given and John O'Shea as the most capped Irish player of all time . Kilbane played for several English clubs , including Everton , West Bromwich Albion , Sunderland , Wigan Athletic , Huddersfield Town and Derby County ( the last two on loan from Hull City ) and Coventry City . Towards the end of his career Kilbane concentrated on forging a media career . He now works as an analyst for Virgin Media Television ( Ireland ) , BBC Radio 5 Live , BBC Match of the Day , Football Focus , Final Score and Ireland 's Newstalk Radio Off The Ball Football Show .
Preston North End Football Club ( often shortened to The North End or PNE ) is a professional football club in Preston , Lancashire , whose team currently plays in the EFL Championship , the second tier of the English football league system . Originally a cricket club , Preston have been based at Deepdale since 1875 . The club first took up football in 1878 as a winter fitness activity and decided to focus on it in May 1880 , when the football club was officially founded . Deepdale is now football 's oldest ground in terms of continuous use by a major league club . Preston North End was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 . In the 1888-89 season , the team won both the inaugural league championship and the FA Cup , the latter without conceding a goal . They were the first team to achieve the Double in English football and , as they were unbeaten in all matches , are remembered as The Invincibles . Preston won the league championship again in 1889-90 but their only major success since then has been their 1938 FA Cup Final victory over Huddersfield Town . The club 's most famous players have been Tom Finney and Bill Shankly , who are both commemorated at Deepdale by stands named after them . Other notable players include Tommy Docherty , Alan Kelly Sr. and Graham Alexander . Until 1961 , Preston were usually members of the First Division but , having been relegated after the 1960-61 season , they have not yet returned to the top flight . They were first relegated to the Third Division after the 1969-70 season and have spent 28 of the 49 seasons since 1970 in the bottom two divisions , including a span of 19 seasons from 1981-1982 to 1999-2000 .
Jason Andre Davis Roberts MBE ( born 25 January 1978 ) is a Grenadian former professional footballer who is now Director of Development at Concacaf . Born in Park Royal , London , Roberts was playing football from an early age , and spent time in the youth academies at several professional clubs , but was not retained . After a spell in non-league football with Hayes , he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1997 . He failed to make a first-team appearance for Wolves , and had loan spells at Torquay United and Bristol City before signing for Bristol Rovers in 1998 . He quickly established himself in the first team , scoring 38 goals in his two seasons at the club . After the club failed to gain promotion , Roberts handed in a transfer request and was sold to West Bromwich Albion in July 2000 . His goals helped the team reach the First Division play-offs in his first season at the club . West Brom then won promotion to the Premier League in the following season . Roberts scored three goals in his first Premier League season as the club were relegated back down to the First Division . He was loaned out to Portsmouth at the start of the 2003-04 season , and was then sold to Wigan Athletic in January 2004 . Roberts went on to score 21 goals in Wigan 's promotion-winning campaign in the 2004-05 season , and won the club 's Player of the Year award at the end of the season . His goals in the following season helped the club finish tenth in its inaugural Premier League campaign , as well as taking the team to the 2006 Football League Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium - the club 's first ever major cup final .
Bristol Rovers Football Club is a professional football club in Bristol , England , which plays in League One , the third tier of English football . Rovers play their home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield . The club was founded in 1883 as Black Arabs F.C. , and were also known as Eastville Rovers and Bristol Eastville Rovers before finally changing its name to Bristol Rovers in 1899 . The club 's official nickname is The Pirates , reflecting the maritime history of Bristol . The local nickname of the club is The Gas , derived from the gasworks next to their former home , Eastville Stadium , which started as a derogatory term used by fans of their main rivals , Bristol City , but was affectionately adopted by the club and its supporters . Cardiff City and Swindon Town are considered their second and third biggest rivals . Rovers were admitted to the Football League in 1920 and have played there ever since , apart from spending the 2014-15 season in the Conference Premier . Their highest finishing positions were in 1956 and 1959 , on both occasions ending the season in 6th place in Division Two , then the second tier of English football . The club 's honours include winning the third tier title twice , and the fourth tier play-off final once . Rovers have also been Football League Trophy finalists twice .
Jason Koumas ( born 25 September 1979 ) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played for Tranmere Rovers , Cardiff City , West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic , as well as the Welsh national team . He was selected in both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Football League Championship team of the season . On 12 May 2016 , Leon Barton wrote in a long blog post for The Guardian that Koumas 's talent - often described as mercurial - was no less than Steven Gerrard 's , but that he had lacked the spirit and determination to succeed at the highest level .
