2006–07 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 2006–07 season, West Bromwich Albion competed in the Football League Championship, having been relegated from the FA Premier League the previous season.

West Bromwich Albion

2006–07 season
Chairman	Jeremy Peace
Manager	Bryan Robson (until 18 September) Nigel Pearson (caretaker) Craig Shakespeare (caretaker) Tony Mowbray (from 13 October)
Stadium	The Hawthorns
Championship	4th (qualified for play-offs)
Play-offs	Runners-up
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Diomansy Kamara (20) All: Diomansy Kamara (22)
Highest home attendance	26,606 (vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, 22 October 2006)
Lowest home attendance	17,417 (vs. Queen's Park Rangers, 31 October 2006)
Average home league attendance	20,471
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

Season summary

West Brom began the season slowly and manager Bryan Robson departed as manager in October by mutual consent. Under his successor, Tony Mowbray, West Brom were a permanent fixture in the top six from late December onwards and led the division briefly in February, but a run of four defeats in five games at home saw them fall out of contention for automatic promotion.^[1] They secured their play-off place with a 7–0 home win against Barnsley on the final day of the league season,^[2] finishing fourth in the process. This was one place above Wolverhampton Wanderers, by virtue of a superior goal difference, but eight points behind Derby County.^[3] West Brom scored 81 league goals during the campaign, the highest tally of any team in the Football League in 2006–07.

In the play-off semi-finals, Albion faced local rivals and fifth-placed team Wolverhampton Wanderers, winning the first leg 3–2^[4] and the second 1–0 to progress 4–2 on aggregate.^[5] The second leg was the fifth meeting between the two sides during 2006–07, setting a new record for the most times that the Black Country derby has been contested in a single campaign, while West Brom's four wins against their rivals was also a season record for matches between the two.^[6]

In the play-off final game, West Brom were defeated by Derby, with Stephen Pearson scoring the only goal of the game.^[7]

Kit

English company Umbro became West Brom's kit manufacturers for the season. T-Mobile remained the kit sponsors.

Final league table

Main article: 2006–07 Football League Championship

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
2	Birmingham City (P)	46	26	8	12	67	42	+25	86	Promotion to the Premier League
3	Derby County (O, P)	46	25	9	12	62	46	+16	84	Qualification for Championship play-offs
4	West Bromwich Albion	46	22	10	14	81	55	+26	76
5	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	22	10	14	59	56	+3	76
6	Southampton	46	21	12	13	77	53	+24	75

Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first^[8]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League Championship

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
5 August 2006	Hull City	H	2–0	20,682 (2,477)	Hartson (2)
8 August 2006	Cardiff City	A	1–1	18,506	Gera
12 August 2006	Southampton	A	0–0	24,233
19 August 2006	Colchester United	H	2–1	17,509 (668)	Ellington (pen.), Wallwork
28 August 2006	Sunderland	A	0–2	24,242 (923)
9 September 2006	Leicester City	H	2–0	19,322 (2,183)	Kenton (own goal), Phillips (pen)
12 September 2006	Preston North End	A	0–1	12,119
16 September 2006	Southend United	H	1–1	19,576	Ellington
23 September 2006	Luton Town	A	2–2	9,332 (1,785)	Carter, Gera
30 September 2006	Leeds United	H	4–2	21,435 (2,600)	Albrechtsen, Kamara (2), Phillips
14 October 2006	Ipswich Town	A	5–1	22,581 (1,422)	Kamara (2), Phillips (3)
17 October 2006	Crystal Palace	A	2–0	16,105 (1,123)	Gera, Kamara
22 October 2006	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	3–0	26,606 (2,600)	Greening, Kamara, Hartson (pen)
28 October 2006	Birmingham City	A	0–2	21,009 (2,987)
31 October 2006	Queens Park Rangers	H	3–3	17,417 (484)	Ellington, Kamara (2)
4 November 2006	Derby County	A	1–2	25,342 (2,609)	Chaplow
11 November 2006	Norwich City	H	0–1	18,718 (904)
18 November 2006	Burnley	H	3–0	18,707 (1,744)	Koumas, Ellington, Carter
25 November 2006	Stoke City	A	0–1	18,282
28 November 2006	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–3	21,695 (946)	Koumas
2 December 2006	Derby County	H	1–0	20,494 (2,600)	Hartson
10 December 2006	Barnsley	A	1–1	9,512 (347)	Koumas
16 December 2006	Coventry City	H	5–0	20,370	Kamara (2, 1 pen), Koumas, Phillips, Robinson
23 December 2006	Plymouth Argyle	A	2–2	15,172	Phillips (2)
26 December 2006	Preston North End	H	4–2	22,905 (1,988)	Koumas, Kamara, Ellington (2)
30 December 2006	Ipswich Town	H	2–0	20,328	Kamara, Koumas
1 January 2007	Southend United	A	1–3	9,907	Hartson
12 January 2007	Luton Town	H	3–2	19,927 (499)	Koumas, Phillips (2)
20 January 2007	Leeds United	A	3–2	20,019	Greening, Kamara (2)
31 January 2007	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–1	19,894 (961)	Kamara (2, 1 pen)
3 February 2007	Hull City	A	1–0	18,005 (1,364)	Kamara
10 February 2007	Southampton	H	1–1	21,138	Phillips
13 February 2007	Colchester United	A	2–1	5,611 (1,000)	McShane, Kamara
20 February 2007	Cardiff City	H	1–0	18,802 (1,462)	Ellington
24 February 2007	Leicester City	A	1–1	25,581 (3,300)	Kamara (pen)
3 March 2007	Sunderland	H	1–2	23,252 (2,598)	Carter
11 March 2007	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0–1	28,016 (2,600)
14 March 2007	Crystal Palace	H	2–3	17,960	Clement, Phillips
18 March 2007	Birmingham City	H	1–1	21,434 (2,590)	McShane
31 March 2007	Queens Park Rangers	A	2–1	14,784 (2,600)	Phillips, Gera
7 April 2007	Stoke City	H	1–3	20,386	Koumas
9 April 2007	Norwich City	A	2–1	25,422 (2,500)	Sodje, Kamara
13 April 2007	Sheffield Wednesday	H	0–1	20,415
23 April 2007	Burnley	A	2–3	12,500	Koumas, Ellington
28 April 2007	Coventry City	A	1–0	26,343	Robinson
6 May 2007	Barnsley	H	7–0	23,568 (1,936)	Phillips (3), Ellington (2, 1 pen), Koren, Gera

