2009–10 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season
Introduction 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======Left club during season===
Player statistics }
Transfers ===Summer=======In====Date#PlayerClubFee8 July 2009 31  Simon Cox  Swindon Town Undisclosed10 July 2009 21  Youssuf Mulumbu  Paris Saint-Germain £750,00031 July 2009 18  Reuben Reid  Rotherham United Free10 August 2009 2  Joe Mattock  Leicester City Undisclosed14 August 2009 14  Jerome Thomas  Portsmouth Free 36  Gonzalo Jara  Colo-Colo £3,000,000====Out====Date#PlayerClubFee  Kim Do-heon  Suwon Bluewings £360,000  Sherjill MacDonald  Germinal Beerschot £650,00021 August 2009 Carl Hoefkens Club BruggeFree27 August 2009  Craig Beattie  Swansea City £500,000===Winter=======In====Date#PlayerClubFee1 February 201029 Andwélé Slory FeyenoordFree3 February 201012 Giles BarnesNoneFree40 Marcus Haber Vancouver WhitecapsFree====Out====Date#PlayerClubFee 29  David Worrall  Bury Free 6  Neil Clement Retired  Paul Robinson  Bolton Wanderers Undisclosed1 February 2010 24  Shelton Martis  Doncaster Rovers Undisclosed===Loans in===#PlayerClubArrival DateReturn 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 1 April 44  Steven Reid  Blackburn Rovers 5 March End of season===Loans out===#PlayerClubArrival dateReturn 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 ===Pre-season friendlies===+DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 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===+DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 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, Zuiverloon16 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 (663)  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===+DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 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===+DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 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
References