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.

West Bromwich Albion

2009–10 season
Chairman	Jeremy Peace
Manager	Roberto Di Matteo
Football League Championship	2nd (promoted)
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Chris Brunt (13) All: Graham Dorrans (17)
Highest home attendance	25,297 (vs. Barnsley)
Lowest home attendance	10,659 (vs. Rotherham United, 26 August)
Home colours Away colours

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.[1]

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.[2] 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[3]

First-team squad

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  EIR Dean Kiely[notes 1] 2 DF  ENG Joe Mattock 3 DF  SWE Jonas Olsson (vice-captain)[4] 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[notes 2] 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)[4] 20 MF  POR Filipe Teixeira[notes 3] 21 MF  COD Youssuf Mulumbu[notes 4] 22 DF  NED Gianni Zuiverloon

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 DF  CIV Abdoulaye Méïté[notes 5] 25 MF  ENG Joss Labadie 26 DF  ROU Gabriel Tamaș (on loan from Auxerre) 27 MF  SCO James Morrison[notes 6] 29 FW  NED Andwélé Slory[notes 7] 30 DF  ENG Paul Downing 31 FW  ENG Simon Cox[notes 8] 32 FW  ENG Lateef Elford-Alliyu[notes 9] 33 DF  ENG Dwayne Samuels 34 FW  WAL Josh Knight 35 MF  ENG Romaine Sawyers[notes 10] 36 MF  CHI Gonzalo Jara 37 MF  ENG George Thorne 38 FW  ENG Saido Berahino[notes 11] 39 GK  ENG Ryan Allsop 41 MF  ENG Sam Mantom 43 FW  WAL Kayleden Brown[notes 12] 44 MF  EIR Steven Reid[notes 13] (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)

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 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[notes 14] (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		Championship		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Dean Kiely	8	0	3+2	0	0	0	3	0
2	DF		Joe Mattock	34	1	26+3	0	2+1	1	1+1	0
3	DF		Jonas Olsson	48	5	43	4	3	1	2	0
4	DF		Marek Čech	37	2	29+4	2	2+1	0	1	0
5	DF		Leon Barnett	5	0	0+2	0	0	0	3	0
7	MF		Robert Koren	39	8	26+8	5	3+1	3	1	0
8	MF		Jonathan Greening	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW		Roman Bednář	32	11	21+6	11	4	0	1	0
10	FW		Ishmael Miller	16	2	4+11	2	0+1	0	0	0
11	MF		Chris Brunt	43	13	39+1	13	3	0	0	0
12	FW		Craig Beattie	5	2	0+3	0	0	0	2	2
12	MF		Giles Barnes	9	0	1+8	0	0	0	0	0
13	GK		Luke Daniels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	MF		Jerome Thomas	29	8	22+5	7	1	1	1	0
15	FW		Chris Wood	23	2	6+12	1	0+2	1	0+3	0
16	FW		Luke Moore	29	4	23+3	4	1+1	0	1	0
17	MF		Graham Dorrans	52	18	42+3	13	4	3	3	2
18	FW		Reuben Reid	8	0	1+4	0	0+1	0	2	0
19	GK		Scott Carson	47	0	43	0	4	0	0	0
20	MF		Filipe Teixeira	12	0	1+8	0	1	0	2	0
21	MF		Youssuf Mulumbu	46	3	35+5	3	3+1	0	0+2	0
22	DF		Gianni Zuiverloon	35	4	26+4	4	2+1	0	2	0
23	DF		Abdoulaye Méïté	24	0	16+4	0	2	0	1+1	0
24	DF		Shelton Martis	15	2	10+3	2	1	0	1	0
24	MF		Ben Watson	7	1	6+1	1	0	0	0	0
25	MF		Joss Labadie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	DF		Shaun Cummings	4	0	3	0	0	0	1	0
26	DF		Gabriel Tamaș	26	2	23	2	2+1	0	0	0
27	MF		James Morrison	12	1	5+6	1	0+1	0	0	0
28	MF		Borja Valero	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
29	MF		David Worrall	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	MF		Andwélé Slory	6	0	1+5	0	0	0	0	0
30	DF		Paul Downing	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	FW		Simon Cox	34	10	17+11	9	3	0	3	1
32	FW		Lateef Elford-Alliyu	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF		Dwayne Samuels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	MF		Romaine Sawyers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	DF		Gonzalo Jara	26	1	20+2	1	3	0	1	0
37	MF		George Thorne	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
40	FW		Marcus Haber	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	FW		Frank Nouble	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
44	MF		Steven Reid	9	1	9	1	0	0	0	0