Championship play-offs

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
SF 1st Leg	13 May 2007	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	3–2	27,750 (2,600)	Phillips (2), Kamara
SF 2nd Leg	16 May 2007	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	1–0 (won 4–2 on agg)	27,415 (2,600)	Phillips
F	28 May 2007	Derby County	N	0–1	74,993

FA Cup

Main article: 2006–07 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	6 January 2007	Leeds United	H	3–1	16,957 (2,327)	McShane, Hartson, Phillips
R4	28 January 2007	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	3–0	28,107 (5,500)	Kamara, Phillips, Gera
R5	17 February 2007	Middlesbrough	A	2–2	31,491 (2,395)	Kamara, Phillips
R5R	27 February 2007	Middlesbrough	H	1–1 (lost 4–5 on pens)	24,925	Carter

League Cup

Main article: 2006–07 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	24 August 2006	Leyton Orient	A	3–0	3,058 (1,126)	Nicholson, Carter, Greening
R2	19 September 2006	Cheltenham Town	H	3–1	10,974 (1,885)	Wallwork, Ellington (pen), Nicholson (pen)
R3	24 October 2006	Arsenal	H	0–2	21,566

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ENG Steve Watson 3 DF  ENG Paul Robinson 4 DF  ENG Chris Perry 5 DF  ENG Neil Clement 6 DF  ENG Curtis Davies 8 MF  ENG Jonathan Greening 9 FW  ENG Nathan Ellington 10 FW  WAL John Hartson 11 MF  HUN Zoltán Gera 12 MF  ENG Richard Chaplow 13 GK  ENG Luke Steele 14 DF  DEN Martin Albrechtsen 15 FW  SEN Diomansy Kamara[notes 1] 16 MF  SVN Robert Koren 17 MF  ENG Darren Carter

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  WAL Jason Koumas 20 DF  IRL Paul McShane 21 FW  ENG Kevin Phillips 22 FW  ENG Stuart Nicholson 23 DF  ENG Jeff Forsyth 24 DF  ENG Ronnie Wallwork 26 MF  WAL Rob Davies 27 FW  ENG Rob Elvins 28 DF  ENG Jared Hodgkiss 30 GK  ENG Luke Daniels 31 GK  IRL Dean Kiely[notes 2] 32 FW  NED Sherjill MacDonald 33 FW  ENG Michael Nardiello 34 DF  NGA Sam Sodje[notes 3] (on loan from Reading)