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead , Merseyside , England . Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club , they adopted their current name in 1885 . They were a founder member of Division Three North in 1921 , and were a member of The Football League until 2015 , when they were relegated to the National League , the fifth tier of English football . They returned to the Football League in 2018 , and were promoted to EFL League One in 2019 . During the 1980s , they were beset by financial problems and , in 1987 , went into administration . However , this was a prelude to the most successful period in Tranmere 's history ; under manager John King , the team reached the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League in three successive seasons . Under King 's successor , John Aldridge , Tranmere experienced a number of cup runs , most notably reaching the 2000 Football League Cup Final . Other cup runs include reaching FA Cup quarter-finals in 2000 , 2001 and 2004 . Tranmere 's regular kit is an all-white strip with blue trim , their main colours since 1962 . The club moved to its current home , Prenton Park , in 1912 . In 1995 , the ground had a major redevelopment in response to the Taylor Report . It now seats 16,567 in four stands : the Main Stand , the Kop , the Johnny King Stand and the Cowshed .
Lee Hughes ( born 22 May 1976 ) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Northern Premier League Premier Division side Grantham Town . A strong striker with excellent finishing abilities , Hughes represented the England semi-professional team once in 1996 . After being released as a youth footballer , Hughes worked as a roofer alongside his father . He started his career in the Conference with Kidderminster Harriers , before winning a £380,000 move to boyhood club West Bromwich Albion in August 1997 . He finished as the club 's top-scorer for four seasons running , earning a place on the PFA Team of the Year in 1998-99 after finishing as the highest scorer in the top four divisions of English football . He was sold to Coventry City for £5 million in August 2001 , before returning to West Brom for half of that figure twelve months later . He failed to impress in the Premier League as Albion suffered relegation , but helped the club to make an immediate return to the top-flight as runners-up in the First Division in 2003-04 . In August 2004 , he was sentenced to six years ' imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving following a fatal crash on 23 November 2003 . Following his release from prison in 2007 , he returned to the professional game with Oldham Athletic of League One . He signed for Notts County in July 2009 , and was named on the PFA Team of the Year after scoring 30 league goals as the club won the League Two title in 2009-10 . He left Notts County to sign for Port Vale in January 2013 , and helped the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012-13 . In January 2014 , he signed for Forest Green Rovers on an 18-month deal .
Coventry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Coventry , West Midlands , England . The club competes in League One , the third tier of the English football league system , following promotion via the playoffs from League Two in the 2017-18 season , and temporarily plays its home games at St Andrew 's Stadium in Birmingham . Coventry City formed as Singers F.C . in 1883 following a general meeting of the Singer Factory Gentleman 's club . They adopted their current name in 1898 , joining the Football League in 1919 . They won their only major trophy in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup . They are one of only five clubs to have won both the FA Cup and the FA Youth Cup in the same season . They have also reached two Football League Cup semi-finals , in 1981 and 1990 . They returned to Wembley in April 2017 , defeating Oxford United 2-1 to win the Football League Trophy and again in May 2018 , beating Exeter City 3-1 to gain promotion to EFL League One via the play-offs . The club , nicknamed the Sky Blues because of the colour of their strip , was an inaugural member of the Premier League in 1992 and spent 34 consecutive seasons in the English top-flight until relegation in 2001 . Following eleven seasons in the second-tier Football League Championship , Coventry were relegated to League One in 2012 , the first time they had been in the third tier since 1964 . In 2017 , there was a further relegation , with the club dropping to the fourth tier of English football for the first time since 1959 .
Martin Albrechtsen ( born 31 March 1980 ) is a Danish professional football player who plays for Værebro Boldklub in the Denmark Series . He can play in any position across the back four and has played four games for the Danish national team . He is the older brother of Jacob Albrechtsen .
Football Club Copenhagen ( Danish : Football Club København , pronounced [ kʰøpm̩ˈhau̯ˀn ] ) , commonly known as FC København , FC Copenhagen , Copenhagen or simply FCK , is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen , Denmark . FCK was founded in 1992 through the merger of Kjøbenhavns Boldklub and Boldklubben 1903 . F.C . Copenhagen has won 13 Danish Football Championships and 8 Danish Cups . F.C . Copenhagen has reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and the group stage of the UEFA Europa League more times than any other Danish club and are the only Danish club who has reached the knockout stage of the Champions League . As of July 2019 , Copenhagen are the highest ranked Scandinavian club in the UEFA team rankings list . Copenhagen plays its matches at the Telia Parken , which also serves as the venue for Denmark national football team matches . Since their foundation , FCK have developed a fierce rivalry with Brøndby IF . The Copenhagen Derby games between the two sides have attracted some of the biggest crowds in Danish football history .
Robert Earnshaw ( born 6 April 1981 ) is a Welsh former international footballer who played as a forward . He is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the Premier League , all three divisions of the English Football League , the League Cup , the FA Cup , and for his country in an international match . Born in Zambia and raised in South Wales , Earnshaw joined Cardiff City as a Youth Training Scheme ( YTS ) trainee in 1997 , and turned professional a year later . After making his debut at the age of sixteen , he spent a brief spell on loan with Greenock Morton before establishing himself in the first team . His prolific goalscoring saw him break several club records as he helped the club win promotion to the First Division in 2003 . Scoring over 30 times in the First Division following promotion , he joined Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for £3.5 million in August 2004 . He played for several English clubs before later in his career playing in Israel , Canada , and the United States . After leaving Cardiff City in 2004 , Earnshaw 's transfer fees totalled £12,650,000 . He made his international debut for Wales in 2002 and scored 16 goals in 59 games for the national side , making him its seventh-highest all-time goalscorer .