Transfers

In

#	Player	Club	Fee
31	Simon Cox	Swindon Town	Undisclosed
2	Joe Mattock	Leicester City	Undisclosed
14	Jerome Thomas	Portsmouth	Free
18	Reuben Reid	Rotherham United	Free
21	Youssuf Mulumbu	Paris Saint-Germain	£750,000
36	Gonzalo Jara	Colo-Colo	£3,000,000

Out

#	Player	Club	Fee
	Kim Do-heon	Suwon Bluewings	£360,000
	Sherjill MacDonald	Germinal Beerschot	£650,000
	Craig Beattie	Swansea City	£500,000

In

#	Player	Club	Fee
40	Marcus Haber	Vancouver Whitecaps	Free
29	Andwélé Slory	Feyenoord	Free

Out

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

Loans in

#	Player	Club	Arrival Date	Return Date
26	Shaun Cummings	Chelsea	17 September	17 October
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	End of season
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 Jul	Histon (Conference National)	A	L 0 – 1	1,058
15 Jul	Nafta Lendava (Slovenian PrvaLiga)	A	W 3 – 0	–	Luke Moore, Jonathan Greening, Jonas Olsson
18 Jul	NK Varteks (Prva HNL)	A	D 2 – 2	–	Craig Beattie
22 Jul	Shrewsbury Town (Football League Two)	A	W 2 – 0	2,437	Luke Moore, Robert Koren
24 Jul	Kidderminster Harriers (Conference National)	A	D 1 – 2	1,057	Lateef Elford-Alliyu
25 Jul	Walsall (Football League One)	A	D 2 – 2	4,358	Luke Moore, Craig Beattie
28 Jul	Swindon Town (Football League One)	A	L 0 – 1	2,482
31 Jul	Cheltenham Town (Football League Two)	A	L 1 – 2	–	Chris Wood
1 Aug	Cheivo (Serie A)	H	D 0 – 0	3,359

Championship

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

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
2 Jan	Three	Huddersfield Town	A	W 2 – 0	13,472	Dorrans, Wood
23 Jan	Four	Newcastle United	H	W 4 – 2	16,102	Olsson, Dorrans (2), Thomas
13 Feb	Five	Reading	A	D 2 – 2	18,008	Koren, Mattock
24 Feb	Five (replay)	Reading	H	L 2 – 3	13,982 (1,376)	Koren (2)

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
11 Aug	One	Bury	A	W 2 – 0	3,077	Dorrans, own goal
26 Aug	Two	Rotherham United	H	W 4 – 3	10,659 (611)	Beattie (2), Dorrans, Cox
23 Sep	Three	Arsenal	A	L 0 – 2	56,592 (4,062)

See also

• West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons
• 2009–10 Football League Championship

Notes

1. Kiely was born in Salford, England, and represented them at U-15, U-16, and U-18 level, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in November 1999.
2. Barnes was born in Barking and Dagenham, England, and represented them at U-19 level, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally through his grandparents, declared for them internationally in 2014, and would make his international debut for Jamaica in May 2015.
3. Teixeira was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, but also qualified to represent Portugal internationally and represented them at U-18, U-20, and U-21 level.
4. Mulumbu was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), but also qualified to represent France internationally and represented them at U-20 and U-21 level before making his international debut for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in March 2008.
5. Méïté was born in Colombes, France, but also qualified to represent the Ivory Coast internationally and made his international debut for the Ivory Coast in 2003.
6. Morrison was born in Darlington, England, and represented them at U-17, U-18, U-19, and U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his grandparents and made his international debut for Scotland in May 2008.
7. Slory was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and made his international debut for the Netherlands in June 2007.
8. Cox was born in Tilehurst, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandfather and would make his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in May 2011.
9. Elford-Alliyu was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, but also qualified to represent England internationally and represented them at U-17 level.
10. Sawyers was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally and represented them at U-23 level before making his international debut for Saint Kitts and Nevis in October 2012.
11. Berahino was born in Bujumbura, Burundi, but was raised in England from the age of 10 and represented them at every youth level between U-16 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Burundi in September 2018.
12. Brown was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and represented them at U-17 and U-19 level.
13. Reid was born in Kingston upon Thames, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandfather and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 2001.
14. Cummings was born in Hammersmith and Fulham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in September 2013.

References

1. Lepkowski, Chris (29 May 2009). "New look for West Brom ground The Hawthorns". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
2. "West Brom 4–2 Newcastle". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Coparation. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
3. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/2009-2010/flcham/wba.htm
4. "Di Matteo makes Carson club captain". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.