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 1 GK  SUI Pascal Zuberbühler (to Neuchâtel Xamax) 7 MF  SCO Nigel Quashie[notes 4] (to West Ham United) 16 MF  JPN Junichi Inamoto (to Galatasaray)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF  DEN Thomas Gaardsøe (retired) 25 GK  ENG Russell Hoult (to Stoke City) 29 GK  POL Tomasz Kuszczak (on loan to Manchester United)

Transfers

In

Date	Nation	Position	Name	From	Fee	Reference
26 June 2006		FW	John Hartson	Celtic	£500,000	[10]
14 July 2006		GK	Pascal Zuberbühler	Basel	Free	[11]
10 August 2006		DF	Paul McShane	Manchester United	Undisclosed	[12]
10 August 2006		GK	Luke Steele	Manchester United	Undisclosed	[12]
22 August 2006		FW	Kevin Phillips	Aston Villa	£700,000	[13]
4 January 2007		MF	Robert Koren	Lillestrom	Free	[14]
30 January 2007		GK	Dean Kiely	Portsmouth	Free	[15]

Out

Date	Nation	Position	Name	To	Fee	Reference
23 June 2006		MF	Andy Johnson	Leicester City	Free	[16]
24 May 2006		FW	Geoff Horsfield	Sheffield United	£1,200,000	[17]
2 August 2006		FW	Kevin Campbell	Cardiff City	Free	[18]
17 August 2006		FW	Nwankwo Kanu	Portsmouth	Free	[19]
31 August 2006		MF	Junichi Inamoto	Galatasaray	Undisclosed	[20]
8 January 2007		MF	Nigel Quashie	West Ham United	£1,500,000	[21]
31 January 2007		GK	Russell Hoult	Stoke City	Free	[22]
14 February 2007		GK	Pascal Zuberbühler	Neuchâtel Xamax	Free	[23]

Loans In

Date	Nation	Position	Name	From	Length	Reference
17 March 2007		DF	Sam Sodje	Reading	One Month (extended 17 April)	[24][25]

Loans Out

Date	Nation	Position	Name	To	Length	Reference
10 August 2006		GK	Tomasz Kuszczak	Manchester United	Full-Season	[12]

Notes

1. Kamara was born in Paris, France, but also qualified to represent Senegal internationally and made his international debut for Senegal in 2003.
2. 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.
3. Sodje was born in Greenwich, England, but also qualified to represent Nigeria internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Nigeria in November 2005.
4. Quashie was born in Southwark, England, and represented them at U-21 and B-level, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his grandfather and made his international debut for Scotland in May 2004.

References

1. "Albion 2006–07 Fixtures". Albion (West Bromwich Albion Matchday Magazine). 98 (27). CRE8, for West Bromwich Albion F.C.: 50–51. 6 May 2007.
2. "West Brom 7–0 Barnsley". BBC Sport. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
3. "Final 2006/2007 Football League Championship Table". soccerbase.com. Racing Post. Archived from the original on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
4. "Wolves 2–3 West Brom". BBC Sport. 13 May 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
5. McNulty, Phil (16 May 2007). "West Brom 1–0 Wolves". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
6. "All time results between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers". soccerbase.com. Racing Post. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
7. "Derby 1-0 West Brom". BBC Sport. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
8. "West Bromwich Albion 2006-2007 Results - statto.com". Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
9. "FootballSquads - West Bromwich Albion - 2006/07".
10. "Hartson completes West Brom move". BBC Sport. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
11. "West Brom sign keeper Zuberbuhler". BBC Sport. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
12. Lepkowski, Chris (10 August 2006). "Keeper swap deal suits Baggies". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
13. "Phillips makes move to West Brom". BBC Sport. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
14. "Slovenian Koren joins West Brom". BBC Sport. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
15. "West Brom clinch Kiely transfer". BBC Sport. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
16. WalesOnline (22 June 2006). "Low joins Leicester". Wales Online. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
17. "Horsfield and Warnock make peace". BBC Sport. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
18. "Bluebirds secure Campbell signing". BBC Sport. 2 August 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
19. "Portsmouth complete Kanu signing". BBC Sport. 17 August 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
20. "Inamoto leaves Baggies for Turkey". BBC Sport. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
21. "West Ham sign midfielder Quashie". BBC Sport. 8 January 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
22. "Stoke capture Hoult and Fortune". BBC Sport. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
23. "Zuberbuhler ends West Brom spell". BBC Sport. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
24. "Baggies complete Sodje loan deal". BBC Sport. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
25. "West Brom extend Sodje loan spell". BBC Sport. 17 April 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2023.