Cardiff City Football Club ( Welsh : Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd ) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff , Wales . It competes in the Championship , the second tier of the English football league system . Founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C. , the club changed its name to Cardiff City in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910 before joining the English Football League in 1920 . The team have spent 17 seasons in the top tier of English football since , the longest period being between 1921 and 1929 . Their most recent season in the top flight was the 2018-19 Premier League season . Cardiff is the only team from outside England to have won the FA Cup , doing so in 1927 . They have also reached three other cup finals in English competitions , the 1925 FA Cup Final against Sheffield United , the 2008 FA Cup Final against Portsmouth and the 2012 Football League Cup Final against Liverpool , suffering defeat on each occasion . They have won the Welsh Cup on 22 occasions , making them the second most successful team in the competition 's history behind Wrexham . With the exception of a short period this century , the team have played in home colours of blue and white since 1908 , which gives them the nickname The Bluebirds . Cardiff 's first permanent ground was Ninian Park opened in 1910 ; it remained in use for 99 years until the club moved into the Cardiff City Stadium in 2009 . Cardiff have long-standing rivalries with nearby clubs Swansea City , known as the South Wales derby and Bristol City , known as the Severnside derby . The club 's record appearance holder is Billy Hardy , who made 590 appearances in a 20-year playing spell with Cardiff , and their record goalscorer is Len Davies with 179 goals .
Borja Valero Iglesias ( Spanish pronunciation : [ ˈboɾxa βaˈleɾo ] ; born 12 January 1985 ) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian club Inter Milan . He began his career with Real Madrid but did not have any impact with its first team , and played for Mallorca and in England for West Bromwich Albion before joining Villarreal in 2010 . He also spent several years in Serie A , with Fiorentina and Inter Milan . Over five seasons , Valero amassed La Liga totals of 139 games and 16 goals .
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca , S.A.D . ( Spanish : [ reˈal ˈkluβ ðepoɾˈtiβo maˈʎoɾka ] , Catalan : Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca [ rəˈjal ˈklub dəpuɾˈtiw məˈʎɔɾkə ] , Royal Sporting Club Mallorca ) is a Spanish football club based in Palma , in the Balearic Islands . Founded on 5 March 1916 it currently plays in La Liga , holding home games at the Estadi de Son Moix with a 23,142-seat capacity . Team colours are red shirts with black shorts and black socks .
Shane Patrick Long ( born 22 January 1987 ) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Southampton and the Republic of Ireland national team . He also played hurling for Tipperary in his early life . Long began his football career at Cork City . He later moved to Reading where , among other achievements , he scored three goals in ten substitute appearances during his team 's Championship-winning 2005-06 campaign , guided his team into the Fourth round of the FA Cup by defeating Liverpool in a third round replay match in 2010 , and later won a player of the season award . He signed for Premier League side West Bromwich Albion in 2011 for a fee of £6 million , and joined Hull City in January 2014 , then Southampton in August 2014 . On 23 April 2019 , he scored the fastest goal in Premier League history . Long made his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland in 2007 , and has since earned 80 international caps .
Reading Football Club ( /ˈrɛdɪŋ/ ( listen ) RED-ing ) is a professional association football club based in Reading , Berkshire , England . The team play in the Championship , the second tier of English football . The current manager is Mark Bowen . Reading are nicknamed The Royals , due to Reading 's location in the Royal County of Berkshire , though they were previously known as The Biscuitmen , due to the town 's association with Huntley and Palmers . Established in 1871 , the club is one of the oldest teams in England , but did not join The Football League until 1920 , and first in the top tier of English football league system in the 2006-07 season . The club competed in the 2012-13 Premier League season , having gained promotion at the end of the 2011-12 season after winning the Championship , but were relegated after just one season back in the top flight . The club played at Elm Park for 102 years between 1896 and 1998 . In 1998 the club moved to the new Madejski Stadium , which is named after the club 's former co-chairman Sir John Madejski . The club holds the record for the number of successive league wins at the start of a season , with a total of 13 wins at the start of the 1985-86 Third Division campaign and also the record for the number of points gained in the professional league season with 106 points in the 2005-06 Football League Championship campaign . Reading then finished eighth in the 2006-07 Premier League , their first ever season as a top flight club . During the 2014-15 FA Cup , the club reached the semi finals , reaching the quarter finals the season after . They also reached the championship playoff final in the 2016-17 EFL Championship season .
Stéphane Sessègnon ( born 1 June 1984 ) is a Beninese professional footballer who plays for Turkish club Gençlerbirliği . He is a Benin international having starred for the nation at both the 2008 and 2010 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations . Sessègnon plays a variety of positions as a forward , a winger and as a midfield offensive playmaker . He is Benin 's all-time top scorer and appearance maker with 24 international goals in 82 matches .